‘i can’t stop making gifs’
Ramin Nasibov knows graphic design. This week, he made these gifs. Seems he got a hold of a video editor and has been learning his way around it. I can’t wait to see what else he comes up with!
For more, head over to Facebook.
Still from Ingre Druckrey: Teaching to See
As an educator, I’ve broken graphic design into three components: Message, Typography, Layout.
I’m not the first educator to do this – just happened to constantly notice these three elements staring back at me in all the student pieces I evaluate. In my opinion, careful appreciation, understanding and implementation of the three can lead to beautiful work.
message
Graphic design is a communication field, so Message should always drive the project. Today we are bombarded by thousands of Messages on a daily basis, so being on Message is critical. And yes, this usually involves language and writing – which is why I love when students take their written studies seriously.
typography
I’ve seen an (often not cited/supported) statistic that graphic design is 95% typography. Scientific or not, I agree with this. Type is important. I like comparing the exploration of lettering to that of music – there’s enough complexity for it to become a lifetime endeavor. And most of what I teach is type, from multiple angles.
form
Graphic designers are taught to use grids for layout – though relying on ‘grid’ as a catch all way of handling form can be misleading. Grids provide support, a fallback position for dealing with massive amounts of information. Though important, grids have their limitations. Building structure using symmetry, asymmetry, balance, color – some elements obvious, some not – involves continuous practice, a trained eye, instinct.
These three are not formulas, can’t be added together. They need to work in tandem, like cooking a great stew where the ingredients are based on what feels just right.
Click to view/jump
On a related note, the above film – Edward Tufte’s Ingre Druckrey: Teaching to See – found its way into my Twitter feed. It’s about graphic design and beauty. And much more.
In January I’m going to be teaching my first non-type course on Form and Space. I’m starting prep now because I consider form so important – so powerful, so delicate.
And beautiful when done right.
Video found via ayana baltrip
Oak Café interior, art by Craig Smith
One of the reasons I teach at American River College is The Oak Café. Staffed and run by culinary students, the Oak Café is one of the hardest tables to get in Sacramento – with four star ratings [twice from The Sacramento Bee] and mucho local critical acclaim, they don’t skimp on anything. It’s a foodie’s dream tucked away in a corner of a Community College.
Type treatment, set using my Escoffier Capitaux font
vincent
A while back, Café instructor Teresa Urkofsky borrowed my copy of Mary and Vincent Price’s A Treasury of Great Recipes (1965). Known for his horror films, Vincent Price (1911-93) was also one of the pioneers of the gourmet movement. He used his celebrity to promote high class eating worldwide. And this over-the-top cookbook – which features funky recipes from the best restaurants in the world (at the time) – is a testament to his love of good food. [Read more →]
‘Just as Sun Tzu’s Art of War is read as a lesson in business strategy rather than fighting in a miliary sense, or Machiavelli’s The Prince is written about government but used as a guide to management, so this book uses the creative processes of good advertising as a metaphor for business practice.’ -inside cover
In It’s Not How Good You Are . . . UK-based advertising guru Paul Arden (1940-2008) does a great job reframing how one can approach creativity, their career and life – by not playing by the rules and reinventing convention. [Read more →]
If you’re having problems coping with unemployment in the US (who isn’t?), here’s some visuals. It’s huge. Bigger than you are. Interactive map here.
Change is about rethinking how we do things. I’ve been changing my whole outlook; what I do with my business – my blog is part of it. And following the status quo, doing the same thing over and over and over isn’t working. This map shows it.
Found via FlowingData
Thinking about going into graphic design? Wanna know what you’re getting yourself into? What’s it all about?
Click the image and read thru:
Found via Twitter.com/Colorburned
Swiss International Style guru Massimo Vignelli has released a new book on using type in graphic design. In it he explains in concise detail how it’s done. And as with all his work, it’s precise, clean, neat. Also, it’s free.
Download here: The Vignelli Canon [PDF]
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