London's Campaign

Given that this piece of design is a full spread, this is the first one that caught my eye when I was flipping through the pages of Masters of Design Logo & Identity by Sean Adams. I love the use of positive and negative this creates. If you did not notice at first, quite like I did, the icons on the top mirror those on the bottom. This is a logo targeting global businesses communicating that they are the best place to host a company. Instead of only referring to one of their attractions (such as Big Ben) the campaign is combining forty-five. The overall shape is varied and probably took a very long amount of time to make the logo appear somewhat random. When I look at this I imagine a loud, diverse, community with fun activities to do. Almost like Disney World.

The Modern Poster

Well look what we have here. A poster created none other than Will Bradley himself. He is a self taught graphic designer who was inspired from mostly the Art Nouveau movement. Using the strong line movement and ideas with Japanese design were his strong suits. He was a part of AIGA as well as the artist I chose to represent in my T-shirt design! He is most well know for the Bradley ITC typeface which was designed based off of his very own handwriting. What attracts me to his work especially is the craftsmanship and ornateness he brings into his designs. It is most interesting is to think that over one hundred years ago this peacock was considered cutting edge design, and now to look at it from a different view of "modern" gives it a whole new perspective. I pulled this clip for the book called A Century of Graphic Design, by: Jeremy Aynsley.

Glamorous Package Design

Once again, I have selected a piece of package design from the book Beauty & Healthcare: Package Design. The line of makeup and beauty products come from a company called B never too busy to be beautiful. Yes, I agree that is a very long company name. The blitzed containers appear to hold something very valuable and give off a European flare with its uniqueness. However, the product may appear to be European it is actually Indian. If I were in the makeup store (i.e. Sephora) I would definitely be drawn to this product and think to myself "Oo, sparkly! I'm gonna keep the container to put my treasures in it!".

Everyday is a Holiday promotion

I always like to look through calendars and see what every month's picture is, so I can really appreciate a good calendar when I see one! I borrowed this book from my good ole pal Sidney, who has great taste in design, and it's called Fingerprint: The Art of Using Handmade Elements in Graphic Design, By Chen Design Associates. These artists created an illustration for every month to complete a set of 12 handmade letterpresses coasters. I really enjoy the theme of their characters and the dorky humor all of them express. Stated in Fingerprint, the artists favorite design is a three-legged rabbit for "Unlucky Day." 

Hair Care Blood Bag

This is something you don't see every day. The packaging for a hair care product really caught my eye. It is packaged as intensive hair care shampoo/conditioner. As in you need this. The product looks so formal I might even be afraid to use too much of it. If you haven't noticed, the package is designed to portray something along the lines of an IV bag. Which is kind of a big deal. In turn, this makes the contents of the bag appear hazardous. I found the item in Beauty & Healthcare: Package Design. The above design was created by Tahahito Nishimura, from Japan.

La Vie a Deux

This week's blog is about..you guessed it fashion! I pulled this piece from a book called By Hand: Handmade elements in graphic design. By Hand is an archive of pieces by various designers which include collages, illustrations, and typography, all pulled together by Pie Books. When looking over the illustrations there are minimal captions. In Japanese. Therefore I cannot declare exactly what each depicts only infer. However, I do know the above image is of a hand drawn dress by Akiko Matsumura. The reason I have two pictures is because I want you to note the detail she inhibited while drawing this dress. What attracted me to the above piece was the kind of embellishments she illustrated and how well it paints the paints the picture of what the apparel company sells. It is a one of a kind and very adorned.

The Snooty Peacock

This is a logo design by Ryan Russell Design, named The Snooty Peacock. It is a logo design for a fashion company. What attracted me to the piece is the genius use of negative and positive space. Reminds me of the Rorschach blot tests they give to patients to see what image is seen first. Peacocks are a symbol of fashion and high maintenance, just as the expression on the "Snooty's" face. I came across the logo in a book found in our very own Parkland Library. The book is full of nothing but illustrations and inspiration with no words. The book is called  GraphisLogoDesign Volume 8, put together by Michael Schwab, however it is a collection from various artists and design firms. If you would like to find this particular logo is can be found on page 128.