February 2009
1 post
KanYe West:[Architecture Design] Blog →
Hey, he said he’s a man of many talents and that he loves art…
I mean, the guy said he wants less fans so he can pose naked. That means he can have a design blog, right?
January 2009
2 posts
Why It's Good to Be a Man (Beer Advertising) -... →
Humorous (and correct) advertising hung in bathroom stalls from a beer brand neither the blogger or I can recognize.
This probably wouldn’t have worked in any other location because there’s a lot of information here to process. It probably could have been toned down a bit.
Branding the United States : 50 State Tourism... →
A collection of all the current state tourism logos. It’s interesting to see what the state wanted to portray about itself.
In my opinion, the weakest are New Hampshire, both Virginias, both Dakotas, Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma. The strongest are NY (it works, does it not?), Georgia and Alaska.
Also, I wish the “M” in Michigan was a lot more mitten shaped.
December 2008
9 posts
Big Pieces, Surprisingly Small Printer
On November 11, our class went down to Exhibit Design Consultants in Grand Rapids.
My first thought upon entering the building (minus the fact that I wanted to see the cat everyone was talking about) was that there was a lot going on! The show room was right out front and showed a lot examples in such a small space. They all featured different materials and different examples of what can be...
RAW Treats
Camera RAW is mode for digital cameras that brings the darkroom to the computer screen. Shots made in this mode are like unprocessed film; they have to go to the darkroom to be completed. Yes, this does allow for better development. Colors are better, exposures can be controlled…
There are different tools for working with RAW. These include eye droppers (fixing white and color balance),...
Lawsuit: Marketing Blamed in Wal-Mart Trampling... →
Really? Advertising is to blame for why the guy died?
Yes, it is sad that he died in such a way, but marketing probably isn’t to blame. The family states that the marketing for Black Friday encourages frenzied shoppers.
…Wouldn’t that be years of people wanting good deals and the media pimpin’ out the fact that Black Friday is fast approaching?
November 2008
10 posts
She Had to Do One, Too!
Linda got to be the intern and created a holiday card while on sabbatical for Herman Miller.
The project brief came with ideas allllllll over it. She said that this happens all the time. They try to come up with stuff they want and you have to interpret what was said.
However, Linda’s project was a bit harder than ours. It had to work all over the world because one of the original ideas...
I Did This as a Kid...To a Much Less Professional...
Design considerations:
Direct printing prints directly onto the shirt.
Ah, via la childhood. I did really bad transfer tees as a kid so I kinda knows how this goes. Transfer prints backwards onto a sheet of a certain type and then heat transfers the image onto the shirt. Transfers can be done to a small quantity of shirts and then can be done again later. This is less costly. They have also...
The Longest Section EVER.
Don’t get me wrong; it was an enjoyable section and highly informative…but section 2 of “Designing Brand Identity” was HUGE. There were a lot of things to digest, so here’s a (long) list of the most important things in the section (I think).
There are five phases in the brand identity process: conducting research, clarifying strategy, designing identity, creating...
Bridge: My First Time Using the Program
Katrina and Ryan showed me a program I haven’t dared touch before, Adobe Bridge. Just seemed a bit intimidating.
I though it was more than just organizing…
All of the photos you click on in your “content” window will open in a decent size.
You can use ratings for the photos, but they act more as ways to filter the content you see. Oh, you can also make keywords for...
Performing Acrobat-ics
Mandy and Jamie showed us how to use Adobe Acrobat a bit better.
Things I hadn’t known before/need to keep in mind…
You can make a password for the document and also specify what those with passwords can do the the document. This is done during the saving process.
You can add “stickers” or “stamps” to the project…just like what teachers did in...
Stock Stuffs
There are five types of stock: Photography, illustration, audio, font, motion.
Two different licensing types (how and when you can use the image)…
Royalty Free
Royalty free means the price depends on how big the image is. The license states that you can use it multiple times.
These are relatively easy to buy, but you really don’t have a way of knowing either how many people...
You've Got Mail!
Rachel and Stacey handed us a huge packet. Reference the packet.
Bits and Pieces (And this isn’t nearly everything!):
- Paper grain should run parallel to
- Square envelopes are .20 extra.
- The “Forever” stamps will last forever at that price…so if it goes up, you don’t need to add penny cents.
- Little circular “tabs” are called...
October 2008
21 posts
CMYK America's Top Graphic Designer (Reality)... →
I stumbled across this page…asking for graphic designers to audition to see who is the top graphic designer in the states.
ACK! Really?! I couldn’t find anything stating that this competition is to be televised, but the words “reality competition” make me think it is to be televised.
Identity Archive Project →
It’s a growing archive of different identities. Just search to find a ton of logos! It’s inspiration and to see what’s already been done before.
Duo-ed.
Little bits and pieces to remember about Duotones:
- Talk to the printer so things don’t get messed up. That’d be sad. Printers aren’t too fond of us in general anyway, I hear.
- Digital proofs don’t really show duotones well.
- Hafta turn images to greyscale before they can become duotones.
- Use the curves to make it pretty!
- You can pick the look you want from...
Tools on the Web
4 Part Series
I had part 1. Hmm. See two blog posts ago for what was mentioned. I remember what I talked about. :)
Al Sustainable Graphic Design: Widget: Apple.com
Shows how sustainable different papers and printing materials are to the environment. It can help you pick which would be best for both your design and the environment. Basically, it’s just a drop down menu of different...
"100 Unused Logos and What They Reveal about My... →
One designer’s examination of her rejected logo designs. She says it shows the unglamorous side of design, but I think it’s beautiful to see the subtle nuances.
She also shows stats like how many logos use just typography, how many involve hearts, and how many are right aligned. Interesting to think about how many times you do one thing…
This is great for us right now. This is another...
Makin' Coppppiieesss!
Or, not. More like prints.
PRINTER DIALOGUE BOX
- If you go to the Page Setup box, you can get rid of that nasty drop shadow that shows up on thumbnails. You can pick a hair line or a double hair line.
- Auto select is for 8.5x11, Tray 1 is for the side tray, Tray 2 is the 11x17.
- Click PDF in the on the printer option for an alternative for exporting your file as a PDF.
- If you’re...
Hey! You! Look Here When I Tell You To!
Here are my links for my presentation on Web Tools so you can follow along.
Pattern Tap
Flash Den
X-Rite FM 100 Hue Test
Learning to Brand - Part One
These are the things I took away most from the first section of “Designing Branding Identity” by Alina Wheeler.
- “Brand is the promise, the big idea and the expectations that reside in each customer’s mind about a product, service, or company.”
- As much as many hate to admit it, brands=love. The people also decide what the brand is.
- There is a sequence in...
Is there a confused face for Diet Caffiene Free... →
Apparently to help with the brand (and to compete with Coke’s recent redesign by Turner Duckworth), Pepsi has spent 1.2 billion dollars over 3 years in a redesign. The old Pepsi globe will be turned on its side. There will be a smile made out of the waves for regular Pepsi, a grin for diet and a laugh for Pepsi Max.
Oh, and Mountain Dew will not be Mountain Dew anymore. Apparently...
“The origin of the word slogan came from the Gaelic slaughgaiirm, used by...”
– Designing Brand Identity, Alina Wheeler
“Brand is not what you say it is. It is what they say it is.”
– Marty Newmeier, the Brand Gap
Student Exhibition - Get Out the Vote and Web...
I didn’t have the opportunity to see the gallery with a crowded group of people, but I did get to see it in a better opportunity. I got to hang it up.
This way, I got to see everything to its littlest details.
The first part hung up was something I had been involved in: the program’s redesign that had occurred last year. It was interesting to see our process in large form in front...
A Few Things about Email, Letters and Memos
Emails
They’re now becoming acceptable. They can be even accepted as hard copy at times.
It is important to remember to CC the email to those that need it, and only those that do need it. Subjects should remain short and stay on topic of the message. The body should be short and sweet…concise, concise, concise!
Letters
Ah, it’s still important to make paragraphs. Letters...
Social Networking and...well...Your Future
Just a short list o’ bullets of the most important things discussed concerning social networks and employers.
40 percent - find inappropriate skills
29 percent - poor communication skills
28 percent - the bashing of former employee
27 percent - inaccurate employment info
22 percent - unprofessional screen names
21 percent - info linking to criminal behavior
19 percent - the...
September 2008
9 posts
I'm a Pro...at File Making?
Ok, maybe not, but maybe I’ll get there. We were recently introduced to an important organizational program called File Maker Pro (now you see why my horrid attempt at a title came from). It’s a database program that lets you create forms and fill out information for a database. It even has a rolodex! :)
The most important things I need to remember are…
+ Click a little...
“We had an unlimited budget and we exceeded it.”
– Steelcase, on how much it cost to restore the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Meyer May home.
Inside the Meyer May House of Frank Lloyd Wright
These were my favorite parts of the house located in Grand Rapids.
- They said you would feel compressed in the entry way. This was not a lie! It was dark, small, and there was nothing in it. And it was the compression to letting go of your breath. The rest of the house is so open!
- A house ahead of its time, there were a lot of modern things in the house for it being so old. Central vac...
“What ever man might build could never express or reflect more than he was.”
– Frank Lloyd Wright
1 tag
"The Renewing of a Vision" - Meyer May Frank Lloyd...
Frank Lloyd Wright created something completely different in the 1920s than any other architect. All the other homes were Victorian influenced and cookie cutter with most of the houses being tall and light colored with spires and tall peaks. Wright, however, created house that were odd for the times, which included flat roofs and dark colors.
He wasn’t just an architect. He did...
1 tag
AIGA'S Design Process and How I've Bettered Mine
A listing of AIGA’s Design Process (out of their “What Every Business Needs” booklet) along with how I’ve bettered over the years under that process.
1. Define the Problem
I’ve become a lot better and finding the problem quicker. I’ve also become a lot more specific with the problem; I used to be afraid to admitting to the problems even though they...