Posts in: Design
Our thoughts on the wonderful world of design. We often write about design history, current trends, and our own personal and educational experiences.
Affordances in Web Design
Posted on: April 12, 2011 by Kevin Elko in Design Technology
Tags: Interface, usability
I was paging through my copy of The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman the other day when I came across the fascinating section on affordances. In the book, Norman describes an affordance "as perceived and actual properties of [a] thing, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how the thing could possibly be used." It started me thinking about how important affordances are in web design, as well as how much we take them for granted. To Click or Not to Click There are a number of design conventions that are employed on the web to let users know what is cli...
Everyday Design
Posted on: March 28, 2011 by jthibault in Design
It's always a nice surprise to be face to face with some great design right when you least expect it. I spent a lot of time in thrift stores over my spring break in Port Charlotte, FL - a nice little retirement corner with tons of thrift stores to occupy yourself when you've seen a bit too much sun. In the back of this one little store I found a rack of old golf clubs and fell in love with all the mixed up old type designs. So the moral: good design is not necessarily found on a computer screen, sometimes, it's in the stinky back room of a Florida thrift store! ...
The Logo Experience
Posted on: March 21, 2011 by Kevin Elko in Design
Tags: Google, logo
In branding a company, it is generally thought that a logo should remain consistent, but in today’s ever-changing world can a brand be built on an evolving logo? First Things First Photo courtesy of Fast Co. Design. The recent release of the new MIT Media Lab logo was what prompted my thoughts on this topic. If you haven’t yet seen the video, I strongly recommend checking it out. The logo is based on an algorithm that randomly generates one of some 40,000 unique designs. That is enough to supply each of the Media Lab members a personalized logo for the next 25 years. While t...
Posters: Past and Present
Posted on: March 14, 2011 by Kevin Elko in Design
Tags: history, posters
A poster is technically defined as a large printed picture, notice, or advertisement, displayed in a public place. Posters have been in use throughout the history of civilization, but did not come into their own until the late 1800’s when the printing industry developed and perfected the practice of color lithography, which made mass production and distribution possible. In the century or so following the development of color lithography, posters have become an essential form of art and one of – if not the most – popular tools of the advertising and commercial industries. Poster des...
Persuasion and Propaganda
Posted on: January 28, 2011 by Kevin Elko in Culture Design
Tags: posters, propaganda, WWII
In my last article, I touched on a number of different roles that graphic design can assume. I came across a lot of great information while researching, some of which was not included in the post. The subject of propaganda and the use of visual design to influence the thinking of large audiences particularly intrigued me. In general, propaganda is a term used to describe any method or form of communication used to change attitude or view of a population on a certain subject. Much the way a logo is just a single part of a brand, visual materials are just a single part of an overarching pr...
The Role of Graphic Design
Posted on: January 21, 2011 by Kevin Elko in Design
Tags: graphic design, information design, propaganda
"Designers are incredibly powerful. We have a hand in creating the communications, experiences and artifacts that shape our world and growing influence on decisions affecting the quality of life for millions of people. We make the mundane easier; we can delight the spirit; we can make things function better; we can help others understand the implications of choice by the way we see problems; and we can help all people to communicate among themselves better. These contributions will always be important; today, in a world struggling against itself and its environment, they are absolutely critica...