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Archives for the month of: March, 2012
Hey everyone,
I have received this forward from Mayda Freije.
Read Below
Dear All,
I will be teaching several workshops this week and upcoming weeks at The
Creative Space Beirut, in Geitawi section of Achrafieh. (Map attached)
The schedule is below; please forward to anyone you think may be
interested.
See you at the workshop! 🙂
Cheers,
Denise
*
About the Instructor: *Denise Maroney is a producer, costume designer and
textile artist living between Beirut and NYC. A graduate of NYU, Denise
designed costumes for a variety of off-Broadway productions and styled for
commercials and films in NYC. As a textile artist, she works primarily with
thread, paper, ink and fabric. Of Lebanese descent, but raised in Japan,
her work combines elements of Japanese aesthetic with Middle Eastern
traditions. Most recently she exhibited at the Textile Arts Center in NYC,
where her installation was invited into the Feminist Art Archive of The
Brooklyn Museum. To learn more about her work, visit www.denisemaroney.com
*Class fees include all materials & supplies necessary.
No experience necessary.
Classes are designed to focus on a learned skill rather than a final
product.
Class is taught in English.
To sign up, please email denisemaroney@gmail.com
*
*Costume Design Boot Camp *
*Date*: Saturday March 31
*Time:* 12 – 3 PM
*Location:* The Creative Space
*Description: *A crash-course, practical approach to professional costume
designing. We will discuss each step of the process, beginning with
character analysis, costume research, designing, rendering, working with
actors, fittings and finally, bringing your design to life. Additionally,
you will learn various tricks of the trade, from distressing to dyeing
clothes. We will also cover basic stage makeup, special FX blood design &
wigs. Bring a notebook and pen!
*Fee: *$75
*
Sashiko (Japanese Embroidery) *
*Date: *Thursday March 29
*Time:* 6:30pm – 8:30pm
*Location: *The Creative Space
*Description:* Class will cover the steps of traditional Japanese
embroidery, Sashiko, from transferring image to final product.
Additionally, class will touch upon Japanese textile arts of Shibori and
Indigo dyeing.
*Fee: *$50
*
Intro to Embroidery *
*Date: *Saturday March 31
*Time:* 4 – 7 PM
*Location:* The Creative Space
*Description*: Learn how to transfer images into stitches. The class will
cover a variety of stitches used to create lines and textures on cloth. All
necessary materials are included, but feel free to bring any fabric you
want to work on!
*Fee: *$40
*
Silk Painting***
*Date: *Tuesday April 17 & Thursday April 18
*Time: *6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
*Location*: The Creative Space
*Description*: Over the course of two class days, learn several silk
painting techniques using silk pain. Practice on silk samples and make your
own silk scarves.
*Fee: *$75
**Class limited to 5 people
A logo, trademark, emblem, brand, logotype, symbol, identity, mark, insignia represents a company to consumers. It gets its meaning from the company it represents, not the other way around. It’s effectiveness can help to sell a product or service to the public. It’s the identifier that consumers sometimes attach themselves to and become loyal to. It’s a visual expression of a company, product or service. The role of the logo is to point or designate in the simplest form possible.
There are five elements that you can find in great and successful logo designs. Most of the logos you know and love will meet all these criteria. When you think of a great logo what brands come to mind? Remember the logos for those brands as you read through this article and see if they meet the five criteria.
- Distinctive
Consumers need to be able to recognize a logo. Therefore, a great logo must be distinct, easy to read and understand. The logo should be unique enough to avoid confusion with other companies’ logos. The logo needs to represent the company it stands for so that consumers may associate it with the business each time they see it.
The American Airlines logo, designed by Vignelli Associates in 1967, meets all of the criteria we’ll be discussing in this article. The AA logo is instantly recognizable with it’s AA monogram and eagle icon.
Did you know? The redesign of the AA monogram in the 1960’s didn’t include the eagle. After the employees protested, the designer reluctantly added the stylized eagle that we know today as part of the AA monogram.
- Useable
Since, a logo is used across many different mediums, from letterhead and business cards to websites and sales materials to pens and clothing. A good logo must be flexible enough to work in any situation/medium required. In order to meet these demands, a logo should work well in black and white and in color. From a size standpoint, a logo should be simple enough to look good on a business card, yet intriguing enough to work on a large poster or even billboard.
The FedEx logo was designed by Lindon Leader, in 1994 working as a Senior Design Director at Landor Associates. The logo is bold, scales well and works in all mediums.
Did you know? Many people don’t notice the clever arrow within the negative space of the ‘e’ and ‘x’ at first glance.
- Timeless
To be effective, a logo should stay with the business as it grows. The belief that a new or redesigned logo will somehow transform a business, isn’t uncommon. But a business shouldn’t go around changing their logo on a whim. This can weaken the company brand after all of the work a company has put into it. A well-designed logo will persevere for years to come.
The Coca-Cola logo, designed by Frank Robinson in 1886, is a prime example of a great and timeless logo.
Did you know? Coca-Cola has one the best recognized logos in the world today, and is recognized in over 200 countries around the world.
- Effective without color
A good logo not only needs to work in black and white, but it should also still be effective. If color is needed to communicate the message then perhaps too much emphasis has been place on it.
The McDonald’s logo was created by Jim Schindler in 1962. Even though it’s commonly referred to as “The Golden Arches” the logo works very well without the gold color.
Did you know? The idea of the arches was inspired by the arch shaped signs on either side of the ‘walk-up hamburger stand’. From an angle, the arches looked like the letter “M”. The “McDonald’s” name was later added to the McDonald’s logo in 1968.
- Memorable
Your logo should make a statement about your company. It should be engrained in the consumers brain when think of your industry. Therefore, the next time a consumer needs your kind of product or service, you’ll be the fist to come to mind just because of brand recognition.
The American Broadcasting Company logo designed by Paul Rand in 1962 simplified the logo to a circle with the letters ‘abc’ inside. This achieved a memorable and unique image. This logo is still in use today, though it has been mostly replaced with a glossy version of the original designed by Rand.
In his 1991 article, Logos, Flags, and Escutcheons Paul Rand said,
“Design, good or bad, is a vehicle of memory. Good design adds value of some kind and, incidentally, could be sheer pleasure; it respects the viewer-his sensibilities-and rewards the entrepreneur. It is easier to remember a well designed image than one that is muddled. A well design logo, in the end, is a reflection of the business it symbolizes. It connotes a thoughtful and purposeful enterprise, and mirrors the quality of its products and services.”
The bottom line is that creating a logo requires a lot of planning, time, thought and often times, money. The meaning behind the design should embrace the mission and image of the company, not the other way around. The effectiveness of these marks are such a key part of brands today’s fast paced world. Ultimately, the role of the logo is to point or identify to the consumer in the simplest form possible.
Infos from: http://www.logocritiques.com/resources/what_makes_a_great_logo_design/
Corporate logo redesign is always a challenging task. Sometimes it’s even controversially undertaking for both the designer and organization involved. A great example of this is the Gap Logo. I think I can speak for everybody when I say that Gaps logo was probably the worst re-design in 2010. Once social media got involved, it spread like a wildfire.
Although many companies re-brand/redesign their logo, sometimes its not the best choice to do that. You already have a mass customer base that recognize your brand already. Changing your appearance drastically can really hurt. However you can always freshen up your appearance and make it modern. A great example of this is Walmart’s new logo.
It was a great year, and a year that many companies have re-branded themselves. Many for the better, and a few for the worst. This massive list includes a great variety of different companies that had re-branding performed in 2009-2010. We want you to be the judge and tell us which companies have the worst/best re-branding.
Nowadays, we are living in a world where everything is at hand and everyone has many possibilities to choose from. From the perspective of the manufacturers, the problem is regarded somehow the other way around: how to get noticed by prospective clients.
In the online medium, the opportunities are even more numerous and it requires a well-thought strategy in order to be distinctive from the crowd. A small element that nevertheless has a pretty important role in the overall success is the logo. Apart from the academic definitions, a logo is the graphical element which represents a company, organization or a product. Apparently, it may be considered worthless, but it says a lot about the represented entity. An unconventional logo, built with rarely seen elements hides the clear message that the owner considers himself and wants to create the image of unusual, new and fresh. Being unique is really important, it attracts people, and it is very clear!
This kind of image is profitable and there are many competitors which are trying to achieve this position. The starting point of the revolutionary strategy of becoming unconventional may be the logo and this article is perfect to reveal some secrets of a noticeable logo.
1. Use a large palette of colors and sometimes even stringent tones
A nice and unique design is eye–catching (definitely a must have feature of a good logo) but many times a cool or a decent color scheme is the one which adds up to the wow effect or simply put it into the shadow. Paradoxically, a very common type of logo which sometimes is turning into a very distinctive one is based on the black and white format. These are very versatile, allowing for the representation of almost every type of corporation or product. Personally, I am amazed by black and white logos and these are clearly timeless.
Another solution is to use a rarely met color combination and this means a great plus for originality, but anytime it can result into a very bad color scheme. Innovation is always risky and unique may be interpreted as insane. On the other hand, the color should be customized to the design of the logo. There isn’t a great vectorial calculus to imagine a vector, the color, which is growing to minus infinite and the shape to plus infinite, the result is zero. In a nutshell, both colors and the shape should have a convergent direction. A logo isn’t a shape, few nuances and a font – it is an entity and the colors must be a catalyst for any person looking at it to quickly understand the message transmitted.
2. Select only rarely used fonts
A logo is usually a small graphic design project and a letter or a word is a small constituent of it. Thinking this way, a font is a negligible entity but in fact it is a serious mistake and the professional logo designers know this situation better.
The use of a proper font is mostly an art and only the talented and/or experienced ones handle the fonts in an unconventional manner. The most well known logos are made with common fonts but to be remarkable it is recommended to avoid them. As I said in the beginning, the Internet is full of opportunities and to select a better font takes a matter of time.
3. Unconventional logos are created from unconventional ideas
Any high quality graphical realization can’t be called an innovative logo without an unconventional idea behind it. This is so simple to say but it’s terribly difficult to put into practice. A good color combination, some attractive fonts can’t guarantee amazing results if the underlying idea is boring. It’s an annoying mental exercise to find the unconventional logo but respecting the laws of beautiful design. Unfortunately, there is no clear recipe on how to make someone capable of realizing an unconventional piece of art.
4. Originality and creativity
In spite of offering no clear advice on making a great design there are two qualities that allow designers to stand apart: originality and creativity. These concepts are almost equivalent; the big difference is that originality is more related to innovation while creativity to efficiency. Anyway, their common factor is the imagination. To really boost your imagination, please enjoy the works below:
Black & White
Joy of Colors
Unconventional Logos
Hey guys,
You should all know about Ashkal Alwan. ‘It is a platform for the creation and exchange of artistic practices. As a non-profit, the association is committed to education, production, support and circulation of creative and intellectual endeavors rooted in an engagement with civil society.’
They always organize talks and lectures. It is a must for you all to a least subscribe to their mailing list.
Here’s what’s going this week FREE!! So go out, see things, meet people! This is how you will find inspiration.
Power of the MOBILE PHONE
Graphic Design I 