New Reading assignment PDF

Click here to download your new reading assignment from "signage systems + information graphics"

Links to our class materials, etc.

I asked you all to upload to your blog (do not email me a bunch of files) the thumbnail sketches and ideas for your signage. Some of you did that, some of haven't yet. For those that haven't met this deadline, remember it does affect your grade and will be counted as late. I will give you all some feedback and then you should be moving into the computer and creating the signage designs. After the designs are finalized, you will be creating the schematics.

ALL thumbnails for your signage is DUE Tuesday 2/23.

You should have done this already, but remember to download the pdf of your first reading assignment here. This needs to be read by next Thursday 2/25.

Don't forget that I've also set up a web site for the other things I've showed in class regarding signage.

See you all next week!

more signage and environmental graphics inspiration

i've uploaded a lot of examples of really great environmental design projects, all from the Communication Design annuals from 2004-2009.

Check them out here.

signage project deadlines

for your signage project, you will have several mini-deadines to keep you on track as you develop the final product. there is a lot to cover, so you have to be diligent about your time management. 
(POST your work for each mini due date on your blog - the blog is 20% of your final grade!)

research due tues. 2/16

thumbnails due thur. 2/18

1st draft of all signage due tues. 2/23

design signage schematics; due thur. 2/25

2nd draft of all signage and 1st draft of prototype due thur. 3/2

final: signage and schematics due thur. 3/4

FINAL PROTOTYPES will be due after spring break, on thursday march 18th



and then we're on  s p r i n g  b r e a k!! something to look forward to...

Beginning the design process for your signage

As you begin the process of determining your signage needs, you'll need to research several things. First put yourself in the place of the "user". Beginning with the exterior experience:

1. being this is a first impression, what information needs to be conveyed to the "user"? make a list of all the possible needs (for example: main sign or "signal"; ticket booth; hours of operation; book/video return area; directions to parking or service entrances, etc.)

2. observe the existing signage or lack there of and what problems might exist with the current signage

3. create a rough map/diagram and note where signage could be improved or implemented in the exterior area

4. Go through the same evaluation in the main entrance and then in identify secondary interior signage needs.

5. Make a list and a rough diagram of what signage needs to be designed and where it will go.

This information will inform your final decisions and how best to present the final information in schematics and comps.

Note: You will be producing a scale model of your exterior sign this semester. Ponoko.com, a DIY manufacturing web site service will be an excellent source for the final product.

Though some of this will not apply to your project, these are things to keep in mind once the design process has begun especially once you're working for paying client:

• signage expresses the brand and builds on understanding the needs and habit of users in the environment

• legibility, visibility, durability, and positioning must drive the design process. distance, speed, light, color, and contrast affect legibility

• signage is a mass communications medium that works 24/7 and can attract new customers, influence purchasing decisions, and increase sales

• exterior signage must consider both vehicular and pedestrian traffic

• every community, indestrial park, and shopping mall develops its own signage code; there are no universal codes

• signage codes affect material, illumination (electrical), and structural choices; zoning or land use issues affect placement and size of signage

• zoning constraints need to be understood prior to design development

• permit and variance applications should include the benefit to the land-use planning scheme

• signage requires a long-term commitment, and maintenance plans and contracts are critical to protecting the investment

• developing prototypes minimizes risk by testing design prior to fabrication

• signage should always complement the overall architecture and land use of a site

• signage standards manuals include various configurations, materials, supplier selections, and production, installation, and maintenance details

this information will be specified in your final schematic:

• brand identity system (logo)
• color, size, scale, format
• typography
• lighting
• materials and finishes
• fabrication techniques
• mounting and hardware
• placement

updated schedule

design brief template

i thought this might help some of you finalize your design brief for your organization. take all the research and other questions you've answered and apply them to the design brief below. i've provided example answers to get you started. format it and include this with your logo board on tuesday.

IMPORTANT

I still have not received everyone's blog link, please send me an email with the link if you have yet to do this. thanks!

Logo contest

Feb. 1-March 11

Abbadabba's Inc. logo/design contest 
Online

Abbadabba's Inc., a footwear company, is sponsoring a logo/design contest and is offering a $500 prize for a design selected by Abbadabba's and chosen as their corporate logo. The best logo/design submitted will receive a $100 prize. If Abbadabba's chooses to change their logo to the image submitted for corporate use, the designer will receive an additional $400. Learn more about the company online. All submissions and questions should be sent to logocontest@coolshoes.com.

I saw this posted on SCAD's web site. I think you all have the skills to give them a new logo identity. As you can see they NEED your help!

don't drool over eye candy

(from imjustcreative.com)

When you need a healthy shot of inspiration in the veins, don’t get caught up with the seemingly endless variety of logo and design inspiration galleries. So much focus is placed on these sites, that we seem to assume these are the only places to get current inspiration. This is far from the truth. These galleries offer a very limited perspective on design, usually just surface eye candy. Inspiration comes not just from pretty colours, but the reason why those ‘pretty colours’ were used.

It’s all about context. Logo design galleries don’t offer this essential ingredient, ‘in context‘. They are out of context, and this can be very misleading, especially for the less experienced amongst us. It is also can make a logo look like alost soul if it’s placed out of context. Some logos need to be seen in situ, in the environment for which it was designed. Not just a gallery, sitting idly on its own.

I should note here that the one exception to the above. LogoGala.com ‘Fresh Logo Inspiration’. Deron Sizemore has done a great job of allowing designers to add ‘context’ the the submitted logo designs. One should not underestimate the value of this feature in a logo inspiration site. It helps us understand the ‘whys’ of a particular design, rather than just seeing ‘pretty colours and shapes’.

In my most humble opinion, use these galleries wisely. Appreciate them for what they are, but don’t rely on them. If you really want the low down on why people design logos and brand identities, then the answer is this, read.

Here are a list of books with various doses of case studies:

Logo Design – Vol 1 – Publisher : Taschen


Logo Design – Vol 2 – Publisher : Taschen
Logo Lounge – Vol 3 – Publisher : RockPort
Designing Matters, Logos – Publisher : RockPort
Logo Savvy – Publisher : RockPort
Identity Crisis – Author : Jeff Fisher
Designing Brand Identity – Publisher : Wiley

Michael Bierut at Portfolio Center

Michael Bierut from Pentagram is giving a seminar at Portfolio Center. Plan on us all going to this event on February 18th instead of meeting for class that night. It's free and open to the public, so if you know anyone else who'd like to go, invite them.

Thursday, Feb. 18th, 6:30 pm

He has won hundreds of design awards and his work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, all in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany; and the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Montreal.

Example of work for Yale School of Architecture Posters in Creativity

(Michael Bierut)

(Michael Bierut and Marian Bantjes)

(Michael Bierut and Kerrie Powell)