Monday, May 7, 2012

Research and Inspiration #20

For this assignment, the last assignment of the year, I must crate/redesign a logo for a social issue, illustrate a portrait of a person or animal that is associated with the issue, and then design a poster. I have no solid ideas on the issue, but I'll just go with what I feel is huge and then go on from there....

I like this one because it helped with the war effort during World War Two. The slogan is cool, but I am not sure I want that portrait on the poster.

I like this one because its simplicity and the colors. The red suggests the world is falling apart and the blue shows what we are lying to each other about.

I like this one because I am all about peace....okay not really. I am against the war in the Middle East, bullying, and, most of the time, violence.

I think this is my favorite. I am in a family with a tradition of Naval officers (except my dad and my uncle) and my swim coach just came back from Afghanistan, he is also in the armed services. I am actually liking this because its every where and people will recognize it at the drop of a hat.

Shepard Fairey

Frank "Shepard Fairey" (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary graphic designer and illustrator. He first became known for his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (…OBEY…) sticker campaign, in which he appropriated images from the comedic supermarket tabloid Weekly World News. His work became more widely known in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, specifically his Barack Obama "Hope" poster. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston calls him one of today's best known and most influential street artists.




Examples of his work...



Color Psychology







Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Research and Inspiration #19

For this assignment, I have to make another logo and a business card. The companies that I have to choose from is Azul Salon and Spa, Ted's How Wings, and The Candy Shop. With two colors only, I choose The Candy Shop because of my sweet tooth!




I like all of these logos, authentic and fun. I kinda want it to scream "Old School Candy Store"! Like the ones you see in small towns that you visit, like Helen, GA, The Highlands, NC, or even Savannah, GA.

For a card, I want it to be horizontal, I don't get why people like it vertical. Small, pocket sized, but memorable enough so you know what it looks like. Maybe the background should be a bright color so it pops out anywhere, saying "Take Me".

Letterhead ideas:

 This one is okay, but a little too formal for a candy shop.
 Better....but a little to sparkly. Its a candy shop, but the viewers are going to be adults most likely. 
This is good. A little color, not too much, but still says "I am a company that you should trust in".

Envelope Ideas:

 I like this. Small graphics in the corner, some color, and emphasis on the faded logo.
 This is also good for a candy store, especially a small one that wants people to invest.
Yawn, there is nothing that makes me want to open this. What will make it pop and look unique from the rest of the junk mail?

Stationary Package

Stationary Package: the printed pieces that a company utilizes for communication purposes (letterhead, envelope, business cards, etc...)


*When establishing a business, it is important that all communications are well coordinated and that the message of the organization is presented consistently*


Basic stationary package includes:

  • Business card
  • Letterhead 
  • Envelope

Business Card: When you hand someone your business card, they will form an immediate opinion about your company. It says something about your company--its mission, culture, and goals. 
-Everything from the COLORS, FONTS, the TEXTURE, SHADE, and GLOSS OF THE PAPER you print on says something about you.
Includes...
  • Logo 
  • Company name
  • Employee name 
  • Employee's title 
  • Phone number 
  • Email address 
  • Company address 
  • Web address 

*Visual hierarchy is very important!!*

Design tips:
  • Must be 2" x 3.5" (fits in a wallet size)
  • Margins about 1/4" (0.25) or 1/8" (0.125)
  • Horizontal OR vertical orientation
  • Check for accuracy
  • Check for unity...continuity among other pieces
Letterhead- A printed piece of paper used to send letters, memos, etc.
  • Generic to the company
  • Make sure there is plenty of blank space for actual text! 2/3 to 3/4 of it~ (A watermark is okay to include in a large size)


Typically includes...
  • logo BIG AND PROMINENT!
  • company name
  • company address
  • phone number
  • fax number
  • web address


Design tips:
  • In the United States, it must be 8.5 x 11
  • Must be vertical/portrait orientation
  • Must leave room to write the letter, memo, etc. Big empty space in the middle!
  • Check for accuracy
  • Check for unity...continuity among other pieces


Envelope- The packaging that contains the letter/form when being mailed
  • Standard #10 envelope 
  • Expensive to print all the way to the edges of an envelope


Typically includes...
  • logo
  • company name
  • company address


Design Tips:
  • Must be 9.5" x 4.125"
  • Horizontal or vertical orientation
  • Must leave room for recipient's address and stamp
  • Check for accuracy
  • Check for unity and continuity among other pieces

Visual Organization

Visual Organization: Directing the audience through a design.


IMPORTANT PARTS
  1. Eye Movement: Controlling eye movement within the composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eye. The eye tends to gravitate towards areas of complexity first. In portraits, the eye typically goes to the face. Light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjacent to a dark area. Diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement.
  2. Optical Center: The spot where the eye tends to enter the page. It is slightly above the center to the left a little bit (human tendency). No matter how colorful everything else is, your eye will always fall on the optical center. It takes a compelling image to pull your sight away from the optical center.
  3. Z Pattern: Our visual pattern makes a sweep of the page in a "Z" pattern. Effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information. The designer's objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.
The job of a graphic designer is to guide people throughout the work while making a visual statement.


FONT RULES
  1. No more than 2 fonts total that complement each other in one composition
  2. Don't use all upper caps
  3. Chose the right font (fits theme & tone)
  4. Don't over use fancy or over-complicated fonts. No need to confuse the audience.
  5. Helpful site --> www.typography.com/email/2010-03/index.htm
VISUAL HIERARCHY
  1. The designer's goal is to lead the viewers' eyes to the important information.
  2. Visual hierarchy will establish focal points based on its importance.
  3. Establish your order of elements to help the viewer absorb information provided by design.
  4. What do you want your viewer to see first? Make sure the audience sees the name of the company, then what they are.
THE GRID 
  1. A way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guide lines, rows, and columns. 
  2. Instituted by modernism! Can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images. 
  3. A grid consists of a distinct set of aligned-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format. Every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure, one that addresses the particular elements within the design. 
  4. A grid is used to help clarify the message being communicated messages and to unify the elements.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Research and Inspiration #18

We have to make wordmarks for fake companies (St. Henri Hotel, In Focus Photography, or Mimi's Flower Shoppe).

 I like this one not just because I like the car (well I do). I like the simplicity and the color suggests a sporty off-roading car like the Wrangler. 
 I like the swirly lettering, although the coloring won't be good for the fake companies that I have to choose from.
 I am allowed two colors, but I like how popular this is. Too bad I can't copy it but that won't be good for serious companies and audiences.
 I like the  background coloring and then the white. I don't really like the "F" but it might be a good idea for this assignment.

As much as I like the coloring and simplicity on this, I am not allowed to use black and two other colors. Plus this is a little too... sporty for say a flower shop. But either way...yay terps!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Research and Inspiration #17

I need to make a logo for a fake company, Dr. Gleam Dentistry. I don't know who my audience is so...everyone!
White might not count as a color (only 2 are allowed).

Color Ideas:

  1. Variations of blue seem to be trendy for dentists, it looks cleaner. A light blue or a sky blue will work very well. Maybe a royal blue too.
  2. Defiantly not black or brown
  3. A minty green
Image And Typography Ideas:
  1. I want a smiling tooth, it looks more friendly to most audiences because very few like going to the dentist (maybe thats just me)...
  2. "DR. GLEAM" underneath or above a tooth
  3. "DR. GLEAM" inside the tooth
  4. The tooth could have something related to a doctor and have Dr. Gleam on it, but that might be too small for someone to see while driving on the highway...
 This seems a little too childish. It looks like the smiley face is on laughing gas and its for a kid's dentist because it says "your friendly...". It doesn't matter it has "stomatologist" on it, I'm looking for something slightly more....mature?
 I like this one. Its a happy looking tooth, but the font shows a little sobriety so it doesn't look like a kid's dentistry.
This logo seems too serious, but I like the colors and the name somewhat in the tooth. Its a little more mature than I previously wanted...but thats why I sketch.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Logotypes

Logotypes

  • A logotype is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations, and to individuals to aid and promote public recognition. Also called a logo.
  • Logographic languages, coats of arms, watermarks and printing technology contributed to the contemporary logo.
  • A boom in advertisement during the Industrial Revolution integrated typography and imagery together on the page. Typography itself was undergoing a revolution of form and expression that expanded beyond regular texts.
  • Logos and other arts were expanding from storytelling to a differentiation of brands and products that the growing middle classes were consuming. As the commercial arts were growing, the US had 800 lithographic printing firms and employed more than 8,000 at 1890.
  • Children's books, newspapers, and other periodicals were developing their own visual and editorial styles.
  • Victorian decorative arts lead to an expansion of typographic styles and methods of representing business.
  • By the 1950s, the visual simplicity and conceptual clarity that were hallmarks of Modernism as an artistic movement formed a powerful toolset for a new generation of graphic designers.
  • Modernist-inspried logos proved successful in the era of mass visual communication ushered in by television, improvements in printing, and digital innovations. Modernization made logos simple.
  • Logo design is an important area of graphic design, and one of the most difficult to perfect because logos are meant to represent companies' brands or corporate identities and foster their immediate customer recognition.
  • Less is more! --> real people don't stare at and analyze logos, so it is important to make sure teh audience with immediately recognize the logo of the company.
  • A logo has to be simple but has enough personality to stand out in a crowd.

5 Principles of Effective Logo Design

  1. Simple--> Real people don't want to stop and stare at a complicated logo. Simplicity makes logos recognizable.
  2. Memorable--> Keep it simple and appropriate enough that its memorable, people recognize it.
  3. Timeless--> Make sure it works for many generations. Will it work in 10 to 50 years? Don't make it trendy because trends fade.
  4. Versatile--> Make sure the logo will look good on a t-shirt, television, billboard and business cards. It has to be adaptable to size and medium.
  5. Appropriate--> If a logo is for a toy store, make it fun for kids to recognize it. If it is for a law firm, make it serious and recognizable for a mature audience.

Ask yourself...

Is your logo look good in reverse colors and recognizable in different sizes? Will it work well for your intended audience? MAKING LOGOS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT, BUT YOUR AUDIENCE AND CLIENT!



Color!!


Four Color Process
-technique for printing with full color
-CMYK

Spot Color
- a method of specifying and printing color in which each color is printed with its own ink
- cost effective when the printed matter only contains 1-3 colors, becomes expensive with more colors
- Pantone Matching System

Color selection should be based on audience.
Pay attention to color trends, trends come and go, but if it is for fashion...GO TRENDY.
Use 2-3 colors




Types of Logos

1. Combination Mark--> includes text and an image. (ex. McDonald's, Starbucks, AT&T, etc."
2. Iconic or Symbolic --> Compelling yet uncomplicated images that are emblematic of a particular 

company or product.
3. Wordmark--> just using characters.
4. Lettermark--> initials of company name.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Research and Inspiration #16

In this assignment, I have to make a time line with all of the podcasts I have been recently doing... I want to do something fun, one that could be easy to remember.

I like this one a bit because we have to make a timeline and I want it to look like a fun board game. I like how the wording is in the boxes but it looks a little too simple. I want to go all out.

I like the graphics on this one, but not the neutral colors on this. I feel like I need to add some POP or something. This just makes me want to color it in...

 I like this one. Simple, but with pictures and a lot a color that catches my eye. Although the big CARLAND sign throws me off, I think I could do this, maybe put the sign in the beginning, like "PREHISTORIC" or something like that. 


 I love Monopoly, so why not make a project out of it? I don't think the <--- Go square would be good unless I do something like "Now Go Back" or something. I just really like the colors and the names of the places could be the era or who invented what, the money is the date, and the picture has an example of the product or some sort of graphic.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Early Computers | 1930s-1980s

What is an abacus?
Thought to be the first computer although all it did was simple math calculations.

In 1936,  Zuse invented this type of computer?
The first freely programmable computer.

Post a photo of the 1944 Mark Computer.
In 1944, Aiken and Hopper designed the Mark Series of computers to be used for what?

For the US Navy for gunnery and ballistic calculations.

Post a photo of the UNIVAC Computer.
In 1951, Eckert and Mauchly designed the first commercial computer for whom? 
For the Census Bureau/

What does UNIVAC stand for?
UNIVersal Automatic Computer.

In 1953, IBM enters the scene. What does IBM stand for?
International Business Machines.

What is FORTRAN?
The IBM mathematical formula translating system.

Post a photo of the first mouse.
In 1964, how did Engelbart change the way computers worked?
Made them more user friendly,

What is the significance of ARPAnet?
It was the first Internet, developed to protect the flow of information between militaries.

In 1971, Intel introduced this? Post a photo of it.
The first microprocessor, The Intel 4004.

In the same year, IBM introduced this? Post a photo of one.
The floppy disc.

In 1973, Metcalf and Xerox created this?
The first ethernet computer network

During the next several years, the first consumer computers were marketed. Post photos of the Altair, Apple I, Apple II, TRS-80, Commodore PET. Label each.


In 1981, Bill Gates and Microsoft introduced this package?
MS-DOS computer operating system which was packaged with the IBM PC. 


Post a photo of the Lisa computer.
In 1983, who introduced the Lisa computer?
Apple.

What is GUI?
Graphical User Interface.


Post a photo of the computer mentioned below.
In 1984, a more affordable home computer was introduced. Name the computer and the company that marketed it?
The Apple Macintosh computer.

The commercial only ran one time. When?
1984 during the Super Bowl.

In response to the Apple GUI, Gates and Microsoft introduced this?
The Windows operating system.

Two men are known for their development of the Apple I computer. Who are they?Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.


Where do you think computers will take us in the next 10 years?
Flying cars, close to world peace and Mars.


Apple 1


Apple 2

Altair


Commodore PET

The First Mouse

1944 Mark Computer

UNIVAC Computer

Photography | 1839-1960's

Until the 1880s, how were news stories illustrated?
Engravings or wood cuttings.

Wh
at is a camera obscura?
"Dark Chamber". An obtical device that projects and image on its surroundings onto a screen. 


Post an example of a camera obscura.
How did scholars and artists utilize the camera obscure?
A way to observe light, phases of the moon, and eclipses.

From where did the photographic camera develop?
A box that you look through and see cuttings of different places.

W
ho first used the term "photography"? Where was is derived from?
Light and writing, from Greek. Sir John Hershel named it 1839.

Post an the first photograph.  
Who is credited with making the first successful photograph?
Joseph Niepce.


Post an example of a Daguerreotype image. 
Who invented the Daguerreotype process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
Louis Daguerre, he placed a light-sensitive sheet of metal. It was faster than the first one, but took a half an hour. The image also couldn't be duplicated.


Post an example of a Calotype image. 
Who invented the Calotype process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
William Fox Talbot. An unlimited amount of duplicates could be made, although the first one had less quality than the Daguerreotype.


Post an example of a Wet Collodion Process image.
Who invented the Wet Collodion process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
Frederick Scott Archer, it costed less and it took up to three seconds to process, although the picture had to processed immediately while the plate was still wet.


Post an example of a Dry Plate Process image.
Who invented the Dry Plate process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
Richard Maddox, you didn't have to develop it immediately.

Who is George Eastman? What company did he establish?
He invented roll film, a medium to replace plates with paper. It became cheaper. HE became the owner of Kodak.

Post an example of The Kodak Camera from 1888.




In 1888, he produced a camera that use his flexible roll film. How did he make this camera/photography accessible to the public?
It was easier to take pictures because you didn't have to continuously change the plates and film. It was also very cheap.

What is Edwin Land best known for? What company did he establish?
He is known for patenting polarized light filters in 1934 and his invention of instant photography in 1948. He founded The Polaroid Corporation in 1937.

Post a photo of the first Polaroid camera.





How long did the first Polaroid camera take to produce a photo?
60 seconds to produce a black and white print.

What was Eadweard Muybridge known for?
Using multiple cameras to capture motion.

Post a photo of the Zoopraxiscope.

What is the Zoopraxiscope?
it was used to project a series of images in successive phases of motion.

Post a photo of Muybridge's horse in motion.
How did Muybridge settle the debate and photograph a horse in motion?

He used a series of cameras that would take pictures as the horse passes by to see if all four hooves are off the ground at a certain point.

In 1880s, the development of the motion picture camera allowed what?
It allowed individual images to be captured and stored on a single film reel.

Post a photo of a motion picture projector.





What is a motion picture projector?
It shines a light through the film and magnify the "moving picture" onto a screen for the audience. 

Kodak 1888

Zoopraxiscope

Daguerreotype

Wet Collodion 

Dry Plate

Motion Picture Projector

Calotype Image

The First Photograph

Camera Obscura 
The First Polaroid Camera 

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Linotype Machine | 1886 AD

Who is credited with the invention of the typewriter? 
Christopher Sholes.

What is a "stenographer"?
Someone who writes in shorthand.
Post an example of Shole's typewriter.
Why did Sholes send a prototype of his typewriter to Clephane?
Clephane was a stenographer who desperately needed one, who else to test the new machine?

After the typewriter began production, why did Clephane pursue another machine?
It took too long to typeset and copy the words.

Who spent a year redesigning Clephane's typesetting machine?
Otto Mergenthalar.

What is meant by "typesetting"?
Arrange type or generate the type for printing.
Post an example of Linotype Machine.
How does the Linotype Machine differ from the typewriter?
It produces an entire line at once.

How did this machine change the newspaper industry?
It made operators set type for more pages on a daily business.
Post an example of a Linotype keyboard.
How did the keyboard of the Linotype Machine differ from keyboards that we use today?
You press SHIFT on today's keys, the Linotype had upper and lower case seperate. Also, the letters are arranged differently.
Pos
t an example of a Linotype slug.
What is a slug?
An assembled line of text placed into a mold for typing.
Post an example of a person operating a Linotype Machine.
Why is the Linotype Machine the greatest advanced in printing since movable type?It was mechanically set and it could place one line of metal at once.











Shole's Typewriter
Linotype Machine

Linotype Keyboard

Linotype Slug