Thinking Conceptually: Wage Discrimination

Concept: I wanted to create a simple design illustrating the issue of wage discrimination in the work place. Initially, my thought process and early drawings focused on the male / female dichotomy, but finalized the poster to encompass a broader range of discrimination that can be seen in western culture. 

Object to Mark: Ramen

Process: I wanted to design a logo for a ramen restaurant. After simplifying a bowl of tonkatsu ramen, the amount of ingredients were overwhelming the design. I focused on the identifiable objects that most people would relate to...a bowl, noodles, and a pair of chopsticks. While researching other ramen designs, I wanted to distinguish myself and my logo by adding the marinated soft boil egg associated with ramen. Below is my step-by-step process I had leading to the final logo.

Mind On Design: Armin Hofmann

Design Disruptors Review

Design Disruptors was a revealing look inside the world of product design, focusing on the idea of a designer as a problem solver rather than an artist. The film incorporates the idea of user interface (UI) design and user experience (UX) design, concepts that were explained as a "feedback loop," constantly being updated and refined for better performance after customer feedback. That constant improvement aspect really brought light to something I would like to pursue as a designer.

The contrast between art and design was again reiterated by stating that "art creates questions, while design creates solutions." Design challenges differ from company to company, but finding out what the company represents, a designer can make that idea tangible. Disruptors do not follow the rules, and the best design is an invisible one — where a user can feel a certain way, have a connection with a device and brand without even knowing it.

Great Mind Designer

I choose Armin Hofmann for my research project.

Interlocking Pattern

Grid Typeface

Layers

Hierarchy + Typography

Foundations of Typography: Hierarchy and Navigation with Ina Saltz

Hierarchy is a powerful tool designers use to express an order of things for the reader to perceive, i.e. a method used so that viewers could easily understand a content's importance or urgency. Magazines and websites utilize hierarchy in their layout design, keeping their title / most important content within the mass-head.  Western style reading (Top-down and left to right) is a good place to start when dealing with hierarchy and navigation, but it is not the only way to achieve importance. A large weight font in comparison to the rest of the layout can be flush right and still be read first due to its size.

An image and text can integrate well just by using a possible line of sight and/or angles of objects that will point to the text block. Additionally, exaggerating size and/or weight to increase contrast can work in your favor in establishing a clear hierarchy. All of these tools are used to hold and captivate a reader, but for each rule there are also exceptions.

Color is another method designers use to establish a strong hierarchy. Typographic color can separate, it can link and it can unify content on a page for the reader to perceive.

Cropping

Creative Inspirations: Kit Hinrichs

In this video, the grand father of design, Kit Hinrichs, reminisces about his upbringing, education, and highlights the need to expand one's mind by being exposed to new environments. His approach to design mimics his approach to life, with clear and distinct goals in mind.

Straight out of high school, Hinrichs was accepted to Art Center in LA, where the average age for freshmen was in the mid-twenties.  There, he was exposed to the wide variety of lifestyles and personalities, which shaped his persona and career. With new experiences driving his creativity and lifestyle, he decided to spend a year living and working in Germany, and to later enlisted to the Marine Corp upon graduating Art Center.  He believed that new experiences make better work - meeting people and going to new places that one wouldn't do normally.

Bouncing around studios in New York, setting up his own studio in SF which later merged with Pentagram, and now heading Studio Hinrichs also in SF. Kit uses a small, but trustworthy team with the mindset that smaller team dynamics mean stronger, more efficient work. He also believes that design should make something better, not just look pretty.

Overall, Kit showed great passion and admiration for great communicating design.  His extensive library and collection of americana exemplifies a love for art and his country. Growing as a designer pre-digital age makes him rely on his team to do most of the computerize artwork, but his ideas and sketches are still powerful and unique in its own regard.

Learning Graphic Design: Cropping Photographs

Senior author of Lynda.com, John McWade, demonstrated the ability to transform existing images with the simple use of cropping techniques.  Using the seven types of crops: 1) hard crop, 2) soft crop, 3) split crop, 4) stickout crop, 5) the knockout crop, 6) false crop, and 7) shape crop, the user has the ability to adjust the composition and mood freely and easily.

Although familiar with most of the seven crop techniques, I never utilized the false or shape crop, so it was nice to see both used in a strategic manner.  False crop uses textual or pictoral cover to crop a picture behind it, where both front and back designs are exposed to make a new design.  Shape crop is a method where the user will crop only part of an image to a shape seen in the picture.  From there, text/color can fill the back, making the cropped shape/object appear to pop.

Major take-away from the videos were:
1) See with your eyes & mind - look at the scene and recall the experiences that the composition dictates.
2) Look for descriptive slices - seek power lines that could be utilize to make the overall composition stronger,
i.e. rule of thirds, line of sight
3) Crop Radically - keep in mind that agressive lines can lead to interesting and captivating photos.
4) Watch for the story - stay true for the overall feel, and try to capture that with cropping

Border Play

Positive/Negative: Letterform Abstractions

 Font: Plantagenet Cherokee - Regular

"How to Think Like a Designer" with Michael Bierut

Pentagram partner, Michael Bierut, highlights the do's and don'ts of graphic design while recalling his personal client experiences at the DESIGN INDABA Conference in 2015.  This talk was a well-rounded discussion of design and clientele relations in the professional atmosphere. Goes in-depth on his team's process: how to attacking projects from multiple angles, listening to clients and not focusing on first ideas, using simple shapes and movement, and looking at environment for inspiration.  All really strong advice which resulted in some clean, unique, and smart designs. Michael puts a strong emphasis on the why a client would want to change their logo and/or branding. He focuses on historical references, modernizing and adapting old logos and designs to become relevant in today's market.

Michael Bierut had some really smart designs which were not only visually appealing, but also cost effective.  His re-branding of Nuts.com focused on characterizing three generations of family, and having a unique packaging strategy and design...which ultimately costs the owners no additional costs on packaging and became more recyclable.  His re-branding of Saks Fifth Avenue, he said, "No one want's a new logo, they want someone else's logo or their old logo." Using an older logo, refining it, and using grids to create a new modern art aesthetic that can be used throughout the Saks Fifth Ave. brand.  What I thought was extremely clever was his team's New York Times design, where they thought of the environmental impact which resulted a solid typeface that was visual from street view, but would not block the New York skyline view while standing inside the building.

There are simple solutions to complex problems. This talk really brought light to the options a designer can have for a multitude of different clients.  From a religious church to museums, a designer can have a huge impact in the real world.

Seeing Color

"The Language of Color" with Jim Krause

Jim Krause takes us into the daunting world of color, showcasing the vocabulary, intricacies and the why artists and designers choose the colors they do.

Krause explains the 3 components of color: hue, saturation & value.  Hue essentially is a color, saturation is how bright or muted a color is, and value is how dark or light it may be.  All three of these components make up all the visible colors we experience in the real world.  He also stresses the importance of monitor calibration to accurately portray your design to the printer and/or client.  An important tidbit I extracted from the video was the importance of communication between client and printer. 

As a designer, one should question the client thoroughly to clarify the wants and needs, specifying the target audience, and knowing the competition in the client’s market.  In the end, being practical with the color and the design is preferred, but sometimes a unique, unexpected color may be beneficial. 

There are three options for computer color designs, RGB, CMYK, and spot.  RGB focuses on designs that will be perceived on the web, since the monitor displays utilize Reds, Greens, and Blues to create its color spectrum.  CMYK are for printed material, since printers use Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black to create its color spectrum.  The best for print is actually the third option, spot.  Spot colors are pre-mixed or pure that are printed using a single run.   

UNITE with AIGA

UNITE was a unique experience where a novice student designer could meet, mingle, and learn from local professionals from multiple disciplines around San Diego County. 

I was privileged enough to meet with Paul Drohan of Mirum about portfolio website tips, Angelo Outlaw about life as an in-house designer, and Donald Gould for an illustration demo on how to utilize textures.  The quick, 30-minute Q&A style presentations were not only informative, but very personable.  Each presentation only had 5-10 in attendance, which left a lot of room for getting your specific questions answered quickly.   

Although I am nowhere near the portfolio stage of my career, Paul really emphasized the importance and possibilities of a web-presence for one-self, and the best way to reach your audience and/or future employer.  Donald highlighted the use of ordinary, cheap objects to add an extra layer of organic depth to photoshop images.  By using paint, household objects, paper, and a scanner, one can obtain a more light-humanist approach to the work.  Speaking with Angelo was especially educational since he also came from an engineering background and made a switch to design mid-college term.  Not knowing much about in-house design, he described the pros and cons of both in-house and agency design lifestyles. He answered many of my questions about life-style balance and how to land your first job!

Color Study: Interaction of Color

Color Study: Color Wheel

Marian Bantjes - Creative Inspirations

Marian Bantjes is a world renowned Canadian designer, illustrator, artist, typographer and writer.  With decades of experience working as a typesetter and co-founding a graphic art studio, Digitopolis, in 2003, she decided to put her career on hold and follow a new road of progression. This new road focused on explorative creativity, obsessing over handwork patterning and ornamental designs. Bantjes compared her previous work at Digitopolis to every other studio - no style and a heavy client-based mentality.  Although she expressed that that is exactly what you need to produce a successful studio, Marian wanted a way to affect people in a stronger way. During that transition from client-mentality to personal expression, she developed her own style...a style which she would become internationally known and be hired for.  

Bantjes' style and work can only be described as creative and obsessive.  Her intricate hand-drawn ornamental lines, deep introspective layouts, and innovative packaging, are all part of her process to create something new and unique.  

Speak Up was an online forum where artist could discuss, argue, and indulge in everything that is design.  Marian  was a frequent writer on the forums, making a mark with articles deconstructing the alphabet, and comparing santa clause with a garden gnome. She made another mark by winning their annual t-shirt design competition as well. She described her experience on Speak Up as a way to get advice, be proven wrong, and witness new evolving styles, something like this wasn't readily available at the time.  

Bantjes took a enormous chance in order to focus on work that means more to her than anyone else.  Her obsessive process in art has gone appreciated by the world leaders in design, and she continues to complete work that will affect others differently than she has ever done before.  

Textual Textures

Texture

Scale Depth Motion - Word Pairs

Font: Futura Bold

Typographic Artisans Recap

Jessica Hische & Erik Marinovich are two San Francisco based letterer and designers who founded a creative studio, properly titled, Title Case.  There, Jessica and Erik produce professional typographical work while offering workshops for the SF Bay Area community. Jessica was named Forbes Magazine "30 under 30" in art and design as well as an ADC Young Gun, and Erik co-founded Friends of Type with clientele, such as the New York Times, Nike and The Atlantic. They each have their own work style that facilitates their own creative process, but they both possess a high level of skill and passion for the typographic arts.

Their workstations at Title Case were personally tailored to their needs, and it was interesting to see how their work process flowed and what they prioritized.  Erik, for example, favors writing by hand rather than digital, so he keeps a roll of tracing paper within arm's reach.  Additionally, he likes to keep books and magazines around as inspiration in hopes it would better work, which I thought could be useful. He goes on to explain the need for multiple iterations during the earlier conceptual stages, and that the exploratory phase is very important to his process. This process and using new material and tools can lead to unexpected results that cannot be produced on a computer.

Jessica brought along the discussion of unity, using her novel design for Barnes & Nobel as an example.  She commented on the use of text that would emphasize or simply match the ornaments on the cover, mentioning unity is decided early on in her process, while lettering and ornament is a marriage that evolves throughout it.

Witnessing the difference in professional thought process was very helpful for a student in design at the start of his/her career.  From the video, I am now able to pick and choose what will work for me down the road.

Scale

Objects: Glasses, Battleship, Wind Turbine