This video about the new Adobe Illustrator CS5 features are life changing for us designers. I can’t wait to use the “Perspective Drawing tool.” We would love to hear what your favorite feature is. Sharing is caring 
Archive for the 'Graphic Design' Category
Adobe Illustrator CS5: Top 5 new features
Published May 11, 2010 Graphic Design Leave a CommentTags: adobe illustrator, cs5, illustrator, vector
Vintage books get a facelift
Published February 10, 2010 Art , Graphic Design Leave a CommentTags: A study in scarlet, a town like alice, books, selected diaries, sense and sensibility, theatre, to kill a mockingbird, vintage classics
While perusing a bookstore in a Malaysian mall and I came across lots of beautiful classic books with beautifully done covers. They are simple, attractive and get right to the point. Love them!
Check out all of the Vintage Classics here
Other great book covers:
“Two Caravans” by Marina Lewycka
“The Buddha of Suburbia” by Hanif Kureishi
“Metamorphosis & Other Stories” by Franz Kafka
Beer Loves You
Published November 4, 2009 Funny , Graphic Design , Inspiration Leave a CommentTags: beer, behance, Graphic Design, various posters
This made me smile this morning. Can you tell it’s a Wed? Happy hump day ~
See more Various Posters from Behance.
Worth a Click
Published August 28, 2009 Art , Funny , Graphic Design , Inspiration , Mel & Michelle Leave a CommentA collection of links that we loved this week.
Incredible Retro Work of Mathiole – holla at a local SDSU student 
– REALLY beautiful work
Typedia – an encyclopedia of typefaces – a typographers dream!
25 Sites with Lighting Effects – A 3-part post with a great collection of beautiful web design – good inspiration
8 ways to drive a graphic designer man – absolutely hilarious
Marketing Rules and Principles for Freelancers – good tips from Smashing on how to market yourself
20 Fresh & New Design Galleries – really good source for new inspiration – unique because they include inspiration sites that are specific.
EX: inspiration for portfolios/website footers/shopping carts/html5/type/blogs and more…
20 awesome Illustrators for Inspiration – i love the illustrators – their brains work differently
<Funny things for your lunch break>
Don’t Judge My Hair – a.ridiculous b.funny c.disturbing d.all of the above.
Photoshop Disasters – see hideous photoshop mistakes on real ads – funny
Can you see whats wrong with this photo? Let’s hold hands…
We hope everyone has an amazing Friday -
Tantoo
Published June 23, 2009 Graphic Design , Random Leave a CommentTags: design blog, how, janine rewell, Michelle, tan the man, tantoo
I was reading through HOW’s design blog and found this gem. Tantoo. The project entitled, “Tan the Man,” from Janine Rewell of Finland pushes the idea of what graphic design means. Vinyl stickers + tanning bed = sweet temporary tattoo. Ouch, my skin hurts just looking at it. I hope someone gave him some aloe.
Iglu & Hartly Design Competition – Weekly Winner
Published June 4, 2009 Graphic Design , Music Leave a CommentTags: shop, artistic hub, design competition, t-shirt, iglu & hartly, iglu
Iglu & Hartly is running a weekly design competition with awesome prizes, including 2 free tickets to their concert! Every week we will be interviewing the winner and sharing it with you. PS – if you don’t know who Iglu & Hartly is… YOU SHOULD. They are an amazing band with an insane style. Their music is fun and they are electric on stage. Listen Here.
WEEKLY WINNER 06.01.09
Congratulations Morgan!
This shirt is ON SALE NOW! BUY
ABOUT THE ARTIST
1. Name: Morgan
2. Location: Ojai!
3. What’s your sign: Taurus
4. Nickname: Mo
5. Paper or Plastic: paper is best
6. Dog or Cat: german shep
7. Mac or PC: PC
8. If you could be a font what would you be? I just remember using comic sans a lot when i was younger
9. What blogs/websites do you love? i do facebook a lot, texts from last night, and unfortunately perez hilton
10. School/Grad year: Loyola Marymount University/ May 2010
11. Company: (if applicable) none
12. How long have you been a fan of Iglu & Hartly? dont remember when, but i was a fan when they opened up for shiny toy guns at ventura theatre
13. What was your inspiration for this design? i like pop art, so this worked
14. What is your favorite medium? i like it all, but i loveeee ceramics
15. What inspires you? everything i guess?
16. What is the most played on your itunes? iglu and hartly of course, plus lil wayne
___________________________________
Think you can design better?
DESIGN the next Iglu & Hartly tee and VOTE for your favorites.
Click to see the Official Iglu & Hartly store.
How to Design a logo > Creating Artistic Hub
Published April 23, 2009 Graphic Design , Mel & Michelle , Tutorials 3 CommentsTags: Inspiration, typography, Graphic Design, david airey, artistic hub, Mel & Michelle, how to design a logo, artistichub.com, tutorial, process
Creating a logo is creating an identity. What does your logo say about your company? The kind of people you work with? The kind of business you do? Would you be approachable? Are you strong? Are you fun? WHO ARE YOU? When we launched Artistic Hub, we knew we needed a new identity that emcompassed these things and more. Michelle and I are the graphic designers for Artistic Hub and we think it’s easier to learn about the design process when you can SEE it, so here you go.
The making of the Artistic Hub logo.
1) The Design Brief
We met with Jimmy and Pat to decide what our main goals were for this new identity. We have learned from experience that is is very important to include the necessary people in this meeting (the first time) and allow some time to chat. Taking time to discuss the identity of the company, the goals, the clients, the work and the design ideas are all necessary to ensure that we have a clear direction.
What is Artistic Hub?
Artistic Hub focuses on on-demand merchandising and virtual design. We create interactive campaigns to engage our client’s fan base by coupling our custom built design competition application with the market leader in on-demand printing. This technology creates engagement, validates new product potential, creates measurable return on investment, and most importantly turns the expense of design into a revenue stream.
Who are the clients?
Bands, Brands, Major Corporations and Interactive Agencies.
How would you describe Artistic Hub?
fresh, innovative, approachable, fun, interactive, helpful, global, supportive, community, smart
Main goals for the Artistic Hub logo:
*Must represent a hub – we want people to get it
*Easily recognizable
*scalable (standard for all logo design, but an important aspect here)
2) Research
Michelle and I spent time with some books and Google to get a better understanding of what a “hub” is and how it is expressed in other logos.
What is a hub?
dictionary.com says: 1. a center around which other things revolve or from which they radiate; a focus of activity, authority, commerce, transportation, etc. 2. the central part of a wheel, as that part into which the spokes are inserted.
3) Sketching
It is important to put pen/pencil to paper to shoot those ideas out of your hand. I’m a strong believer that the ideas don’t come out the same when transferred directly to a mouse. Don’t be afraid to sketch EVERYTHING. Michelle and I both sketched until we had at least 60 ideas each. It’s good to try everything so you know you have exhausted all of your ideas and you are choosing the right one in the end.
4) To the computer!
We scanned in our favorite logos to trace in Adobe Illustrator. (We don’t have wacoms in the office yet… hint hint 
)
Adding Text:
Adding color:
5) The Final Logo
We chose this shape because it represented a hub and the negative space shows a group of heads coming together. Unity and global expansion are represented here and the green color has that light, fresh feel. Jimmy and Pat were very pleased with this logo design and we went from concept to live website in 3 weeks. See how this logo is used in our company identity: (web, promotional materials, business cards and logo versions)
Check out ArtisticHub.com for more info.
Other GREAT blogs about Logo Design:
What Makes a good logo design?
6 Reasons Why a Logo Should Cost More than your lunch
My Logo Design Process – David Airey
or hey – just go to 81 of the best logo design resources
Good Source for Logo Inspiration:
-Mel & Michelle
Verizon gets a new logo – April Fools
Published April 2, 2009 Graphic Design 1 CommentTags: april fools, brand new, johnson banks, new logo, re-design, verizon
REALLY?! So BRAND NEW announced that Verizon was getting a new logo. This rumor seems to have been started by Johnson Banks, the alleged design company that was in charge of the new Verizon brand. So many companies are loving the rounded-edge, bubbly, art-school design these days, and we’re seeing more big brands change their logo. I almost believed it was true! Ok, so I did… for a minute. I guess everything on the internet isn’t real, huh?!;)
Designers commented about the new logo and were excited about the re-design. Maybe this is a wake-up call for Verizon! ha
-Mel
CURVY – YEN Mag releases an all female artist exhibition & book
Published April 1, 2009 Art , Graphic Design , Inspiration Leave a CommentTags: Art, Austrailia, CURVY, event, exhibition, female, Graphic Design, illustration, Inspiration, YEN Magazine
YEN Magazine brings you an exhibition and book featuring 120 of the most exciting female graphic artists and illustrators in the world. This ALL-GIRL book, CURVY, is gaining some major attention in the art world and anticipation as they gear up to launch their 6th edition of the exhibition and book.
CURVY kicks off the national tour in Sydney:
April 2nd (tomorrow) @ Mori Gallery
168 Day Street Sydney (on the edge of China Town & Darling Harbour)
8pm-11pm.
They will be releasing more tour dates soon.
The book includes works from:
See the complete list of Curvy artists and check back for tour dates.
YEN Magazine is an Austrailian, independent publication for women that focuses more on arts and society and less on how to look hot in your brand name bikini. Definitely worth a click.
-Mel
Frito Lay animation and advertising – with no chips!
Published March 16, 2009 Graphic Design , Inspiration , Web Design Leave a CommentTags: advertising, animation, anya marina, B-reel, commercial, firesprite, frito lay, FWA, goodby silverstein & partners, interactive, little bright eyes, madeforeachother.com, Web Design
Frito Lay has developed an interesting new campaign featuring 6 animated commercials with whimsical characters that are “Made for Each Other” - just like chips and dip. The first time I saw the “Little Bright Eyes” commercial, I instantly needed to know who created it. The commercials have no direct chip or snack reference, and this subtle advertising is making the them memorable and fun. All 6 commercials are designed by different companies, making each one unique. Love it.
Little Bright Eyes:
Firesprite:
Magnets:
Love & Sockets:
Circles:
Go to: The Inspiration Room to learn about the animators of each of these videos.
A collaboration of great minds, B-Reel & Goodby Silverstein & Partners have developed a new way to advertise snack food. Devoid of all chip grease and party dip reference, madeforeathother.com is an interesting and interactive site that keeps you guessing. The designers created real miniature sets which were composited with 3D, 2D and hand-drawn elements that create a beautiful website. Even though the site isn’t always clear, it’s interesting enough to make you search and discover all for the games and videos embedded throughout. They won the FWA Site of the Day award on February 23rd. You can also watch the commercials and download the music that they play in the background. I love the idea of supporting the musician and I actually downloaded the Anya Marina CD (heard on the “Firesprite” commercial.) It’s one of my top fav’s right now.
So, Does this advertising make me want to buy chips and dip? Maybe not, but it makes me smile and its memorable! which means they may have succeeded…
-Mel
