Hey everyone, as I’ve told you in class we are having an AIGA Members Only Show opening March 1st. If you’d like to enter some of your fantastic, beautiful, and amazing work, you can download the entry form below.
Dues to join AIGA are due to me by Thursday, February 4th. $50 cash or check (written out to me).
No matter what the project, posters always act as great inspiration. Here are some great links to even greater poster designs…
Hurricane Poster Project
The Small Stakes
Patent Pending Industries
Ellen Mcfadden’s sets on Flickr
Eleanor Grosch
The Little Friends of Printmaking
The Heads of State
got any more to add? leave a comment!
Hey everyone. Click here to download a printable pdf of our Spring 2010 Frank Mac Lab Schedule. Unfortunately we do not have enough monitors to cover all the shifts… so like last semester we will need volunteers to work on Fridays and Sundays. If you’d like to volunteer for a shift, please email me at mscotton@shepherd.edu. Thanks all!
Hey ladies and gents! Welcome to the spring semester of 2010. Hope you all had a great and refreshing winter break! I’m excited to start the semester and to get working on all your awesome projects!!! See you soon!
As part of your new assignment you will be conducting research to learn “what is good editorial design.” First of all, purchase the most current issue of one of the following magazines. Wired, Esquire, Dwell, Surface, How, Print, Good Magazine, Communication Arts, W, GQ, Vanity Fair, Blender, or Fortune.
1. Pick an editorial within the magazine that is at least 2 spreads in length.
2. Locate the title of the article. What typeface is it? What style is it? What point size is it?
3. Locate the subheading. What typeface, style, point size is it? Describe how the designer differentiated the subheading from the title. If is is more than one line, what is the leading?
4. Locate the authors name. What is the typeface, style, and point size?
Are there any other typographic treatments within the introductory text of the article. If so, give detailed information pertaining to its typeface, style, and point size.
Notice how the designer used hierarchy to guide your eye.
Now onto the body copy. Is there a drop cap? What size is the type? What typeface is it set in? What is the leading? Are there sub-headings within the type? How does the designer differentiate them? Are there any other typographic treatments applied within the body copy (bolds, italics, etc), how are they used. Are there callouts?
Now onto the overall layout. Take a ruler and ball point pen and measure right in your magazine. The width of the body copy columns. What is the width of the gutter? What is the width of the margins (on all sides)?
Are there any illustrations/photos incorporated into your article? How do they integrate with the text?
Does anything appear aligned?
You have now dissected your magazine. Please answer these questions in sentence form and give more detail when necessary.
Check out the hundreds, actually make that THOUSANDS, of book cover designs over at The Book Cover Archive. They also give you links to the portfolios of Book Cover Designers and great sites on book cover design. Go explore and be inspired!
Make sure you come check out the beautiful student design work being shown Saturday, October 24th, 6:30–9:30 pm at the Blue Elephant Art Center in Frederick, Maryland as part of the Blue Ridge AIGA Chapter’s Flux ‘09 Student Design Competition. The exhibit showcases design work from undergraduate and graduate design students from around the country! It is a great opportunity to check out awesome design projects, but also to network with other designers in the community.
Here are directions to the Blue Elephant Art Center from Shepherdstown as well as a great article from The Frederick News-Post. Hope to see EVERYONE there!
The idea of a mood board was introduced to you today and you are to design one for Friday’s class. I have provided some image samples for you below. You could also read, “Why Mood Boards Matter,” a great resource that will really clarify why and how. Another great online resource is Getting Moody. This source really breaks down different approaches to the mood board and how different professions utilize them. You can also check out more examples on the Flickr Group, Inspiration Boards. Checking out those resources will assure that your mood board will be a great first step in the design of your book jacket. Have fun inspiring yourselves. And of course with any project make sure you execute this one with good composition, great quality print-outs and examples, and awesome craftsmanship!
images from decor8 and flickr inspiration boardsSo you guys know that you will be turning in your designer’s notebooks next week. This mid-term check is worth 1/2 of your notebook grade. Well if you’ve been slacking in the inspiration category, here’s your chance to bulk it up to make sure you get the whole 50 fabulous points.
As a designer you should be taking time every day to immerse yourself in the world of graphic design — whether it is checking out your favorite designer’s blog, reading a design periodical, or just browsing online portfolios. I can not stress enough how important it is to be looking at things. It not only expands your mind as to what is possible with a graphic design degree but also allows you to figure out what your individual approach will be. Sometimes it is fun to find designers and to try to figure out… “how’d they do that?” It’s also really interesting to search through their sites or interviews to see if they offer insight into their process. There are an INSANE amount of styles and visual approaches in design and if you do your research you are bound to find hundreds of designers you find interesting.
However, let’s start small. Your project over the weekend is to beef up the inspiration section of your designer’s notebook. You are to find 10 designers/illustrators that inspire you or that you find interesting. Maybe you like their style or find their work humorous. Maybe you find their designs mysterious and intriguing. Maybe you just love their typographic choices or color palettes. The possibilities are endless.
As you find your 10 inspiring designers, print off examples of their work. You are welcome to print directly from their website or save their jpgs to your computer and collage them in photoshop. It is important you print their examples in color. Try to print out at least 3 different pieces from each designer. Put these tasty design/illustration examples into the inspiration section of your notebook. Make sure their name is included somewhere with their work. If you follow these guidelines you’ll be well on your way to being a well rounded and informed designer.
But wait! We’re not done yet! Out of these 10 designers you are to pick your favorite. One designer that you are just totally in love with. I then want you to send me an email with their name. You should send me their name by Monday, October 19 at 9pm. You are also to prepare a ONE MINUTE presentation on why you like this designer. This could include: what inspired you about their work, a little background information on who they are, what clients they work with, what school they went to, what programs they use to create their designs, and more! You should be able to talk straight through your presentation (1 minute). There will be time for a Q&A after your presentation so make sure you are prepared.
I would like you to conduct research on your own when it comes to the designers you like, but I will be updating this post soon with online resources that may help you locate awesome designers. Stay tuned!
UPDATE
So I’ve gotten a few good emails with great designer choices. However, I haven’t heard from everyone, so maybe some of you are struggling with where to find good designers. One good place to start is AIGA’s Design Archives. Unlike other sites that show everyone’s work you can be assured that the work you find here is award winning! You can click on past years, but it might be best to look at the selections for 2009. Another good site is Coroflot. Here designers and firms can post their work for potential employers to see. The bad thing about this site is the content is created by the users, no editing is involved. So you could come in contact with a bunch of crap. However, used selectively you can find some great work here!
I’ve repeated some great design periodicals for you to check out. Good thing is they also have great websites. One in particular is Print. Their site is great and showcases interviews from and information about a variety of designers. They even have a whole page dedicated to inspiring imagery. Hmm how bout that?!!
There are also some great blogs. Follow some links, check out some sites, get lost in the beautiful imagery and creative concepts. Design Sponge, Fly, Print and Pattern, Oh Joy, more from Joy here, Urban Outfitters blog, Poppytalk, DDC, Mike Perry, Design is Kinky, Frank Sturges Reps, i2i Art Inc. More to come! Stay tuned again!