One of the blogs that I follow and hope you follow is the noupe.com blog. The blog post for September 28, is the result of a query that the author, Robert Bowen, made to designers, asking, "What is the worst mistake you see other designers make all the time?" Note that he's asking for opinions of other designers, because, obviously, the designers that follow him would never make such mistakes. Without quoting the whole post, here are some of the ones that leaped out at me as ones that I've cautioned you about, sometimes, many times.
Designing for designers. I think students, at times, try to design for me and me alone. They ask, "What do you want?" or "How should I do this?" Instead, they should be asking, "What does the audience want (or need)?" or "How can I best communicate my message?"
Lack of innovation or boring design. My blog post previous to this one talks about inspiration and how hard it is at times to attract the muse. Innovation depends on inspiration, so figure out what inspires you, and you're half the way there.
Grammar errors, spelling errors, showing little concern for the written word. I told ya so. There's probably nothing that will get a designer, writer, producer, developer, or director, fired from a job quicker than "GASP" (grammar and spelling) errors. Our tradition in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, is out of journalism and, thus, the written word. That's why we make students pass the CST (composition skills test) before they can become a major. That's why the first course taken within the major is a writing course.
Not keeping it simple. Now, I'm paraphrasing what the designers said. Simplifying, as it were. Comments were "over designing", "solving problems that didn't exist", "over decorating", "using too many elements." As I think about it, I've been guilty of this at times. I designed our church's web site, with nothing but a bit of vision in my head of what it might look like. Trying to impress people with my knowledge of design and html, I put too much on the front page. It's way too busy. So, I've designed a prototype home page that started with a pencil sketch and then designed in Photoshop before taking it into html, CSS, and so on. The new one is simplified, streamlined, and, I think, more inviting.
Tripping up on typography. I am a self-confessed typography junky. I am convinced that one can never have too many fonts on one's font menu. However, I have never felt the urge to use them all, which can't be said of some designers, I suppose. The rule of thumb is no more than two typefaces per layout (not counting the logo). As with any rule in design and advertising, this one can be successfully and deliberately broken. But, you really, really have to know what you're doing to do it successfully. Mostly, the key to not tripping up on typography is to pay attention to it. Close attention. Just because Ariel is the default doesn't mean that you ever have to use it. Watch the size, the weight, the proportions, the unity. In other words, all of the design constructs apply to type as much as anything else.
Belittling the brief. Ignoring the brief. Starting without a brief. I know students often think of the creative brief as an academic exercise that bears little resemblance to the "real world." But, that is rarely the case. The creative brief isn't a box to keep you in, it's the springboard from which you make creative leaps. As I've said, and will say again, "If it isn't on strategy, then it isn't an ad. It may be entertaining, dazzling, provocative, beautiful, creative, or whatever adjectives you want to use, but it isn't advertising. Or, at least, it isn't advertising for the brand. We've all seen ads that are great ads--for the competition. A good test: substitute the brand name of the competition for your brand and see if the brief would work. If it does, then you've probably written a generic brief that would produce generic advertising.
You can learn a lot from the experience of those who are out there doing it day after day; and you can also learn a lot from the experience of those of us who teach it day after day. Best, of course, is learning from both. And, mostly that means paying attention. Woody Allen said that "85% of success is just showing up." I would add to that: "85% of success is showing up with open eyes and an open mind."
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Inspiration
What inspires you? Where do you go when the muse is mute?
Unfortunately, I think what often inspires me is the deadline. It's really difficult to think about the last great photograph, a recent piece of music, a design that's thrilling, the movie that worked on both head and heart, or the sublime beauty of nature, when the clock is ticking and the project is due, isn't it? But, is that inspiration or simply fear-driven motivation? Adrenalin and that fire-in-the-belly feeling when you know it's happening feel the same physically, to me.
If pinned down, I'm not sure I could say what inspires me because I think creativity in design and art comes from the total of our experiences--the good and the bad. Having creative ideas depends on being exposed to a lot of creativity. Or, to put it simply: creativity breeds creativity.
I think another thing that may motivate, if not inspire, is a sense of humility. I know a lot of artists and designers are known for their huge egos, but I think each of them also, deep inside, has this sense of unworthiness--that they are much smaller than the beauty, the aesthetic, transcendent concept, that they are trying to achieve. If they don't have that, then what they produce may be popular, may be attractive, may be engaging, but is it creative? In other words, when you're trying to produce something creative, it isn't about you. Paradoxically, you have to be objective and maintain a certain distance from your work in order to be subjective.
At the same time, I think we are often our worse critics. We judge ourselves too quickly, and in doing so, eliminate some possible creative avenues. False starts are still starts. Dead ends, while frustrating, may allow you to get a glimpse of where you need to go.
To the right --->, there, are some blogs from which I find inspiration. But that's not the only place. I find inspiration in music, in art, in literature, in conversation, in the sky. If you limit your sources of inspiration, you're limiting your abilities. The cliche "thinking outside of the box" usually means thinking out of a self-imposed box. By limiting ourselves to only certain kinds of stimuli, we're drawing a box around our creativity.
Finally, I think another thing that motivates me is when I look at the work of someone else and say, "I wish I had done that." Then, I try it. After all, the only thing that really differentiates them from me is that they had a vision and figured out how to make it reality.
Dr. P
Unfortunately, I think what often inspires me is the deadline. It's really difficult to think about the last great photograph, a recent piece of music, a design that's thrilling, the movie that worked on both head and heart, or the sublime beauty of nature, when the clock is ticking and the project is due, isn't it? But, is that inspiration or simply fear-driven motivation? Adrenalin and that fire-in-the-belly feeling when you know it's happening feel the same physically, to me.
If pinned down, I'm not sure I could say what inspires me because I think creativity in design and art comes from the total of our experiences--the good and the bad. Having creative ideas depends on being exposed to a lot of creativity. Or, to put it simply: creativity breeds creativity.
I think another thing that may motivate, if not inspire, is a sense of humility. I know a lot of artists and designers are known for their huge egos, but I think each of them also, deep inside, has this sense of unworthiness--that they are much smaller than the beauty, the aesthetic, transcendent concept, that they are trying to achieve. If they don't have that, then what they produce may be popular, may be attractive, may be engaging, but is it creative? In other words, when you're trying to produce something creative, it isn't about you. Paradoxically, you have to be objective and maintain a certain distance from your work in order to be subjective.
At the same time, I think we are often our worse critics. We judge ourselves too quickly, and in doing so, eliminate some possible creative avenues. False starts are still starts. Dead ends, while frustrating, may allow you to get a glimpse of where you need to go.
To the right --->, there, are some blogs from which I find inspiration. But that's not the only place. I find inspiration in music, in art, in literature, in conversation, in the sky. If you limit your sources of inspiration, you're limiting your abilities. The cliche "thinking outside of the box" usually means thinking out of a self-imposed box. By limiting ourselves to only certain kinds of stimuli, we're drawing a box around our creativity.
Finally, I think another thing that motivates me is when I look at the work of someone else and say, "I wish I had done that." Then, I try it. After all, the only thing that really differentiates them from me is that they had a vision and figured out how to make it reality.
Dr. P
Friday, September 17, 2010
Sipping from a Firehose
It has been said that getting good information from the web is like trying to drink water from a fire-hose. Another way to look at it is to paraphrase a popular T-shirt slogan from back whenever: "So many web sites, so little time."
I was mindful of these concepts this morning when I stumbled across an old friend on the web that I had somehow lost track of. The friend is iCreatemagazine.com, which has been around for awhile; I don't know how long. The reason I like this site so much is that it blogs on useful information for Macintosh users. Only. I had bookmarked this site, but as it happens, the bookmark ended up going toward the bottom of the list as new bookmarks were added (I'm not good at organizing bookmarks), and when my hard drive crashed, it took all of my bookmarks with it. So, now, I'm having an adventure rediscovering sites that I had found useful or informative. Thus, finding, I pass along to you.
As with most magazines these day, this one has a print version in addition to the web site. However, it being published in the U.K., the newsstand price in the U. S. is about $16 per issue.
But, here's this free online version of the magazine that produces tips, hints, reviews and the like, for the Macintosh platform only. Yay! But, while I appreciate the more ecumenical tip, hint and tutorial sites that publish for both platforms, it's refreshing to find one that speaks Macintosh as its native language. And, besides, when was the last time you found tutorials on using the Apple productivity apps, such as iMovie, iWork, and Garageband?
For instance, here's a listing of some recent articles:
So, old friend, I'm glad a ran into you, and you can bet that we'll be seeing each other more often.
Dr. P
I was mindful of these concepts this morning when I stumbled across an old friend on the web that I had somehow lost track of. The friend is iCreatemagazine.com, which has been around for awhile; I don't know how long. The reason I like this site so much is that it blogs on useful information for Macintosh users. Only. I had bookmarked this site, but as it happens, the bookmark ended up going toward the bottom of the list as new bookmarks were added (I'm not good at organizing bookmarks), and when my hard drive crashed, it took all of my bookmarks with it. So, now, I'm having an adventure rediscovering sites that I had found useful or informative. Thus, finding, I pass along to you.
As with most magazines these day, this one has a print version in addition to the web site. However, it being published in the U.K., the newsstand price in the U. S. is about $16 per issue.
But, here's this free online version of the magazine that produces tips, hints, reviews and the like, for the Macintosh platform only. Yay! But, while I appreciate the more ecumenical tip, hint and tutorial sites that publish for both platforms, it's refreshing to find one that speaks Macintosh as its native language. And, besides, when was the last time you found tutorials on using the Apple productivity apps, such as iMovie, iWork, and Garageband?
For instance, here's a listing of some recent articles:
So, old friend, I'm glad a ran into you, and you can bet that we'll be seeing each other more often.
Dr. P
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Wow! For Colour Lovers
I stumbled across this web site, and was entranced by it. It's for colour (their spelling, not mine) lovers, and that's about all I can say about it because you have to see it to appreciate it. The most recent blog post on the site is an article and a way-cool graphic about the colors used in popular web sites. Reds and blues are big, and that's expected, I suppose, but blue out-ranks red. And as I think about it, there's something about blue and a computer screen go well together.
For instance, I've tried lots of different "wallpaper" for my computer monitors, but inevitably I end up with something with a lot of blue in it. And, then green. But whenever I've used a background with a lot of red in it, it tends to not last long before I change it back to something blue.
To see the graphic and not have to go through the site to get to it, use this link. But do yourself a favor and click on the graphic to see it large. It's very well done, showing the top 100 web "brands" and the colors associated with them. Really interesting.
Dr. P
For instance, I've tried lots of different "wallpaper" for my computer monitors, but inevitably I end up with something with a lot of blue in it. And, then green. But whenever I've used a background with a lot of red in it, it tends to not last long before I change it back to something blue.
To see the graphic and not have to go through the site to get to it, use this link. But do yourself a favor and click on the graphic to see it large. It's very well done, showing the top 100 web "brands" and the colors associated with them. Really interesting.
Dr. P
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Next up: InDesign
Some of you may be experienced in Adobe InDesign, while some of you may have never used it. Regardless of how long you've walked with InDesign, or not, Adobe has some pretty good tutorials and hints available on their web site. Here's one that provides short videos to introduce the novice user to the basics of InDesign. You don't have to sign up at Adobe to get access to these, but you might as well. There's no cost, but it gives you access to all kinds of things, including free downloads, forums, tutorials, and lots of other goodies. You really should do yourself a favor and sign up.
Dr. P
Dr. P
Monday, September 13, 2010
Themed Restaurants
OK, so your assignment is to come up with a fictitious restaurant and design a menu around it. Themed restaurants aren't new. When we lived near Nashville(mid 80s), my wife and I (before children) used to joke about going to the "trendy-restaurant-of-the-week" as new ones, it seemed, popped up like toadstools after a rain. It has become so prevalent, that the Onion (satirical "news" site), posted a story that indicated that the last unthemed restaurant in the U. S. had become themed.
Digging around on the web this morning, I found an article (http://tinyurl.com/6erlt5) about the 15 most unusual themed restaurants in the world. Some of these are so bizarre, that I sincerely hope that they are the most unusual in the world. Some of them are such that I think simply thinking of going there would cause you to lose your appetite.
On the more serious side, here's an article (http://tinyurl.com/58kqdc) that talks about why themed restaurants fail (spoiler alert: it's about the food! Duh.).
And, finally, here's a short article (with links to restaurants) with a list of themed restaurants and which have failed and which are still open.
Dr. P
Digging around on the web this morning, I found an article (http://tinyurl.com/6erlt5) about the 15 most unusual themed restaurants in the world. Some of these are so bizarre, that I sincerely hope that they are the most unusual in the world. Some of them are such that I think simply thinking of going there would cause you to lose your appetite.
On the more serious side, here's an article (http://tinyurl.com/58kqdc) that talks about why themed restaurants fail (spoiler alert: it's about the food! Duh.).
And, finally, here's a short article (with links to restaurants) with a list of themed restaurants and which have failed and which are still open.
Dr. P
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Grammar.
What's grammar got to do with it? Design, that is. Put simply: improper grammar makes you look (and sound) stupid. Maybe I'm a stickler for grammar because I came to it late.
As an art major, I had little to do with writing, and thus, grammar. We didn't have to write much at all after surviving freshman comp classes. And, as a graphic design major, all of our headlines were given to us, and copy was just "greeked" in. The only real writing we had to do, as I recall, was on art history essay tests and in art history senior seminar, which required a term paper on some significant piece of art. As it turned out, I chose Rodin's "Gates of Hell" as my piece (why I did that is another story for another day), and because it was his life's work, I ended up having to write much more than just about anyone else in the class. But, if I remember correctly, these weren't graded on grammar, spelling and mechanics, so much as on content.
When I went into graduate school in Journalism and Mass Communication, for the first time in my college career, I had to write a lot, and it had to be grammatically correct. Because I had been writing mostly radio copy before that, I used punctuation "artistically." I used elipses (…) for long pauses, periods for pauses a bit longer, and commas for short pauses. And, I subscribed to Andrew Jackson's philosophy that "it was a poor man who couldn't think of but one way to spell a word." In other words, I did things like put an "e" on the end of the word "develop," couldn't remember whether it was "i before e" or "e before i" and so on. Nouns and verbs were generally in agreement, but not always.
After I turned in my first academic paper in History of Journalism, I was called into the professor's office who told me that I wasn't going to get a degree from that program unless I cleaned up my grammar and spelling. So, I bought Hodge's Harbrace College Handbook, and kept it at my elbow while writing. I still have it on my desk, but mostly out of a sense of nostalgia, as I hardly ever open it. Long story short: I ended up with an "A" in the course, and ultimately, obtained their degree.
Why am I telling all this in an ostensibly design blog? Because as I cruised the web this morning looking for design inspiration or how-to to share, I found on noupe.com (way-cool design blog), a link to a collection of sites that can save you from errors in grammar and do so in a lighthearted way. The sugar with the medicine, as it is.
Let me tell you straight: I'm not the grammar police, but it will be part of what I'm evaluating in your work. Likewise, spelling. When I was working for a small ad agency, I once had to pay, out of my own pocket, to have a political campaign candidate's brochure reprinted because I "corrected" his spelling by adding "e" to the end of "develop" wherever it appeared in the copy. And, it appeared a lot because this guy evidently developed and was planning to develop a lot. Needless to say, the client wasn't pleased with the delay in getting the brochures out because of my inept spelling.
So, to bring this longer-than-I-anticipated essay to a dramatic close: bad grammar and spelling can make you look stupid, and employers don't hire stupid people.
As an art major, I had little to do with writing, and thus, grammar. We didn't have to write much at all after surviving freshman comp classes. And, as a graphic design major, all of our headlines were given to us, and copy was just "greeked" in. The only real writing we had to do, as I recall, was on art history essay tests and in art history senior seminar, which required a term paper on some significant piece of art. As it turned out, I chose Rodin's "Gates of Hell" as my piece (why I did that is another story for another day), and because it was his life's work, I ended up having to write much more than just about anyone else in the class. But, if I remember correctly, these weren't graded on grammar, spelling and mechanics, so much as on content.
When I went into graduate school in Journalism and Mass Communication, for the first time in my college career, I had to write a lot, and it had to be grammatically correct. Because I had been writing mostly radio copy before that, I used punctuation "artistically." I used elipses (…) for long pauses, periods for pauses a bit longer, and commas for short pauses. And, I subscribed to Andrew Jackson's philosophy that "it was a poor man who couldn't think of but one way to spell a word." In other words, I did things like put an "e" on the end of the word "develop," couldn't remember whether it was "i before e" or "e before i" and so on. Nouns and verbs were generally in agreement, but not always.
After I turned in my first academic paper in History of Journalism, I was called into the professor's office who told me that I wasn't going to get a degree from that program unless I cleaned up my grammar and spelling. So, I bought Hodge's Harbrace College Handbook, and kept it at my elbow while writing. I still have it on my desk, but mostly out of a sense of nostalgia, as I hardly ever open it. Long story short: I ended up with an "A" in the course, and ultimately, obtained their degree.
Why am I telling all this in an ostensibly design blog? Because as I cruised the web this morning looking for design inspiration or how-to to share, I found on noupe.com (way-cool design blog), a link to a collection of sites that can save you from errors in grammar and do so in a lighthearted way. The sugar with the medicine, as it is.
Let me tell you straight: I'm not the grammar police, but it will be part of what I'm evaluating in your work. Likewise, spelling. When I was working for a small ad agency, I once had to pay, out of my own pocket, to have a political campaign candidate's brochure reprinted because I "corrected" his spelling by adding "e" to the end of "develop" wherever it appeared in the copy. And, it appeared a lot because this guy evidently developed and was planning to develop a lot. Needless to say, the client wasn't pleased with the delay in getting the brochures out because of my inept spelling.
So, to bring this longer-than-I-anticipated essay to a dramatic close: bad grammar and spelling can make you look stupid, and employers don't hire stupid people.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
An History of Typography
When I was in graduate school, I was in a class called "Historical Research Methods" for one day. I bailed on the class when I was sent to the library to read an article called: "An History of History." The pretentiousness of the title alone was enough to turn me off, and I think I may have read only a paragraph or two before I decided that I didn't need this course in my curriculum. I don't think I've ever regretted that decision, made that summer day.
However: this history of typography isn't pretentious at all, and the folks who have "reprinted" it on the web have embellished (with the author's permission) with links to other sites that enhance the article and make it useful beyond just knowing.
I know that I'm a few weeks ahead on our typography discussion, but I wanted you to read this before we got to it in class, so I wouldn't have to do more than hit the high-points of typography history.
http://www.graphic-design.com/typography/design/brief-history-typography
Speaking of fonts: here's a link to 45 free ones. Who doesn't like free fonts?
http://www.noupe.com/fonts/45-outstanding-free-vintage-fonts.html
However: this history of typography isn't pretentious at all, and the folks who have "reprinted" it on the web have embellished (with the author's permission) with links to other sites that enhance the article and make it useful beyond just knowing.
I know that I'm a few weeks ahead on our typography discussion, but I wanted you to read this before we got to it in class, so I wouldn't have to do more than hit the high-points of typography history.
http://www.graphic-design.com/typography/design/brief-history-typography
Speaking of fonts: here's a link to 45 free ones. Who doesn't like free fonts?
http://www.noupe.com/fonts/45-outstanding-free-vintage-fonts.html
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Words of Wisdom
I just heard Gail Pennybacker give the Huck Boyd lecture on community journalism. Gail, who is a graduate of Journalism here at K-State, said that her professors would tell the budding young journalists to "get curious and get busy." I think the same kind of admonition could apply to advertising creativity, as well.
Whether journalism, advertising, public relations, it all boils down to telling the story. Brands have stories, the companies that make the brands have stories, the consumers who use the brands have stories. A good advertising creative will tell about the brand--and maybe even tell it well. A brilliant advertising creative will find the story that others dismissed as unimportant or missed altogether.
Which do you want to be? Hint: the brilliant ones get hired even in a recession.
Dr. P
Whether journalism, advertising, public relations, it all boils down to telling the story. Brands have stories, the companies that make the brands have stories, the consumers who use the brands have stories. A good advertising creative will tell about the brand--and maybe even tell it well. A brilliant advertising creative will find the story that others dismissed as unimportant or missed altogether.
Which do you want to be? Hint: the brilliant ones get hired even in a recession.
Dr. P
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