WHAT MAKES A GOOD LOGO?

This is a timely question for any design student, as identity mark project season has likely descended upon us all. I have always answered this question with the observable commonalities:

• it is processed as a single unit (typically with altered kerning and leading, or other 'binding' elements to achieve this), 
• it communicates a necessary message/idea about the client/product/service, 
• it is simple--ala the chinese artist seals or chops
• it gets extra points for being clever

That short list is by no means all-inclusive or authoritative. 

That's probably why I so much enjoy hearing others' views on the topic. The link below is from a blog where the author has presented his own simple view of what constitutes a great logo.

Jacob Cass's view on logos

YAKISOBA...

I recently revisited the "50 Ways to Serve Ramen" post, as the original link I posted had been taken down. Rasmussen college had the original article posted on their  blog, so I relinked that original post. It got me thinking to a product thats been around for a couple years now that is tasty and cheap (69 cents at Woodmans). Add water, microwave zap and...voila... noodle dish ala Japanese Soba or Chinese Mein.
My personal fave is the Teriyaki (a great blend of sweet and salty). I wasn't crazy about the cheese or tomato basil (although I LOVE those both as traditionally prepared pastas).
The pic on the left adds some sliced pork, pickled veggies, and chopped chive and cabbage (it does still taste great by itself though!)
Give it a whirl.

RIP Steve

Steve Jobs was an innovator.

I can't polish that sentence up much more without appearing somewhat self-indulgent in simplistic praises for a really complex guy. Instead, my brain winds up expelling a series of facts about him that, on screen, look like ravings ala non-sequitur 'dick-and-jane' prose.
He was half Egyptian. He was raised by the Armenian family who adopted him. He demanded perfection. He could be a tyrant. He sometimes came off as condescending. He helped found the company that brought the first commercially viable personal computer to the market. The iPod. The iPad. The iPhone.

Dust off a DVD of 'Triumph of the Nerds" (that's the Robert Cringely PBS documentary about the rise of the Personal Computer--not the ridiculous 1980's comedy franchise Revenge of the Nerds, which was about formulaic moviemaking) and remember the real Steve.

REALLY GOOD CHIPS

Potato chips are definitely not on the "healthy eating" list, but in moderation they can be OK. Problem is, with a really good potato chip (as the ol' jingle goes) you can't eat just one ...so moderation is the challenge. It gets much harder when you find a really awesome tasting chip.

So one of the things I do here is share with family friends, associates, and students awesome 'college grub.' [see the pizza, hotdog, and ramen entries]     On a recent hardware junket (yes hardware) to Menard's, I cam across Herr's Ketchup Chips. Dipping potato chips in ketchup has long been a favorite of Mrs. Pham, and I have tried other brands of ketchup chip, so I was in.

I find these chips more flavorful than competitors version, and definitely have trouble with the one serving rule. They are also available at other retail and grocery stores.  One of my kids is a huge fan of the Baby Back Rib chips by Herr's; beyond just BBQ, they taste like BBQ RIBS in all their ribby goodness. Flavorful stuff!

UPDATE: 3/12...Herr's has added a bunch of new flavors...two of the family favorites: Sweet Onion and the Fire-Roasted Sweet Corn! My kids' review: "Holy cow! How do they get the chips to taste exactly like roasted sweet corn?!?

NOT WINDOWS, NOT MAC

There's a few friends out there that love GUI operating systems, but don't care for either Windows or Mac (third-partiers who like various stripes of Linux, Unix, or even more esoteric offshoots of both). For you, I present PINGUY...a development OS for the casual user. Check out the SITE for more info.

iPAD apps for TYPE STUDENTS

If you are a student in a class studying TYPOGRAPHY (in my district there is the all-in-one Design Concepts class) and you own an iPAD, you gotta get your hands on this app. VEry cool, and only 1.99 through the APP store.

MUST HAVE iPAD APP for TYPE STUDENTS

Regional Hotdogs!

If you've read the blog before, you know that I wear many hats: designer,  graphic design instructor, dad and husband, music lover, movie fanatic, D.I.Y.'er, and avid foodie. I try and share food items that students (who are often on a budget) can relate to.

I've oft posted about Pizza. Pizza is the food I most associate with my college years (in addition to Ramen), and have a post that deals with all the regional variations of Pizza (of which btw, Detroit style has come into popularity in my house).

This post is about another great college staple--Hot Dogs. Sonic restaurants have recently added a couple of regional Hot Dogs to their menu. Even local grocers have become aware of the  cache of the 'tube-steak,' now offerring Nitrate/Nitrite free, low fat Angus versions (like costly brand The Frohman and the more ubiquitous Oscar Meyer Premium Selects Angus).

The regional varietals can have an altogether different composition to the sausage (like the east-coast dog that has a snappy-casing), but what often makes the regional variety is the  topping and bun. Around these parts, we tend to be partial to the Coney (bean-less chili topped--wit' onions and cheese please) or the Chicago (poppy roll, chopped onion, irridecent relish, mustard, celery salt, tomato and pickle wedges, and a port pepper on top).

Behold the magnificence of: The Sonoran (from AZ), the Southern-style Slaw dog, or the Hawaiin Puka Dog. Mmmm...pass the mustard (but no catsup please).

REGIONAL HOTDOGS

iPAD apps for designers

A fellow blogger who posts professional design issues posted this great list of  iPad apps for Graphic Artists. In no particular order (I think some of the productivity, mockup, and productivity ones are most essential), here is the compiled list:

30 iPad Apps for DESIGNERS

SAVE WEBPAGES AS PDF FILES

Have you ever wished you could save a webpage as a document? As a student, this could be a great way to supplement your notes with web content, or create e-docs.
Or, perhaps you are someone putting up a webpage who would like to make the content accessible as PDF files?
The two sites below offer free conversion, and while they are not perfected, they do a pretty good job of making HTML content into PDF files. They are almost identical (based on the same program). Check 'em out...

html-pdf-online

PDF my URL

BOKEH Photography

BOKEH? Extreme manipulation of the depth of field (either mechanically, via post-production, or both), further pushed by the selective use of optical equipment.

The term bokeh is derived from a Japanese word which means “blur.” Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur, or the effect of the out-of-focus regions of an image in order to make the main subject stand out in the photo.

From the FUNSPILL site (a great site for graphic designers), comes 72 amazing photos.

72 GREAT BOKEH

ONLINE (CLOUD) IMAGE EDITORS REDUX

As we've said a million times before, Photoshop is the undisputed champion amongst image editors. The sheer diversity of uses and plethora of tools (including prepress industry standard tools) just make it a fact.

There are, however, a huge pack of second tier programs that include open source, freeware, and "the cloud" as it's been coined. These are often more than sufficient for the needs of the casual user, and with legitimate copies of Photoshop costing up to 600 dollars, the price of FREE can't be beat!

Even Adobe realizes this, as one of the first items on the list is the (marketing genius)  referentially named "PHOTOSHOP.COM."

A few weeks back, I was working on a friend's computer and needed to do a fast edit on a photo before uploading. Alas, with no PHOTOSHOP on the computer I was sunk. Then I went to one of the image-editing sites and was able to make short work of it. I'm sure you'll find one that meets many of your needs nicely!

Free Image Editors

GREAT IDEAS are the SIMPLEST

Check out this slick idea for pizza boxes. Simple, yet great. This guy deserves a huge chunk of cash. Nuff said.

GENIUS BOX DESIGN!

SO YOU WANNA WORK IN ADVERTISIN'?

Advertising is a love-hate type of thing for most visual designers. It can be a fast-track to success for a young and talented designer, yielding a very upward mobile track for those who have the skill and ability to play things right.

Theres a wonderful blog entry from a recent arrival in the world of Advertising...and if its an area you are considering you should take a peek.

So You wanna work in advertising?

BACK IN THE GOOD OL' DAYS...

It's always been said that you need to know where you've been to know where it is you're going. The whole study of the history within subject content areas is partially in testament to that fact. For those in Graphic Communications, you've likely heard tomes from older faculty about "the way things were in the good ol' days." Especially noteworthy was the process of creating mechanicals, which took 3-5 employees, and sometimes hours if not days. It now takes one employee a fraction of an hour in a modern design studio setting.

CAL-FULLERTON has a site dedicated to sharing this with you. It typically went a little like this:

• Copywriter would compose manuscript on a typewriter, and forward it to the production artist. 
• Production artist would word count characters/copy-fit layouts based on manuals and specimens.
• Production artist would markup manuscript and send it to a typesetter (typically via a courier).
• Production artist would create keylines on pasteup board to prepare for production board.
• Line Camera artist would shoot (placeholders) Position Stats and Line art items on a stat camera
• Production artist would run the photostats through a waxer that applies a thin adhesive layer of wax that can be repositioned on the back.
• Production artist would proof galleys from the typesetter (if mistakes they would mark them up and send back to typesetter for correx). If OK, they'd wax the galleys, cut them, and position them on the pasteup boards.
• Keyline boards would be sent to the prepress house for litho stripping (making films for prepress).
• Films would be used by prepress to make plates that would then be mounted on the press.

That's a lot of steps, a lot of eyes double-checking, a lot of artisans trained in their craft, all in synch...now replaced potentially by one guy with a computer. So that one guy now has a lot of responsibility to get things right.

The old newsroom
The old ways of Typography
The old ways of the Press

"HUMAN TRICKS"

Painless Shots
Put pressure near the spot that’s about to get the needle and you’ll feel it less. Just make a circle with your thumb and forefinger and push down a few seconds before the shot. This technique overrides nearby nerves, making the shot feel more like a gentle poke.

Hiccup Relief
Nothing can be more aggravating than nonstop hiccups. Fortunately, your body has a built-in remedy: Take your deepest breath and hold for 10 seconds. And then, without exhaling, breathe in more air and hold for another 5 seconds. Then, one more time, breathe in as much air as you can, hold for 5 seconds, and breath out—hopefully without any more hiccups.

Heart-Calming Breeze
If you’re feeling anxious and can feel your heart racing, call your thumb into action. By blowing on your thumb, you can get your heart rate back to normal.

Throat Tickle Cure
To relieve that constant feeling in the back of your throat, tickle something else…your ear. Touching the area around your ear creates a reflex in the throat that eases the annoyance.

Stuffed Nose Cleared
Your body has a natural mechanism to unclog your nose. Just push your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then press between your eyebrows with a finger. Keep it up for about 20 seconds and your sinuses will start to drain.


see all of them at the link to the original site:

HUMAN TRICKS

FREE E-BOOKS

There are a variety of sources for free e-books, audio books, and children's books (and some go well with the e-book converter that I posted about also). The author of Northern Cheap$kate has assembled several sources in one convenient location. Check it out.

Collection of e-books

29 YOU NEED TO KNOW AS A DESIGNER....

[from Doug Bartow]
Many of the questions and concerns young designers share today are the same we had as graduating students looking to make our mark in the professional world, with only a résumé and portfolio of student projects to get our collective feet in the door. There’s nothing different in the design industry today that makes getting—and nailing—that initial interview or client pitch any easier.

Throughout the years, I’ve collected these questions and have tried answering many of them as an ongoing personal project. Here are 29 of my thoughts on how to approach and interact with our culture as a young designer, in no particular order.
[posted on Bartow's company site, also on HOW design]

29 THINGS EVERY YOUNG DESIGNER SHOULD KNOW

ANOTHER ONLINE LIFE LESSON

Check out this online life lesson about how to treat people. The blog it is on has many posts related to spirituality (not religion) in everyday life. This one expands on the following 5 tenets the author asserts are how you should treat others.

Check it out:

1. First Important Lesson - "Know The Cleaning Lady"
2. Second Important Lesson - "Pickup In The Rain"
3. Third Important Lesson - "Remember Those Who Serve"
4. Fourth Important Lesson - "The Obstacles In Our Path"
5. Fifth Important Lesson - "Giving When It Counts"

Global One TV

GOOGLE-ING....

Google--the company so ubiquitous that has its own verb. When you want to know something, students now turn to Google and "Google it." back in the day, you had to schlep to a library and look into card catalogues, indexes and periodical guides. Now...you Google.

But to the Googler  beware! Like the human brain, the average student utilizes a small portion of its power. (Not to mention the fact that all sites are not mandatorily fact-checked or extensively researched for purely FACTUAL content).

So check out this site if you are ready for some Advanced Googl-ing! While you are at it, you'll also be exposed to all of Google's free tools for reading, writing, and editing documents. They offer one of the best online calendar systems, and one of the best free e-mail clients (with scads of server space for a free e-mail client). They have free e-books that can be read on multiple readers, ability to setup discussion groups, blogs, photo albums, etc.

Google Tricks for Students

SUPER COOL EXAMPLE OF INFO GRAPHIC

Who says they have to be boring? Info graphics that cover vast amounts of information can be extremely cool. Check out this info graphic of the earth's surface from the upper atmosphere down to deepest oceanic trenches.
Click to go to the sight, then click on the small graphic in the left of the image window to zoom in (and prepare to scroll down, down, down).

air-land-ocean

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR OLD PC?

Well...not too old.
Folks are using old PC's for a variety of tasks- including home voicemail and fax systems, MP3 servers, and even Boxee PC video systems. Make magazine (one of my other complete faves) offers plans on how to make your previous pc into a home DVR.

The image on the site is fairly big and bulky mini tower wedged beneath the TV-- I have seen case mods appropriate to the form factor that allow for you to make an aesthetically appealing appliance as well (google that one separately).

home dvr system

COOL ONLINE CONVERTER

OK--so this won't be replacing high-end media software at all, but there is this neat online converter for basic files that is pretty convenient if you have a good internet connection. Maybe you want to convert that WMA to AAC without setting up  iTunes, or you want that funny video clip you downloaded in 3GP for your cellphone, or a rather common DOC file into a PDF, or even converting e-book formats from the various e-book retailers to your specific e-reader device.


Free Online Converter

MORE PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS...

Check out yet another Photoshop Tutorial Site chock full of nifty tuts. There are a few that are replicated from other sites I've posted before, but by and large some pretty cool stuff. 10 pages of  links with several interviews with Photoshop Professionals from various disciplines.

10 pages of Photoshop Tutorials

NICE CANS! (aka you CAN be that specialized and make a living)

Do one thing, and do it well (or so the saying goes). Do it really, really, really well and you may just have a niche that you can eek a living out of.

There have always been illustrators, designers, and photographers that were the "go-to-guys" for a very specific requirement, but that was often balanced against a very developed career (rarely the front end) or the pragmatism of practicing a career based on breadth versus strictly speciality.

Then came the internet. The store-front equalizer that puts a small-time basement operation on par with a multinational... as long as they create a similar quality product.

Check out this business... they shoot CANS...and that's their business. They do it  very well and that's about it.


they shoot cans...

"DESIGN INFERIORITY"

I'm a fan of all things design, and I've posted here before about my love for the I.D. site CORE 77. Recently they posted an article related to a "compromise design" ...in order to sustain a project at the cost of peak efficiency.

So the question for YOU is:

Is an inferior design still inferior if more people can afford/use it? 
If cost constraints would prevent the perfect object from being commercially successful, is it better to design something with inferior performance but feasible manufacturability (or for that matter price-point or commercial viability)?

Tawlk amongst you'selves...

STARBUCK's NEW LOGO...

Let the debate begin.

Pundits are either hailing or criticizing the latest incarnation of the Starbucks Logo. Logo redesign is not unique to Starbucks, but they have the corporate audacity to elevate their mark (the correct term for what students commonly call logo) from a mixed mark (meaning type integrated) into an icon (no typography). Old timers will remember the Greg Berryman "Notes on Graphic Design..." book that elucidates these levels of marks.

The fact is laid out that Starbucks may drastically change its business model in some way, and potentially its core business and target market/s. So the time is ripe for a change in mark. But do they have the iconic status of companies like Nike, Pepsi and Apple? Do they have the brand loyalty and high equity? I'd say yes... and they are following the logical (Berryman-ian) progression of their mark as such.

Anyone with small children knows the power of the golden arches. When you drive by a McDonald's (and long before your children can read) they point gleefully at the arches and cry for McDonald's.

Starbuck's mark, as wonky as it may have been--mired in greek mythology and Seattle folklore-- is instantly recognizable. To overhaul that mark (versus tuneup) would be too many steps back in the equity it has built.

fastco article on Starbuck's mark overhaul