There Are No Small Details

After spending countless hours in the lab I have learned that every line, tab, and type of serif matter. I can come up with these great images when I first imagine a project but when it comes to the execution the details surrounding the project can become overwhelmingly time consuming. However, through all of the last minute tweaking it is all worth it because you can tell who kept their eyes on the details and who only took in the big picture.

World Wide (and Graphic) Web

Flash sites are becoming really popular in the fashion industry and Marc Jacobs has made great strides to make his site and his brand become user friendly. The friendly store owner suggests some of the newest and most popular items on the site while two videos on each side have ongoing fashion shows. This creates a high end feeling without the high end attitude. The user can click on the door and begin browsing the racks and shopping the store making it feel like they are really there visiting the store. I love that the seasons change as well.

However, as user friendly as it is Marc Jacobs is a luxury designer. This design seems a little too cartoonish for his Marc Jacobs brand and could be used for his second tier brand Marc by Marc Jacobs.

The XX is a band that likes to keep things simple. This is would be why their website is a giant X with a flash music video playing inside of it. I love the simplicity and the “white” space which is all black in this case. They are all about music and not appearance which resonates in this design. Their music is emphasized with the white on black type that leads the web surfer to find tickets, bios, and other helpful links as well as listen to songs that play while you explore.

I would like if the page opened on this page and then led to another page with more to it. I understand their want for a clean look but they should also provide multiple pages to look at.

Jim Carrey is crazy and so is his website. It an incredible amount of design in it without looking like it is crowded and comes off as cohesive. If you sit on the homepage long enough random people and phrases pop up and it is very entertaining o say the least. His character shows through with this design and I think that the designer is brilliant.

The design can be random and confusing for those people who don’t know Jim Carrey. Sometimes toast pops up from the leaves of the tree and that doesn’t really make sense but it is interesting none the less.

Style.com’s website is the most traditional website I chose. It has a clean yet informative design that is easy to navigate. Little touches like the extending image of Carey Mulligan on the top left makes the design look less flat. This is also used for the “Look of the Day” pictures that sit right below it. They pile a lot of information onto one page without looking too text heavy. It is classy and creates respect for this fashion website.

The page is the same everyday but with different stories. I wish that the design, though successful, would switch it up every now and then. For example, touches of a dark red and metallic gold could look great around the holidays.

Magazine Layout

Yes, This is My Poster

My flash drive died so I redid the poster for the blog. Enjoy.

Unique Type

Some type really knows how to grab the reader’s attention. This layout utilized it to the fullest by providing the full alphabet on the opening spread to its story. The extremely curved sans serif seems futuristic with a twist. However, it is so unique that it would be a bad idea to use as body type or for many headlines without being recognized over and over.

This unique look at a slanted type, along with contrasting black against a yellow and white background,  create an image not soon forgotten. The type even provides for a background design that is formed by the letter P on the opposite page of the main image.

This typeface is fun but the weirdness over rules the actual use that anyone could get out of it.

How Do You Like Your Color?

1) Complimentary colors

This cover of “V” magazine uses shockingly bright complimentary colors, yellow and a bright magenta that appear opposite on the color spectrum.

2) Triadic harmonies

Triadic colors are three colors that appear evenly a part on the color spectrum and the blue yellow and red used distinctively on this cover of “Interview.”

3) Duotones

This ad for Sony uses black, white and a blue tone to create a single toned image mixed with black and white for definition.

4) Analogous colors

The many tones of yellows, golds, oranges, and reds are all next to each other (or near) in the color spectrum from this image in “Martha Stewart’s Living” magazine.

5) Spot color

Spot color is when one color is used like the red on this “Elle UK” cover which could also be a pantone color.

Clean Whites and Amazing Tans

This is an issue of V Magazine that incorporated a photograph by Mario Testino about a latina model named Maria Felix. The crisp white background enhances all of the colors put into the shot emphasizing the colors reminiscent of Latin culture.

The first thing that caught my eye was her tan. The background gives her an amazing color that is incredibly vibrant. She is even wearing a clean white blouse that gives her a healthy glow that radiates off the page. Using basic colors to emphasize the body that had made her famous. It is especially important for models to show off what they have naturally and her brunette hair shines against the blank background.

The colorful blanket is another eye catching image within the layout. Oranges and browns give even more of that warm feeling that partners with her glow. These complimentary colors also make the reader think of the Latin culture. It looks exotic and and for me makes me think of a hotter place south of where I live. When I am used to forest greens, dark browns, and birch whites being the usual in nature, I automatically think south.

And make no mistake that the orange wasn’t carefully picked. It is burnt rather than the enthusiastic “Cuse orange we are all used to.

This plain scene warmed up by a searing image creates harmony in a simply beautiful layout.

Sleek Look Logo

Take a Journey

Toying with our perception can be both a good and bad thing. However, with ProQuest it turns out to be a great thing. They have created a path that looks fit for a journey to be taken in their database exploration. By using the tail on the Q to make a path they create visual stimulation and manipulation in a very simplistic design.

The logo is also grounded to look like it is sitting on top of a hill. I like to think of this as someone taking a journey and reaching the top of the hill where they can finally see what was on the other side. This fits them well because when you search for information for a paper you will eventually find that last fact that you were looking for the whole time and that will make your paper A+.

Even the tag line is enticing, “Start here.” Who knew researching through information could be such a journey?

Luxury of a Logo

Chanel has one of the most luxurious logos in the business. Its interlocking C design is simplicity at its best. Usually used in black and white, the logo included a mirrored image of a C that represents the history of the brand starting with Ms. Coco Chanel herself. Though the actual brand didn’t have a logo at its inception, it was created for Ms. Chanel when her first store opened.

The logo has proven to be a success because it is copied on fake handbags and jewelry around the world. People see the design as a worldwide status symbol. Now, there are even skis, footballs, pressed powder in makeup, and a headband that creates the logo right on your forehead.

 

 

Here is the previously mentioned contraption of a headband.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is what you can look like if you use it and are very passionate about the Chanel logo.

 

 

 

 

The design is known for its simplicity but I think it has many attributes that also make it a success. The curved edges of the two C’s create an image that is soft and not harsh like many other brands such as DKNY or Calvin Klein. They all try to create a flow that we associate with luxury but Chanel is the one that achieves it best. Also, they never use a partnering design to go along with the logo so white space is always surrounding the letters.

It is safe to say the Chanel logo will never change, and that’s a good thing.