Your logo is your brand!
Yep, that just about sums it up. Everyone knows that your company logo encompasses everything you stand for, your past, present and future, your ethos and vision. That’s why it’s so essential that your logo commands as much real estate as possible on your website and every facet of print advertising [...]
Flame’s very own Dom Rodwell spoke at the North event – Rule of Thirds (I’m not sure why it was called that). Not to seem biased, or to be sucking up to my boss, but it’s a bloody good presentation looking at how the communication of narrative has fundamentally changed in the age of digital media; how you can no longer talk at consumers but instead craft compelling and engaging experiences worth talking about. This isn’t another waffling rant about clients getting board with social media – it looks at the entire process of how creative digital agencies work with clients and their clients’ clients to develop irresistable, functional experiences, and what skills and structures companies need to face up to the undoubted challenges the rapidly changing communications landscape will bring.
Further reading:
Hello all,
Aside from persuing the standard activities of any sociable teenager in my evenings and weekends; I’ve been squeezing in a bit of time to work on the concept and designs for the new Redswish blog. I’ll be looking to scale back the irrelevant nonsense (to some extent) and ensure a steady stream of personally crafted, but objective and hopefully inspirational posts on the subjects of web design, digital marketing and life experience etc. Although this isn’t a drastic change from where I’ve slowly been taking the website, it will become clearer, the tone of voice and theme of the new site will hopefully be obvious.
Redswish is however a site built and maintained for you, my loyal readers. So I thought it only justified to provide a sneaky glimpse of the design approach I’m using to construct the new site. However I’ve hit a slight slow patch, that’s right – I’m stuck. And I want your help.
Please take a look and come back to me with the harshest critique you can. I can take it, come on! I want the new site to be as good as it can be, and your feedback will be an important part of achieving that:
Thanks,
Nathan
In this month’s Computer Arts, a particular quote from an inspiring interview with legendary designer Milton Glaser stood out to me:
“I find a lot of students beginning to resent the computer as too powerful to use without thinking. They now describe it the same way; they say, “Before I start to do anything, I make notes and sketches and draw because otherwise the computer dominates everything I do”.”
Although I believe he’s more likely referring to graphic design as opposed to web interfaces, it’s an important point to consider. Personally I never open Photoshop before scrawling away, pencil on paper. It’s a faster medium on which to lay my ideas and visions as they appear in my mind, without the distractions of colour, typography, design trends and the concern of “How it will work – Flash, AJAX? Scroll right, fade in? Pop-up or slide down?”. It’s just my ideas, the pencil and the paper.
I’ve never been able to draw in the slightest. It’s a flaw I’ve always been ashamaed of. I tell people I’m a designer but can barely draw a cartoon dog. Thus I never used to touch physical drawing tools – I’d hop straight into Fireworks or Photoshop and practically will the design into existence. It took me quite a while, too long really, to realise the ignorant error of this approach. As powerful as computer-based design tools are, they do indeed seem to impose a certain level of conformity, structure and precision that’s simply not natural
On another tangent – does computer design software make us lazy? I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve persuaded designs in my head in Photoshop, but stumbled upon a particular brush set, font or shape that ‘does the job’, and as opposed to persuing the vision in mind, I’ve simply settled for ‘nice’, but second best, because it was handed to me on a plate by the click of a mouse.
As per usual I may sound like I’m exaggerating the issue, but it’s certainly something worth considering. Do you feel that your designs, whether they be website layouts, application interfaces, banners and posters, branding etc. are in anyway influenced not just by experience, design understanding, trends and client briefs; but by the software you use?