Reflection Arts - The blog of designers

ALL CHANGE!

2010-10-20T16:34:00.001-07:00

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My Top 10 Logos

2010-10-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hello readers!

I thought I'd give you an insight into my mind as a logo specialist and tell you my favourite logos of all time!

10. SeeSaw (here)
This logo utilises one simple shape: a triangle, the triangle is such a marvellous shape if you put the two together on this logo, you'll notice it changes to a play button! But it also gives Seesaw the ability to use the logo as different elements of their website, simple, effective, adaptable. Clever!

9. My Lacy (here)
Another clever logo with a little add on, everything you need to know about the company is in that logo and that's really what you want from a logo, something that's simple, clean, clear and tells you about the company. This logo does exactly that.

8. Watch (2010) (here)
Although I quite liked the eye logo, this one is simple and clean with a little bit of a modern twist! I also quite like the way there is a hole in the circle where the full stop has broken away!

7. Twitter (2010) (here)
The recent redesign of the Twitter website means there's a new logo, the bird is still there, naturally, but the new logo has been given a once over, the writing is no longer blue and it really fits into the new website.

6. Scuzz (here)
This does exactly what a logo should, it explains what the company (or music channel!) is about in one simple design. It's simple, it looks like metal, it's jagged and "dangerous", all of which applies to that of a metal fan!

5. Crosscountry Trains (2007) (here)
Weird, people don't usually highlight train company logos, but I am! - The Cross Country Trains logo is simple and effective, it sticks out and symbolises a modern train company that anyone can use.

4. GAP (here) or europe users: (here)
I was debating about whether putting this one in, but in light of recent happenings I decided to put it in as the GAP logo that has been around since the company started, shows how a simple design can be better than the most complicated and modern design.

3. Coca cola (here)
The staple of a brilliant brand here, this shows how typography can really become the best logo going, we all know what coca cola is and where to get it, part of its popularity is down to this amazingly simple and memorable brand.

2. Youtube (here)
Why youtube? Because again, like Scuzz it describes the website in two words and one picture. That is exactly what a logo should do.

1. Google (here)
COLOUR. You very rarely get a logo as colourful as Google's and that's kept as simple as this one is. In my opinion more logos should be colourful.

That's it for now, I'm sure I can think of more to add to this post but my mind has officially blanked!

@thisrbmatt

That was a weird one! - Gap Logo

2010-10-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

No one will have noticed, but this previous week GAP had a new logo and my word what an eyesore. As Reflection Art's resident logo expert I want to give my opinions, rather than have the media speculate on what a good logo should feature and when you should or should not rebrand!

So what is wrong with the new gap logo?
Lets have a look at it -
It's here!

My initial thought is what on earth is that small blue box and why is it fading?
And more to the point, why such a hideous font? It looks like the designers have tried to copy every high street brand and give a modern.. "swing" to things with the fading blue box. I don't know who designed the logo, but I don't think whoever did it, thought this through very well.

This brings the question to mind: When should a company get a new look?
Sometimes, never is a good answer to that question, but, some designs go down with age, for example, the BT Piper logo. The logo itself was adored and recognised by many, but when the 90's ended something had to be changed.

In the case of GAP my advice to them would be don't completely change your logo if you want a new look then slightly edit your current logo - Do a google and add drop shadow! Something small will go a long way.

I'm going to try my hand at a new GAP logo now, just for fun!

Edit: I've made an attempt (a quick attempt!) at a logo, it's not the best nor is it a proper finished design but hey! lets see if my half finished design gets better feedback.

I know what your thinking "that looks like the current/old/new/whatever the logo is now logo", yes, that's the point, keep it simple, keep it fresh but keep it recognisable.

Until next time!
@thisrbmatt

Top 5: Computer Games Graphics

2010-10-07T13:06:00.001-07:00

Kirsty here!

I decided to make this blog based on the most ahead-of-their-time, in-game graphics ever(in my opinion). Gaming and Character design specifically has always been a deep interest of mine, several games have really made me fall in love with the Computer Games Design Industry and they have inspired millions of people. I shall count down my Top 5 in order of how inspiring and innovative they were in their time..

No. 5:- Tetris

You all have the theme tune stuck in your head now.

Tetris has been around since 1984 and is one of the most well-known and recognized games in history. The simple, linear design made it easily available on any video game console and computer operating system, as well as Mobile Phones, iPod's, and even calculators.

No. 4:- Duke Nukem 3D


It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I'm all out of gum.

From 1996, this FPS was embedded in the hearts of most modern-day gamers. Levels were designed in a fairly non-linear manner such that players use air ducts, back doors and sewers to avoid enemies or find hidden secrets, as well as the environment being highly destructible for our amusement.

No. 3:- GTA 3

Yep, I've been drinkin' again.

Published by Rockstar Games, GTA 3 was one of the first 'Free Roam' games at the time. This had a huge effect on games of the future and the detail in the scenery is something to admire to this day.

No. 2:- Final Fantasy 13

The dampness is damp. And I think something just bit me.

It would have been hard to out-do any of the graphics of the previous Final Fantasy games, so my hopes weren't that high when news of FF13 being released came about. As soon as I saw the game artwork I was stunned; It turned out to be such a beautiful game it was almost worth watching all 6,000,000,000 cut scenes for.

No. 1:- Crysis

I'm a Marine, son. I'll walk on water if I have to.

Ridiculously popular for it's in-game graphics, Crysis topped my pole for most extraordinary Game Graphics. Years on and it's still awe-worthy, with remarkably life-like scenery. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was an actual photo.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know!

@gencdo

Bubble pictures: Inspiration for Designers and Photographers!

2010-10-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hello readers,
I've recently been given information about a photographer who took creative pictures of bubbles, now, not strictly design but still worth the creative credit, the photographer has thought this one through well!

These bubbles would be brilliant to recreate for designs, or used as inspiration for logo's, posters or even websites!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11164709@N06/sets/72157607182199900/with/3620946457/

They are all copyright to the very creative Richard Heeks
(©Richard Heeks @ www.flickr.com )

Cover Up! The Fry Chronicles Design Review.

2010-10-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

Afternoon readers,

As we all know, Stephen Fry's book has just been released. As this is a design blog I will not be giving you a book review; instead we will concentrate on the cover of the book itself.

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/stephen+fry/the+fry+chronicles/7652091/

The book cover you will notice straight away is simple, it is stripped down to basics so it's just us and Stephen Fry. Although there is a lot of white space it has been used to the advantage of the book cover.

So if it isn't the elaborate design, why are we attracted to simple designs like this?

This book attracts us mainly because, We like it's simplicity, we like it because we can see Stephen Fry and we like it because he is sat there waiting for us to listen to him.

It's not always the colour of the text and the elaborate designs that attracts us to a product or promotion, it can sometimes be the pictures, as a designer you think everything through, the font size, colours you're going to use and most importantly images that you use!

The colours on this book also contribute to the simple style, it joins in with Stephen Fry's clothes, it gives a whole unity to the entire front cover of the book and really makes it stick out. A unity that continues into the book itself with the innards of the front cover copying Stephen Fry's socks.

This is a brilliant show of how a simple design can be better than the biggest, most complicated design there is.

Until next time
@thisrbmatt

Adobe Photoshop

2010-09-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys.
Kirsty here, creating a blog on what is my program of choice, Adobe Photoshop! It has been my primary medium to create a lot of my images and illustrations, you can never stop learning and discovering different sequences of effects that you can use to create artistic masterpieces.

Most people have a basic knowledge of the main function of photoshop and what you can create on it. So I will be giving you my personal opinions on what makes it so great, and maybe some things you wern't so aware of..

Why Did I Choose Adobe PhotoShop?

Adobe PhotoShop is renowned for it's versatility. When I first discovered the world of Design I wasn't sure which path I was going to go down so PS's freedom seemed welcoming. I am continually amazed by how you can never stop learning about PhotoShop, which makes it appealing to those at any level of Design. It didn't take me very long to pick up a wide knowledge of different effects and techniques which you can then apply and mix up to create your desired final piece.
Photoshop can be used by anyone with a sense of creativity and exploration.

You can change the brush size by pressing the bracket keys repeatedly.
There are many keyboard shortcuts to make your time using PhotoShop easier and less stressful. It pays to spend a few minutes researching these, they will soon become a big part of your PhotoShop routine.

Set your Units of Measurement to pixels
Get to know your Units of Measurements! If your graphics are only going to be viewed online then it helps to have your guidelines snap to pixels.

Use the sharpen tool on photos
Play around and find out what works best when you resize a picture. You want all of your final pieces to look crisp so when photo manipulating you should take all aspects into consideration from the start.

The shift key to constrain portions while resizing/stretching
Hold it while you drag.

Ok so if you were ever on the fence about using PhotoShop, I hope this has motivated you to do so. It comes in handy almost constantly and has everything your designing needs require in one place.

@gencdo

How I design.

2010-09-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hello viewers,

This is my first designed-based official post and I am going to begin my time on this blog by going into How I design. This is going to cover the basics for any beginner out there. It goes into what program I use to design and what you can make in it.

First of all let me explain the program, since I found out about design I practised using Fireworks, this was mainly in college because I didn't have it at home, so this is where my design evolved. Unfortunately the courses I was doing at the time had hardly any relevance to design so I was basically on my own (It's not a problem though, Fireworks is so simple to get round!). I learnt everything I know about Fireworks on my own during the college courses, which was kind of fun.

Why Fireworks?

I chose to learn Fireworks on two simple factors.
1. I didn't have any other programs to learn on to begin with so it was a no-brainer.
2. By the time someone showed me Photoshop I'd already gotten used to how to use Fireworks and I found Photoshop complex and annoying but now I can switch between the two!

Is it for Beginners?
Certainly! Fireworks can do everything that Photoshop can it just takes a different method to do it. It's simple and clean and can easily be learnt in a few weeks, it takes a lot longer to get your creativity flowing to use it more effectively though.

What can you design in it?
Fireworks can go do everything Photoshop can do, it has similar tools to Photoshop the only downside to Fireworks is that it isn't that good at Photo manipulation, but that's its only flaw in my eyes.

Fireworks has a brilliant set of tools - Bitmap being the first, it allows you to create vivid works with Pencils and Paint if you have a graphics tablet these tools are perfect for it.

If you're not as talented as that and would like to try and design things using the other tools then, this is possible too, Fireworks has a great selection of Vector tools that is perfect for anything, with the ability to manipulate and add to any of the basic shapes, you can make your own desired shapes with the line tools and pen tools.

As for web publishing, you can slice images in two different ways using either the rectangular tool or polygon slice tool, as well as the ability to Hotspot several points on the graphic.

It is the essential beginners program.

@thisrbmatt

Introductions.

2010-09-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Kirsty here, to introduce those who will be blogging to you at ReflectionArts. We all have different interests and influences in the World of Design which will make for varied and interesting posts! We will also have guest bloggers - those who may have knowledge of subjects different to our own. This means that you get as much of a wide range of topics and discussions as we can provide.

Meet the Team
Matt
Matt is business minded and his influences are fueled by the successes of Richard Branson and Alan Sugar. His interests in the Design world are rooted in Logo Design, and has successfully created logos for new businesses as well as setting up and making web layouts with his experienced knowledge of Web Design.

Kirsty
Interested in the creative aspects of Illustration, Kirsty finds inspiration in many artists. Currently desiring the works of Rob Ryan and his paper-cut style her work often reflects the simple concepts and delicate designs. Many of her works have been commissioned and sold, she hopes to carry on this success into the competitive world of Advertising Design in the future.

More designers will be added as we add more to our team. Short bio's of guest bloggers will feature in further posts.

@Gencdo

Welcome

2010-09-28T14:09:00.001-07:00

This blog is going to be a newshub for design news/updates and discussions.

Let me explain a bit about what is happening - Kirsty (@gencdo) came up with the idea to have a blog about the latest happenings in the design world, to make an area of free discussion about the latest news and improve on the current communities of freelancers, designers and people who want to get into the design industry.

At the moment we're going to be just a blog about the latest designs where you, the users can comment and give your opinions about the latest news. In a few months time I plan on moving this onto a new hosting account where we can improve the features for you, the community.

Features we are planning -

Bigger & better blog
Discussion boards
Tutorials

But for now, help us to help you provide the best possible news, updates and community we can.

@thisrbmatt