Friday, July 1, 2011

week 9~ The Digital Revolution and Beyond

          During the digital revolution one artist in particular stood out to me, and his name was Helmut Schmid. He became popularly known for creating international, thriving type design. His layout and format of type was very bold, simple, yet striking enough to catch a viewer's eye. He did many works in Japan which included identity branding and packaging for various consumer products. He even wrote many articles on typography itself. I think his work was clean cut and edgy looking. I like how he contrasted the different weights on the letterforms as well as placement. 
         He used white space to his advantage which many artist and current artist struggle with doing. The designs were developed with appropriate spacing, and concept of how the long-length paragraphs were going to be formed. I think Helmut Schmid was a great designer, especially when it came to dealing with type. 






Monday, June 27, 2011

Creative Brief 3 *The Information Age*









1. Identification


A 1974 poster production of the legendary Jimi Hendrix. Created by the artistic, Polish artist, Waldemar Swierzy.


2. What is the project and the problem?


Swierzy was known for creating music posters ranging from Jazz, to folk and pop art styles as well. His poster design was meant to represent the change and passion that set art apart from the world. He wanted to create his own personal visions through subjects that he possessed a great deal of interest in, in this case which is music. 


3. Who is the client?


The client list is very vast. It may range from anyone who was looking to promote Jimi Hendrix's music, his poster could have been used at ticket displays, museums, the movies, local music stores and so on. There was not a specific client that this artwork was aimed to reach. 


4. Who is the intended audience?


The intended audience are the people who have been inspired by the work of Swierzy, but mostly the fans of Jimi Hendrix's music approach.


5. What is the core message?


The core message showing is that, his music will provide a cool, rock, loose type of sensation, and the portraiture even shows off a bit of his appeal.


6. What is the hoped for outcome?


I believe that the hoped for outcome is that people will not only purchase this poster because they are fans, but because it can remind them of the artists himself, as well as having a great piece of art in the possession.  


7. What is the graphic strategy?


The graphic strategy being presented is a Jimi Hendrix portraiture, done in multiple mediums ranging from acrylic, and watercolor paints. The swirls indicate the various tones and craziness of rock music. The color tones of the poster "the blues and blacks" are cool colors, that represent Jimi Hendrix's personality and a small reflection of how he presented his music. He was a smooth, genuine guy that loved his music.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

week 8~ Corporate Identities

MTV Logo Design...


Originally designed by the Manhattan Design firm this production was first seen on TV in 1981. Partners Gorman, and Olinsky whom both had fine art background. Developed this sans-serif "M" which later on depicted a graffiti-like "TV" on the front if it. This three dimensional figure was the best design that I have seen last for so many years, and still going strong. It has the capabilities to change color, font, add or take away decoration to the letter forms, its dimensions, angle "point of views" and even when in motion. Viewers are still able to distinguish this iconic logo. I believe that a successful logo is one that can be re-created from its original, for multiple years, and this is exactly what the Manhattan Design team confirmed. Below you will see, the different stages and effects that can be added or subtracted to this logo design, and still how it remains iconic and successful.





week 7~ The Modern Movement

Saul Bass...


Inspired by Paul Rand's use of shape, balance, and color. Saul Bass began creating his works that had a lot of influences of Rand's designs but were not as busily structured. He is most commonly known for his work that he produced in title sequences in movies, as well as creating the logo design for AT&T "the bell", and many many more iconic logos. I think his work is simple enough to be sophisticated and not too overwhelming with text, image, and colors. He created out of a vision that led him to produce many successful pieces. A quote below samples where and how he gains his inspiration to design...


"My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it.~ Saul Bass


While he created title sequences for over 40 years, we can still see today how he has left an impression on graphic designers throughout America.









week 6~ A New Language Form

Kasimir Malevich...

An inspiring painter, who developed a painting technique known as suprematism, used basic forms and bold-solid colors to reach his goals. Malevich believed that everything in art was creating with form and color, he rejected the idea of using pictures for representation. I agree with his style of painting, I think a lot of what we create and how we design today is based off of our feelings and emotions. Art shouldn't be conformed to just depicting actual pictures. When combining shapes and colors, you can then use these elements to create and develop just as well masterpiece. And this is exactly how Malevich became a successful designer. Below you will works completed by Malevich and how he approached using form and color. Pictures and images can still be depicted but they are done with form and not representation. Something I believe he contributed to art very well.



week 3~ Graphic Design and the Industrial Revolution...

Chromolithographic...


 During this era of time, labels and packaging were becoming more important areas that were being developed with the use of chromolithographic. This method was becoming popular in almost every American city. Traveling circuses and carnivals used this idea to create posters and flyers. I think this method did have its ups and downs, but the bold colors that could be used, illustrations, and fine typography made this method more unique then using letterpress printers. I like the use of layering that the printers had to re-create with using their stones. I think this always help add depth to some pictures that did appear more realistic than others. Although this method was a bit more expensive and could take up to months to produce, I think this was the best and most unique way that printing in the 19th century was done. 












Thursday, June 9, 2011

*The Modernist Era* Creative Brief

1. Identification
Lucian Bernhard created this "Manoli" cigarette, poster-advertisement in 1910. The name Manoli came from the owner of the company's wife, Ilona Mandelbau, which is reversed.


2. What is the project and the problem?
We are viewing an advertisement for Manoli cigarettes, Bernhard was hired to complete many poster designs and this was one for the many. His concept was brief and straight forward, including the simple geometric figure which was the image, and text which was the product name. His used a great sense of simplicity if his works, which also help make the poster easy to understand and viewers were able to see what he was trying to communicate.


3. Who is the client?
Bernhard was designing for Manoli Cigarettes, which he then later reduced the company's trademark to a single letter-form printed in two colors. Although he elminated the figure of the cigarette box, and Manoli written out. The client was still happy with Bernhard's work. 


4. Who is the intended audience?
The intended audience would be anyone able to purchase cigarettes at the time. The sans-serif lettering made the image look more sophisticated, and providing the display that this was a "clean cut" type of product. 


5. What is the core message?
The central message here is Bernhard and the client, suggesting the use of smoking Manoli cigarettes. That these cigarettes look good, and come from a worthy company, who cares about their product's image. 


6. What is the hoped for outcome?
The hoped for outcome is that sales will increase after and during this poster is displayed, and also that Lucian Bernhard himself will become a notable graphic designer,with his much used emphasis on designing for the future.


7. What is the graphic strategy?
The graphic strategy used by Bernhard is quite simple. He combines to elements the product and the product name. The overlaps them, with using a stroke around the text to make it stand out while placed in the back of the product. He used simple, but yet bold colors that weren't overwhelming when placed too near each other, but still enough to catch a viewers eye. The solid black background enhances the product's elegance, along with the gold formatted cigarette box. Having the box placed at an angle rather than dead on, allows viewers to gain some type of dimension of the product, as well as more views of detail work on the inside of the carton. I believe Lucian Bernhard was very successful at completing this poster advertisement for Manoli cigarettes.