Something Profound.

During my recent travels abroad something profoundly inspirational crossed my path: stamps. During my recent late night research, something profoundly inspirational crossed my path: matchbox designs. Who knew such daily, mundane items would bear the marks of great design? It’s funny to think, let alone consider, but sometimes the smallest objects/thoughts/gestures pack the largest punch. Consider it: as a designer, you have a limited amount of space (< 2 inch x 2 inch) to design on, leaving minute chance of visual clutter or concept. When designing, I take to heart the philosophy of getting the message across as quickly as possible in the shortest amount of time. After all, it worked for Lucien Bernhard (or Emil Kahn for you design buffs). Thanks Lucien for your cornerstone inspiration. And kudos for Plakatstil, too.

The images above were found on Flickr. The collection belongs to Karen Horton, who inherited them from her mother. These examples are all from Israel, as that’s where her mother grew up. You can peek at her full collection

here if you’d like. Such a noble color palette. I find the postage stamping quite endearing.

Thanks to Lucian Marin, via Flickr, I can share these great examples with you. Look at his other stuff, he likes geometric and space-related design.

The following images are Matchbox designs. As this isn’t directly related to my current class assignment I won’t focus too much time on them, but they are far more exquisite nonetheless. I would encourage you to do further exploration from here.

Courtesy of Shailesh Chavda, diskurs, and maraid (and Flickr, naturally).

Cadek Conservatory.

Original Cadek Conservatory Calendar

Calendar Redesign

Poster design

Creating a poster for the Cadek Conservatory in Chattanooga, TN, proved to be more challenging than first anticipated. In all fairness, however, it’s notable to say that most of these obstacles sprang out of poor time management, which has proven to be more important than the design itself. Above you can see three examples: the (lugubrious) format being used, the calendar redesign and a poster version. Although I have to defend my design aesthetic and say, these definitely are not top notch, I do, and will, stand behind my work.

Somehow, somewhere, I’ve developed the philosophy that anything/everything interesting has a unique visual appeal, whether literal or conceptual. What I was going for here was a calendar that wouldn’t be monotonous to look at day-in and day-out (as calendars tend to be). I hoped for something visually alluring. Something asked about while hosting company: a conversation starter, if you will. I believe I achieved that goal to a degree, sacrificing legibility. Frankly speaking, the gradient and pixilated corner backfired, resembling a poor print job. Additionally, the forms do create a stable instability, but the information doesn’t accompany the design too well.

I heard a variety of comparisons during class critique: a crossword puzzle, a squeegee. I’m just glad to shed that process, as it didn’t go very smooth…regretfully. But overall, I do see a slight improvement.

Inspirational Poster Design.

Being the visual learner that I am, pictorial design and photomontage are at the heart of…well, my heart. No matter how hard I try, I just cannot seem to evade the ever-looming cloud of inspirational photography; better yet, infused with seamless design. Look at these and tell me how much you love them:

Behance.net

Behance.net

Stark contrast. Delicate detail. Cliché? A bit, but wonderful interplay between static and kinetic forms. There’s a unique dynamism here.

Behance.net

Behance.net

Landscapes! Organic forms! Oh my. I’m not a fan of the type alignment in example two, however, the thin typeface has me sold. Also, look at that subliminal messaging at play. Hey, SHHFestival, lay off the logos. Now, take a look the typographic version, below.

Behance.net

Okay so, don’t judge me just yet, I want to show you something (irrelevant):

Behance.net

Behance.net

I know, I know; you’re thinking, “fugly.” I’m thinking “carnivores and ink stains.” There’s something seductive about…well, both. I’ve grown customarily enticed by animals of prey and uncontrollable circumstances (both in medium and in nature). Don’t ask me why, right now; I’m still trying to understand why, myself.

Behance.net

Sorry, I had to throw this one in here. Look at those elegant stains. Typography could comfortably thrive in the lower negative space, as seen in the example.

Behance.net

Again, lovely use of photography. Bold geometric shapes. Vibrant hue. Information lives tightly in a very small area. No one likes being cramped!

Behance.net

Now, I’m just getting carried away with circular geometry…and imagery. Here, try something more suiting:

Behance.net

Flickr

Flickr

Flickr

Designreviver.com

Designreviver.com

Flickr

ISO50

Behance.net

What I love most about these posters is the visual intrigue that is offered in unison with structured typographic hierarchy. Granted, there isn’t an overwhelming amount of type involved, it’s still nice to see space prioritized. I typically tend to want to left/right align copy at the bottom or top of a poster’s design, but after a while it seems to get repetitive. Is this bad news? No, I don’t believe so: just a current trend I suppose.

While I’m at it, take a glimpse of this creative information design:

Flickr

This is an chart illustrating a design student’s lifetime. What wonderful shapes and use of color coding. Intriguing subject matter.

Flickr

Flickr

When her Etsy products started selling, this designer decided to record her international cliental base.

Flickr

Design book! Haven’t read it, but love to stare at it. Seems easy to navigate through.

Flickr

1976 Olympics: Canada.

Flickr

2011 Olympics: Britain. See a similarity? Love. it.

From here on, I just want to show you some great posters. They don’t use much typography, if any, but they provide a great insight into the luxury of unrestrained design. Remember, I love minimalist shapes.

Flickr

Flickr

ISO50

Behance.net

Behance.net

Behance.net

Behance.net

ISO50

Behance.net

Flickr

I’ve gone too far haven’t I? Okay, well I want to end with one last visual stimuli…that makes me feel like a badass.

Flickr

; )

Calendrical Design.

My Typography II class was recently asked to research some calendar designs for an upcoming assignment. This is what I found:

The Cats Calendar by Noa Bembibre.

Fun conceptual, typographic experimentation. Lovely hierarchy. Take note that it’s designed in two week increments, which begins on a Monday, allowing a more simplified, horizontal orientation. Large type is bit confusing/impractical, but quirky, nonetheless.

Design wallpaper by Christiaan Postma.

This is my type of planner: calendar wallpaper brought to us by Dutch designer, Christiaan Postma. Delicate type treatment and plenty of room to pencil in all your important events.

Stendig calendar by Massimo Vignelli.

Massimo Vignelli’s Stendig calendar is definitely on my Christmas list. The free-flowing space is a great example of seductive design. Nothing but you and the calendar. This should make it difficult to forget what day it is.

Ink calendar by Oscar Diaz.

This is a marvel: an ink calendar. Each day, the ink is slowly absorbed, filling up the numeral of the day’s date. Also, each month’s color is based off “the color temperature” scale so you don’t get bored watching the same redundant color scheme. Okay, so perhaps at the end of the month this could get a tad overwhelming to look at (as the numerals are all connected); but what I love most about this is the literal perception of the day passing and coming into complete fruition. Thanks Oscar Diaz!

Malota calendar by Studio Malota Projects.

So, I’m not a big fan of these illustrative graphics, but I am a sucker for spacey, horizontal design. Look at those date boxes! Oh la la.

Twelve calendar by Melbourne based graphic designer Thomas Williams.

Circular design elements fascinate me: they’re so modular and chic. But let’s not go too far as they can (and oftentimes are) used as a serious design crutch. I believe the black dots here represent…the weekends? Fun format, but a bit deceptive in terms of what day it is.

Calendar by WhatType.com

My apologies for the extra large file. Feel free to zoom out if need be. Nevertheless, this is one of my favorite picks because of its simplified resolution and typographic overlay. You can find it onWhatType.com if you’d like.

Calendar by ffffound.com.

Located this on ffffound.com through weheartit.com. Intriguing outcome, poor legibility. When the year comes, what are we supposed to do with our less curvilinear numerical friends? I’m just as biased as this poster design.

Color wheel calendar by Designyoutrust.com.

I don’t understand what it says, but I like looking at it.

Moon + Mitim by Sara De Bondt Studio.

Recently saw this at a friend’s house. No indication of date, but elegant lunar chart.

2008 calendar designed by Jonathan Davies.

After Jessica McGhee mentioned this one in class, I had to reblog it. So visually stimulating. So minimally oriented. A product of designer Jonathan Davies.