A Style For Everyone Involved

       So, last time I explained how graphic design was a two in one package for everyone involved. In a blog post from a while back, I talked about simplification, and how you need to learn to use it right. Now, I'd like to go off of both of them to talk about a third subject, style. I might have touched on this a bit in the past, but I want to go in depth here.

       In essence, I want to use the upcoming show Hazbin Hotel as an example.

Image courtesy of Ayy Lmao of Youtube.

     Here we have two designs of the same character,  but I want to put special attention on the stripes. The stripes on the old design are smaller,  and there are more of them, while on the newer design, they're bigger, and don't have as many. In general, one could say that the newer design is less detailed. That isn't a bad thing though, as it does make this easier to animate. One might argue it is a bit lazy, but keep in mind, this original design was used for a pilot, made by a smaller team.

     Now while one would think more animators would lead to more detail, one has to remember not everyone has the same skill set. You also have to remember that this is going to be a show out on more of a regular basis. So, a compromise was reached, and a simpler design was made. A style for everyone involved isn't just a way to stay distinct, it's A way to ensure the people working on the product can work on it. It makes it so the style is easy to recreate when it needs recreation. Say, not to many colors in a logo.

     With that said, thank you once again for reading. I hope my point was able to come across, and that you stay tuned!

        

        

You See It Coming

              

          Knowing certain information before hand can do wonders. No guarantee that the wonders will necessarily be good, but they can be wonders. For example, let's say you hear a joke enough times that you recognize the punchline. The wonder you get here that you now you might know what pure annoyance feels like. However, there can be ways in the world of graphic design where foreknowledge can be used well.

        For example, going off of the joke statement earlier, you could try to curve expectations and have a completely different punchline, catching someone off guard. However, in contrast to that, they might find the joke funny, so you don't change too much. While a nice twist of unpredictability is nice, sometimes the predictable outcome is best. It really depends on what audience you want to capture, and what bests works for the story at the moment. Foreknowledge of the reaction works great here, as that is what helps you decide how to handle your work.

        Foreknowledge is also helpful with getting you more job opportunities obviously. It always helps to know, or know how to learn skills that potential clients could be impressed by.  It also helps to know study the company you apply to as well, that way you know what to expect from them, or that you understand what they try to do. This isn't just for company's either, you can do this for yourself and recognize your skills as a designer so you know what projects to do. 

            So, all in all, foreknowledge is useful for understanding audience reactions, and how to work with them. It's also good for choosing your next project, and what you could work on. With all of that said, thank you once again for watching, and stay tuned!

Holiday Cards For This Year

   Another year, another set of holiday cards made! These were certainly fun to do this year, and I think these are some of my best works yet. With hat said, I hope you enjoy!

Preference Vs. Statistic: Round 2

 

      Alright, time to talk about this again! Once again, I want to talk about opinions, facts, and  what it can mean for Graphic Design. Last time, I went over how statistics can be mainly looked at as a group of common  preferences linked together. I also talked about how people can fave their opinions change overtime when they learn about new information along the way. This time however, I want to go in more detail about the behind the scenes statistics.

      To give an example of what I mean, and to touch up on another blog, I'll  reference the bigger, isn't always better argument. Pikmin 2 is a sequel to the game Pikmin, both made by Nintendo. Now, while one can argue Pikmin 2 is more impressive with its randomly generated caves, multitude of enemies and treasures to collect, and that it has 2-player; there are people who gravitate towards Pikmin 1. The reason mainly being that while 1 doesn't have as much, it's a more compact experience that doesn't drain you when you want to play it. So, while one game is more technically impressive the other has more people nostalgic for it.

  

        Nostalgia is also another factor to this argument. While you could argue something you watched, or played recently is better, your fond memories will always give bias to your judgement. As such, with all of these things to look at, I feel that designers can learn a lot from preferences and statistics. Obviously statistics give them a good learning field to try ideas in, while they could learn from different opinions and their own preferences, as to give a good curve to their work. With all of that said, thank you once again for reading, and stay tuned!

       

Preference Vs Statistics

 

       So, it goes without saying we all have our opinions on something. Whether those opinions be positive or negative, they are ours. As it just so happens, there are also undeniable facts that we have to agree with. Despite this though, we can still hold onto our opinions. Yes they may change when presented with other information, or as we grow overtime, but it is still our opinions. So today, I wanted to talk about opinions vs facts: preference vs statistics!

       Starting off, I want to ask the question, 'what is your hot take?' It could be on anything. A piece of media, a type of food, a situation going on in the world right now, whatever. Just think about it, and then think about how it conflicts with the major opinion you've seen go about. At the end of the day, it's going to be you against them. (Whether that is good or bad, I don't know). So, while you could say it is a fact that the majority of people share an opinion on something, and your preference goes against this.

     In short, while it is people's opinion on thing is good, it's a fact that the majority of people have that opinion. All in all, while everybody is going to have their preference, statistics are at least a decent way to group those preferences together. Another thing statistics group up is how well something, be it a movie or a game, does. While your preference could lean to liking it, statistically, it didn't make much money, and won't be getting a sequel anytime soon. With that in mind, I hope you're getting an idea of what I'm trying to tell you.

Just Like The Rainbow

        It was last year I talked about Pride Month being shamelessly exploited by big companies. Well it seems as if they were going to try again with another celebration this year but, hopefully, it's backfired. If you've been looking at the right media, you would of course know that I'm talking about Juneteenth; the observance and celebration of emancipation for enslaved African Americans. Recently, Wal-Mart received backlash for attempting to market a Juneteenth ice cream, nearly a year after the government made it a national holiday.

       Now I know marketing certain holidays isn't new for stores like Wal-Mart, however this does go a bit farther than just using the name. It turns out, holiday names can be trademarked. Credits to Corsearch for the article.

                                                    For more info

       So, if a holiday could be trademarked, and Wal-Mart goes ahead and trademarks Juneteenth, what does this mean? Well, while they can't prevent people from saying 'Happy Juneteenth', this can certainly put a limit on who can use it for marketing. So, if an actual Black-owned business does intend to celebrate Juneteenth in marketing, they might run into issues.

       Again, this is kind of a similar situation to Pride Month. Companies planning on outright piggybacking off an event with more significance than they admit, then trying to market it to the moon and back. However, something different happened  this time, that should hopefully have a positive effect going forward. You see, social media has become an interesting tool in modern times. While back then, resentment was a bit slow to be known, nowadays, we have the information at out fingertips. So, people were thankfully able to vocalize their outrage, and Wal-Mart decided to back out.

          And that pretty much does it for the story. I just wanted to retell it in my words, and kind of share some of my thoughts since it did remind me of the blog I did last year. Hopefully, after this incident, this gets corporations thinking about how they shouldn't keep doing this. Not to say all companies are going to try and exploit the Juneteenth holiday for quick cas; if you know of any that are honestly meaning to celebrate Juneteenth, Pride Month, or any other similar celebration, please support them, I'm sure they'll love it. I just hope that they'll be free of bigger companies making it hard for them. I'm also hoping bigger companies listen more to the minorities they claim to celebrate.

          With that being said, thank you for reading, and stay tuned!

      

Clean Up

 

    Hey guys, so recently, I've felt I needed to clean my portfolio up a bit. Not really too much to say except get rid of some things it didn't need, and have it seem more consistent. Another thing I wanted to note is that I removed a few of my pages. I might not be where I want to be yet as a graphic designer, but I want to fix this up. Hopefully, it's all uphill from here!

    With that, here's a link to the page, thank you for reading, and stay tuned!

Portfolio

Bad Advertisement

        So, has anyone else felt like they're tired of a curtain hiding a nice view? I certainly know I can, as sometimes the advertisement for media, clothing, or, anything in general, does a poor job of describing it. From commercials that get annoying way to fast, to poor social media management, to.. Nothing, failing to advertise a product is definitely something you don't want to do in this business. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about a rival company, oh no. I am talking about the advertiser themself, bringing down their own product, whether on purpose, or (most likely), accidental.

          

 

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

    

         Let's start off with the 'This Game Stinks' campaign. For whatever reason Nintendo decided to advertise the game Earthbound by bringing attention to its many smells, even having scratch and sniff elements on the page. Now, one could argue that the 90s, when Earthbound came out, was the gross out era, and that kids would be ok with this. However, I don't imagine many kids having the attention to read below something that says 'This Game Stinks'. I also don't think the gross out elements connected with everyone, but really it's just bad advertising. There are more reasons Earthbound failed to take off with the public eye for so long, but we're not focusing on that right now.

         Another example I can think of is commercials that try to be like a meme. Let's say like this one right here.

    

         This is clearly just Chips Ahoy trying to catch the attention of kids nowadays, with the popularity of the game Among Us. Honestly though, it just feels confusing to me, with line such as; 'miss out on these snacks'. Granted, I am not a child, so I'm not the intended demographic, but then again, I feel this commercial is so basic that not even a child would be interested in getting Chips Ahoy.

        At the end of the day though, any advertisement is better than no advertisement. You never get anywhere if you don't describe yourself well, or put yourself out there. Just make sure that when you do, you don't make yourself look bad, or annoy potential customers. With that said, thank you once again for reading, and stay tuned!

 

      

         

Stylistic Changes

       So it's not an uncommon sight to see a logo change, or to see an art style for a show look different from when it began. Now, obviously, this could be a byproduct of having new people take over for something. However, this could also just be slight changes and tweaks to one's style after learning more. At the end of the day, style will change in media. Today, this is what I want to talk about.

       So, starting off, there's always the fact that people will just want to keep up with the times. Logo changes may signify a transition into a new era, wether it be for personal beliefs, a change in management, or to keep up with the times. I feel a good example would be the WWE logo.

 Image courtesy of logomyway http://blog.logomyway.com/wwe-logo/

      Here you have a good demonstration of keeping up with current trends, and personal events getting in the way. You have the logo going from being a grandiose, trophy like image, to being a bit more fun. Come the Attitude era for WWE, and they make it look more like it was scratched in to appeal to a hardcore audience. Eventually, they drop the F because of a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Foundation, and then clean the logo up a bit. I would actually argue this is one of the few simplified logos done right, considering it makes it seem more business savvy, but it keeps that jagged look people are so familiar with, and makes it look a bit like an award itself.

  

         However, then we get to style changes that fit more into details. Sometimes, certain elements will get taken away to make the art process easier. Still, there are times when more detail is added, say when they get more money to work with. Then again, it might also just be a choice to change how things look in a show as characters age. It really depenfs on circumstance. Sometimes the change in style is, as I stated before, just a result of the previous team or designer leaving, and a replacement stepping in. Sure, they might mimic the style well, but there will always be that element that can't be replaced.

          At the end of the day, nothing is going to stay the same. Even if the changes are so minor, they're still changes. If the decision is to make a logo look like it did before, that's still a change. The style of media will always take a turn towards something else, whether it be good, or bad. With that in mind, let's be more open to change, and pay more attention to when we see it happen. With that said, thank you for reading, and stay tuned!

   

        

Aged Material

       A characteristic of fine wine is age. It gives the flavors in the bottle plenty of time to meet each other and become well acquainted. On the other note, age is also a characteristic of bad milk. You pretty much just have the bacteria growing to the point where it upsets the flavor and texture, making it undrinkable. In a sense, this can apply to the media we consume as well. Whether it be a photo becoming more pixelated from being shared, or a joke in a video that people still enjoy. Age can be both a blessing, and a curse.

          Now, I feel we can all name something  off the top of our head in Graphic design that's aged poorly. For one, the world was unfortunately much less... tolerant of other races. So as a result there are plenty of distasteful propaganda posters, movies, and articles from an era where the people in power were dumb. However, there are also some less offensive examples. Namely, things like old CGI and other effects. 

 

 Image courtesy of Wikipedia 

          Now, that's  not to say there isn't a charm to certain material with said effects.  However, you can feel that when compared to the CGI of today, things weren't that appealing. Now, in fairness people back then still needed to learn this stuff, and there wasn't that many extra things they could do. So all in all, let it be known that some material hasn't really aged that badly, it just shows its age. Really, it depends on the budget, and how well things were handled.

         What does that have to do with things that age well though? Well, it goes just beyond a correct prediction. Really, all the image, movie, or any media needs is to just be captivate the audience. It doesn't matter the time period, or how it was made, as long as people keep wanting to come back to it, it's aged well. Heck, even the Money For Nothing video I would say has aged well in a way because people like to watch it. What can I say, it's a classic with how weird it is. 

         With that said though, thank you once again for reading! Will this blog age well or not? Well, in order to find out, just stay tuned!

      

About the World

       Originally, I was going to talk about something else today, but I feel it necessary to say this here and now. My heart goes out to those in Ukraine who are suffering right now. What is going on is downright terrifying, and I don't know when it will end. I also don't know what will happen to other countries in the future, or if this I'd the start of something crazier.

        Honestly, it feels like recently things just keep crumbling around us. You may look at your phone, your TV, or worse yet, out your window to see just things fall lower. Then the next thing you know, they're asking you to leave home for whatever reason. I don't know how qualified I am to be saying this stuff, or if anyone's paying attention, I just needed to write this down.

         If for some reason you do come across this, then please donate to the Ukainian people. They'll need anything they can get. See what you can do to help in anyway, please! The world may be scary, but we just need to stand together and be brave. 

Delivering the Message

        When it comes to graphic design, one of our most important jobs is to deliver a message. Whether it be an advertisement, a political statement, or just a joke. However, it's important to understand that we might not have what it takes to send the message. Not to say we are incapable, but there are certain factors to understand. For example, I just made a post about my less than stellar thoughts on NFTs. Therefore if I started advertising NFTs, and someone were to find that post, it would feel like I was selling out. So it goes to show, just because you have the ability to do it, doesn't mean you're the right person to get the point across.

        My reasoning for this is because when Covid made everything suck in 2020, celebrities tried (and failed) to raise spirits.... I guess. Look, I don't want to rag on these guys too much, I'm sure they had good intentions. I just also think that people in luxury singing about a world with no possessions isn't going to make me feel better. The point I'm trying to make is, what they wanted to give us didn't feel right. Sometimes, just because you can, does5mean you should.

     Now, who do I think did this job better than all the celebrities? Well... a frog puppet.

         Now, yes Kermit is somewhat famous, (depends on who you ask), and yes he is owned by Disney. However, Kermit isn't trying to relate to us, or trying to make us feel like we're on the same level. He's simply just... Singing a song about finding your dreams. One he's sung before, but sometimes we just need that message brought up again to help motivate us. The video doesn't have make you feel like your being talked down to, yet it also relates to you in the simplest way.

        Maybe I'm reading a bit too much into it, but I feel this video with a Muppet does a better job of getting a positive message across than most. It probably helps that the message is handled in a certain way; so it is probably important you know what to say before you deliver a message as well. However, I still believe that the right way to handle the message delivery is to be the right person for the job. So before any of you wish to express yourself in any way, be prepared to be the right person to do so. Once again, thank you for reading, and stay tuned!

Inclusiveness and M&M's... I Guess..

      

 Image courtesy of Mashed

         So apparently, the Mars Candy Company has decided the M&M characters need to be redesigned to be more inclusive... Ok. Honestly, after looking at the redesign being a change of shoes, I really don't feel this is such a big deal. Now, if their are commercials that follow this which explores the characters dealing with inclusiveness, such as mental struggles, race, etc., then maybe I could see why. However, it was just the shoes, so... Why am I even talking about this!? Well, keep reading to find out!

         In a way, I would argue that Mars is just trying to either 'get with the times' or 'get attention'. Again, the redesigns are fairly minor, and only to the female M&M's. I can understand both arguments where on one hand, this campaign is probably being ran by people who are just a little out of touch. On the other hand, people have tried to 'act' inclusive to get cash before. At least this time I will say it doesn't feel scummy, just a little overblown.

  

          That's honestly just how I think people's reactions to this have been anyway. This doesn't need to be trending on Twitter, it doesn't need to be a main issue, it's just all overblown. At the end of the day, it's a simple design change so far. I guess it does bring up the argument of, 'what counts as big news.' Which is ideally the topic I wanted to discuss here. I understand that the change to the characters would need to be public for the company to move forward x but the way they worded it was superfluous. Then again, so is the reaction it, and any other minor change could have if it was presented right.

 

     At the end of the day, let's leave on this question. Will the Mars Company show more ways to show the M&M characters as inclusive, or will this be it? At the end of the day, let's just stay tuned!