Do you think constant visual consumption of other designers work can lose its inspirational quality and stop being constructive?

04.26.2010 / Question submitted by: Michael Lassiter

Graeme Stephenson:

Keeping an eye on what your peers are up to should never regarded as a negative thing in any respect, but it’s easy to get lost trying to follow trends or replicate others and that isn’t constructive. I think it’s important to allow yourself time away to think on your own. The rest is just the current environment. continue reading

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Branding Starts With a Purpose Informing its Logo

04.26.2010 / Author: Nicole Armstrong

Your logo is not something you change over night. If it does change, there needs to be some pretty strong rationale behind it — like the organization is repositioning itself in the marketplace and is launching new innovations to back up the change. So, my point is, a logo is something that should be well thought through and reflective of your organization’s brand essence.

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Creative Process Study 08

04.26.2010 / Project: Media Access

Future in Bold

Media Access is a fully integrated media solutions company whose services include sponsorship, TV production, TV content creation, on-line and mobile content creation as well as event management and marketing. This task was about turning a small job on it’s head and investing a bit of extra time and ‘zest’ into creating something that is robust for the client, in order to enable them to appear established and be competitive.

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Creative Process Study 07

04.12.2010 / Project: Track House

Michael Lassiter

My approach to most identity projects usually begins with simply allowing ideas to spin around in my head for a few days before sitting down to sketch. For me, it is usually not too helpful to start off with developing a long list of words or to develop any sort of mind map on paper/screen. Of course, what is referred to as “mind mapping” is most likely always happening in some form or another despite not being put to paper. After all, aren’t we as designers hired because of our ability to make connections that may not be immediately apparent to non-designers? I’d like to think so.

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That Dirty Word — “Creative.”

04.12.2010 / Author: Speider Schneider

I needed my appendix removed so while being wheeled into surgery, I told the doctor I only budgeted $200 for the operation but if I liked his work, I had other organs he could remove down the line at a higher fee. I asked if he wouldn’t mind if I had a few people look over his work and make some suggestions on how he performed the operation. One of them was my 10 year-old son because he was a whiz at the game “Operation.” When I came to, I was in the gutter wearing nothing but a hospital gown and my appendix still rupturing.

I see nothing wrong with what I said as my work as a designer seems to be open to such negotiations and “design by committee.” Clients almost always have a child who does creative finger painting and therefore are used as barometers of good design. A recent client, while sitting at a bar had my logo design redrawn by an alcoholic college student on a cocktail napkin and he showed me it in a fit of inebriated excitement. After an hour of my showing him why pencil sketches wouldn’t translate to size, color and readability, he still didn’t understand why the drunken scrawls wouldn’t work.

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How do you screen a client?

04.12.2010 / Question submitted by: John McHugh

Michael Lassiter:

For me to take on freelance projects, it usually has to either allow for creative freedom that may be missing from my day job, or be for a worthwhile cause/organization/business (such as a non-profit, a record label, an art gallery,etc.). I prefer to take on clients who trust my design sensibilities and experience, and won’t try to dictate how the process will go.
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