Transdermal Celebration

I have always been a big fan of great animation, and I love to show people this video by Adam Philips, who used to work for Disney. This is the music video for Ween's song Transdermal Celebration, which won an international contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU91POX33aE

What I've learned

So far this semester, I have learned several things in term of design, and some things were not from the class itself, but from working with others.

-When working with a partner on a project, establish ground rules, and meetings in which you are going to discuss the project, or else it will never get done.

-File management is very important, and failing to follow the rules of formatting a file can lead to some nasty circumstance

-I freaking love catalogues.

-Letting ideas evolve from the original concept is a part of pre production work. Sticking with the first idea you get is somewhat fatal, and could kill your whole project if the idea is not innovative and sound.

Type videos

I found this by Akzidenz. Haha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5ol02WPaYM

Overkill

We often discuss the issues of packaging in class, but rarely do I actually pay attention to it outside of class, unless I really like it. We also talk about how sometimes, the graphic aspect of it can be too much, and therefore not sell product. I believe I have found one such example. The brand is Ice cream hair products, you can find them at any Shoppers Drug Mart here in Canada. I didn't even know what it was, except it was in the haircare aisle, so it was some indication. The difference between the types are measured in ph levels. I don't know about you, but I have no idea how that affects my hair, or even how to determine your "hair ph level." The colouring creams were all red, regardless of what colour they were. Were it not for the colour samplings underneath, it could have been anything! The aesthetic was interesting enough, but it looked like they focused more on how it looked than what the product actually was.

I also assume it's not very successful because I couldn't find a single picture to put in this blog entry.

New Idea?

I was on the bus the other day, and I noticed a business card on the ground. It was designed nicely, but I had absolutely no desire to go to their site or check out their work. Why? I feel lke there is a step missing in between where people are informed of a person's works, and actually following through with checking them out. I went to FanExpo a few years back, and acquired a significant amount of business cards from the artst's alley section, which was one of my favourite places to go. But to this day I have never checked out any artist I did not already know, despite being excited at the time. I'm not sure how to solve the problem exactly, but maybe we should have a different way of showing our work that is more to-the-point perhaps?

Change/Design the World!

Graphic designers have been proven to solve many problems in the world today. Since we are a new breed of artists, we must constantly provide new ideas, pushing boundaries, and therefore bleeding our ideas into other sections of the world. Take for example, in the U.S, 2004, the highway road signs were changed from the traditional Gotham Highway typeface to Clearview. This may sound ridiculous, but this small change enabled over 16 percent of people to have better legibility of the signs at night. It also cut down accidents due to reaction times being boosted. Then we have environmental issues, such as overconsumption and lack of recycling. The new "Clever Little Bag" is a new packaging move from the shoe brand PUMA, in which using recycled polypropylene, and having no box at all, the company saves alot of money, as well as saving the environment. Tons of waste will not be generated with this method, and will save on gas used to transport the smaller "boxes", being able to transport more in one go than was possible beforehand. Innovative changes such as these can make a huge difference in the world!

Check it out!
http://www.puma.com/cleverlittlebag

The Peculiar Case of Dumb Ideas

Have you ever started a project, thought about the concept for about 2 minutes, and then followed your first idea through to the end? Me neither. With every single project I get, my chain of thought evolves, because my original ideas are usually tacky and downright bad. And though I usually like my ideas when I'm finished, it seems the evolutionary road to that end product takes way too long. I just wish there was a way to speed up the process, rather than wasting all this time trying to determine a direction. Perhaps that comes later though: I once had an art teacher who told us that if you don't have a good concept, the end result won't matter. It's all in the ideas.

Interwebs

If you're looking for a couple sites to post your work on, I have a few ready here. These sites are made for people that aren't necessarily proffessionals, but can still post work and have it critiqued, or even bought if one chooses. Each has a specific advantage, and they are worth a gander.

www.deviantart.com

Deviantart-despite the heavy my little pony and pokeball art- has some amazing proffessional illustrators, photographers, inkists, etc. that post their work for all to see. Artists from all over the world can view these "deviations" and sometimes share their techniques and secrets.

www.redbubble.com

Redbubble is a great site to go to if you are looking for some super crazy creaive designs. These designs can be made into any multitude of media, but the styles can be a little off the beaten path, which is refreshing! Often takes pop culture references, crossed over with others to make an awesome combination. Where else can you get a shirt that says: Vote Rogers and Stark 2012, AVENGE AMERICA.

Copycat

I've noticed lately, around the internet and in my daily life, that there have been bouts of plagiarism. My friend's father is a freelance photographer, and puts his photos on many social websites. He recently posted on Facebook about how his photo had been stolen from one of these websites, and someone had deemed it their own. In the past two years I've realized there is nothing I hate more than a thief. Someone who has no personal ambition to become better at something instead decides to steal someone else's work for praise.

Realistically, if you see a photo, or design of some sort that you appreciate, why not reference them? Email them, ask them questions if youre the social type. Personally, I like to use people that are better at something than me to fuel my competitive urges, but I digress. Plagiarism is never alright, regardless of the excuse. I have heard so many different reasonings behind this, and those people who report plagiarism always seem to be treated like they committed some sort of crime. I never understood this. "It doesn't affect you!"

Come again?

Consider this scenario for a moment. You and someone you know apply for a job at a local design firm, fresh out of school. You slaved over your portfolio, making sure you did everything right, those long nights and multitude of mistakes paid off. Next to you is the person who copied all sorts of people's work, appearing to have a wide variety of style, and gets hired instead. This may sound farfetched, but consider the fact that the majority of networking is done via social websites. Someone gets piad for your photo hat took 8 hours to put together, or that poser that you spent weeks planning. Not so isolated anymore, is it? The internet is a large place, there is no way to catch every art thief, but don't go about telling people to mind their own business, when someone has already stolen it from them.

Client Tell

Every so often, my teacher decides to tell us horror stories involving pushy, ignorant, or downright stupid clients. One of the things that one hears from more senior designers is that clients seem to have this innate need to tell the designer how to make things work, or expect the impossible. Let me ask you this. Why? Clearly you have the ability to make your own websites, books, signs, or brochures. Clearly you know the difference between CMYK and RGB, or which spot colours to use from a branding reference. Or how to use the multitude of programs interchangably. Maybe you know how type should be used, about hierarchy and composition. Oh you don't? Then don't act like you do.

Clients should have more of a relationship with their deisgners. I understand the stress of making something that is printable and efficient for your business causes alot of stress, but designers know what they're doing (for the most part). Sometimes you get the oddball who calls himself a designer and completely screws you over, but real designers can be trusted. Trust.

Snapshot

I just want to take this opportunity to say that I am glad that we learn so many different aspects of design in school. One of the subjects I'm more appreciative of is photography. We don't have to be amazing at it, but sometimes we get great shots that we're very proud of. It also make sit easier for us to establish what we want in photos from photographers we hire in the future.

It makes sure that I don't use these kinds of photos (or take them).

This photo may be endearing, and in focus, but I would never use this for print of any kind. It may not be completely obvious to everyone, and that's fine. This is why I'm glad we learn photography, so we can aspire and push ourselves to take pictures like this.






This photo is much more workable. Represents the innocence of the children in a candid moment, with beautiful focus and contrast between the girls and the background make it an overall beautiful photo.

Images from google





 

Infographic

Seeing as I'm a stumbleupon junkie, I thought I would share some of the things I've found, and as I was stumbling one day, I found a series of infographics, which I realized where very effective for relaying information in a designed fashion. Realistically speaking, that is what designers do right? We relay a certain message while making it look nice.

This particular infographic is about colour psychology, which-as a designer- I have to know in order to properly relay a message. If you were to give me a lecture about colour psychology, chances are my drool would be on my chair before you turn the projector on. Communicating ideas in a more interesting way makes me more inclined to invest in it (I'm a terrible student, I know). 

Image from google

Design Block

We all have times where we feel as if we can't do something for an unknown reason, and most artists and writers know this phenomenon well. It is when we are devoid of all creative thought, and cannot muster up a single good idea. We all know it as a block.

Being new to the world that is design as a student, it makes it a little difficult at times to feel as if you are doing something creative, while still fulfilling client needs (in my case, assignment requirements from my teachers). However, one of my professors gave us a few tips on how to stay creative, and generate good ideas more naturally.

1. Be happy
 It is difficult to come up with an idea when you are stewing over your last argument with your boyfriend, or emotionally upset for whatever reason, it's going to be difficult to generate ideas because your mind is preoccupied. If you are frustrated, leave something be and come back to it later. It may feel strange at first (especially if you have a ton of work to do), but in the end it is worth it.

2. Remember your brain needs a break too
When ideas are demanded of you constantly, your brain may begin to get tired, and as such, also needs a break. Remember to rest so that you are always at your best.

Why I'm Single

Being single for the past 3 and a half years, I'm the butt of my own jokes. But when I stumbled upon a list of 50 reasons to not date a graphic designer, I had to share the top 10 on this list.

1. They drink and eat all kinds of weird shit just because they like the packaging.

2.  They ask your opinion about everything but  they do whatever they want.

3. You will spend the day brainstorming.

4. They read comics.

5. They can’t go to a restaurant without secretly critiquing the menu design.

6. They see CMYK and RGB like Neo sees the Matrix.

7. They are always sleepy because they work 24/7.

8. They hate Comic Sans with the same passion they love Helvetica.

9. Everything becomes something other than what it really is: cards as tickets, cards as …

10. You will never understand their gifts.

I am guilty of all these things. Come at me, boys.   

LMFAO

I saw this the other day, and laughed my graphic designer sweatpants off.

Remember, if you don't have an original idea, that thing that drives you to create something amazing...then don't do it. You will never make a good product without a good idea.

I have learned from experience that you can't churn out something when there is no basis, or justification for your decisions. It ends up looking discombobulated and you'll hate it. Trust.

Picture from deviantart.com

Logo Loco

Recently I've been noticing a trend that should really stop. This tend I'm referring to is the logo design trend where we take an already known logo, which is fun and unique, and numb it down about 10 notches. For example.

The old ebay logo and the new, duller one. Nothing about the new logo is necessarily "better" or interesting. The brand is well known enough that this doesn't necessarily affect it too much, but there are so many things they could have done with it. They could have taken a google approach where they change up the logo according to particular sale days, or made a unique new shape.



Microsoft is another criminal of logo lobotomy. Some designer somewhere stuck their pointy little nose into their logo and scrambled up all the unique little quirks about it and spat out the vegetable of a logo that remained. Needless to say, I'm, not impressed.

On the flip side, there are places that do it right. Pepsi for example. When they redesigned their logo, they made it more fun and interesting, matching their new marketing techniques and commercials for the new century.
This is how you (re)design a logo properly.

Pictures from google

Proposal for the Future

You know those annoying youtube ads that come up when you go to listen to your favourite song? I'm sick and tired of hearing the same stupid ads on youtube all the time, and they're not even that good. They're not intuitive, funny, clever or good in any way. I am more likely to not buy a product simply because that stupid commercial interrupted my video.

This may be roughly what you're thinking.

  picture from google

Yes, I am aware that designers make the banners on the side of the VEVO videos, and the brands for the commercials, which is what we get paid to do. I understand. But the marketers must also take into consideration the fact that people don't want to see these ads. Actually, no one ever wants to see ads. The moment that 4 seconds is up where I can click "skip Now", I do, faster than the freaking Flash. Those commercials that go on for a minute and a half in the middle of my video? Muted, and minimized until it's done. These advertisements are actually doing the reverse of what they are supposed to do. Advertisements are on TV, on signs and billboards, etc. They are already thrown in our face enough as it is. We don't need these ads proactively getting in our face on a daily basis. 

Have you ever got deja deja deja deja deja vu? Ya, everytime I see this stupid commercial.

Colour my World

SSomething I struggle with on a daily basis, whether it be as a designer or an illustrator, is colour choice. Yes, I have sat through the colour wheel lectures and learned about all sorts of lighting, but for some reason my "range" of colours is extremely limited. This is most likely due to the "grass is green", "sky is blue" mentality we have as children.

In reality, the grass can be many shades of green, with different hues added in, with reflective light as well. The sky can be any colour of the rainbow given what time of day it is, or the weather. This concept has always been difficult for me to get ahold of. That's when I found design-seeds.com.

I found this site a while back, and it has really helped me to create efficient colour palettes for my work, based on the actual colour properties of objects of pictures.

picture from design-seeds.com

Photoshop is my Life

In my graphic design class, we  use Photoshop quite a bit. However, though I know this program quite well, I never originally used it for photo editing (that came later). I used it for digital painting, which is a whole new realm of illustration, where you "paint" with a mouse or tablet on the computer. You can see these in game designs and concepts for company works.

 Work like this is the end result of digital painting. It is such a malleable new technology that it has changed the way we look at digital art.

Digital painting can also be used in a sense of fine arts. Most of the things I know about photoshop never stemmed from editing photos. It grew from illustrating digitally, looking up step by step tutorials from experts online.

www.deviantart.com is a very valuable place for finding these said tutorials, like the one below. If you want to learn more about photoshop, or perhaps take an interest in digital painting, then I would highly recommend trying it out, and visiting deviantart, viewing all of the different styles and techniques there are to offer.

Pictures from google an deviantart

It Won't Sink the Titanic but...

For one of our first projects in my graphic design class, we were assigned a logo project. Find or make up a restaurant name, and design a logo for that restaurant. Now, logos aren't exactly my thing. Finding that visual figure ground, clever visual was never something I could wrap my head around. That being said, I decided to find a literal sounding name to represent.

It was then I came cross the Icebergs restaurant. Nice enough place, with a horrendous logo. Perfect. I started on concepts, when I realized there was an extreme lack of correlation in the aspects of my design.

A) This place was called Icebergs. What did they serve? If you guessed traditional Italian, you're insane, but right.
B) This restaurant is in Sydney, Australia. Yeah.

This was possible the weirdest set of parameters for designing a restaurant logo. However, after 1000 pages of concepts (exaggeration, I'm lazy) I came up with this.

And then I made these.

Overall, though it was frustrating, I realized that sometimes the original concept is the best/easiest to go with. Trying to communicate too many messages at once is both foolish and impossible. So basically, I learned to keep it simple...stupid.

First World Problem #1

Alright, boys and girls, today we have something a little different. Yes, we have a first world problem. I went to to the local drug store to buy conditioner, went home to use it...and it was shampoo. Naturally. Now normally I would have blamed myself, had it been an honest mistake. However, when I looked at each of the bottles in a sea of shampoos and conditioners, I realized that they look the same, save for one is upside down. The size, label, colour, everything is the same.

pictures 
To someone like me, who just grabs things according to colour and label distinction, this is somewhat frustrating. This is also the second time this has happened to me. The last time was with herbal essences, I thought I was buying conditioner, and when I brought it home, it was a 2 in 1. It had the exact same label, colour and orientation on the bottle as the regular conditioner, save for the microscopic sized "Shampoo and Conditioner" under the label. As designers, we should be able to communicate to an audience what the product is quickly, or in some way that the people shopping for the product can tell it is different somehow. Making the label a pastel blue instead of a deep blue, or making the bottle a different shape. Putting it in a different kind of bottle, perhaps (clear vs opaque).

Herbal essences had a system where the two bottles would fit together, and were easily distinguishable from each other.

This is a much better system for telling them apart. You could walk by, and without a second thought, grab one or the other. And that concludes this first world problem rant. Now the weather.

pictures  from google

Get Your MAC On

Today I noticed that MAC cosmetics has a new collection line out, called Marilyn Monroe, based off of the shades that the diva wore back in the day. It got me thinking that MAC has a strong brand simply because they are constantly coming out with new lines of products, with many different themes, colours, "limited edition" versions of previous lines, etc. They cause a wide demand when they have limited time collections, and hardcore makeup enthusiasts will pay an arm and a leg to get them. But why?

Easy. Mac uses the "only here for a limited time" line to get women to flock to their stores to pick up the latest lines of cosmetics, and then when they're gone, and those same women want those shades again, they have "comeback" lines where they keep an old line for a short period of time. This gives MAC the upper hand with their customers, because they get several purchases out of one line of cosmetics. If the line isn't doing well, they come up with a new theme. Normally changing one's look is extremely risky, but for keeping up with trends and fashions, MAC manages to change their look while keeping the same brand namesake in tact. This is indicative of a stronger brand.

If there is a brand that can play with their own identity and get away with it, it would be MAC. While most cosmetic companies such as Maybelline, Revlon, Covergirl, etc. generally stay within the same confines as their original branding. They do not go outside the box to really set themselves apart from the norm. But that is their branding type. Though they don't call too much attention, they appeal to people who don't particularly want bright eyeshadow and lipstick, but everyday makeup. In their respects, they both accomplish their goals with their branding, but MAC has the freedom to do more with their identity to appeal to several different styles and age groups.

The Art of Minimalism

I stumbled across this package a while ago. At first glance, it was quite easy to distinguish what each of them were due to their shape, and the simple labels. The use of different finishes on the bottles makes all the difference. The labels reinforce the purpose of the different finishes, the opaque bottle being pure sake, the matte finished bottle is the refined sake, and the clear bottle is the ultra-refined sake. This is similar to when vodka brands put a little note on the labels that they are "triple distilled". Though this gets the point across, something minimalistic is sometimes a better approach to communication as a design.

Though both types of branding are effective in their own right, among a sea of brightly coloured  bottles and cans, this collection of bottles would stand out from the rest because of the lack of all of those things. This makes the minimalistic approach much more effective at times.

My Cuppa Tea

 Yesterday I visited the best tea store I have ever been to. Now typically I'm not a tea fanatic, I generally only like overly citrus flavoured teas. However, once I stepped into David's Tea (the uptown Waterloo location), I was blown away by just how much I wanted to just smell and touch everything! I am particularly partial to the colour blue, and all of their branding was absolutely amazing.
And blue. It's clean, colourful and playful. The overall setup and aesthetic made me go insane.
This is coming from someone who doesn't particularly like tea! As a graphic design student I was so excited about the branding and design of the store, but the store itself definitely matched it's amazing design system.

                                    

As I walked around, and looked at more of the elaborately designed labels and colourful tins of tea, I spent 45 minutes looking, smelling, touching, and exploring this little store. In theory, would it be because of the strong branding? If I had walked in to a poorly designed store, would I even bother with trying the tea? No. I would simply assume that the tea is just as bad as the design of the place. However, the reverse is also true. I also assume that the tea is just as good as the design (it was, but that's beside the point).

Overall, I suppose that this was a good experience as a designer-in-training, a perfect example of the fact that people do indeed judge a book by its cover. This is a perfect way to attract people to your particular brand. I assume that David's tea was attracting a younger audience with its playful and colourful displays, yet with a hint of sophistication, so between the ages of 18 and 30 is about where I would aim for. Clearly it's a powerful tool, simple stimulants and words are bound to attract certain audiences. Which is quite amazing if you think about it. A little side note, I left with two tins of tea.

Oh the Simplicity

After exploring the world of packaging, via sites like the dieline, I have found a new respect for well designed packaging. However, sometimes these packages are more form than function, and therefore lose its original purpose. However, I believe the above example is absolutely amazing in terms of both.

It's amazing how simple the idea of this vodka bottle is, yet it is ingenious in every right. The simple action of a katana cutting the bottle--named Samurai for the effect--makes this design interesting and original. Though it is difficult to do, sometimes simplicity is the easiest approach to design, which is something that some of us forget.

The package of the bottle is also quite elegant and original, with the cut between the bottle lining up on both the package and the bottle itself. It brings back the interaction between the package and the product, directly relating to each other. This is also sometimes forgotten in packaging design, when the package is simply used to sell the product, without relating to it or typing each together.

Overall, I know for a fact that I would buy this over other brands simply because of the original idea of the package and the refined, elegant look to it just screams classy.

Penny for My Thoughts

After my first year of graphic design, it left me a little confused, inspired, and enlightened in certain respects. Here are a few things that stew in my head every now and again. I hope in the future I can eventually form some answers and learn for myself, though these may sound ignorant and naive, life is about learning and forming views based on experiences. Time will tell what those views will be. These are three problems/thoughts/rants that I think about.

One- Being simple is extremely difficult. I come from an illustration background, so in my mind, complexity=better. However, adapting to this mentality is possibly the hardest thing to do for me. Take everything you know about colour selections, shading, value, and light sourcing and THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW. Whether it's the program I am in or just a general rule of thumb, I particularly wish to somewhat bridge the gap between good design and illustration. But I gotta get the "Keep it simple stupid" notion in my head first.

Two- The Wall Effect. After being opened up to the world of good design, you realize that there is this wall of proffessionalism that lies between you and your most amazing work. How do you teach someone to do an awesome logo? Or to pick a colour scheme for a website? I have seen amazing design works, not just from proffessionals, but from my own peers as well. Wrapping the mind around these amazing concepts is both exciting and disheartening, because once you witness greatness, everything else you do pales in comparison, and you know it. On the flip side, it is also what drives us forward, to be better at what we do. But sometimes, that wall just stops us from doing it, and our creativity just flatlines.

Three- "Showy" design. I absolutely LOVE when designers get creative. Whether it be packaging, magazine layouts, logos, etc. When people can come up with a tactile, insanely original idea, it's inspiring and causes a new reaction to the consumer-interest in what they view as a mundane, everyday item. You could show me creative design work until I'm blue in the face, but is that "real" design? Isn't the point of a designer's job to make the labels, signs, brochures, packages, logos that people recognize, but don't think twice about? The proffession seems to be the "backstage" of the advertising world. Very prominent, but hardly recognized. So is this "showy" design reserved for shows and awards? Or can we try to make everyday mundane things a little more amazing?