May 11, 2013
by KK
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Sometime too much, sometimes not enough.
May 7, 2013
by KK
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It’s the wave of the future. Everything’s going to the clouds.
“It’s Time for a change” says Adobe. You know how designers love change while on faster turnaround times that we have ever seen before. I’m all for change. As they say Change is the only constant in life. But just stop the world for designers to adopt the tech part of it so we can jump on without missing deadlines, will ya?
Say Goodbye to Adobe Creative Suite and Hello to Subscription-Based Cloud
April 30, 2013
by KK
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It’s Friday night. I get a call from my branding comrade, Donna LaBrecque, of The Creative Collaboratory to help Alicia Keys with her merch and poster designs pronto. “She hates the ones that were presented to her.” (This story sounds familiar.) “Under control”, I say! After a few brainstorming minutes, Donna and I nailed them. Here are some of the products we designed for her “Girl on Fire 2013 Tour” (actually called Set the World on Fire Tour). BTW- she LOVED what we did. It feels good to help out a DIVA every now and then.
Alicia Keys playing cards– fun!
I’m so glad they produced the trucker hat.
Using a quote from a song “Head in the Clouds and not coming down” to create this concept. You can see how we had to manipulate some photos.
February 14, 2013
by KK
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Don’t ya just love a two-sided business card? In a time when everything is digital, the business card is still a tangible piece of your c0mpany. I love designing when there is a story to be told. NBC4 television studios in beautiful downtown Burbank has a very iconic history. The back of the card is the retro image of the Burbank studio in the prime 1970s. It conveys an feeling instantly.
February 9, 2013
by KK
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Does this sound familiar:
“I view something genuinely interesting about your web site so I saved to my bookmarks for to you.”
I like to share tips from bloggers that I find a very useful. It’s not until after I close my window that I think that someone must be having the same issues I am. So I have decided to share the love…
WordPress is a great platform to build a site or blog, but I am overwhelmed with robot spam comments full of keywords. Kristi Hines writes a simple article about How to Identify and Control Blog Comment Spam with a few hints that will save some of your time as a moderator.
February 2, 2013
by KK
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My instinct was to turn this quote around to say Summarize first THEN symbolize. Meaning, you must understand what and why you are designing before you can make a mark or symbol for it. It wasn’t until I watched this video (below) that I realized that he had it right- of course.
Symbolize and Summarize: from AT&T Archives
Saul Bass Pitch Video for Bell System Logo Redesign
Saul, uh…Mr Bass, highlights the problems and contrasts that with the solutions and showing (visually explaining) how the proposed solution is used in other industries. Still relevant today. Notice how he says “us” and “our”.
“Ma Bell Has Gone Mod”
It’s not just about a logo. It’s the entire visual vocabulary that speaks to the people that interact with.
Logo used from 1889 to 1900
January 30, 2013
by KK
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Why do I love this so much?
recycled on Etsy
from: 25 ideas for how to reuse and repurpose junk mail:
Hang tags can tell stories.
[Image via www.lebowitz.net.]
or a door hanger [Image via www.swyyne.com.]
DIY hang tag. Stamp it.
January 25, 2013
by KK
3 Comments
We were honored with the project of designing all new signage for the NYC Parkway Department of Transportation sign series. I first posted this in July of last year and we have been working on it ever since. There are SO many studies that go into public signage. They had to adhere to the regulation alphabet that is scientifically studied to be the best typography spacing that can be seen from vehicles moving at a high rate of speed. If it were up to me, it would have been cleaner.
But we managed to have a bit of a breakthrough when we created the new standards that are set forth for all future signs! Our first assignment was the Henry Hudson Parkway. There was a lot of discussion about what the icon should be. NY DOT agreed that each Parkway should have a story that is reflected in the signage. So I immediately bought the children’s book: The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge. According to wiki:
The Book:
“Published in 1942, this children’s book uses the story of the building of the George Washington Bridge next to the small lighthouse to affirm the idea that even the small are important. The book begins by introducing the lighthouse and its job of warning the boats on the busy Hudson River of the rocks nearby. Every night a man climbs up to the top of the lighthouse and turns on its flashing light. When there is fog, the man additionally turns on the lighthouse’s fog bell. The lighthouse is pleased with and proud of its important job.”
The Lighthouse:
“It was reconstructed in 1921 as part of a project to improve Hudson River navigational aids, and was in operation until 1947. When the George Washington Bridge was completed in 1931, however, the lighthouse was considered obsolete, as the bridge pier was illuminated. The story of the 1942 children’s book, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, by Hildegarde Swift, centers around the fears of the lighthouse that it was now irrelevant, but the bridge reassures it that it is still needed to help keep river traffic safe.“
UPDATE: This is the version I am still pushing. The letter spacing is funky on the sign that the DOT worked on. I am working on getting it as close to our version as possible. It’s all about the kerning,
January 25, 2013
by KK
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Here are some things to ask yourself to better optimize your site:
credit: hubspot.com
January 24, 2013
by KK
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Technicolor reinvented itself- good, bad or indifferent? Have they strayed too far from their heritage story?
Technicolor received the best new logo award by the Business Marketing Association (BMA) of New York City on June 22, 2010
1970s——————————————————– something really exciting about this logo.
Variety says: “Like an aging movie franchise in need of a box office jolt, Technicolor is getting a reboot.
2000s——————————————————– (I must have missed this one)
2002——————————————————-
Scan of an old slide found in an old box in an old basement. Date unknown.
Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation (a subsidiary of Technicolor, Inc.), now a division of Thomson.
January 3, 2013
by KK
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I wanted to add some landscaping ideas to my Pinterest but didn’t want to mix business with personal. I came across this article: How to Convert Your Personal Pinterest Account Into a Business Account.
Easy breezy: Go to business.pinterest.com, and click the red ‘Convert your existing account’ button
December 9, 2012
by KK
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Funny thing about letting in-house designers creating your new brand…. What do you think the criteria was for the brand; University of California’s new logo ? Do you think it feels more retail than collegiate? I don’t think the key decision makers had an agreed upon brief in advance. It’s not about people accepting change — it’s about doing what is appropriate for the brand.
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