Week 9: Real Life Inspiration

So I was on my lunch break and happened to walk past Anthropologie. I noticed this display in their window and walked up closer and I realized that it is all made out of those origami fortune tellers. I thought this was such a cool idea. And this was a pretty big display, it wrapped around two sides of the store. I thought this was inspirational because it was such a creative idea. They took a simple piece of origami that kids make in elementary school to play games with, and they made a beautiful display out of it. I think this really shows how you can take something simple and make something amazing out of it. I also think it is very cool that from far away you can't tell what it is made of but when your up close you can. 

Week 9: Inspiration From the Internet

http://edwardsharpeandthemagneticzeros.com/
So, I have another piece of inspiration related to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. As you can tell I really really like them. Anyways, this time it is their website. Surprisingly, I had not actually been to their site until recently. But when I finally went on it, I was surprised. First you have to click on the logo to enter the site, and then when you move your mouse it plays music almost like a xylophone. I thought this was a really fun and interesting way to introduce people to your website. I think it is definitely something that would make this site stand out from others. Although it's not designed very elaborately, it's still a very creative and fun idea that I think will stay in peoples minds. That is why I thought this was inspiring, because it catches peoples attention and makes them remember this website in particular. I think it is such a fun idea, and I love how colorful the page it. 

Art Gallery Visit: Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery

My second art gallery visit was actually on the same street as GalleriE CHIZ, it is called Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery. I love blown glass, so I was really interested in going here. However when I went they were actually in the building across the street because their normal building had flooded (thats why it looks so dark). But we still got to see everything because they were set up in a temporary location while they renovated the old one. Everyone here was very friendly. You could tell they were all passionate about glass and wanted to answer any questions that I had. The first thing that caught my eye when I walked in were these glass birds:

I loved that they were all so similar, but each was painted differently. I this people who can use glass as a medium are so inspiring because it's such a delicate thing, it must take a lot of patience and skill. Every time I go to a glass gallery of any art gallery that has glass in it, I always say I'm going to take glass blowing lessons, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe someday. Anyways, I loved this gallery, each piece was beautifully done and very unique. I would definitely go back here when they have their next show. 

Art Gallery Visit: GalleriE CHIZ

I was looking for art galleries is the area that I haven't been to, and I found GalleriE CHIZ in Shadyside. It was a really interesting place. It was small, but it had a lot of art packed into it. As soon as we walked in the owner greeted us and told us that we were allowed to touch anything, and that she felt it was part of the full experience to be able to touch and hold the pieces. She also let us know that the restrooms were also part of the gallery and to make sure we take a look. There were so many different things in this gallery. There were three floors, each filled with a variety of paintings, sculptures, jewelry etc. 

I really liked the variety of things they had throughout the gallery. And anywhere you looked the walls and the floor was lined with different pieces. They even had a series of paintings done with nail polish.

I thought that was a very creative idea. I would never think to use that as an art medium. I thought they were kind of fun too because they look kind of childish and simple. I also found this ceramic plate...

I liked the simplicity of this and I thought that it was funny because it was about typography. Overall my experience at GalleriE CHIZ was great. I had a great time looking around and talking to the owner. I saw a lot of very unique pieces done in many different mediums. I would recommend for anyone to stop here if you get the chance, it's not a huge place but theres a lot to look at. 

Week 8: Real Life Inspiration

This week I was shopping at Urban Outfitters and this book caught my eye. So I started flipping through it and all of the stuff inside was awesome. There was a lot of band posters for bands that I like. The two that I liked the most were for the Avett Brothers and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Although Edward Sharpe is my favorite, I would probably say I like the Avett Brothers poster the best. They kind of used figure and ground to show the sunflowers and the boat. I think it really adds to it by just showing the silhouette rather than a detailed illustration. I think makes the image really interesting that they made the flowers so detailed and then the top half if pretty simple. I also love the contrast of the black against the orange and yellow. It really makes the illustrations pop out. I think that it was smart to put the Avett Bros text outside of the shape that contains the image. I think that it breaks it up well, so it is not too overwhelming to look at. I also think that the typeface is very appropriate because I think that kind of ship kind of gives off an old timey feel, and that typeface definitely reminds me almost of an old western poster, and for some reason I think it has a little bit of a psychedelic feel because they kind of aligned it with the curve. But I think that is also appropriate because the ship is sailing on sunflowers so I think that could give off sort of a psychedelic feel as well.

Week 8: Inspiration from the Internet

http://adammoyer.com/inside-usa-1973/
So, this week I ordered myself some sunglasses from Knockaround. I already have one pair and I noticed that they say "Ace On Base" on the inside...

and I was curious, so after I ordered mine, I was looking around the website to see if I could find anything on why it said that. And under the FAQ's I found that this came from when the founder of the company, Ace was in a band in college and he slid from keyboard to bass guitar during one song and people started saying "Ace on Bass" but it soon changed to "Ace on Base". But this is not my inspiration, my inspiration for this week is what else I found on the FAQ page. There was a part on that page that said, Adam "Ace" went to art school, and had a link to his work. So I clicked on that where I found out that he does sculpture, print and books. His work was very unique and kind of strange, but I did find one book that I thought was awesome. It is called Inside USA 1973. Although its not elaborately designed, it has a really interesting concept. He used photography and a simple map. Each spread had one state highlighted and he put a photo of something from that state. I thought it was a great concept, and a very interesting way to display each state. I also liked that the white space around the map balanced out the photograph on the opposite side of each spread. I think this was a very interesting idea, and I love that the photographs look a little bit old and vintage. 

Week 7: Real Life Inspiration

I was at Trader Joes the other day, and I found these facial products. I loved the design of them. I thought that the pattern was so appropriate for something that is organic. I really liked the style of the pattern, it looks hand drawn and maybe even like its colored or painted in. I also thought that the color scheme was very appropriate because it looks earthy and has an organic feel to it. I also think that it was very smart that they made it pretty plain and simple around the type because there is a lot going on on the rest of the label. I also thought it was cool that the label of the two different products were different but kept the same style and color scheme. This is definitely a case where the packaging would definitely make me buy this product over another one. 

Week 7: Inspiration from the Internet

My inspiration for this week is one of the new temporary tattoo sets from Tattly, it's the Monster Set. In case you dont know, tattly is a site that sells temporary tattoos made by graphic designers. These ones were made by Anke Van Der Meer from the Netherlands. I thought these were the cutest things ever. I also love the illustration style. I like that there are no border lines, like a coloring book, it almost just looks like cut paper. They are so simple but well designed. I like that they added texture by using patterns on some of them. I  think that the color palette is also very fitting because it is bright and fun. I would definitely wear these as a kid (or even now) haha.

Week 6: Real Life Inspiration

So, I was at Trader Joe's with someone that I work with, and we saw these. I didn't know how I felt about them because I'm not a big fan of ginger, but the girl I was with said that they were so good and she loved them. I really liked the packaging on them, so I figured, why not buy them and see. Well, I was really excited when I was opening them because they had such cute little folded wrappers. I loved that they were folded like little fancy candies you would find at a fancy restaurant or hotel. I also liked the color scheme and simple pattern they chose. I also think that the typeface went well with the fancy theme that they had going on. I do think that the ginger man on the front is a little but creepy, but he does actually look like a piece of ginger so I guess it is appropriate. In the end, the verdict was that I hated them and thought they were gross. Moral of the story, good package design can make someones decision if they are not sure whether or not they want to buy your product. Therefore, the good design almost makes up for the quality of the product. (at least for me, haha.)

Week 6: Inspiration From The Internet

http://www.bonnaroo.com/
I was feeling sorry for myself because I didn't get to go to Bonnaroo this summer. (If you don't know what it is, it's a 4 day music festival in Tennessee that they have every summer). Soo, I was looking at their website, and I noticed how awesome it was. There's a really cool illustrated header, that looks almost like it is hand drawn. Another thing that I really liked was the typeface of the nav, I'm not exactly sure which one it is, or if they created it specifically for this site, but either was I love it and I think it goes with the rest of the site very well. And when you hover over the nav a rounded drop down menu comes down which I think goes very well with the typeface because there are no harsh corners on it. I also thought it was very cool that when you scroll down on the homepage, the color changes and the truck and the clouds move. I think the clouds are extra awesome because it makes it look like the plane is flying. I think that these things will really keep peoples attention when they are looking at the site. The footer is also cool because they have incorporated another illustration that matches the style of the top to tie it all together. I love that the style looks handmade and almost cartoon like, I think that it is very appropriate and gives the site a very fun feel. And the color scheme is appropriate too, they used a lot of purples and blues which are bright and catch your attention however they are mild enough that they don't hurt your eyes.

Week 5: Real Life Inspiration

This week, I was at the store and I happened to come across this. The tye dyed box really caught my eye. It is Annie's Homegrown Pasta. I thought that this packaging was so great. The colors really grab your attention and it all really fits the theme of "peace pasta". I also really liked that they changed their signature rabbit logo and gave him a peace sign necklace. I also think that the color scheme is very appropriate (besides the tye dye) the greens and purples definitely help to communicate that it is an organic product. I think it was definitely a successful design because I wanted to buy it as soon as I saw it. I am broke though, so I decided to wait to buy it at another time haha.

Week 5: Inspiration From The Internet

http://soundisstyle.com/
So recently, one of the main music websites that I use has changed. Formerly known as FMI tracks (Fighting Musical Ignorance) is now Sound Is Style. And along with the change of name, the website has changed a lot too. Starting this past year I have become a lot more interested and aware of web design. And when I first saw that this website changed, the first thing I noticed was the new nav. Although it is nothing too crazy, it is very sleek and clean. there is just a slight change when you hover, but I thought that it was very appropriate for the site. There is a lot going on on each page, so I think that it is very important to have a clean, simple nav. This also helps to make the website very easy to navigate. I also did take a look at the code, and I found out that it was coded in html and javascript. Since I have found this website a few months ago, I have actually befriended the founder of the site. I talked to him briefly when the site changed, and he said that he does the web design himself. I think that it is awesome that he has created and designed this website on his own, and he is not much older than I am. I think this goes to show that if you are passionate about something, you can accomplish a lot. His love of music and his idea to create a website to share music with others turned out to be very successful, and very helpful.

Week 4: Real Life Inspiration

Sorry this ones a little late, anyways I was flipping through my Communication Arts photography annual when I came across this series of photos. They were made for a maximum employment marketing group in Shanghai, and the ad agency Federal-Mogul. The company creates car parts like brakes, bearings, gears and other things like that. The point of the ad was show people the importance of the small parts that make up the whole, in this case, the small brakes and gears that make up a car. In order to do this, they put these small pieces in the shapes of animals. And these animals represented key elements in Chinese culture that also correspond with the viewpoints of the company. I thought that this was such a clever idea. It really emphasizes the importance of these small pieces. And I think it was very creative to incorporate the Chinese culture into these images also. I think it really goes to show how it's now just the whole or the end product that matters, the small pieces that make it up are also very important. This may go against the theory of Gestalt, because it's emphasizing the importance of the small parts rather than the whole. However, I think that they really made a great point and successfully communicated their message.

Week 4: Inspiration from the Internet

This week, I was looking through design articles and I happened to come across this. These fish sculptures were build in Rio de Janeiro, completely out of used plastic bottles. They were made as an installation piece for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. I thought that these were so cool, I think that it really shows how you can make something great out of nothing. They basically took trash, and made an amazing piece of art. I think that things like this are really inspiring and make me want to think outside of the box. It makes me realize that it is possible to create art out of uncommon objects. I also think it is really great that they made this out of used plastic bottles, I think that it is a really great use of them. So many people just throw their bottles away and they take up space in landfills, but this was a very thrifty idea, that took away from waste that would be thrown away and they probably got the old bottles for free. I think it would be so much fun to participate in a project like this, I've always wanted to create something out of recycled objects.

Week 3: Real Life Inspiration

Last week I went to visit one of my friends in Philadelphia. During my visit, I noticed this bottle in the fridge. I thought that it looked really interesting, so I asked him about it. He said it was Hop Devil, a beer that is brewed in Downington, PA, which is about 30 miles from Philadelphia. Then I went even further and looked it up online. I found that the logo is supposed to be hops, in the shape of a devil. And their slogan is, "menacingly delicious". I really liked their design. It's really fun, and not something you would normally see on a beer bottle. And although the devil is green, the rest of the color palette really reminds me of a firey devilish atmosphere. They do use different typefaces on it but I think it adds to it. However, my favorite part of this design is the hop devil logo itself. I think it's very creative and well executed. The illustration style works well, you can definitely tell its a devil, but it's not too morbid or scary. I also really liked the contrast of the green against the purples and reds, I think it really put emphasis on the logo. As much as I liked the design of this, I did try it and the product itself did not quite live up to my expectations.

Week 3: Inspiration from the Internet

http://disposablememoryproject.org/


This week I found an interesting thing called The Disposable Memory Project. It was created by Matthew Knight, a technical creative director from the UK. Basically, how the project works, is they leave disposable cameras around the world, and people pick them up, take a few photos, and then pass them to someone else. Then eventually the photos from each camera are put onto the website. I thought this was such a cool idea. It's a really great way to see the world from different peoples perspectives. The site was really cool too because you could see where all the cameras were. I think it's really interesting to see what different people chose to photograph, and how they chose to photograph it. I think that just those things tells you a lot about a person. I would love to participate in a project like this, I think it would be so much fun.

Week 2: Real Life Inspiration

A few days ago, I got back from Long Beach Island, NJ with some of my friends. While we were there, we went to a restaurant called The Chicken Or The Egg. You may have seen it when it was featured on Man vs. Food. They are known for their buffalo sauce and obviously their chicken and eggs. It was a really cool restaurant, the menu was full of fun illustrations, like a Jimi Hendrix chicken. And then, the inside of the restaurant was filled random chicken and egg related art pieces. One of my favorite pieces in the restaurant was this painting. I have always been interested in surrealism and Salvador Dali, so I was really intrigued when I saw this remake of the Persistence of Memory. The melting clocks from the original were replaced with eggs. I thought that it was so funny, and perfect for the restaurant. Most of the art inside the Chicken Or The Egg was humorous, and I thought this fit in really well, that it was really unique. I never would have thought to make a forced connection these two ideas, but I think that it works so well. I give a lot of credit to whoever came up with this concept, I love it.


You can watch the Man vs Food episode below!
(Chicken Or The Egg is mostly in the 2nd video)

Week 2: Inspiration from the Internet

I have always thought that Gandhi was a very interesting and inspirational person, so when I was browsing design blogs the other day, this typographical poster really caught my eye. I really like that it has a lot to it, however it is still simple. To me, it kind of looked minimalistic but also very detailed. I thought that all of the separate pieces worked together well in harmony, and emphasis was spread out evenly throughout all of the fundamentals listed. I also think that it's appropriate because its all kind of a neutral, natural color palette. I was intrigued by this poster, so I went to look who designed it. I was surprised to see that is was designed by Francesca Ramos, who is only 22 years old. I was not expecting her to be that young. However, this isn't all I found in researching this poster. I also found that this piece is part of a poster series where design graduates pass on wisdom to first year design students. You can view the poster series here. I thought that this was such a interesting project. I spent a long time looking through all of the different posters, and I would definitely suggest taking a look. I put some of my other favorites below.

Week 1: Real Life Inspiration

Recently, I went to Gallery Sim on the Southside. They had a lot of interesting things like blown glass, sculptures, photography, and handmade jewelry. Out of all the things in the art gallery, one thing in particular caught my attention. I was really intrigued by this painting, however it wasn't even part of their show, it was just a piece owned by the gallery. I asked the owner about the painting and he explained that it was the alphabet made out of pieces of the logos of businesses that are located on E Carson Street. I loved it and thought it was a very interesting concept. I thought that there was equal emphasis on all of the letters, which makes you want to look at all of them, not just a select few. And the repetition of the same square shape helps to tie all of the letters together. And the entire piece is balanced by the large A and Z in opposite corners.  I thought that the piece was planned out very well, the letters all work together in harmony. 

Week 1: Inspiration from the Internet

As I was browsing Etsy and looking at one of my favorite designers shops, I found this screen printed band poster by Nate Duval. The pattern on the poster really caught my eye, and I was especially excited because Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is one of my favorite bands. I thought that the poster was really appropriate for the band because it is very unique, eccentric and colorful. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are a very odd and interesting group, and their music is far from what you would call mainstream. I thought that the poster was perfect for them because the pattern is so detailed and fun. All of the lines and shapes kind of form together to create a texture. I think that the poster really looks like it has depth, which I thought made it very interesting. It almost confused my eyes to look at it too closely. The contrast between the colors and the shapes work together well to create harmony within the entire piece. Although the name of the band is small, there is enough emphasis on it that you want to read it. The pattern draws your eye towards the center, and then the contrast in color of the text makes it stand out even more. Even though I like all of Nate Duval's work, this piece is probably my favorite so far. 


You can see more at Nate Duvals Website. 
And you can listen to Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros below.