One Element

I was working on my project, and I came up with an element of lines. It changes the look of the card and could, potentially, be incorporated into the identity of the brand. It's just interesting how one element can make an image infinitely more interesting. Take the CD covers for Death Cab, below, for example. The red string on the bird changes the entire piece, just as the colored circles change the middle cover, and the white lights change the bottom. It's fascinating how one element makes such a difference. I just hope I find the right one for my project.

Everything's Visual

Going off the idea of how people are so visual, it's really striking how many things are visual, when you think about it. Even CD covers - they brand the artist and their identity. Even as a CD cover changes, there are still common threads with the covers conveying the consistency of the band's identity. Take Death Cab for Cutie:

The font is pretty much the same throughout and the style of the cover art remains a bit ethereal and simple.

Brand, Identity, Logo

Today I went to a lecture about brand promotion for small businesses, or any business for that matter. The lecturer talked about brand, identity, and logo. Identity being your presence as a business and the brand being the promise to the consumer. She emphasized how people are visual and the importance of proper manipulation of social media - how it needs to be consistent with your identity to fulfill your brand "promise" of who you are as a company. It just reminds me of how similar visual arts is to writing. Writing needs consistency as well. You need to focus on the central idea throughout your response, just as graphic design for a company needs to focus on the central idea of that company. Here's an example she used - the polar bears for Coca-Cola, which was used to promote the drink year-round instead of as just a summer drink.

A Suggestion

I'm working with an element that suggests technology and it seems that a lot of design is composed of suggestions, or visual suggestions, for ideas. For example,

Although, I don't like the business card so much, the addition of lines, one element, conveys the idea of a microphone.

Dark vs Light

I was working on my business card and was playing with white vs gray vs black/darker colors. Every time I use a block of dark color, it looks like it's shrinking against the white background and the white color looks expansive. I like white as a clean color, though I guess the issue with that is that it can get dirty easily. Black and greys look technical and modern. So, some thoughts to consider for my project.

Transparency

I was in a doctor's office when I saw large pieces of artwork on the wall. The work was abstract and used transparency - the effect was pretty striking. I don't know if I'll necessarily use this element for my own project, but I really enjoyed the aesthetic. According to this article:
http://gdbasics.com/index.php?s=transparency
transparency suggests clarity and directness.
Here's an example of transparency in business cards:

I don't like the entire card being transparent, but I like transparency in colors and the faded, transparent effect.

Clean Design Continued

I found a link to some very clean designs for business cards. The changes in the design are always subtle, like a change in color. There's also some very neat background designs.  Here's a few that I liked best:

http://cardobserver.com/gallery/fuse
http://cardobserver.com/gallery/elemental-architecture

I was thinking of using an all-white background like many of these. I also like the use of line in Jacob Ward's business card. I like the use of weight at the bottom, there's a great deal of space and the eye settles comfortably at the bottom. I'm going to think about this as I design, since I'm struggling a bit with spatial cues.

Clean, Not Simple

I was thinking about what Willie said about clean design. I kept saying it was "simple," but it's actually complex. It's similar to writing a research paper or news article. You need to cut out the extraneous, which can be hard. It's easier to dump everything you know in one piece, whether it be visual or written. The skill is taking what you absolutely need to convey precisely what you want to convey. Here's an article about clean design:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/03/26/keep-it-simple-stupid-showcase-of-simple-and-clean-designs/

KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid!

Adding elements

I was thinking of remixes today, and how they are similar to design in that if you add a few different elements, you can make the song very different, if not completely. For example, "Breathe Me" by Sia by itself is a very dramatic, sad song.

Add a baseline and some other elements, though, and it can be a dance song.

Same thing with remakes of songs.

You can take a core idea or concept, and really make it your own. Same in design.