Design

Make the Logo Bigger Song

April 17, 2007

If you're a designer, this song is for you.

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Comic Sans Not Allowed

March 2, 2007

I don't usually beg, but please, please go listen to the brief Marketplace piece on what fonts to avoid using. Comic Sans might look fun and quirky to you, but it's painful to the rest of us who have a smidgen of design sense.

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How Not to Design Logos

October 30, 2006

Over the years I've seen plenty of bad logos, so I decided to design one myself, using some of the worst design techniques I've seen. I think it came out well. The sad part is that while this is a joke, there are plenty of logos out there that look this bad or worse.

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Dave Werner Design Portfolio

March 8, 2006

www.okaydave.com.

When I first enrolled in college I wanted to be an illustrator. I didn't know much of anything about graphic design or "design" in general. I just knew that I liked drawing and art. College classes can have a way of helping you know what you want to do because they're a bit more intense than high school classes, at least if the professors are any good. Facing challenges helps you to know whether you love something or are only mildly interested. In my case, the classes I took as a first-year fine arts student showed me that I didn't just like art, I loved it and was passionately obsessed with it, and in particular I was infatuated with design, although I still didn't truly know what it was at that time.

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If Microsoft Designed the iPod Packaging

February 28, 2006

So I'm republishing what I saw on somebody else's blog as well as somebody else's, so what? Isn't that what blogging is all about? This was too good to pass up, however, because it leads into a good conversation on a number of topics, including:

1. Because a company is big, does that mean everything they do is right?
2. Cheap advertiser syndrome
3. The power of design
4. Just because it's simple doesn't mean it's easy, nor does it mean it should cost you less money

Now, watch this animation/video and then read the rest.

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Don't Get Stuck in the 10's

December 19, 2005

Have you ever seen some design work and you can instantly form an opinion about the designer responsible for it? I'm not talking about good design, I mean bad design work. But first let's talk about furniture and clothes.

If you go into a 70 year old person's house you'll see different furniture than you see in a 30-year old's house. The 70 year old also dresses differently. He's got a sport's jacket on with a large pattern and a wide tie.

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You Don't Know What Bad Design Is

December 7, 2005

I had something of an epiphany the other day. For years I've assumed that most non-designers, clients included, don't know what good design is. But now I'm looking at things in an entirely different way. I think the problem might be that most clients don't know what bad design is.

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Sigur Ros, Glosoli - Design on Film or Motion Design

November 23, 2005

Ok, so it's really Sigur Rōs and the video is Glōsōli, but nobody is going to actually type that in when doing a search.

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Retro Design and Cookin' With Dr. Pepper

August 8, 2005

Ever wondered what it would be like to cook with Dr. Pepper? Was color coordinating your oven mits important during the 50's? How do real men like their meat prepared?

Welcome to retro-designer's heaven. Just don't eat the vegetables.

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How to Handle a Web Designer

July 1, 2005

I didn't write this. The credit goes to Fegus Webber and you can view the original text at http://fwob.blogspot.com/2005/07/how-to-handle-web-deisgner.html However, he had so many spelling and grammatical errors that I felt like re-writing portions of it, plus he's British so he insists on calling dollars "pounds" for some reason. So this is a slightly edited, Americanized version.

All I can say is that while most clients aren't like this, there are some you would assume have read this and have taken it to heart.

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300 Images from 1800 Sites

June 9, 2005

http://www.intersmash.com/300images/

Want to see what other people have done for small arrows on their sites? It's here. How about shopping cart icons? You got it. And print, bullets, mail, and posts. Lots of icons to get the creative juices flowing.

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Not Your Average Lorem Ipsum Generator

If you're tired of using the standard lorem ipsum generator to create meaningless text for your design projects then check this one out. It adds a little spice.

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Photography Website for Douglas Fisher by Group 94

April 19, 2005

http://www.douglasfisher.co.uk/

The great thing about looking at this website is that not only is the website well-designed but the content of the website is beautiful. There's something about photography that can't quite be matched with computer graphics alone, but the combination of computer graphics with the photography creates something quite exquisite.

I would highly recommend taking a look at the "behind the scenes" portion of the website. Not only is it interesting to see the techniques used to create some of the final work, but it's fun to watch in and of itself.

Website done by www.group94.com.

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Why Designing for Web is Better Than Print

April 14, 2005

I've never designed for print before a month or two ago. I've enjoyed learning some of the details--I didn't even know what a spot color was and I've been running a creative agency for five years. How's that for being disconnected?

I have to admit there's something about holding something in your hand that you designed, whether it's a brochure or a business card. The feel of the paper, the colors, etc. There's nothing quite like it. However, I've also learned why it's undoubtably better (by better I mean easier) to design for web.

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Design Sells What Technology Can't

April 12, 2005

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1,1249,600125474,00.html

Although this article seems to forget that Motorola is the company that made pagers cool when they started making them in different colors, the core message is still true. Design sells what technology can't.

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Create Your Own Logo! and Other Mistakes

February 9, 2005

This article by Jason Santa Maria struck a chord with me. While I do believe services like LogoYes and LogoWorks do have their place, it's one thing to create a system by which professional designers create logos faster and at a lower cost, but it's another to create a program that allows anyone to design a logo and tell people the results will be just as good as what they would get by engaging a professional designer or a branding agency.

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Todd Dominey's Blog - WhatDoIKnow.org

February 3, 2005

http://www.whatdoiknow.org

Mighty fine designer out of Atlanta with his own blog.

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Cooper Black Typeface

January 26, 2005

http://www.veer.com/ideas/btt/

I went to college to become an illustrator. I wanted to learn how to paint and do fantasy book covers or something. I didn't really know anything about "design" or what the world offered to artists. I thought most artists were poor and could never scrape together a living. I had no idea there were designers out there making the big bucks. Sure, they don't all make that much, but some do, and I didn't think any did at all.

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What the Air Force Knows About Design

January 13, 2005

I was watching a program on The History Channel the other day called Stealth and Beyond, Air Stealth. It was about the stealth fighter and bomber programs, and the history of stealth when it comes to planes. I was not expecting them to say anything about design as far as aesthetics are concerned.

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USPS Postcard Standards

I didn't invent these, and I can't remember where I got it from, but it's fairly handy if you're designing a postcard-sized direct mail piece and want to know the United State Post Office regulations for such a piece of mail.

• Minimum Allowable Postcard Size: 3.5 x 5 Inches
If the width is less than 5 inches or the height is less than 3.5 inches the USPS will NOT mail your postcard.

• Maximum Allowable Postcard Size: 4.25 x 6 Inches
If the width is greater than 6 inches or the height is greater than 4.25 inches, the postcard must be mailed as a letter, higher rate and all.

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Get Creative About Where You Go To School. Art Schools.

January 12, 2005

Who says spam isn't useful? I just got this sent to me. I'm thinking of enrolling myself to improve my doodling skills.

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Sydney Opera House Virtual Tour

January 10, 2005

http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/sections/tours/virtual_tour/vrtour2.asp

Someone showed this to me years ago. It was impressive then, but what's even more impressive is that four years or so after it was created it's still impressive. Truly ahead of its time. I only wish we at MWI had a client with the budget to do something on this scale.

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Have You Ever Designed a Law Firm Website Before?

December 4, 2004

When you're running a design agency one of the questions you commonly get asked is whether or not you have experience working with a certain type of client or in a certain industry. This question is usually asked by someone you're trying to turn into a client, and it creates a sort of empty feeling in the stomach if you have to answer "no, but..."

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Competitive Advantage in Commodotized Products Through Design

November 25, 2004

Once a product becomes commoditized there are only a few ways for companies that sell that product to create competitive advantage. One way is through distribution, but generally distribution tactics are fairly easy to mimic and this advantage quickly disappears. Once all traditional means of generating competitive advantage have been exhausted, there are only two ways left to create an advantage, one being through marketing, and the other being through design.

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