Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art, has multiple definitions; there is no single definition. Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that's why it is so complicated.
Paul Rand
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Design by Paul Rand
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Facebook new Terms of Service. Beware.
For all you designers, photographers, writers, artists, businesses, etc..., if you are on Facebook beware of their new terms of service. According to consumerist.com, they own everything you put on their site. Oh boy!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Stop in the Name of Love!
Love is at the center of everything. Some of the most famous contemporary graphic designs revolve around the idea of love, or the heart symbol.
I Love NY. Well-known graphic designer Milton Glaser designed the I Love (using a heart symbol to represent Love) NY campaign in 1977 as a pro bono project for the NYS Department of Commerce. It has since been one of the most recognized and most knocked-off logos. After 9/11, Glaser updated the logo to I Love NY More Than Ever placing a black wound on the heart.
Virginia is for Lovers David Martin and George Woltz coined the slogan in 1969 to win the Virginia State Travel account. The first year after the slogan was released, travelers spent $800 million in the state. Today, Virginia still uses the slogan and is the 10th most visited state in the nation.
Quaker Oats In 1997, the FDA approved the first food-related health claim to Quaker Oats for the heart healthy benefits of soluble fiber in whole grain oats—reducing cholesterol and increasing potassium which leads to lower blood pressure. Quaker’s advertising campaign for its oatmeal and Cheerios products continues to capitalize on the decision to this day.
LOVE Sculpture, Pop artist Robert Indiana was inspired by a banner at a Christian Science church that said “God is Love.” He reversed the words in a painting to read, “Love is God,” and subsequently shortened it simply to “Love.” The first LOVE sculpture was made in 1966. At a time when the U.S. was at war in Vietnam, this simple icon became the signature symbol for peace.
Photo by Molly Ahearn | Love Park, Philadelphia
Open Heart Jewelry Italian jewelry designer, Elsa Peretti, is best known for the organically shaped open heart for Tiffany now worn by countless women around the world.
Rules of the Road: Love Your Clients
In these hard times, you want to do everything possible to hold onto your best clients.
GIFTS Everybody loves to open presents whatever the occasion. You don’t have to break the bank either. Treat your top 3 clients to a Valentine’s Day gift of those candy hearts with the sayings on them. Send a packet of seeds to celebrate the first day of spring. Mail a birthday card.
DISCOUNTS Money talks. Offer a discount on your products or services. Remember to add an expiration date. We’re currently offering to print 250 business cards or 250 post cards for free when you hire us to design them.
SHARE NETWORK CONTACTS Chances are that business is slow for your clients, too. Offer to assist by sharing contacts in your network, or forwarding information about your clients’ businesses to the people in your network.
GUEST BLOG Blogging benefits everyone in subtle ways. Search engines rank your web site higher the more you broadcast yourself on the internet. Invite your best clients to write guest blog posts for your blog as a way of building higher SEO ranking.
The lighter side: top 10 ways to get out of the dog house
1. Godiva for your diva. http://www.godiva.com
2. Been sleeping on the couch? Sprinkle a dozen roses over the bed and get invited back in. http://www.1800flowers.com
3. When you’ve got hot sand between your toes and a margarita in your hand, you can’t be pissed off about anything. http://www.expedia.com
4. Drop an Elsa Peretti heart into a glass of bubbly and your name will no longer be toast. http://www.tiffany.com
5. Cookies for your cookie. Careful not to leave crumbs or you’ll be hanging with Fido again. http://www.davidscookies.com/
6. If your honey is avoiding sugar, score big with sugar-free treats. http://www.diabeticcandy.com/
7. Nothing tugs at the heart strings more than a hand-written love note. http://www.lovepoemsandquotes.com/
8. Wrap a bottle of KamaSutra’s Oil of Love in sexy panties or shorts. http://www.kamasutra.com/
9. Candlelight, mood music, and a pair of flutes filled with quality champagne. Try the Heidsieck. http://www.piper-heidsieck.com/
10. Send the kids to grandma’s for Valentine’s weekend—it’s a Saturday this year!
Namaro Portfolio: Canon Host Print Solutions
The simplicity of curled pieces of paper overlapping can make for a fresh, lively and unique design that conveys the concept “converging” subtlely and effectively.
Free font of the month
The "Jules Love" font has a sort of Keith Haring feel to it; sweet without too much syrup. Download it.
Just remember, its for personal use only! H&M used it for a t-shirt design and didn't pay the designer for the use of it. See the news story
Top 15 email marketing design & content tips
1. Keep it simple and short
2. Let users know what the email is about
3. Insert low resolution graphics to capture their attention
4. Have a call-to-action
5. Personalize it
6. Your corporate identity should drive the look and feel
7. Use the same font family for all the copy and limit the use of bolds and italics to headers and proper names
8. Underscore links and make them in a different color.
9. Avoid too many colors. They tend to fight each other.
10. Emphasize call-to-action so users will focus on it
11. Emphasize other content sparingly
12. Offer useful information
13. Make the content relevant to the user and the subject in your email
14. Use the same newsletter design template for at least 4 months at a time to benefit from brand familiarity
15. Target your best leads, email to a select few to get a better response
BONUS 16. For a better response, connect your content to events and mailings that are taking place.
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