I'm ok with my Meredith covers but I think the insides are kind of crappy. Maybe that's because I didn't give much thought about them working together as a package. Kristin K. made a good point about the "toc", I think the reason I put it there is because I liked how it looked without giving much thought to what it would mean to people who don't do magazine publishing/production and that it doesn't work with the covers at all! I love my little "smell the roses" page but I think it needs to be further developed into a feature spread so that it will be consistent with the whole boomer feel. Kate L. also made a good point that the pages needing a style that will reflect a package and the covers. Elisa also made a good remark about how the covers are quite different from the insides. I think I really need to think of the magazine as a package when I design and its really helpful to hear all these comments!
I will continue to work on it!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Self-help guide to creating better logos
Where to start? Jan talked about coming up with at least 20 ideas for the logo thing we are suppose to create. It may sound daunting but here are six steps from a website I found that we should follow to create better logos...
1- Stay away from the computer
2- Fill pages/napkins with your ideas
3- Use vector drawings (instead of Photoshop)
4- Choose/use color wisely (how does your logo look in b/w) I think this is an extremely important point. I used to have a friend that will reject any logos I make that are more than 2 colors. More color means more cost!
5- Where is your logo going to be placed/used? Think about how complex you want to make it
6- Check out other logos that have been created (Big Book of Logos) and why they are successful
Here's more tips on creating better logos from Goodlogo!com:
Successful logos throughout the world have certain characteristics that make them popular and memorable.
Differentiation:
These logos are distinctive, they are different than the rest. Even the fonts of these logos are designed in a custom manner - it could be a completely new font created or tweaking provided to an existing font.
Timelessness:
Logos are the longest living corporate identity that an organization enjoys, sometimes more than the employees in the company. Successful logos stand the test of time - the shelf life of an average logo is considered to be around 20 years. Though there have been cases where logos change in lesser time than that, the changes are usually evolutionary than sudden in nature. An evolutionary change may be needed in bringing a logo more in tune with changing business conditions but a sudden and drastic change can more often than not affect the company adversely when consumers are not able to adapt to the change thus bringing the company to square one.
Coca-Cola is a classic case in this aspect. Designed in the late 19th century (1886) by the company's book keeper, the logo still looks fresh and attractive and denotes a distinctive feel to the company image.
Able to evoke emotions:
Successful logos are able to evoke desired images in the mind of the prospect. Logos facilitate carrying the desired corporate image to the consumer in the shortest possible time. Whether it is the font type that expresses this or the accompanying graphic and colors, the message that gets across to the audience.
For example, the Michelin man - the logo (cum mascot) of the French tire company Michelin develops an amiable feeling towards the company with the use of a human character.
Malleability:
A slightly technical point here, but important nevertheless. Good logos look good on huge billboards, on visiting cards, on black and white fax copies, on gold embossed door plates and if you must, mugs and t-shirts. The font and graphic designed should consider the media over which the logo appears while designing.
Simplicity:
Times are changing ... and so are the logos. Logos in earlier times used to be very elaborate and 'detailed'. Nowadays they more simpler, minimalistic yet elegant and attractive; somewhat a sign of people not having the time to look at detailed logos.
Needless to say there are certain logos that maintain their earlier look but quite a few companies changed their logo to reflect changing times and even changing cultures.
The AT&T logo for example experienced such changes making it more sleeker and less cluttered along the way.
Exposure:
Finally, a good logo like a good product has to be advertised and given due exposure. Some logos even though they are great images do not remain at the top of the mind because they are not advertised as much. Not many companies place a premium on their logos as companies like Nike and ATT&T.
Logos have been around since ancient times. Traders since the 13th century used to mark their wares with monograms to claim ownership and right to title of the goods. But it is only in the last century that the logo started generating more interest (and more so particularly after the concept of branding was introduced by the likes of Pavlov and David Ogilvy). Modern history of logo dictated companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors who had similar working products to sell.
Inspirations
Different and often weird situations have inspired and led to creation of the world's most famous logos. One thing these famous logos have in common is that they strive to be different and distinct. There have been changes to these logos but most of them have been evolutionary in nature than sudden. The logos that have changed over the years show a trend towards being simplistic and 'leaner' than their earlier versions - possibly a change to reflect changing (and faster) lifestyles. Below are some interesting examples (logo images shown below):
Nike:
Nike's swoosh was done by accounting class teacher cum freelancer at Nike called Caroline for only $35!
3M:
At the turn of the century, 3M was more concerned about its survival than it was about a logo. The young abrasives company was comfortable in its descriptor..."Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company.". The first logo was churned out in 1906 with the current logo designed as recently in 1978.
Fiat:
The current Fiat logo has the letters F-I-A-T written with a silver line between each of them. The lines were added by the company’s design chief when one day passing under the factory, he noticed the sky at the backdrop of the huge FIAT letters on the top of the building. The lines added are actually the spaces that he saw in the name over the building and decided to keep it.
Adidas:
Named after the founder Adolf (Adi) Dasler, the Adidas logo has a triangle cut into three pieces. The three pieces reportedly represent his three sons!
BMW:
The blue and white parts of a circle are present in the BMW’s logo that we see on its automobiles. The origin of this dates back to the 1st world war when, the fighter planes had their propellers painted by the company in blue and white so that the pilots could see through them. This inspired the design that we see on BMW’s cars.
Linux:
The competition to Windows and Mac OS, Linux also has a penguin as its logo (and mascot). Named 'Tux', the penguin was chosen from a list of sharks, foxes, eagles and hawks as the Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux, had a liking for the bird and thought it to be unusual and different for a logo. While the other creatures were fierce and strong, Linus insisted on the penguin being “fat, cute and cuddly - instead of anything else. Incidentally the name 'Tux' was brought up from Torvalds UniX -TUX.
1- Stay away from the computer
2- Fill pages/napkins with your ideas
3- Use vector drawings (instead of Photoshop)
4- Choose/use color wisely (how does your logo look in b/w) I think this is an extremely important point. I used to have a friend that will reject any logos I make that are more than 2 colors. More color means more cost!
5- Where is your logo going to be placed/used? Think about how complex you want to make it
6- Check out other logos that have been created (Big Book of Logos) and why they are successful
Here's more tips on creating better logos from Goodlogo!com:
Successful logos throughout the world have certain characteristics that make them popular and memorable.
Differentiation:
These logos are distinctive, they are different than the rest. Even the fonts of these logos are designed in a custom manner - it could be a completely new font created or tweaking provided to an existing font.
Timelessness:
Logos are the longest living corporate identity that an organization enjoys, sometimes more than the employees in the company. Successful logos stand the test of time - the shelf life of an average logo is considered to be around 20 years. Though there have been cases where logos change in lesser time than that, the changes are usually evolutionary than sudden in nature. An evolutionary change may be needed in bringing a logo more in tune with changing business conditions but a sudden and drastic change can more often than not affect the company adversely when consumers are not able to adapt to the change thus bringing the company to square one.
Coca-Cola is a classic case in this aspect. Designed in the late 19th century (1886) by the company's book keeper, the logo still looks fresh and attractive and denotes a distinctive feel to the company image.Able to evoke emotions:
Successful logos are able to evoke desired images in the mind of the prospect. Logos facilitate carrying the desired corporate image to the consumer in the shortest possible time. Whether it is the font type that expresses this or the accompanying graphic and colors, the message that gets across to the audience.
For example, the Michelin man - the logo (cum mascot) of the French tire company Michelin develops an amiable feeling towards the company with the use of a human character.Malleability:
A slightly technical point here, but important nevertheless. Good logos look good on huge billboards, on visiting cards, on black and white fax copies, on gold embossed door plates and if you must, mugs and t-shirts. The font and graphic designed should consider the media over which the logo appears while designing.
Simplicity:
Times are changing ... and so are the logos. Logos in earlier times used to be very elaborate and 'detailed'. Nowadays they more simpler, minimalistic yet elegant and attractive; somewhat a sign of people not having the time to look at detailed logos.
Needless to say there are certain logos that maintain their earlier look but quite a few companies changed their logo to reflect changing times and even changing cultures.
The AT&T logo for example experienced such changes making it more sleeker and less cluttered along the way.Exposure:
Finally, a good logo like a good product has to be advertised and given due exposure. Some logos even though they are great images do not remain at the top of the mind because they are not advertised as much. Not many companies place a premium on their logos as companies like Nike and ATT&T.
Logos have been around since ancient times. Traders since the 13th century used to mark their wares with monograms to claim ownership and right to title of the goods. But it is only in the last century that the logo started generating more interest (and more so particularly after the concept of branding was introduced by the likes of Pavlov and David Ogilvy). Modern history of logo dictated companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors who had similar working products to sell.
Inspirations
Different and often weird situations have inspired and led to creation of the world's most famous logos. One thing these famous logos have in common is that they strive to be different and distinct. There have been changes to these logos but most of them have been evolutionary in nature than sudden. The logos that have changed over the years show a trend towards being simplistic and 'leaner' than their earlier versions - possibly a change to reflect changing (and faster) lifestyles. Below are some interesting examples (logo images shown below):
Nike:
Nike's swoosh was done by accounting class teacher cum freelancer at Nike called Caroline for only $35!
3M:At the turn of the century, 3M was more concerned about its survival than it was about a logo. The young abrasives company was comfortable in its descriptor..."Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company.". The first logo was churned out in 1906 with the current logo designed as recently in 1978.
Fiat:
The current Fiat logo has the letters F-I-A-T written with a silver line between each of them. The lines were added by the company’s design chief when one day passing under the factory, he noticed the sky at the backdrop of the huge FIAT letters on the top of the building. The lines added are actually the spaces that he saw in the name over the building and decided to keep it.
Adidas:Named after the founder Adolf (Adi) Dasler, the Adidas logo has a triangle cut into three pieces. The three pieces reportedly represent his three sons!
BMW:
The blue and white parts of a circle are present in the BMW’s logo that we see on its automobiles. The origin of this dates back to the 1st world war when, the fighter planes had their propellers painted by the company in blue and white so that the pilots could see through them. This inspired the design that we see on BMW’s cars.
Linux:
The competition to Windows and Mac OS, Linux also has a penguin as its logo (and mascot). Named 'Tux', the penguin was chosen from a list of sharks, foxes, eagles and hawks as the Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux, had a liking for the bird and thought it to be unusual and different for a logo. While the other creatures were fierce and strong, Linus insisted on the penguin being “fat, cute and cuddly - instead of anything else. Incidentally the name 'Tux' was brought up from Torvalds UniX -TUX.
Response: Graffiti
I think I kind of misinterpreted this assignment but I had tons of fun doing it though. I just went around town photographing posters, signs and other interesting looking type stuff and put them all together on one page. I played with different effects in photoshop to get the final finish product. I was pleased with it in the end, it is some abstract thing that definitely didn't look like my name so I had a hard time trying to fit my name in it. But I guess I wasn't too unhappy with the final result. It was fun seeing other people's work today! So many creative ideas!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Response: Typography School
Check out this interesting YouTube video about "the principles of design, creative letterpress and why computers make students sloppy." Veteran graphic design/typography and letterpress teacher from the London College of Printing: David Dabner talks will about it in this short 5 minute interview. It is quite illuminating what the letterpress can do and how we are constrained by the computer or the available fonts that we have. Towards the end of the video, there are some really cool examples.
Critique: Books 3/1
This is my illustration for the 3/1 books department story about the closing of the 9th St. Bookstore due to lack of sales. Competition from bigger bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and online sellers such as eBay and Amazon have forced local bookstores to shut down. I just wanted to show that 9th St. Bookstore was being eaten up by something. In my preliminary design, the barnes & noble guy looked more like a building like the B&N at the mall. But it evolved into a more animated human like person. I got a lot of comments saying that this reminds people of something from South Park which I must say its kind of true although I didn't refer to South Park when I was drawing this, the eyes on the cookie is actually similar to how the eyes of the characters in South Park. I had a lot of fun putting this together. I think its funny and interesting with many different elements such as the milk with the amazon icon and the scarf with the $$ signs at the end. :DI think I need to move away from cutsie illustrations next time I do illustrations!
Gwenda Kaczor illustrations
Check out Gwenda Kaczor's illustration portfolio. She is also a designer and animation artists. It is a good place to check out how she puts her portfolio together online. Her illustrations are similar to paper cutouts which gives it a kind of modern-retro feel. It is inspiring me to do something similar to my boomer cover.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Critique
This is not really a critque. I'm working on putting together an interactive map for the True/False online edition and I'm still torn between using the Google maps application or something like this (please click on links to see examples done by others) The second one was done in flash and slightly more complicated than writing codes for the google maps application but what do you all think is more user-friendly and presentable?
The purpose of the map is to let people know where the T/F venues are, where the restaurants/ATMS/parking structures are in the vicinity.
Please let me know what you all think!
The purpose of the map is to let people know where the T/F venues are, where the restaurants/ATMS/parking structures are in the vicinity.
Please let me know what you all think!
The changing Times
I just had to add that image in there...we were just discussing about the Harry Potter guy being part of an explicit movie/show at staff meeting the other day... :D
Well, as much as I want this to be about Harry Potter, it's not. It's about the redesign of the The Times of London. After 221 years, the times are changing (literally). This is what they said: "The Times Modern introduced today allows a better shaped headline with extra characters per line. This allows for more articulation in the process of writing. The change is not reckless impulse, but reading conditions for many people have become less leisurely. Newspaper typography should evolve to meet technological innovations and The Times is once again at the sharp end."
The redesign was headed by Neville Brody - an important figure in the typographic world.I don't know much about the history of the newspaper, but the redesign was not as exciting as I thought it could have been. I believe a part of them are still holding on to what it has always been. Just like the supposed "redesigns" by Meredith, I think sometimes it really hard for big, established news products to really go through a real redesign where everything is blown up and built from scratch again.
Anyways, typographi, the blog I'm following has been closed for "clean up". I'm checking out typographer.org now.
Christopher Silas
Check out Christopher Silas's work. His illustrations are quite interesting - a free flow and kinda abstract style. The one above - titled: Food in the time of war - ran in Gourmet magazine.
A cute YouTube video about loving fonts, enjoy!
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Critique
aacdev.missouri.edu
This is my redesign of the current Asian Affairs website. Comments appreciated. It's still very much under construction though. p.s. the links don't work yet.
This is my redesign of the current Asian Affairs website. Comments appreciated. It's still very much under construction though. p.s. the links don't work yet.
Typographi
Once again, my Typographic site didn't have any new entries so I decided to revisit one the older entries that they have on their website. I stumbled upon a guy called Si Scott and he created all the fonts you see on the designs. I think the designs are really cool and contemporary. Although he makes use of a lot of swirly type things in his typographi (I'm not a big fan of swirlies), I think it still looks really wonderful! Check out his website
The site can be hard to navigate. I'm not sure I like the web design but I think some of the designs he has created are really nice.
My 2 cents on the Harper's covers
I had a great time looking at Harper's magazine while working on the paper and I must say I was delightfully surprised that at one point the magazine did attempt to do something more interesting and creative than what they have now. After looking at the some of the magazines that Kate, Kristin and Rob talked about today from the earlier eras, I am surprised that Harper's only decided to make use of color and bolder illustrations almost 10-20 years later. I thought it was really interesting that for a "serious" and "traditional" magazine like Harper's to experiment and try out a variety of designs in the 50's and for the ensuing 40 years or so. I think most of the magazines we talked about in class today have sort of developed an identity and style and became better at their designs. I am not sure I can say that for Harper's; while its really clean and formatted, I feel it lacks a punch. It's probably not something I'll ever pickup from the newstand unless there is a topic I need to do research on and they happen to have it.
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