Boone County Distillling Co

Above is an image of a design done for Boone County Distilling Co by Neltner Small Batch design firm. I really liked the design because it has a lot of Victorian style characteristics to it. If you zoom in onto the bottle of bourbon it has decorative elements like some not fully completed borders, and some that go all the way around; there is also a lot of hatch marks and other ornamentation. The type is very Victorian as well because of the serif type that replicates the look of wood-block type. Just looking at the bottle almost puts you back in time. Overall it is a great design and even though it is a new design, it keeps the memory alive of the Victorian period.

Hot Little Biscuit

The image above is of an identity created for Hot Little Biscuit in South Carolina that was a winner in Print  magazine's 2016 Regional Design Awards for the South. The illustrated biscuits on the punch card made me kinda hungry; they were cute and a nice touch. Overall the design is very clean and has a home-like touch to it; automatically it reminds me of the south too. This is a great contemporary design with illustrative elements, simple color scheme and its own southern hospitality.

Random bits

The image above is of pins from New York's 2016 Regional Design Awards from Print magazine's website. They were designed and illustrated by Adam J. Kurtz, a designer/artist/author. When I saw these, I was really interested in what they were. I went ahead and decided to look at more of his work by going to the website provided. Right away I got a kick out of his style and his personality he puts into his art work. On the website there is a quote from Vice that states, "Blurring the lines between artist and & therapist." Not too many artists can really pull that type of attitude off in their work, but these seem to work. The work is very clean and simple. These are truly cute little random pieces of contemporary art.

Cover to Cover

The image above is from Print magazine's website and was illustrated by Christopher Nieman. It was one of the winners from the New York Regional Design Awards in 2016. I really fell in love with the design as soon as I saw it. It has a very simple, clean and symmetrical layout. I have always personally liked the colors pink and black together, but besides that the contrast fits. The black is very bold, and New York City is very bold. The pink is very delicate and soft, and roses are very soft to the touch and delicate. Also, the very simple illustration of the flower pot and stem is a nice touch that adds a handmade feel to the design. I feel that the design shows the designing process because of the transformation of the sticky note to a beautiful flower. Out ideas sometimes start out as some pen marks on a sticky note that evolve into a bigger project. Overall this is a great contemporary design.

Caroline De Monaco

This cover above is obviously for Vogue magazine, but it was created by Andy Warhol in 1984 (found on Print's website). I was really drawn to the cover because of the bright, vibrant color used. The cover is very Postmodern without a doubt because it uses an illustrative decorative element that outlines a highly saturated photograph. Also there is the overlapping element where here shadow is, that is another characteristic. My curiosity got the best of me and I had to google who or what Caroline De Monaco was. Come to find out that is french for Caroline of Monaco. Caroline is a beautiful french princess who lives at a palace in Monaco. She currently is known as Caroline of Hanover because of her marrying Prince Ernst August I wasn't really sure where Monaco was so looked that up. Monaco is right on the edge of France that had somewhat broke away from France. The weird thing is that France takes responsibility for Monaco's defense; it is a very unique relationship the two countries have. Very interesting little history lesson, but a beautiful cover. Reminds me a big of Art Nouveau cause of the beautiful women figure and the almost tendrils of the hair; but it has been modernized and is more Postmodern.

Trio of Styles

The image above is of a magazine cover made by Andy Warhol for Time magazine of Michael Jackson in 1984. I found this on Print magazine's website and found it kind of interesting. When I first saw it, it reminded me a bit of pop art. This cover was created right around when the Psychedelia style was ending, Postmodern was just beginning and Swiss is still popular too at this time. The cover does use some characteristics of all three, like the somewhat grid layout of the Swiss style. Also, there is a lot of different colors in here that don't necessarily go together that are very vibrant; this is a trait of Psychedelia style. The illustrated outlines that are a decorative element is a characteristic that would be seen in the Postmodern era. Overall the design is pretty clean and well decorated. The only thing that bothers me is the type that touches Michael Jackson's face, but magazines tend to do that a lot.

Bansky

The design above is a magazine cover I found on printmag.com. It was designed by one of my most favorite artists, Bansky, which originally became infamously known due to his street art in Europe. I really like this design because it is very comically unrealistic. The design seems to have some illustration along with what imitates the cut and paste technique a little bit. Overall, I think that this design has a Postmodern feel to it because of the mix of illustration mixed with the realistic guard body and monkey/painter features.

Heinz

The design above is clearly an advertisement for Heinz ketchup (that I found on Pinterest this time by adviz.nl). I really liked it because it completely over exaggerates the ad by making the ketchup bottle appear to be a tomato itself, plus it is a very clean and obvious. Obviously anyone who uses ketchup will understand right away what this is representing without reading the label. This ad definitely seems to be a more contemporary design because of the label.

Modern

The design above is an ad for an online school, done by the company Sid Lee in New York (of course it is from Ads of the World). Again, it has text in the shape of an image, which I really like that concept. This design has an overall clean and straight to the point look, which is another plus because nobody likes deceiving ads. Anyone who looks at this design is going to know immediately without reading it that it is about school because of the graduation cap and the chalky text. This design definitely has a modern feel to it because it is so clean. 

English

The design I chose for this week is from Thecomforablepigs, an ad agency from Milan, Italy. I chose this because I thought it was really unique and interesting how they shaped the world into a chat bubble. At first I thought it was going to be a phone ad or something, but it turned out much more interesting than that. The design is advertising a company like Rosetta Stone that teaches English.

Anti-Smoke

The design I chose this week is also from Ads of the World and yes it is a anti-smoke ad. I chose this because I really liked the style, it reminds me of the Swiss style because it is so clean, but it is also has a late modern feel to it. Out of all of the anti-smoke ads I have seen, I really favor this one because it is straightforward and also because it is a perspective that isn't stressed enough. The ad was done by The Smarts, and agency in Bulgaria.  

Type

The graphic above is something I felt that went well with some chapters I read about type. I found this on noupe.com under "Gorgeous Typography Examples in Advertising Design," and is originally from Ads of the World. The graphic was designed to advertise prevention medicines. I really like the idea of using words or images to create a bigger one, because the bigger image created has history or background information that can help you understand the bigger picture.
Inside of the snake is a list of different illnesses that affect us like cancer, heart disease, alcoholism, etc. A snake (especially a cobra) is very dangerous to humans if they are to bite us and so are health problems (accept they do not bite us, they just happen). I think it was very clever and creative way to get across to people that you need to be aware of different help problems so they won't be so startling whenever they do come into our lives.

What are other countries' graphic designers up to?

The image above is done by Vgrafiks, which is a Philippine graphic design company. I had found an article online that provided tons examples of different of several countries graphic design companies and what kind of styles they have. Philippine graphic designers use a lot of graffiti and street art in their work. I have always been very drawn to graffiti because it is so unique and unappreciated. If anyone is interested in checking out the article to see what other countries are doing in their work, Click Here.