Pentagram - Design Studio Review

Pentagram was founded on a system of equal owned firms; collaborating together independently with no CEO, CFO or any group of entirety. Pentagram was founded in 1972 by Alan Fletcher, Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes, Kenneth Grange and Mervyn Kurlansky in Needham Road, West London, UK.
The firm is a mix of graphic design, identity, architecture, product design and interiors. The firm currently included 17 partner firms in five cities; London, New York, San Francisco, Austin and Berlin. Many influential designers have been members of Pentagram, influential designers have also been made through the almost 40yrs pentagram has been in action.

 

The mix of disciplines lends to a more creative way of thinking, also a concept that branches out to broader applications.

A Little Lesson - Identify Design Styles

Victorian (1840-1900)

Arts & Craft (Late 1840-1900)

Art Nouveau ( 1890-1910)

Early Modern (1910-1930)

Expressionism (1910-1935)

 

Modern (1910-1935)

Art Deco (Late 1920-1940)

Dada (1910-1935)

Heroic Realism (1910-1940)

Late Modern (1945-1970)

CONTEMPORARY PERIOD (1980-Today)

Postmodern (1985-1990)

Digital (1995-Today)

Desktop Mag - Mag Review

Desktop Magazine features current design and designers, interviews, research topics, events, and agency profiles. TAFE subscribes and lends to students, if your interested in having a look at any of the editions.
The website also includes design links, events, career topics, directory, news, competitions, features, blog, inspirational wall and insight into features in the current issue.
This month Desktop had made a challenge to six top creative industry experts to make some predictions for the year ahead. You can also subscribe and receive freebies!

A Little Lesson - Retro Design, Finders Keepers

Victorian

Notice the symmetry and the story telling.

Art Deco

Use of air brushed spot lights / ray bans, objects reduced to minimum colours and shapes.

 

American Kitch

Relaxed type & reproduction of grainy images/print.

Everything in Fiji is 'bought to you by Digicel'

I recently went on a cruise around Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji. Not after long in some of those places you realise the two most popular telecommunication companies. Digicel and TVL advertising is every where, the consistent look really makes their advertising work.

Everywhere from billboards, radio, large offices in small towns to golf course shelters in the middle of no where, I found their advertising, it was quite amusing. Where we would have on billboards perhaps people in an office talking on phones, most of there billboards depicted Islanders with leis on a beach chatting on their mobile phone. It shows how design impacts everywhere and how it has to match the audience and make an instant and lasting effect on people.

Ken Cato - Graphic Designer

20th Century Designer
Ken Cato is a pioneer in Australian design, world renowned he is the principle of Cato designs; the biggest design company in the southern hemisphere. Today Cato designs has offices as far away as Tokyo and London. Since the 1960’s Cato has continually challenged and has engaged the design field winning numerous awards and honours. Cato also has work on display in museums and galleries around the world. Cato is a member of numerous Australian associations including;  Australian Marketing Institute, Design Institute of Australia, Industrial Design Council of Australia, he is also a Patron of the Australian Academy of Design.
He has transformed the traditional graphic design focusing on a new dimension to create experimental and concept driven methods of communication. Cato has worked with a multitude of clients including Grace Brothers, Coles, Bank West,  Macquari Bank and Qantas. He has worked in areas from graphic design, packaging to creating major business identities and branding. Cato’s stunning visual communication has become world renown, evidenced by positive tangible results. Cato has worked on forms of visual communication that stretches everyday design to experimental idea-driven methods of communication.
In 1970, after working on solo projects (while still challenging himself professionally), he started Cato-Hibbert Design inc, with Himself and Terry Hibbert. Money was tight, but work did come in steadily to the relief of the pair. When in 1972 Cato got his first taste of internationalism when he visited studios in the US and Europe. Cato recognised his own company base lied in the Pacific basin and his own company today has since grown with offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Buenos Ares, Sydney, Perth ,London and Taipei.  In 1982 Cato felt that the business had grown substantially but had hit a wall, as Cato wanted to seriously delve into the international market of design. So after 12 years he cast out into Aisa and he gained 25 design jobs from 25 countries. Cato’s design clientele spans internationally but he prefers to live in Australia. His head office reflects his dedicated and passionate nature and continues to dedicated himself to Australian design profession. Cato Partners today in the Australasia have 50 employees including specialists in branding & corporate  identity, print & multimedia.

Basic Visual Concepts and Principles - Book Style Reveiw

Basic Visual Concepts and Principles, by Charles Wallschlaeger and Cynthia Busic-Snyder, I'm sure, has some very interesting material. But I'm not writing about that.
I took some inspiration from the layout and style of this Swiss styled book for our timeline assignment and found it quite helpful in regards to paragraph styles, spacing, colour, font, image placement etc. It has a timeline that I got inspiration from and also how they display their images as i would be doing the same. I really like the Swiss use of font sizing, large contrasting headings and small body text. There is lots of white breathing space and interesting indents, alignments, master page differences, page numbering & grid work.
It's available from Joh (or in the staff room, I believe).

What looks a million bucks, costs a million bucks

My Dad got some new medication the other day and I spied the packaging. The packaging looks like it costs a million bucks, raised lettering & shinny UV ink (1st Below), matching CD, brochures, booklets etc. (Images below)

The thing I really liked was the consistency, from the logo to products. I wish all clients appreciated consistency... sigh

My First Fake ID

As apart of this semesters assignments we all have to come up with our own personal ID that will be shown in the first pages of our portfolio. Since I already have one, I am making a fake 'branch' of my already established personal ID (the current is just general Graphic Design) that will include the kind of stuff we are doing for the Art Bazaar at the end of the year; hand made/screen printed items. So I want my logo to be similar but more hand made / ruff looking, different but obviously connected.

Above is my current general logo. I wanted to stick with the dot theme for obvious reasons (so I went with buttons for the circles for a hand made element), but more textured and earthy (so I Live Traced my image of my buttons instead of making really neat ones in illustrator). The colours would also have to reflect the hand made element so I wanted to go with some earthy warm colours (analogues - yellow, yellow orange colours) and less of them. I also wanted to stick with the same font but less perfect, so I got my text and took a screen shot and live traced it in illustrator so it was a bit more ruff around the edges.
Below is the result...

High Tea With Mrs.Woo

Recently when our class took a walk down Darby Street we had a look at High Tea With Mrs.Woo, a handmade clothing and accessories shop. High Tea With Mrs.Woo creates unique and wearable masterpieces, where every piece has a story. The accessories are made from materials from Mrs Woo’s collection, individually cut and put together these handmade pieces are a true treasure. High Tea With Mrs.Woo gives an insight into the high end of handmade fashion and accessories. You may also find some inspiration for products for this years Art Bazzar. 
Have a look at their website and find examples of innovative accessories and clothing, as well as an interesting example of web design.

'Designer Daily' - 30 amazing packaging designs for your inspiration

Here we have a great source of inspiration for packaging design. From bottles to boxes; you’ll find 30 great designs that prove packaging doesn’t have to be predictable and overloaded with information. On the subtle side these packages let the product talk for its self.
The Simpsons DVD case looks like a box of doughnuts and the DVD case its self looks like a doughnut, sprinkles and all. The Kleenex ‘slice of summer’ tissue boxes are use beautiful imagery and packaging techniques to make this box good enough to eat.
Have a look; http://www.designer-daily.com/30-amazing-packaging-designs-for-your-inspiration-4644 , enjoy!

Letterhead & Logo Design 10 - Book Review

This series of books shows examples of corporate ID's, including logos, letterheads, labels, business cards and envelopes.
Number 10 in this series; the latest in the best-selling series, has some inspiration for the logo designer today great for finding a layout, font choice/style or just a great read/look. It showcases well-known designers and cutting-edge artists to leave you with a lasting impression. This is a great resource when your faced with a challenge the needs a new & fresh approach or want to see some fantasic techniques. Big on helpful examples small on pointless gibberish!

The Design Files – Blog Review

'The Design Files' is an online blog, it is not just graphic design but has some great inspiration, including something that might interest you in regards to this years Art Bazaar.
There are images and interviews under range of design styles, including; graphic design, product design, packaging, greeting cards, homes, fashion and more.
Monday August 23rd blog includes new tote bag designs inspired by Ballet and the chance to win tickets to the 'Edge of Night'; ballet performance in Melbourne. The older blogs are also worth a look for some inspiration and information relevant to you.

Graphic Design - What is it?

Graphic design is a fairly new profession, since about the start of the last century. That might not sound that new but compared to say, masonry, that’s pretty new. Graphic design includes many applications including logo design, website design, packaging and the many avenues of advertising.

Graphic design is a creative process often involving the client and the designer and unlike most art has a purpose and is commissioned and paid for by the client.  Graphic design is visual communication and designers often have to work as a team to come up with a business's visual identity and branding, to tell a customer/consumer about the company, visually.
Many skills are required including visual arts, typography, page layout, etc. Tools include traditional materials like pencils & paper. Also a computer, printer, software, etc and maybe the odd graphics tablet thrown in.

Graphic design is an exciting mix of art and functionality that we see and use everyday.

Art: In the Japanese Manner

At the Lake Macquarie Art Gallery 18th June -1 August 2010. Japanese manner: Australian prints 1900–1940, A National Gallery of Australia travelling exhibition

Japanese woodblock printing was featured at the gallery featuring various artists and art pieces on various subjects. This technique embraces line and colour, the strong colours and traditional techniques brings landscapes and subjects alive.
Drawings on wood are cut away, based on the outlines given by the drawing. Ink would then be applied and areas cut away would not transfer any ink onto the final piece/paper.
Japanese art influenced European design and art in the 1850's when the two nations resumed trade. By the 1880's such influences spread to Australia where the technique was embraced, more so then in other areas of the world.

Below is the work of Paul Haelflinger (1914-1982)-  "Kusatu Hot Springs/japan" - Wood cut printing in colour in Japanese manner from multiple blocks on paper. (Purchased 1987 - National Gallery of Australia)

Design Elements - A Graphic Style Manual (Timothy Samara)

One of the captions for this book reads "Understanding the rules and knowing when to break them"

 This book includes a preface 'Graphic design what is it?' and an introduction including '20 rules for making good design'. These 20 rules are helpful reminders and set the stage for the rest of the book. The first rule states, simply, 'Have a Concept'. Basically the book gives examples of good design and dissects the elements and analyzes them so we can understand why the designer has done what they have and the concept and rules being used behind it.

This book is a great overview of how designers use space, colour and type to create the final form. In a nutshell this book tells us (in a witty way) "Be decisive. Do it on purpose - or don't do it at all".

ThinkFour Design Blog — InspireMe

Need design inspiration to get you design wheels spinning?
The 'ThinkFour' design blog offers installments from Graphic Designers, Graphic Design News, offers freebies and information on random subjects. The dingbats are worth a look and are available for free download.
This week includes -The work of Designer Ross Bruggink, an American designer. The blog includs a short history and examples of illustration, print design, logos, websites and more. (Visit/Image taken from- http://thinkdesignblog.com/inspiration-the-work-of-designer-ross-bruggink.htm)