January 6th, 2010
So this has more than likely made its rounds but I can’t let it go unposted. I flew Alaska Airlines over the holidays and couldn’t help but notice just how shoddy the design is on their boarding passes. Actually, I’m not sure if I would even consider it a boarding pass. The stock it was printed on had very little weight to it. It felt as if I was holding a large receipt from Costco. Not to mention the design was not well thought out. The above example is from Delta, but you get the point.
Alex and I briefly discussed these boarding pass designs by Tyler Thompson and both agreed that they were visually pleasing but the use of the condensed type is a little harder to read. The layout, particularly the time, flight and seat number really stand out for me.
Read more about Tyler’s boarding pass solutionhere. Also check out Timoni Grone’s different approach here.
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December 21st, 2009
The following design firms/agencies were chosen based on their work, not on their revenue or size. Four out of the five are graphic and web design focused leaving the remaining agency with roots solely in graphic design.
Experimental Jetset is an Amsterdam graphic design firm, founded in 1997 by Marieke Stolk, Erwin Brinkers and Danny van den Dungen. Their focus is on printed material and installation work. Experimental Jetset has worked on projects for Stedelijk Museum CS, Purple Institute, Centre Pompidou, Colette, Dutch Post Group and Musée d’Art Contemporain de Bordeaux with work featured in group exhibitions such as Terminal Five in JFK Airport (New York, 2004) and Riviera Gallery (New York, 2004). You may have seen some of Jetset’s work posted here on the blog this year.
Visit their site: Jetset.nl
Struck/Axiom is a full-service hybrid agency with offices in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Portland. Some of their clients include Botticelli, AIGA, Discovery, Ogio, Ski Utah, and Addidas. Although the majority of Struck’s portfolio appears to be web, they do have a print team in Salt Lake City that has put out some stunning pieces such as the Botticelli packaging.
On the web side of Struck, the Utah Travel site and Addidas Techfit Microsite compliment the portfolio beautifully.
Visit their site: Struckcreative.com
Hit the jump to see the rest of the most inspirational design firms of 2009.
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December 14th, 2009
I’ve spent the majority of my time this past week drafting up logo ideas for a project. After putting out about 50 sketches and sifting back through them, I realized that I needed to focus on current logo trends before I continued. I dusted off one of my books that I found last year in downtown Seattle called Logology.
Logology is a very resourceful piece of visual literature to have on your shelf. It is an extensive collection spanning over 280 pages with logos and type treatments from many designers. At the beginning of the book it contains case studies. Each of the case studies shows the logo design process and the application. Logology is definitely worth picking up if you have an interest in logos.
If you have some spare moneys after procuring gifts from the designer’s gift guide, then give this book a home. It’s about $30 and comes with a gorgeous imprinted leather cover.
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December 9th, 2009
It’s been quite some time since I’ve owned a watch and there’s a good reason for it. I seem to somehow always break the bands. Not to mention I don’t really check the time using the watch, I just use my iPhone. But recently I came across Rado, a Switzerland based, high quality watch company that designs these beautiful watches. I was about to snag one as a Christmas gift for my wrist, but then I caught a glimpse of price tag. Definitely hefty price (a good reason for leaving them off the designers gift list)–we’re talking four digits before the decimal. I’m certain that you’re getting what you pay for and probably a lifetime warranty, but the price doesn’t seem to come down when you put those to mind.
If you decide you want to have a closer look at their collection you can request their catalog. It’s printed in Switzerland and has a really good feel to it. Rado definitely takes their graphic design seriously–one of my favorite things about the Swiss.
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December 1st, 2009
Lists of gift ideas from friends or family are great, but when you don’t get those lists, its always good to have gift ideas in your head. These are my ideas for you to give as gifts to your design friends or to put them on your own Christmas list or even sneak them into your own stocking.
Hit the jump to see the remaining items on the list. Also, feel free to chime in if you have any other great gift ideas.
1. Lovebirds tea cups & saucer
When I first saw this, I was in love with it. I’m a huge fan of Si Scott’s work and this particular illustration is amazing. It comes packaged in a nicely designed box and includes an art print signed by Scott himself. If anyone wants to gift me one of these I won’t complain.
Price: $59
2. Tycho Coastal Brake
Scott has done it again. This new Tycho vinyl release has amazing artwork and four new stunning tracks. This would make for the perfect Christmas unwrapping background music. Quite possibly it could be a great stocking stuffer (depending on how much your stocking can stretch). This is a definite must give or get gift.
Price: $18
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November 16th, 2009
The sketches above are a few of many pulled from two recent projects of mine. Just over a year ago, sketching concepts was one of my least favorite things to do. It seemed less time consuming to go straight to the computer to try and bring my concept to life. The truth was though, that it took two or three times longer to come up with my concepts than it would have taken to sketch by hand.
The reason it’s faster to sketch is because we can think faster from our brain to pencil than from our brain to computer. In a sense we can compare it to talking. An example would be that we use our voice to communicate; it’s far more effective than communicating digitally and there is little room for misunderstanding. This is my point exactly. Talking is natural and sketching is close to natural (the cavemen did it). When trying to use the computer to hash out our ideas, there seems to be a physical communication barrier that, no matter how good you are with computers, stunts your creative drive.
Being able to provide two or three-minute sketches to clients or the design firm you work for is a valuable asset, but only if you understand the principles of proportion, spacing (type), and ingenuity. In the sketches above, you can tell which ones were the 2-3 minute, 10 second, and 45-minute sketches. The 2-3 minute sketches are the ones you should focus on. The 10 second sketches don’t have the direction they need and the longer, 45-minute sketches are too timely (unless you’re creating an art piece). The 2-3 minute sketches help myself or my client envision the evolution of the project in the design phase. If I were to immediately show my client refined sketch, it may give them the impression that this is the final product. It’s also a safeguard to make sure you don’t spend too much time on an idea that may not be the best solution.
It’s funny sometimes what areas of a project get sketched the most. For example, the HH Annual Report project had more sketches about binding the book, than the design itself. Some of my other projects–a project for the Bicycle Alliance of Washington–started with word lists instead of sketches and eventually moved on to sketches of the photo-driven concepts.
Sketching has helped me spend less time staring endlessly at my monitor so I can spend more time making progress on my personal projects. Since I feel pretty strongly about the power of sketching, I’m curious to know what your thoughts on it. What is the balance between pencil and pixel in your work? Share with us.
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October 19th, 2009
Some great book covers from Felix Wiedler’s book cover collection. These are a mix of different types–some Swiss and some German. I simply love the uncomplicated design and use of color in each of these pieces. My favorite would have to be the “DIE TRAUM FABRIK” cover. The combination of metallic ink and diecut cover is gorgeous.
Check out the 17 pages of books and their history indexed at the Wiedler.ch website.
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October 16th, 2009
Selfridges & Co. is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. Selfridges commissioned Wieden + Kennedy to create an A to Z of products of the future to fill its windows. One letter however, was left blank–X.
Selfridges shoppers were asked to submit their own ideas for a product that might prove essential come the year 2109 and beginning with the letter X. A model of the winning idea would be displayed in the London store’s windows, alongside W+K’s efforts for the other letters, which are supposed to represent “essential objects that may become commodities in the future”. Read more at Creative Review.
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October 12th, 2009
Dave Danioth is an instructor at the Art Institute of Seattle and is one of the very best. He is an extraordinary artist, particularly with his hand-design skills and airbrushing. His conceptual thinking ability is also extraordinary. His Second Book, A Mother’s Promise, written by Lisa Humphrey and released in 2004 shows a very clever concept–something I had never seen before. The book was a finalist for best children’s picture book by USA Book News.
When flipping through the book after Dave’s explanation of his concept, it was apparent that I needed to get the exclusive process posted here on the WANKEN Blog for you. From here down the process is being explained in Dave’s original words.
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September 23rd, 2009
Note: This project was completed as a class assignment at the Art Institute of Seattle. This was not done directly for Helly Hansen (though it would be very rad if HH took a liking to it). I hope that in some way the sharing of my process may be of inspiration to you.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been showing sneak peeks of projects that I’m working on via Twit-pics and now its here. If you’re just tuning into the blog, you can follow on twitter to see things that don’t make the blog.
The Objective
Before diving into the process, let me define the project. The goal of the project was to choose an existing company and create a minimum of 28 pages, bound, and at least 6 x 7″ or larger publication. The publication was to be an annual report about the company; presenting who they were in the industry and their financial success. The financial section of the project was required to have at least 6 to 7 pages of tabled financial data.
The company I chose was Helly Hansen and there were several reasons why. Every project that I do for an assignment (if I have the opportunity to choose), I like to choose companies that are easy to work with based on their branding. I also like to consider what options I have when working with their logo as well as the photography of the project.
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August 21st, 2009
Alongside Objectified, the design documentary film by Gary Hustwit, comes Art & Copy, a film about advertising directed by Doug Pray. Judging by the trailer, it looks to be a very interesting film and can’t wait to see it later this month.
Synopsis
“Art & Copy is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (Surfwise, Scratch, Wise!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising’s “creative revolution” of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in Art & Copy were responsible for “Just Do It,” “I Love NY,” “Where’s the Beef?,” “Got Milk,” “Think Different,” and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.”
Hit the jump for the Seattle screening times.
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