Thursday, September 29, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Marion Bantjes
This has been my favorite so far! The way her mind and creativity work is fascinating. The main take away for me was really creative inspiration - I couldn't help myself from purchasing old christmas cards from a thrift store in hopes of coming up with something even remotely interesting as Marion's christmas card valentine series.
Like the other graphic designers we have seen, it's reassuring to see so many resist the idea of continuing to do what they've always done because they know it so well. They pushed themselves to grow and develop, even if it meant taking a risk and holding a mirror to yourself almost at all times.
Marion echoed the same sentiment as Jessica Hische, "unless you're really paying attention, you're never going to see it". Her key points that there is a place for the personal artist in the corporate sphere, that the work should be good enough to have longevity outside of its original purpose, and that multiple layers payoff really struck a chord. It makes perfect sense that she is as highly acclaimed, respected, and sought-after as she is because she puts meaningful thought and empathy into her design and work.
Like the other graphic designers we have seen, it's reassuring to see so many resist the idea of continuing to do what they've always done because they know it so well. They pushed themselves to grow and develop, even if it meant taking a risk and holding a mirror to yourself almost at all times.
Marion echoed the same sentiment as Jessica Hische, "unless you're really paying attention, you're never going to see it". Her key points that there is a place for the personal artist in the corporate sphere, that the work should be good enough to have longevity outside of its original purpose, and that multiple layers payoff really struck a chord. It makes perfect sense that she is as highly acclaimed, respected, and sought-after as she is because she puts meaningful thought and empathy into her design and work.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Jessica Hische
I didn't think I had a lot of interest in type illustration or typography until watching this video series on Jessica Hische. Ultimately what I got the most out of this was creative inspiration and how accidents can turn into gold. My favorite quote was about teaching yourself to want to look: "unless you're looking, you can't learn." - learn from the terrible, accidental, excellent, everything. She had great advice to think beyond the title or career and really think about the day-to-day.
I also enjoyed her description of the classic book series and how excited she was about the opportunity to design everything from typeface to embellishments, and because of that part of the layout as well. Lastly, I enjoyed how Jessica and her partner found ways to push themselves, which ultimately turned into extensions of their brand and a growing network and hub of their peers.
I also enjoyed her description of the classic book series and how excited she was about the opportunity to design everything from typeface to embellishments, and because of that part of the layout as well. Lastly, I enjoyed how Jessica and her partner found ways to push themselves, which ultimately turned into extensions of their brand and a growing network and hub of their peers.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Sean Adams
My takeaway from the Sean Adams video series was his advice to remain patient with design. He mentioned that clients can sometimes demand that something be produced as quickly as possible, but if you allow just a little more time, you will ultimately produce something of much better quality. His advice to have the patience to allow things to germinate, rather than just reacting, really struck a chord with me.
I also enjoyed how he delved into how easy it is for designers to "become seduced by how things look", and how it's important to take a step back and ask yourself if there is a purpose, a concept that is behind the design. His advice to listen to clients, write things down and do entirely the wrong thing are gems that are bound to ring through my head throughout my design education.
Lastly, he made the statement that design is the lubricant that drives capitalism and makes it work. I found this interesting because it tied into the Margo Chase series in that her design aesthetic and thought process contributed to and shaped popular culture of the time. In today's world, the line is blurred between capitalism and pop culture, but the design community is ultimately the guiding star.
I also enjoyed how he delved into how easy it is for designers to "become seduced by how things look", and how it's important to take a step back and ask yourself if there is a purpose, a concept that is behind the design. His advice to listen to clients, write things down and do entirely the wrong thing are gems that are bound to ring through my head throughout my design education.
Lastly, he made the statement that design is the lubricant that drives capitalism and makes it work. I found this interesting because it tied into the Margo Chase series in that her design aesthetic and thought process contributed to and shaped popular culture of the time. In today's world, the line is blurred between capitalism and pop culture, but the design community is ultimately the guiding star.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Margo Chase
I really enjoyed this first video series on Margo Chase, particularly that she sort of stumbled her way into graphic design for the music industry with Warner Brothers. I am a musician myself so the combination of the two worlds is an exciting prospect for me. I like that she has her own archive of graphic design history and inspiration in the office, and that the workspace itself is conducive to open and creative thinking.
What really struck a chord for me was one of the reasons that she decided to leave Warner Brothers, which was that graphic designers were not part of the marketing conversation. The concept she delivers about graphic design solving for business problems is spot on. What has driven me to pursue and understand graphic design is my interest in communication, and I believe that graphic design, communication, and marketing go hand-in-hand; you can't have one without the other. To further this argument, the segment that included her marketing partner emphasized the necessity of expressing an understanding of the problem in order to communicate the solution. This understanding then transposes to the design concept, branding, marketing, and so on. Their insight into this process was really valuable, including starting points: what is the consumer thinking?; aspirations of the brand and consumer; creating a persona; creating a brand theme board.
Lastly, it was interesting to me that she won a Grammy for the Cher limited edition package, and that she designed the album cover for Madonna's Like a Prayer (the only Madonna album on my Spotify). Her aesthetic drove pop culture for the time, and I think it's fascinating for graphic design work to be a part of that.
What really struck a chord for me was one of the reasons that she decided to leave Warner Brothers, which was that graphic designers were not part of the marketing conversation. The concept she delivers about graphic design solving for business problems is spot on. What has driven me to pursue and understand graphic design is my interest in communication, and I believe that graphic design, communication, and marketing go hand-in-hand; you can't have one without the other. To further this argument, the segment that included her marketing partner emphasized the necessity of expressing an understanding of the problem in order to communicate the solution. This understanding then transposes to the design concept, branding, marketing, and so on. Their insight into this process was really valuable, including starting points: what is the consumer thinking?; aspirations of the brand and consumer; creating a persona; creating a brand theme board.
Lastly, it was interesting to me that she won a Grammy for the Cher limited edition package, and that she designed the album cover for Madonna's Like a Prayer (the only Madonna album on my Spotify). Her aesthetic drove pop culture for the time, and I think it's fascinating for graphic design work to be a part of that.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Thursday, September 1, 2016
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