Recent Creative Ads: Clever and Weird

Here are some ads I found via graphicdesignblog.org:

*Warning* Some are a little weird...

I'm actually embarrassed that I didn't get this one at first...(what's with the weird looking hamburger?). After a few minutes, I realized that it was a coffee bean...I wonder how long it took someone to come up with this one? It makes me want a cheeseburger and an iced latte at the same time! (not really, that would be gross!) ;)

I love this one! At first it just looks like a normal Ikea ad...but then you look a little closer and think "what is that outside the window?". Genius.

This one is cool, but also a little weird...it got me thinking, "do I have enough hand sanitizer in my purse?"

I had to put this one at the bottom because it FREAKS me out! I don't care what they are selling...just allow me to stop looking at it...please!

To see more clever ads go to: http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/latest-creative-print-ads/

Comic Sans: The #1 Hated Font?

A funny Illustration by Nebojsa Cvetkovic

There has been a lot of talk lately about the #2 graphic-designer-hated font, Papyrus. Just check out the response to this blog post at prtty shtty. (The letter is hilarious and very witty, but the responses from various designers are even better!)

This got me thinking...where did Comic Sans come from? Well, according to Wikipedia...

Comic Sans is a casual script typeface designed by Vincent Connare and released in 1994 by the Microsoft Corporation. It is classified as a casual, non-connecting script, and was designed to imitate comic book lettering, for use in informal documents. The typeface has been supplied with Microsoft Windows since the introduction of Windows 95, initially as a supplemental font in the Windows Plus Pack.

1994? I thought it was older than that...oh well, I remember using it on countless grade school projects...I think it just naturally jumps out to kids.

Connare had already created a number of child-oriented fonts for various applications, so when he saw a beta version of Microsoft Bob that used Times New Roman in the word balloons of cartoon characters, he decided to create a new face based on the lettering style of comic books he had in his office, specifically The Dark Knight Returns (lettered by John Costanza) and Watchmen (lettered by Dave Gibbons).

So this is where it got its name...it makes so much sense...comic...sans

The Boston Phoenix reported on disgruntlement over the widespread use of the font, especially its incongruous use for writing on serious subjects, with the complaints focused around a campaign started by two Indianapolis graphic designers, Dave and Holly Combs, via their website Ban Comic Sans.

Who would use Comic Sans for serious subject matter? It is obviously a whimsical child-like font, which would definitely look out of place on say, a cigarette warning label.

So, if everyone supposedly hates it so much, why is it still around? I think Vincent Connare answers this question beautifully when he says "Because sometimes it's better than Times New Roman, that's why".

A Guide to Understanding Flow Charts

Hey, check out this comic from xkcd... hahaha.

Want to see more? There are tons more at: xkcd.com.

Great Image for Photoshop Lovers

I came across this image via a twitter post from ilovetypography's Twitter feed. I can't even imagine how long it took to execute this real-life design. I was floored when I first saw it! It definitely gives new meaning to the Photoshop workspace that I use everyday.

What would we do without computers?!?

(Click here to see the image at Flickr)

Christmas Card Designs

This year I received many wonderful Christmas cards from friends and family, but also a few from companies vying for my business. Sending out a card to potential customers during the holidays can be difficult, especially for a big companies who don't want to offend anyone, doesn't it seem like we get more and more PC with each passing year? But, if they are well-designed and sincere, they can play a vital role in collecting more business during the holiday season.

Here are two examples of holiday cards I recently received in the mail. Both are from companies that I am currently using, but one struck me as containing much more holiday cheer and elevated design skills than the other.

Card #1: AT&T winter special offer holiday card

The blue envelope is addressed in a font that looks like real handwriting with an actual stamp. The front of the card is colorful and includes a funny winter story (there is no mention of any particular holiday, so it can be used for anyone). The colorful snowflakes add to its whimsical nature. The back features the Hallmark logo, which makes it seem like they went to the store and picked it out themselves.

Card #2: NetFlix holiday card

Although I like the color choices (red, light blue and white as opposed to the traditional red and green), this card is boring. The sans-serif "Happy Holidays!" seems typical and not at all heartfelt. The ornaments at the top look like there was no thought whatsoever put into them. It was sent in a plain white envelope with "To our neighbor at..." printed in the center. I almost threw it away without even opening it.

Card #1 (inside)

The inside of the at&t card features a cute message in the same scripty font as on the envelope. You also receive a coupon for $200 off of a service package. This coupon matches the design theme of the card (repeating the colorful stripe and snowflakes), but also introduces at&t's signature orange color (which contrasts beautifully with the blue envelope). Overall, I think that this holiday card was well designed and perfectly thought out.

Card #2 (inside)

I am all for using strategically placed white space...but this card uses way too much of it. It is so boring I think I am going to fall asleep just looking at it. I do like the repeated ornament, but maybe they should've included instructions on how to "enjoy the gift of Netflix". I currently have a Netflix account (which I love by the way), but if I didn't, this holiday card would not do anything to make me research their company. It just looks cheap and tacky. :(

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Well, I got my wish...we had a white Christmas in Fort Worth Texas! I wasn't very optimistic when only a few days ago the thermometer hit 70 degrees, but Friday brought a snow storm, and we woke up to a sparkly white blanket of snow. Yay!! Being from Michigan, it doesn't really feel like Christmas without snow, so I'm happy that we got some!

Geordi didn't know what to think...so he just ate as much snow as he could :)

We didn't get a lot of snow, but at least we got some!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you! May you all have a safe and fun Holiday Season. -Holly

Twitter Background Update

My New Twitter Page!

I finally changed my Twitter background from the simple cloud design to one that I created in Photoshop. Being a Graphic Designer, I couldn't just use the template backgrounds...that's too easy! What would that say about my creativity? Nothing, that's what it would say. ;)

I saw this tutorial on abduzeedo.com on how to create digital bokeh in Photoshop, and I adjusted it a little to make my background unique (I used Hs instead of circles). I think that it turned out really cool, and now I can say that I have a designer Twitter page!

I had to finagle the image a bit to make it fit most screen resolutions, and these are the dimentions that I came up with (with a little help from various Google searches):

Total image size: 1728px by 864px (100px per inch, optimized for web view)

Left content: starts at about 15px from the left, ends at about 260px from the left

Check it out and let me know what you think!