Caylie Foley’s Post

Fabien Barral is a designer I aspire after. His work is beautiful and beautifully done. The ornamental pieces he includes and the overall textures and watercolor looking marks have a very hand-done look which makes for an overall raw feeling while solving whatever problem he has in a unique way.

This calendar project he’s done is all class.

All of his work is worth looking at. There’s not really a project I’ve seen that’s not done well. He can serve as an inspiration for all of us.

http://www.fabienbarral.com/  THis is his homepage

http://www.letterpress-calendar.com/updates/   Here is his blog

Brian Mellema’s Post

I was looking for some inspiration and I came across this website that is full of different packaging designs, posters and a lot of other cool stuff. I really like the creative way the designs are put together and displayed in such and interesting way. I also really like the retro style that is so prevalent throughout all of the designs on this site. The entire sites really shows designs that are very intentional and are able to hold the design without a lot of distraction. What I think I like most is the creativeness of all the designs and the real vintage look of them. Check out the websitehttp://www.ceveritt.com/

Jose Garcia’s Post

After, Todd talked about motion graphics, I look for some videos in the web, and I found this one, that is really well done, and it has a great meaning, because it is talking about creativity, and how we can stay inspired.

Talking about design, I think they made a grab job with the type, and also they have great graphics.

For me, motion graphics is important in graphic design field, because it's a new way to communicate, that is the main objective of graphic design.

Enjoy the video, http://vimeo.com/24302498

Savanna Seliga’s Post

My dream job would to be an album cover designer. They are always so fun and creative! Although, the artwork is a section of the campaign for the band, there is more of a freedom allowed with the design. I went through my iTunes and picked out some of the album covers that were my favorite. I love all of the fun shapes and colors.  I thought this was worth sharing.

Kacia Young’s Post

Ginger Root Studios is a photography studio in Wichita, KS. I discovered her when looking at some friends senior picture from High School. Her photography is beautiful and playful. She has such great Ideas for cute pictures. Also her website is beautifully designed. I love the layout and how creative it looks.

Hannah Bradford’s Post

I know we have not had any package design projects in class this semester, but I found this blog about it and thought it was worth sharing…http://www.thedieline.com/. The Dieline is a great place to look when you need inspiration for package design. With hundreds of exceptional designs, the blog can keep you occupied for hours (as it did me :) looking through all the different categories of packaging. You can read critiques on the designs from other designers, vote on ones you like, as well as share your own opinions about them.

Attached are a few photos of one package design on the blog that I particularly enjoyed. It is for a chocolate making company called “Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat” and is based in Vietnam. I think it is beautifully designed and does an exceptional job capturing the identity of the brand. You can read more about it here: http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2012/4/13/marou-faiseurs-de-chocolat.html. Enjoy!

Sergio Arguello’s Post

Extra Resources, Typography

Thought of sharing this with everyone. This website allows you to type something in, and preview it in different typefaces. The best part is, somehow, the site is set up so that it reads the fonts installed in your computer, so it's all based on resources you already have.

http://www.flippingtypical.com/

Jarod Hamm’s Post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnqxrcfUMsw&feature=autoplay&list=ULEcHZ9fSdktM&playnext=1


This is a video that combines the information design we did earlier and the motion graphics that we saw in class. It manages to make something relatively uninteresting, such as the path of colonial ships, fun to watch. It may not be the absolute prettiest thing to look at, but I admire the work that went into looking at ship logs and finding out the path that each ship took on its way to the destination. If you can't make it the whole 12 minutes, watch another video by them that tracks all the ships in one year, for a more fast-paced version. I found this at a blog called kottke.org which is a site that posts tons of interesting things to watch/look at/read/think about. I recommend "Stupidity in Slow Motion."

Cougan Hobbs’ Post

I wanted to share the site lookslikegooddesign.com. Although it seems like a large popular website, I felt like it needed sharing. The site has the options to view design in multiple categories from Graphic Design and Architecture, to Fashion and Illustration. The site is basically composed of 2 or 3 colors with a bare 2 font design. I love how simple and clean everything is. The straight lines and bright color paired with the dark background allows the subject art to pop out and be the main attraction. It feels like I have looked through a million different websites but none seem to compare to this one. I could spend hours just browsing through new ideas and wild inspiration.

Chase Skelton’s Post

I love the first image for its unified look. The illustrations fit well with the type and everything flows clearly down the page (the humorous content is a plus too).

The second picture is an infographic produced for Help pharmaceuticals. Their goal as a company is to provide simple, straight forward solutions for everyday medical needs. Their packaging is simple and addresses the problem rather than product (i.e. instead of "Aspirin" their box says "Help! I have a headache.") I love their use of this infographic as a sort of advertisement. It places their brand strategy ("I have a headache") at the center of a slew of confusing medical jargon and ways to choose a pain reliever, reinforcing their brand as a simple solution.

The third and fourth images come from a wonderful infographic company called Voltier Digital (now BlueGrass). They've really got information design down to a science. Check out the rest of their stuff 

here:http://www.blueglass.com/infographics/#!prettyPhoto

Finally, I can't think about information design without thinking of this map of Napoleon's Invasion of Russia by Edward Tufte. If you don't know who Edward Tufte is, you should find out. His work isn't as flashy or "beautiful" as a lot of stuff we see because the data he designs for requires a more technical approach, but his ability to problem solve and arrange information in a clear and orderly fashion is astonishing.

Kyle Kings’ Post

While we were talking about information design in class, I kept thinking about these examples. All of these were made by the same man, who is an engineer, programmer, and web artist, but I think his information design is fantastic.

The money chart, map of the internet, and the movie narrative chart are all great examples of how diverse information design can come, from super formal looking to hand drawn, but they all work in the way they are intended.

Although I really like all of these, my favorite two are the Lakes and Oceans, and the Gravity wells. The gravity well design both shows the comparative gravity between all the different planets and moons, and it explains in a very clear fashion how it is supposed to be read, making it accessible to anybody, even if they don’t have a background in physics or science.

Money Chart

http://xkcd.com/980/huge

Movie Narrative

http://xkcd.com/657/large/

Map of the Internet

http://xkcd.com/802/

Gravity wells

http://xkcd.com/681_large/

Lakes and Oceans

http://xkcd.com/1040/large/

Michael Brunner’s Post

http://www.thebestdesigns.com/

I found this website in searching for a website that hosted a bunch of different designers of all sorts. This website does just that.

By hosting all of these different designers digitally, this website allows viewers to get in connection with thousands of designers all over the world

in a way that is stylish and not specifically stereotypical. What I think is amazing is how the website categorizes the different designers into themes

categories/look & feel. For example, by using the search option you can look through word specific searches that points you towards a designer with

those specific attributes incorporated into their style. This website is easy to navigate and well suited for getting what you need

Through thebestdesigns.com I was able to find this website:

http://www.loungelizard.com/

It is by far one of the most incredibly designed websites for a designer I have seen. There are so many elements incorporated into each page and the designs hosted

in the categories are really impressive. Truly a highly enjoyable experience.

Jessica William’s Post

I enjoy this website for its difference from other design websites. I love the name, layout, and all the many options this website has to offer. It offers a wide range of printing options you can order your own design through as they call it: Taste Printing™ under this they work with fine material & specialty stocks. In any size, shape, or punch out. Spot gloss & decorative foils, and debossing & custom die cuts. Taste Of Ink also works with a design agency is called : TOI Design™ Agency and under them is: toi logo™ design,  taste of ink cards™, and print collateral design. Taste of Ink also has: Taste Templates™, which has templates for logos, taste of ink cards™, and websites for clients to work with. There is also a gallery to look through of some impressive designs. (the images I attached is of some of those logo, business card, and website designs.)  

These are ones I personally really like. The ABODE website layout is so beautifully clean and elegant, it just makes me MELT!! I want a house designed like that, and a WEBSITE like that!

For the Helixinc.com business card I like the unique idea of it having a kick stand. I personally love the simple, smooth, shape of the logo with its bright, contrast colors.

The Sorus Group logo has a very masculine feel to it, from its colors of grays and brunt orange, to its sanserif type face. And its very powerful, little bit of a renaissance logo style. I think this logo would work really well for a beer company.

So there you go thats, Taste Of Ink. Enjoy it!

http://tasteofink.com/gallery/logos

And This link is of DesignSpiration. This is my default website that I go to when I need to be filled with some inspiration for general love of art, or for an up coming project.

Hope you can enjoy it as much as I do!

http://designspiration.net/

Chelsey Rogers‘ Post

So, I am a closet football fan.  I sit here in my #18 Manning Jersey (I'll miss you Peyton...) and I have found a really cool website.

http://gridiron-league.com/

This site has all of the NFL teams logo/insignias redesigned "that pay tribute to each team's history and geography in a period-specific aesthetic that glorifies the Vince Lombardi-era over the Cold-Activated-era. This is not an exercise in nostalgia but an interpretation of the league's founding principles through the symbols that we, as football fans, identify with most."

I personally like the new insignia for the Colts better than the one they use now.  http://gridiron-league.com/INDIANAPOLIS

Enjoy, even if your not a football fan, the design is so clean and fresh, you'll enjoy that aspect for sure, and I bet it will even make you want to watch a game!

Chelsey

Matt Wheeler’s Post

I'd figure i'd go ahead and share some sites with everyone. They vary from fonts, inspiration pages, tutorials, and brushes/textures/etc. This collection started growing a little over a year and half ago and still keeps growing.

Font/Type:

dafont.com

FreeTypography

Font Squirrel

The League of Moveable Type

Inspiration:

Andaur Studios / Sebastian Andaur

icanbeCreative

(365) Days of Tumblr

SerialThriller™

25 Fresh and Ultra Creative Text Effects (Inspiration)

Behance Network :: Gallery

Awwwards | The CSS website Awards (thankyou to Chase Skelton for this one)

Media Militia

From up North

Pokkisam blog

KalleGraphics

Digital Art Served

Abduzeedo

ABDZ Raw

The Dieline (thankyou to Matthias Roberts for this one)

Tutorial Sites (that aren't listed above):

PSD Box

Tutorialstorage

PSD Vault

50 Essential Photoshop Text Effect Tutorials | Vandelay Design Blog

100 Creative Photoshop Text Effects Tutorials | designrfix.com

45 Photoshop Tutorial Sites

Resources/Brushes/Textures/Etc:

QBrushes

BrushKing

WeGraphics

BittBox

kuler (also thanks to Chase Skelton)

Some of these sites are great while others are a little mediocre, but either way I hope they help you in some way or another. The best part is some of these sites simply link to others, and you'll literally be chasing through numerous sites and find all sorts of art throughout. If you're ever really bored and want to 'feel' productive, grab some inspiration or knowledge by making your own adventure through the web.

Matt Wheeler

Sergio Arguello’s Post

Blog Post Title: The Simplicity of Thought

I am incapable of thinking simple. That's a weird thing to say, isn't it? And yet, it's true. Whenever I work on a project, I go for the most sophisticated idea possible. And, that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just that sometimes I get the impression that I lean to much on my ability to make something look "pretty", without even coming up with a truly creative concept.

I found this guy's work on one of my regular inspiration websites a couple of days ago. He created posters inspired by some of Disney's classical movies. They are really pretty, but most importantly, they don't rely on heavy visual stuff, like too-fancy typeface, or a crazy color scheme. It's all modest illustrations, paired up with really creative ways of representing in one image, what that movie is about.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/rowansm?ref=top_trail

I want to go for this. I want to go simple, but with a good concept behind it.

P.S. Todd said something along these lines last class period, except he talked more about how some of us went straight for the visuals without stopping to think about what we were supposed to do. I think he has a point. I think sometimes we focus way too much on the imagery side of an assignment, without really considering what lies behind it. At least, I know I do that.

Matt Wheeler’s Post

I still enjoy randomly galloping across pages of various artistic creations. The best part is that, when on these websites, if I find something I'm urged to click, i'm typically led to another website filled with even more inspirational art pieces. This is how I came across this project.

Basically a person decided to go on a 365 day tumbler project, posting typographic artworks layered over various beautiful photographs. It's a good example of how graphic design applies both to photography and typography; you can't just take any photo, lay some text on it and hope it comes out right. You have to be thinking of the type when you create the final piece, or be thinking of the image when you create the type, then you have to arrange that type to both grab your attention whilst still giving attention to the incredible image in the background.

Another concept I noticed with these pieces is Less is More. It didn't take alot of flare to make this images really stand out, and neither do graphic designs require vast amounts of material to be attractive, not to say that using less is any more easy.

These images are just fantastic: I can't say it enough. I'd honestly fill a room in my house with these all framed and fill up the walls. But of course i'm a broke college student.

Stephanie Willis’ Post

I know we just finished with informational design but when I stumbled upon this site I really wanted my post to be about it. There is a lot of really interesting and helpful information contained in these posters but they are also pretty to look at and fun to read : ) Most of the information presented is relevant to graphic designers and may actually teach you something or if not, just be something fun to look at while you procrastinate : ) Enjoy!

Brochures

Brochures

There are many different types of brochures; tri-fold, bi-fold - horizontal format or portrait, you can have accordion folds and many others. The important thing to remember in designing a brochure is which style or what type of brochure best fits the needs of your company - money, style, purpose.

Below are some examples of brochures

You can look up more on designspiration.net and behance.net