Monday 21 December 2009

Hot Links

Got my inbox down to zero and am winding down for Christmas, so final post for 2009, a quick round up of some interesting finds from the last month or so.

There are loads of to-do list manager apps around but I've been using Teux Deux, a browser based app, for a couple of weeks and really like it. I love its simplicity and uncluttered design, hoping they do develop an iphone app as this would make it pretty much perfect.

Definitely my gig of the year, a welcome return for Skunk Anansie. Couldn't resist picking up a signed copy of this ltd edition collectors box designed by Shotopop, it's a really treasure chest.

Very entertaining round up of customised My Little Ponies on SpoonGraphics, I want a My Little Mr T Pony for christmas

Bizarre combination of classic asian ceramics and manga-esque design from Brendan Lee Tang, how great would one of these look on your mantlepiece.

Porcelain artist Kate MacDowell's work is another slightly surreal find but absolutely beautiful.

DesignM.ag give a very useful round up of organisational resources for designers, including a couple of my favourites, Dropbox & Daylite

Another useful post on DesignM.ag with some great free fonts, quite a few I hadn't come across before. Most on the list are via Font Squirrel, which I've mentioned previously so note to myself to keep checking in on that site.

I haven't got round to installing Google Chrome (now available for Macs), more than happy with Safari to be honest, but shall download for cross browser testing. I do love the series of supporting low-fi ads, no idea who is behind them by but they're great.




Thursday 17 December 2009

Essential Reading

As the year draws to a close I thought I'd put together a small list of some of my favourite design/ inspiration books I've purchased in the last 12 months (and a couple that are on my xmas list). Whilst the web is great for inspiration it can be difficult to know where to start, so a well stocked shelf of inspiring stuff at your fingertips is a must if you ask me.


Destroy/Rankin: I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of this one, ordered it a while ago but as I was one of the first 20 to order, mine's signed by Rankin so have to be patient. The books a collection of re-worked classic Rankin photos by various artists/ designers and comes with a behind the scenes dvd too.

Logo Lounge 4: I'm a big fan of the LogoLounge series, not as nicely presented as the Los/Dos/ Tres Logos books but still a great resource for branding inspiration and a fair bit cheaper. The option to join online and search the whole database is good too but it will cost you.

Negative Space: By Noma Bar is one on my wish list, some clever visual trickery using a very minimalist style.

Boxed & Labelled: I've always been a sucker for good packaging and this book contains some real beauties. Also worth mentioning again is the very good Lovely Package, really nice blog site for packaging inspiration from round the globe.

Papercraft: Another for my wish list, Papercraft takes a look at, well work created from paper. Mixed reviews for this one but I do love a bit of hand finished design and the DVD with it adds appeal.

Little People In The City: by Slinkachu is a little book full of big photos of little people, humorous and sometimes touching miniature street art.

Derren Brown Portraits: Who would have known Derren Brown had a talent for portraiture. His exaggerated celebrity portraits are so full of detail; especially the craggy Tom Waits, Ian McKellen and Clint Eastwood. Too seaside caricature like for some tastes but I think they're great.

Business Graphics: One of the most useful reference books I have bought in recent times from Rockport. Virtually every other page has a post-it sticking out of it at the moment, highly recommended for anyone producing corporate marketing and branding.


Monday 23 November 2009

Adrianne Illustration

Good friend of mine, the very talented illustrator Adrianne Yates has been rather busy of late. As well as various commissions for magazine illustration work, her fantastic photographic journal Today I Am Loving... and wedding stationery designs, she has also set up a couple of online shops. A selection of her beautiful illustration works are available as limited edition prints, greetings cards, stickers, badges and notebooks at Folksy & Etsy. Perfect little stocking fillers.









Wednesday 18 November 2009

Core Branding Processes

I've always found the processes behind design work as interesting, and sometimes more so, than the results. Having noted that I regularly show new work on this blog but have never gone through processes involved, I thought I'd redress the balance.

The steps I take in core branding briefs is something I need to explain quite often, (mainly due to many budget 'designers' willing to knock up a logo in a couple of hours), but that is a whole different blog post! So I thought it would be of interest to show my processes when it comes to tackling branding briefs.

This is by no means a comprehensive 'how to' guide but does explain a some of the basic steps involved in any considered branding brief. The images (click to enlarge) take you through some of the of prep work I created for a recent branding brief.

Research
The first step after defining the needs of the brief is to do a bit of visual research on competitors, target markets and associated industry. The depth of this research often depends on the clients needs and available budgets. However I always put together a short research report to identify any market trends and get a feel for the sort of approach the client prefers and what is appropriate for the target market.


Initial Thoughts
Following on from the research I then set about brain storming, sketching initial ideas and putting together a broad selection of possible base typefaces and colour schemes.




Initial Concepts
Exploring as many possible routes in a rough and ready fashion starts to sort the wheat from the chaff. Any ideas that have possibility for expansion go forward to the client for feedback.








Refined Concepts
From initial client feedback generally one or two routes are chosen for further development. Shortlists for base and supporting typefaces, refinements to icons and colour palette are made.



Final Revisions
Following any further comments from the client, final decisions about the finer points of the logo are made, along with final print and web safe colour palettes and house typefaces.



Final Artwork Files
Once the branding is approved the final artwork files are produced. Typically this consists of full colour, single colour and mono versions of the logo as vector EPS files, high res CMYK Tiffs, and web ready Jpegs or PNG files. If required basic or full brand guidelines are produced including logo usage guidelines, Pantone, CMYK, RGB & HEX colour references and web and print rules.



Basic Branding Implementation
Depending on the clients specific requirements a number of core branding stationery and template items are produced, with close reference to the core brand guides, typefaces and colour palettes. Typically including options for letterheads, comp slips, business cards, powerpoint and word templates.










Solid, considered logo development from the outset not only helps create the foundations needed for establishing a coherent brand, but also makes the development and implementation of all subsequent materials easier and stronger.