Finishing Out!

At the beginning of the year we were to post a drawing and this was the one I posted. It was a drawing for VBS at our church. I ended up creating 6 scenes for the week of VBS in 4 weeks time. In our last homework assignment we were to look over our creative process and asses how we are doing. The 4 step process is as follows, 1. Research, 2. Incubation, 3. Conceptualization, and 4. Execution. With this VBS project I had to design the pieces to fit existing places and create scenes the go with the theme of the week. I thought that I would finish this drawing with a picture of the finished created piece. Now remember I had to create 6 of these in 4 weeks. The first picture is pieces drying and the second is finished.

 

 

These were constructed out of 2' white extruded foam boards that I carved and sprayed with thinned down house paint. I have no clue how many bricks I cut for this project, but they were all big standing pieces. This one was 9 1/2 feet tall and wider on the bottom. So here to all you designers and art people out there, KEEP CREATING! It's the spice of life.

The Wild Side

 

Well in the beginning of this class, Graphic Design 1, we talked about The Creative Process. These were ways to catch the attention and were memorable to your target audience. Somehow we have to get the audience or viewer to interact with the advertisement. If the message was too simple and creates no interaction, then you fail to make a lasting impression. We also talked about how to build unity, repetition with variety in a series of ads for a campaign to create interaction with the audience like the gecko lizard did for Geico Insurance. Then if we were working on Branding, how they had to be consistent in the advertizing to build company recognition, like the ipod/apple. In fact I was shopping for a new phone with my husband and he was looking at the iphones, one was black and one was white. He and the sales rep didn't get the white iphone, but I did. The white iphone is the apple branding color for most things they create and package. All of apple packaging had been white fro a while now. The funny think is, they can't keep the black phones in stock and have a two week wait to get one. There are plenty of white one to have. I think apples target audience seems to like the black phone over the white one. Anyway that brings me back to this advertisement. What does a designer need to do to get the audiences attention? I think this ad gets your attention. "How would you like to kiss that mouth??!" Yuck Right! This designer used sexy lips for an ashtray. This ad came from http://www.adpunch.org/  It is a web site I go to for ads on the wild side. This is one of them, check it out!

Billboards

That fun! This advertisement  for the Zoo is great. Too bad young children can't read it. I can see their imagination going wild with this one. I can remember how excited my kids where when we planned trips to the St. Louis Zoo,  Sea World and Busch Gardens. Each Zoo had its own look and appeal. When I look at the Birds billboard, all I can think about is that I'm glad that I wasn't around for that mess left behind  or the target. I've been in some of the giant walk thru bird cages. The Florida Aquarium has one and so does Busch Gardens. This ad was done by Sprecher  Bertalot and Co. I found it in Graphis DesignAnnual2005. They are simple , clear and easy to read as you are driving along the highway. Older kids would get it right away. The implied bite mark, bird droppings and claw marks catch your attention long enough to read the statement, "we're closer than you think." The Zoo logo is playful, caring on the jest and tone of the billboard. One typeface is used for unity, but then added variety when they jumbled up the main headline letters.

Color Speaks

So lets talk about this Yugoslav paint company called Chrome. Due to difficult times in that country, they needed to be more visible to the public and get the target audience attention. They went to Likovni Studio to help them with that process. The Studio by re-directing the company's attention to the young do-it-your self consumer market and still keeping the professionals, chose the strong , simple approach. The simple graphic symbols are painterly brush stroke images with bright colors. The color palette is bright, cheerful and strong. The white images bring unity of design together with variation. Even though the ad is not in English, I can even understand what this company is about. They also designed these pieces to go on buses, flyers, billboards, store ads, etc. It's strong graphic image, simple words and color make it a success. I found this in a book called "Graphic Design That Works" by Rockport publishers at the Parkland Library. The book really is worth checking out.

To Internet or not?

This first one is about redesigning a logo from the book I've been reading, Graphic Design that works.  Here is a case that goes from simple to more complicated, but it reaches in meaning to the audience. Hasbro is a toy company. Can you tell that from the logos? You can now. The design firm is Salisbury Communications, LLC. I think that you will see this logo loose it's box in the future, but the text and smile will stay.

Now this one is a little different. Business 2.0 is dedicated to making articles as user-friendly as possible. Infographics, callouts, type treatments, and simple layouts work together to build a pleasant, easy, and familiar read. This is also from the book, "Graphic Design That Works". The article is about how the information age has changed the way people read. One cover story is about how the internet is effecting Industries and the other is about business competition. On both fronts, computers have changes the world in many ways. Look at the information that is available at the touch of our fingers on the computer keys. The Internet connect us across the world for business, friendships and family. The gaming world has grown so big that the art is even being used, not to advertise the game, but to represent us in business and sell ideas and services. Look at the Gladiators, a spoof off the movie. Well, I guess we've always used humor, spoofs, recognizable things to identify with. As future designers, we need to remember this and use it to reach our target audience more efficiently. This business magazine is using many ways to entertain the otherwise boring reading found on the monthly menu of business. I wonder if they know that the magazine will someday be on the Internet instead of in print. Personally, I love print, but . . . there will be a day that it is only in digital form.

Thinking it Through

 

I'm always on the look out for material that will help me design and see things in a different way. This book I picked up in the Library fits the "concept chase" we all do as designers looking for ways to be inspired and come up with ideas. Ideas for the next project is always on my mind. Graphic Design That Works, Secrets for Successful Logo, Magazine, Brochure, Promotion, and Identity Design, published by Rockport Publishers, Inc. is an amazing book. This is a page from the book. It is showing the research ideas, concept ideas and finished proof by the designer. I think this page is so clear in it's development that it is easy to how the designer came out with the finished design. Sometimes it's hard to understand what inspires us to design or develop that concept. It often seems like a mystery. The process of researching and developing ideas is important to the out come of the design and at least gives us some place to bounce off from as we start. I think the better we get at developing our research, the more likely we will understand the product or service and have better designs. I am totally inspired and encouraged by this book. By the way does anyone see how closely the hand reminds us of the famous designer, Saul Bass too.

Just a little more fun!

I just found these at http://www.creativeadawards.com. I thought you might find them interesting. The site is Creative ads and there's a lot to go through. Check it out!