It never fails… some well-meaning soul sends you their logo as a low-res jpeg, and wants it printed in an ad or on a poster or something. You respond and ask them to send the logo in vector format. They reply and ask what you mean, and whether they can just send it to you in a Word document. It’s clear that this is not going anywhere good.
Enter BrandsOfTheWorld.com. With over 125,000 logos, all in pristine eps format, there’s a good chance you might be able to find the logo you need. Consider the day saved.
Posted in Logos | Tagged brands, eps, Logos |
Distributing your designs these days very often involves generating a PDF. In general, it’s a pretty reliable way to go, but it’s not bulletproof. Are fonts embedded? Are bitmap graphics present, and if so, are they being resized and / or compressed? What about RGB vs CMYK? Sometimes both color models can be present in the same file. What about transparency, blending order, object effects? What about bleeds? Will they be written into the PDF file, or discarded? And so on… Actually, quite a lot of variables. It can all be a bit murky.
American Printer Magazine has an excellent article detailing the PDF creation process, including the various things to consider, and how to get the best results. Check it out, it’s a lifesaver. http://americanprinter.com/mag/printing_best_pdfs/
Here are four fonts I found recently that feel sort of interesting right now. All are available in OpenType format, and all are free.
HVD Comic Serif Pro
A cure for the common comic sans. Need anything more be said?
http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/hvdfonts/hvd-comic-serif-pro/
De Louisville
This one’s a bit weird and kooky, but, to me, it just feels right right now, for some reason. I probably wouldn’t use it for a logo or anything that’s meant to be in use long-term, but it might make for a nice editorial spread, set at 50pt or so…
http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/sentinel/de-louisville/
Anivers Regular
Definitely the most conventional typeface here, Anivers could be used actually be used for something more than a headline, but its curves and irregularities keep it from being boring.
http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/exljbris/anivers/regular/
Sybil Green
Another weird one that, somehow, just feels right at this very moment. To me, the glyphs look light and happy, and bring to mind children’s books published in the 1950’s.
http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/larabie/sybil-green/
Posted in Type | Tagged free, myfonts.com, Type |
For most of us, the most interesting work in newspaper design is not necessarily found right in our own back yard. Luckily, we have this thing called “The Internet” now, which helps somewhat.
The Newseum website (http://www.newseum.org) has plenty of interesting content, but perhaps its greatest feature is an online database featuring front pages from hundreds of daily newspapers published around the world. (Further, they’ve archived select front pages featuring some of the biggest headlines in recent memory. This is pretty fascinating, even if you’re not so into the graphic design aspect of things. See how the world reacted on September 12, 2001 or the 2004 tsunami. http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/archive.asp)
Cross reference the Newseum site with the winners of the annual Best Design awards bestowed by the Society of News Designers (http://www.snd.org/competitions/winners.html), and now maybe you’ve got something.
The SubType Foundry has some pretty interesting typefaces available on their website – including three that are currently free. (Stop gagging! Sure, the vast and overwhelming majority of the “free fonts!” on the internet are, by all accounts, total dross. But I could see some of these actually being used in real-world scenarios.) No, none of these are going to replace your favorite workhorse typeface anytime soon — for one thing, legibility could perhaps best be characterized as “challenging.” For another, the typefaces in question are very “of the moment” and will probably hold up to age about as well as that freakishly orange front-desk girl at your local tanning salon (you know the one I’m talking about). Still, they’re worth checking out. In the right situation, for the right client, some of these could definitely used to strong effect.
http://subtype.org
This is actually a fairly neat little video. The message is inspiring and noble, and blah blah - who cares, really? What’s interesting about it is that it’s clever.
I don’t want to ruin it, so I won’t say more, except to say, “check it out.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA
Are you fascinated by logo redesigns? Of course you are! What a spectacular opportunity for the designer (and the numerous other parties who like to be involved in these things) to reinterpret and reinvent a classic brand image, transcending the past, and taking the brand to another level. Or, depending on the outcome, it’s ALSO a wonderful opportunity to observe just the opposite thing - total, abject, miserable failure. (Still, even a spectacular failure is perhaps preferable to lukewarm mediocrity.)
In any event, whether the process takes on a character of genius or of hubris, it’s almost always interesting to see the final result. I find that the “Brand New” blog is a lovely venue to observe such goings-on. Check it out — I highly recommend it.
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/
Posted in Logos | Tagged Links, Logos, Revamps |
One shouldn’t laugh of course. This only encourages the evildoer. Nevertheless, there is something rather special about the experience of browsing through a site like Kuler and finding a little treasure such as this. There’s a moment of shock, a wave of realization that washes over you as you think, by Jove, someone here has made a joke! (No mean feat, considering the restrictive format of this particular website.)
Is it crude? Is it juvenile? Does it lower us all? Yes, yes, and yes. Still, did I laugh hysterically and share it with every one of my friends and acquaintances? Reluctantly, I must again reply, “yes.”
http://kuler.adobe.com/#themeID/363692
