Thinking Ahead: Stationery/Letterhead Sets coming your way

Be thinking about how you want to apply your beautiful logo in a set of stationery that includes:
1. Letterhead (consider front/back and paperstock and weight)
2. Business Card (consider front/back and paperstock and weight) 
3. Envelopes (consider front/back) (could be standard size or larger versions that you may make especially for your client.) 
4. Will you fold your letterhead in the traditional way or will the letterhead lay flat in a larger 8.5 x11 envelope. Will your letter head by 8.5 x11? Will it have a die cut in it or will one side be trimmed or be shaped?

www.youthedesigner.com/2009/12/22/83-crazy-beautiful-letterhead-logo-designs/

AIGA Pin Up Night

Foundations (1st 6-months of design school) winner:
Morgan Pirkle from GSU for “Alice in Wonderland" book cover,
faculty Carrie Brown

Illustration winner:
Nicolas Morrison, GSU, “Ships",
faculty Jason Snape

2D winner:
Arnel Hasanovic, GSU, “Magazine Re-Design",
faculty Liz Throop

Fabien Barral: Design Extraordinaire

French graphic designer Fabien Barral in 2008 joined forces with his wife Frédérique to create Harmonie intérieure, a business and brand that pushes poster and wall sticker design beyond the limits we expect from a commercial undertaking. Passionate by typography and printing, he founds in Polish Marek Rojek, founder of Lettera Magica the perfect associate to print his design in letterpress.

Marek Rojek is the next generation that is faithful to the tradition of printing. He lets this very old technique of printing be born again in XXI century.  Lettera Magica is a letterpress studio in Cracow, Poland which creates printings that join together love for tradition, perfection, patience and respect for nature. Most of them are done on an ecological paper – 100% cotton, with ecological inks. No tree was cut for a paper that is used in Lettera Magica. 

Fabien Barral and Marek Rojek created 300 limited edition hand numbered calendars for 2011 strictly for design enthusiasts. 

More of his amazing work at:

http://www.fabienbarral.com/home.htm

http://www.mr-cup.com/about.html

http://www.mr-cup.com/blog.html

http://www.graphic-exchange.com/00perso.htm

48-Hour Repack Competition for Students

http://48hrrepack.com

GSU won first place in 2010:
http://48hrrepack.com/past-contests/2010-contest/smuckers-natural-peanut-butter/

Entry in 2013:
http://48hrrepack.com/past-contests/2013-2/kirks-original-coco-castile-bar-soap/

Also check out GSU entry 2014:
http://48hrrepack.com/past-contests/2014-5/drip-maple-syrup/

AIGA Student Pin Up Show This Saturday - Enter

Hello!

The AIGA/Atlanta Student Pin-Up Show is upcoming this coming Saturday evening and I am writing you as we really want to get a great turnout for it. If you will might you advertise it about and get behind it with all your students that would be wonderful. It is Saturday evening over at Big Studio at King Plow and it promises to be great.

This year there are close to $5000 in awards for the students. And we have opened up the categories to be even more inclusive with not only graphic design, both 2D and 3 D, but also photography, illustration, web design, and two new categories one for brand new students who've just started in school, and the other for a 'best use of materials. Plus there are some excellent judges. 

It should be a lot of fun for the students. We need to get behind this in a big way and it's the reason I am writing you to please celebrate this about with your students and faculty in that they might make be aware of it and encouraging to the students to attend. 

I am enclosing the link for the AIGA-Atlanta website which has all the information: http://atlanta.aiga.org/event/aiga-student-pinup-show/

And if you or anyone has any questions please just reach out to me and I will get right back to them. 

Hank Richardson, Director of Design, Portfolio Center

Spring Calendar (Tentative)

Monday Jan12                  Intro to class; expectations/student blogs/student info sheet/Syllabus                      

Wednesday 14           MLK Poster Design Due 12x18

                       

Monday 19                      MLK Holiday No Classes                            

Wednesday 21                 Bring in 3 choices for client (independent small business) should be on your blogs

                                       along with pics/images of exterior/interior possibly; Revised MLK Posters Pin up

Monday 26                      Make choice of client and begin the process of redesigning the logo

Wednesday 28                 Logo redesign

Monday Feb 02                Logo redesign

Wednesday 04                 Logo redesign  Pin Ups in class Color and B/w Versions

Monday 09                      Logo redesign

Wednesday 11          Critique B/W and Color and PMS colors

Monday 16                     Stationery (Business Cards/Letterhead/Envelope/etc)

Wednesday 18                 Stationery

Monday 23                      Stationery Sets work in class

Wednesday 25                 Stationery Sets work in class

Monday Mar 02                Midterm - Stationery Sets Critique  (boarded and printed comps)

Wednesday 04                 Collateral

Monday 09                       Collateral

Wednesday 11                 Collateral Mailer

Monday 16                      Spring Break No Classes

Wednesday 18                 Spring Break No Classes

Monday 23                      Collateral Mailer

Wednesday 25                 Collateral Mailer

Monday 30                   Collateral Mailer Critique

Wednesday Apr 01            3 Ads work in class

Monday 06                       3 Ads work in class

Wednesday 08                  3 Ads work in class

Monday 13                 Three Advertisements Critique

Wednesday 15                 Earth Day2015 Poster Critique printed/backed

Monday 20                      Specialty Items work in class

Wednesday 22                 Specialty Items work in class

Monday 27                  Final Class and Specialty Items/Final client brief/DVD of all work

Post MLK Poster Critique Notes

If you would like the chance to revise or start a new design then these will be due on Wednesday January 21st. Some suggestions:

1. Make sure the composition is compelling visually. Create the kind of visual that really demonstrates the narrative you wish. (Celebration/Inspiring/Memorial/Somber, etc.) If your text/type is somber then the image too should be somber. Don't clash two aesthetics because one drowns out the other.

2. Be careful of putting type above and below an image (sandwiching the image)

3. Type can (and should) be scaled when using various text/type in areas on a composition.

4. Don't overuse your "chosen" type...meaning, if you use a Serif typeface for the Headline/Quote or whatever, then use another typeface (san serif) perhaps for the supporting copy/text. Again, scale each for their dramatic effect.

5. Color can be important even if you use it just once. For instance if you choose to use black text and black/white illustration/image then perhaps your text can be a "blackish red" or a "blackish blue"....adding just a little difference to the design mix.
It works. Don't always go to black for effect.

7. Make sure your text isn't too close to the edge of your paper. Let it breathe.

8. Your GSU logo should not be in a box. I'm enclosing a b/w version that you can use as well if you choose. When you use just the "G" flame logo for GSU make sure you also use the corresponding text that says "Georgia State University." Many people don't know what the "G" stands for. 

9. If you use the GSU logo then you don't need to use Georgia State University anywhere else in your design. It's redundant. You don't have to put Atlanta, GA on your designs. Optional.

10. Figure out what works best with your design: UPLC or All CAPS. Don't overuse either if you have a lot of text.

11. Finally, Don't decorate but you can choose items like "lines/underlines" for decorative and dramatic effect. Be wary of using dingbats for effect if you don't need them.

Less really is more if it's the scale is right and the visual effect is right.
Stage your composition. Each image and each text and logo are characters on a stage who have a presence. There should be one "star" and one focus point with supporting characters to assist in delivering your clear visual message.

P.S.  Don' forget to Bring 3 examples of what you are considering for your client this semester to redesign. These need to be independent businesses/mom&pop type business. Vary your choices for more possibilities.  Put these chosen examples on your blog. You can take pics of them inside and out and/or show their current logo and be able to discuss why you want to redesign them. Look around and think about what possibilities you can have as you redesign these clients.

Also put some of your Best work from last semester on your blog and also 5 Best and 5 Worst logo designs on your blogs