Week 4 Part 2

Now for round 2! I love video games, so this next inspiration always helps me when I need to exercise my design studies.

This is the original cover art and design layout of the best zombie game ever, Left 4 Dead. It personifies horror simply with distressed areas, an ominous color palette, and the clever placement of a bite mark. The red pops out, which is used to capture attention first and then serve its purpose as blood second.

This is where the inspiration part comes in; I love looking at and also trying to create game cover fan-art. I couldn't find out who created this cover, but they did an amazing job keeping the spirit of Left 4 Dead. The designer kept the red as the initial flag-down for viewers and then as blood. They also substituted realistic vector art in place of the realistic art. Either way, they both look amazing, and the idea of this inspiration can serve as a design exercise!


--Evan

Week 4 Inspirations Part 1

Hello again! On this lovely Thursday I have my weekly inspirations at the ready for you all to enjoy (hopefully). To start off week 4's inspirations, I wanted to share a few pictures I took while stopping in at Levin's Furniture store. I have to admit, I didn't think I'd end up finding some inspiration in there at first! Well, I guess it helps that I post them before going further!

Okay, so the first picture is of several photographs and a poster. It's not absolutely significant, but I really enjoyed how their height variables stayed equal, but their widths differed. The black borders really attracted my attention too, but I suppose it helps that the photos were awesome to boot. The second image is of a sign I saw hanging by a lot of chairs. It reads: "The perfect chair: What's your perfect chair?". I know the actual message is clunky and/or very repetitive, but I looked specifically at the execution of the styles. I like the hand rendered type on top, it was effective at catching people's attention, myself included. I also enjoyed the darker italic underscore, because after the attention is caught this phrase now resonates with potential buyers. That is pretty effective design, given its simplicity. And lastly, the bottom image is of a mural of sorts with nothing but a lot of type! It has names of tangent and familiar areas of the particular store, each with its own font and size. I really liked looking at this mural, and I actually had to wait to get a clear shot because of customers looking and crowding near it!

Week 3 Inspirations!

Hi guys, and welcome back! I haven't been feeling that great lately and I think it's because I got scorched from the sun, so unfortunately I didn't leave the house to find exciting designs around town. However, I still have two interesting designs/art that I wanted to share with you all and hear your take on them.

#1.

Okay, so here are seven shots of the Warner Bros. logo spanning (respectively) the entire film saga of the Harry Potter series. Since I've been under the weather I've been watching movies a lot, but every time I see these HP movies I always, ALWAYS fascinate over these logos. Say someone hasn't ever read or seen Harry Potter; they can still see from each logo that with every progressing installment of the series there is some ominous force or antagonistic presence decaying the logo itself. I wholly applaud this, I think that this maneuver is a nice way to give viewers a heads-up about the nature of each installment. Plus, the logos tell a story themselves; that's not as easy as it looks. I think this a wonderful tactic and it has inspired me to really consider all steps toward designing logos/signage.

And.... #2.

Well, this isn't exactly "good" inspiration this time. I don't think it would be realistic to only look at good design, but I do think it's essential to see what to avoid. Alright, here's the quick rundown: this is called "Country A", "Country B", and "Country C" respectively. This piece, or fragments thereof, is "art" by the notorious Yoko Ono. (Can you viewers see where I'm going with this?) These mounds of dirt are erected in front of a vintage poster that says "War is Over!". According to a few internet sources, Yoko Ono says that she believes this is art and that her message is togetherness. Well, that may be, but the "message" is lost in this void, this attempt at real 3D negative space, between each part of the whole piece. I understand each is supposed to represent a different country and promote the idea of peace; however, I don't think each is powerful enough to encourage that idea. When I first saw this image I immediately thought that someone didn't know where to put their garbage. Also, if one has horrible vision like myself, that poster in the background loses its purpose. So basically, I'm inspired indirectly with this design. How? I can truly appreciate good design now, and this Ono piece has shown me what all to avoid with design: lackluster process, disconnect of the message, disconnect of demographics, and letting fame get to your head. Sometimes inspiration is more effective when you see the terrors of what others may consider art. 

--Evan

2nd Week Inspiration

Hi guys! And sorry for the wait, I know this week is coming to a close fast. Now I understand that there were a ton of art festivals going on, however I had no means of getting to said festivals. That doesn't mean I can't find design for you all this week though! To save time, I'll combine this week's post materials together as one. Ok, here goes:


For the web-based inspiration, check this out.

It's by "The Concept Painter" on YouTube, which is actually Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori. I'm a geek for concept art and design, as well as for the game Halo. I watch this video endlessly; it truly serves its purpose as extreme inspiration to me, and even if any of you viewers don't like or play games, maybe you can still find the value to this video. It's all done in photoshop, every step of the design process! That's incredible, and simply put: educational.


Now for inspiration from life:

These images are of one of the many Zits comic treasuries that is around the house. Unfortunately, some of the pictures I took of it didn't upload (I'll bring this to class sometime if anyone is interested). Anyways, Zits is a comic strip in newspapers and ever since I've first read it I couldn't help but admire the artistic value it held. Over the years, its protagonist Jeremy and his family and friends have had several makeovers in design; line-work and crosshatching seemed mediocre but entrancing at first, but currently has really polished lines and shades (alongside brilliant color palettes) which I think is fantastic. It's hard to believe that such inspiration could simply lie within comic strips in a newspaper, but I'm sure thankful it's publicly dispersed because everyone deserves to see this diamond in the rough. 

Well, this concludes this week's inspiration, but any input is always welcomed!

--Evan

Hello once again! Today, as a wrap for the first week's inspirations for design, I thought I'd share two small personal pictures from my backyard. Why, you might ask? Well, sometimes the best design inspiration comes straight from the places that give you the most comfort or the best cognition! For me, design should be infinite; it's always changing, always evolving, and ever-so resilient. Some of my best student projects were thought up while I gazed upon my backyard pond, and when I'd stare at the heavens, watching the clouds create unique shapes. Now, before you think that I'm just lazy and watching the world, realize that to make good design sometimes you have to stay idle and simply observe. Whether it be watching what people buy, where their eyes are drawn to, what cars are driving around, color palettes in shops or "natural" palettes in the environment, and absolutely anything relevant to today's society, it never hurts to know what is liked! Be like the water and clouds: adaptive!

Until next week!

--Evan

Here's where to find this design.

This style of design always intrigues me; I'm such a big fan of the designs that came from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. This particular piece, designed by Jeff Miller, emulates the style of those eras with the diffuse-looking color palette, the image in the background, the rules that flank the type on the right side, and the transparent stencil that anchors the center of the book cover. I really enjoy how design can outlast its time period, as this clearly shows! Compositionally, I like how the image crops in about 3/4ths of the subjects' faces, isolating unnecessary space from the main focus.

Testing!

Hi, this is just a test post. I'm new to blogging, but while I learn the ropes with that maybe we could do something productive meanwhile. Like say....interpreting graphic design. Yeah, let's do that. Basically, my goal for this blog is to post twice a week about and discuss design, and perhaps even more. Feedback is always welcome! Thanks!

--Evan