Wink

Once again, I found a design on graphis.com that relates to our current type analogy project. Compared to our assignment, this design is a little more illustrated, but it is a good example of how a simple design can convey the desired message. I think this was designed for a cosmetics line called Wink and this is there logo. It is interesting how the serif on the "w" was extended out to illustrate a winking eye in a simple abstract way, but yet there is enough info to understand the meaning. The extension on the "w" looks like a comma sign and it adds to the idea off how an idea can be conveyed with just type and symbols. I am not sure about how the spacing between letters and I'd like to see if less spacing would add to the design. Overall, its simple and straight to the point...I think it works.

Type

I found this layout on the graphis.com website and it caught my eye because it is a good example of our current project. It is very clean and straightforward. The word reversible is emphasized by reversing the letters "e" in the layout. I think that the straightforwardness of the design helps to emphasize the meaning of reversible. I like the use of just the black type on the white background, but I would be interested in seeing if color was added if it would add to or take away from the design. The placement of type on the page works well. Although I think this design is very cohesive and works well, there are definitely some variations I would be curious to see if they work just as well. I would like to see if just reversing the whole word "reversible" if the design would still work or if that would make the design to busy. Also, I would like to see maybe if reversing the whole word "type" would work because of how there is only four letters in that word.

Sushi

I found this logo for a sushi bar called Zen on www.graphis.com. It caught my eye among many other designs I think because it relates a lot to our current logo identity project. The design is very clean and simple and it is also a play on the word "zen" which is the name of the sushi bar. When one thinks of the word "zen" usually what comes to mind is organized, clean, order, and even the idea of meditation comes to mind. Zen is a Japanese, religious meditation and dates back to 1727. Websters defines it as: a Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism that aims at enlightenment by direct intuition through meditation. This logo identity is very streamlined and even incorporates repetition with the letters "Z" and "N" which are the same letter form , just rotated. Also, repetition is noticeable in the negative space that is created by the letters which share common strokes and when combined create a closed area. With the help of the "E" , though, the logo remains as an open composition. The choice to use a sans serif font instead of a serif font was a good one because the sans serif font is more streamlined and does not break up the lines in the design as would a serif font would. One thing that I think I might try to adjust is the wording on the bottom. I would maybe try to either move the wording closer to the logo or get rid of it completely because I think it takes away from the logo itself.

Zebra

I found this piece on a graphic design website called

www.abduzeedo.com. It was part of a blog page on the website that was for daily inspirations. Individuals post designs on this blog that give them some sort of graphic design inspiration. There were many interesting designs that I looked through, but this design in particular stood out to me I think most in particular because of how type was so well incorporated into the design and even begins to transform into something more then just text on a page.

At first glance some design elements in this piece can be overlooked. Initially, a close up image of a zebra is recognizable. As the design is more closely examined, the whole design is composed of black type on a white background. This added element of design adds a lot to the overall piece as opposed to if this design was merely made up of solid black lines. The use of type as a design element gives this design nice rhythm throughout as the type creates lines that carries the eye throughout the entire design which in turn also unifies the design as a whole. Also, the choice to make the design more of a close-up of a zebra instead of the whole animal creates a visually interesting composition. The repetition of the word zebra helps to emphasis the fact the design is of a zebra which makes the design of the zebra that much stronger.

I found this piece in a book I had titled Graphic Design the New Basics. This piece was chosen to be used in the book to demonstrate how lines and patterns are used to create texture and emphasis. The texture in this piece is created by the use of mark making over the surface which creates a pattern which in turn creates a sense of texture. The texture created in this piece helps to emphasis the main objective of the image. The tense and chaotic feeling that is produced from the mark making emphasises the feeling of anxiety. And although the first letter of the word anxiety is absent, the feeling that is conveyed helps one to conclude the intended word and meaning.
The designer was very successful in the way that they used texture to help to explain the piece and not confuse or distract the viewer. The texture helps support the main image and further the visual concept. I think this piece is visually interesting because although there is only one type of mark making utilized in the design, it has a more complex feeling. The type and the image play off each other and both visually display a strong emotion. The intended emotion I feel is very successfully conveyed.