The Graphic Design Thread - Drop It Like a Hotkey

[Smeetin]

Gotta start somewhere. I'm pretty sure we all started with no knowledge about design :P. Feel free to ask any questions about design or the programs you mentioned!

[Pointman]

[QUOTE=Smeetin;48976936]Gotta start somewhere. I'm pretty sure we all started with no knowledge about design :P. Feel free to ask any questions about design or the programs you mentioned![/QUOTE]

I dunno man, I have no idea how those programs even work at all. Even if I did, I have no creative thinking.

Though, I am doing a Graphics Design-like course as a school elective next year because nothing much else on the list interested me.

[editline]25th October 2015[/editline]

I will just continue to lurk, at least until I can figure out something to do with my life.

[Smeetin]

Sounds good. If it is something that you think you may be interested in pursuing, I would suggest sketching as a starting point. Whenever I have to take notes in class or something (pay attention though :P), or if I'm bored I just sketch out random marks / logos off the top of my head. It really is quite helpful.

[Laughing Stock]

[QUOTE=TechnoSandwic;48977824]I dunno man, I have no idea how those programs even work at all. Even if I did, I have no creative thinking.

Though, I am doing a Graphics Design-like course as a school elective next year because nothing much else on the list interested me.

[editline]25th October 2015[/editline]

I will just continue to lurk, at least until I can figure out something to do with my life.[/QUOTE]

once you learn how one of them works, you can learn the rest pretty easily.

I started my internship recently and they're having me learn how to make media for print, like boxes and packaging. It's actually pretty easy so far since they already have branding established, so now I'm just rearranging assets that they already made. I hope they have me work on something more creative eventually but I have no idea how likely that actually is.

[Smeetin]

Unfortunately, as an intern its not a given. I did paper work most of my time.

[Smeetin]

My entry for the faculty wear competition this year, so busy I thought it up and created it while not paying attention in a class haha:

[t]http://www.stefanklassen.com/images/logos/Preview-01.png[/t]

[danjee]

I wanted to share a layout I did for a class (literally 'intro to digital media')

[t]http://i.imgur.com/olPu3vr.jpg[/t]

[Rusty100]

too much text, size is too small, leading is too close.
bottom text is too big and too bold, get rid of the italics. not enough spacing around the two chunks in the middle. colours for the graphic also do not go together

[danjee]

[QUOTE=Rusty100;49013025]too much text, size is too small, leading is too close.
bottom text is too big and too bold, get rid of the italics. not enough spacing around the two chunks in the middle. colours for the graphic also do not go together[/QUOTE]

Had to have at least 250 words and I have like 270-280 so can't change much there. Layout is for presentation as 8.5x11 (the copy is 9pt IIRC). Colors for graphic had to be either three tertiary colors or three colors next to each other on the color wheel + plus a color complementary to one of these for the text, so yeah I could've chosen differently but I would've been working under the same constraints.

For the bottom text I was either gonna tag it to the end of the copy + format it as such, OR make it a prominent element on the page which is why it's so bold/big/closely tracked. How would you have done it?

By chunks do you mean the giant magenta circles beneath the 'h' (these need to be broken up) or the copy & graphic?

Good call on the leading.

[Skwee]

The colors seem complimentary and analogous to me.

fake edit: i went and read your post just before posting this and you say the colors are just what I saw.

[editline]29th October 2015[/editline]

still maybe not the best.

[Rusty100]

[QUOTE=danjee;49013078]Had to have at least 250 words and I have like 270-280 so can't change much there. Layout is for presentation as 8.5x11 (the copy is 9pt IIRC). Colors for graphic had to be either three tertiary colors or three colors next to each other on the color wheel + plus a color complementary to one of these for the text, so yeah I could've chosen differently but I would've been working under the same constraints.

For the bottom text I was either gonna tag it to the end of the copy + format it as such, OR make it a prominent element on the page which is why it's so bold/big/closely tracked. How would you have done it?

By chunks do you mean the giant magenta circles beneath the 'h' (these need to be broken up) or the copy & graphic?

Good call on the leading.[/QUOTE]

why would they ask you to put 250 words into one presentation slide
thats mayhem nobody will ever read that

[Skwee]

I would also say that the hierarchy of the layout is all kinds of messed up. You've got the largest most emphasized, and so called "most important" text at the bottom of the page, but all it is is your name, the date, and the project.

and the date's day of the week, Tuesday, because we need that specified for some reason.

[danjee]

[QUOTE=Skwee;49013169]I would also say that the hierarchy of the layout is all kinds of messed up. You've got the largest most emphasized, and so called "most important" text at the bottom of the page, but all it is is your name, the date, and the project.

and the date's day of the week, Tuesday, because we need that specified for some reason.[/QUOTE]
except I'm required to put Tuesday on it (along with all the other items, every project) because I'm in the Tuesday class.

Instead of of making it minimal (which I've done before, yada yada) I wanted to try making it an entire element. I agree that this doesn't really correspond to the data being conveyed—insignificant stuff—but I wasn't really considering that necessary when I did the layout. Maybe I should have.

[Rusty100]

that whole last line, the bold italics one. make it like, a 10th of the size lol. maybe right adjust to the right edge of the text block (like it is but tiny).

[editline]30th October 2015[/editline]

also holdup touching the edge of the box is no good. give it a little bit of room

[editline]30th October 2015[/editline]

also ive been doing some rebranding for a hotel (with heavy restraints on how much i can change)
but here's a poster series using the same general template.
from oldest to newest
[t]http://i.imgur.com/iQyim5Q.png[/t]

[danjee]

[QUOTE=Rusty100;49013197]also holdup touching the edge of the box is no good. give it a little bit of room[/QUOTE]
Ok I agree. P being tangential to the edge is no good. My prof suggested pushing it out of frame ever so slightly, I think I'd do that instead of moving it deeper into the the graphic.

[Skwee]

[QUOTE=Rusty100;49013197]that whole last line, the bold italics one. make it like, a 10th of the size lol. maybe right adjust to the right edge of the text block (like it is but tiny).

[editline]30th October 2015[/editline]

also holdup touching the edge of the box is no good. give it a little bit of room

[editline]30th October 2015[/editline]

also ive been doing some rebranding for a hotel (with heavy restraints on how much i can change)
but here's a poster series using the same general template.
from oldest to newest
[t]http://i.imgur.com/iQyim5Q.png[/t][/QUOTE]

bottom left is a bit tough to read due to lack of contrast on the smaller type. Also what scale will these be?

[editline]29th October 2015[/editline]

also on the spacing for the horizontal.. rules I suppose, even though they aren't under or above things, but next to them. There is a bit of inconsistency between all of the designs.

I think a little less spacing from the words on the 2nd design, and then match it for all of the others? Can't really tell without seeing it.

Also the information, which looks like address and contact info on the 3rd design looks different from all of the rest.

[editline]29th October 2015[/editline]

it also looks like the thickness changes on it for the last one (The top one around "In The" being thicker than the ones around "With" and "And"

Also you've got this neat thing on the 3rd one with the lightning bolt symbols separating some of the lines. Would be cool if you could manage to get them betwen the "entertain your kids." line and the line following it, instead of just a white space. Perhaps just making the pattern itself just very slightly smaller?

e: I should add some positives, the rest looks pretty good, colors, spacing, hierarchy, etc, looks nice. Not sure what it means on the 1st one for the "a pot" under $2.50 though. A pitcher of beer or a pint? I dunno. Maybe entrance?

[Smeetin]

Wow. 10 new posts. This thread is practically on fire.

Nice to see you post some new work Rusty. Looks good. Only comment I would have is that the meat on the Father's Day poster isn't easily identified as such. Just looks a bit wonky. I think a more traditional 'steak' or t-bone or something would be a better icon.

Thanks for posting Danjee. Good start. I haven't read all the comments other people have been giving you, but I would say that you need to really give a proper hierarchy to your information. The date and your name, though important for the course, are not important to the design and should probably not be the most bold / focal point of the page.

[PieClock]

[QUOTE=Smeetin;49015210]Wow. 10 new posts. This thread is practically on fire.

Nice to see you post some new work Rusty. Looks good. [B]Only comment I would have is that the meat on the Father's Day poster isn't easily identified as such. Just looks a bit wonky. I think a more traditional 'steak' or t-bone or something would be a better icon.[/B][/QUOTE]

I was going to say the same. I thought the steaks were something like a racket to begin with.

I think you could also lose the "..." in the first 2 posters because they bring nothing useful to the posters and only clutter it. Less is more.

They look great though.

[Rusty100]

yeah i know they could use a lot more finesse but i have an incredibly limited time to work on each of them, usually have to do 2 of those per work day including coming up with the idea for them and everything.

[editline]31st October 2015[/editline]

[QUOTE=Skwee;49013322]bottom left is a bit tough to read due to lack of contrast on the smaller type. Also what scale will these be?
[/QUOTE]
a1 and a0 mostly

[editline]31st October 2015[/editline]

[QUOTE=Smeetin;49015210]Only comment I would have is that the meat on the Father's Day poster isn't easily identified as such. Just looks a bit wonky. I think a more traditional 'steak' or t-bone or something would be a better icon.
[/QUOTE]

but then it would lose the whole 'food is the key to his heart' symbolism going on? not sure how id make a steak or a tbone into an identifiable heart (also tbones arent a big thing in australia)
+ chops are traditional 'dad food'

[editline]31st October 2015[/editline]

[QUOTE=PieClock;49016193]I was going to say the same. I thought the steaks were something like a racket to begin with.
[/QUOTE]

i think this could be a regional thing - theyre lamb chops, not steaks

[editline]31st October 2015[/editline]

[t]http://www.cookstr.com/photos/recipes/3312/medium/recipe-3312.jpg[/t]
i thought they were pretty identifiable but maybe they are not a common dish in some countries? or i just suck at illustrating them lol

[zukriuchen]

they look more like a scientific illustration

[Smeetin]

Could be right, might be a regional thing. However, i didn't realize it was a heart until you said it. Again, could just be me. Sorry to harp on this one, the rest are all quite successful.

[Gonzouel]

Hello fellow Rust lovers,

I've designed some shirts a hat that resembles the "Friendly" hat in the steam shop. I was hoping to get some feedback. There are 4 available colours, but please let me know of other colours you would like or ways in which the designs can improve. OR, designs you'd like to see!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

You can check them out at [url]http://gonzo-apparel.myshopify.com/[/url]

ROCK ON! (get it... it's a pun)

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/Px0eEro.png[/IMG]

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/cC7dGq2.png[/IMG]

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/jadcTw8.png[/IMG]

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/r5ATV4G.png[/IMG]

[Smeetin]

On one note: You joined just to advertise your designs and posted both as a thread in general discussion and in here which is a bit odd.

On the other note:
I don't play rust, so I may not be the target for the humour. In my opinion though they aren't clever / funny. I could be wrong though.

On another note:
It is an okay design. Definitely symbolic. However, I can't help but feel that the style isn't super helpful to the design. The Rock should be a very bold in your face thing, like Dwayne. But instead, it disappears amongst a flurry of lines that turn into hands. I would leave the hands the same, and then make the rock much more simple and strong.

The border is stronger than any lines in the logo, which is strange. Emphasize what needs emphasis not what contains the logo.

Also, maybe try some other options than a geometric border for containing the logo.

(I like your Gonzo-Apparel logo though)

[Gonzouel]

[QUOTE=Smeetin;49023671]On one note: You joined just to advertise your designs and posted both as a thread in general discussion and in here which is a bit odd.

On the other note:
I don't play rust, so I may not be the target for the humour. In my opinion though they aren't clever / funny. I could be wrong though.

On another note:
It is an okay design. Definitely symbolic. However, I can't help but feel that the style isn't super helpful to the design. The Rock should be a very bold in your face thing, like Dwayne. But instead, it disappears amongst a flurry of lines that turn into hands. I would leave the hands the same, and then make the rock much more simple and strong.

The border is stronger than any lines in the logo, which is strange. Emphasize what needs emphasis not what contains the logo.

Also, maybe try some other options than a geometric border for containing the logo.

(I like your Gonzo-Apparel logo though)[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the feedback! I totally understand the lines not being bold enough, that's incredibly helpful! I will work on this now.

I suppose the cleverness/humour is targetted at rust players, so may be lost if you don't play rust.

And the advice for an alternative to the geometric border has got me thinking of all kinds of solutions!

Thank you so much for taking the time to look and giving me this amazing feedback!

I'm experimenting with some colours aswell:

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/u6zqccI.png[/IMG]

[Smeetin]

I definitely like the rust colour on black of the bottom left one. Really nice combination, however the lines get lost a little bit. (The top right combo is rather nice too).

Please post any other changes you make, I'd like to see them!

[Pointman]

While I certainly aren't the best person for critique, it's very hard to make out that that is a rock. However, as Smeetin said, the colour really goes well with the background.

[editline]1st November 2015[/editline]

[QUOTE=Rusty100;49013197]that whole last line, the bold italics one. make it like, a 10th of the size lol. maybe right adjust to the right edge of the text block (like it is but tiny).

[editline]30th October 2015[/editline]

also holdup touching the edge of the box is no good. give it a little bit of room

[editline]30th October 2015[/editline]

also ive been doing some rebranding for a hotel (with heavy restraints on how much i can change)
but here's a poster series using the same general template.
from oldest to newest
[t]http://i.imgur.com/iQyim5Q.png[/t][/QUOTE]

Wow, these look great. Really like the design you're going for.

[soccerskyman]

Just found this thread. So much good shit. Also, I dunno if this has been posted, but I found a thing on Reddit displaying these fucking fantastic colors.

[IMG]http://puu.sh/l5ME0/1136b28ee2.png[/IMG]

[josco]

Ooh, post your fav resources

[url]http://www.swisscolors.net/[/url]

[Smeetin]

Oo, thats a good one Most Wanted, I love Swiss design.

Welcome here Soccerskyman.

--

When I need inspiration on a poster, colours, or type treatment I go here:
[url]https://www.typographicposters.com/[/url]

or if i need inspiration for arch. drawings:
[url]http://drawingarchitecture.tumblr.com/[/url]

or for renderings:
[url]https://visualizingarchitecture.com/[/url]

[Rusty100]

[QUOTE=soccerskyman;49028028]Just found this thread. So much good shit. Also, I dunno if this has been posted, but I found a thing on Reddit displaying these fucking fantastic colors.

[IMG]http://puu.sh/l5ME0/1136b28ee2.png[/IMG][/QUOTE]

man thats a janky ribbon connecting all that type