Archive for October, 2007

Inspirability - Pash, Matt Pashkow

This is a collection of interviews with 40 top designers centred on where they get their insipiration from, which there is actually no magic answer to it.

The designers being interviewed are required to fill in a questionnaire (which in itself, the returned questionnaire is very interesting with some in scribbles and some with drawings), take a picture of their work area and some of their works.

One thing I noticed is that love and God seems a recurring theme among some of the designers. One of it that stands out is a reference to a bible verse Luke 17:32,”Remember Lot’s Wife” where the reminder is to never look back. Another designer, Stefan Bucher, has the almost the same advice ”Failure is never as frightening as regret.”

 

The Visual Dictionary of Graphic Design - Gavin Ambrose, Paul Harris

This book is a dictionary; where certain art/design terms are given a one page explanation with pictures (hence visual dictionary). A comprehensive dictionary with terms such as abstract expressionsim, art noveau, chroma but it’s not a teach-you-how-to design book. It is a visual dictionary.

What is so Amazing about Grace? - Philip Yancey

Stories of ungrace are everywhere in our lifes yet it is the story of grace that touches our heart. The message in this book is a reminder to us that the church is meant to be a place of grace, starting with the example of Jesus dying for us when there is no way that we have or can earn it.

This book started out great, with stories of grace and how ungrace, hurt, bearing grudges can destory our lifes and others. Later as it ventured into how grace/ungrace affects the political/ national issues, it becomes quite tiring to read. Overall, a good overview and review of the issue of grace but I’d say with less impact than Yancey’s other book ”Disappointment with God”.

Logo Design Trends - From LogoLounge.com

Logos are a funny thing.. on one hand, you have the trendy logos as collected by logolounge.com and on the other, you still have clients who would rather go for the standard look. Anyhow, here are the 2007 trends as compiled by Logo Lounge.com, please click on this link to read the brief that they have written about each style.

3D

3d logolounge

descending dots logolounge

Eco Smart

eco gdusa site

Flora

flora logolounge

 

half logolounge

Dos Helix

helix logo gdusa site

hubs logolounge

Lit

lit gdusa site

outline logolounge

overlap logolounge

Pseudo Crest

pseudo crest gdusa site

Radiance

radiance gdusa site

ribbons logolounge

Rubber Bands

rubber bands gdusa site

Urban Vinyl

urban vinyl gdusa site

Drawing my stuff toy with Pencil, Erase and Smooth tool

Since I’ve got a Wacom, I decided to try it out drawing my stuff toy.

pencil smooth erase tool

Kind of fun, this is using the pencil tool which is a tool I normally don’t use as it’s difficult to control using a mouse (but now I’ve got a Wacom!). The smooth tool and erase tool are useful but first you have to select the drawing before they work.

The smooth tool is kind of amazing, the line can be jagged and you just have to move the smooth tool over it and it’s smooth! Much faster than altering anchor points one by one.