Is this Swiss enough?

TAXI Canada Inc. Ad Agency

Source: Communications Arts Advertising Annual 49, October 2008, p.84

With all of our classroom discussion about Swiss design, I thought this was a perfect fit for my blog. Very clean, very crisp, consistent throughout, and nice bold links. I love the arrows that lead you through the site and follow your mouse on drop down menus. The whole site reminds me of a clapboard. And I am amazed how the large font size works. It makes the site really stand out.

The Creative Circus

The Creative Circus

source: Ad in Communication Arts Design Annual 49, November 2008, p245

The Creative Circus is a 2-year educational program for advertising, design, and photography based in Atlanta. Their mission "is to graduate the best-prepared, most avidly sought-after creatives in the industry." Their website does a great job of demonstrating the concepts of creativity. The site is energetic, colorful, playful, fun and informative. I like how it incorporates so many of the issues we've discussed in class - the use of internal scrollbars, the page titles that are purposely overlapped, the way some pages are laid out slightly differently yet the key elements are the same so that the whole site is visually unified. The handwriting, doodles, and paint strokes seem to signify that creativity is a process and they add a nice contrast to the rigid rectangular photos. The site also includes videos, flash elements, pop-ups, and links to graduates' websites. My favorite element on the site is the stringed cups icon used to represent "contact us". (Remember using cups strung together to play "phone" as a child?)

Get the Glass!

gettheglass.com

client: California Milk Processor Board
design firms: North Kingdom, Sweden; and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco
source: Communication Arts Interactive Annual 14, p100

This online game is the result of a marketing campaign to increase milk consumption in California. The technology combined 3-D and videos to produce extremely detailed characters and surroundings. The game is based on milk trivia. The goal is to get the milk-deprived family to a glass of milk. The family has rap records of broken bones, bad teeth, etc. If you answer incorrectly, you take a physical challenge and if you mess that up, the family is sent to "Milkatraz". This site is really well done. Check it out!

Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

Turner Duckworth

Turner Duckworth
Firm: Turner Duckworth
source: Communication Arts Design Annual 49, November 2008, p81

This firm specializes in branding and packaging, putting stock in the smallest of details. Their web site is very clean — a bright white background and small, thin, minimal text which is light gray for information or red for navigation. On each page is an exclamation point logo in bold black with the dot being an eye that winks at you when you rollover it or click on a navigation button. The exclamation point logo was ingenuously kept at just the right size, receiving attention due to it's blackness — not it's size. And it's interesting how the thin "eyelid" stroke on the dot tones down the solidness of the logo by adding a touch of daintiness.
The firm presents their portfolio by placing small, isolated thumbnails of each client's branded package or logo in a simple grid structure. As you rollover each client's thumbnail, a text box pops up to identify the client. Many of the clients' full-size images had "discover the details" buttons. These resulted in magnified images that showed off the small details in their designs — such as a copyright symbol tucked inside of a dog's paw print instead of a basic circle. If you have time to explore, look for these details. They're quite impressive and make you think, "Ahhhh..."

Young & Rubicam

www.yandr.com

Communication Arts Design Annual 49, Nov 2008, p144
Firm: Y&R Advertising, Irvine, CA

This international advertising company does some incredibly innovative work and their website show it off in a very clean minimalistic way. (Steve - you'll like this one.)
The site uses a clean white background with only simple understated text links in vertical columns. Each page has a unique eye-catching image or film and a dividing line the viewer controls that acts as a sliding door to reveal more text or more image.
This site very effectively packs in an abundant variety of their portfolio. Some of the films take a while to load, but be patient — they're worth it. Be sure to check out the Spring Valley promotion under INNOVATION. If you have the time to explore this site, you will be well-entertained and very impressed.

Laurie Rosenwald

www.rosenworld.com

Designer: Laurie Rosenwald
Source: Communications Art Interactive Annual 14, Sept/Oct 2008, p14

After reading Laurie Rosenwald's article about making mistakes on purpose in order to create, I decided to check out her website and was not disappointed. It seems to be so random and off the wall that it just charms the socks off of you. I found myself exploring and exploring until I looked in every nook and cranny. Looking at her site feels like a walk through her subconscious. It's an art playground. The creative thinking oozes out. If you get a chance to check it out, click on the bee image to watch her animated shorts. After listening to her narrate, I've added her to my-people-I'd-like-to-meet list!

Paper Critters

papercritters.com

Designer: Ruperto Fabito, Jr.
Source: Communication Arts Interactive Annual 14, Sept/Oct 2008 p126

This fun interactive site allows the user to create 3-D paper box people that can be used digitally or actually printed to paper and made into toys. The site is artsy, intuitive, and somewhat addictive. I liked the hip colors and the well laid-out "floor plan" of the design. The logo reminds me of Pac-Man and lends to the adolescent appeal of the site. Be sure to check out the attached video. It's a 1-minute mini movie featuring a day in the life of paper critters. Coming from a family of aspiring filmmakers, I found it rather entertaining and a clever promotion.

Catherine LePage

www.catherinelepage.com

Designer: Catherine LePage
Source: Communication Arts, Sept/Oct 2008 p168

I saw this designer's work in a magazine and was intrigued because her work is all very signature — meaning everything she's produced has her own consistent style and feel. All of her work has a hand-drawn, doodle-cartoonish look.
Her website is in keeping with her style. It feels like a scrapbook with handwritten navigation buttons and a graph paper background. Each page clearly identifies where you are in the site with a big coral dot that moves from page to page along the navigation bar. The site packs in a lot of samples in a very organized way. Small thumbnails show just enough of the image to make the viewer want to click and find that piece of the puzzle in the big picture. It's like playing "Where's Waldo?" The site subtlely doubles content on one web page by sliding in a smaller secondary navigation bar for a page 2. It's so well done, you think you've seen it on every page.
Anyone seeing this site will know this designer's forte is illustration. This designer's site fits her like a glove.

http://valmiloje.com/
Designer: Valentin Miloje
Source: The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design, p175

The first thing that strikes me about this site is the logo. I love how it reflects the designer's tools of the trade. I can't figure out what the lines at the top of the M represent, though. Ideas?
The splash page follows a to-do checklist of design principles with the emphasis clearly being on the designer and not on a show-me-all-the-gadgets web site. Although the splash page appears to have a "button" to enter the site, the viewer can actually click on any part of the logo or name to enter. The home page is set up in a simple grid system with a broad spectrum of projects represented. One of the interesting things I noticed was a button labeled "creative process" which leads to — SURPRISE — a sketchbook page!

Next Stop: Creativity

www.creativitystop.net

Designer: Brunella Giannangeli
Source: The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design, 2009, p180

This site pulls out all the bells and whistles - no pun intended. It opens with the sound of a train horn and ends with the title rolling to a stop on a blank screen. From there, the train theme continues. The navigation is set up as a railroad map with some of the stops being clickable. The background of the website looks like digital scrapbooking with the purpose of showing the designer's skills in Illustrator. The site actually gets quite old very quickly but it does remain consistent in it's train theme. The designer's reason for the transportation motif was to express the idea of motion — the idea that her work is progressive and modern (and unique).
I found the site interesting for two reasons: first, the fact that it was mentioned as an example for a portfolio piece, and second, because it appears to be the total opposite of what our artist, Joan Stolz, desires for her site.

Hatch Design

hatchsf.com

Designer: Hatch Design, San Francisco
Source: How, April 2009, p153

This site is a great example of the nostalgic photograph look we discussed in class. All of the images have that Polaroid feel with the wide white border which includes identifying labels. The site opens with stacked images showing rotating slides of their work for several clients, all of which are clickable. The site has a very strong rectangular element to it, which contrasts nicely with their minimalistic logo of lowercase Helvetica-rounded letters.
The most interesting aspect of the site is the way they approached showcasing their work. On each client's "Polaroid", there are small thumbnails in the white border which bring up images of everything they've done for the client, including labels, packaging, logos, corporate identities, web sites, even photographs. I found this to be a really clever way of showing their diversity. I think it also speaks volumes to see how clients use them for all aspects of their marketing.

AKQA

www.akqa.com

Designer: AKQA, San Francisco
Source: 2009 How Design Annual, p163

The more you delve into this site, the more you appreciate its "bone structure". The site is solid in its foundation. It's set up like a t.v. with everything anchored and surrounded by a frame. Each click changes the inside information but the very diminutive buttons are permanently placed.
The site starts with a different splash page every time you enter the site. Each is quite unique — from a still shot of a cartoon with an annoying laugh to a video to a slide show.
The information is presented in a very minimalistic style with lots of white space and small, clean black type in close proximity. An unexpected element is a hand drawing on the other side of the screen introducing many of the pages by drawing a "play diagram" with a pencil leading the viewer to the title of the page. I found the contrast between the sketchy pencil and the clean white slate of structured type to be visually stimulating. The site looks sterile when it's dormant, but press a link and it always a surprise.
The contact page had a nice visual with a shadow of each city that the company had an office in located on the bottom of the page. By clicking either the city name or its corresponding shadow, the office location and information popped up. It makes you wonder if they choose a city to put an office in based on whether it has a recognizable skyline? Hmmm...

Cliff Bar 2 Mile Challenge web site

WWW.2milechallenge.com
Designer: Cobra Creative, San Francisco www.cobracreative.com
source: 2009 How Design Annual, p167

I was drawn to this web site's image in a magazine because of it's bold, clean graphics. I liked the complimentary color scheme and the asymmetric balance. The actual site is full of interactive elements, animation, and video. The navigation is very definitive and consistent throughout the site. The graphics are also consistent throughout the site.
Only one font is used, an easy-to-read sans serif, in only 3 type sizes.

Taking Shape

Fresh Ideas in Brochure Design, 1997, p29
Purdue University School of Education, Designer: Sue Miller, Annual Report

This is an annual report that was created for Purdue University School of Education. It was based on the idea that "although the school was young, it was quickly taking shape." Taking Shape became the theme and shapes were used to crop photos or frame quotes. Notice how the designer continued the circular shape of the cropped ball image in the triangle with a curved text path. This small line of text very effectively seems to anchor the large image to the rest of the composition and balances the opposing text. I also like the way the curved text was placed around the large circular image. The way in which the bottom text is purposely misaligned adds a lot of visual interest to the page as a whole. The fonts used are Futura and Garamond.

Is it or is it not?

TDC Annual Typography 29, p56
Design: Evan Gaffney, bookcover

I found this bookcover really intriguing. At first, I kept trying to figure out if the "receipt" was stapled on or if it really was part of the cover. It just seemed hard to conceive of creating a bookcover then "covering" it with a pretend receipt. But then when you read the title, you get an "a-ha!" moment and you realize the bookcover is brilliant. What better way to represent selling than with a receipt? Even more interesting is the fact that the "receipt" uses no numerals. The monotype font with its thin square characters and wide kerning give the impression of numbers on an adding machine tape, further enhanced by the long vertical right-justified placement. Finally, by keeping the pretend "cover" simple, attention is focused on the "receipt".
Fonts used include ITC Edwardian Script, Garamond FB, and FF Typestar.

Sculptured

TDC Annual Typography 29, p99
Design: Sonya Dyakova, book

This is such a perfect type treatment for a book about sculpture. The designer very effectively created what appears to be 3-D strips of paper lying on their edges to spell out the title. The letters themselves are "sculptures". The use of white on white reinforces the concept of a paper alphabet. I like the added details of "cuts" in the background that give the impression that the letters are literally pushed through the paper. Looking at this cover reminds me of standing playing cards up on edge to create "houses".

The font used is called Paper Alphabet created by this designer.

St. Lou Is

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, St. Louis, Missouri

As I was riding down the escalator to baggage claim at the St. Louis airport, I looked up and saw this painted on the wall. (Yes, I looked pretty silly going back up the escalator to take the picture.) I loved the play on the city's name and the way the city's trademark arch is used to engage the viewer's eye by leading you from the St. Lou to the is. The gradient in the arch and the asymmetrical legs of the arch create a follow-the-bouncing-ball effect with the ball being the SQUARE dot of the i. How ironic is that!
The design's focal point is clearly the word is created by contrast in color and font weight and by its placement. The proximity of all the elements would lend this design to be easily used as a logo. The font is the ubiquitous Helvetica - it's everywhere!

Rodrigo Sanchez

www.underconsideration.com/speakup/metropoli
Metropoli Sunday newspaper supplement for El Mundo, Rodrigo Sanchez, Spain

I went online to research Rodrigo Sanchez, a designer well-known for his very artsy and original Metropoli magazine covers in Spain. Much of his work makes use of typography as art. This particular cover made me think of my fellow classmates solution to a book cover design so I wanted to share it.
I find it amazing to see a magazine cover with so much empty white space. It's very refreshing and allows the viewer to actually enjoy the design. The design draws attention to itself just because of this space. Also, the white effectively balances the bold black font so it's not so overwhelming. I'm not sure what exactly the cover reads but I've deduced it's something about the magic of Peter Pan enveloping the Metropoli.
I can't decide the direction of the flow—is the magic flowing into the title or dropping out of it? The gold stars work great as a symbol of magic and the randomness of size and placement are effective in imparting a feeling of floating.
The best thing about Rodrigo Sanchez's covers is the dynamic treatment of the title. He has the freedom to alter the font and the placement of the magazine's name to fit the cover's design. How fun is that! Notice on this cover, the name is floating off the page! The font he chose for this cover is a very solid, heavy slab serif which makes a perfect contrast to the fluid, airy design of the cover.
The site link above shows 50 Metropoli covers.

Vincon

www.designarchives.aiga.org, collection 2008 AIGA 356:29
designer:Ena Cardenal de la Nuez, Madirid, Spain

I fell in love with these shopping bags at first sight. How fun! The designs are so bold and simple and the bright red "gift tag" bearing the store's name begs to be read. I enjoyed the lack of verbiage on this bag. Again, it's the simplicity that sells it.
This is very successful series of bags designed for Vincon which seems to be well-known for their very clever packaging. Check out their site for more designs at vincon.com. They are also known for their eye-catching window displays which you can also see on their site. Vincon is a retailer that sells contemporary design products for the home with storefronts in Barcelona, and Madrid. Their logo was designed by America Sanchez in 1972 and they have been at the front in graphic design ever since.

Harriette's Song

www.americandesignawards.com, 2007 Winter Semi-Annual Awards
design firm: Rule29 Creative, logo

Harriette's Song is an organization that matches corporations to projects that aid impoverished children around the world. They associate their mission to music and the desire to "change the world's tune".
I found their logo to be a perfect fit. I loved the way the H and S are incorporated into the shape of a guitar. The logo simply and elegantly represents the company's name and the musical symbolism of their mission. The curvaceous letters used in the figure contrast effectively with the sans serif font used for the company's name and give the logo a very lyrical feel.

Legacy of Courage

www.americandesignawards.com, 2008 Winter Semi-Annual Awards
designer: Rene Steiner, book cover

I found this design on the American Design Awards website and was intrigued with the text wrap around the image. It turns out to be not only visually interesting but symbolic as well. The book is about Ola Pawlowska who was born into Polish aristocracy and forced to flee to Canada during World War II. There she entered the Baha'i faith and became a Knight of Bah'u'llah, which is a teacher/missionary of the faith. This led Ola to travel the world and teach her beliefs. The dandelion is symbolic of the Baha'i faith and the the countries listed in the text wrap represent the areas where Ola spread her faith. I love the concept of the dandelion and the way the seeds are disbursed. It does make me pause to think about the association of a dandelion and weeds but I think since the designer is associated with the Baha'i, it is not meant to be taken in a negative connotation.
I believe the yellow color used by the designer is also symbolic. I looked up the definitions of color and found this color represents energy, intellect, optimism, enthusiasm, joy, and determination. All adjectives which seem to describe Ola based on the bio I read of her.
Did you notice the sun shining through in the upper corner which gives the design some depth? Also, the asymmetrical balance and the contrast of the rectangular block of text surrounded by circular elements add to the design appeal.
The text is an old-style serif used for publication purposes. The designer did a beautiful job of tracking the title and adjusting the leading to solidify the title. The designer is Rene Steiner from Switzerland/Canada. He has a superb portfolio and it seems that a lot of his work is designed around very detailed imagery, probably since he is also a distinguished photographer. His website links to other interesting design-oriented sites. Steinergraphics.com

Quarrel & Quandary

http://covers.fwis.com/quarrel__quandary
Designer: Barbara De Wilde, book cover

I think this is an excellent typographic solution for a book cover. The crispness and boldness of the design are quick to grab the viewer's attention. The red exclamation point and question mark framed by the bold black ampersand create a very eye-catching graphic element. I like the way the shared red dot seems to ground the whole design.
The typeface is a very unique decorative serif which I didn't have any luck identifying. All of the typefaces that were similar had upturned tails on the "Q"s. I like how the designer chose to use the regular font for "quarrel" and the italic font for "quandary". The regular font gives the word "quarrel" a solid concrete appearance while the italicized "quandary" kind of plays on the definition of quandary as being unfirm and wavering. Since "quandary" is in a true italic font, it offers enough contrast to "quarrel" to actually work and creates a sense of turbulence between the two words.
And back to the punctuation marks—the exclamation point emphasizes the word quarrel with its definitiveness while the question mark reinforces the uncertainty associated with a quandary. The bold red color emphasizes the stress between the two ideas and the black ampersand seem to tie the two concepts together. This design easily meets all design requirements: unity, balance, emphasis, rhythm, and depth.

High Fidelity

Front Cover Great Book Jacket and Cover Design, 2001, p130
Indigo, designer Gary Day-Ellison, Book Cover

The first thing that caught my eye in this design was the play on the dot of the "i" in the title. The dot corresponds to the center of the LP and the bright yellow seems to stand out in the dark colors surrounding it. I really enjoy the "i" turned upside down that shares the dot. It reminds me of trying to read labels on spinning record albums. The large red circle continues to draw your eye in and emphasizes the title. The next thing I note is the blue negative image on the album. It adds a lot of mystique to the book cover since it seems like a shadowy suggestion to a mystery inside. I find myself asking "what does the face look like under the dot? Why can't I see the left side of the image?"
The designer then successfully draws your attention to the tagline by the use of a vertical line that seems to come from nowhere yet has a big impact on the overall design. The line draws your eye downward through a text block that starts out with a bright yellow word and becomes harder to read as the last lines blend into the background. The line tends to anchor the text and, finally, leads you to the author's name. This vertical line visually ties the whole cover together.
It's interesting how the "I" in the author's name is the only oblique letter in that line of type. It seems to give the author's name some energy and the overall design a sense of motion. The oblique "I" contrast nicely with the long vertical connecting line.
The font is identified as Plantin and serves the purpose of publication.

Twin Towers

Full cover
Close-up of cover

AIGA Design Archives, 50 Books/50 Covers of 2007
designarchives.aiga.org
Designer: Peter Mendelsund
Font: Walbaum

I love how the black shapes draw your eye in to the type. The small font size enhances the concept of depth. And the title completely explains the image. At first, I thought this was just some abstract art but when you get pulled in to read the small font, there's an "aha!" moment when it becomes so obvious what you're looking at. The hint of the cloud is subtle enough to add interest and isn't really noticeable until you look again the second time.
The font is very "plain" - no pun intended. The font quietly announces the title but in a very dramatic way. The whole image seems to recall the enormity of the disaster.

Is it or is it not?

The Big Book of Logos 3, 2002, p199
Client: Is It Art?, Designer: Robert Meyers

I liked the play on letters in this logo - the use of a "?" in place of the "R". The logo perfectly matches the client's name, Is It Art? It is a very simple logo that in 3 characters completely defines the client.
The font appears to be a hand-drawn sans serif used for the purpose of identity. At first glance, the letters appear rather ordinary but if you look closer, the letters themselves are rather artsy. The letters are distressed and a little splotch of blue is on the question mark. It's like the logo is asking the question of itself.

The Non-Designer's Design Book, Robin Williams, pp 26,29,76-77

These are excerpts from a book that I love! The book is a very basic, easy-to-read introduction to design and typographic principles. It is full of examples that make the concepts so easy to grasp. I am consistently referring back to this book for ideas on how to improve my layouts. The first example above is a menu the author picked up and used to demonstrate the principle of proximity. Obviously, she applied contrast, alignment and repetition also. Fonts used in this example include Portzebie and Times New Roman.
The second example is an ad she revised to emphasize the concept of contrast. The fonts used were Tapioca, Times New Roman, Helvetica, and Bailey Sans Extrabold. If you're a visual learner, this is a great book to add to your collection!

NY Winter Festival

Expressive Typography, 1990, p96
Michael Glaser, poster

I enjoyed the way the title of the poster was used to create a visual artistic image. The 3D letters provide depth and interaction with the viewer by slight misalignment and "fallen" letters. The starkness of winter is contradicted by the rainbow-colored letterforms indicative of the fun to be found at the festival. And the brightly colored skier nicely balances the red heart in the NY logo. Finally, the skier's tracks lead the viewer's eye from the top of the poster down to the lower left corner to the vital line of information.
The "WINTER FESTIVAL" font is a crisp, clean, bold san serif, possibly Franklin Gothic Bold. The purpose of the font is promotional.