Digital vs Traditional

            So this has been a bit of a topic I see people talk about from time to time, so I figured I'd give it a shot as well. First though, some quick definitions. Traditional art is usually defined as art made on paper, a wall, or any physical surface. This could also mean traditional art in the sense of statues, clay figures, or anything as long as it was made physically. For me, this usually means art made with a pencil and paper. As for digital art, this could be 3-D, 2-D, Photoshop, or anything that is made in a digital space, usually in a computer. Now, one could say photography lends itself to both since a lot of the work done with it is digital, yet it physically exists in a way that makes it, sort of traditional. For this argument though, I will leave it out.

              Now for me, I do prefer the feel of traditional art. Being able to just go in, draw what I like, and have the comfort of how I hold my pencil. Now that being said, if I make too many mistakes, that winds up wasting paper. This of course is quite problematic in this environmental conscious society, and I want to try and avoid that most of the time. However, I do enjoy the work that goes into making a physical, one of a kind piece..... Then again, I am judgemental of my work. When comparing it to something digital as well, I find the coloring to be off in several ways. However, I will say that traditional art is still a good starting point for other ideas, and can be fun to do every now and then with quick doodles.

               As for digital art, it has made waves in mimicking the styles of traditional art. Tools like a stylus help make the process easier, and help it seem like you're working on a traditional piece. However, that is IF you have a stylus. If you're stuck with a mouse or track-pad, that will take a long while to get used to. Now, it is worth noting that if you're making a logo, digital art is definitely the way to go for the final draft. Considering you will need to put it on all sorts of signs, cards, and who knows what else, having a PNG or JPEG of a good resolution file is a must. Now unfortunately digital art does not have that convenience factor for quick doodles like traditional does. You would need the right set up for when you are on the go, and if you don't, get ready for a clunky time.

              All in all, I would say both have their ups and downs. I do not have a particular preference, considering both are for different things a lot off the time. Heck, you could even make a traditional art digital by scanning it or taking a photo of it to put online. Vice versa, you could print out digital art and make it physical. It all depends on you, and what you prefer.

                

Manipulation

 

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                So, does anyone else feel media has been manipulating you to watch it? Do not get me wrong, I enjoy a good twist every now and then, but there are twists, and then there are lies. To put into an example, let's say you get excited to see a sequel to 'Harry Potter', and the marketing heavily shows off Harry. He's in all of the trailers, mentioned heavily in the description, and even dead center in the poster. You go to see the movie, and..... Harry is killed off in the first scene and the rest of the movie focuses on some new students at Hogwarts. How would you feel if you saw that?

                Now, a lot of this tends to happen as a result of studio execs fearing audience interest. Take the movie 'Troll 2' for example.

                     

 (I do not own this image, it is property of the rightful owner.)

                   This is not a sequel to the original 'Troll', but it was kind of turned into one because the higher ups feared it wouldn't make enough money. (To be fair, they weren't wrong to fear that. Watch clips of the movie to know why.) However, this does show a problem where one could profit off tricking audiences.

                 Now, there is one argument that I would like to bring up. 'Well, it never said 'so and so' on this poster, so maybe you shouldn't complain.' To that I say, you're right in some cases. Again, if the main use of marketing is focused on attracting the audience to what they want to see, only to have it be taken away, I can not blame people for being upset. Especially if what the actual product was focusing on was featured very little in marketing. Also, so keep in mind that this type of manipulation could be used to dodge certain problems companies could face in the future.

                  Think about it like this; you want a fast and tasty meal; the sticker on the box says it will take five minutes to make; the back of the box has several instructions you need to complete before the five minutes. All in all, good design and media should avoid lying to the customer to produce cash. It never works out for anyone in the end.

    

Familiarity

            Chances are, if you saw the image above, you would think, "Wow, that looks like a bad McDonald's parody" . Now, obviously you would be right, I just made this image to discuss the topic of familiarity. When creating this image, I had the intent of wanting it people to immediately associate it with the McDonald's brand. I wanted it the image to seem 'familiar' enough that you would associate with the restaurant brand. I'm sure hard I maybe taken out the words, and changed the colors, you wouldn't connect the two.

             So, the ability to recognize a product is very important. This is why redesigning logos is tricky. Sometimes you want to move your brand to a new direction. Be it because of controversy, wanting to find a new audience, or just an pitching an idea. So, in that instance, you would see a more drastic logo change. That being said, other times you more of less just want to update the logo or brand. In that case, it's best to keep some semblance of what you originally had, that way people still recognize you.

 

               Something else you want to factor is nostalgia, and people's comfort zones. A lot the time, you probably prefer the look of things in the past than now. So, since companies want to speak to the masses, they'll try to cash in on nostalgia, and lure people in. Whatever makes their audience comfortable, that will be the route they want to go.

               You can make your logo seem familiar to a place, time, or feeling. At the end of the day, whatever your audience is, you want to show them something they would recognize. Give them something they could understand from just one look. With that however, thank you for reading. As always, make sure to comment your thoughts, give any criticism, and stay tuned!