Sam Flores

Sam Flores   

 I have always loved winter sports and getting out on mountains.  A couple years ago my dad bought a pair of skis by Icelantic.  They are a company based out of Colorado that pair awesome quality skis with awesome graphics.  Recently they partnered with Sam Flores to create a limited addition style of skis.
    Sam Flores is an American visual artist, illustrator, and muralist who's genre is mostly urban and graffiti-inspired modern art.  His mediums are mostly acrylics, pen and ink, and sculpture.  He focuses his talents on created designs for skateboarding and clothing companies.  He has shown work in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Japan and throughout Europe.
    The reason why I chose him is because 1) He is working with Icelantic, a company that I would love to have a chance to work for  2) Because he is a designer who has persevered by being true to his style while also making his mark in businesses such as Icelantic.
    I especially like his realism mixed with abstraction that is all tied together with his vivid uses of colors.  His art and successes are a great inspiration to aspiring designers.

Check out Icentic's website to see his work as well as the awesome graphics used on Icelantic's other merchandise.

Fonts In Use

FONTSINUSE

So I wasn't really sure what I would focus my blog posts on but I figured the best thing to do for me and my fellow designers was to try and find helpful sites that could assist us in making some of the best work we can come up with. Sometimes you just don't have those creative juices flowing or maybe are just unsure about what to do in certain design situations and you need a little push or inspiration.

This site is called Fonts in Use

                                                                                Fonts In Use helps designers like us choose the right typeface and what it would and could look like in certain designs. You can search a certain typeface or just go through the images until you find a typeface you like. It even shows other typefaces that were used in that design so you know what typefaces work well with each other. This site includes a lot of the most well known typefaces like Arial and Helvetica but also a few not so well known. However, The more common, the more images. You can also search based upon the type of design you are creating and what it will be used for. You can search by industries (like fashion or architecture) or even formats (like posters or magazines) to get a clear cut idea of what typefaces to use or ideas on how to use it. 

Another cool feature is that if a design particularly interests you you can click on the image and it will give you a brief description of the image, maybe the designer and even a location of where they found the work.

I think this is actually a decent site, even though pretty new, seems to have a lot of potential. I think it also could help come up with an idea or a better way of using any typeface and give you creative strategies. I've already started looking into fonts for some of my projects! You can visit the site at www.fontsinuse.com

JERRY UELSMANN

Telling a Different Kind of Story

                                 

"THE CAMERA IS ESSENTIALLY A LICENSE TO

EXPLORE."

A designer and photographer, Uelsmann has created many works of art that both inspire and awe.  He has an interesting style, a strong belief in his purpose in design, and a lot of renown in the creative industry.

For someone like myself who is a designer and photographer, what he is able to do with photographs is something special.  He basically did photoshop before photoshop was created, all of which was done in a dark room.  Most of his photographs are black and white, but I think that that just adds to the drama of his work.  I find his connection between objects and the things that he puts together to be really fascinating.  I love nature, but also can appreciate the beauty in man-made structures, so his pictures of trees turning into houses, men having robotic attributes, and mixing human and nature are really fun to observe.  

I think that what I find most interesting about him is his process.  To some people now it might seem old fashioned to still do work in 
the dark room, but I think that that just adds  to his passion and mission in design.  In the shorter video that I provide below, he expresses how he loves being able to take visuals and alter them because for him it creates an even better story.  

 

        

To learn more about this amazing designer and photographer click on "Telling a Different Kind of Story" to go to his website or visit the links to videos below:
     

Shorter video

click her for Longer video, it is worth it!!

Ebon Heath Inspiration

I found this website while looking for examples of graphic installations for another class. I think that the installation designs of Ebon Heath are outstanding. On the website are many images and examples of his work, including other media than the typographic installation shown here. I think his work on the Stereo.type pieces really makes us aware about how the medium and presentation of our creations effect how the viewer “sees” or “hears” what we have to say.

He is a designer who received his BFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1994. He lives and works in several places: Brooklyn, Bali, and Berlin. When he graduated, he founded a design studio that focused mainly on music packaging, magazine layout, and fashion advertising. He called it (((stereotype))). He also co-founded Cell Out in 2003, which is a consultant group that develops media strategies for non-profit organizations, NGO’s, and brands. He has exhibited around the world. His exhibits include his stereo.type mobiles, installations, jewelry, and performance art focusing on type. He is also a visiting professor in Graphic Design at Lehman College and an Art Director for the Mindpirates Berlin.

The work that I liked the best and thought was the most unique was called Stereo.type. The website says it is a syntheses of our typographic language with the physical expression of our body language. It also claims that these installations make the viewer listen with their eyes, or how can we make sound and its symbols found in language able to be heard visibly.

I think that this designer does a great job of getting us to look at type as a tangible object, not just something on a page to arrange. He presents it in a way that makes us think about how we feel about type, and encourages designers to think outside of the box when creating something.

http://www.listeningwithmyeyes.com/

Inspiring Wireframe Sketches

While stumbling around on the internet, I came across an article which I found very useful and inspiring. Inspiring Wireframe Sketches is a short article that gives us an insight on successful wireframe and sketch development. It shows many awesome and well done sketches by designers such as Carolyn Farino, Mitch Shepherd and Rob Davis and Callum Chapman to name a few. These sketches are so detailed and well thought out, I must admit sometimes I want to skip the sketching stage. Most graphic design students view sketching as busy work, and do not realize the potential their designs will lose if you skip this crucial step. Sketching your work can lead to new ideas, it can inspire you in an enormous way and lead you too the most appealing and successful designs in the long run.

Personally, I have always wanted to skip the sketching phase of design because I found it hard to draw well, I'm better on a computer. Another reason as to why I found it difficult to sketch my ideas was that I had NO idea how to go about sketching. Do I brain storm and jot down a cluster of information, or do I draw something extremely detailed so I don't loose crucial information or details when I transfer my sketches onto the computer. Looking at this article and the examples of successful sketches/wireframes taught me a ton about how to effectively sketch. Some of the examples use templates, for either an iPhone App or just a simple web page. They are all somewhat simple with the exception of Roman Justado's sketch for an iPhone radio app. But simple is better, you can add notes and small bits of information as you draw, so you can remember later that you wanted the background to have a darker tint. This will save the designer time. Jotting down notes as you sketch is so important, you can explain briefly how pages will transition, or how the screen will react once someone has selected a certain item. Another smart thing to do while sketching and brainstorming is to use post it notes or different colors. It organizes your information a bit more which will payoff in the long run.

In conclusion, this article is an awesome insight on how to successfully sketch up your design ideas, whether its for a website, app or logo, you want to keep your sketches organized and consistent. It is also important to utilized the paper to take notes, use a template to help keep your sketches clean and organized and utilize colors and postit notes if needed to add information.

Color Inspiration: This Extension Might Just Make Your Design Memorable

Graphic designers live and die by color. A good color scheme can be the icing on the delicious cake of a good design, but a bad one could devastate even the best-composed piece. That's why choosing colors for a piece can be as nerve-racking as it is essential. If you're finding yourself in the midst of a color catastrophe, Adobe's Kuler extension may just save the day, and it's probably already included in your copy of a CS6 program.

Whether you're in Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign, just check the Window menu under "Extensions" for Kuler. If you don't have it, you can also browse and create using their free website. The process is effectively the same whether you're using the app from within CS6 or online, but I recommend launching it from CS6 so that you will be able to seamlessly add any color schemes you find or create into your swatches panel.

Kuler's slick web-based interface

Once you get started, the process is simple: you can search keywords, browse the latest and greatest themes, or take inspiration into your own hands with an intuitive color wheel that lets you set rules and create a beautiful design with minimal time and effort.

My five-second color scheme using Kuler's wheel

If your design is looking drab and you think the colors may be to blame, spend some time on Kuler and see if you can't find a theme that brings it to life. It's saved my life time and time again, and I hope it helps you too!