A Designer's Eye: Pama Advertisement

I found this ad in the October issue of InStyle magazine and was really impressed with the simple layout: a martini glass sitting atop a pomegranate with very little copy and the bottle of Pama Liqueur sitting next to it. The really cool part of the ad is the background. The ad has a silver background and behind the martini glass is a pomegranate tree that appears/disappears based on the angle you are looking at the page.

I don't think this scan does the ad justice, so I'll try and remember to bring it to class with me this week.

Review: Dave Tieff - The Art of Peace

One of my all-time favorite bands is a group by the name of Laughing Colors (LC). A local band from the Baltimore area, LC formed in 1991 and in their 14-years together, they produced 9 albums and sold more than 50,000 CDs before breaking up in 2004. When LC's former lead singer, Dave Tieff, announced that he was releasing a second solo album and giving it away for free, I just had to check it out.

Inspired by the birth of his son and deeply moved by passing of his father, Dave rededicated his career and his music to a higher purpose. The Art of Peace is a collection of songs that are meant to inspire and encourage the message that "we are all uniquely created to serve the Earth and each other."

The album is free for download and all proceeds from donations are being given to charities that are close to Dave's heart: Amnesty International; the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence; the Brazil Hope Foundation; and the Arbor Day Foundation. His goal is to raise $1 million dollars by December 31, 2009. The album can be downloaded and information on making a donation can be found at www.davetieff.com.

Also, for those who may be interested in checking out Laughing Colors, they will be playing a reunion show on November 21, 2008 at the Recher Theatre in Towson at 8 pm.

Show & Tell: Narrative Element

For this week's Show & Tell, I chose another of my favorite books to share with the class. This one is by the legendary creator and visual storyteller, Will Eisner. The book is called Graphic Storytelling & Visual Narrative and it focuses on the fundamental elements of storytelling for a visual medium (such as comics). As this class is called Words & Images, after all, I thought that it was a perfect example of how to use both elements effectively to tell a story.

Some of the topics discussed within the book include: images as narrative tools; how to tell different kinds of stories; the history of storytelling; and the writing process: written vs. graphic. As I said, this is one of my favorite books because it not only talks about how to tell a story as a comic, but through visual means in general. Since we have critique this week for our documentaries, I thought it might help those struggling with their story, as I was. I definitely referred back to this book once or twice this week as I worked to finish up my Comp.

Anyway, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in storytelling, in whatever form that may be.

Prolific Prose: The Creative Block

After class on Saturday, I got to thinking about some the books Amy shared with us and remembered one that have sitting on my computer desk at home. It has becomes so much of a second nature for me to refer to it, that I really don't even think about it, but I wanted to share it with you all.

The book is called Creative Block and it is the follow up to one called Writers Block. Both books are by Lou Harry and each is literally a block—a perfect 3x3x3 cube—with tons of ideas for getting the creative juices flowing. 500 ideas, in fact. The book's tag line reads "500 Ideas to Ignite you Imagination" and includes things to trigger you to think differently.

Some ideas include:

"Much is said about the first kiss. What about the last?"
"Remember the photo that came with the picture from you purchased? Invent a history for that person or those people."
"Spark Word: Abandoned"
"Go to the driving range and hit a bucket of balls."

Those are just a few examples of the ideas within the book. I typically will turn to a page randomly when I'm in need of inspiration and think about the task/idea being presented. I find that it clears my mind a little and allows me to refocus on what I'm working on.

Show & Tell: Interesting Typography

For my Show & Tell for this week, I decided to stick with the comic theme and go with examples of comic titles. Each is a great example of how typography can add "character" to design work. Click on the image to see a larger version.

A Designer's Eye: Comic Lettering, Pt. 2 - Bad Lettering

In my last post, I showed some examples of some really great comic lettering (both in word balloons/caption box and in sound effects). Much like the soundtrack to a film, when comic lettering is done well the reader doesn't even notice the word balloons as separate from the art. But, when it is done poorly, it sticks out like a sore thumb and really detracts from the readers experience.

Below are two such examples. The first is from the third issue of Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion. This page is some overrun with sound effects, that the reader can even enjoy the painted panels of art. It draws the eye away from the sequential art and leaves it hanging in dead space. The second example is from an issue of NASCAR Heroes. The lettering in this panel is just all over the place and different colors used for each effect really clashes with the artwork.

A Designer's Eye: Comic Lettering, Pt. 1

Since this week's Show & Tell is to bring examples of Interesting Typography, I thought that I'd focus my other two posts from this week on some of my favorite typography: Comic Book Lettering.

I do a lot of freelance lettering, so I'm always looking to established creators' works to help improve my own lettering skills. Here are some examples of really great lettering. Some are interesting word balloons/caption boxes and others are sound effects.

Show & Tell: Collection - Lead Figurines

Since we did not have a Show & Tell assignment for this week, I decided to post about another one of my many collections. I'm currently collecting lead figurines imported from England, designed by a company called Eaglemoss. The two series I'm picking up are: The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection and The DC Super Hero Collection.

Each collection features characters from their respective universe in iconic poses and come with a 20-page, full-color magazine about each character. Each figurine stands between 3 and 3 1/2 inches, except for the Specials and Mega Specials (which are bigger and represent larger sized characters) and are hand-painted.

I currently have 123 Marvel figurines and 42 DC figurines (the DC collection started after the success of the Marvel line). Below are some of my favorites from each collection.

Kraven, the Hunter (Marvel)

Juggernaut (Marvel)

Colossus (Marvel)

Green Lantern, Hal Jordan (DC)

Hawkman (DC)

Gorilla Grodd (DC)

A Designer's Eye: Logo Obsession, Pt. 4 - Bad Logos

Okay, here is the last part to my Logo Obsession postings. Here are the final five logos that I thought were less than successful from Savannah Magazine.

This logo looks like something you'd see on realtor's business card from the '70s, not for a company selling linens. I'm so distracted by the absurdly large smile of Carol (?) that I don't even care what she's selling.

The main thing that bothers me about this logo is that the seashell is so intricate, I feel like it would not work at different sizes. At larger sized, the negative space becomes too large and at smaller sizes, the detail of the shell is lost. Were I the designer behind this logo, I would have used something a little less detailed, something more representational of the shell rather than a outline.


This logo not only screams of laziness, but also insults their audience at the same time. Assuming that no one would figure out that "ABC" stands for Allen Bonner & Co., the designer felt it necessary to underline the letters "A", "B" and "C" in the name Allen Bonner & Co. In addition, the drop shadow serves no purpose in the piece.

This logo looks like it could have had potential, but the designer stopped short on the development. This is supposed to be a leash and collar (to go with the name Black Dog, I'm guessing), but the proportions are all off. The text inside the leash seem jammed in there, as if there was no other solution. If I were designing this logo, I probably would have used illustration of a black dog and had the name of the studio on the tags hanging from the collar...

For this logo, I actually felt the version on the right was very successful, but the version on the left just didn't work for me. The one on the left is for a carryout version of the Japanese restaurant. I found the "Express" logo to be too distracting and the arc of the words almost gives me motion sickness. I think a modification on the logo to the right would have been more successful and appropriate.

Well, that's it for my crazy logo obsession (for now?!). Let me know what you all think.

A Designer's Eye: Logo Obsession, Pt. 3 - Bad Logos

Last week, I presented a series of 10 logos that I found in an issue of Savannah Magazine. Each one of those caught my attention for one reason or another, but all of them were, in my opinion, successful. This week, I thought I'd show some of the examples of the logos that I felt were less than successful.


The logo for Ward's Auto Painting just didn't connect with me in any way. The use of primary colors just leaves me with a generic feeling and does not inspire me to get my car painted at Ward's. I almost get the impression that all they can do is simple color work; nothing like you would see at a custom paint shop. Plus, I'm not a fan of the harsh drop shadow.


This logo bothered me an a couple of different levels. First, I though I had hierarchy issues! I can't tell whether is to supposed to read SPCS, SCPS or SPSC. Also, they have no description of what the acronym is supposed to mean. Unless you are very familiar with the logo or organization, you have no idea what the logo is for. Incidentally, it is the logo for the Savannah Christian Preparatory School. Of course!


This logo provides the audience a little bit more information than the last logo: they've been in business since 1946. But doing what? Punching Judy? The word "and" in the logo is almost unreadable at the size it was originally published and is completely lost between the stylized "P" and "J", which also brings to mind Peanut butter and Jelly...


This logo just screams of laziness. By simple placing the name of the company in a black box with white letters, I feel as though they do not believe their audience is capable of seeing beyond B&W.


This could have been a successful, if not great, logo except for the random "S" that has no business being there. It is out of place to point of being distracting and draws the eye clearly off the logo onto the background.