Design is Fluid

Graphic Designers are no longer segmented into neat categories of print, web, typography, illustration, ect... Designers today, especially freelance and those who work at a small firm, are called to be more diverse and offer a variety of skill sets. It is impossible to know it all, but we can see some growing trends for young designers

UX: "user experience" This is a growing field for business and designers. It is crucial to understand how users will interact with your site or app to know how best to program and layout the program so that it works with the intended audience. This can help your specialty brand or business to tailor your enterprise directly for the needs of your customers.

Coding: Maybe its because we grew up with computers, but many young designers know at least a bit of code if not expanding their capabilities to create custom sites for themselves and their clients. If you don't know any coding and would like to learn more Treehouse.com and Lynda.com are great resources. Of course searching on google can provide you lots of great information on html, css, javascript, php, and any other programming you may need to use to create your next website or app.

Guitar Cards with thermographic printing

Print still leaves and will new technogologies come with new ways to interact with print. Because of technology advancement it can bring the cost of doing specialty effects down. Such as embossing, thermal ink, matte mixed with Aqueous gloss, die-cuts, and more. Obviously I am still a fan of the old techniques, such as letterpress. Most of these technqiues just take one additional pass through the printing press. Print can really do anything you can put your imagine

Make a Deep Impression

It is no secret that I love the tactile experience of letterpress. My dream retirement would be a refurbished vandercook and I cranking out beautiful type and lino-cuts. My LetterMpress app is great, but it is nothing like the real thing.

Created by a Savannah Red Top 

Muhs Home by Passing Notes

By Ray Fenwick

This blog shows the process that went into making this card. I can practically smell the ink through my screen.

Trending in Monotone

Recently I have noticed some work that is utilizing monotone. Whether it is to save money, simplify design, or in order to break through the distraction of the loud and colorful advertisements that are flooding our environment. Using 1 or 2 colors were mandatory for beudget contraints 30 years ago, and that is just not true any more. I find that one color creates its own challenges, but that it can create a striking contrast to the mutlitudes of color overwhelming the market today.

Designed by EightHourDay

My lunch from Chipotle

Jones Winter Jumble by SuperBigCreative

Duct Tape & Glitter by Luke Bott

 

By Tang Yau Hoong

Getting the Angle on New Trends

Faceted Designs. Okay, this trend has been around for awhile, but it is lingering and becoming as prevelent as the chevron that has been styling our shelves for a few years now. Facets can add the appearance of depth, even when there is none, as well as create a depth of character when used with the human figure. Facets also bring the idea of jewels and jewel tones to the surface. The vareity of angles also ad a dynamic quality to these designs.

Found Here

Found Here

Found Here

Found Here

Best of Valentines

I do not celebrate Valentine's Day, but there are some designs that are trending this season that I admire.

1. Black Suarez The illustration is fun, and the humor is cute 2. Sandra Blikas A little on the gross side, but I can admire that for this saccharine holiday  3. Kristie Arthur The hand type feels unique and personal and the saying is sweet (I can identify with the love of cupcakes, but still loving Tyler more!)  4. Wit & Whistle This line of valentine cards border on grotesque and humor. I loved them all, but this zombie was my favorite  5. Fancifone narwals are so cute!

Type is Process

Design is one of those careers that everyday is practice, type especially. Anyone can plaster Helvetica in all caps on a page, but type takes year to be a true master. Type takes into consideration various details of type style, kerning, leading, word spacing, type size, and alignment. Mastering typography is not easy, and it will be something I will be working towards the rest of my life. Today is just another day of practice.

"Proper" kerning is to make consistent spacing between letters, visually, not necessarily measurable spacing. Line spacing is something else that is also considered in its best form when consistent through a paragraph and optimized for best legibility. Both of these terms come from back in printing press days. Leading, is the bars of lead that is used between lines of text.

In metal typesetting

The word kerning is a cognate of corner (that is, the two words have a common root). In the days when all type was cast metal, a corner was notched to a consistent height on one or both sides of a letter-piece. Such notched pieces were only set against one another, not against unnotched ones, which had straight sides. The corner allowed for a character's features to reach into the area normally taken up by the next character, for example the top bar of the T , or the right diagonal stroke of the V to hang over the top left corner of an a . Reference.com

Designing in the Browser

For years website design has taken certain steps before acheiving the final goal of being usable in the browser, but there is a new methodology developing. Before many designers and web developers would start with a site list and create a wireframe based on the navigation. From the wireframe a designer would create a design based on the user's or client's needs. Once a design had been approved it would then be passed to a web developer to put that design into real-world implementation.

Now designers and/or developers are thinking of moving toward designing right in the browers to help create a clear idea of what the end product will be like. The earlier process (that is still in use) can create dificulty when design does not quite match up with implementation due to limitations of variety of browers and screens or what types of coding is accepted within browers and users' devices.

Best Apps for Designers (at least for me)

My husband pulled a big surprise on me this Christmas...he got me an ipad. I have spent just a short time exploring the App Store, but I still have discovered some favorites. Of course there are all of the adobe apps I would love to to get my fingertips on, $9.99 per app adds up quickly, so I will be waiting for some iTunes gift cards for Adobe Photoshop Touch, Adobe Ideas, Adobe Collage, and Adobe Proto for quick design on the go.

Two apps that I did buy and love:

IFontMaker: this app does just what it sounds like, you can make your own fonts! This is really awesome if you are geeky like me. I enjoy being able to customize the brush to enhance the letterforms, and I think I will find greater control once I buy a stylus. $6.99

LetterMpress: this my favorite app ever! It is also the app that made me want an iPad (...since I discovered that this app was exclusive to iPad my husband had been secretly saving up to get me one...isn't he sweet?!) The imagery, texture, paper ink, even the sounds remind me of my days in the letterpress room. It can never replace the joy of running a press, but it is a lot of fun to layer your prints and share them. $4.99

Responsive Web Design

Responsive web design is where we are headed right now. With all of the devices that users can interact with your site it makes sense to create a responsive site from the get-go. Size is becoming something we just can't/shouldn't control any more otherwise it will limit the capabilities of users to interact. It is difficult to incorporate response from an existing site, and is typically easier to keep the variety of screen sizes in-mind when you begin designing a site.

With these type of sites you need to use media queries to allow pages to auto adjust to screen size or float down to the next line. A transition being made to fluid grids and using percentages and EMs rather than pixels and points to adjust type and images.  There even needs to simplification in mind that when you get to a mobile phone size screen that parts of the information you see on a desktop or tablet go away complete so that users can focus on the most pertinent information. The extra code to help you pages adapt to screen sizes means that you should have a single set of code rather than multiple sets that respond to various devices (iPad, android phone, or ect...)

This field of responsive design is spreading like wild fire, because of its usefulness across the many ways we choose to access websites today.

Check out Hyrdant's adaptive website.

White Space

I am sure I have mentioned the importance of white space before, but as the holiday seasons approach clients want to fill their ad spaces with holiday specials and other information, and most of the time you can send a better message if you just cut the

CRAP

Keep your customer's attention by focuses it on one or two promotions (depends on ad dimensions). Verbal vomit and plethora of holiday graphics will not make your ad stand out in the sea of other ads doing the exact same thing. Simply by allowing dramatic white space and bring you more attention then LARGE ALL-CAP LETTERS IN RED and flanked in holly, especially when all the other ads look the exact same. Readers/customers will just pass it over.  

It can be hard to hold back when you have so many great things that you want to share with clients, but rather than over cluttered ads, utilize the different mediums available for advertising today: print, online ads, tv, and social media. In fact using different (but similar) promotions on different mediums might help you discover if the location of advertising is working the way you want it to. This also allows for greater saturation in the market.

This is a good lesson year-round, not just during the holidays. 

Moving Forward

As a young designer I hear a lot about how much design and the tools we have used have changed in the last 20 to 30 years. It's true computers were not capable of the tools that we utilize today, and they were not as available to everyone. My more experienced colleagues have had to adapt to quickly changes times and develop new skills, styles, and techniques. It makes me wonder what I will be seeing in my future as a designer. It seems like technology is exponentially accelerating that vastly different fields that I could, and probably should, immerse myself in.

User Interface (UI) is a discipline that is just exploding, and for good reason. It takes into account how users will utilize electronic devices, website, apps, and other software. There are some companies that cater just to the discipline, and is becoming necessary for agencies to have a specialist on staff. UI gives customers the simplest and the easiest interaction possible. This requires adaptive websites and software from all devices and browsers (if you are using one), as well as interpreting what the customers needs maybe and tailoring to the individual. This takes research and coding capabilities to a new level.

3D Printers. Who knows what applications we will use 3D printers for in the future of graphic design. They are becoming more affordable so they are becoming utilized in fields such as: bio-composites, mechanical engineering, architecture, industrial design, and I am sure much much more. It will force designers to move from mostly 2-dimensional outlook to a 3D. I am sure it will have some interesting results.

Digital Applications. Print is not going anywhere anytime soon, but we have been moving to a more digital world. Digital books and publications have soared. Websites are standard necessity for any business. More people are carrying smartphones or tablets that have access to internet and apps that need to adapt for useability. More of my own clients are sending emails rather than direct mail these days. Designing for a digital medium will carry its own requirements and will be adapting as new technologies become available.

I don't know what the future will hold, but I guess that is part of the fun.

Humor in Pain

Sharp Suits have stumbled onto an extraordinary idea to all the complaints and criticism designers tend to hear about their work. I wanted to share some of my favorites from this collection, and these were all contributed by Mark and Paddy. Sadly I have heard some of these phrases, some of these just have been designed with a style I find interesting, others are just funny. Sometimes that best part of having a difficult client is being able to find humor in the situation.

Monster Mash

This time of year always gets of thinking of the creatures that go bump in the night, but I have always had a soft-spot for adorable monsters. These creative illustrators have made monsters the cool kids you want to hang out with, and I love the vibrancy and texture.

Anna Johnstone

WOTTO

Tad Carpenter

Chad Lesch

Unknown: if you know please let me know

Food Packaging: Time to Scream—Again

I have ogled some fun ice cream packaging before, but these more modern and clear designs have me with an aching sweet tooth. Even with the weather getting cooler I always crave big bowls of ice cream, sorbet, gelato...any frozen treat.

Source

Source

Source

Source

Alcohol Packaging: Fox Barrel

My husband's mom works at a liquor store, needless to say we see a lot of booze in this house. Tyler usually likes to buy me bottles that have labels that I might enjoy, and then he considers flavor next. I don't like beer, but I do enjoy a boozy cider. Fox Barrel is naturally fermented pear cider with other natural juices mixed in for a different flavor. Some still taste a little too much like beer, but the Pacific Pear was my favorite. The simple design incorporates negative shapes, metallic inks, and embossed labels to make these ciders really stand out.

Inspired by Dia de los Muertos

Many people think of Dia de los Muertos as Halloween, but is actually the two days afterwards.This cultural celebration of the observance of the Catholic Holiday all Saints Day (i.e. All Hallows Even). I look forward to Halloween every year, and even more so this year since I am in a house which has space for a party and actual Trick-or-Treaters.But the colors, imagery, and symbolism has me really drawn to the day after Halloween. Honestly with this vibrant cultural history what is there not to love?

Cookies, tattoo, paper source, candles, make-up

What Do You Do?

Maybe it the job "graphic designer" or maybe it is the creative field in general or maybe everyone has a difficult time describing what they do for a living. I have talked with some of my fellow graduates and we discussed what is the best way to describe to our grandparents what we do.

"I make art on the computer"

It's not quite accurate, but they art and computer are easy enough concepts to understand. Graphic Design can be so inter-disciplinary that it is difficult to describe with the field that it is no wonder "outsiders" struggle to grasp the concept. (My grandparents probably think I play in Microsoft Paint all day).

What I do on a day-to-day basis:

• Receptionist: Answer and Direct calls
• Media Buyer: Monitor and Purchase Facebook Ads
• Graphic Designer: From sketch book to digital files to final prints
• Direct Mail—yep, someone has to make that junk mail and keep the USPS in business
• Newspaper and Magazine ads 
• Email Designs 
• Business Collateral: business cards, brochures, posters, and ect...
• Magazine Layouts: Small publications for local non-profits
• T-shirts
• ...and the occasional logo
• Web Designer:
• Flash Ads
• Website Development
• Website Coding
• Email Coding and Sending
• Facebook Page Management
• Website and Email hosting

My job has really shifted over the last six months and I have become more responsible for the web development and facebook management. I have had to work faster, and expand my skill-set. New projects and opportunities are definitely a blessing, but they have left me worn out and burnt out (which is why I have a vacation soon—I am counting the days). There are skills that are sitting on the back burner but would love to get out again: branding, photography, illustration, aftereffects, and drawing. (and work with more open-minded clients)

So what do you do for a living and what would you LIKE to do?

ebay: grows up

Ebay is launching a new look for their logo as well as their website. Gone are the letters are various typefaces, weights, and sizes. Ebay is left with a cleaner more modern look. I love the more modern cleaned up look. The problem? It is just so boring. You couldn't say that about their old logo, but this is just too generic and says nothing about the company. The last logo was a little too kookie, but at least it had a personality.

If they were going to re-haul their entire design and branding for the site I would expect something that looked like it had more effort put into it. In their press release they implied that the many colors represent their global community—four is not a lot of colors. Maybe instead of tight kerning the letters could have been overlapped (similar to before) to include more colors and vibrancy. 

I like their site dedicated to promoting the new logo a whole lot more than I do their logo. It is modern like the logo, but contains unexpected elements and depth. What do you think of ebay's new logo?