Ugly Web Site

Source: Penny Juice Web Site

I am pretty sure I have found the most awful web design I could have ever found. I am not really sure what else to say about it. This photo speaks for it's self. The colors, the lay out, the bad bad graphics, the HORRIBLE photoshopped baby and penny.... why and how?

Meyer's

Source: Communication Arts, November 2004 Design Annual, Pg. 45

Art Director: Sharon Werner | Designers: Sharon Werner/ Sarah Nelson | Client: Monica Nassif, Clean & Co. LLC

I picked this design for this week because of the retro looking design on this modern cleaning product line. The type, the drop shadow, the muted colors, the large amount of text scream retro to me. The design is simple and yet busy all at the same time. I like it. 

Hands

Source: Print, Sept/Oct. 1993 Including Computer Art & Design Annual 2, Pg. 128

Designer: James Mowrey | Design Firm: Digital Communication Design | Client: The Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts

This week's image was interesting to me and stuck out because of the contrast and the hands. The hands are familiar to everyone and was a good choice of imagery. The light finger tips give us a point of entry and positive space leads my eye over the image. The contrast of the negative space really helps us to be able to focus on the fingers. 

Firewater

Source: Communication Arts, Illustration Annual 40, July 1999, Pg 9

Illustrator/art director/designer: Altered Image, design firm | Client:Euclid Tavern

Promotional poster for Firewater

I picked this design because of the illustration. It is very memorable. Although the colors are muted, the cherub wearing a fire helmet while using his "hose" to "rain" on the crowd below is very unusual. The image is a bit disturbing, but I have a hard time believing, I will forget about it any time soon. The combination of the image along with the text being shoved together on the top and bottom makes this photo a winner this week.

Tizan

Source: Communication Arts Design Annual 45, November 2004, Pg. 91

Art Director: Nelly Yiptong | Designer Director: Tiery Li | Illustrator: Laval Ng | 

Client: ABAIM

I chose this design because it is different. The concept of CD's may be dying out but I love the physical context to this package. It is a book of several different mediums. From story telling, illustration, and music, this media package has it all. The personal touch of the whimsical illustrations are complimentary to the fun folk tales that coordinates with the music. 

Kibbles ~N~ Bits

Source: Communication Arts, Advertising Annual 45, December 2004, Pg. 19

Art Director: Joel Nendel | Writer: Troy Asplund | Creative Director: Troy Schneider  | Photographer: Michael Jones

The award winning image I chose is one with a very creative concept. As you look at the image, you know, with out seeing the dog actually there, that a dog patiently waits for its trusted owner to bring food. I imagine, looking at this image and having 3 dogs of my own, that the dog will go to its empty bowl, bark, and as the dog's human brings the bowl full of food, the dog cannot control it's joy, via it's wagging tail, hence the markings it made down to the bare wood. This image brings me much joy.

Miller

Source: Communication Arts, Advertising Annual 45, December 2004, Pg. 20

Art Director: Jeff Williams | Writer: Jeff King | Creative Directors: Roger Camp/Susan Hoffman | Photographers: Vernon J. Biever/Peter Donahue/Errol Morris

The award winning ad I chose this week was easily spotted, knowing exactly what I was looking for.  It has larger font size, as it is a lower resolution print. The text format is left/ragged right. Because of the font size, the designer decided to use sans-serif font. And last but not least, the type is dark on a light background for easy reading.

Hope

Source: Computer Arts, May 2012

Artist: Shepard Fairey, 2008 'Hope' poster

The 'Hope' poster is my choice this week. The rule of thirds works well here with the color shift and the focal points from the center to the edge of the design. The simple image makes this print very aesthetically pleasing to look at. The layout with the word at the bottom, really grounds this image and shows the viewer what the message is clearly.

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Invisible

Source: Graphics, Issue 355, Pg. 102

John Bielenberg: "Solving Problems", Text by Andrew Zolli,

 Portrait by Victor John Penner

"When I was younger, I didn't really understand design, and as I got closer to the top of what I though was the mountain, I had this sense of anticipated dissatisfaction- a sense that this can't be what I had wanted. 

What I love about design is that it lives outside the world of rarified practitioners. It lives in the marketplace.

If I'm going to take money from people to design, what should  I be doing for them and what problem am I solving?

Design can be a means of telling a powerful story as clearly as possible."- John Bielenberg

This designer really nailed it on the head with this image. Designers want their work to be known. They are "telling a story" and that is what to be heard.  The color in the back ground is not too over powering that it distracts from the text. The person behind the brochure is out of focus. The hand seems to be burnt down to some degree to ensure that nothing distracts or distorts the message. The image is simple and to the point. Very visually aesthetic. 

N7

Source: Graphics, Issue 337, Pg 136

Designer: Stephan Mueller, 1996

This week's design is very minimal. It has 3 different colors that contrast each other. It has very little noise. With all the separate shapes in this design, it engages the viewer to close the gaps and view it as a whole. The negative space is used well with with the highlighted area to complete the image. The rectangles give the image a symmetrical balance which is appeasing to the eye.

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Model Search

Source: Graphics, Issue 352

Designer: Studio Boot

This week, the image is from a Graphics publication I have at home. I was lucky enough to be gifted a bunch of graphic design publications. Although this image breaks the subtlety "rule" of 10% of the image being highlighted, the light colored head against the muted turquoise background. The brown bold type against the background, really makes the type stand out. 

Polaroid

Source: Communication Arts, November 1985, Pg. 142 

Designer: Sue Merfeld

This week's post is a great example of emphasis. The dark colored box on the red background and the bold white type really allows the viewer to know what they should be looking at. The tag line "Take a closer look." is very intriguing. It makes one want to actually take a closer look at the slides, because it says so! LOL 

Gesalt Principles

Source: Communication Arts, November 1985, Pg. 111

Designer: Tom Laidlaw, Illistrator: David Lesh

I chose this design because it has all of the elements of Gestalt Principles. It has similarity with the square shapes. It has continuation with the boxes getting larger and going off the page. It has closure with the dotted white and red lines at the top of the page. Proximity is present with the different sets of squares and the circles in the hands and the hands themselves. It also has figure/ground with the light color back ground as contrast.