Marck Ecko

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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.