Design Quizzes

Quiz: A Bodacious Test of Slang and Typography

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 26, 2009September 4, 2014

Since time immemorial kids have developed their own slang language to communicate amongst themselves and make the older generation feel really out-of-it. If you want to be gnarly, you have to get with the program. Gotta know what’s phat to be cool. Dig it! Same goes with type fonts. Certain faces are so closely associated with an era, that like zoot suits and Nehru jackets, they become signatures of a decade. For designers, such typefaces serve as graphic devices to subtly evoke images of an era without going overboard with clichés. See if you can match these slang phrases with the decade in which they were most popular, and if you are really feeling sharp, name the typefaces too.

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Advertising

“Art & Copy”Film: Ad Geniuses Have Their Say

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 25, 2009September 4, 2014

Directed by Doug Pray (Surfwise, Scratch, Hype!), “Art & Copy” is a new documentary about advertising and inspiration. George Lois, Mary Wells, Lee Clow, Dan Wieden, Hal Riney, Rich Silverstein and others featured were behind “Just Do It,” “I Love NY,” “Got Milk,” “Where’s the Beef?,” “Think Different” and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. The social and cultural impact of their ads is brought to light in this exploration of art, commerce and human emotion. The film is underwritten by The One Club, founded in 1975 to recognize and promote excellence in advertising. “Art & Copy” is now playing in select theaters.

Environmental Graphics

Is Elton’s sign more than a Candle in the Wind?

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 24, 2009September 4, 2014

elton_john_red_piano_sign_t610

Las Vegas has a problem. Maybe you can help.

After finishing up his “Red Piano” show at Caesars Palace this spring, Elton John donated the sign that hung above the stage to the city’s Neon Museum. Spelling out “Elton” in glowing neon letters with a heart-shaped arrow in between, the sign weighs in at 15,000 pounds, with the largest letter measuring 20 feet x 30 feet. Unfortunately, “Elton” is an indoor sign and the Neon Museum display area is currently all outdoors.

Posters

U.S. Open 2009 Theme Art

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 20, 2009September 4, 2014

This year’s theme art for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships (USTA), which starts August 31 in New York, was designed by Pasadena-based illustrator Paul Rogers. Invited to submit theme art concepts to the USTA for use on posters, banners, tickets, programs, etc., Rogers pencil-sketched more than a half-dozen ideas, and then developed six into fully rendered color images. Rogers admits that “On a project like this I tend to over-produce concept sketches because I don’t want to lose the project due to a half-hearted execution of an idea.”

In its creative brief to the select artists who were paid to submit theme concepts, the USTA cited three requirements. First, if the illustration depicted a player, the figure had to be generic and not recognizable as either a male or female. Second, New York City had to be a key element since the games are played in the renowned Flushing Meadows, located in the borough of Queens. Third, the US Open’s flaming ball logo had to appear in the art. The key impressions to evoke were entertainment spectacle, toughest tennis and high energy.

Design Quizzes

Quiz: Patterns of Culture

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 19, 2009September 4, 2014

Countries and regions of the world are known not only for their landmarks and the products they produce but for patterns, many of which embody traces of their history, their natural resources, their cultural temperament and beliefs, and even the mood of their landscape. Then again, that’s not always the case. When we were researching culturally indigenous patterns for this quiz, we found some countries were rich with choices, and others like the U.S. and Canada did not evoke anything definitive. Is there a pattern that immediately says “America”? What about Brazil, Sweden and Denmark? Weigh in please. And see if you can match these patterns with the countries from which they originated.

Pattern-Quiz
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by Corporate Design Foundation

Month: August 2009