03 March 2014

Here's a Treat You All Might Enjoy


One thing I've been curious about over the last few months is seeing what out VisCom instructors' own portfolios contain; what do our teachers do as designers themselves outside of the educational field. What first began as a harmless Google search led me to find the personal designer site of none other than our good pal, Johnny Gialanella, founder of Machine Shop Design Co.

At first I thought it might be kind of fun to explore the site, but as I explored, I started to find some really pretty neat stuff. Turns out, Johnny from the Midwest does fidel around with projects similar to the ones we do in class. For example, here is an example of an infographic demonstrating the proper technique when it comes to making Beer Mac & Cheese.








Now something I've noticed about Mr. G's portfolio is that the majority of his work utilizes subtle textures and pastel/desaturated color palettes.  This poster above is a great example of these traits, as well as the combination of multiple typefaces. If you'll notice, the "Pasta" section uses the same blue texture in the background as the fill of the pot below it. The whole thing had a good, unified feel to it and there's nothing visibly out of place.


/ / / / / / / / / / / / / 


As for his presentation, G uses a cement kind of background for multiple pieces, something we haven't seen much of, but an interesting and creative way of personalizing and connecting a variety of different subjects. The drop shadow helps make the logo pop, adding to the presentation.

I think that looking at John's work helps give us a sense of what to aim for, and it tells us a little bit about our professor. In my opinion, it's a great resource for brainstorming and designer's block.

NOTE:

All in favor of John making some Beer Macaroni and Cheese, please comment "Aye" below, in addition to your response!

14 comments:

  1. Welp. Now you've done it, Killian. The secret is out. I suppose I need to get in there and update my portfolio and blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aye! (even though I can't eat it)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think this was a really fun thing to post. Especially since myself and Chelsea tried to find stuff on various professors and came up blank. It is really important to know the people that you work with and glean inspiration from the fellow designers around you, especially when they are someone like a professor. It is interesting to think about us doing the same kind of work in the very near future. Well done John and Killian!

    ReplyDelete
  4. So apparently if 2 people are posting at the same time one gets booted and their comment doesn't show up (at least I think that happened) Anyways, what I said about the portfolio is I like how the name Machine Shop Design is echoed in the way the pieces are presented appearing cut out and against a grungy metal/cement background. It makes even vastly different works fit within a cohesive theme. On a technical note your gallery widgets do not work until expanded so fix that!

    ReplyDelete
  5. haha! this one is cool, now i know! i was looking at your portfolio and the page numbers dont work. haha

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aye! (It's not even my commenting week, but still)
    ~Cynthia

    ReplyDelete
  8. AYE! I really hope it's delicious John. Its pretty cool to see some of your (John's) work. I always find it intriguing to look into my teachers work to see what to aspire towards and what you think is a successful piece of work. Cool Stuff! Good find Killian!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Alright you damn, meddling kids. The broken stuff, should be working. Now get off my lawn!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I like the use of those textures. I think I am going to start trying to implement these subtle textures into my design, it seems to make a lot of design less flat.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice site John! I like the layout of the site. It is clean and has good color choice.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think John's designs are solid; and thats why he uses concrete textures to let the viewers know this. Seriously though, I remember seeing this some months ago and enjoying it all, especially the publications he has helped produce which he had brought to class. HELP ME MAKE A PUBLICATION JOHN! Also, I really like the screen printed look of the beer macaroni infographic. Is it actually screenprinted?

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm always happy to help make publications, you bring the idea, I'll bring the help. And no, it's not actually screen printed, just mad Photoshop and Illustrator skillz.

    ReplyDelete