Exam!

Don't Forget to bring your Gig Poster!!!

User Experience

One of the most important things to think about is how are people going to interact with your poster. These people are called "users" and you need to think about what experience your poster will evoke with them. 

Your poster should have a focus. We call this a target. You are trying to grab a specific audience so you aren't wasting your time, money and energy. Marketing for products are often carefully designed to meet the needs based upon the demographics. 

Creating work for specific groups works, and evidence is the billions spent each day on getting people to purchase the next thing. What works for toddlers will not necessarily work for teenagers, or the elderly. So it is critical that there is a design awareness for what the product is for and whom it is intended to use it. 

Culture isn't only based upon factors such as religious backgrounds or different nationalities. Culture could also be an example of what is trending and what isn't. For example words used just three years ago may not be used today. It is important to have the design awareness to know what to use so you don't offend your audience, or turn them off by being lame. 

Below are examples of posters for very different demographics. Therefore the intended UX is varied.

Composition

http://brhscomart2.blogspot.com/2016/10/composition-how-do-we-piece-our-images.html

Gig Posters

Gig posters are what bands use to get their fans in the door. What they are not is album or CD covers. The point of gig posters is to sell the music of your favorite band to a specific demographic. 

Gig posters are part of the life blood of the modern music era as current technological trends make touring more important than music releases. Bands make most of their money from their shows versus track sells. Often bands don't even control what goes on their album or CD covers because they technically don't own the music. It is the music publishers that do. What makes gig posters special is bands or recording artists do control the gig posters. There is a direct relationship between artwork, the fans, and the musicians in gig posters.

 You are to select your favorite band, rapper, recording artist, or orchestra and begin designing thumbnails based upon your love of their music. Remember it is your job to demonstrate your knowledge of their music visually while trying to create new fans. 

The homework this weekend is to find your favorite musical artists. You are to narrow your choices to 3 possibilities. This will require you to listen to music. So listen and prepared for Tuesday!

Logo Project is Due November 3rd

1. Remember you are to design a logo for your business. 
2. Your business are the noun and adjective you pulled out of the helmet.
3. Your logo should reflect the product and services for your company that were agreed upon by you and Mr. Ferrell.
4. Your logo final logo should have at least 10 thumbnails sketches. 
5. You should test your colors.
6. The final needs to be on a 9x9 inch square piece of paper with a one inch border.
7. Your final design needs to be pre-approved by your client. (Mr. Ferrell)
8. You will be graded according to the rubric provided on the syllabus.

Fear Factor

In order to gain success we have to push through our fears of failure. As an extended jumpstart we are to draw something we are afraid of. The reason is that as artists, we are creators, who are in control. Your fears can't  harm you if you are creating a controlled environment for them. You can even make them silly.

The point is that students are being taught that many of the things we feared when we were small we no longer fear because we learned to gain control of those things in our lives. Such as, if you fear the dark, when you get older you simply turn on the light switch. The light switch we are using in our classes is our minds.

Logo Development

Don't forget that you will need to create a word illustration from a synonym of your company name.

Remember we are working on our thumbnails. We are trying to create the best design solution for our company. You will need at least 10 thumbnail drawings.

If you want a heads up to what we are going to start studying...

http://brhscomart3.blogspot.com/2016/08/intro-typography.html

Flat vs 3-D Design

This logo reflected a design philosophy that represented an attempt to bring realism through technology. We live in a 3-dimensional world,

The logo was created for a gaming system for Sony. This video game system sparked a revolution in not only the gaming industry, but also heavily influenced and reflected a design revolution mimicked by other influential design companies as well.

Apple, under the leadership of Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ives took a very 3-dimensional approach to their design philosophy. Not only did their logo reflect their desire to reflect real world objects such as glass, but so did the design of their operating system for their computers, phones, tablets.

Even Apple apps  had a very real world textural feel. 

In the design world we call this...

 There are design limitations to working with skeuomorphism or 3-dimensional design. Most notably is it necessary? Does it slow the viewer down and harm design efficiency?  Is the illusion of skeuomorphism worth the trouble to design versus the needs of the intended audience?

Microsoft would ask this question when they redesigned their logo.

Not only would microsoft redesign their main corporate logo, but also they would change their design language for all their products.

These new tiles or windows was also reflected into Microsoft's windows operating system. 

Instantly, the design world took notice including Microsoft's largest competitor Google who changed their logo. 

 Even Apple took notice and starting dropping their skeuomorphic design in favor for flat design like Microsoft. 

The skeuomorphic design on the left represents Apple's old operating system for its devices. The flat design represents their current flat design philosophy championed by their rivals first. 

Not all flat design is successful. Sometimes classical connection to a logo is such a strong association that a flat design fails to represent a brand properly. 

Though one could argue that flat design has been a huge success mostly because of one word...efficiency. Speed and effectiveness in communication is critical. Ultimately, efficiency should win, even if that efficiency in design sometimes calls for 3-dimensional design. 

For further fun and explanation check out...

http://www.flatvsrealism.com/

Introduction to Logos: Branding our Reality

Branding and logos have a rich history that stem back to the necessity of identification. 

Modern of examples of the necessity of identification play out in sports.

Branding is how we establish a name or identity. Think of branding as a means of creating a reputation. This reputation becomes an identity. 

Your pet probably has a special name, keep in my what may be your pet maybe someone else's food. Food doesn't usually have the same name as your pet. So...

Naming is a reflection of our reality. We name things based upon how we identify our world around us. We make value based judgements based upon naming. It is a part of how we processes our thoughts and attempt to organize and classify our interpretation of the world. 

Our reality is always evolving, as is how we name things. Think about how much your world has changed since you were a small child. Do you name things the same? That stuffed animal who was called "fluffy," has been replaced by your waistband challenged best friend you affectionately call, "Mc Chunky." The reason is that your names are adapting to your new reality of a life that was once nap times, snack breaks, and security blankets, to the now AP exams, first jobs, and arguments of what is the greatest album of all time. 

Logos reflect how we name and brand.

The greek word "logos" is very similar to the modern word logical. Logos should should make sense. They are mathematical in the sense that people pour their money into them. In addition, the logic for why logos are designed the way they are should add up. 

One of the most effective logos of all time is the exit sign. In an emergency, there shouldn't be questions in how to respond. Logos should make instant sense, and usually exits do as well.

Logos should be simple and efficient. They will always be judged by their effectiveness to communicate economically. 

Colors = information.

Think of your favorite logos. Do the colors reflect a reality that connect you to their products?

Find a 3 logos that you love

We are starting to look at branding... Find 3 specific logos that mean something to you. Please draw these 3 logos the best you can.

I found a few more than 3 examples that reflect me.

1. What you your logo choices say about you? Do they reveal anything about your personality?

2. Do you notice a consistent story in your logos? If so what is it?

3. Analyze your choices... What are they for and why are they successful?