» Resources

Milton Glaser by Hillman Curtis

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:01:09 +0000

‘Artists Series: Milton Glaser’ by Hillman Curtis

I am aware that this interview has been online for some time now, but if like me you sometimes lose sight of why you are doing what you are doing this is the perfect remedy. Milton Glaser’s words of wisdom inspire and reaffirm.

Hillman Curtis offers an inspirational insight into the wonderful workings of the mind of Glaser. This is graphic design comfort food and whether you see yourself as businessman/artist, social commentator or like Glaser all of the above, there is inspiration here for everyone.

You can view more of Hillman Curtis’ ‘Artists Series’ here: hillmancurtis.com

Viscom on Facebook!

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:48:18 +0000

Design for Visual Communication is now on Facebook, making it easier for you to keep up to date with all of the latest news and events, network and offer your views on the discussion board. To find us on Facebook click here.

Temptation resistance

Winnie Shek — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:26:35 +0000

Really cool application for your computer (it’s also FREE)

http://winnieshek.wordpress.com/2010/01/27/give-me-some-willpower/

Why James Chartrand Wears Women’s Underpants

Jonathan Fleck — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:58:41 +0000

James Chartrand is a professional and successful copywriter. But all is not as it seems. That’s because James is a woman. “Why James Chartrand Wears Women’s Underpants” is a fascinating insight into one of the great stigmas of the modern world. That is, despite decades and centuries of social development, feminism, voting right, equal working rights, and so on, women are still widely discriminated against when it comes to the world of work. This could not be more true in the relatively unregulated world of freelancing. Corporations have policies and legal audits to contend with to help keep things closer to the straight and narrow than they otherwise would be. But as a freelancer, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. ‘James’ tells us her story, about how she found herself working 4 hours a week at minimum wage despite college education and previous office job experience. She turned to the internet, scouring for gigs she could do from home, such as writing. Initially she was treated like crap, and paid very little, but ‘James’ grew moderately more successful, but there was always a plateau that she couldn’t seem to get past. Then she decided to create a pen-name that she could market separately to her current business. But she made a decision that was to transform her life virtually overnight. She decided to become a man. No, she didn’t become a transvestite or transexual, her gender change was in name only. Right away, she started to earn more jobs, better paid jobs. Clients treated her with more respect, and asked for fewer corrections/modifications, or none at all. “James Chartrand” is a copywriter, but her insights could apply to any woman freelancers finding themselves hitting the glass ceiling. In this internet age, where it is perfectly possible and acceptable that a designer and client might never physically meet, nor even have a telephone conversation, might more and more women find themselves turning to this tactic? Of course there are many clients and businesses that treat equality as a core value of their business, and they will reap the rewards of that, but many more ignorant clients remain. It remains to be seen whether more women will turn to this approach, as society continues its painfully slow march towards true equality.

Learn Too Fucking Spell

Jonathan Fleck — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:48:34 +0000

Amusing and informative article by web designer, Paddy Donnelly that really hits the nail on the head. The article is a semi-rant at those designers who don’t bother to learn the differences between “too” and “to”, “it’s” and “its”, and “affect” and “effect” (These last two in particular I see people mixing up all the time). He points out that a designer who can’t spell or use correct grammer, is like a surgeon who can’t use a pencil. Of course, as designers, we’re not expected to write eloquent multi-thousand word essays all the time, but we do need to create and use copy, and basic spelling/grammar can really detract from what would otherwise be an excellent piece of design. Paddy helpfully includes a small guide at the bottom of his article, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. If you want to read further and improve your copy writing skills, I’d recommend getting William Zinsser’s excellent “On Writing Well”, and William Strunk Jr.’s classic “The Elements of Style”.

Graphics Explained (Brand Identity Research)

Dale Hawkes — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:49:58 +0000

There is a book called,

Graphics Explained: 7 Top Designers,

7 Briefs, 49 Solutions…In Their Own

Words.

This book strongly represents and demonstrates the world of clients and the relationships that evolve between the designer and client, and how they manage working in these environments. It also show’s the direction followed and how each specific company developed the brief they had been given.

It takes you through each groups process and show’s you the different applications and methods that each company applied to there brand identity’s. I think this book would be very beneficial to anyone wanting to gain insight into the working environment/the creative process used by pro’s.

Have you seen the film of the book?

Leah Batchelor — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:33:18 +0000

I discovered these films on the Creative Review blog and thought that it may be a really good idea to build films which would give you a glimpse into some new illustration books.

The Tate has created films that demonstrate two art books that have not yet been released. They are Peter Blake’s ABC and Black Spots which is a pop-up book by David Carter. Within the extracts the contents of the books are revealed. This appears to be Tate endeavouring to keep in line with up-and-coming developments within the video market.

You can click here and take a tour of Black Spots for yourself

…and here you can view Peter Blake’s ABC

Antoine and Manuel

Catherine Auld — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:00:33 +0000

Hey everyone. While doing research for our modular project last year I looked at the work of Antoine and Manuel and absolutely loved it. I was then curious to see what their other work was like and so i went investigating. I came across lots of work done by them such as posters, illustrations and logos which they did for the Graphic Design Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, Collection Lambert, the Museum of Tomorrow, Coca-Cola Museum and many more.

Antoine did posters for Collection Lambert which I thought were extremely eye catching, I have posted some photographs of them below. I like the Eijanaika! Yes future! poster because it shows a good use of different bright colors and therefore is inviting and welcoming which would make people want to go to the event. The Rendez-vous poster was playful in nature and made use of color. I love the style of all three posters.

They not only designed posters but also designed a Paris Metro Map. I was drawn to it because it is unlike any map i’ve ever seen before. I like the use of bright colors and also how it was a nice illustration piece as well as a map. The signs and symbols were unique and not like a regular map. Here is a photo below.

The pair also produced a unique illustration for Yale University Art Gallery. I like the use of creams, white and black and also think the typography on it fits well with the illustration.

Lastly the pair also made furniture, i like these pieces as they were modular in style and one of the lamps almost looked like a city scape. These are on sale in the Lafayette Maison, Paris. I have shown some photographs below.

Interesting Websites to view

Dale Hawkes — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:35:02 +0000

http://www.tomato.co.uk/ (Main Graphic Designer John Warwicker)

http://www.houseind.com/(Main Graphic Designer Andy Cruz)

http://www.airside.co.uk/ (Main Graphic Designer Natalie Hunter)

http://www.apeloig.com/ (Main Graphic Designer Philippe Apeloig)

Just a few interesting websites I have been using recently, using for inspiration etc, I have been admiring the simplicity of their websites but also the quiet complexities that lie within them too! Take a good look and delve deep!

Studio Aka

Leah Batchelor — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:10:29 +0000

I discovered this animation company Studio Aka which in my opinion is absolutely amazing. It is based in London and would be known about throughout the world for the production of distinctive and pioneering work. They have produced work for Guinness, the National Lottery, BUPA to name a few. It is seriously worth exploring.

http://www.studioaka.co.uk/

This firm has produced such an array of commercials and films and each one is unique and offers something new and innovative. I have made a list of some that particularly caught my eye and inspired me: Dundrum Centre, Compaq, Orange, BBC Drama – The Sins, UKTV, LoveSport, Park Foot Ball and the Welcome to Glaringly. Let me know what you think and tell me which are your favourites.