Recent Posts
Barbara Stahl’s Artful Walls
As I walk into work each morning I can’t help but notice the enormous Indiana Pacers season schedule painted on the side of our six-story building facing the entry pavilion of Conseco Fieldhouse. I always knew the wall was not your average advertisement. I’ve always felt that the way it was painted had a meaningful, even artful, touch. I recently found out why.
Iconic Buildings Become Iconic Brands
RATIO has had the good fortune to work on several projects in Indianapolis that, over time, have become city landmarks. Our firm has always advocated for designs that tell stories – sometimes of the activities going on inside.
credit: www.indianamuseum.org
Oh my God, Chartreuse!
Each time I visit a store and peruse the season’s latest fashions, I am uncontrollably drawn to anything chartreuse. Whether it’s a purse, belt, jacket or skirt, if it’s chartreuse, I want it.
My love for this color does not stop with clothing and accessories. Say I was to come across a chartreuse dog collar: the fact that I don’t even own a dog would barely qualify as a reason not to purchase it. Do you think I buy low sodium soy sauce because I’m concerned about my heart? No. Do I buy it because the bottle is liberally dressed in chartreuse? Yes.
Let it Marinate
State your name.
Melissa Martin.
Do you swear to let it marinate, completely marinate and not return until it is fully marinated, so help your graphic design career?
So help my career, I do.
Today I got stuck in the purgatory all graphic designers know as design block. I was working on creating a marketing piece intended for a monograph pitch and just felt stuck. No amount of shifting photos or re-arranging titles was fixing the fact that something just wasn’t working.
Logo Design in 60 Minutes
Logo design is one of the most challenging tasks that a graphic designer can face. You’re creating an icon than embodies an entire brand. It’s got to be simplistic, yet complex. Colorful, yet able to be reproduced in black and white. Meaningful without being literal. In short, logo design can scare event the most seasoned designer silly.
Now, imagine being asked to create a logo in less than 60 minutes.
This is the situation I found myself in last week. One of my coworkers needed me to develop a logo for a presentation they were giving in hopes that it would enhance the presentation and create excitement. But I only had a little less than an hour to get it done, as they were leaving for the presentation asap.
Racy Refrigeration
As I was glancing through iStockphoto.com’s image gallery attempting to gather ideas for a mailer I’m designing, I did not expect to find myself looking at photos of barely dressed women posing in front of refrigerators. I was searching for a basic photo of a kitchen essential – maybe with some magnets attached. What’s the deal with women and refrigerators?
If you type the word “refrigerator” into iStockphoto’s search field you will certainly find refrigerators of all shapes, sizes and colors, as well as children, magnets and children playing with magnets. However, you will also find images of women standing next to, opening and even sitting in refrigerators sporting attire that would make a swimming pool blush.
Going Green for Graphics, Too
Because I am surrounded daily by architects, landscape architects, interior designers and planners I am well aware of the measures being taken to incorporate green elements into the built environment. I sense their dedication to “going green” and decide to investigate steps I can take as a graphic designer to create with less impact.
I recently browsed through the June 2009 issue of PRINT Magazine and discovered some ways to help me get started. An article titled “Greener is Smarter” showcased savvy packaging, ideas on eliminating excess and plenty of resourceful books and websites. Celery Design Collaborative, a firm located in Berkeley and Paris, was referenced throughout the article. The “Eco Tools” section of their website has a link to a Sustainability Scorecard. This unique tool could be considered a graphic designer’s version of the LEED Scorecard. Victory! I no longer feel sustainably inadequate among my peers!
Design is… Kinky?
During a blog brainstorm I think, “Wouldn’t it be great if I posted links to really cool super fun quirky design stuff?” I suppose the first step would probably be finding links to really cool super fun quirky design stuff. But, why bother fumbling through search engine results for “good design” when designiskinky.net has already done the work for me?
Whether I’m craving fresh ideas for a layout or I just want to feel reassured that others share my strange sense of humor, Design is Kinky is always there for me. The first time I visited the site I was intrigued by its name, but what I found even more intriguing was its content.
Comic Sans with a Vengeance
As my last post reveals, I am openly what some refer to as a “comic sans basher.” I thought I had it all figured out. Comic Sans is my least favorite font. No other letter forms have the capability to get me worked up in an unyielding fury of desire to practice good design the way Comic Sans does… until now.
During my recent vacation in southwest Florida I came across something that rivals the offensiveness of said font. Although I did not go bar hopping in Fort Myers Beach in hopes of discovering beautiful signage and goose bump inducing graphics at every turn, I certainly did not expect to find what I did at a seemingly harmless little shanty by the name of Chiggies.
Comic Sans, Nothing Funny About It
The font menu built into our computer software programs is a powerful tool. It gives us the ability to convey emotions, thoughts and ideas by making a simple selection. Many of these fonts have become overused, but Comic Sans stands out among the others in terms of wide spread inappropriate use. The application of this font has gone far beyond its original intent, which was to design a typeface that imitates comic book lettering.
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