Designspiration P2

So here is Projection 2 from the JetstreamProjector inspiration bank on Designspiration. I chose to showcase the the three logos above because of their similar qualities and attributes. They all have the old college scholar feel with a subtle touch of masculinity. The first and last have a seal-like presence and the middle has a family crest style. The typography is strong and harmonizes well with the other elements of design that exist within each logo. If you take a look the line weights of the type and lines in each logo are very consistent with each other. All three are very memorable indeed. Check out Projection 1 if you have not done so already.

See what inspires me: JetstreamProjector on Designspiration

Also, check out Bruce Mai’s inspiration: Threefoureight on Designspiration

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Designing Nokia NEX

Ran across this work today while I was browsing through Designspiration. The branding was designed by Robert Murdock who is the CCO at Method in San Francisco and goes by the pseudonym Postmammal. The name Postmammal is based on the notion that humans are always evolving, and are always looking for what’s next — essentially what’s beyond human.

It’s really incredible to see all of the concepts that were developed, logo evolution, and application of logo on multiple facets. I am currently working on two related projects in my graphic design courses and I definitely needed some inspiration like this stir up some creative juices. The use of pattern is unbelievable and helps the entire branding maintain a fluidness throughout every element of the campaign. The logo itself is clean, contemporary, and bold but doesn’t reach it’s full potential until the rest of the project is seen. The logo being dissected and then reapplied to a pattern really brings unity to the entire project. Scale also plays a major factor in this project because when the patterns are presented larger they have a stronger presence within the design compositions. You will definitely be seeing more Postmammal posts here on the blog.

Check out more work from Postmammal.

World of Logotypes

The logos above are some highlights from the mid-seventies edition of The World of Logotypes by Al Cooper. Choosing marks based on their strong graphic quality Amy Henderson isolated the logos individually and into a three part series on here site Aqua Velvet. I’ve seen the book in person and I have to say that seeing the logos isolated like this really changes the way they I perceive them. Their true aesthetics are reflected so well with the surrounding white space and no distracting interruptions of that space. Check out Part I, Part 2, and Part 3 of the Aqua Velvet series. You can also check out all of the logos on Eric Carls Flickr who graciously took the time to upload each page of the extensive book.

Via Grain Edit.

Creative Review ➡ Redesign

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Creative Review has been redesigned with a new size, new paper, new typography and a new logo. Last month they celebrated their 30th anniversary so they thought what better time to give the magazine a makeover. This April will be the first issue with the new look which is really appealing in a nostalgic way paying homage to design of the 60’s and early 70’s. Their were two aims for the redesign: to create a better physical product and to mold to the repositioning of the their editorial stance that has been transforming over the last few years. They wanted to create a more tactile experience making the magazine in better quality and making it a joy to handle. I’m definitely going to be hunting for this issue over the next few weeks and when I get a hold of one I will let you know how it is. I’m pretty sure I will not be disappointed.

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Read more about the redesign here.

MOODGADGET

The Moodgadget logo is just simply amazing. I love the retro feel the logo-motion clip has which reminds me of the old PBS motion logo. Jakub Alexander runs the Moodgadget record label and is also a heavy hitter down on the ISO50 blog.

EXPO ➡ Spring Show Poster

So here it is, my final poster for Sacramento State’s Annual Spring Show. The title of the poster is EXPO which means a large public exhibition, in this case, of the works from students in the design department at Sac State. My inspirations came from the EXPO ’67, ’70, ’74, the Seattle and New York World’s Fairs, and Bauhaus style. I wanted to bring more emphasis to the Spring Show by developing a look that is simple, bold, iconic, memorable, and timeless with a modern style. What drew me to the Expos and World’s Fairs was their iconic designs, structures, architecture, and overall identity. So I decided to develop a powerful logotype for the poster that could be used as a visual element of interest for poster and could be later applied to a system for the identity of the Spring Show. The triangle shape in the composition represents the educational system that the students of the three disciplines of the design program journey through. Each line represents a different department which includes photography, graphic design, and interior design. The lines within the triangle and their direction present the idea of ‘moving forward’ especially when the lines change color as they are leaving the triangle. This is idea/theme is also emphasized by the shapes of the letterforms in ‘EXPO’. The reason why the lines change color is because the students, who are graduating, are now ready for the professional world. The poster can have many interpretations but that is one of the literal ones that was most significant to the design. The final print was printed on canvas to enhance the paper texture quality of the background. Below is some of the process leading up to the final design.

Don’t try to be original. Just try to be good.

“Don’t try to be original. Just try to be good. That sounds sort of naive but it’s true.” Paul Rand

One of the greatest graphic designers of the 20th century Paul Rand brought innovation and inspiration to the world of design. He has done logos for some of Americas largest corporations and companies including IBM (1972), American Broadcasting Corporation/ABC (1962) , United Parcel Service/UPS (1961), FORD (1966/ unfortunately never used but in my opinion 20 times better than what they have today), Westinghouse (1960), Yale University Press (1985), Consolidated Cigar Corporation (1959), Atlas Crankshaft Corporation (1964), just to name a few.

Check out more from the Paul Rand Gallery. Also check out his interview.

Via LogoDesignLove

Color TV

I was researching “tv static” today for a project I’m doing for my Time-Based Graphic Design class and I ran across these in Escaphandro’s Color TV set on flickr. I just had to put them in my desktop inspirational folder. I just absolutely love the the type and logo and the rainbow bar reminds me of the old polaroid designs. One thing I couldn’t help but notice is that the Color TV logo looks a lot like the Seagate logo but it still looks great. I was also trying to read up on the designer/collector and I discovered that this is actually newly designed this year for a musician by the name of Color TV. This was all really confusing for me because it looks like actual color advertisements and instructional manuals. If he really did design these works he did a wonderful job of imitating an aged effect to make these look straight out of the early 70s.

Stefan Kanchev

Stefan Kanchev (1915-2001) isn’t necessarily the guy you learn about in an art or design history class but his works and achievements are definitely worth much praise. He has designed 650 stamps, over 1000 trademarks and symbols, posters, book covers, and the list goes on. The Stefan Kanchev project team have developed a wonderful collection of his artifacts. Although the project is ongoing you can find most of his work there.

Via designboom

Maniackers Logos

Maniakers Design is a Graphic Design group located in Masayuki Sato. These are some of the the logos they did for JEXPO ’70. I stumbled on these in flickr a while ago and I was really drawn to the simplicity and boldness of the logos and they are quite retro-looking. Simple but very memorable.