GDS Design Diary

Book Cover

2007-12-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

I found this book cover in the march/april issue of Print magazine and I thought it was a very clever and unxpected solution. I like the colors and its very feminine looking especially with the paper doll cut out in the corner.

Adobe site

2007-12-14T13:05:00.000-08:00

This was on one of the up and coming artists of the adobe site and I thought it was an awesome looking movie poster. Movie posters have to be eye-catching to draw the crowds since millions were spent in production. If you have a great movie, but the marketing for it is sub-par, the movie isn't going to do well.

Design annual

2007-12-14T12:54:00.001-08:00

I found this website for tokyo design lab in an art director's annual and absolutely loved the color scene. It's very vibrant and since it is a since centered in Japan, I think the design fits in well culturally. I wish I could produce work like this! Maybe someday I will!

2007-11-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

I found this ad in the art director's 83rd annual award book. Its for the steppenwolf theatre. I thought the colors really popped and the focus was very evident (the card in the middle)

I also thought the background was subtle, but engaging as well.

2007-11-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

Since we were discussing the psychedelic era this week, I thought this poster would be fitting. I love the colors and the type is near indecipherable such as other designs of the era. The curvilinear lines are really present here too.

Color Harmony

2007-11-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

I think this is a good example of triadic color harmony, because the color choices are equally as far apart on the color wheel and various red, blues and yellows are present in the design.

Midgibyte Creations

2007-10-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

This image is on the home page of midgibyte creation's (a design firm) website. I think it did a good job of creating the illusion of space in the sky by using color variation and linear perspective. This design makes you feel like you are able to jump into the scene.

Also in 2006 Regional Design Annual

2007-10-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

I love love loved! this concept. You think its a pack of cigarettes at first, but actually its the packaging for a guide to quit smoking. Each "cigarette" is, I think, a story of someone who has quit and there is also mini-brochures inside. I'm really into cutting through the clutter and creating interesting marketing materials and this example definitely does that. Genius!

Print (Magazine) Regional Design Annual 2006

2007-10-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

This AIGA contest poster was featured in the 2006 PRINT regional design annual. I thought it was really neat because it is completely made up of scantron dots. A concept that is completely original and refreshing to see. I thought the copy at the bottom was also clever and I liked that the typeface was like handwriting.

2007-10-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

I've combined my design blogs. My old one for GDS 108 can be found here. http://lcynkar.blogspot.com/

From now on, I will post my GDS 131 and 108 blogs in here, so its easier to maintain.

As an assignment, we are supposed to find a bad newspaper ad and work on it to make it better. This week I thought I'd post some of the GOOD student newspaper ads I cam across while searching for a bad one. The top one is just a filler ad that you would stick anywhere you need to fill up space, but i still thought it had a quick visual message going on for WPGU.

I like the second ones because, as hard as it is to create a unique voice for campus bars, these ads accomplish it. There is good emphasis as well.

Matchbox

2007-10-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

I found this ad on the advertising/design godess website. I visit it a lot for inspiration and thought it was a cool design. It definitely makes you think and is not normally what you'd expect when you look at a map of the United States.

Benjamin Moore Paint

2007-10-10T11:03:00.002-07:00

I saw these ads in the Art Directors Annual from 2005 and thought they were fun. These ads makes you think of everything around you in terms of color and therefore in terms of what paint color everything around you would be. I especially like the ocean one because it truly makes you think how many different shades of blue are in the ocean, even though it appears as just one mass of water.

Endless Pain Tattoo Parlor

2007-10-10T11:03:00.001-07:00

This brochure is for Endless Pain Tattoo and piercing parlor. I thought it was an original approach to marketing materials that can easily get stale. The binding rings for the brochure turn into piercings on the pages of the books. The was one of the less...risque examples. :) But I thought it was a really cool idea. The colors are also appropriate for the type of client since they are dark and edgy.

2007-09-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

These banners are in the lobby of the advertising floor of Illini Media and I thought they are great graphic designs examples. The dashed lines create a great sense of flow and movement that connects all five of the banners (showcasing the 5 depts of Illini Media.)

I think they are a great representation of our company as a fun, youthful, colorful organization, but are still professional.

Krannert booklet

2007-09-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

I found this booklet in the breakroom at my work. It contains the events for the season at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. I thought this was a really interesting and clean look for the booklet and I really like the colors and shapes used.

Above are some of the inside pages, which are also use colors in a great way.