Graphic Design Trends part 10

Big and bold…

 

Let’s be real everyone. There’s been a lot of doom and gloom out in the world. One of the new trends for this year, hopefully, would be big and bold. The brighter, more eye catching, the better.

As stated, rather than this being a trend, this is a hopeful trend. One that hasn’t occurred yet, but that may just slip in.

What better way to lift people spirits than to bring color and brightness in? As stated before in many ways, Graphic Design is a way to bring a message across subliminally. When we are hired to work, we should always listen to the clients, but if there is way to keep the message upbeat, bright, and fun… Well, then maybe, just maybe, we can have a positive impact on the consumers. Quietly bringing a smile to their lips. And isn’t a smile a great way to start bringing cheer and good feelings to the forefront? Big and bold. Bright! Try it.

 

Graphic Design Trends part 9

Multidisciplinary work.

Sounds like a mouthful, doesn’t it?

In the original article, http://www.creativebloq.com/design/trend-predictions-2013-11121414, the author refers to how many, many people are wanting to be illustrators, thus this is forcing people to work outside of their comfort zones, and try new mediums. From trying animation, to putting their work onto different mediums, like wood, or even developing apps.

Becoming versatile. I have seen many examples of this, just by looking at examples of business cards.

http://www.tuttoaster.com/80-unique-and-brilliant-business-cards/

This also brought to mind, how when I was in class, and we were in our portfolio class. My classmate next to me, who we had a friendly competition during the school year, came up with an amazing portfolio. Her portfolio exemplified her range of talents in an interesting way. Her portfolio was soft material, that she starched. She then took her artwork and printed them onto iron on pieces that she ironed into the portfolio.  It showed her imagination, her sewing skills, her color applications, troubleshooting process. It was an amazing portfolio. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have a link to it online, that I am aware of.

Basically, what is being said here, is don’t be afraid to explore and challenge yourself. Use different materials. Don’t just stick to the “known”. Think outside of the box. Explore different materials for print. Take your favorite character that you play with, that you created, and place him in a small animation. Play with your work.

 

Graphic Design Trends part 8

Animated GIF’s.

We all thought they were gone. Done with. We were all wrong. Designers everywhere are exploring and experimenting with animated GIF’s.The word on the street, however, is that they can be absolutely horrible. An example of this is given in the original article (http://www.creativebloq.com/design/trend-predictions-2013-11121414) and the example is reviewed as horrible. Unfortunately when I clicked the link to see how it appeared, the link wasn’t available to me. So I Googled animated GIF’s to see what all the fuss was about.

Honestly, in school, I learned how to make animated GIF’s and I wasn’t overly impressed. So much so that if I was asked to do one right now I would have to refer back to my books and reteach myself this little trick.

Some “shining examples” of animated GIF’s are:

http://www.ddesignerr.com/40-great-animated-gifs/

http://techzoomer.com/animated-gif-maker/

http://www.wallsave.com/wallpaper/1024×768/dota-animated-gif-907846.html

http://www.andysowards.com/blog/2012/40-best-animated-art-gifs/

I would like to say that I am really enjoying the animated wallpaper from wallsave of the the Joker.

Also, I found that when I began researching this topic I was biased and assuming. While I found MANY of the animated GIF’s to be unimpressive, or annoying…I actually did enjoy some of them. And at http://www.andysowards.com/blog/2012/40-best-animated-art-gifs/ I was impressed that there was some background given on the subject, along with his top 40 picks.

 

Sad news for Illustration Friday…

I was sadden to read this on my news feed. I just wanted to share with all of you, because I had hoped that I had introduced you all to this wonderful site. I,  myself, have followed this site for over six years. The site will still run, the founder is moving on. Please read here to be “up to date”.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Illustration-Friday/79647497908?hc_location=stream

http://illustrationfriday.com/

At http://penelopeillustration.com/about/ you can read about Penelope Dullaghan, who founded Illustration Friday.

Please, continue to enjoy Illustration Friday, and help keep it alive. It truly is a wonderful place to share and be creative!

 

Graphic Design Trends part 7

Hand drawn illustration. My favorite. I am, by no means, the BEST artist in the world, but I love to draw. I love to get into the ‘zone’, and loose myself in whatever image has come to me. The above picture/illustration is my take on spilled milk- with a coffee twist, as I am a coffee addict. And while I wouldn’t bat a lash at spilled milk, spilled coffee would give me pause. Lol.

Hand drawn illustration is seen as a trend for this year. Both hand drawn work and vector based work are popular, but they usually swing back and forth on the “popularity” measure, taking turns on which ever looks to be the trendsetter of the moment. This year, however, they are both popular, so much so that, unlike in the past, they are both popular at the same time. Illustrations are on the upswing, while vector based work is at a slow movement- but was already on the upswing, hence making both almost equal in popularity.

Aaron Jay is an artist with a whimsical (with a darker twist) drawing style that is sure to make people of all ages take pause. Enjoy his work here: http://izismile.com/2011/09/03/strange_but_funny_hand_drawn_illustrations_20_pics.html

Now, remember, one of the parts of this “swing” in popularity is also the combination of the hand drawn style in vector form, obviously, so that the art work is usable in all medias. The more free, original, hand drawn look the vector piece has, the higher probability there is that the piece will gain in popularity. It brings back a feeling of nostalgia; a vintage feel. Which, is popular in it’s own right.

 

Graphic design trends part 6

Acid Visuals.

I had to actually do some pretty hefty research on this one. In the original article (http://www.creativebloq.com/design/trend-predictions-2013-11121414)  acid visuals is demonstrated through posters and video. It is referred to as an 80′s and 90′s “trick” that is coming back. And “vintage” is also mentioned in this little blurb.

Honestly, I am a child from the 80′s and 90′s. This one gave me reason to pause. First off, because I had never given thought to the “look” from those years. Not much beyond the yearbook look, at least. I clicked on the video and I looked at the posters by the artist that was mentioned.

I typed “acid visuals” into my Google search engine. I started to crack up as I realized I am and was completely out of touch with this “trend”. It refers to how images look when a person is “tripping”. I guess I am to straight and narrow for that.

So, on to what acid visuals really refers to. Acid visual is a technique used to give an image, whether in print or motion, a feeling of being “high”, “tripping”. Kaleidoscope is what came to my mind. It is when the image, if drawn out, is out of touch with normal reality, and pulls on something that can be described as deeply subconscious. In the poster that is used in the example for the original piece (http://mysterybox.co/terminator2/) it’s more about something that is sci-fi.

In the video fro the original post… Well, the video is pretty cool to say the least. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj-xBpQ0CI0 All the flashing imagery. The bright colors, the tie die backgrounds, the flowing colors that whip around as fast as the images on the screen move… It really did catch something from the 80′s and 90′s, of that we can all be certain.

I had fun researching this trend that is making a comeback. It really brought back some fun imagery to my mind, from the music video’s we watched to the posters and print ads we saw as children.

 

Graphic Design Trends part 5

Luxury printing.

Two posts back we talked about how we need to make sure that whatever designs we make are digital ready. That they are ready to be put on display no matter the technological means used.

Today, the topic for the trend goes against that whole post. See, while we should, collectively as designers, be designing in a way that is easily translatable to any form, luxury print IS a trend. This is a special trend, in my eyes. It means that while many businesses and clients want work that is for technology, there is work out there that is more freeing to us, to allow us to use our creativity. That work is luxury work. Work that is not considered to be a need, as much as it is to please people like me, who like tangible artwork and books to touch and feel. These are pieces that we may be asked to create that appeal to the masses purely on a tactile sense.

These luxury pieces could be anything from coffee table books that highlight people’s artwork or photography, to magazines that are geared to avant garde fashion, or forward thinking pieces that while they would translate to digital alright, they really are meant to be felt and touched while being admired.

This can also relate to something as simple as a business card that is designed to be engraved on special, upgraded material that is not usually seen for a business card. This can be special selling point to a client, as a way to remind them that the cost of standing out against the norm may be high, but the return will be worth it…

Luxury makes us all think about things that are different from each other. Some of us will think fashion, shoes, paper, animal print, softness. Luxury means something different to us all. But never allow a client to think that luxury is out of their reach.