Dusty Fields » Design

Designer Toolbox: Critique

Dusty — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:44:11 +0000

This is the Designer Toolbox series where I’ll share tools that I find useful as a designer. You can view the previous Designer Toolbox post about Color.

Design is a true community. We all use each other for inspiration and help each other out via collaboration, critique, and support. Sometimes, especially freelancers, don’t really have the opportunity to share process work with fellow designers. I wanted to share some venues that I find useful in receiving feedback. Of course, you may not want to share freelance projects, but it is great for personal projects.

1. Flickr – This is a no brainer. Flickr probably has one of the largest communities on the internet. But a lot of designers assume it is only for photos. You can also post illustrations and designs. Request feedback. In no time, you’ll be receiving excellent feedback. Of course, there is more support for photography, but go ahead and give it a try.

2. deviantART – This is an excellent site that focuses more on artistic designs. The community is known for critiquing and collaboration. The free account gives you almost unlimited power. The paid account gives you some more useful features, but isn’t necessary. The key to making communities like deviantART and Flickr work, is to provide feedback as well. Duh, community!

3. LogoPond – For logo designers, this is a great place for both inspiration and critique. Share your logo designs and receive/give excellent feedback. I’ve noticed there are a lot of people who just say “Good job” or “Looks great!” Try to provide more constructive feedback to make it a much more useful community.

4. Twitter – Almost everyone has a Twitter account today. If you are a designer, you are probably following designers. Try to use Twitter as a feedback tool. Post process work and ask for feedback. Also post asking if anyone wants to share their work that you can provide feedback. Be available and you will receive the feedback you’re looking for.

5. Please Critique Me – This is a VERY interesting concept. Submit URLs to your designs, and receive constructive feedback from professional and popular designers. This is a really useful and interesting idea. So if you need a break from the general community and want a more professional response, this is the way to go.

Upcoming Minneapolis Designers to Check Out

Dusty — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:15:57 +0000

I put together a list of young Minneapolis Designers who I went to school with at the University of Minnesota. If you’d like to be added to the list, let me know. And if I forgot you, I’m really sorry I just couldn’t find your web site!

All these designers are really awesome. So take some time and check out their sites and blogs.

Designer Toolbox: Color

Dusty — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:07:17 +0000

I’m starting a series called Designer Toolbox featuring various tools that I use frequently, as a designer. All the tools are web based and may include organization tools, resources, downloads, tutorials, etc. Today, I want to share the color tools I use quite often.

Adobe Kuler

When I am creating color schemes, I enjoy using Adobe Kuler. A Flash web tool, Kuler allows users to create color schemes utilizing color properties such as monochromatic, triad, complementary, etc. Users can save, share, and download their color schemes for use in Adobe Creative Suite programs.

A very neat feature is the ability to choose colors from an image. The user can upload an image or choose one from Flickr, and Kuler automatically retrieves an editable color scheme.

The themes community is a nice way to share color schemes or find inspiration. Users can download or save other color schemes, share and tag their own, or discuss the color schemes.

Use Adobe Kuler

Colour Lovers

In many ways, Colour Lovers is much better than Adobe Kuler. Kuler is good if you want to just quickly create a color scheme. Colour Lovers allows the user to create and share colors, palettes, and patterns. The pattern creator is amazing. The user can specify their own colors and styles to create beautiful patterns for design projects.

The community at Colour Lovers is large. There are many different groups, blogs, boards, and ways to share colors and patterns. It is a great place for color research, color inspiration, and designing new schemes.

There are too many features to explain here. Definitely give Colour Lovers a try, especially if you love…color.

Multicolr Search Lab

Need to find Creative Commons Flickr photos with specific colors? This tool is extremely useful.

The user selects a color or colors and photos from Flickr are immediately retrieved with the specified colors. If you only choose blue, photos that are mostly blue are retrieved. If you choose blue and purple, photos with blue and purple are retrieved. You get the idea.

Check out the Multicolr Search Lab

There are dozens of useful color tools on the web. Share your favorites.

Designers are Like Pizza Ingredients

Dusty — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:35:22 +0000

I’m attempting to do something…tasty. There are different types of graphic designers. There are different types of pizza. So…is it possible to compare designer types with pizza types? Yes, here we go. Agree or disagree with me in the comments.

stock.xchng Photo by katagaci

Cheese – Typographer

A cheese pizza is deceptive. It looks plain. It appears boring. Yet, it tastes good. A cheese pizza is essentially the base of most pizzas.

A typographer is much like a cheese pizza. The idea of typography, to many, is boring. But when you look deep into the stems, serifs, counters, kerning, etc., typography becomes interesting. It is also the base or essential part of many designs.

stock.xchng Photo by katagaci

Pepperoni – Interactive Designer

Interactive designers design interfaces and anything that involves user interaction. A pepperoni pizza is, literally, an interactive platform.

Lay out a pepperoni pizza at a party. If the slices aren’t all consumed, people tend to pick the pepperonis off the remaining slices. It happens every time. User interaction.

stock.xchng Photo by TWINMOM

Supreme – Branding

Those designers involved in branding have to think about everything from environment to communication to visual systems. They literally have to involve themselves in every part of an organization.

Supreme pizzas have almost every ingredient. From peppers to mushrooms to olives to sausage. See the connection?

stock.xchng Photo by DontBblu

Sausage – Web Designers

Web designers are like sausage pizza. Huh?

Think about sausage pizza. It is more popular than cheese but less popular than pepperoni. A good web site needs to have a good level of both interactivity and typography for accessibility/readability.

Flickr Photo by Herman Saksono

Hawaiian – Illustrator

Illustrators have the best lives. They get to relax and draw…all day. Well, some do. Drawing is a good way to relieve stress and portray emotion. Freelance illustrators have a fun job (minus the stresses dealing with clients).

Hawaiian pizza is fun, delicious, and relaxing. The pineapple adds a sweetness to an otherwise bland pizza. Illustrators add life to bland designs.

stock.xchng Photo by pordzik

Canadian Bacon – Print

Real Canadian bacon is big, bold, and full of flavor. Unfortunately it isn’t as dynamic as other pizzas.

Print is the same way. It is out there, you see it everywhere from postcards to brochures to magazines. Good designers add a dynamic flare to print design. Unfortunately many print designs are not that exciting.

stock.xchng Photo by ilco

Three Meat – Advertising

Advertising designers have to design for every marketing venue possible. A good pizza lover will try to get the most amount and variety of meat for a hearty and delicious slice of ‘za.

Three meats are usually bacon, sausage, and pepperoni. I like to add chicken and canadian bacon. Deliciousness.

February 2010 Wallpaper

Dusty — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:41:04 +0000

Every month, I make a desktop wallpaper to experiment with both Photoshop techniques and calendar layouts. This month I turn the usual vertical grid horizontal.

Download Feb 2010 Wallpaper

139 Design Blogs with RSS and Twitter

Dusty — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:16:15 +0000

I’ve compiled a list of some of the best design blogs and resources that I read on a regular basis. I’ve also included RSS feed links and Twitter links for easy access to all of the content.

You can follow all of these blogs on a Twitter list I created.

You can also download an OPML file to subscribe to all the RSS feeds. Right click on the link and choose “Save as…”

Of course, here is the master list:

My Position on Spec Work

Dusty — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:00:51 +0000

There has been a lot of discussion lately about spec work; which seems to come in waves for some odd reason. My opinion on spec work has changed from when I was a wee little student to now, an emerging professional designer.

For those out of the loop, I want to define spec work. I’ll also tackle the pros/cons and my position. I also have a list of resources for and against spec work at the bottom of the post and feel free to share your opinion and resources in the comments.

Essentially, spec work is a project(s) that a designer creates in anticipation of being compensated but not guaranteed. A common example is a logo contest. A “client” posts a project via an outlet needing a logo. The client will award $400 to the best logo from a pool of participating “designers.”

Why Participate in Spec Work?

Clients utilize the spec work method for the following reasons:

Ability to choose from a large pool of designs
Save money by paying a much smaller amount than hiring a designer
Gain full rights to the design without any contracts
Fast turnaround, usually a week

Designers utilize spec work for these reasons:

Quick way to earn cash with communicating with the client
Fast way to build portfolio pieces
Way to earn a smaller second income
Way to practice and expand personal design skills

Pros and Cons for Clients

The big advantage for clients, which is the most inviting, is saving money. Especially when businesses and organizations need to save every single penny, a cheap logo, web layout, or brochure sounds great for the business. Even start-up companies that have very little money, find it affordable to utilize a contest web site and find a spec work designer.

Of course, this isn’t exactly good for the business (client). There is little to no interaction between the client and the designer. Interaction and communication is key in building an effective brand/design/project. Designers are blindly designing for a client based on a few specifications.

The advantage for a client in spending money using a freelance designer or design agency is knowing there will be a quality design that actually fits the brand and identity of the client.

Pros and Cons for Designers

Designers have the opportunity to “practice” their design skills and experiment without putting their reputation or potential freelance clients on the line. Emerging designers have the opportunity, with spec work, to build their portfolio before gaining freelance clients or applying for a position at an agency.

Unfortunately, the designers participating in spec work are not gaining valuable communication and interaction skills with clients. Designers learn from the clients and apply what they learn to the design and the design process.

My Position

The design process is more important than the design itself. A good process leads to a good design. Working with a client, a designer begins to understand the brand, understand the target audience, and can effectively apply these attributes to the process which leads to a quality design.

While spec work may be good in the short term for both clients and designers, it will eventually hurt both sides in the long run. The client will need to defend their brand and their identity but cannot because of the lack of communication. The designer loses out on that valuable communication, making it harder to work with potential clients in the future.

I’ve participated in spec work many times. But I also realized that I was only hurting myself as a designer.

If a designer doesn’t really care, think about the community of designers. If clients feel they can save money by participating in spec work, it will begin to de-value design work as whole. Potential clients for freelance designers will use spec work in negotiations to lower the price a designer can charge.

Overall, spec work will hurt everyone in the long run. Think about it.

Resources

NO!SPEC Campaign http://www.no-spec.com/

Is Spec Work Evil, SXSWi 2009 (Video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQu0292dftA

AIGA’s Position on Spec Work http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/position-spec-work

Spec Work and Crowdsourcing: Gambles that Don’t Pay Off – Creative Pro http://www.creativepro.com/article/spec-work-and-crowdsourcing-gambles-dont-pay

The “Pros” and Cons of Spec Work – Just Creative Design http://justcreativedesign.com/2009/08/12/the-pros-and-cons-of-spec-work/

The Design of a Book Cover

Dusty — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:25:32 +0000

The design of a book cover is very important in the sales of a book. Today, I take a look at the top fifteen New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers list from this week. After observing these designs, I’ve realized three things that are important in designing a cover for such great writers and stories:

A reader goes to a book store knowing which book they want to purchase. Therefore, the title must be apparent and readable.
A reader goes to the book store to browse for a particular author. So, the author’s name must be recognized but also the style of the author’s books should be portrayed in the cover either through point-of-view photography/imagery, color, or typefaces.
Someone is browsing in a bookstore and see the cover, attracted to it, and associates it with the quality of the book and author.

Now let’s take a look at the book covers from the top 15 New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers list from January 8, 2010. I provided links to the Amazon page for each book so you can read more about it, but don’t worry. I didn’t use those “referral” links where I would receive money for purchasing the book. I encourage you to check out your local independent bookstore for these or other books.

Typography

It is very apparent that the typography is very large and the reader easily recognizes both the author and title. In some cases, such as Michael Crichton’s Pirate Latitudes and Stephen King’s Under The Dome, the author name is larger than the title. The designer’s decision is, probably, wanting to target people who shop by the author while browsing.

In Nicholas Spark’s The Last Song, the typography isn’t the largest element, but it is still front and center.

Just about every book displays the text horizontally, except for I, Sniper by Stephen Hunter which displays text vertically. This forces the reader/browser to pick up the book and turn it in order to read the smaller text.

It would also be interesting to compare which books have raised/embossed text, matte, and glossy.

Imagery

It is easy to discern the target audiences regarding masculine and feminine covers. Obviously every reader should diversify their choices no matter if the book is mostly read by the opposite sex.

The masculine books display more edgy images such as The Honor of Spies by W.E.B. Griffin using a high threshold on the city and displaying the Nazi flag. Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton uses a pirate image with water fading into the background.

Feminine books tend to display images that are calming such as Nicholas Spark’s The Last Song with the beach scene, and Ford County by John Grisham showing a sunset over a road in the country.

Please note that I’m not saying the content of these books are gender-specific, just the imagery. AND feminine books can be edgy and masculine books can be calming.

Color

Most of the books use a strong contrast between foreground and background. I, Alex Cross by James Patterson displays a fully black background with an orange/yellow text. John Grisham’s Ford County is interesting because there isn’t much contrast with the title and the background, but the author’s name contrasts with the background strongly. Again, this is probably targeting readers who shop by author.

Point of View

Look at the mysterious books such as Tami Hoag’s Deeper Than the Dead, Under the Dome by Stephen King, and Stieg Larsson’s The Girl Who Played Fire. Deeper Than the Dead uses a close-up of Autumn leaves fading into black creating a feeling of wonder and mystery. Under the Dome uses stars, pyramid, and the moon to convey a quiet yet strong feeling. The Girl Who Played With Fire displays only hair on a flat surface. All these point-of-views successfully make the reader question, what is going on? I want to find out more. Thus leading to a potential purchase.

Final Notes

Never judge a book by its cover.

Social Media Icons: Onyx

Dusty — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:12:43 +0000

I have a “happy 2010″ gift for you all: free vector social media icons. I know there are hundreds of social media icon packs out there, and I though I would throw another pack in the pool. Download it, modify it, share it, do whatever you’d like.

Download JPEG

Download AI

Download EPS

Design Every Day Week 01

Dusty — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:26:11 +0000

Every day in 2010, I’m going to design something. Not being in school anymore, I’m still in that “task” mode. To keep my skills sharp, or to sharpen them, I’m bringing it upon myself to create/design something every single day in 2010. Every Saturday I’ll share what I’ve designed each week.

Day 001 – Color Scheme

I just played around with some desaturated colors, developing two color schemes that are interchangeable. Everything has been about winter, so I wanted to create a spring and fall scheme that, if combined, creates a summer feel.

Day 002 – Type

Here I just wanted to play with lighting and layer styles and what affect that has on type and backgrounds.