Typography & Graphic Design Blog
Paula Scher, designer of the Citibank logo, takes us on a journey of her career pointing out that her greatest successes came when she was having fun and taking risks. She noticed her work became “solemn” after gaining notoriety and consequently being obliged to keep up certain expectations. She shares the secrets to her greatest design, and encourages designers to gamble, play, and enjoy the ride.
My work is play, and I play when I design. – Paula Scher
Here’s a beautiful book about living in the present moment by illustrator, Coralie Bickford-Smith. Coralie is a U.K. based Designer who loves working with patterns and bold colors, primarily creating book covers for Penguin press.
About her own book she writes,
This is a fable about being in the moment and how the smallest encounters in the day are often the most beautiful. I can be guilty of ignoring these tiny beautiful slices of time because I am too busy getting on with the next task. And like the worm in the story I need to remember to stop, look and cherish these moments. This book is a timely reminder to enjoy the wonders of the world around us.
Gorgeous … Bickford-Smith’s life-affirming artwork raises The Worm and the Bird to the stars – The Times
Absolutely stunning. A very sweet story with a touch of dark humour too. Wonderful. A fantastic book. – Chris Haughton, author of ‘A Bit Lost’
I love love love it, just beautiful. – Millie Marotta, author of ‘Millie Marotta’s Animal Kingdom’
I love it. A book to buy and treasure, for yourself or others. – Marion Deuchars, author of ‘Let’s Make Some Great Art’ and ‘Colour’
You can buy copy of The Worm and the Bird here. For more of Bickford-Smith’s inspiring illustration and book design, visit her website.
We’re inspired by the work of Studio Barn, out of Istanbul. They’ve created especially beautiful branding for the Artisan Bread Makers, Mitte Brot.
The vintage inspired logotype and hand illustrated rooster, a significant symbol for time and dawn, became the backbone for the branding and different print materials.
A good reminder for those of us who still think too much and drown out the creative voice within…..
The men of experiment are like the ant; they only collect and use. The reasoners resemble spiders, who make cob-webs out of their own substance. But the bee takes a middle course; it gathers its material from the flowers of the garden and of the field, but transforms and digests it by a power of its own. – Francis Bacon
Cara Enteles, Bee Polinating Apple Blossom, 2017
And, a bit less poetically, Guy Claxton writes about a study of creativity in “Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind”:
The study of creativity in many different areas shows that what is required for optimal cognition is a fluid balance between modes of mind that are effortful, purposeful, detailed and explicit on the one hand, and those that are playful, patient and implicit on the other. We need to be able both to generate ideas, and also to evaluate them. Intuition is the primary mode of generation. D-mode [deliberating mind] is the primary mode of evaluation.
From an excerpt by English poet Alfred Edward Housman as he articulates his creative process using a balanced mix of intuitive and conscious effort (applicable to all artists, of course…):
Having drunk a pint of beer at luncheon… I would go out for a walk of two or three hours. As I went along, thinking of nothing in particular, only looking at things around me and following the progress of the seasons, there would flow into my mind, with a sudden and unaccountable emotion, sometimes a line or two of verse, sometimes a whole stanza at once, accompanied, not preceded, by a vague notion of the poem which they were destined to form part of…When I got home I wrote them down, leaving gaps, and hoping that for their inspiration might be forthcoming another day. Sometimes it was, if I took my walks in a receptive and expectant frame of mind; but sometimes the poem had to be taken in hand and completed by the brain, which was apt to be a matter of trouble and anxiety, involving trial and disappointment, and sometimes ending in failure. I happen to remember distinctly the genius of the piece which stands last in my first volume. Two of the stanzas, I do not say which, came into my head, just as they are printed, while I was crossing the corner of Hampstead Heath between Spaniards Inn and the footpath of Temple Fortune. A third stanza came with a little coaxing after tea. One more was needed, but it did not come: I had to turn to and compose it myself, that was a laborious business. I wrote it thirteen times, and it was more than a twelvemonth before I got it right.
As creatives, it often seems we try and forcefully recapture creativity or an idea when faced with the famous white canvas or blank screen. Maybe it’s during these times that we get off our duffs and go for a thoughtless stroll, or make a tea and play with the cat in order to allow something deeper than the intellect to percolate and bubble up in its own time.
Really like modernist abstract pen and ink…this should be a fantastic exhibit. If you’re in or near Boston, make time to visit The Museum of Fine Arts. “Radical Geometries, Bauhaus Prints, 1919–33” will be on display until June 23, 02019.
Celebrate the centenary of this groundbreaking school of modernist abstraction. The Bauhaus—Germany’s legendary school of art, architecture, and design—was founded in Weimar by architect Walter Gropius in the spring of 1919…
“Radical Geometries” marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus with a group of more than 60 works on paper, primarily prints but also a number of drawings, photographs, and ten of the 20 postcards designed by faculty and students for the first Bauhaus exhibition at Weimar in 1923.
Beautiful logo and branding for Mark Spencer, a Forensic Botanist, field botanist and public speaker. Brilliantly created by Fieldwork Facility, They were asked “to create an identity for Mark that was intelligent, simple and memorably executed.” They’ve done it well!
To help you refocus today: The Holstee Manifesto. Holstee offers creative life inspiration and art for living mindfully.
Yes, I’d like to try one. I’d like to try one in Iceland. Hat’s off to Auston Design Group, they do amazing branding and package design for beer, wine, and spirits.
Just got the new book, The Art of Noticing – It’s a fun, down-to-earth book chock-full of ideas on how to see and connect more deeply to the world around you. Here’s a few lines from the beginning:
Imagine… devoting just one hour a week to consciously directing your attention. How would that affect the way you see, perceive, and think? How would it shift the way you engage with the world? How much might that not only change but also improve your work and your life?
…Let’s stop trying to be so productive all the time and make an effort to be more curious. Do you want to look back on a life of items crossed off lists drawn up in response to the demands of others? Or do you want to hang on to, and repeat, and remember, the thrill of discovering things on your own? –Rob Walker
The Art of Noticing, hot off the press May 2019
Ever wondered if some of your favorite writers were early or late risers? Ever wanted to justify your own bizarre sleep schedule? I’ve always been fascinated with the routines of famous creatives. Check out this cleverly illustrated chart from Brainpickings.org and observe how sleep routines may or may not correlate with productivity.
(Created by Maria Popova, Wendy MacNaughton and Accurat)
If you’ve just now published your first book, you are FINALLY ready to move on to the next big task: marketing and promotion! There are many proven methods when it comes to marketing your book. If you’ve published through IngramSpark or Amazon’s KDP, you’re off to a good start with world-wide distribution to retailers and wholesalers. Congratulations! Now what? What can you do in addition so you can sell more books directly and cut out the middle-man to reap a better profit? Lets take a look at a few possibilities.
If you’re a soon-to-be first time self-publisher, one thing you need to know upfront is how crucial creating good metadata is for the discoverability of your titles in the book industry. If you do not have good metadata, you simply will not sell your books. You may have valuable content and extensive inside knowledge about a subject, yet your title will go unnoticed if this step in the publishing process is neglected or overlooked – which unfortunately happens quite often by authors.
Once you’ve obtained your ISBN numbers, you may be interested in getting a Copyright for your book. This is another important step in the publishing process and can be done while you’re in the process of or even after you’ve received the printed book from whomever your publisher might be. You can relax, however, because any manuscript you produce is automatically protected with the first stroke of a pen. The benefit of registering your work with the Copyright Office is streamlined legal protection should you actually have to contend with a naughty manuscript thief.
If you’re an author who is looking to self-publish a book you’ll need to understand some of the industry standards necessary for successful publishing and distribution. Purchasing an ISBN number is one of them. In this article we’ll cover all the basics you need to know to get going, so let’s get started!
In doing the research on self-publishing for print, it didn’t take long to get thoroughly overwhelmed. POD Publishers are a dime a dozen, each with an onslaught of details, numbers, packages and options to consider. Of course, there’s a lot of great blog posts out there, but as you compare one author’s experience with the next, you’re left scratching your head at the contradictions as the industry expands leaving a trail of information obsolete.
The good news is with the current resources available it has never been easier for an author to self-publish professional quality books and sell them globally with ease and total control from beginning to end. There is a way to succeed that fits your unique situation so long as you first define your needs and goals.
In this article, we’ll focus on the two 800 pound gorillas in the room for POD and global distribution: IngramSpark and Amazon KDP.
The harvest is in and it’s a big one! If you were looking for vat full of ripe wine bottle label graphic design ideas, you’ve come to the right vineyard. Roll up your pants and start stomping through this list. You’ll be inebriated with the ideas that flow out, and inspiration will be the least of your worries. There is more incredible design here than you can imbibe in a month!
Ok, down to business regarding what we have picked out for you. First, great wine bottle design is essential for the success of any winery. It’s all about the image. The labels have to be eye-catching and superbly produced in order to stand out with the overwhelming surplus of competition lining the shelves at any given store. The designer must be exquisitely attuned to the top competitors, consumer desires, and market trends in the industry. A great designer for this niche also has to have a good understanding of wine varieties, culture, and region. Being a wine drinker will also score you some points!
Once again it’s that season where we round up the best graphic design blogs of the year! And per usual, there are some perennial favorites, and really not much in the way of surprises.
If you are new to the graphic design community on the web, you will find this list instructive. You’ll quickly find your favorites among them, and become devoted fans for sure.
And speaking of favorites, we’d like to give a shout out to David Airey for helping us get going on blogging way back in 2009, and for being an example of what focusing on a niche looks like both theory and practice.
BONUS! Be sure to check out David’s logo-focused blog, Logo Design Love — always a treat!
And without any further delay…the list!
So you want to get a handle on the main types of fonts used by graphic designers and typographers every day. We have a list of the 17 of most used kinds of typefaces in general order of their usage and popularity. The most elementary and different kinds of fonts are here listed for you, so look no further!
We’ll look at all our examples using the same format: the name of the font, a basic description, and an example so you can see each one in action. Here we go!
Serif fonts are typefaces composed of lines with their ends embellished with small marks or strokes making them easy to read. Serifs originated in the Latin Alphabet. An example of classic serif fonts are Times Roman, New Century Gothic, and Palatino.
Are you planning your own wedding? Making your own invites? You need all the help you can get, right? Well, we’ve compiled 20 contemporary wedding invitation examples along with a few tips for those of you who are thinking about DIY wedding announcements. I enjoyed scanning wedding sites for these images–all the design associated with weddings in general are more artsy and beautiful than ever before. Hopefully this helps you a little, saves you some time, and gives you some ideas to think outside the box to make your special day just that much more special!… [Read More]
Lovely work with a good use of type, color and contrast and from our featured artist Thomas Vanhuyse –An illustrator and graphic designer based in the city of Ghent, Belgium.
