#20 Research and Inspiration

Shephard Fairey:

He was born in South Carolina. He graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy in 1988 and from Rhode Island School of Design in 1992 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. Fairey gained fame after developing the Andre the Giant Has a Posse and the Obama 'Hope' posters. He was eventually hired to design the Time magazine cover to represent 'The Protester' as Person of the Year in order to acknowledge the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street protests.

Social Issue: Gun control

Many visuals related to this issue show pictures of guns. Sometimes the 'no' sign is used over the picture of a gun as well. Notable organizations involved in the fight over this issue include the Second Amendment Sisters and the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms ownership. Although there aren't really any particularly famous advocates of gun control, many famous personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, George Orwell, and George Mason have spoken out in support of gun control. Ropes could also signify control. Gun control could also be equated with the word peace. Red could be used to symbolize power while orange could be used to symbolize caution. Ropes could also be used in the design to symbolize control.

Inspiration Pieces:

This picture shows a gun being restrained by ropes. This enhances the idea that ropes should be used to signify control.

This design uses red in coordination with image of a gun. This gives an idea of power.

This picture shows rope and the color red to signify the power of a gun and the fact that it needs to be controlled.








Visual Hierarchy:

1. Portrait of person with peace sign
2. Symbol of gun restrained by rope
3. One word ('Peace' or 'Control' are options).

Color Psychology

Assignment # 19: Research and Inspiration

Colors that would be advisable to use for Ted's Hot Wings would be red, orange, or yellow (Essentially, the warm colors). Red should be a predominant color in the logo since it is said to stimulate hunger and attract people to a restaurant. Using a color scheme consisting of warm colors is also advisable since hot wings themselves appear to be these colors.

Visual hierarchy for business card:

1. Logo that represents wings
2. The title 'Ted's Hot Wings'
3. Employee name
4. Title
5. Contact info such as phone/fax number, e-mail/company/web address. 

This picture is good because it uses red, a color said to stimulate hunger.

This picture is inspirational because it actually helps the target audience visualize the title of the restaurant.

This picture is also good because it establishes a theme of fire that could be used in a restaurant that focuses on hot wings. After all, barbecue and hot wings have things in common.



Letterhead/envelope research:

All of the following images are decent inspiration since they all incorporate a repeating element such as a swirl or a common picture like a fountain. Another interesting feature that some of them feature is a design that is slightly transparent in the white space of the letterhead.

Stationary Package

Stationary package is the printed pieces that a company utilizes for communication purposes.

When establishing a business, it is very important that all communications are well coordinated and that the message of the organization is presented consistently.

Includes: business card, letterhead, and envelope.

Business card: given to every employee. When a business card is handed to someone, they form an immediate opinion about your company. Typically includes: logo, company name, employee name, title, phone number, fax number, email address, company address, web address.

Design tips:

• Must be 2" by 3.5"
• Horizontal or vertical orientation
• check for accuracy
• check for unity/continuity among other pieces.
• Margins are usually 0.25" or 0.125".

Letterhead:

A printed piece of paper used to send letters, memos, etc.

Includes:

Logo

Company name

Company address

Phone number

Fax number

Web address

Design tips:

• 8.5 X 11
• Vertical orientation
• Must leave room to write the letter, memo, et c- 
• big empty space in middle
• check for accuracy
• check for unity- continuity among other pieces.

Envelope:

the packaging that contains the letter, form when being mailed; standards #10 envelope

Typically includes:

Logo

company name

company address

Design tips:

• Must be 9.5" by 4.125"
• Horizontal or vertical orientation
• Must leave room for recipient's address and stamp
• Check for accuracy
• Check for unity
• Continuity among other pieces
• Going to the edge is expensive

Assignment # 18: Research and Inspiration

This logo is inspiring because it shows the emphasis of the abbreviation of the logo over the text itself. The initials of Allie McLaughlin are emphasized more than the name itself. Contrast is also seen since the initials are in bigger and bolder text than the name of the company itself.

This logo adds creativity because the 'l' in the word 'flower' is replaced with a flower. This adds attractiveness to a simple design.

The logos for Dolce and Westin are also inspirational because the names of the hotels themselves are put in emphasis in larger text while the less important words like 'hotels' and 'resorts' are put in smaller text to avoid unnecessary attention being drawn to them.




Visual Hierachy:

1. The company's main name (ex: In Focus, Mimi, St. Henri)
2. The type of company (ex: Photography, Flower Shoppe, Hotel)

#17 Research and Inspiration

This picture is inspirational because it shows that green is a predominant color to use in the landscaping industry.

This picture shows that trees are also a major aspect to include in a landscaping logo.

This picture is inspirational because it puts emphasis on the tree first. It shows that putting a tree at the top of the visual hierarchy helps.








Visual hierarchy:

1. Tree
2. The text 'Three Tree'
3. The text 'Landscape'

Logotype

Logotype is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations, and even individuals, to aid and promote instant public recognition. It is more commonly referred to as a logo. Factors that have contributed to the modern logo include logographic languages like Egyptian hieroglyphics, coats of arms, watermarks, and the development of printing technology.

The popularity of photography and lithography in the 18th and 19th centuries led to boom in advertising industry. Typography and imagery were put together frequently on the same page. Typography was going beyond the serif typefaces used in the books of that time. The arts were also being utilized in various purposes such as differentiating consumer products. Consultancies and traded-groups in the commercial arts were growing. All types of publications developed their own artistic styles. Modernism movement brought shift to simple and clear-communicated logos.

As the Victorian times came along, literacy increased and artistic visual styles varied. Visual simplicity and conceptual clarity were important for graphic designers now. The new maxim adopted by graphic designers became 'Less is More'.

Modernist-inspired logos were now more popular in the world of visual communication that was now enhanced by television, printing developments, and digital innovations.

Logos are meant to represent companies' brands or corporate identities and create instant recognition in customers. 'Less is more' is emphasized since customers don't have the time to sit down and analyze logos. In spite of all the simplicity involved, a logo has to stand out in a crowd.

5 Principles of Effective Logo Design:

• Simple- Simplicity makes logo easily recognizable. Good logos feature something unique or unexpected.
• Memorable- An effective logo should be memorable. This is done by keeping it simple yet appropriate.
• Timeless- The logo should be timeless so that they are effective in 10, 20, or 50 years.
• Versatile- The logo needs to work across a variety of media and applications. For this reason, logos should be done in vector format, so that they could be scaled to any size. Also consider if the logo is effective in one color, in reverse color, in the size of a postage stamp, or as large as a billboard.
• Appropriate- Logo should be appropriate for intended audience. Ex: child-like font and color scheme is appropriate for logo of children's store, but it would not be suitable for a law firm.

Color:

4 color process vs. spot color.

4 color produces any color of spectrum when the appropriate colors are mixed in proportion. This is the technique for printing in full color. It's called CMYK (Cyan, magenta, yellow, black).

Spot color: Method of specifying and printing colors in which each color is printed with its own ink. Spot color printing is effective when the printed matter contains only one to three different colors, but it becomes prohibitively expensive for more colors.

• System used for spot color process: Pantone Matching System. 

Color should be chosen wisely. Colors should keep a trend. The color palette should be restricted to two or three. Too many colors will increased your cost or production and result in a chaotic design. Color interpretation varies depending on audience.

Symbols: Iconic logo. Instantaneously recognizable, memorable, clear.

Wordmark/ Lettermark: Doesn't have  a visual. Only uses company's name as a whole. Example: Logos of CNN and Disney. Thick fonts represent power; thin fonts represent movement.

Assignment #16: Research and Inspiration

This infographic is inspirational because it displays all of the aspects of the media world like a city. This 'city' format allows the viewer to properly see all the good and bad aspects of social networking and how it has gotten popular.

The statistics in this infographic are shown well by leading to the viewer's eye to the statistic bars by portraying them as points of  a fork. This is a creative way to draw people's eyes to the information emphasized.

This infographic is also useful because it provides a cohesive flow of information. By portraying the steps for a good credit score as a board, the designer insures that our eye goes to each of the steps in an chronological manner.

Early Computers | 1930s - 1980s AD

What is an abacus?
An abacus is an old tool that is used for performing math calculations.
In 1936,  Zuse invented this type of computer?
He produced the first computer that was freely programmable. It was called the Z1.
Post a photo of the 1944 Mark Computer.
In 1944, Aiken and Hopper designed the Mark Series of computers to be used for what?
It was used by the navy for gunnery and ballistic calculations.Post a photo of the UNIVAC Computer.
In 1951, Eckert and Mauchly designed the first commercial computer for whom?
UNIVAC was used by the Census Bureau.What does UNIVAC stand for?
Universal Automatic Computer
In 1953, IBM enters the scene. What does IBM stand for?
International Business Machines
What is FORTRAN?
The first high-level programing language.
Post a photo of the first mouse.
In 1964, how did Engelbart change the way computers worked?
He created the mouse and made the computer more user-friendly.
What is the significance of ARPnet?
It was the first internet which allowed the protection of information flow between military installations.
In 1971, Intel introduced this? Post a photo of it.
The first single chip microprocessor.
In the same year, IBM introduced this? Post a photo of one.
A floppy disk
In 1973, Metcalf and Xerox created this?
The first ethernet computer network.
During the next several years, the first consumer computers were marketed. Post photos of the Altair, Apple I, Apple II, TRS-80, Commodore PET. Label each.

In 1981, Bill Gates and Microsoft introduced this package? The MS-DOS operating system was packaged with the IBM PC
Post a photo of the Lisa computer.
In 1983, who introduced the Lisa computer?
Apple did.
What is GUI? Graphical user interface.
Post a photo of the computer mentioned below.
In 1984, a more affordable home computer was introduced. Name the computer and the company that marketed it?
It was the Apple Macintosh, and it was marketed by Apple.
The commercial only ran one time. When?
It ran on January 22, 1984.
In response to the Apple GUI, Gates and Microsoft introduced this?
The Windows operating system.
Two men are known for their development of the Apple I computer. Who are they?
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
When was the internet that we know, world wide web, developed and introduced?
1990-1991
Over the years, Apple has included "easter eggs" within their software. What is an "easter egg"?
A hidden message/joke in any form of media.
Search for easter eggs in Photoshop and Illustrator. List a few in this post ... and try to find them in the applications.
If you click 'About Photoshop' and speed up the scrolling of the text, and click the version number after the text is done scrolling, a slide show of amusing text shows up. In Illustrator CS5, you can click 'Select' after making a new document while holding 'L'. Once 'Show' is clicked on the new menu, a variety of options such as eyes are available. 
Where do you think computers will take us in the next 10 years? In the next 10 years, computers will be able to remove a great deal of hassle from our shoulders. It may soon be that nearly everything is controlled by computers. However, it must also be remembered that they can be misused to new heights in the next decade.

Altair

Apple I

Apple II

TRS- 80

Commodore PET

Photography | 1839 - 1960s AD

Until the 1880s, how were news stories illustrated?
Engravings or woodcuts were used. 
What is a camera obscura?
An optical device that projects an image of its surroundings onto a screen. 
Post an example of a camera obscura.
How did scholars and artists utilize the camera obscure?
It was used to observe solar eclipses and phases of the moon. 
From where did the photographic camera develop?
The portable box version of the camera obscura.
Who first used the term "photography"? Where was is derived from?
Sir John Herschel first used the term "photography". It is derived from the Greek words for light and writing.
Post an the first photograph.
Who is credited with making the first successful photograph?
Joseph Niepce
Post an example of a Daguerreotype image. 
Who invented the Daguerreotype process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
Louis Daguerre invented the Daguerreotype process. The process reduced the time needed to make photographs. However, the process was expensive, and the image could not be duplicated.
Post an example of a Calotype image.
Who invented the Calotype process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process? William Fox Talbot invented the Calotype process. An unlimited amount of duplicates could be made, but the quality of the image was affected by experimentations.
Post an example of a Wet Collodion Process image.
Who invented the Wet Collodion process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process? Frederick Scott Archer invented the Wet Collodion process. The process reduced the exposure time and costs. A much sharper image was produced. Darkrooms and other equipment had to be portable. 
Post an example of a Dry Plate Process image.
Who invented the Dry Plate process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the process?
Richard Maddox invented the Dry Plate process. The disadvantage was that this process still made photography too complicated for the general public. The advantage was that the gelatin still is the base of film even today. 
Who is George Eastman? What company did he establish? George Eastman is the inventor of roll film, a photographic medium that is coated on paper rolls. He established the Eastman Kodak company.
Post an example of The Kodak Camera from 1888.
In 1888, he produced a camera that use his flexible roll film. How did he make this camera/photography accessible to the public?
He introduced the camera called the 'Brownie'. It just sold for $1. 
What is Edwin Land best known for? What company did he establish? Edwin Land is best known for inventing instant photography. He founded the Polaroid Corporation.
Post a photo of the first Polaroid camera.
How long did the first Polaroid camera take to produce a photo?
60 seconds.
What was Eadweard Muybridge known for? He was known for starting motion picture photography. 
Post a photo of the Zoopraxiscope.
What is the Zoopraxiscope? A device used to show images in successive pages of motion. 
Post a photo of Muybridge's horse in motion.
How did Muybridge settle the debate and photograph a horse in motion? He set up a system of cameras that were triggered by a thread when the horse was in motion. 
In 1880s, the development of the motion picture camera allowed this? It allowed for the capturing of several individual images on a single film reel.
Post a photo of a motion picture projector.
What is a motion picture projector? A device that shines a light through a piece of film and magnifies a "moving picture" onto a screen for an audience. 

Assignment 15 research and inspiration

The first picture in this post is a good inspiration because it gives a good idea about how an entire page of text was created. I liked the other two samples because they gave a good idea about the design of the initial cap.