02.24.2010

...you can't miss...everybody loves wallpapers

Straight from Veer, please welcome this season's hottest and and most stunning wallpapers. These are the most recent designs, all featured on their site. You'll probably recognize the first two if you are as obsessed with ampersands as I am. These are two separate screensavers, so you can choose your favorite depending on which you like better. Or...you could just put up two monitor screens, side by side. How cool would that be?!

This is another one of my favorites. I continue to try to figure out if that is an actually tattoo on the girl's back. Since the skin around it is a little inflamed, I can only guess that it is real...which makes me appreciate typography in the form of a tattoo much more than I have before.

This final example from Veer's newest collection is awesome because it is a completely conceptual design, which is how I have been pushing myself to think about design lately. In case you can't read the text, it says "just another pretty face" inside the intricate sketch of a mirror. This is encouraging to see that designers are continuing to use new and innovative ways to sell their message, and I am reminded how the job of a designer is much more than just placing together beautiful images - it is selling the idea in an aesthetically pleasing way that has never been done before.

response...portfolio

This week in class, we reviewed each others' portfolios. It was incredible to see all of the different levels of prior experience and to see what unique talent each designer brought to the table...literally. We laid out all of out design work (whether it came from newsprint, magazines, graphic design pieces, art courses, etc.) on the tables and critiqued each other based no what we saw and what the designer's career goals are. This was very cool to think about the designers in terms of what they want to do rather than what they have done in the past- personally, I have spent so much time in interviews being asked what I have done and what I can show rather than what my goals are and why I am so driven to do what I want to do. In class, that is how we were forced to think! It was refreshing and hopeful, which was a constructive was of criticizing our portfolios. Here are a few items I was able to bring to the table.

These are from a few art framing trade magazines that I designed two summers ago.

This is from last summer, where I was an intern at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

This is what I had to show Jan, my work in the course this far. Really cool to compile everything that I have done so far.

critique...VOX, VOX, VOX

This week has been very design-intensive for me. For Vox this week, I am doing a department, feature, and cover.

The cover has been fun, because I am able to work on a story about medieval warriors. Look forward to my completed designs for this week's competition next week.

As for the feature...also look for the completed design next week. The topic of the story is human trafficking.

Here are the department designs that I have done. I am very happy to finally be able to get them up, as promised! I look forward to adding one more to the collection by this Sunday. I hope you've enjoyed this very visual posting this week!

02.17.2010

...you can't miss...haiti relief

This week in Veer, there is an awesome graphic which was created in response to the tragic Haiti earthquake. the contest that chose this winning design, called Font Aid IV, shows that individuals in every profession can do something to help Haiti. If you look closely, you will see that the design was created entirely out of ampersand symbols. The design is called "Coming Together", a very appropriate name for the creation and its purpose. The item is sold here for $20, and all proceeds go to Haiti relief. After seeing this design, I am inspired to see what else designers have to done positively influence or give back to communities that need help. I have a feeling they are all around us!

This design is courtesy of Veer. Check it out.

…response…historical perspective presentations

This week in class, we presented our historical perspectives projects. It was rewarding to present my slice of history to the class, and I loved seeing how it fit into the rest of the timeline of magazine history.

I hose to research Vogue from the 1960s, and found some fascinating information! I learned that during this time, Vogue became a visual representation of the female sexual revolution movement of that decade. Under direction of Diana Vreeland (editor in chief), Richard Avedon (photographer), and Nicholas Haslam (art director), Vogue embraced an identity where women could bare their bodies, flaunt oversized accessories, and sport vibrant makeup like they had never done before. Here are a few images that captured this expressionistic theme of the 60s.

When presenting, we went in order from earliest decade (starting with 1940s if I remember correctly) and moved up from there. Since a few of my classmates chose Vogue magazine, I was able to follow their historical introductions to my time frame, and it was exciting to show how the magazine developed from decade to decade. There were other magazines presented, such as Esquire and Ladies Home Journal, which seemed to have an almost entirely different identity than they do now! I loved seeing the developments of each of the magazines from year to year, but it was also helpful that we took the time to identify those changes – in typography, design, color, content, photography, and them combination of these elements.

…critique…departments, features, and covers

This week is a little different for me than most weeks. On Sunday, I was able to design my ARTS department page for VOX, which I am very excited to see in print this Thursday. However, I have a few other projects that I am juggling at the same time.

I am also designing a feature and cover, as well. I do have the option to trade with my classmates, but I have a few weekends this semester where I will be traveling for job interviews, so I decided to go with the schedule assigned. For my feature, I am designing a story about human trafficking. This piece has its ups and downs – it has a pro side because the editors are working with me early and frequently. They have been sending me updated drafts of the story weekly, and I have been attending the Friday morning weekly VOX meetings to discuss possible concepts. Today, I discovered that the new angle of the story will be a profile of a single individual. However – there is a con. It has been difficult to arrange photos for this story. I found out today that there will be a photo available for me on the server tomorrow, but my draft is due on Thursday…another tight deadline. My personal struggle with the piece is I am having a heard time visualizing human trafficking without photographs popping into my mind. I think this will be the major obstacle of the design – how do I convey the story through illustration artwork? Another development in this story is that this will not in fact be the ‘feature #1’ – rather, it will be shifted to the ‘feature #2’ category. I think only time will tell what exactly this means for my piece.

My cover is still in its preliminary stages, but it is going to focus around a story about ‘medieval warriors’. How fun is that?! I will be sure to post my work once I have presented it to the class and considered their critiques.

This week, I will also begin preparing my portfolio for portfolio reviews with Jan. Although I am dreading pulling all of my old info out, I am very appreciative that this was assigned now. I know I will be thanking Jan when May 15 (graduation!) rolls around.

02.09.2010

…critique…historical perspectives and current magazine design

In class this week, we all brought in a stack of magazines to critique with each other. It was a really good chance to see what elements of design speak to the different designers in the class, and to see which current magazines are the favorites. Some people brought in multiple issues of the same magazine, while others brought in a mixture of old and new magazines. For example, I brought in a cover of Rolling Stone magazine that was a special issue about Michael Jackson's death (Aug 2009), and compared it to a past cover by designer John Heartfield (November 1943). Here's a look at the comparison:

This was the first time I was able to take a close look at a cover from the past and from the present and find specific similarities and differences. Between these two, I found that both are special issues, both have a large head shot as the focus of the page, and both have their sell lines across the bottom. The past image is more of a photo montage, but both covers have a little bit of a distant quality in how the photos are taken. It is clear that the designers have a message that they want to tell the reader in designing these covers, and that is a mixture of power and the unknown. I loved comparing how the designs from today mirrored designs from different time periods.

Some of my classmates did this with the same magazines. I didn’t even think to bring in a few different issues of Vogue, for example. It would be very interesting to go back now to my Vogue collection and try to find inspirations and elements of design from different time periods, movements, and designers – which some people were able to do today. That was a really refreshing take on the assignment, and it makes me once again appreciate our differences as designers.

…response…helvetica

Today we were also lucky enough to watch the movie “Helvetica.” Here is the trailer:

In the movie, I was finally able to see some of the best-known designers speak about their perspectives on Helvetica the font - its use, its history, and how it makes them feel. As the designers spoke about the time periods they grew up in and how that related to the fonts being used in the world around them, I found a great sense of connection to their messages. There was one particular quote that I could relate to, where a man noticed that he knew which restaurant to go to in the city and its location was based upon the poor typography of one of the buildings by it. That was so comforting to hear, because I realize I am not the only person that has thoughts like that! I always make mental notes of typography on street signs, designs on the sides of busses, and spacing on restaurant logos. I now realize that there are a few other people in this world that notice those things, too.

On another note, this week my first department page was published. This was so exciting! There really is nothing like seeing a design concept printed on paper for everyone to see. It makes me much more motivated to get back into the lab this weekend and create the next Arts department page. Now I know how ling I can it expect it to take to design, what day I should have artwork prepared, and how frequently I need to interact with the editors of the stories. You can also check out the link to the article on Vox.

…you can’t miss…typodarium font calendar

I also noticed that the Helvetica movie was made in connection with Veer, which is the blog I critique each week - which is a perfect segway into my reaction to the most recent posts on the site.

There is a great 2010 font calendar posted on the site that is a result of a collaboration of multiple designers, who designed a new and different looks for each day of the year. The font calendar is from Typodarium.com. The most interesting way to look at the calendar (for me) was to download the widget and look at the new calendar page each day on my Mac. There is a widget available for both your dashboard as well as in an app form for you iPhone (or iTouch), which makes it very accessible. All of these photos are courtesy of Slanted.

Here’s a more complete list of the designers taken directly from the Veer “Skinny” blog: “Among them you'll find some Veer favorites, including Eloquent (Jason Walcott), Oscilloscope (Luke Prowse), Adios and Miss Stephams (Alejandro Paul), Pilo Thin (Kenneth Pilo), and Pill Gothic (Christian Robertson).”

This collection of artwork gives a fresh way to look at typography every day, which is inspirational to me as a designer. I love being able to look at a new type each day since I am always thinking about the next design project ahead, and applications like this calendar get my mind in design mode long before I sit down to my computer at the end of the day and open up InDesign.

02.03.2010

...you can't miss...olympics design

This week on my favorite blog, I came across some new designs for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The Veer blog, called "The Skinny", covers designer Jon Klassen and his collaboration with Marc Craste and Studio AKA for BBC's coverage of the winter Olympics.

More info can be found on Jon Klassen's personal blog, but he goes on to describe some details about the work. This video adds another, 3-dimensional element to design that fascinates me. It is interesting to see how this take on the Olympics is very untraditional! The design is all in black and white, which is different than the rainbow of colors that I normally associate with the Olympics. This clip (property of Studio AKA) also has a message that is consistent with that of the Olympics, but it tells the story in a very different way.

I'd like to see graphic designs take a different approach to events that have worldwide coverage - this makes me think about the event in a whole new way. Enjoy!

...response...putting a single logo on complex girl

This week in class, we had the unique opportunity to speak with an emerging vocal artist on a logo that we are assigned to create. These kinds of projects remind me how lucky I am to be enrolled in this course, because I know I wouldn't have this fun and creative opportunity anywhere else. As we teleconferenced for an hour, this rising star told us about her likes, dislikes, dreams, pet peeves, favorite colors, and vision about her music. We talked about potential branding, and how our logo for her could be applied to a range of items aside from a CD.

For this experience, I was able to use my reporting skills (I knew that would come in handy!) to think about questions that would evoke a response with the most crucial and important information. We were all able to ask our own questions...and it was awesome to see that this star is human, just like us. She was on her way to the airport for a rehearsal while we talked to her, and during that time period I was able to get a great sense of her personality and what makes her unique from other artists within her genre.

This discussion inpried me to look around for other innovative CD label design, and I found these images (all courtesy of Inspiredology). These got me thinking...what do these images say about the artist? Does it give me a preview of the music, or is it contradictory to the music? Does it tell me about the artist's personal beliefs, or is it strictly about the stage that the artist is expressing in this slice of their music history? Are they visually appealing? And to what audiences? These questions are helping me to formulate ideas for our upcoming logo assignment.

02.03.2010

...critique...the spring preview

This week, our assignment was to create a cover and feature for the 2010 VOX Spring Preview issue. We had full range of creativity, which was both awesome and difficult. Our task was to create a fresh, new idea that took into consideration the content (which reminds me the importance of content-driven design from my beginning design course). For this specific assignment, I began to think about what makes me excited about spring...and that is how the new season enables me to do many things that I was not able to do all winter long. the Spring Preview gave me the idea of "spring"-ing into action, which led me to the idea of creating a comic-book styled design. This was very excited and fun for me to work on, because it was a fresh idea that I was able to introduce to the concept of spring...which is normally associated with flowers, rain, and vibrant green grass. Here is my cover.

I decided it would be a good idea to continue with this theme to the feature. In last week's assignment, I did not create a common theme between the cover and feature, so I decided to try it a different time this week. It was very cool to see my two pieces side by side, and it was even more interesting to see how my classmates dealt with the two pieces of the assignment. Here is my feature.

In class, I was able to see how some designers 'branded' their designs by using a common logo or image throughout their pages. Other designers had completely different features from their cover designs, but they seemed to be very successful as well. It is hard for me to imagine a theme issue being designed by multiple artists, but I see it as an exciting challenge that brings our group very close. We seem to be working very cohesively now, and the first VOX issue that we are all designing will be so exciting to see on Thursday.