moving over to wordpress...

Just wanted to let you know I've moved over to WordPress. Nothing against Blogger... but WordPress has more features and easier uploading!

See you over at my new place: 

http://agirlnamedfred.wordpress.com/

case study one: Plimsoll Press

I'm interested in the creative process... how we get from design idea to design implementation. A current school assignment is to design a logo for a fictional company called Plimsoll Press. This company publishes limited edition naval history and navigation books and charts.

First I did some research and learned that the Plimsoll Mark, developed in the 1860s, is a circle with a line drawn through it, placed on a ship's hull, to show the maximum draft a ship may load to. It is named after Samuel Plimsoll, a British MP who was concerned about the loss of life caused by ship overloading. You can learn more here if you're interested.

This is what the Plimsoll Mark looks like.

So, now that I know what a Plimsoll Mark is, it's time to take out the sketch book. Hmmm... what makes me think marine publishing? Whales. Sea monsters. Compasses. Anchors. Sailing ships. Buoys and ocean markers. Is it too literal to portray a Plimsoll Mark? Here are some of my sketches.

Drawing is NOT one of my talents, but I do find that quick sketches are the quickest way to capture ideas. I did about 60 sketches for this project.

Now it's time to move to roughs.

What about seagulls?  Maybe a bit too safe. Kind of expected, right?

How about sails? And this plays off the fact that the navigation flag for "P" is a blue rectangle with a white rectangle inset.

I like it, but it's going to have to be expertly executed for it to work. Angles matching up, thickness of lines, etc.

OK, then, how about sailing ships? And maybe a bit of a play on the Plimsoll Mark?

This would be really hard to reproduce in a small size and still be legible!

Maybe back to the sea monster idea...

Nah, more suitable for a children's book publisher, I think.

OK, then, let's look at a literal interpretation of "Plimsoll" ... 

Now this one I like. It's got the Plimsoll Mark. It's got a logical place for the company descriptor. But it's lacking energy. What can I do to improve it?

I've used the Plimsoll Mark in a more dynamic fashion, moving it through and down the logo to add energy. I've used colour to bring focus to that energy. And I've chosen a typeface (Rockwell) that I think adds some substance. 

I've still got some tightening up to do, obviously, particularly with proportions, but I'm pleased overall with the progress. I'll let you know how it turns out. 

the politics of good typography

Yesterday, in his NY Times blog, Steven Heller asked a bunch of graphic design types (Michael Bierut, Debbie Millman, Ellen Lupton and the like) for their take on the use of Optima as the typeface for John McCain's campaign.

"The thicks and thins... might be said to correspond with the reputation of bipartisanship that Mr. McCain has demonstrated in his senatorship." Michael Bierut

"Optima is one of the worst pre-computer typefaces ever designed. It was created to satisfy everybody's needs. A straightforward, no-nonsense, no-embellishment face, it comes in regular and bold but little character can be found in either weight. Optima is not inappropriate for use by Senator McCain."

You can read more of the conversation here.

For Heller's take on the Obama campaign's use of Gotham as its typeface, click here.

on cows

Holy cow ... *wince* ... it appears creatures of the bovine persuasion are popping up everywhere these days. This lovely poster is, not surprising, a Pentagram product.

I'm also loving this tote bag.

And of course the "new look" Dairy Today features lots of gorgeous cows. You can read about the redesign of the magazine here.

what makes design exciting?

It seems like I'm on a permanent quest to figure out what makes design... work. You know. When you look at something and you say to yourself "oh yeah." I've been wondering if, really, design is so different from other "arts" in this way. Like, say, the art of cooking. What makes a recipe work?

I read somewhere that ayurvedic theory believes the diet should encompass a balance of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and pungent tastes. That's what makes it work. I've got those words on my bulletin board as a reminder. 

My challenge this week... to incorporate this concept into my design work.

ok, this is taking things a wee bit far...

Someone's seriously obsessed with colour! Pantone stairs. What will those crazy kids think of next?

Via the style files.

today i'm loving...

Feast your eyes on this beautiful collage work from London-based illustrator Nicola Starr.

The colour. The texture. Oh, it's killing me, it so gorgeous! You can see more of her work here.

Via design*sponge.

more fun with typography

Via ffffound.

sistas!

OK - this one has nothing to do with design... but woot! Danica Patrick won the Japan 300 Indy car race. I'm not really a racing fan (that's my better half) but any time a woman excels for the first time (Danica is the first woman to win an Indy car race) it's time for celebration. Way to go... sistas!

today i'm grooving to...

From the soundtrack to Once. What a wonderful, wonderful film.

more fun with typography

The rather difficult font game. Somehow, I managed a 26/34 on my first try.

beautiful typography

Am I the only one who hadn't seen Veer's type city until today? Oh my goodness. So beautiful!

colour me jacaranda

Too fun. Get your own colorstrology here.

marketing vs. advertising vs. pr vs. branding

Via swissmiss.

today i'm loving...

No matter how much I love working out ideas on the computer, there is no doubt that pencil and paper is still the easiest way to capture ideas quickly. If I could get my hands on some of these terrific notepads, my sketching would be a little more organized!

Such a wide variety of grids... truly a graphic designer's dream come true!  You can find them here.

little miss chatelaine

Chatelaine is Canada's premier women's magazine. It's been around since 1928. As part of its 80th anniversary celebrations, the magazine has published an online cover gallery. Let's take a trip down graphic design memory lane, shall we?

It's 1933 and beautiful typography and illustration is the order of the day. And look! Apart from a small line on the very bottom of the page, the cover is clean. When's the last time you were able to pick up a women's magazine without seeing Nipples! and Orgasms! and Please your man!

It's 1942 and Canadian women are doing their part for the war effort. Chatelaine's moved to photographic covers now. That banner block seems to stop rather abruptly (couldn't they have stretched it across the page?), but at least we're still free of the screaming nipples.

Apparently 1955 was a big year for moving to the suburbs. Unfortunately, Chatelaine has succumbed to the screaming cover... coffee party... menace... or must? What strikes me most about this cover (apart from that awful green) is how old the adults look compared to adults of today. I mean, they look like grandparents!

It's the swinging sixties and little miss Chatelaine loves a monochromatic colour scheme. And check out the kicky banner now running up the side of the page. How liberated! I think the cover typography works great on this cover... it fits nicely in the space between her headscarf and the banner, the weight is heavy enough to be readable but light enough to let the photography shine.

I guess in the 70s we were focused on peace and love and harmony and getting in touch with our inner selves. But all the words! I think if I saw this on a store shelf I'd be all "holy, too much to read, too much work!" and pick up People instead.

You're getting two covers from the 80s because look! All the pretty primary colours! And Monika Schnarre, the Canadian super model of the world.

As we move into 2000, what strikes me the most are the similarities between this cover and the cover from 1933. Both have a strong focus on the female face. Both are relatively "clean" in appearance. Both feature a lot of one colour (1933: green, 2000: black). And the 2000 cover is remarkably free of screaming nipples. 

colour and composition

Although I'm a graphic designer, not an artist, I take a great deal of inspiration from the colour and composition techniques of a wide variety of artists. Today I'm loving the the work of Darren Waterston. It's the colour, the composition, the texture, the layering... all the things I'd like to emulate in my own work.

today i'm grooving to...

more marimekko!

So it turns out the H&M is featuring a Marimekko line this spring. Who knew? I might have to take a trip out to Coquitlam (Can you believe we don't have an H&M in Vancouver yet? Soon. But not yet!) to get this lovely top.

It would look fab with these cropped pants from Banana Republic...

... and these delicious yellow flats from Loeffler Randall.

(Yes, the yellow again. Always obsessed with yellow, black and white.)

just beautiful

Click here to see more from Daniele de Negris. I love her patterns and colour sense. Num num.

a jack handy moment

Find it here.

lookin' for a little inspiration?

I love to browse. In stores. At the buffet. Online. The internet, I swear, needs to be shut down between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Or else I'm never going to get any work done!

If you like to browse like me, and are looking for a little design inspiration, check out the AIGA design archives. I just discovered them myself this morning, and whoops! It's already 1 p.m. See? That darn internet!

poster love

Please do check out agrayspace for their fantabulous on-line poster gallery.  Yum.

today' i'm loving...

I've had a great week, nutritionally-speaking, and was all set to make another salad with salmon and sprouts for lunch. But somehow, instead of opening the fridge I opened the freezer and took out some Alexia frozen french fries. I'm not quite sure how that happened! 25 minutes later, I was enjoying frites with mayonnaise for lunch!

I came about my love for frites with mayo honestly, after two years of living in Belgium when I was younger. Those Belgians know their fries, let me tell you. There's nothing like them on the planet! Today I discovered the original Belgian fries website, which has a recipe for the perfect Belgian fry. I can't wait to try it out!

the first step is admitting you need help

Hi. I'm Fred. And I'm addicted to Amy Ruppel. She is a major source of visual inspiration for me; I must have 20 of her postcards scattered across my bulletin board.

If I was a snowboarder, I'd totally own one of these Burton boards.

And if I didn't already have super-cute pink plaid wellies, I might have to give these a go.

In addition to her illustration work, she creates beautiful wax, wood and charcoal "paintings," building up layer upon layer of wax in the most amazing combinations of colour and pattern. One day I will own a piece of her original art. 

Unfortunately, her stuff sells out the second it hits the shops. So for now, I'd settle for this beautiful castle owl necklace she designed in collaboration with Amy Bengston, available online at Rare Device. At $140 it's a wee bit pricey, but if you amortize it over the 365-days-a-year you could wear it, it's a total bargain!