A Better World by Design 2013

This past weekend, my friend went to a design conference in Providence, Rhode Island called A Better World for Design. This conference is run by students at Brown University for people interested in social change. There are workshops about learning how to brainstorm and how to work with other people, guest speakers and expositions of different organizations working to make social change in the world.

http://www.abetterworldbydesign.com/conference/

Color blender

This is a pretty awesome and helpful art web sight.
Blend any color no matter how weird they are!
http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/color-blend/

Things to know

This is a helpful little checklist on things we should all be doing in preparation to our future careers as designers.

http://www.youthedesigner.com/2008/10/08/25-graphic-design-career-preparation-tips/

Reference work/research

About a week and a half ago I had gone to the destiny USA mall and while going through the mall I stumbled upon this book all about sonic. The book was a complete and detailed history of the hedgehog's conception and evolutions throughout the past twenty years. Apart from a deeper understanding of Sonic, the book offered a plethora of great reference artwork and helped me push through the last few thumbnails, and even inspired some brand new ones while I was doing the roughs. The point being that I realized how crucial and thoroughly enjoyable doing a good amount of research is, and to find something along these lines for any subject is an immense help.

40 great graphic designs

http://webitect.net/design/40-breathtaking-graphic-design-examples/

http://justcreative.com/2008/02/25/99-graphic-design-resources/

graphic design blog

http://www.youthedesigner.com/category/inspiration/

This blog was very interesting. It had a lot of inspiration, tips, templates, and brushes. I especially liked the artwork featured on the homepage it was very creative.

Street Art

I found this image while searching through Pinterest one day and thought it was a cool way to brighten up a town. Le CyKlop is a french artist who paints these monster-like figures on poles throughout the streets. 

http://www.designer-daily.com/le-cyklop-street-art-at-its-best-10532

Typography Design Inspiration

While looking at fonts for Typography class, I came across this website. It really shows how important typographic design is when wanting to convey a message to your audience and it also shows how powerful it can be.

http://www.yousaytoo.com/spots/digital-art-and-photograpy/great-new-typography-design-inspiration-51-examples/5860569

Graphicdesignertips

http://graphicdesignertips.com/
This is an neat web sight with great design tips and lots of videos to help you out.

Damn mental block

I don't know about you, but at this point even with all of our thumbnails, I've hit a massive mental block. I get to the point that I feel like I can not make any more designs. Well, here's a simple blog post about some ways to break that mental block that seems never ending.

Paweł Jońca

I stumbled upon his work on the wrap magazine tumblr. I really, really, REALLY like his style. It's out of the box and I appraise (and also envy) his imagination.  The Seed and Memory Game are my favorites--both entirely different yet equally as captivating. 

Best Tumblrs for Design Inspo

Creative bloq's updated list of best tumblrs for blog designers is here!

This is for the photo-loving, inspiration-embracing, typography-curious wannabe, practicing and professional designers. Just a glimpse at some of the tumblrs they feature:

1.) Curioos: A daily selection of digital artworks by up and coming illustrators from all around the world. 

2.) Well-Made Sutdios: Some really great design industry suggestions, opinions and advice for new-comers.

3.) Wrap: Take a peek at illustrations, design creative culture from the renown UK magazine Wrap.

Here are The Goods

Desgin.org

http://design.org

This is a really neat website that has a ll sorts of different designs to look at. From interior design to web design.

Matching colors

Someone showed me this site a few months ago. It is great for creating color schemes at ease. Check it out

Effective design

                 


                  http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/26/vital-tips-for-effective-logo-design/


                   

I thought this would be good help for anyone who is working on our project and want some direction for developing there images effectively.

Animating GIFS in Photoshop: A tutorial

For all my photoshop lovers this is a tutorial for you. If flash has you down, it's important to remember that you can created animated GIFS in Photoshop! This is a really great tutorial for the fact that its so simple to follow and the finished product although simple looks professional.

illustrator speed art of monkey

Doesnt seem to use then pen tool but creates and amazing design. Gives me  inspiration to learn this technique

 http://youtu.be/LvOX9nQgXus

some ideas on beating artist block

http://inspiredm.com/creative-block/

10 Simple and Impressive Design Techniques

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/02/10-impressive-simple-design-techniques/

http://www.pinterest.com/sugarandacetone/graphic-designer-stuff/

Tribal sun designs

i find these tribal sun designs very inspiring to me because they give me such a broad idea on what to focus with my sun designs. Being an african native myself, tribal icon and designs is an area i always had an interest in. I mean just look at these sun drawings. they speak out in their own unique way.

mfutura

http://mfutura.mx/ is an independent company in Mexico that makes some pretty cool designs.

Blog Inspiration

This blog contains some really neat package label designs. It is interesting to examine different everyday product designs, and read about what other viewers have to say. For some of the designs, an explanation is given towards the reasoning of the design.


http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2013/9/16/top-10-posts-of-the-week.html

Design Inspirations

While I was on Pinterest, I came across an illustration of a giraffe. I decided to click on the website to see what other illustrations this artist does, however it led me to a website that has hundreds of images for design inspirations. From graphic design, to fashion design, to vehicle design, it is a great website to look at when in need of some design help.

http://theinspirationgrid.com/

Mac Decals

I recently bought a Mac and thought it would be nice to get a sticker or decal/ interesting case for it. When I went on Amazon to look at them it was interesting to see them from a gestalt perspective. Not only do these stickers incorporate the little apple light on the back, but most of them deal with the concept of closure and to a really nice effect at that.


http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Macbook-Vinyl-Decal-Sticker/dp/B004YZ1SHQ/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1379387453&sr=8-10&keywords=mac+decals

logo evolution

I thought these examples of logo evolution were interesting. Coca-Cola's logo has basically stayed the same except for minor font changes and the addition of the red color. Pepsi-Cola, on the other hand, has dramatically changed the logo a few times as well as color and even shortened the same to just Pepsi.

Best Book Cover Designs of 2012

This article demonstrates how one design can convey many meanings, like on book covers. It brings up a good point in the article because the design of a book can play a major role in which the readers choose the book. It also lists the books that were seen as most inspirational and intriguing. 

http://www.graphicart-news.com/best-book-cover-design-of-2012-inspirational-portfolio-56/#.Ujc6UhbOHww

The "Dreaded" Pen Tool

http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/illustrators-pen-tool-the-comprehensive-guide/

This website is a basic guide to the pen tool. It explains each of the tools that are included, some keyboard shortcuts, and some of the different pen tool preferences. 

More Gestalt

http://www.mcwade.com/DesignTalk/2012/10/put-some-gestalt-into-your-design/

In lieu of my design research for my thumbnails recently, Geometry has been playing more and more of a bigger role in my own work. I felt that it was only fitting to post about two artists whose designs are dynamic due to their really unique use of geometry.

"Sunday" - Angie Niebles 

Looks like Taylor Swift's face was chiseled out of diamonds. 

This has chock full of appeal to me shape wise.

"Peak District" - Ed Fairburn 

This is an artist particularly fascinated with pattern and structure. 

The texture of the skin and the veins match the rough patchwork of the map.

Makes for a very nice combination.

Graphic Designers Portfolio

This is an interesting website where you can look at successful designers portfolios.

http://www.dexigner.com/directory/cat/Graphic-Design/Portfolios.html

Clever Logos

http://twistedsifter.com/2011/08/20-clever-logos-with-hidden-symbolism/

I discovered this article awhile ago and found it intriguing.



For example, If you look in between the K and the I, there is a hidden Hershey kiss.
These hidden symbols can make a logo that much better.

http://tishon.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/25-random-things-about-graphic-design-and-stuff/

Brand Logos With Subliminal Messages

Clever Logo Stuff

http://tech.likes.com/brand-logos-that-contain-subliminal-messages?v=eyJjbGlja19pZCI6IDIxMDgwODUxMjUsICJwb3N0X2lkIjogMjc0Mzc1Njh9

Inspirational Website

http://dribbble.com/

I recently discovered this website and it helped me to inspire to create more thumbnails. I found it really helpful as well as interesting. It is worth a look.

http://www.hopkodesigns.com/

Above is a link to a designer who also works as a professor here at SUNY Cortland, Scott Hopko. The website has a very bright and modern feel, but what's most interesting is the interactive interface.

GESTALT

http://daphne.palomar.edu/design/gestalt.html

Survival Kit design

Thought this was a really, really cool design for a survival kit! Bright colors, everything fits well together and it's a simple text. The blog I found it from is here - http://artisrare.tumblr.com/. Pretty cool blog too.

understanding copyright

http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/graphic-design-copyright-issues/

this would be really helpful in all aspects of our lives :)

Master Masterpieces of Poster Art

SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY HELLER and PRINT NEWSLETTERS and you’ll get a free PDF download: An excerpt from iconoclastic designer Mirko Ilic’s new biography that includes examples of his beautiful work and insight into his revolutionary design.

graphic design tips

http://www.thedesigncubicle.com/2008/11/16-tips-to-improve-as-a-graphic-designer/

This blog has some useful tips on how how too improve yourself as a graphic designer. He stresses that you should continue to learn even if you are no longer in a traditional learning environment.

http://www.howdesign.com/design-creativity/septembers-top-10-websites-for-designers/

This article talks about Septembers Top Ten Websites for Designers. It caught my attention because it has a variety of websites from different photos of typegraphy that people took to the background information about different typefaces and to designer websites. Some of these websites are great resources for future projects.

thumbnails

I liked this blog article because it talked about the importance of thumbnails and a simple way to complete them. 

Who is Lynda?

http://www.independent.com/news/2011/jul/21/who-world-lyndacom/

We have now done two lessons in Lynda.com so I thought it would be interesting to find out who the woman is behind Lynda.com.  This article is really neat because it gives a face to this awesome website.

Interesting

I found this to be a very interesting piece of graphic design. I liked the way everything worked together, especially the textures where it looks like the balloon is exploding.

how to get unstuck

how to get unstuck-getting over creative blocks


I found this to be interesting, and Im sure we are all going to get stuck at some point in this project..
read it over now, so when you get to that point you might know what to do :)

http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/gulp-milkshake-brand.html

Penmanship and Wacom Tablets

A blog I usually browse time to time for design inspo and really helpful tutorials recently published a post on writing with the tablet. I liked it alot because this is my life story, the struggle with being consistent when i write with a stylus so that my handwriting looks like its natural, bubbly self instead of an unrecognizable, really ugly chicken scratch. The trick is to magnify.

http://blog.puglypixel.com/2012/12/07/p-s-i-love-you-penmanship-and-wacom-tablets/

Design: Marlo Kolaric

One of my favorite artists in general, his design aesthetic is so road-less-traveled I can't help but love it . Something about the hand drawn lines and organic shapes make me a huge fan. Im a perfectionist, so I think I relate to this OCD rhythm of his work. If you're looking for inspiration in the abstract world, Kolaric is definitely a character to check out.

Super Graphic

I'm really thinking about getting this ! You can get it on Amazon. It talks about everything from colors to page layouts. Here's the link http://super-graphic.com/ and the link to amazon http://www.amazon.com/Super-Graphic-Visual-Guide-Universe/dp/1452113882/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378086452&sr=8-1&keywords=Super+Graphic

How to be successful in Graphic Design

I thought this was a good little article I came across on what to do and how to be in order to become a successful graphic designer. Having this knowledge in mind during this class will only benefit us.

http://www.princetonreview.com/careers.aspx?cid=74