Friday, March 4, 2011

Tofu Branding











The goal of this project was to create a brand and create letterhead, a business card, a logo, advertising material, a brochure, and packaging. I decided to create a tofu brand because there are not (and definitely were not at this time) many creative branding ideas for tofu. I was also vegan when I was creating this advertising and was in tune to how limited some options can be for a vegan diet. Inside my brochure every page is dedicated to a different flavor of tofu that this brand produces and inside the packaging  of the tofu is an innovative and exciting recipe that uses the tofu with the flavor that is in that box. In my advertising pieces I compared the quality of this tofu to the perfected art, the timeless art, and the art that cannot be rushed, like origami.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Enhanced Lyrics


I have to say my music taste spans nearly all genres. Ever since I lived in Barcelona I have been pretty partial to house music, I've rapped a few Biggie songs in my day, and I have to admit, I own some country music, ( I go to school in Virginia, what can I say) but one of my favorite artists will always be Manu Chao (also a big fan of Barcelona). One of my favorite songs of his is "Senegal Fast food". For this project I wanted the font to be clear and to the point since the song is in French. Due to the nature of the song I wanted the letters to be as interconnected as possible without becoming confusing. I wanted to represent the way that all the countries mentioned are separate, but are connected in so many ways, by the passing of time and the (generally) shared desire for something better, paradise.  

Pearl and Gold Necklace





I designed this necklace in the summertime when I wanted something a little bit dressy, but not too formal to wear with nearly any outfit during the day or into the night. I strung the pearls and then on thread I strung the small gold branches at the bottom. I used a wire needle on the end of my thread to help string the beads and went back through each branch many times to create new branches that grew out from one another. Overall, one of my favorite pieces to date. 

Orange and Purple Necklace



I have always been extremely interested in fashion. Nearly all of the websites saved on my computer are fashion blogs or my favorite stores and I could easily spend all day just looking through them (scary, isn't it). Naturally, I enjoy making my own jewelry. One day when I was at an incredible bead store in Baltimore, I found the purple stones (seen above) that I knew I needed to use. I also bought the orange glass beads and already owned the other beads and the pearls. When I got home I did not make a plan and began stringing the orange beads. I strung them so they went around the first green bead in the center. From this point, I created the center piece, adding whatever I thought looked interesting and worked outward. I then created the left side and made the right side to match. I strung it all together and voila. 

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Text Templates









Here I created templates to represent every type style (however I only posted a few examples). I displayed each type of text in different sizes, with different leading, every letter of the alphabet in lowercase and uppercase, and some facts about the type. I chose the color palette because I felt it was modern and light. 

Typography Diagrams



For this project I designed two typography diagrams. Both diagrams highlight the basic terms of typography in different ways. The project that is first listed is more intimate, as the reader has to be close to the design in order to receive the information. I liked the idea of creating a graphic image as the focus of the layout and listing the definitions underneath. In the second project, I created a diagram that could be used more as a poster. 

Expressive Fonts




Continuing with my exploration of type, I have completed a quick study of how fonts can enhance a word and also what the word expresses. 

Freehand Letters





Lately, I have been working on some freehand studies of letters. Some are inspired by existing fonts and some I have designed. I am really interested in creating some typographical posters or invitations that are done completely by hand... Now I just have to find the time! My medium is a black micropen. 

Logographs



The logographs that I designed represent three different entities. The top image stands for "no soliciting". The image on the right is a symbol for "food bank" and the image at the bottom represents "bike rental". My medium was a black micropen. 

Ideographs



When I was studying ideographs I wanted to convey ideas that could not be expressed in only one word in the english language, in theory, giving my ideograms and actual purpose. The image on the right stands for the word "prozvonit". This is a Czech word that means to call a mobile phone, let it ring once so the other person will call back, saving the first person money. The image in the top left stands for the word "cafune" this is a Brazilian Portuguese word that means to run ones fingers through someones hair. The last image at the bottom represents "torschlusspanik". This is a German word that refers to the fear of diminishing opportunities as someone ages. 

Pictographs



For this project I was studying pictographs. My medium was a black micropen (0.5). The images are a steak, a watch, and a giraffe. 

My Interpretation



As I was replicating the original I could not help but think that the forest and shrubbery looked like a coral reef. There were so many layers and the colors reminded me of colors found in the ocean. That is the idea that I based my interpretation on. I drew fish instead of the creatures in the original and I kept a similar layout for the overall design. 

Replicated Illuminated Manuscript




Here I replicated an illuminated manuscript that I thought was particularly beautiful. I was so attracted to the colors and the radial shape created in the center with all of the animals watching over. The medium that I used for my replica were Sharpies. I wanted intense colors and I wanted them to be completely flat and show no strokes. The reason why I was copying an illuminated manuscript was in preparation for the following project when I created my own interpretation of this manuscript. 

Non-typographical Signature



For this project I had to create an image that represented me and could be used as a non-typographical signature. I am a pretty easy going person (some people say I might be the most easy going person), although, when something is important to me I make sure it is done the way I had envisioned. I considered my overall philosophy in life and painted my initials on a piece of paper exactly how I wanted them to look. I then folded the paper. When I opened the paper I decided that the shape that was created would be the outline to my "signature". I did this three times. I drew the outlines on a separate piece of paper (seen above) and inside the shapes I drew the silhouettes of some friends who are particularly important to me. I think that people in a persons life really have the ability to change and influence who a person is (hopefully in the best way), and vice versa. 

Becca Goodman's Portfolio






This is the portfolio site that I created for Becca Goodman. I wanted the site to be easy to navigate (for obvious reasons) and the focus to be on her artwork. I will admit that I did use Adobe Bridge for some of the pages, however I wanted the client to be able to update and maintain her own site with only a few clicks of her mouse. This site is now up and running at www.BeccaGoodman.com

Monday, February 21, 2011

Osaka Website






This is the first website I created in Adobe DreamWeaver. I created a website for a restaurant that did not yet have a website. The restaurant is called Osaka and is located in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is a small hibachi and sushi restaurant where the food can be enjoyed there or ordered for takeout. Osaka is famous for their "Yummy Sauce" (featured on the homepage). The customer can choose how much "yummyness" they want to pump out... or how much of an attack they are willing to risk giving their pumping heart. But really, it is hard to pass up. 

Bottles are for Boys, Mugs are for Men



As a member of PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) I designed a few advertising pieces for different fundraisers we were holding. This is one advertisement that I thought was particularly successful at attracting the audience we were looking for, while getting the main point across in a clear and concise manor.   

Balloon Animal


This vector graphic is a balloon animal dog. When I first began using Adobe Illustrator I was so intrigued by the concept that vector images could be expanded or made smaller with no threat of graininess. I designed this ballon animal dog as a ode to the vector image, as balloons can be made bigger or smaller and still keep their smooth shape. 

Plug in, Recharge a Life



For National Donate Life Month I designed this poster using the slogan "Plug in, Recharge a Life". I created a plug that is in the shape of a heart, representing the love and caring that goes into helping others.  

Naked Decor



This stationary and business card design was a study as a possible stationary set for a furniture company called "Naked Decor". The orange, blue, and brown featured in this set are reoccurring colors in many designs used by this company. Also many pieces of furniture and accessories used wood, antlers, and other trendy images. My logo was designed with past designs in mind, but with the intent that it could be used for many more years to come.

Blue Corn Brew


When making a beer label I wanted my idea to be different from beer labels that I had usually seen and I wanted my beer to be different than many beers that are usually sold (if this wasn't a fictitious idea).  After doing some research I discovered that beer could be made from corn and is often made by some indigenous groups in Mexico, such as the Tarahumara. Since groups such as this one used the beer as a celebratory drink, I decided to use a bigger bottle and use the same idea. Not only are cobalt bottles some of my favorites, but I thought this enhanced the interest in the product, the name of the product, and also the gold and yellows used in the label. The label is printed on a textured gold paper. 

Layering Paint



When I was creating this painting I was feeling inspired by the idea of layering paint and using light to create texture. I wanted to create a central focus and have the rest of the interest come from the natural shapes in the paint. I thought the idea of something being "swallowed" in the paint would heighten the layering effect and give me the opportunity to layer even more. 

Simple Design Becomes Complex



In this piece I wanted to create a design where the medium was the focus of the work. I covered a white sheet of paper in light orange colored crayon and painted over the crayon completely with a blue water based paint. When the paint dried I scratched off the paint to create this image of a window.

Exploring Wire



I had never worked with wire and had been interested in exploring this medium. I decided I wanted to create a three dimensional design in order to achieve the texture that I was interested in. I decided a bird was an animals that has many different textures. There is the cartilage of the beak, the roughness of the legs, weightlessness in the tail, and a compactness in the body. I decided to add some qualities that I felt gave it even more life, like the floating heart inside and the bricks. 

Inside Out



The goal of this project was to create a form that was inside out. I decided to stylize the idea of a head and hair. I bought a plastic cube and some artificial hair extensions (no need to be alarmed) and drilled many holes in the top of the cube. I then threaded stands of hair through each hole and secured them by tying a knot. This piece is on a stand so the hair flows underneath the cube.  

Repetition of Shapes



This project is depicting the repetition of shapes and line. I came up with the idea for the design while thinking about when I used to play the violin and the interesting twists and turns in the wood. A favorite little doodle of mine is a snail (a bit more characterized than this one) and I decided, when put together, the two designs would create an unexpected example of shape repetition.