Davis College GDSG

My Mom Has No Clue What I Do

2010-09-23T16:21:00.002-04:00

The Apple dictionary defines graphic design as, "the art or skill of combining text and pictures in advertisements, magazines, or books."
Since you are enrolled in a graphic design (or related) program, what is your definition of graphic design? If you are nearing the end of your program, has your definition changed since you first started studying the subject?
I look forward to your responses!

Creative Briefcase - Great Price

2009-05-28T12:09:00.003-04:00

$35 for one year! Seems great to me. It's a special rate and will increase once their membership is increased. So if this is what you need. Get it now. Here's a description from their website:

You can take years bumping along the runway trying to get your Graphic Design business off the ground, but that’s the hard way to succeed, and there are no guarantees that you’ll succeed in the end.

But there’s an easy way too – Creative Briefcase. Our step by step instructions are developed by world renowned Business Consultants and Graphic Design experts, and they’ll put your business in overdrive and blow past the feast and famine cycle.

Existing Graphic Designers – If you’ve been in the Graphic Design business for years and just want to streamline your business model, Creative Briefcase will so vastly exceed your expectations that you won’t believe it. You’ll find yourself literally overwhelmed by the sheer volume of first class information, including advice by world famous consultants and experts – professionals who have been exactly where you are now and know how to leave your all your problems in the dust. You’ll even solve problems you didn’t know you had!
-
New Graphic Designers – If you’re just getting into the Graphic Design business, congratulations – Creative Briefcase is about to show you how to skip years of heartache and lost profit and launch your business in overdrive, blowing past competitors who have been stumbling around for years. Our professionals will give you all the tools and plans you’ll need to set up a wildly successful Graphic Design Business from scratch, and all the advice you’ll need at every step for years of business building to come

Gene Powell Redux

2009-05-08T14:53:00.003-04:00

For those of you who missed it or if you just want to relive it—Gene Powell's recent presentation to the group can be seen on YouTube (minus the last 40 minutes). Follow this link.

Guest speaker Gene Powell of Spoke

2009-05-05T15:36:00.003-04:00

Wonder what that is? You would know if you came to the lecture by Gene Powell of Spoke last week. One of these mysterious tiles were found in Toledo back in the mid 90s by Gene and a friend of his. He submitted the finding to a website and if you search his name along with Toynbee tiles you can still find his digital mark.

Ephemeral the internet is not.

But Gene talked about so much more than just the Toynbee tiles. Now I want to hear from you. What did you think of all that Gene had to say? Leave your feedback in the comments.

2009 Student Exhibition and Competition

2009-04-27T11:55:00.002-04:00

What are your impression and/or comments regarding this year's show? (You can view it online at http://www.daviscollege.edu/design_show/design_show.html

What's in my browser tabs right now—4.17.09

2009-04-17T00:01:00.002-04:00

Street Art Defacement: Appropriate Media vs. Banksy

30 amazing (free) online magazines for graphic designers

What I've Done—a cool little type based video done by the brother of local twitterer @ryanlanciaux.

25 Photoshop Tutorials on Texture

2009-04-14T18:33:00.002-04:00

25 Photoshop Tutorials on Texture discovered via Design Related.

Inexpensive Storage Source

2009-03-10T22:18:00.001-04:00

http://www.lacie.com/us/shop/index.htm

Check out the cool key shaped flash drive. Only $17.99 for 4GB!

Redesign

2009-02-28T15:08:00.004-05:00

Those of you who are with me on the whole design:related thing... here's a pretty cool blog from those same folks about redesigns and updated corporate identities.

redesign:related

The Birth of the Obama Logo

2009-01-20T14:52:00.002-05:00

A great look at the options and progression of President Obama's logo.

http://www.logodesignlove.com/obama-08-logo-design-options

Design Article Archive

2009-01-20T12:51:00.002-05:00

I just discovered this archive of design articles. It has a nice mix of cutting edge and classic. I especially love the vintage Russian ads.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/tag/design/

Another Font Finding Resource

2009-01-19T15:16:00.002-05:00

Courtesy of Emil Wisch of Chicago:

Identifont

Get Your Free Images Here! Fresh, Free Images!

2009-01-19T15:06:00.004-05:00

In the course of doing some research, I came across these free image stock sites:

http://www.freerangestock.com
http://www.freephotos.se/
http://www.oneodddude.net/
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
http://www.freephotobank.org/main.php
http://www.morguefile.com
http://www.f11digital.com/
http://www.stockvault.net/
http://www.pixelperfectdigital.com/free_stock_photos/

Enjoy!

What The Font?

2008-12-31T12:43:00.002-05:00

Discovered this nifty little tool via Rob Sheridan.

Enjoy!

WhatTheFont?

Pop-up books about letters rock!

2008-12-16T12:31:00.002-05:00

Check out this short video of a very cool pop-up alphabet book. Seriously. Go check it out and then come back here and tell me what you think. Keep an eye out for the W—I had to go back and see it again.

Think Design

2008-12-15T14:08:00.002-05:00

A great blog for freebies, resources and inspiration.

www.thinkdesignblog.com

Design Competitions

2008-12-12T13:36:00.004-05:00

http://www.graphicdesignbasics.com/

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com

More Free Stuff

2008-12-07T12:53:00.001-05:00

This blog was featured in the LJ spotlight.

Free Textures!

Process

2008-12-06T10:25:00.004-05:00

Rob Sheridan is the art director for Nine Inch Nails. He recently posted a step-by-step description of the process he used to create one of his most popular non-Nine Inch Nails related pieces. It's a great example of process and includes some cool ideas.
Anatomy of a Digital Painting: Cereal Mascot Reunion

Emily, Duane, and I Are There

2008-11-27T17:56:00.004-05:00

Where are you?

Design Related

Free Stuff

2008-11-27T17:52:00.002-05:00

Free Vectors

http://www.vecteezy.com/

http://qvectors.com/

http://vector4free.com/

http://www.freevectors.net/

Free Brushes

http://qbrushes.com/

http://www.psbrushes.net/

http://www.brushking.eu/

http://www.easyelements.com/free-photoshop-brushes.html

http://getbrushes.com/

http://myphotoshopbrushes.com/brushes

http://www.brusheezy.com/brushes

Free Fonts

http://www.1001fonts.com/

http://www.1001freefonts.com/

http://www.dafont.com/

http://www.urbanfonts.com/

http://www.free-fonts.com/

http://simplythebest.net/fonts/

http://www.searchfreefonts.com/

http://www.getfreefonts.info/

Your turn to add your favorite links for freebies via comments.

Portfolio Much?

2008-11-23T13:21:00.003-05:00

Besides having an abundance of news on design (including competitions), http://dexigner.com has a design directory which includes listings of designers and design studios; great resources for general inspiration or ideas for your own portfolio site.

Designers: http://www.dexigner.com/directory/cat/Graphic_Design/Designers.html

Design Studios: http://www.dexigner.com/directory/cat/Graphic_Design/Design_Studios.html

Take a look around and share your favorites via comments.

You, too, can find zebras that moo.

All Graphic Design Forum

2008-11-23T13:12:00.003-05:00

It's midnight and you're looking for input on a project you're working on, where do you go? The internet, of course!

All Graphic Design Forum is, as the name implies, a forum for graphic designers. Discuss new software, network, find out about openings or freelance jobs, and - yes - get feedback on your work. They even have a forum specifically for freelance work for students looking to round out their portfolio!

http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/phpBB2/

Michael Bierut Interview in STEP INSIDE DESIGN Magazine

2008-11-14T10:13:00.004-05:00

There is a great interview with Michael Bierut in the November/December issue of STEP INSIDE DESIGN magazine. The publication is in the Resource Center. Read the interview then post your comments.

Learn more about Michael Bierut here.

Madhouse

2008-11-11T13:30:00.001-05:00

I would love to hear what you thought of the Madhouse tour. Personally, I thought it was excellent and continue to be inspired by the work they put out. Voice your opinion—what did it do for you?

Space 237's 2nd Artist Trading Card Soiree

2008-10-31T11:43:00.004-04:00

Hi GDSG.

Space 237 is hosting their 2nd Artist Trading Card Exchange on Friday, November 14, 2008. The theme is "Rustbelt".

"What is an Artist Trading Card? It is a small, collectible piece of art, 2.5" x 3.5". They are not to be sold but to be exchanged between artists. It can be any medium - paint, ceramics, fabric, metal - anything you can imagine. It should be sturdy, some artists protect theirs in plastic sleeves made for sport trading cards."

Do you think this sounds like fun and would like to work together to generate and develop some design ideas? We could get together Thursday November 6 at 6:30, in the design loft if it is open (I'm not sure,) or we could meet in the back room of the break room.

Bring your materials, paper, craft supplies to work with.

Please place your RSVP and any suggestions in this post.

Thanks.

Locate, Gather, Process, and Use Information

2008-10-30T11:06:00.003-04:00

Locate, Gather, Process, and Use Information—this statement is part of the General Education Mission at Davis College. It is also a statement to live by if you desire to be a successful graphic designer.

Graphic design by nature is a problem-solving profession. The better your critical thinking skills, the better your ability to solve problems. As you develop your form-making skills and your technology skills, you need to develop your critical thinking skills by practicing locating, gathering, processing, and using information.

Here are a few ways to help:

1
Use every resource available to understand a particular problem—including books and magazines. (There is information beyond Wikipedia!)

2
Search and re-search before you ask, "How do I do this?" Attempting to find solutions before asking your instructor's help will better prepare you for "real-life" working situations. In professional practice, you will be expected to locate information on your own. This is particularly true with regard to using software.

3
Adhere to the design process. Design is a process!

Traveling Sketchbook Experiment

2008-10-27T10:49:00.001-04:00

The concept behind the traveling sketchbook is to fill it with work from different designers. We all have a different style and a different process to achieve that style. The traveling sketchbook will allow a tactile look into each participating designer. It should be an interesting journey.

We have 17 participating members so far. I would love maximum participation and if you’re interested and haven’t yet signed up, let me know. I’ll add you to the list.

Remember:

The pages are yours to design as you wish, but please respect these few simple rules.

Each participant gets 4 pages.
Please move in a linear fashion through the book—your pages begin where the previous person’s ended.
Scattered throughout the book are “community pages”. They will be marked as such. Feel free to make a contribution to these areas.
There will be a “comments section” near the back of the book. Leave your thoughts on the project and others contributions here. NO RUDE COMMENTS!
You can keep the book for 12 days. Make sure you return it to me by the due date. Others will be waiting.
Have Fun!

blockhead

2008-04-29T15:52:00.001-04:00

Thanks to all of you who attended the block printing workshop. I would love to hear what you thought of it! Pictures will up at the website soon.

fish out of water

2008-03-08T09:39:00.002-05:00

This appeared in the February 27 Letters to the Editor section in the Blade.

Local firms shunned in team logo design

It's unbelievable that the administration of Toledo Arena Sports Inc. totally shunned northwest Ohio's creative design professionals by not giving them the opportunity to create the Toledo Walleye's team logo and identity.

Instead, an out-of-state firm was awarded the contract. It's hard to get hooked on the team when it does not consider local businesses that are worthy enough to create highly successful identities for firms not only locally, but throughout the country and into the all-important global market.

The Walleye management would not have been sacrificing quality to keep the job local. In fact, the result may have been better than what was produced. As a local business owner, this is very frustrating and it's a slap in the face to the creative community.

The new hockey franchise will require a significant amount of local support to make it successful. So I'm wondering why that same sense of commitment is not demonstrated back to this community from the Walleye management.

It's hard to get excited about the new fish in town.

Joe Pinciotti

What do you think about this?

2008 Addy Awards

2008-02-22T09:42:00.004-05:00

What a great collection of local design again this year. Madhouse swept the competition with their amazing work. My favorites of the night were the Red Sparrowes poster, the Closet Monkey tags, the Charlie Brown themed Christmas card, and the beautiful invitation with the luggage tags.

The pictures seem to indicate that everyone had a good time.

What did you think of the Addy's? Did you have a favorite piece? Are you inspired to create great designs of your own?

marketing mayhem

2008-01-31T15:45:00.000-05:00

An interesting approach to getting the customer's attention. Give this one a moment to load and then sit back and enjoy.

http://producten.hema.nl/

Thanks to Annette (again!) for this gem.

What the Helvetica?

2008-01-26T19:01:00.000-05:00

So, what did you think of Helvetica? Did it make you want to rush home and design something amazing?

Giveaway #2

2008-01-23T18:28:00.000-05:00

I have an extra copy of the January/February 2008 issue of Communication Arts. It's a multi-topic issue full of beautiful work and insightful commentary.
Want it? Leave a comment on this post & I'll pick a winner February 1st.

Design Catastrophe

2008-01-23T11:22:00.000-05:00

Well here I am. It's twenty three minutes to midnight and I am within a couple hours of wrapping up my project 2 for the Flash Action Script class. Guess what? It won't publish. AGAIN!

This is the fourth time. And the solution is not obvious. I have to dig and sift through all of the files, script, tweens, frames and names to find where the problem is. I've never thrown in the towel, but right now I'm in the last round and my ass is getting whooped.

Which brings me to my question. What is your greatest graphic design catastrophe or challenge?

And from that experience, what would advice would you give to your peers to help them circumvent the trauma. My fatal flaw was not publishing the flash movie every 2 minutes. I'd gone probably 30-50 minutes without publishing, which in design time feels more like 13.78 minutes.

Also, while I typically do my best when I push the envelope of time, when it comes to anything involving more-than-simple-printing (i.e. Package Design) or simple-to-complex-coding (Flash and Web Design) NEVER EVER EVER push the envelope!

Skin Type

2008-01-08T14:39:00.000-05:00

Any volunteers to make the "a"?

Alphabet created using skin folds

Animator vs. Animation

2008-01-07T11:43:00.000-05:00

Have you seen this very cool little Flash animation yet? Turn up your volume to get all the great sound effects. Thanks to Annette for sharing this gem with me!

Animator vs. Animation by alanbecker

Book making workshop

2007-12-14T15:15:00.000-05:00

I'd love to hear some feedback from the lastest workshop. If you attended, let us know what you thought. Have an idea for a workshop? Leave it in the comments.

Photos from both of our events this year can be seen at the GDSG homepage.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Could somebody cue Gary Wright?

2007-12-04T12:04:00.000-05:00

Giveaway #1

I hesitate to label this giveaway #1 for the off chance that I am unable to get more goodies for all of you. This could be the only giveaway, so make sure you get your name in to win!

I'm giving away a copy of Exploring Dreamweaver 8. The drawing will take place December 10th. To be in the running for a copy of this book, just leave a comment on this post by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, December 9th. Not just any old comment. Let me know what topics/workshops/etc. you would like to see addressed here on the blog or in our meetings. Any active GDSG member who leaves a comment will be eligible. The first member who leaves a comment correctly stating why I titled this post the way I did will get an extra entry.

Get your comments in and good luck!

Hart Associates

2007-12-02T21:31:00.000-05:00

Despite an important internal meeting leaving us waiting in the lobby for over twenty minutes, the tour of Hart Associates was a great experience. Brad Zabroski, Senior Art Director at Hart Associates, was our very generous tour guide. He led us through a labyrinth of cubicles, hard drives, and creative teams—all the while explaining the surroundings to our group.

After a tour of the impressive and friendly facilities we sat down in the cushy conference room where video of various examples of Hart's award winning work played on a large screen at the head of the table. It was here that Brad answered all of our questions in an informal q&a session. He had lots to say, but one thing that stuck out to me was his 4 key areas to consider in solving a design problem:

Brand
Target
Message
Reason to Believe

What did you think of the tour? If you missed it, what do you think about Hart Associates site? Their work?

welcome

2007-11-19T13:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the 2007–2008 Davis College Graphic Design group.
Membership is open to all Graphic Design and Web majors at Davis College. The fee covers an entire calendar year and allows access to member only functions.

This blog was created as a portal for all of you to get more involved in design. There will be discussions relating to graphic design in and outside of Davis College. Please share your thoughts and ideas on the various topics with your peers. To leave a comment, click on the "comment" button at the end of each post. Select the radio button "other" and enter your name (it can be just your first name if you would like). Type your comment in the comment section and press "publish your comment". The comment section accepts HTML tags if you would like to leave a link in your comment.

Please send an email hwhitney(at)daviscollege(dot)edu if:

you have a topic you would like to see posted on the blog
you would like to be a team member of the blog and have access to creating posts
you are not yet a member of the design group and would like to join or would like more information

To see some of the feedback on events the group attended last year, click here.
In addition to the blog you can check the events calendar and access various design websites from the GDSG homepage.