Belazu Olive Oil

Graphis Design Annual, 2006, p173
Turner Duckworth, packaging

I found this design to be really clever. The "olive tree" is actually an olive sitting in the palm of a hand. This suggests to me the product is fresh from the grower, perhaps even picked by his own hand. The blue is a very interesting choice of color. It's different enough to stand out and seems to draw your eye to the label. The font also ties in well - bold but not overwhelming, pretty classy.

Figure Skater

Society of Illustrators 46th Annual of American Illustrations, p85
The New Yorker, Carter Goodrich, cover

The intent of this cover was to "comment on how vicious the sport of figure skating has become". Viciousness is not the message I got; competitiveness would be a better description. I found this design to be an great example of the design principles working together. Notice how the one little dark, clearly-defined puck balances against the mass of the children. The gradient at the top not only creates depth but provided an nice contrasting background for the magazine title. The use of white font allowed the entire composition to maintain an overall wintry feel. Any other font color choice would have completely changed the composition. The other interesting thing I noticed about the gradient is the subtle texture that was used created a haziness appropriate to winter and helped to integrate the trees in the background. Emphasis is clearly placed on the lone figure skater dressed in red and displaying a very evident expression of disgust. Rhythm is found in the carved circles on the ice. Even the group of children are surrounded by a circle of fairly evenly-spaced hockey sticks. Unity is seen in the proximity of the 3 groups - skater, children, and net. Unity is also found in the repetition of colors and in the repetitive "L" shape seen in the hockey sticks, the skater's bent leg, and the hockey net frame. The complimentary colors complete the harmonious composition by being of equal values.

Identity Theft

Workbook 26, Illustration and Design, p305
Marlena Agency, Tomasz Walenta

I love the symbolism of this "simple" design. It's a perfect icon for identity theft. What better way to represent personal identity than a fingerprint? The bright yellow "caution" background helps to capture the viewer's attention. The added details of the thief's mask and the binary code on the bottom of the illustration emphasize the meaning of the symbol.

Line Drawings

Workbook 26, Illustration and Design, p237
Felixsockwell.com, illustration

I found these simple line drawings interesting because they are one continuous line. This could make a fun project to practice on with the pen tool. :)

The Cost Vineyard

Graphic Annual Design, 2008, p160
The Cost Vineyard, Sandstrom Design, packaging

The common consumer seems to have greater access to a larger variety of wines than ever before in history. With the market becoming more competitive, labels and packaging will continue the campaign for originality. I think these are really interesting labels. They appear to be just random clippings from newspapers with a few key words to grab your attention. For the connoisseur who likes to collect, these would be a unique addition. The Cost Vineyard is described as "a new small winery with limited production for a high quality Pinot."

Warping 101

Graphic Design Annual, 2008, p214
Hewlett-Packard, The Integer Group

Isn't this an interesting example of warping? This is a promotional ad for Hewlett-Packard. Maybe the new fad is going to be "body shops" for computers for custom paint jobs. Sounds like an entrepreneurial idea to me! These are actually Disney Park-themed skins designed to serve as adhesive wraps.

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

Graphic Design Annual, 2008, p220
Eureka Tower, emeroystudio, signage

Here's an interesting use of graphic design This is a garage in a residential building called Eureka Tower. "From different viewpoints, the super-sized letterforms are perceived as either abstract distortions or literal directional information. When viewed in motion, the distorted words...snap into alignment...at key decision-making points." The client is in Singapore so I'm wondering if that's where this tower is. I love the bright bold colors. And by placing the words at angles, the signage is even more eye-catching and directional. If this is the garage, I wonder what the rest of the building looks like?

Ipod Ornament

Graphic Design Annual, 2008, p220
Apple, Graphic Design/Apple Computer

The crispness and the bright colors of this ad really caught my eye. It's looks so clean and it shows the product in a nice, simple way. When I looked at this ad, the design principles rolled through my thoughts - unity √; emphasis √; depth √; rhythm √; color √. The red ribbon "ties" everything together and provides the umph to the design that makes it stand out.

American Film Market

Workbook 26 Illustration and Design, 2004, p69
Kaiser Communications, poster

I think this is a very eye-catching design. It kind of reminded me of a Geisha girl with the lightened face, bright red lips, and the "hair" piled on top of her head. The use of movie reels for a hairdo adds a lot of visual interest and clues to the poster's purpose. Did you notice the dangling curl is a strip of film? The focal point is the woman's face. It is the brightest spot on an otherwise dark-valued poster. I found my eye first focusing on her face, particulary the bright red lips, then following the path up through the hair which points like an arrow to the beginning of the title. The background is also very effective. The hidden AFM logo is another reminder of the poster's intent. The texture in the background stripe adds a nice contrast to the smoothness of the woman. And the gradient from dark brown to blue skyes is also a visual indicator pointing up to the title. The blue skies give me the impression the sun is shining down upon the woman's face - maybe a blessing on the event? The use of the background as a diagonal band contiunes the line created by the woman's neck and back, again adding emphasis to the focal point. The drop shadows and the atmospheric shadows help to add a lot of dimension. Finally, the use of black adds drama to the whole design. It makes everything come together and POP!

Large-headed People

Workbook 26 Illustration & Design, 2004, p118.119
Eddie Guy, series of ad campaigns

Since we've been working in Photoshop, I thought I'd share these interesting ads. The exaggerated head sizes are the hooks in these designs. They go against our perceptions and people have a natural tendency to look twice at something that seems abnormal. The more you look, the more you notice. The ebay ad was fairly easy to figure out with the obvious clue on the computer screen. I got a kick out of looking at all of the typical stuff you can buy on ebay scattered around the room. I would consider the ebay ad out of balance with the big hand on the left looking like an added-on appendage to the ad. I think the other two ads are also out of balance. What do you think? Is it just because of the abnormally large heads that make me think they're out of balance ? The other two ads weren't very obvious to me what they were promoting. The man in the car is for Addidas. See the shoes and the logo on his shorts? The woman is an ad for "Bachelorette". I'm guessing that's a tv show and if you're familiar with it, you might have a better understanding of the meanings behind all of the hidden images. The bachelorette ad is interesting because there is no continuity in relative sizes of the objects. It's a completely random collage of images that have been very artfully arranged. Looking at this ad is like playing "I Spy". One thing that bothers me about this design are the obvious lines where the woman's face and arm have been cut and pasted. I wonder what the artist was purporting?