illustration inspiration!

Today I have fallen in love with the illustrations of Dimitra Tzanos. His playful style and awesome use of colour just demands your attention and you simply can't help but fall in love with the designs. Wish I owned them all and could hang them up throughout my house ha ha ha!

On his website he has the following to say:
"Born and raised in Johannesburg, I'm of Greek origin and currently live in Athens. I studied Graphic Design in Athens and got my Masters in London but now prefer to call myself an illustrator or even just a drawer...whatever the world understands. But generally I have this obsession with organising and categorising information, eliminating unnecessary details and keeping things simple. Mostly you can see this in my doodles and drawings!"

Below is a series he did based on "5 events that shaped South Africa's wine industry. They too are AWESOME and you have to agree that this is one seriously talented man!

Source: http://creativeroots.org/2011/04/5-events-that-shaped-the-south-african-wine-industry/


Check out more of his work here >> http://www.dimitratzanos.com/

NEW WEBSITE!!

I have finally managed to get my stuff together and design a website where I can upload samples of my work and create a general space to keep all of my inspiration on one page. Please pay it a visit to see what I've been up too! http://ladesigns.typepad.com/ladesigns/

Awesome print advertising campaign

When I came across this ad campaign I just had to pause for a moment due to its pure AWESOMENESS (ha ha ha). The message is simple... bench fix, a line of hairstyling products, offers you a superior hold. The art direction of the shots as well as the concept and execution are just perfect in my opinion! No wonder this campaign received some mad recognition from "Adds of the World" - which I hope every designer has visited at least once!
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/bench_fix_hairstyling_products_gecko

Here is a small glimpse into the brand new little life of our very first little girl whom we've decided to name Anna-marthli (Anna  is her great grandmother and Marthli is her grandmother - hence the name). As every parent will obviously say... WE THINKSHE IS JUST THE CUTEST LITTLE THING! Experiencing the 4D scan is just indescribable and worth every penny it costs. It is so much more personal than your regular gynie visit and seeing your baby with all of her features will rock your entire world so if you're a new mom who's thinking about it and not sure if it's worth the costs all I can say is YOU WON'T BE SORRY!!!!!!

Doesn't she just look so snug inside mom's tummy!

Today's Quote...

Never let success get to your head.
Never let failure get to you heart!

www.yanilavigne.net

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moranga/91023118/

Rams' 10 principles of good design

Dieter Rams (born 20 May 1932)  is a German industrial designer who asks the important question... "Is my design good design"? Rams was concerned by the state of the world around him and realised that as a designer, he was contributing to the "confusion of forms, colours and noises".

http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/who-is-dieter-rams/

"As good design cannot be measured in a finite way he set about expressing the 10 most important principles for what he considered was good design" (Vitsoe, 2010).

RAMS' 10 PRINCIPLES OF GOOD DESIGN

Good design...

...is innovative

Innovation can never be exhausted due to technological advancements!

...makes a product useful

We do not purchase products that we do not need, so a product needs to serve a purpose and fulfil a need for the consumer purchase to occur.

...is aesthetic

Beauty is a by-product of usefulness as its aesthetic quality can have a lasting effect on people.

...makes a product understandable

If something is misunderstood, then it cannot be appreciated.

...is unobtrusive

A product and its design should allow for self-expression by the end-user, they should be able to make it part of them not forced to try and fit in with the product.

...is honest

Honest design does not falsify a product by making promises that the end product cannot keep. With today's technological world, a brand that is dishonest will be instantly exposed and the repercussions are lethal!

...is long-lasting

Many designs are trendy and are therefore dated. Good design shies away from such trends. Designers should write their own trends as apposed to being just another follower!

...is thorough down to the last detail

Nothing should be left to chance as one should admire the aspect of intelligent consumers. People are not stupid and are therefore quick to pick up on even the smallest mistakes!

...is environmentally friendly

Good design should adhere to conservation at all times. What we leave behind is almost more important than what we take!

...is as little designed as possible

We all know the infamous phrase "less is more", but Rams suggests "less, but better" should function within good design. He believes that we should consider simplicity and essential purity!

In conclusion I'll leave you with a quote to think about...

“As designers we have a great responsibility. I believe designers should eliminate the unnecessary. That means eliminating everything that is modish because this kind of thing is only short-lived.” Dieter Rams – interview with Icon Magazine

Inspiring business card designs

I love receiving a business card that make you stop and say "WOW, this is brilliant" and I'll hang onto the card regardless if I'm interested in what it's about or not. Below are some inspiring examples of designers who thought outside of the norms and conceptualized some truly clever, quirky cards!
http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-business-cards-part3/

Yuka Suzuki, hair and make-up artist

Funny novelty utensils!

I just love seeing creative solutions to everyday problems. These are just SUPER COOL and if I came across them in store I'd be forced to buy them purely for the sake of awesomeness ha ha ha!





http://www.boredpanda.com/din-ink-pen-cap-eating-utensils/

Got to love these... what next!

I'm sure everyone has at some point been blinded by the sight of the infamous crack of doom! Well, an ad agency in Berlin - Scholz & Friends - has turned the gaggable into he desirable if you know what I mean. If this doesn't put a smile on your Friday-Face then you're in need of a coffee break.

http://www.boredpanda.com/butt-crack-cleavage-t-shirt/

Too clever not to share!

Quote for the day...

"As consumers of visual art we have become highly sophisticated readers of signs and signals. We decode meaning from images with subconscious ease." - David Crow

http://logosdesignsideas.blog.com/2011/07/13/clever-logos-with-hidden-symbolism/

http://www.boredpanda.com/clever-logos-with-hidden-symbolism/

Baby's Room

Nothing like putting together a baby's room to get a mother-to-be all excited! Our little room is basically done and mom & dad are now in FULL EXCITEMENT for our little jellybean to arrive. Don't be fooled, it is only due in December but we couldn't wait any longer to get going on the room! The most difficult part up till now has been finding a rug that will work. I never thought this would be the one thing to keep me from completion but guess what... I've sampled 3 different rugs and thus far none of them have worked so back to the drawing board. Today I decided to "google" some and WOW, there are such nice things out there. Makes me want to cry that we don't get such awesome goodies locally.

I stumbled upon an awesome site: http://www.funkymoose.co.uk
and simply fell in love with the below carpet (which I'm convinced will work in the room).

http://www.funkymoose.co.uk/bedrooms-nurseries/rugs/planet-of-flowers-rug-by-haba

There are way too many nice things on this website - I could spend all of my "make-believe-millions" ha ha ha! Below are a few more "I wish I could" items I would buy!

The big apple of design

Being a designer, it is of the utmost importance to always know what is out there & what fellow designers are up to. Not being exposed to "the big apple of design" is unacceptable regardless of where you live! I often find so many people saying to me... "oh but I don't live in the big city so there isn't any cool design happening around here. I'm just doing my own thing".... HHHHEEEELLLPPP! It's times like these that I wish I could whip out a fly swat and slap the person silly!

Image Source: http://forum.freelanceswitch.com/topic.php?id=12413

 

It's called INTERNET DUDE - you should try it sometime ha ha ha! The internet is your best friend and it won't ever let you down. I often find myself getting lost for hours jumping from one site to another as I follow links like the routs of a tree spreading out beneath my feet. There are literally thousands of places to see and things to inspire you! To list all of the various sites I visit would take days so I'll list just a few and feel free to let me know of any other cool sites you feel I simply must add!

1. www.creattica.com

2. www.fuelyourcreativity.com

3. www.springleap.com

4. www.designindaba.com
5. www.freelanceswitch.com

Again... these are just to get you started with...
MAY THE INTERNET FORCE BE WITH YOU
XxX

Awesome children's book!

If, like me, you're a lover of beautiful illustrations and children's books then you will go nilly when you see my new favourite called "The Secret Lives Of Princesses" by Philippe Lechermeier with illustrations by Rebecca Dautremer. All I will say is WOW-WOW-WEE-WOW! The concepts behind the various characters are priceless and super cute and will have you smiling from ear to ear at pure bliss.

The book aims at "discovering the unusual, outrageous and fascinating royal ladies" and introduces us to the fascinating world of princesses. "Everyone knows about Cinderella, Snow White, and other fairy tale favourites. But there are many princesses who have been so well hidden, most of us never heard of them....The Secret Lives of Princesses is a treasure trove of incredible behind-the-scenes stories that reveal the secret lives of the world’s most mysterious princesses. Not your typical princess story, this gorgeous collection offers a fun, sophisticated and witty alternative to ordinary tales and delights the eye with its lush, exotic art and a bold, vivid design."

Princess Anne Phibian

Princess Do-Re-Mi

Princess Oblivia

Princess Somnia

For more information visit their website!

http://secretlivesofprincesses.com

STUNNING!

I found this image in my "inspiration folder" - which I'm sure you all keep filled with all of the stunning things you come across as you get lost within the world wide web ha ha ha! The photo is STUNNING and the dress gorgeous... now I just wish I could remember where I found it so I could give credit where it's due!

Info Graphics

I have been tasked with visually putting together some statistics (and at first I thought to myself - UUURRRRGGGGG, I really don't feel like doing this, but as with any project I started by doing some research and thought to myself: "look Lecia, if you're gonna do this just try to make it fun for yourself and make the project interesting even if it's just a really small project"

I therefore started doing a bit of digging into Info Graphics and was amazed at how much fun this could actually be! I have dealt with it way back when but I guess as with anything, a person forgets! Below are a few cool samples of what I've found on line (thanks to http://www.hongkiat.com) and I think it's given me some "oemf" to get going on mine!


One thing that has hit home again is that Info Graphics can take the boring statistic and make it interesting to the viewer allowing them to experience the information provided as apposed to just blindly processing the information in front of them!

 

AWESOME poster - need I say more!

http://salenacastro7.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/21/

When you first see the above cigarette you miss what's really happening within the lit, burning tip... look carefully and see the burning trees and houses! If this isn't enough to make someone think twice before at least flicking their bud out the window then I REALLY don't know!

Theory of gestalt in graphic design

Today I will be introducing my students to the theory of gestalt in graphic design! It always amazes me that as a graphic designer (working in the industry) we tend to get to the point where we do things a certain way automatically and every now and then I do enjoy going back to the books to re-evaluate what it is that we are doing as professionals. Going through gestalt again reminds me of how our human brain functions and interpret the various things we see. I find it fascinating to be honest!

So gestalt then...

This is probably the most applicable psychological theory when it comes to graphic design. We as graphic designers are most certainly not psychologists and after researching extensively I have found the best explanation on 2 fellow blog (http://jayce-o.blogspot.com/2010/12/graphic-design-and-gestalt-theory.html and http://www.designdune.com/inspiration/the-best-photos-to-illustrate-gestalt-theory/). This description is just enough to understand and apply without having the HUGE theory component added to confuse my students.

Gestalt teaches us how visual perceptions (what the eye sees) can be formed. Gestalt principles that are applied in graphic design include proximity (closeness of the position), similarity (similar form), closures (closure of), continuity (continuity of the pattern), and figure ground.

1. Proximity - Objects with a position adjacent to each other will be grouped as a whole.

You perceive this logo as one unit and not of a whole bunch of smaller parts.

 

2. Similarity - Objects forms and similar elements will be grouped as a whole.

Your brain has quickly interpreted the eagle surrounded by the sun and you moved on. However, if you spend some time trying to analyse the picture, you will soon discover that the eagle contains similar elements with the sun; this is the reason why you brain has interpret this image as a whole. This picture is the perfect illustration of the similarity principle, which happens when there are elements that look similar and the brain concentrates them into a single pattern or image. In this case, the triangular shapes are the similar elements, so you can see the eagle, the sun or the image as a whole.

3. Closure - An object will be intact even if the form is not closed entirely.

Your eye will automatically sees the shape "A" in the logo as it completes the missing parts.

 

4. Continuity - The object will be perceived as a group because of the continuity of the pattern.

As a result of continuity your brain processes what it seas to be able to read this logo.

5. Figure Ground - An object can be seen as two objects with a touch of foreground and background. Each can be identified as objects without having to form it into a solid.

Sample of Figure Ground: see the face of the baby in the negative space of the moon!