I Think Design

Rich Black or 100%K

2009-06-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

(For Offset printing)

For when deciding between using Rich Black or 100% black in your designs: 100K is better for small text (smaller than 18pts). This helps avoiding registration issues AND if the client requests changes to the text, this will only affect one plate rather than all four (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black).

Client - Vendor Relationship

2009-06-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

Interestingly enough, nobody would behave like this with a doctor, I wonder why?

Paul Rand, Apple's logo designer

2009-06-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

Check out this video of Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, talking about Paul Rand, the designer who created Apple's logo, among many others: IBM, ABC, Cummins Engine, Westinghouse, and UPS.

It is refreshing to see the respect and admiration of a client for a designer.

Typographic experimentation

2009-03-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

This morning I attended a workshop on typography, as part of AIGA Boston's celebration of its 25 years. The instructor was Michelle Bowers, a very talented designer, who does fantastic typography work. You can see her work here, and below are the images that I created during the workshop. It was a lot of fun!

Polish posters

2009-03-03T12:16:00.001-08:00

Here is a gallery of some of my favorite Polish posters. The designer, Franciszek Starowieyski, died last week. He was one of the masters of the great postwar Polish poster school

Interesting photographic experiment - Experimento fotográfico interesante

2009-02-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to a very interesting experiment. Place your cursor at the top of the photo. You will notice it is 6:10 PM. Bring the mouse down slowly over the photo without pressing any button. Watch how night time appears, the lights come on, and at 7:40 PM, it's dark!

Este es un experimento muy interesante. Coloca el cursor sobre la parte superior de la fotografía. El cursor dirá que son las 6:10 PM. Lentamente mueve el cursor hacia abajo sobre la foto, si presionar ningún botón, y observa cómo se hace de noche en la foto!

Redesign does not always mean improvement - Rediseño no siempre significa mejoría

2009-02-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

When a company decides to go through a redesign of their logo, it is usually done for an improvement. This is not the case of the logo redesign for Blimpie. Here you can see how they changed a logo that was at least playful for an insipid use of the font Futura Extra Bold.

Casi siempre cuando una empresa decide hacer un rediseño de su identidad es con el objetivo de mejorarlo. No ha sido ese el caso de la compañia de sandwishes Blimpie, que recientemente hizo un rediseño de su logo para usar únicamente el nombre Blimpie en la tipografía Futura Extra Bold. Un cambio desafortunado.

Beautiful Book Covers - Bellas Portadas de Libros

2009-02-20T10:37:00.001-08:00

Penguin re-published the James Bond novels with a beautiful redesign of the cover. See the artist's blog here and the covers here.

La editorial Penguin re-publicó las novelas de James Bond con nuevas, muy bellas portadas, diseñadas por este artista. Aquí puedes ver las portadas.

Shigeo Fukuda RIP

2009-01-16T18:49:00.000-08:00

I just read the news that Shigeo Fukuda passed away on Sunday, January 11, 2009. He was 76 years old.

Fukuda was a very important figure of the Japanese and International design community. His work is full of poetry and discovery. He was, is, and will always be a good inspiration for designers and artists. Rest in peace, dear maestro.

Here are are some of his posters

The Ultimate Fight!!!!!

2008-10-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

Design Life Now

2008-01-02T22:59:00.000-08:00

I just came back from the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston. I went to visit the exhibition Design Life Now. This exhibition, running from September 28, 2007 to January 6, 2008, intends to present a wide spectrum of contemporary American design, including product design, architecture, furniture, film, graphics, new technologies, animation, science, and fashion.

This is my first major contact (aside from some experiences during three visits to the MOMA in NY) with a big show that covers so many fields of design. Being an AIGA member, I had the opportunity to visit an exhibit that was part of BoNE Show 7, Best of New England Design, but that event, which was organized by AIGA Boston, focused only on graphic design.

Design Life Now showcases the work of individuals and companies like Apple, Pixar, Nike, architect Santiago Calatrava, designers Joshua Davis, Jessica Smith, and David Wiseman, and many others.

These are some of the pieces that caught my eye:

The Speak Up web site. According to their own description: this site "is a reader-supported community devoted to graphic design open to conversation and dialogue. It stresses and questions the importance of the profession in our culture. Speak Up challenges those who practice inside the field, in hope of more accountability for their actions and in light of the responsibility we all have as communicators. Its mission is to further the graphic design profession from within with the goal of creating a stronger and clearer sense of what our role is as professionals endowed with the duty of creating social, cultural, political and/or economical communications based on our ability and obligation to do so in a visually clear and comprehensible manner."

The Blik web site. In their own words: "What is blik you ask? blik is an I.D. Magazine award-winning line of surface graphics created by and for people who like to change their mind. These self-adhesive wall decals (think stickers for grown-ups) allow you to easily transform the look of a living or office space in minutes. Affix blik to any smooth, flat surface such as a wall, window, mirror, ceiling, tabletop or floor. Choose your space, plan the design you'd like to make, and literally, just peel and stick. And when you're tired of your design, say after years, a month, maybe a day - the decals are removable."

Howtoons: This website showcases cartoons that show kids of all ages "How To" build things. Each illustrated episode is a stand-alone fun adventure.

Other great pieces were:

Book covers by Chip Kidd
Design examples from Planet Propaganda

I don't know if this exhibition will visit other cities, but I would sure recommend it to designers, students, architects, artists, or anyone interested in learning about contemporary design in the US.

Disappointment Compass

2007-12-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hagar and I went to see The Golden Compass, and we had a great disappointment. I was very excited about this movie after reading the book. We were also intrigued to see how the director would surpass the whole controversy regarding Philip Pullman’s attacks on religious institutions. I was prepared to understand some level of compromise from the writers and director in order to make the movie commercially successful, but it went too far…in my opinion.

Here are three points to explain my feelings:

First: During the first 5 -15 minutes of the movie the narrator gives away what a reader gets only after reading most of the book, which means that all the suspense and intrigue in the book are lost.

Second: The movie is so sweetened that a very important passage of the book—the death of a child whose dæmon has been cut away— is changed completely, getting rid of an element that makes the reader understand the real horror against which the main character, Lyra Belacqua, and her friends are fighting.

Third: Nicole Kidman…no way she is the best representation of the Mrs. Coulter in the book. I have liked her performances in the past, but this is not one of her best. The character in the book is beautiful and evil. Her portrayal is neither one nor the other.

In general the movie feels like a preview, not the real deal. The creators tried to condense a great story into 113 minutes, but unfortunately someone did not do a great job this time. I hope the upcoming second and third movies of the series are better.

I, personally, would recommend that you read the books before seeing the movies; otherwise you will miss a great story.

Interesting combination

2007-12-05T06:17:00.001-08:00

I woke up this morning and I found my wife's shoes in the living room, in a surprising relationship with the VCR and DVD remotes.
I don't know what to make of it; I just thought that it was an interesting image, maybe good for advertising or poster design. I wanted to share it with you, and if someone comes up with something, I will happily publish the image here, next to my photo.

Leopard semi-hidden features

2007-11-27T10:16:00.001-08:00

This is way too cool! Muy bueno.

This is an article about the features that are usually not mentioned when Apple talks about Leopard (the newest version of Apple Operating System)

I have been a Leopard user for a couple of weeks, and I have to say that I love it! There are so many ways to speed up your work. This article talks about features like:

Printing and Page Setup integration: No more two separated dialogs.
Use of Spaces to define specific applications to each space: One of my favorites, no more clutter.
The Path Bar Bonus: An easy way to find your way around.
Login Items: Find the locations of everything that is automatically open when you log in.
Autosave for TextEdit: You won't loose that text anymore.
Automator recording: Record what you do once, and to do it again in the future...just press a button.

It's just great!

Graphic Design Dictionary

2007-11-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

Check this Graphic Design Dictionary. It's a very interesting compilation of terms used in our profession.

Perfect bouquet!

2007-10-23T13:45:00.001-07:00

Today is Hagar (my wife)'s birthday, and I gave her a fruit bouquet.... yummy!. Check this out: Pineapple, Strawberries, Apples, Melon and Grapes, some of them covered in Dark, Milk and White chocolate... Am I not the perfect husband? ;-)

I didn't want to do advertising for the company that creates them, but they are really delicious.

Google logo designer

2007-10-20T23:04:00.001-07:00

If you ever wondered who is behind Google's fun and festive logos, here you can find an article about him. His name is Dennis Hwang, and he lives in Korea.

In general, I think that it works great for Google to have a flexible enough visual identity that allows for so many creative variations. Here you can see some of the logos.

Cool stuff!

Some ideas about paper

2007-09-07T22:41:00.001-07:00

Paper selection is a very important part of the design process for a printed communication piece. Unfortunately, in many cases this element is left behind in the process, and the final decision depends more on the available budget.

There are many elements to consider when selecting paper stock: Coated or Uncoated, Textured or Smooth, Bright or Dim, Glossy or Dull, Thick or Thin, Opaque or Transparent, White or Color, etc.

One of the basic decisions is Coated vs. Uncoated:

Uncoated papers are more textured and porous, affecting the way ink lays on the paper surface. Inks tend to spread out more, which would not work well for a design with very small, thin, or sharp details. Images would be softened, and colors would not be very saturated.

Coated papers are smoother. Their surface allows a sharper and more detailed result, and brighter and more saturated colors can be obtained.

If you are a designer or a client working with a designer, research paper types, talk with your printer to learn about possibilities, and make the best choice depending on who will use this piece, how it will be used, and what is the intended message.

Glossy papers can make reading harder in certain lighting conditions, for example, but can be good in some cases because of the more shiny end results and the more saturated colors obtained.

There is no unique formula for a successful choice. Talk with your designer or client, and may the best paper win!

New drafting table

2007-09-01T22:33:00.001-07:00

I just bought a drafting table. It does not seem like a big deal, but when you think of the many hours that designers spend working with a computer, a table to sit and sketch, just by hand, without a fancy Wacom tablet, or an Apple super mouse, just ideas flowing in a natural fashion...
I am very happy with this new acquisition; I just hope that it will help me to get new inspirations.

Very cool type animation

2007-08-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me the link to a very cool type animation based on the audio track from ‘Pulp Fiction’. Thanks to Michael Lok from Urbane-Dog.com

So, I have started reading some graphic novels

2007-07-31T19:59:00.000-07:00

It's a very interesting form of art, and unfortunately I didn't have much access to it until I moved to the US in 2003.

I am currently reading "Palestine" by Joe Sacco, and "Watchmen" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

In the meantime, I just got this very cool link where you can see comic book covers.

Enjoy it, and if you have any good recommendations for graphic novels, I would love to read them.

Very interesting portrait of humankind

2007-06-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

I just found this very interesting website named 6 Billion Others. It shows videos of people from all over the world, talking about basic themes that are important and part of the life of every human individual: Joy, Family, Dreams, Fears, Tears, and many others.

I watched every video, and felt many of the testimonies as very close to my own experience in life until now.

Great idea! Many congratulations to the creator, Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

Respect designers and yourself: say no to spec work

2007-04-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

I recently received an email from one of the forums that I read, where someone requested that the designers in the forum submit logo ideas to this company, so they could choose which logo they liked, and would then pay the selected designer for his work.

Even more interestingly, the person making this request was a doctor, and the company in question is a private clinic.

It's incredible how often proposals like this appear on the web. The worst part is that both sides, designers answering these requests and the clients posting them, are playing a terrible role.

I wonder what would be the answer from the medical community if a patient goes and says: "I want to have appointments with as many doctors as possible, have all of them give me their best knowledge and treatment, and at the end of the day, I will pay only the one whose treatment I enjoyed the most..." Note: This example is mentioning doctors; however, it would apply to anybody who finds it fair to make designers work for free.

When someone makes this type of request, their idea may be: "There are tons of students and beginning designers who would be more than happy to have their work selected and used by us, so, why not have them work hard, and we just select and pay for WHAT WE LIKE at the end".

The emphasis in the last paragraph is to remark that you are not getting WHAT IS BEST for your company, you are just selecting what looks the best among the available options.

As a client, the practice of spec work damages your company, because the designs that you receive will not be based on any professional research. In another of my posts I tried to explain that a logo is an investment, and this extends to any product of design. A designer or firm that creates a successful design for you (meaning more sales, more client recognition and loyalty) will need to thoroughly know your company's mission, goals and projections, among other things.

Although the option of requesting spec work from the design community may seems cheaper, at the end of the day you may be paying double or more, or having worse consequences, similar to choosing a bad clinic to treat your illness only because it is cheaper.

For more information about spec work visit this website.

Greetings in other countries

2007-04-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in learning international greeting protocols, check out this site.

Coming as I do from a different culture, I have had to learn (and I am still learning) the American customs and behaviours in social interactions and in professional environments.

I was very surprise, for example, when I learned how much personal space is valued in this culture. In Cuba we don't keep so much personal space, perhaps due to the fact that our island is so tiny that we all have learn to be closer to each other.

Letter spacing test

2007-04-15T15:41:00.000-07:00

Test your ability to kern (adjust the distance between two letters, to make words more readable) at this page. The University of Delaware and its Visual Communication program published this test for their students. You will be able to take the same test if you click on GUEST, at the bottom.

For more information about kerning and tracking (evenly adjusting the space between letter in words, sentences or paragraphs), visit this article in Wikipedia.