Icon Research #2

Why am i attracted to the set of icons?

These set of icons are very unique. The flat, solid layered shapes make it more visually appealing to the eye. The contrast and vibrant colours liven up the icons all together.

What are the icons for and is this evident in the visual metaphors?

These icons seem to be common for a cell phone interface. You have messages, e-mail, camera, gallery, folders, music, home, settings, paint, etc. They are not complex nor busy in any way.  The use of the rocket, skull, crown, lightning bolt and jewel really bring a different characteristic to this set which adds a lot of creativity than the normal, everyday icons we see.

How are the icons in the set unified: scale, colour, or other means?

The icon set is unified through the vibrant colours, small sizes without a boarder and simplistic geometric shapes that form one visual. They are simply designed and easy to make the connection visually.
What stylistic method is used on the symbols, and does the style contribute to conveying
the message? Why or why not?

You can tell that they belong in the same set by the way they are placed and layered with simple shapes and multiple colours, some of which are two different contrasts of one hue, which gives it a bit more depth.

 

Contents

I have been comparing various contents pages and found some good and bad.

1.

This table of contents page is really interesting to me. I really love how the numbers are in circles, instead of just by themselves. It really add’s a nice overall look, sort of like bullet points. I also like the typography used within this contents page because it’s not overly large and cluttered. It is nicely spaced out, and I love the roundness to the type. This contents page has style, as well as being easy to read. The text is very centred, with it being flush left.

2.

I love the Sims, and so I decided to display this contents page.  I honestly don’t like it. In my opinion, I think it looks very boring but it is very simple and straight forward. I would understand why they wouldn’t go all out on a contents page for a game guide. In terms of typography, I don’t mind it. It is legible and simple, with a fair amount of space between the lines.

 

3.

This contents page is from “Archetypes in Branding”. I would say this is one of the most interesting contents page I have seen so far. It is just so uniquely designed with the pale colours and lines. I love the use of bright orange, it really makes the numbers stand out. The typography is very simple with the use of a regular, and italic styles of fonts. The boxes around the type is very effective and works well with the overall design. The use of columns, being flush left makes is very organized and easy to understand as well as being very well designed with the lines, boxes, and bright colours.

 

4. 

This contents page is from the comm 170 textbook. It is fairly large and is organized well. In terms of the overall design it seems quite interesting. I like how they had put the number and the part and chapter inside the circle as well. It is fairly unique and I have never seen it done before. It does save more space for other information across the page. Also, the use of the thick lines really impacts the design, making it very organized. The information seems very tight, and my only issue with this is the page numbers and spacing.

Icon Research.

I spent a whole hour searching for an eye-catching Icon set. I did find a lot of them but this one appealed to me the most:

http://www.premiumpixels.com/freebies/41-social-media-icons-png/

The reason I am attracted to these set of Icons is because they look very neat, organized and the colours are vibrant. They are small and easy to understand. These Icons are social media based.

I believe that the images displayed in the icons visually show what social media app it is, especially with the use of the logo itself.

To me, they seem like pixel icons, especially with the thin boarder around the squares. The set is identical because of the size and the contrast/ vibrancy of the colours used, I do find that the colours are a bit lighter then the original social media logo’s. They are very bright and eye-popping. I can see that these icon’s are not a copy and paste of the logo’s, and that’s what I love about it. The designer has done them in their own way, a way that show’s it’s unique look and smooth feel to it.

This set of Icons conveys the social media message in a visual way because they are to the point. Just the image/logo and nothing else distracting to them.

As I analyzed some of the type in the social media logo’s I have noticed that the letters are much smoother and more round, for example the t representing the Tumblr logo.

Tumblr Icon:

 

Original logo:

 

As you can see here, the actual Tumblr logo has more straight edges, rather then round smooth ones. (I personally like the Icon logo better)

Just to conclude, I feel that the designer of this Icon set has done an outstanding job. You can always tell how much effort a designer goes through to create wonderful designs.

Unusual, Creative, and Clever.

Here are a few advertisement’s that I found to be interesting…

1. This ad  states that “1.5 Million Children die every year from drinking polluted water.”   I find it to be very creative, clever and informing because the water you see in the advertisement looks like an explosion which emphasizes  negativity within the context itself. And It also symbolizes death. I believe this ad is very powerful. In terms of typography, I like the choice of font they have used. Especially incorporating the capital letters to be more informative. I believe that the target audience is Adults, male or female, who care for the environment.

2. This ad is from WWF (World Wildlife Found). I really enjoy looking at this Ad because of the colours and the soft and rough textures within. And it has an environmental concept to it also!  It also poses a true statement, that rubbish can be recycled, nature cannot. This ad captures both the scene of nature and man-made materials.

3. So.. I have been looking at a whole bunch of ad’s for the environment and I came across WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and I haven’t noticed much of their advertisements, only a few. I was amazed when I looked more into their ads and I just kept a whole collection in a folder. This one here really catches my attention. The hand representing an animal is like lending a helping hand to that animal and it’s very clever. I am amazed how realistic they get the hand to look like that zebra. It is very eye-catching.  Here are some other examples that I found on the web as well:

These are all amazing!! It’s such a great concept and it’s just visually appealing to look at. I cannot take my eyes off of them. The vibrant colours, the concept and the creativity of these advertisements are what make it so appealing. The target audience I believe are Children to adults, who care for the environment and want to make a change.

4. This is another ad from the World Wildlife Fund. This one is quite funny, but with a serious concept to it. I love the contrast used throughout the image, and how the road brings you to the accident, leading to the vanishing point off into the distance. The target audience can be teenagers and adults who have a concern for the environment.

5. This is a billboard ad I found online. This ad is promoting a toothpaste brand that claims to give strong teeth. I can see how this ad is effective, with the illusion of a man ripping the corner of the billboard with his teeth to imply; “builds strong teeth”. I believe the target audience is adults because they are the ones who are responsible for their own health, and what they use is up to them to decide.

6. This ad here catches my attention. I found it online, it is an ad promoting FedEx, and office supplies. I really like the ad because it shows the product in a 3 demential way, incorporating it with the walkway crossing on the road. It is very cleaver. This Ad targets adults, male and female who work in offices or have their own home office.

 

7. This is a very simple, yet informative advertisement. It doesn’t look that appealing to myself… especially the bottom half of that pear, but it does bring about a good point with improving our environment. This ad is very centred, and a little cluttered at the bottom where the logo is. Maybe pushing the text up or changing the justification would help. This ad target audience is mainly young adults to elderly males and females who have a concern for the environment.

8. This is another simple, yet informative advertisement that brings about a positive point on the environment. I find it clever how they have the last car key shaped as a tree. Just a simple change like that can make such a big impact. The target audience for this ad I believe is anyone looking to purchase a vehicle, more so an environmentally friendly one.

9. So this is a magazine Ad that I found online that is supposedly from the 1960’s. I don’t know why but I really like this one. Its simple, and I find it quite funny with the position and facial expressions of the people posing in this ad. The target audience I believe is anyone from teen’s to adults, males and females who enjoy drinking coke.

10. Move away from coke and move onto mouth wash! The main reason I am attracted to this ad is because of the colours and the contrast. It is very vibrant and I just love the idea of each colour splashing out, transforming into a person. Anyone who would be interested in this ad would be mostly adults or dentists who care for their mouth, and hygiene.

11. Back to unhealthy, but tasty things. This goldfish ad looks so gooood! It is cute how they have the fish coming out of the cheese, it gives the ad some life to it, besides just showing the bag of goldfish or a whole bunch of the fish in a bowl. Even though this is such a simple ad, it is so attractive to look at. This ad would cater to children, youth, and parents both male and female.

12. This advertisement is very clever and sends a powerful message. I love this ad not just because it has a cute dog on it, but because it has facts. And the facts make this ad worth while. I love the contrast and the position of the dog. But when I read this ad, it really makes me feel sorry for the animals. This ad is for animal lovers!

(I will be updating this post with more ads)

Type outside of the classroom

Awhile ago I was at the Distillery District photographing things I found interesting. And I came across this:

The Gooderham and Worts sign in the Distillery.  Goderham and Worts once used to be the largest brewery of alcoholic beverages in Canada.

What I really found interesting about the type on this sign is the flow of the letters, they vary from thick and thin throughout and the corners of the letters spike out which gives it an edgy feel. The word “Limited” between the two lines makes the sign look classy. If you look at the type closely, you can see each letter has parts thinner then others which makes it very unique. I am curious to know this typeface. I do remember seeing it before.

The second thing I would like to talk about is the “Tim Hortons” Logo.

I work at Tim Hortons doing night shifts which sucks, but I am exposed to their logo 24/7 so I wanted to go deeper and analyze this typography.

I don’t specifically know the name of this font but I do enjoy looking at it. I find it’s pleasing to the eye and very calm looking. It looks calligraphic to me. I love the flow of the letters from one letter to another. The lines above and below the text complements it and the logo itself is very organized, simple and easy to read. Colour wise, I like it. Mainly because its legible and it makes the words stand out. Having a washed out colour in the background and a solid, vibrant one for the text, in the foreground is very common, but useful in getting out the message clearly. Overall this design is very simple. With the use of line, colour and hierarchy.

Another thing I wanted to look at was the Animal Planet logo from the Discovery channel:

The one you see on the left was the original logo they had. Between the two I really like the original one, not because i’m used to seeing it but because I find it more appealing. I really like the elephant and the globe, along with the typography. I like this font better just because it’s more round an it’s not shouting in your face like the other one. I don’t exactly know the font used in the original logo.

For the newer version. The only thing I like about it is the use of the three different colours of green, the rest of it… just does not bring my attention. It seems so jumbled and crammed together, very perplexed -looking. Also, It is not as symbolic as the other one. The font style is alright, It is a simple Sans-serif typeface called black league. If the letters were spaced out a bit more and shortened, I think it would be more beneficial if the letters were not as stretched and weren’t so tightly spaced.

 

Tattoo designs?

I have covered the logos, stamps, poster, and booklets. Now it is time to talk about temporary tattoos. I myself love tattoos, I wish they weren’t as expensive though..  This is where temporary tattoos come in. These tattoos will be distributed across cities where the public can collect them off the streets. Here are some stencils I drew out with marker on paper:

The first four are the mythical creatures, and the second four are the four elements.

Posters, Book Covers, and the meaning behind the 2 logo’s of the Spiritual Evolution.

So, I have been working on a series of posters and I have decided to make them interactive in a way where people can help spread the word about the Spiritual Evolution!

What I have done here is left the middle blank so other people in the public can express their concern in a creative way. Wether it’s graffiti art or simply marker.

Here is an example:

These posters are going to be large, spread across building, in subways and public areas.

For the posters I added little illustrations that relate to the topics. I love pen and ink art to I wanted the illustrations to have that feel and these are brushes that I put together in photoshop. I want the posters to have different events in each category. For example, the poster with earth will not just be on deforestation, it will focus on other aspects as well, in separate posters all with the spirit wolf stamp on it to categorize it.

The first poster I have here is the Wind element. For the illustration I have A pair of wings shaped like a heart in the sky to represent the “love” for the air we breathe. It needs to be clean and pure, especially for healthy minds. This brings about the topic of air pollution.

The second poster is Water. The illustration here are waves. This represents many things. Water relates to emotion because everyone has their ups and downs and theres never guessing how someone feels every minute, just like the waves in the water. Water pollution also plays a role with this. which is talked about

The third poster I have is Fire. The illustration in this one is the sun, with the moon inside of it. The sun gives us life on earth, it is also spiritual, especially for spiritual purposes. Many religions use the sun as their god. The sun creating life. The environmental aspects include uv radiation and the affect.

The fourth poster that I have created it with the earth element as you can see, which represents “body” The illustration is a tree, with visible roots below. This brings up the topic of deforestation. The roots being visible are significant because it symbolizes the tree coming out of the ground and being eliminated.

 

Another part of the campaign are booklets, (As i mentioned before) they are designed similar to the posters because when people view them they know what they are about.  Inside the booklets will contain images set in a timeline. From positive to negative. For example, for the booklet on earth, the topic may be deforestation. The beginning will show bright, luscious forests and animals, as you keep flipping the book it depletes more and more and the colour fades away.

Here are some samples of the book covers which look identical to the posters:

 

The goal for these booklets are to inform people visually, of what is going on around the world, how it affects ourselves, spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. And how it affects the earth in various aspects.

As you can see I have two logo’s on the bottom right of the booklets.

Explanation of the two different logos:

          

(For the logo on the right, Leigh suggested that I change the background to a solid white. The rest of the logo stands out more which I like better).

So… The reason why I chose to have two separate logo’s (besides the fact that I couldn’t choose one) is to emphasize the positive to negative and light to dark. The environment is always talked about. Mostly in a negative way and I want to approach it in both positive and negative. Looking at the bright side of things when we help our environment and ourselves as humans. And looking at the negative impacts on the environment and towards ourselves.

With the insert of the two various logo’s on the book covers It show’s that the books will all explain the positive and negative effects towards ourselves and the environment.

 

Update.

I am so overwhelmed. 3 more days to go until the Pecha Kutcha… I hope this gets done on time, mental roadblocks are not fun to work with.

Anyways, as you probably can tell how far i have gotten in this assignment and I still do not have a name for this campaign. Thanks to the help of Leigh who gave me some suggestions (and removed the roadblock from my brain), here is what I am thinking of using:

Transforming the future (Leigh’s Idea)

Creating Tomorrow (Leigh’s Idea)

Elemental Change

Spiritual Evolution

Spiritual Transformation

As for the logo I have done a second version. I am still working on the first one to make improvements as well, with having Leigh’s Ideas in mind.

I have enlarged the main focus and made it less distracting. I am still going to input the text. I am thinking of using Helvetica light, I adore that font even though it is commonly used. I want to make the logo visually appealing for all audiences wether it’s children or adults. 

Here is the first version I had with and without the distracting boarder:

   

(I have also boosted the contrast to make the mythical creatures more visible. I found the original one being too dark.

Here are some individual stamps/logo’s from the larger one

 

 

 

First attempt at logo…

So…  I have been working on this logo in photoshop, playing around with the adjustment layers and this is what I came up with. its not entirely done yet. I am still unsure of this layout I might eliminate the black background and boarder. I want to insert the name of this campaign in the middle (Yet to be determined)

 

I know you can hardly notice the mythical creatures i put, I am still figuring out a way to add them in to be more noticeable.

I kind of changed the colour palette as you can see, I am going to try to create one with the softer one I had, but I believe the harder colours work well with the mythical, fantasy, elemental theme I have.

Changing things around

I have been having some trouble with the direction I am trying to take with this assignment. Mike and I were talking and he was telling me that climate change is such a broad topic that many people are talking about and I agree with him. There is so much to cover and so many people know about it and will just ignore it because they hear about this all the time. Mike suggested that I take the idea of the four elements and turn it into something spiritual. Having animals being symbolic to each element, tell the story of the earth through symbolic expression, and relate the elements in a spiritual way. I think that’s a great idea! This opened up my brain to many other possibilities.

I am a fan of hard colours and fantasy illustrations so this is where I would like to aim the look of the campaign towards. Here are some inspiring images I found. These Images show different ways of expressing the elements:

Now with these pictures in mind, I had an idea of incorporating these with mythical creatures. I originally wanted to use animals that exist here on earth. I am still open to using either or.

For Mythical creatures I am thinking of:

Fire = Phoenix

Air = Griffin

Earth = Spirit Wolf

Water = Seahorse

The animals I had in mind are:

Fire = Fox or cheetah

Air = Hawk

Earth = Cheetah

Water = River Otter (or some kind of fish?)

Each animal would be symbolic.

Mike suggested each element connecting to one’s self, which was another great idea:

Fire – Spiritual      Earth – Physical     Air – Mental     Water – Emotion

For the logo I want to incorporate all the elements as well as the animals/mythological creatures. What I have in mind are the elements glowing in the background of the animals or either the animals glowing in front of the elements.

I want to have separate logos with each individual element to place on a book or poster. For example, One of the books are about the earth element, there would be a logo with the earth and the animal over top somewhere. Each logo will categorize certain parts of the posters, tattoo’s, booklets, etc..

I wanted to add temporary Tattoo’s also, which will be the animals (or creatures) in black with some colour splashed onto it. I am either thinking of putting the top half of the creature and then the bottom of it turning into whatever the element is. For example, the spirit wolf represents the earth element, I would have the head of the animal and the rest of the animal transitioning into falling leaves and a splash of green around it.   Here is an example I found of the elements. This is the kind of style i am looking towards:

Here are some other inspiring images I found relating to the animals/creatures I want to work with:

 

I also was thinking of doing nail art. I am not officially sure if I am going to go through with this… I basically wanted to put each individual logo as stickers for nails.