I was asked to post a few examples of my Hand Lettering... 

These are still very amateur. I've been working on hand lettering for almost a year now. While I enjoy doing it, I still have a lot to learn- 

Good Design vs Poor Design: 09/21/15

Our competitors are: Tazo Tea vs. Simply Balanced Organic Tea 

I will be analyzing the 3-dimentional packaging of these two teas and deciding which has a stronger branding design. 

Fist, Let's talk about Tazo-

We have a nice use of color here. Inviting yet not over-powering because of the white space. It is obvious right away the brand of the tea because of the size of the name right on the front of the box. We have the line of color along the left hand size of the box that leads your eye to read down the margin and glance at the image. A line of continuity is followed around the bottom rim of the packaging. Although the swirly line fades off as it reaches the front of the box, it feels complete. The law of pragnanz is also apparent here. This design is very simplistic, even down to he image on the front. It gives us a clear message of what is in the tea, without really even needing to read the label... 

... While the design of the individual packaging is quite nice on its own, the real strength of the design can be seen when viewing the different flavors of tea side by side. The images on the front remain consistent, and keep the packaging balanced by placing one object on each side. We can see that even though the images are cut off on the sides and spaced out from one another, the design still follows the gestalt principles of law of closure and law of proximity. The colors change, but the fluidity remains the same. 

I also wanted to point out their chai tea packaging. It is a different version of the original design, but still remains an obvious part of the group without too much separation...  

Ok, next lets look at the Simply Balanced brand. This design is nice, but not as strong as the first example. First, the only continuity happening here is the plain blue background surrounding the package. There are no lines to draw my eye anywhere, or to lead me to want to turn the box and look at the rest of the packaging.When I look at the front able my eye becomes trapped in the circle. Good design doesn't do this. If we compare the side label with directions to the example above we can see a huge difference here. Tazo has taken a huge advantage of all their negative space, and has made the directions clear and exciting to read. They have added an interesting caffeine guide that makes it simple to read and understand. Simply Balanced however, has a ginormous blob of empty space that really isn't working to their advantage. These directions are boring, and almost nothing is happening on this panel of the box. To me there is nothing original or exciting about this packaging. It is a poor design. 

After my analysis, it is clear to announce that Tazo is the clear winner. Their design is neat, simple, and follows all the gestalt principles.

Contrast, Balance, Harmony:

I hesitated adding one of my original pieces of art, but since it was preferred to have something we had photographed or created ourselves- I chose to share this one. This is an acrylic painting that I did a few years ago. It is of my sister Diane's dog, Kekoa. If you didn't already know, Kekoa is Hawaiian for "warrior". I guess that I was drawn to the sleek build and wide eyes of their Weimaraner, and wanted to recreate it. This is a photograph of the original painting. It was painted in black and white and has not been photoshopped to a grayscale. I eliminated all mid tones in this painting, so everything is done on the extremes of pale grays to deep blacks. Because of this the contrast, the shadows are quite abrupt. Because of the shapes used to create form, it is easy to see the asymmetrical balance of this painting. Although the canvas can not be perfectly divided in half, there is a good amount of balance in the equal weight of the gray hues. There is not just one large blob of white throwing off the portrait, but the weight of the shapes and tints of gray and black are distributed equally. Also, the placement of the dog within the layout helps create balance. He seems to be level, and according to the rule of thirds his head is placed in a comfortable side-center on the frame. Because there is contrast, the image seems to be balances, and the tints of gray appear to be spaced out nicely, the painting is Harmonious. The play of light and shadow is appealing to the eye, and easy to look at.
My sister eventually had to give this dog to another family. It was hard for her, and she had a hard time with it for quite a while. I gave this painting to her after he was given away. It still hangs in their home as a reminder of the companion and friend they will always remember.

 

VISCERAL RESPONSE ASSIGNMENT:

Wow. Isn't this a thing of beauty?!... Well, to me it is anyway- let me tell you why. 

I am a lover of art and music. Growing up, I often remember hearing my mother play the piano or guitar. I would sit and listen in amazement. She would have me and my sister (and sometimes my brothers when they wanted to) gather around and sing songs together. Sounds cheesy, but because of this I grew a strong love for music, and eventually learned to play a number of instruments myself. Even now, I often still look back on those memories in fondness. My mom and I still get together and play and sing when we find the time. I have been drawing since I can remember! I can't say my art has always been amazing, but I have always loved to do it. To see the two things that I love so beautifully crafted together just makes me want to cry! The Beatles are such a musical inspiration. They were musical prodigies of their time. Not to mention, Blackbird is my most favorite song to play on the guitar! Sadly, I could not find the artist of this specific guitar (due to the fact that all the information I found on it was in Spanish and the link was bad). I wish that I could credit whoever it was that created this masterpiece. 

Obviously, there have been a number of similar products crafted in the world like this one, but this particular guitar stands out to me for a few reasons. I love the simple contrast of black and white. Some might say that color would add to this piece, but I disagree. There is already so much happening here with contrast and line, adding color would distract from the content. The use of line is really what contributes to the different textures in this piece. If you look at the waves coming out of the sound hole for example, the vertical lines create energy and flow, but also dimension. The curved lines surrounding the sound hole bring the viewer around the whole piece without causing their eye to become trapped anywhere. I am amazed by the realism in the faces. They attract the eye without being too overpowering. The fact that Paul, John, George, and Ringo are all looking in different directions also play with this idea of lines. Each individual section has its own unique texture. The space inside the written lyrics, for example, creates a unique texture different from the texture of the waves or the texture in the stars. Space is an interesting concept here. Because the artwork is in black and white, the empty space is really what attributes to all that we see. There is so much to look at, you would almost have to stare at it for an hour to see everything. I also love that it has a hippie vibe, since The Beatles were a huge part of that era.  

I can't imagine the thrill I would feel holding this guitar in my hands! It's amazing.