Project 3: Sketch Phase

Week 8 Inspiration: Liquor

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2012/3/15/student-spotlight-elixer.html

Until now, it completely slipped my mind that there existed the art of ceramics. I really like how this student designer steered away from the traditional liquor packaging and decided to have it created through pottery instead, and that in itself makes it unique and stand out over the other liquor brands on the shelf. The designer also has a pretty interesting way of laying out the design; so much that I don't care how simplistic it is, but overall it was able to get me curious enough to look more into it.

Project 2: Round 2 Comps

Week 7 Inspiration: Healthcare Brand

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2009/7/20/before-after-help-remedies.html

I really like the concept behind this over-the-counter healthcare product, mostly because it helps you pick out the specific type of medication you need in order to deal with whatever it is you're dealing with. The way I see it, one might ask oneself what exactly is wrong with them, and that's where this product begin to interact with the consumer immediately with the first line or two. Not only do the product guide you through the process of what medication to take, it also takes you a step further by even telling you how much of it to take informed by the low reliefs.

Project 2 Health/Beauty sketches

Project 2: Health/Beauty- Camay

Health/Beauty Product: Camay

Brand Name: Ka Mei Er —"Camay"

Second line of Chinese words: Shen Mi Mi Qing —"Mysterious Sensation"

Third line of Chinese words: Xiang Fen Mu Yu Lu —"Fragrance Shower Gel"

Fourth line of Chinese words: You Ren Wu Mei She Xiang Xiang Fen —"Attractive Feminine Musk Fragrance"

Jing Han Liang: Chinese for "Net Content"

ABOUT CAMAY

CAMAY is a luxurious soap brand that made its debut in mid-1920s. They kept a slogan for many years (Camay: the soap for beautiful woman.), until later replaced with a new slogan (For your most beautiful complexion at every age.) It is provided with the highest quality when it comes to the combining of both moisture and cleanliness that cannot be matched when compared to other bar soaps. This product is manufactured by the Procter & Gamble Company.

COMPETITORS

X3 Bath Body Works JAPANESE CHERRY BLOSSOM SET Fragrance Mist Lotion Shower Gel

CHANEL CHANCE EAU FRAÎCHE FOAMING SHOWER GEL

Moment de Bonheur Perfumed Bath & Shower Gel

MOODBOARD

Week 5 Inspiration: Bath/Body Brand

Seascape Island Apothecary

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2012/2/14/seascape-island-apothecary.html

I particularly like the branding and packing for this product for several reasons. For starters, the use of a seahorse to symbolize the aspect of the sea and something natural was a good idea just by itself, BUT there is more to the concept than just that. Because the product is in a bottle, the seahorse appears to be floating in the liquid, so I thought that this concept was a brilliant one. Oh, and also...each variation has its own color picks as well as distinct floral patterns within the seahorse silhouette.

6 structural and layout sketches

5 Good and 5 Bad Packaging Design

Good examples of packaging

I thought the design for the Starbucks Hot Cocoa's packaging seemed very elegant and soothing, just like the type of sensation its products should be producing.

I like how the uppermost message sort of contours the brand allowing the consumer to immediately know what the contents are

I thought it was a brilliant idea how the designer decided to change the structure of the package similar to that of popcorn, an idea that possibly came from the buttery flavor

I thought the packaging was straight to the point in visual communication, with the imagery of a straw poking through an orange (100% Pure & Natural Orange Juice)

I like how this Trident Layers packaging focuses on the fact that there are layers will real fruit flavors with the proximity of two elements on the packaging design

Bad Examples of Packaging

I see nothing but colors on this packaging that are used to define its uniqueness, but I feel that there should be more elements added to make it more so

(Middle) There seems to be a variety of typefaces used in this design and from a glance, I get even more confused as to what it is  

I find the disturbing illustration to be very distracting, but the size of it draws my eyes toward it more, when what I really want to focus on is the main image

There are too many things going on in this packaging design and as if the font wasn't small enough for the flavors indication, the type on the black container becomes unnoticeable

I dislike the use of colors in this packaging and I think the designer is trying to o hard to make it known what the product is

5 of my Best Work

1) Typeface Design

2) Information Graphic Design

3) Brand Identity Design

4) Book Cover Design

5) Promotional Poster Design

Extra Credit: Andrew Byrom Guest Speaker

After seeing his personal work on Friday night, I was able to see his strong passion for the work that he does. Although I have already seen the majority of the work that was already shown during this event, I was just as excited to see his work as I was the first time around. He mentioned that he started to see letters all around him that resembled letterforms: Band-aids, for example. His typeface design based on band-aids turned out bad, but as mentioned by him and any other graphic design professors I've had up until this point...you must have your fair share of failures because it is through those mistakes that will be used as a reminder to you as to what NOT to do when you come across the same scenario. Back in his studio in London, he was able to see a potential typeface design from chair that resembled the lowercase letter h. He created the entire alphabet with similar characteristics as the chair and it became pretty successful. He also came up with the idea of creating the typographic furniture for UCLA, and had put together a video for UCLA extension recently, but the video was actually taken at CSULB with CSULB students, not UCLA students

Weekly Inspiration#15: Visual Communication

I thought that this particular billboard was very affective when I first looked at it. The execution that had been put into play for this billboard have made visualizing the difficulties of stuttering so much easier. The idea of putting the issue being discussed into use, and integrating it into the composition itself, is something that I have always found interesting to see. Basically, the concept behind this is to encourage those who are caught in a conversation with people who stutters to not interrupt them while they're talking. People tend to finish the sentences of those people who stutter, and so, this billboard designed for the NFS (Dutch Stutter Foundation) is saying to have a little bit of patience.

Poster Sketches/Revised Logos

Poster Sketches

Revised Logos

Research: Project 4 Brand Identity

Amusement Parks: Raging Waters, Aquarium of the Pacific, Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm

Beaches: Venice Beach, Santa Monica Beach, Manhattan Beach

Ethnic Enclaves: Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Koreatown

Hiking Trails: Griffith Park trails, Santa Monica Mountains Waterfall Trek

Landmarks: Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Downtown Los Angeles, Griffith Observatory

Recreation: Hollywood Bowl, Nokia Theater, Santa Monica Pier, Music Center & Disney Hall

Sport Arena: Dodger Stadium, Rose Bowl, Staples Center

RESEARCH:
http://www.hotels.com/de1439028-la/all-landmarks-in-los-angeles-california/

http://anothersideoflosangelestours.com/

Extra Credit: Panel Discussion Critical Analysis

    There were three alumnus who were the main focus of the night, and they spent the evening discussing topics related to design and how they got where they are now. The first alumni, Amanda, graduated in 2009 and works in a studio called Citizen Global. She provided the audience with ten tips of her own as to how to become a better Graphic Designer, few of which we students should already be doing as we attend these Art courses, and those that encourages us to get into a more driven mentality that differentiates a good Graphic Designer from a great Graphic Designer. For the second alumni speaker, Neil Gutman, whom graduated from CSUN in 2008, he specializes in designing movie/TV show posters and works in the BLT studio, a design firm for the entertainment industry. He discussed several daunting projects that can last for several months,having to work 12-16 hour days without any lunch/bathroom breaks whatsoever, but there must be a small exaggeration in what he said. The last alumni speaker, AJ Himenez(?), specializes in Product design and he is a Freelance Designer, and promotional branding/identity is basically what he does. At one moment during Q & A, a student asked a question somewhere along the lines of whether he was prepared for the real world after he graduated and whether he was afraid or not. He responded to that question by saying that, as designers, you will constantly fail, but you must keep at it and learn from those mistakes and just try to avoid them next time, and that you also must love what you do, otherwise you will suffer and have a harder time competing with other designers who are more driven and “hungry”.

Weekly Inspiration#9: Baseline Grids

http://methodandcraft.com/videos/extensible-baseline-grids/

This video will instruct you on how to create a grid system that fit your style when it comes to designing. Taking the time on figuring out how to construct a grid system that works for you will make your designing process much quicker. Not only that, but it will also create a sense of consistency in your design to make it appear more organized. Instead of having to reposition guides on your artboard one at a time, the guides are locked down and kept in place. This is great for creating detailed work for websites, whereas everything will be aligned properly if you make good use of this method.

Revision for Website

Website Remodeling

http://www.brentsdeli.com/

This is the website that I decided on to make revisions for. This appears to be an already good looking website, but I will make an attempt to make it more simple to navigate through. There are several pop-up menus that are hidden behind the slideshow of images at the center, and I will try and figure out a way to  position them differently. There are only two locations of this family owned restaurant in the state and their mission is to be the best at what they do nationwide.

Weekly inspiration#8: Typography

http://developer.apple.com/safaridemos/showcase/typography/

I've always had a great deal of trouble when it came to choosing the right typefaces that fits the theme of my design. This little typography demo provided from the link above can give you a sense of typographic layout. If you're having trouble with tracking and leading, this interaction with typography might give you more knowledge as to how much leading is necessary, or how much tracking is considered to be TOO MUCH. The features that make this demo more complete are the provisions of a Grid system below the placement of your text, and the fact that you can also edit what text you want to display will give you more of what you want to see.

Weekly Inspiration#7: Anatomy of Typography

What are some important factors other graphic designers/typographers must be aware of in order to discuss typography? You must know your art terminologies for one, for it'll be easier to understand what needs editing when you are told what changes to make. It is ALWAYS a good thing to make it seem as if you know your stuff, and one way of doing so is KNOWING your terminologies. Take a look at the link below to rewind in your learning process and learn these typographic terminologies once more because there may be some of those you may not be too familiar with.

http://www.typographydeconstructed.com/