Hidden Logos

I always find it interesting when a well designed logo has multiple layers. It shows that the designer was not only designing aesthetically, but also semiotically. Even though some of these are only cool looking, others have deeper meanings. For example, the Museum of London logo is made up of what appears to be different colored transparencies. In reality, each shape symbolizes the shape that London once had. The schizophrenic one cracks me up because the designer used simple imagery to portray two different emotions at the same time. You can check out the rest here.

If you don't eat it up...

I love when ads have great imagery, just like these ads for Vanish do. Not only do they use a lot of white space to emphasize the size of the food stain, but they also add the elements of utensils to go with their headline, "If you don't eat it up, Vanish will." The only aspect of the ad that doesn't work for me is that I find the imagery so cute that I don't know if I'd want to use Vanish for fear of losing the little utensils lol. I think this ad is effective in that the imagery is bold, yet subtle enough that it forces you to really look at it. 

A baby can sell anything...including jail

This is an ad that I found that I thought was really interesting. At first I saw the thumbnail of the baby and I was like "Aww, how adorable!" Then I saw the tattoo on his neck and was like "What the..." After reading the tagline and copy I got what the ad was for, but I didn't need to read it to get the impact. We often see babies used to sell things from the obvious, like diapers, to the less obvious, like shares for E*trade. I think an ad is super successful if it has an image that is so powerful it makes you want to read the copy.

I wish...

I'm not really a fan of digital design, mostly because I'm crazy jealous of the skills these artists have that I do not. I think it's so cool that you can visualize all the layers that it takes to make a piece that's so complex, yet it fits together as a whole. I also like the tagline, "Feel the vibe, feel the music," even though it's a little difficult to read at a small size. I love music too, so this piece was a perfect choice for me. Check out the other designs here.

To Fedex: Be afraid. Be very afraid...

One of the coolest things about design is that it isn't limited to just one surface. Some of my favorite designs are ones that make their way into every day life. Take Facestape for example. It's really clever, and it addresses the issue of boring, plain brown boxes that we're forced into mailing to family and friends. I'm definitely going to keep this kind of design in mind when I'm working because it makes your brand multi-faceted. Plus, it's cool to think that your design is not only reaching thousands of people, but it's allowing them to interact with it and express their creativity as well. 

Don't let this happen to your kids

 This is an ad out of Brazil. Not only is the image really striking, but it also brings to light an important issue. With the rise of technology, more and more kids are becoming obese at very young ages. Some companies, like Nintendo with the Wii, are trying to combat the bad reputation that technology gets by getting kids to become more active.

The best part of waking up...

I love this advertisement. The image is striking and grabs your attention right away. Then you look towards the right-hand corner to see the simple, effective tag line. I don't drink coffee, but I've definitely had mornings that I wish I did. I think the photograph itself is very well constructed, and even the tilt and choice of typeface is a nice touch.

As graphic designers I think it's important to not only look at images that are successful, but also the sketches of images that weren't so successful to see the progression. Here are a few of Obama logo designs that didn't make it. I personally don't like them very much, so I'm glad they weren't chosen, but I can understand the concepts and why they chose to put elements in certain positions and such. You can see the rest of the rejects here.