Designated Critic

Sheep Art

2009-05-07T13:25:00.001-05:00

If you think there's nothing new under the sun, take a look at this sheep art video!

Nando Costa

2009-03-02T21:10:00.003-06:00

http://nervo.tv/index.html?sect=5&proj=pgi

This designer was featured in Computer Arts Magazine sometime last year. He's one of the hottest animation designers around. Enjoy!

Orange Design Self-Promotion

2009-02-27T11:39:00.006-06:00

Art of Promotion by Lisa Cyr

Here's a self-promotional idea. This design firm chose to celebrate it's growth and expansion by sending orange seeds to its most valued clients.

WOW Business Card

2009-02-27T11:39:00.005-06:00

This is a business card created for WOW! Branding Company. It was featured in the Art of Promotion by Laura Cyr. As I've mentioned before, I am currently in the process of designing my own promotional materials. I looked into using alternative materials (like plastics, metals, cloth, die cuts, metallic inks) and the cost is astronomical, specially when you compare it to online printers like VistaPrint or Overnight Printing. I really wonder how much of a payoff there is to going through the expense of creating something like this. It looks amazing, it probably won't get thrown away, but will it generate enough revenue to offset the expense? What do you guys think?

Holiday Card

2009-02-27T11:36:00.003-06:00

So many direct mail pieces end up in the garbage. This is a good way to extend the usability of a piece.

Self-Promotional Calendar

2009-02-27T11:35:00.001-06:00

Lisa Cyr, Art of Promotion

One of these days I WILL make a calendar!

Architectural Business Cards and Invitations

2009-02-27T11:34:00.003-06:00

Lis Cyr, Art of Promotion

This architeccture firm chose to send out out a flat invitation to an event, and guests were asked to fold the paper into innovative shapes and mail back to RSVP. A contest was held during the evnet to choose the best paper structure.

TurnStyle Identity Package

2009-02-25T11:40:00.000-06:00

Communication Arts Design Annual 49

This is a beautiful identity package created by TurnStyle Design. I like that the entire design is built around a play on words on the title. The embossing on the letterhead adds an unexpected element of subtlety, aptly used in this case because I think that a solid block of orange might have been too distracting in a letter. The landscape orientation is unique, but I'm not sure that it would be quite functional as the space left for the letter seems too wide for a single column layout, but too narrow for multiple columns.

Barbara Lipp Bubble Gum

2009-02-25T11:34:00.000-06:00

Here's another gem from the Art of Promotion from Lisa Cyr. This illustrator and package designer decided to showcase her talents by creating custom-wrapped bubble gum to leave behind with potential employers. Her quirky illustrations are also featured throughout the rest of her identity package, creating a colorful, whimsical, unified system.

Signature Theater

2009-02-22T22:52:00.000-06:00

AIGA International Archives

Design Army created this vibrant re-branding of the Signature Theater. The whole is unified by reapeating line motifs throughout all of their marketing materials and identity package.

One Watch Catalog

2009-02-19T11:38:00.000-06:00

Communication Arts Design Annual 49

The makers of this beautifully designed watch catalog decided to print the products on clear, plastic pages. This allows the consumer to "try on" as many watches as they please without leaving the comfort of their home. Apparently sales tripled after the company introduced this system. So, when form follows function agood time is had by all

Innovative Portfolio

2009-02-17T11:33:00.000-06:00

I've been doing a lot of research lately on self-promotion packages. In so doing, this innovative leave-behind portfolio design caught my eye. The book features slits throughout the page, allowing for a modular approach to organizing the content of the portfolio. This allows the designer to present a professionally bound book to the client, but allows for flexibility in the material displayed. It's from the Art of Promotion, by Lisa Cyr.

Typographic Music Video

2009-02-10T23:20:00.003-06:00

Other than a quick glance at the screen at the Parkland cafeteria, I really don't watch music videos. I saw this video while I was traveling over Christmas, though, and I fell in love with the color scheme and typographic treatment. Maybe I have early onset oldness, but I actually identify with the lyrics as well. The font is a chunky Egyptian serif. The band is called Quarteto de Nos, they're from Uruguay. Enjoy!

VS Energy International Ukraine

2009-01-28T14:53:00.004-06:00

How Business Issue
December 2008

This is a promotional calendar from the How Magazine Business Issue. The client is an energy company, so the idea of matches is quite fitting. Striking surface stripes are applied on both sides of a base stand.

Memo Books for French Paper Compnay

2009-01-28T14:39:00.003-06:00

How Business Issue 1208-3

These memo books are promotional pieces executed by Minneapolis firm Charles S. Anderson design for French Paper Company. Each of the books feature a different paper line and fits inside a pocket or purse. This is the perfect way to promote a papper company, as it allows potential clients to use the paper for an extended period of time. The fact that the book themselves look beautiful, helps to highlight hte potential of the paper.

Wall Animation

2009-01-25T22:27:00.002-06:00

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

I ran across this very ambitious stop-action animation by following a series of links that started with googling a contributor to Computer Arts Magazine. This must have taken thousands of photographs and countless hours to execute!

One Degree

2009-01-21T19:21:00.002-06:00

Communication Arts Annual 49

I thought this was an ingenious design for a poster. The degree symbol doubles as a placeholder for an informational CD.

Maison Theater

2008-11-30T23:00:00.004-06:00

Coupe International Awards 2007
lg2boutique

This is a fun advertising campaign from lg2boutique for the Maison Theater. It promotes a series of plays written by well-known authors for an audience of children. Bright colors and handwritten type serves the purpose well.

JWT

2008-11-29T00:38:00.001-06:00

JWT
Communication Arts

I read a profile of one of the art directors of for JWT in Communication Arts and decided to visit the firm's site. I like the type, the colors, the Swiss layout, and even the scrolling navigation bar. Why? Oh, Why? the flashing buttons?! Make them stop! Otherwise, I quite approve.

As an aside, I looked at their JWT Now page and read about their "Lead India Campaign " for the Times of India. I still can't make up my mind about whether it was superbly inspiring or spine-chillingly sinister. The campaign won the Grand Prix at Cannes this year. It started with the Times of India running a full page ad inciting for social change. Celebrities got involved, mass demonstrations were started (the reel doesn't make clear whether they were incited by the campaign itself or if it was a result of grassroot activism). After a long chain of events they had a reality tv competition (American idol-style where the audience got to vote through IMS) in which eight social activists competed for a sum to fund their cause, a scholarship to the JFK School of Global Leadership, and money to fund their campaign as Prime Minister of India!!!!

Prime Minsiter of INDIA!!!! Doesn't India have nuclear capabilities? Doesn't it have like triple the population of the US?! I'm all for ad agencies using their persuasive powers for activism and social change, and I understand that a certain amount of media bias is acceptbale and inevitable, but when the largest English-speaking newspaper in the world is blatantly attempting to create a world leader, shouldn't we be very frightened? VERY FRIGHTENED? Maybe I'm being paranoid. What do you think?

Converse

2008-11-26T00:31:00.000-06:00

Converse

Communication Arts 13

Cooler-than-thou site for a cooler-than-thou shoe. I made my own gold and chocolate sneaker. Jealous? Make your own! The sketchy type and edgy look is appropriate to the topic. Built in Flash.

2008-11-19T22:37:00.000-06:00

Here's an identity system created for B2 by paprika. The cramped, blocky type used gives this package a very contemporary look

Commisaires

2008-11-19T22:25:00.000-06:00

How International
Paprika

Sorry, Design Army, you have a new rival for my affections. Today I'm in loeve with PAPRIKA. This Canadian firm has been featured in every annual and magazine imaginable. Above are two pieces they created for the art gallery Commissaires.

Methodologie

2008-11-18T17:00:00.000-06:00

Methodologie

Coupe 107

Clean, simple flash site. Crisp grid-like organiztion and solid blocks of color. The whole site seems to be designed for a small screen format (something I've noticed in quite a few portfolio sites lately). In this case it works, except I only wish the images in the portfolio section were larger. Otherwise, I wonder why make the majority of your audience suffer through micrsocopic text and image sizes now on the off chance that someone may be viewing on a smaller screen some day? Wouldn't a better alternative be to have two versions of the site?

Sid Lee

2008-11-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

Sid Lee

Coupe 107 and just about every other design annual out there

I love the look and feel of this design studio portfolio site. The type has that clean, blocky look that is all the rage these days. The navigation hierarchy is clear and intuitive. The fact that the subnavigaiton heading is larger than the type on the navigaiton system is a small unexpected touch which I really enjoyed. Flash and html were biht used in the construciton of this site.

Rail Euorpe

2008-11-12T22:19:00.001-06:00

Adnews, July 2008
Taxi

Fun advertising campaign aimed at bolstering railway travel through Europe.

Mmmm...Cheese

2008-11-12T22:10:00.001-06:00

Coupe International Awards 2008

Clever typographic billboard from Taxi for the Canadian Dairy Farmers Association. I love that the e's seem to be laughing. When I was little and I first learned the alphabet, I would always anthropomorphise the letters. I always thought that the lowercase a and e looked like they would be the most fun to hang out with. My, was I a strange child!

Paprika

2008-11-12T12:17:00.000-06:00

Paprika

Coupe 107, AIGA Design Annual 2008

Very white, minimal layout the better to see this design firms amazing body of work. A scrolling typographic animation is the only decorative element in this portfolio site. The site seems to have been made entirely in Flash.

The Young Foundation

2008-11-04T23:30:00.000-06:00

AIGA Design Annual 2007, Pentagram

OK. Just one more from Pentagram. This is the logo for a British nonprofit that provides services for children and youth. Using a tree to symbolize growth and stability could have been trite and cliched, but the type-based treatment makes this logo seem fresh and clever.

Curious Pictures

2008-11-04T23:00:00.000-06:00

AIGA Design Annual 2006, Pentagram

I've been spending a lot of time looking through the Pentagram website. I love the simplicity of their logos. Most of them have a timeless, deceptively effortless quality to them. Here are two wordmarks that stood out. The one above was developed for GraphicEurope, an annual design conference held in (you guessed it) Europe. Below is a logo for Curious Pictures:

Tharapy Films

2008-11-04T15:00:00.002-06:00

Therapy Films

Coupe 107

This is a portfolio site for a commercial film studio. Navigate away from the barking monkey in the Napoleon hat and you will enter into a unique navigation experience. Very literal.

UrbanSilo

2008-10-29T23:48:00.000-05:00

Urban Silo

Communication Arts Interactive 13

This site has improved a lot since I first came accross it during the summer. The download time is still somewhat long, but I love the bright colors and innovative navigation system. Great flash portfolio site. Bonus: it begins with a rooster sound.

McDonald's Billboard

2008-10-29T21:38:00.000-05:00

Luerzer's Archive, Communication Arts Interactive 13

I found this McDonald's billboard while researching Leo Burnett's ad agency (their site won a Comm Arts Interactive Award). Greenwashing? Yes. Awesome? Absolutely. They made real lettuce grow on a billboard! These are amazing times we live in.

2008-10-28T22:46:00.000-05:00

AIGA, Washington DC
Design Army

These promotional materials for the DC regional chapter of the AIGA are playful, fresh, and contemporary. The first a website (It's so rare to see good typography on the internet that I had to include it) and the second is a poster.

AICGS

2008-10-21T22:42:00.000-05:00

Art Director's Annual 87th Design Awards

More from Design Army. Who could possibly find fault with large, cropped letters and crisp blocks of color? Certainly not I!

Wax Partnership

2008-10-20T22:15:00.001-05:00

Wax partnership
Coupe 017, The 2007 Coupe International Design and Image Awards Annual

This site has a fun, sketchy environment. I like the interface, its ease of use, and my son really loved the panda xeroxing his bum (go to see what we're doing). Tip: the video takes a little while to load. Warning: features people in underwear.

Wildcard Inc.

2008-10-20T22:04:00.000-05:00

Wildcard Inc.

Communicaiton Arts Webpick

I don't really know what this website is about because it's in Japanese. I was checking out one of Comm Arts webpicks of the day and got mysteriously rerouted to this other site, which features 4 interfaces in which the viewer's mouse creates the a tral and illustrates the site. Very cool. Enjoy!

Design Army

2008-10-20T21:26:00.001-05:00

Communication Arts Annual 2007, Coupe International Awards 2007
Design Army

I just killed an hour browsing through this firm's site and I'm in love! More entries will definitely ensue. I guess, though type-based, this identity package isn't a great typography find. But I like it so much i thought I'd post it anyways. I guess the font is Helvetica?

HOAX REVEALED!

2008-10-15T12:20:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Miriam's forensic typography I don't need to do a big reveal this week. The Economist cover I posted last week was, obviously, a hoax. The real cover is posted above. Last week's version has been floating around the blogosphere for a while, so I no longer remember where I originally saw it.

The Economist has a long history of typographic ads and covers, though. For decades they had humorous quotes in a white serif Bodoni or Bodini-like font. Here are a couple examples:

Their most recent ads build on this tradition and incorporate illustration elements. Here's an example:

Economist Cover

2008-10-07T15:38:00.001-05:00

This was the the cover for the economist a week or two ago. Nothing says it like Helvetica.

Marck Ecko

2008-09-29T11:16:00.002-05:00

Marc Ecko
Computer Arts magazine

This site has so many good ideas, I wish it had kept a couple of them to itself. The site has a consistent look and navigation system, but the flash is sometimes overwheming.

ABC3D

2008-09-29T10:59:00.001-05:00

ABC3D

I found this link on Cosas Visuales, a Spanish design blog. It features a pop-up book that takes on the alphabet as a sculptural challenge. Very clever. Very cool. Very catchy tune.

Dwight McKnight: Unregistered Trademark

2008-09-22T16:04:00.005-05:00

Dwight McKnight
AIGA website

I thought it would be interesting to see what other recent graduates are doing in the area of web design, so I checked out this featured designer in the AIGA website. I think this is a simple, unique take on the portfolio page, both simple in concept and technology. He tiles a background images to create a visually arresting wallpaper of his work. The effect fills the screen regardless of size, and is quite unexpected. The text inside the navigaiton bar could maybe use a little rethinking, but otherwise I give this a thumbs up.

Gymboree

2008-09-22T15:26:00.006-05:00

This logo was created by Michael Osborne Design. The firm was mentioned in Computer Arts magazine a couple of months ago. I tried to identify the font for GYMBORee, first by typing the words out in different fonts, and then by taking it to What the Font. Neither worked, which is not surprising, because my guess is that this was custom-made for the logo. The G, Y, M, and the B all look like a squashed slightly more angular version of Gill Sans, while the rest of the letters seem like squashed Helvetica. Answer: My believe is that this is the long lost child of the two-- Gillvetica Anorexica. No? I challenge you to make a better guess! Bottom line. I think the wordmark is fun and energetic, but it achieves its quirkiness with subtle variation in type and case rather than over-the-top imagery. This is refreshing in a children's brand.

THIS JUST IN: I believe Bureau Grotesque one three comes pretty close to the logo type. See for yourselves.

Grawlix: Word of the Week

2008-09-17T23:13:00.011-05:00

Ever wonder what those strings of non-alphabet characters used to indicate swear words are called? Jonathan Hoefler explains:

grawlix, n. A string of typographical symbols used (especially in comic strips) to represent an obscenity or swear word.

Apparently the term was coined in 1964 by Mort Walker, but is still waiting to be recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary. What's taking them so @!$&^$* long?! Apparently the term is not used widely enough, so we'll just have to contribute to the effort. So, do you have a favorite set of grawlix characters? Do you prefer to grawl in a particular type?

New Xerox Logo: What the Grawlix?

2008-09-17T23:13:00.010-05:00

This is not an example of outstanding design. I stumbled upon xerox's new logo and was quite puzzled. While I think the new treatment of the wordmark is actually an improvement and quite lovely, I just don't understand that big red marble sitting beside it. Far from adding meaning or harmony it detracts from the cleanliness of the type and throws the entire composition off-blance.

So, I decided to find out a little more about the logo, and lo and behold, I came across this article in underconsideration.com. They were not complimentary, either.

The design firm responsible for this new logo is Interbrand, and apparently they chose to incorporate a symbol in order to better animate the logo. In their own words:

The new Xerox logo is now a lowercase treatment of the Xerox name — in a vibrant red — alongside a sphere-shaped symbol sketched with lines that link to form an illustrative "X," representing Xerox's connections to its customers, partners, industry and innovation, and designed to be more effectively animated for use in multi-media platforms.
— Official press release

Signaling a clear change and evoking a dramatic shift in the world's perception of this iconic brand, the visual and verbal identity system for Xerox has undergone a massive redesign. The new signature incorporates a lowercase treatment of the Xerox name — in a vivid red Pantone 1797 — alongside a sphere sketched with lines, called "connectors," that link to form an "X", representing the company's connections to its customers, employees, partners, industry and innovation. The "connectors" are super-graphics that appear as reoccurring design elements.
— Interbrand project description

Here's the much talked-about animation. Wipee! If you didn't click on the link, don't bother. The logo recedes, glints, and has a shadow. In the words of Michael Beirut, who commented on the article (it's no lie, apparently he reads the blog at 1am in the morning):

Michael Bierut’s comment is:

I wish I were dead.
On Jan.08.2008 at 01:10 AM

Bad Gift Emporium

2008-09-17T16:18:00.003-05:00

www.badgiftemporium.com

Do you have a horrible, horrible gift? Would you like to acquire someone's horrible, horrible gift? Maybe you just want to have a good laugh? Here's another site by Barclay (they designed the March of Dimes website) to help you out. The tackiness and uniqueness of the interface goes well with the quirkiness of the content. This site is mostly designed in Flash and navigation is slow, but it's a fun way to kill a half hour. You never know, someone's white elephant could be dream come true.

Re-Re-Re-Recycler

2008-09-11T23:09:00.007-05:00

EnBw Spamrecycler
Communication Arts Interactive 13

Credits:
Paul Fleig/Stefan Walz, creative directors
Paul Fleig, writer
Joerg DiTerlizzi/Marko Ritter, programmers
Fabian Buergy, graphic designer
Fabian Roser, 3-D designer
Christine Seelig, project manager
Jung von Matt, project design and development/client

Don't know what to do with all the junk in your spam folder? Why, recycle it, of course! Send your spam to the EnBw Spamercycler. The site uses Flash 8 programming with PHP scripts (or binary voodoo, as i like to call it), and voila. Instant art. The design team has this to say about the process:

The algorithms of the Recycler are taken from collider experiments in modern physics and a new render engine which creates JPEGs out of Flash (this one ticked-us-off for weeks). The process breaks-down the spam mail into its very particles and accelerates them. Every particle leaves a characteristic trace depending on its individual kinetic energy.

Like I said, binary voodoo. In case you were wondering, here's how my turned out:

Pain is Good 'Zine

2008-09-07T13:12:00.003-05:00

Pain is Good Magazine
Client: Original Juan
Design Firm: Barkley
Source: Communication Arts Annual Interactive 14

This is the cover and contents page for a 'zine used to advertize hot sauces. I love the campy, retro feel and the hand-drawn type radiating from the product. It makes me want to read the 'zine and I don't much care for hot sauce!

March of Dimes

2008-09-07T12:59:00.004-05:00

MARCH OF DIMES: Wonder Site
Design Firm:Barkley
Source: Communication Arts 14

Aww...The baby sucks its toooooes! A flash animation video of different babies appears behind hundreds of searchable questions. You can click on the links or search for a specific question. The answers appear in a new window in a clean, much more conventionally designed layout. Overall, it is a creative concept and navigation system, but it takes way too long to load on my computer.

Jonathan Yuen

2008-08-30T20:43:00.004-05:00

Jonathan Yuen Portfolio Website
Communication Arts 13

This lyrical portfolio site seems to be made entirely with Flash. The result is a fluid, lyrical digital interpretation of a zen scroll. When you hover your mouse over the minute red circle beside each Chinese character, the screen scrolls over to the next animation. This is a perfect example of how an unconventional navigation system can be simultaneously innovative, intuitive, and beautiful.

And Then There Were Two...

2008-08-30T11:10:00.005-05:00

In this day and age when branding is ubiquitous, you'd think that our presidential candidates would put a little more thought into how they package their image into a logo. Every nuance, line, and joke that issues forth from their mouths is subject to endless analysis from the media, but the graphics they choose as visual shorthand for whom they are seldom get any scrutiny. The two notable exceptions are the remaining candidates. I think Obama has the best presidential logo I have ever seen. The round, geometric O depicts a sunrise against a blue sky. The stripes evoke a landscape that leads off into a hopeful tomorrow. It is sunny, contemporary, and hopeful, while the clean, well-kerned serif font beneath (Gotham) is more traditional and inspires confidence with its mixture of upper nd lower case caps.

John McCain, on the other hand, chose Optima for his logo. The typeface is blunt, ugly, and to the point, much like the persona he projects. It is no cincidence that the font used is the one in which names are written at the Vietnam Memorial. This, plus the naval star remind us of his military experience.

Visual Complexity

2008-08-29T16:38:00.007-05:00

Visual Complexity

This is the only website I've found so far mentioned in a design publication that seems to make no use of Flash. It doesn't need it. The grid structures, easy to follow architecture, and clear navigation system are perfect for viewing these beautiful images.

Picardie

2008-08-29T16:14:00.005-05:00

Client: Picardie
Designer: Catherine LePage
Source: Communication Arts interactive Annual 14

I love the whimsical treatment of this typographic design. The text skips along the page and has very obviously been hand-drawn; there are variations in size and shape within the same letters.

JLern Design

2008-08-29T15:53:00.006-05:00

http://www.jlern.com/
Communication Arts Interactive Annual 14

This portfolio site uses Flash in a way that is unique and fresh. Upon first entering the home page we see a sparse, black and white typographic grid placed on a diagonal. As you move the mouse, however, you change the direction of the grid and trigger brightly colored ornamental animation. Clicking on features zooms in and out of the image.

Restraint

2008-08-29T14:25:00.005-05:00

Restraint

This font was released in 2007 by Tiroworks. It was created by Marian Bantjes, an illustrator. It is an ornamental typeface with letters included so you can build intricate ornamental design in a modular manner around the letters. Where the majority of ornamental type begins with a typeface onto which swashes and decoration are added, this one was built inside-out. The characters themselves have been defined by the negative space of the ornament, as if the letterforms are just a lucky happenstance. Ornate borders and swirly pattern based designs magically reveal themselves as words.

It looks like it requires a lot of forthought to use correctly (it comes with rather detailed instructions). This sfont should definitely be used sparingly as a display font, but in the right context it could be spectacular.

The Guardian II

2008-08-22T13:24:00.014-05:00

After my last post, I decided to do a little bit more research on the Guardian. As it turns out, the advertising campaign was part of the newspaper's massive rebranding initiative in 2005. During this time, the Guardian switched from a black and white broadsheet to a full-color Berliner print format. They created a new all lowercase logo to reflect their unbiased, center-left reporting. Finally, they commissioned a new type system form scratch from SchwartzCo Inc. The new family is a slab-serif design with a large x-height, low contrast and open aperture that includes: Guardian Egyptian, Guardian Sans, Guardian Text Egyptian, Guardian Text Sans, and Guardian Agate. Each font comes in numerous expressive weights, and are adopted to fit the unique needs of each newspaper section.

The chief designer behind all of this was Mark Porter. If you have an hour to kill, grab a beer and pop some popocorn because here's a link to a video in which he goes through the entire process! He's a very eloquent public speaker, and the Guardian has become one of the standards for newspaper designs, so I think it's worth watching. It touches upon many of the challenges with which news designers (print and web) will be contending in the near future.

Mark Porter Video

The Guardian

2008-08-22T12:28:00.013-05:00

The Guardian
wieden + kennedy london
Luerzer's Archive

I came across this ad campaign for the Guardian in Luerzer's Archive. I was initially attracted to the way type was used as illustration, and to the fact that the bright color palette was not one typically associated with a newspaper. It was clever and unexpected, and the serif font (probably Guardian Egyptian) remains legible in spite of the overlap and transparencies.

Here's another ad from the same campaign by Wieden + Kennedy. The same serif font and vibrant color palette is repeated. This time the copy is kerned tightly to the point of overlap to illustrate the point that you can create a hierarchy through means other than size and weight. In this case, the color palette grabs our attention and creates subtle focal points facilitate reading.

Design for Chunks

2008-08-11T20:47:00.007-05:00

http://www.designforchunks.com/

Design for Chunks
Forcefeed Swede
Computer Arts 149

Originally an idea by graphic design studio Forcefeed Swede, I stumbled upon Design for Chunks by browsing through Forcefeed Swede's website, which was mentioned in Issue 149 of Communicaiton Arts. The site's striking color and retro illustrations are a perfect complement to the tongue-in-cheek copy and subject matter. It's purpose is to house an online gallery of custom-designed air-sickness bags designed by up-and-coming young designers. The site eventually came to the attention of Virgin Atlantic, who commissioned 20 designs and printed them on 500,000 sickbags over a period of 6 months.

The logo and illustrations look like they're right out of an '80s safety manual. Flash animation is used throughout the site minimally and to great effect. It has a simple, clear navigation system, but throws in some surprise links to keep us on our toes. The sick-bag themselves are also nothing to barf at. The ones in the archives tend to be funnier and edgier, so they are worth taking a peek at.

Convertible CD Cover

2006-12-08T19:48:00.000-06:00

http://www.commarts.com/CA/interactive/cai04/
Package design, 2004
Sagmeister, Inc. (New York, New York)
(2005) 365: AIGA Year in Design 26

This cover is for an album by the Austrian analog/digital musician Hans Platzgummer. I love the way the designers used the inherent shape of a CD-Case to create a whimsical iconography. A minimum amount of circles is employed to create the illusion of an imaginary underwater creature; the use of primary colors enhances the simplicity of the geometric shapes.

Insects and Spiders, Oh My!

2006-12-08T19:47:00.000-06:00

http://designarchives.aiga.org/
Illustration, 1999
U.S. Postal Service
(2000) 365: AIGA Year in Design 21

Commisioned by the US Postal Service, these series of 20 stamps are not only beautifully illustrated, but intelligently executed as well. By using artfully placed shadows and arranging the images so that they overlapped the adjoining stamps, the creepers seem to be crawling on the paper. The vibrant colors add to the sense of motion, so that the stamps are visually appealing both as a grid and as individual compositions.

Color in Motion CD-ROM

2006-12-08T19:39:00.000-06:00

http://www.commarts.com/CA/interactive/cai04/
Interactive Annual 10: Color in Motion

In order to appreciate this MFA thesis on color, please visit the slide show posted on the Interactive Annual Website (2004). This innovative and interactive CD_ROM uses universal icons, playful animation, and fun music to illustrate properties of color and how they relate to the natural world. The designer broaches a complex subject in a clear, entertaining manner.

Chicago Chocolate Co.

2006-12-08T19:36:00.000-06:00

http://www.commarts.com/ca/exhibit/103006/
Chicago Chocolate Co. in-store posters
Frank Dattalo, art director/designer/illustrator
Mike Roe, writer
Frank Dattalo/Mike Roe, creative directors
Marty Orzio, executive creative director
Communcation Arts Archive

Chicago agency Energy BBDO took inspiration in scientific studies that have linked women's need for chocloate with physiological causes. This humorous parody of medical illustrations
depict the reaction of a female brain when a piece of chocolate is being eaten. Great '50s-type illustration enhances the mood, as it alludes to the era's educational videos.

Alphabets Packaging

2006-12-08T19:29:00.000-06:00

http://designarchives.aiga.org/
(2000) 365: AIGA Year in Design 21
Package Design, 1999
Lisa Billard Design (New York, New York)

Billing themselves as a “modern general store,” Alphabets houses a diverse collection of toys, books and ephemera. Playing off of Alphabets’ name, an illustrative style reminiscent of children’s “learntoread” flash cards represents the store’s vast range of products and its whimsical attitude. Keeping in mind the low cost of many items sold in the store, all packaging needed to be relatively inexpensive. Artwork was created that would not only not suffer by inexpensive reproduction, but would be enhanced by it.

I am Charlotte Simmons

2006-12-08T19:28:00.000-06:00

http://designarchives.aiga.org/
(2006) 365: AIGA Year in Design 27
Book Design, 2005

This beautifully designed book echoes the innocence, strength, and beauty of Tom Wolfe's heroin. The filigree design in the background is an apt contrast to the simplicity of the curvilinear figure and sans sarif typography depicted in the foreground.

ABC

2006-12-08T19:26:00.000-06:00

http://designarchives.aiga.org/
(2006) 365: AIGA Year in Design 27
Book Design, 2005

Hurricane Poster Project

2006-12-08T19:21:00.000-06:00

http://designarchives.aiga.org/
(2006) 365: AIGA Year in Design 27
Promotional design and advertising, 2005
Laurie DeMartino Design Co. (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Nestea Ice Tea Website

2006-12-08T19:17:00.000-06:00

http://www.commarts.com/CA/interactive/cai06/
Interactive Annual 12: Nestea Ice (Winner Advertising Category)

The Nestea ICE microsite combines extremely detailed illustration with quirky viral video content, all unified by a Monty Pythonesque style of animation and sound. The attention to detail in all aspects of the project, from sound design to interactivity, seems as though it probably reflects both the fun and passion the developers must have had for the project. The more you watch, the more you're immersed.

Hifana Wamono Music Video

2006-12-08T19:11:00.000-06:00

Comment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWHbORS_7iE
designarchives.aiga.org
(2006) 365:AIGA Year in Design 27 (56/179)

Please follow above link to fully appreciate this a celebration of Nippon culture and identity. Wamono is a music video that explores Japanese music, folklore, identity, art and technology, reinterpreting them as a contemporary hybrid expression of Japanese history. Originally made as a promotional video for the music of HIFANA (a Japanese music company), the video utilizes an ukiyo-e like style, but with unconventional and strange characters. This unusually unique pictorial world ends with a party inside a huge fish's stomach, what more could anybody want?.

Little Monsters

2006-12-08T18:58:00.000-06:00

http://designarchives.aiga.org
(2006) 365: AIGA Year in Design. 27 (46/179)

Mocking Birdies

2006-12-08T18:57:00.000-06:00

http://designarchives.aiga.org
(2006) 365: AIGA Year in Design. 27 (128/179)
Book Design, 2005

This deceptively simple children’s book, depicts a blue and a red bird imitating each other’s actions and “speech.” The lines are also staggered, so the colors and layout work in harmony with its jazzy meter. Eventually, the two birds join up, chirping purple lyrics, until a purple bird joins them as their songs spread this way and that across the page. Even the wires where they perch become bars of music. Annette Simon’s minimalist style makes the most of a few simple shapes and primary colors surrounded by ample white space. The way the figures appear on the page is echo the book's musicality, with their own visual rhythm.

Dry Soda Bottles

2006-12-08T18:54:00.000-06:00

http://designarchives.aiga.org
(2006) 365: AIGA Year in Design. 27 (42/179)

Mad Science

2006-12-08T18:51:00.000-06:00

Mad Science in the Imperial City
http://designarchives.aiga.org
(2006) 365: AIGA Year in Design. 27 (123/179)
Book Design, 2005

This is an extraordinary design for an engaging book. Mad Science in Imperial City, by Shanxing Wang, relates the experience of someone who left China after the Tiananmen Square massacre to settle in the U.S. The book is divided into four linked sections of poetic prose that draw both from the lyric and novel tradition; it utilizes scientific diagrams, mathematical equations, lists, and even a menu from an imagined Poetry Auction. All of this is integrated seamlessly by the designers, as can be seen in the jacket depicted above.

Creepcakes

2006-12-08T18:41:00.000-06:00

Havainas

2006-10-04T17:50:00.000-05:00

Here's an amazing flash-based website from Brazil. It was one of the Communication Arts' Interactive Annual winners in the advertising category. The address is www.havaianas.com.br/#

The flash animation is beautiful and inspired by a "neo-1960s-Ipanema-trippy-groovy" look. Each sandal is allocated a remixed version of one theme and six versions of the site exist in three different languages. The company manages to make its extensive catalogue fresh and interesting by creating a unique visual world that permeates the entire site. Even though each page has its own unique imagery, the site remains unified through style and the degree of saturation of its color palette.

Cronan Designs

2006-09-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

This week I'm posting this magazine cover for Cronan Designs. I love the way this designer used color. I'm still trying to analyze the color scheme.. It doesn't seem to conform to any of the color schemes I learned about in Art 121!

Guy's Guide to Giving Gifts

2006-09-20T22:22:00.000-05:00

The cover to A Guy's Guide to Giving Gifts, also designed by Dianne Gibson and featured in Graphis Design Annual 2005, uses humour to illustrate the book's content. The chord with which the book seems to be wrapped alludes to a particularly unwise choice of present for Valentines or Christmas, as does the fact that the cover mimics a brown paper package wrapping stamped with the words "Return to Sender." The credits are written on masking tape at the edgges of the book and the designer plays with our expectations of depth as we cannot tell whether the chord is two or three dimensional. An analogous color scheme of red, pink, and orange is used; while a hand-made font in the title card adds humour and whimsy to the piece.

The Skin Game

2006-09-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

I found this design in Graphis International, 2005. Designed for American Airlines magazine, this image accompanied an explanation of what different plastic surgery techniques accomplish and how they work. The designer, Dianne Gibson, plays with our expectations by interposing a black and white face on top of a colored one. Illusion of depth is created by the illusion of peeled back paper on the forehead, left eye, and right half of the lips. By seeming to escape the format, the "peeled back" areas seem to project into the viewer's space. The rectangles that reveal the younger-looking colored face provide unity of shape and color. In spite of the symmetrical nature of the faces, the design is asymmetrically balanced. The two smaller horizontal rectangles on the top half of the composition are grounded by a heavier, vertical rectangle at the bottom that extends to the edge of the format. Color is balanced by the fact that the eye on the left, a strong focal point, is counteracted by two larger areas of color on the right.

Kikkerland Classic Card Games

2006-09-06T21:20:00.000-05:00

This week I am posting a design from the AIGA design archive webpage.This redesign of the classic card games Old Maid, Go Fish, and Crazy Eights for Kikkerland by Adam & Gabrielle Lewin is included in the package design category of (2005) 365:AIGA Year in Design 26. The design parameters required that the Lewins develop designs that would entertain both children and their parents while working around the added challenge of printing on clear plastic cards. They succeeded on all fronts by utilizing: bright colors in complementary or near complementary schemes and whimsical shapes to appeal to children; multilayered wit and sophisticated, highly detailed, intelligent design to appeal to the parents; and, finally, they took advantage of their medium by creating clear "peepholes" to create depth and optical illusion.

The packaging of these clear plastic card games are at once unique, visually stimulating, aesthetically pleasing, and durable. I would buy them in a hearbeat and I don't even like cards!

Bean Counter

2006-08-27T18:25:00.000-05:00

I'd like to start my first blog entry with this simple, yet brilliantly executed letterhead for Vicky Freeman, Accountant (Graphis Design Annual 2005, p143). Produced by Watts Design, the logo plays on the term "bean counter" in a way that introduces whimsy and creativity to a profession that is usually associated with boredom. On the right hand corner of the page, humorously alluding to creative accountancy, we find images indicating that one bean plus another bean equals three beans. The next grouping is found slightly below; in bold, gray sans serif letters is written the name of the accountant followed on the line below by the italicized words "bean counter' printed in the same brown as the beans. The final grouping provides contact information in the same gray color as the name. The color scheme acts a unifying element in the composition of the design. The mathematical symbols are executed in the same gray as the contact information and name, which in turn are written in a simple, no-nonsense sans-serif font (after all Vicky Freeman is an accountant). The brown of the of the beans is echoed by the brown of the phrase "bean counter." This not only adds contrast, but helps emphasize the concept in a subtle manner. Finally, the whole effect is repeated on the envelope and business card, in this way creating a complete brand identity.