Great Minds: Ladislav Sutnar

I highlighted Ladislav Sutnar for my great minds project. I briefly learned about Ladislav Sutnar in Graphic Design History and Typography. Sutnar is credited as one of the pioneers of information design, catalog design and information architecture. I wanted to learn more because I am very passionate about user experience design and information architecture. I am fascinated with the relationship between people and information. 

Ladislav Sutnar - Pioneer: Information Design // Catalog Design // Information Architecture

Ladislav Sutnar biography

Ladislav Sutnar - Design Theory

Ladislav Sutnar - Career

Ladislav Sutnar - Influence

Ladislav Sutnar - additional work

Ladislav Sutnar - additional works

Ladislav Sutnar - sources

Conceptual Image: Come Together - Unite St. Louis

For my conceptual image project, I chose to make a poster about the riots and protests surrounding the Michael Brown / police brutality case in St. Louis, MO. As a St. Louis native, it is very sad to hear about the turmoil in my hometown. Racism is, and unfortunately will most likely, always be an issue. What really matters is how people react when they realize it is infecting our communities. To battle this, people of all races must come together and have a dialogue about the issues plaguing our communities. These posters are a graphic representation of that unity. I chose to flush out the post in both neutrals and colors. In the neutral posters, I chose the color blue - which signifies peace - for the eyes and "Come Together." This was a very rewarding project. 

Come Together - neutrals

Come Together - neutrals

Come Together - color

Come Together - color

Concept list association

Concept list association

Sketch round 1

Sketch round 2

Graphic Translation: Teckel Brewing Company

Since I have a Dachshund, I have always wanted to create a logo using a Dachshund shape. This was the perfect opportunity to explore. "Teckel" is the German nickname for Dachshund. Inspired by Mires Ball's Ballast Point rebranding, I originally wanted to do a crest for a brewing company. But, I was having a lot of difficulty creating a crest with the oval, elongated shape of the dog. I was getting pretty frustrated so I created a simple logo showcasing the Dachshund with some wheat stalk accents. On my second round, I placed "Teckel Brewing Company" inside of a hexagon crest shape. I created several pieces for the brand and also created a beer bottle mock up. 

I had a lot of fun with this project. I was definitely challenging, but very rewarding.

Teckel Brewing Company - Final Logo

Teckel Brewing Company - Logo Option 2

Teckel Brewing Company - Font Palette Sheet - Blanch

Teckel Brewing Company - Font Palette Sheet - Mensch

Teckel Brewing Company - Font Palette Sheet - Geared

Teckel Brewing Company - Type Specimen Sheet

Digital roughs - logo explorations

Graphic Translation steps 1-3 // sketches

Logo lockups

Crest exploration

Layers - Part B: Sequence

After playing around with my shape cutouts, I realized they created a pretty interesting geometric bird. I thought this would be perfect for the sequence portion of this assignment. I used the green color palette I found during our picture color exploration exercise. Already applying these tactics to real situations! Exciting. 

Part B - Sequence: bird taking flight

Layers - Part A: Creating Compositions

It was fascinating to learn from Rafael about stylization. Before becoming a graphic design student, stylization was concept I often wondered, "How do they come up with that?" After learning that this is called stylization, I can't wait to dive in and learn more about using shapes to create meaningful objects and logos.

Part A of this assignment was difficult with me. During this semester, I have learned that "fine art-esque" assignments are not my strength. This is something I hope to improve on as I continue to learn. After I failed at creating any interesting compositions the first few tries, I drew a 5" x 5" box and arranged my shape cut outs and snapped pictures. This really helped me visualize how the individual shapes worked in relation to each other.

Part A

"Sketches" with shape cutouts

Border Play: Choosing Type for a Logo & Logo Lock-Up

In Step B of Border Play, we explored different typefaces for our logo. I chose to explore mostly san serif fonts and a few modern serif fonts. After sampling the fonts, I explored different weights within the Helvetica font family. My favorite was Helvetica Thin, with "Meta Hotel" written in all capital letters. I positioned Meta Hotel in 3 different locations in my logo lock up exploration. 

Logo finalist: Meta Hotel

Type Specimen Sheet

Font Palette Sheet

LOGO LOCK-UP

Logo Lock-Up #1: "META HOTEL" written under the logo

Logo Lock-Up #2: "META HOTEL" written inside logo

Logo Lockup #3: "META HOTEL" written on either side of the logo

Border Play: Creating Logos

Logos and branding were the branches of graphic design that initially pulled me in. I've always wanted to become a great logo designer, but never had the technical skills or formal practice to do so. So, as you can imagine, this assignment was really exciting for me. Again, the rotate tool saved the day and changed my life. This was a fantastic exercise to take a quick glimpse into creating a logo. It was a challenge to me to break away from just using a circular pattern around the M. 

Logo finalist: Meta Hotel

Border play: additional logo samples

Grids: Creating Layouts

In this assignment, we explored different layout combinations. I tried to veer away from traditional layouts and play around with white space. 

Grid layout #1: text, accented with small graphics 

Grid layout #2: exhibit / product catalog - large highlight photo with complementary information

Grid layout #3: editorial or feature story - 2 columns for copy with complementary images

Grid layout #4: exhibit / catalog - highlight images with complementary copy

Grid layout #5: exhibit / product catalog - large images with complementary copy

Grids: Creating Compositions using Grids

This was another assignment that was difficult for me because I get frustrated with finding the right color combination. But it was definitely a great exercise to think about how fixed modules can create a composition. I tried to step out of my comfort zone and chose to work with some neon colors, rather than all neutrals. 

Grid composition 1

Grid composition 2

Grid Composition 3

Grid Composition 4

Grid Composition 5

Grid Composition 6

Grid Composition 7

Patterns

I was very excited about learning about patterns and how to make them. I have always
wondered how patterns are constructed. Sean introduced us to the rotate tool and my life has forever changed. Aside from Visual Principles, I think I learned the most about Illustrator tools during this exploration. I discovered and explored many tools I did not know existed.

Before starting this assignment, I decided on 5 hypothetical clients to make these patterns for:

1. Technology or Biotech company
2. Hotel
3. Toy company
4. Home goods company
5. Make up company

I had some issues with color during this assignment. It was difficult for me to find suitable color combinations. But after some trial and error, I found some great combinations. 

Technology / Bio-Tech - black and white

Technology / Bio-Tech - color

Toy company - black and white

Toy company - color

Home goods products - black and white

Home goods products - color

Hotel - black and white

Hotel - color

Make up company - black and white

Make up company - color