An ad concept does not exist to win awards, or to set trends, or to break rules. It exists to solve a problem. That’s the challenge of commercial creativity. The glory part is that if you solve the problem in an unexpected way, you sometimes achieve those other objectives too. But, you have to solve the problem. And, to...
I don’t mean personal validation, though to many that’s important too. What I’m referring to is validating your web sites’. Besides having the personal satisfaction of writing well-formed code, it also offers the end-user some benefits. Benefits of Validation • A valid web site loads faster because the browser doesn’t have to correct errors. • A valid web site...
A new restaurant, La Familia, just opened in our community. It’s not upscale, by any means, so although they’ve put some effort in making it look nice, they’ve not been able to go all-out with decor, design, promotion, and so on. I was especially struck by the menu, featuring a decorative font that was popular maybe 10 years ago....
I’ve always been a fan of Sessions’ classes because they can help many aspiring designers make that jump into the industry with guided lessons from real design professionals. So once you’ve broken ground into the design world you’ll need to start thinking about how the business side of the industry works. One of the most important things that you’ll...
One of the most important things designers can do, whether fresh out-of-school or a battle-worn veteran of design, is to ask “WHY?” Why did they select that color? Why did that ad grab my attention? Why do they use that typeface? Why did they crop it so close? Why didn’t they crop it closer? I could ask 100 questions...
Amid the pile of layouts on my desk today for the next issue of HOW (http://www.howdesign.com), I found the feature article about Matthew Sporzynski that we’re working on. Let’s see: how to describe Sporzynski? He calls himself a “cardboard couturier,” but that’s deceptively simple. He creates dimensional objects in paper—eye-poppingly realistic, amazingly detailed, gorgeously crafted. A Parsons grad living...
Advanced design course assignments are conceived to mirror real-world experience as closely as possible, but at the end of the day, it’s still just a class assignment…or is it? More and more school projects are enjoying a life beyond the classroom, so if you think you’re doing something just for practice, you might want to reconsider. Learning environments, whether...
When I first started doing web design, you’d see sites with the text “This site best viewed with….” I always took exception to this because I’ve been a Mac user for some time and this usually meant the site I was visiting wouldn’t work for me. I make it a point to make sure every site I design works...
As promised yesterday, here are a few more places I often visit for inspiration. Simon’s Skip: Advert and Brochure Archive. Simon Moses graduated from the University of Brighton (UK) with a degree in Design History. His personal website houses a small collection of British ads and brochures for household appliances, mostly from the 1960s but extending into the 1970s....
