the graphic design blog that speaks the truth.
With the release of Windows 8 just around the corner it appears that a new logo has been leaked which is possibly the new identity for Microsoft’s flagship operating system. The design above is much simpler than the image we have been familiar with for over 20 years, with the primary colour being dropped completely. It seems that the ‘wave’ in the icon artwork has also been dropped in favour of a focus upon perspective. I would have to say...
This is an excerpt from a free chapter of Smashing Logo Design Many moons ago, when a lens flare was still a twinkle in
As the first of many WordPress tutorials, here I will guide you through the process of creating a fully content managed Jquery carousel using WordPress. Step 1: Creating the content To create a content managed carousel we firstly need to create a new custom post type. This involves adding some code to your themes “functions.php” file. Open the file (or create it if it doesn’t exist) and add the following code at the very top: add_action( 'init', 'create_post_type' ); function...
It seems it’s become more important than ever to show how a mark was constructed rather than the message behind the concept. Something I’ve noticed that is becoming more and more predominant is the incessant use of circular grids in logo design. The kind of grid I am talking about is not the golden ratio, but a peculiar obsession with the use of circles in order to form curves, shapes and even letterforms. It reminds me of this famous image by...
Finally. It’s been 6 years since there has been a proper website on my home domain. You know how the old story goes, a cobbler never has time to mend his own shoes, and that has been the case for myself, hence the previous tongue-in-cheek placeholder. I’ve made a concerted effort to make some time to get the portfolio website up and running over the past couple of months, along with the great help from my brother, Dan, who has...
Incase you didn’t already know, here is a short background of the Occupy Movement according to Wikipedia: “The Occupy movement is an international protest movement which is primarily directed against economic and social inequality.” Having read that you would assume that such a ‘movement’ would be opposed to a system that only rewards winners, or people judged to be top of the pile? Well, for some bizarre reason, which I find incredibly laughable, the ‘movement’ have decided to launch a...
The FA Cup, the oldest football (soccer) competition in the world, has been given a new identity following the new sponsorship deal with the US lager giant, Budweiser. Most football fans across the world will be able to recognise the trophy just from it’s unique and memorable outline (see below).
The Halloween season is over and now another issue has resurfaced that scares designers worldwide. Unfortunately, Brandstack, a website which sold community submitted logo designs for three years, has closed it’s doors once and for all. I’m not one to put the boot in as I will be sad to see people lose their jobs, but the fact that another stock logo outfit has gone out of business is technically a good thing in terms of preserving the integrity of...
Apologies for the lack of posts of late. I’ve been trying to take a break from writing since completing my book. The good news is that blog posts will return to normal in the next few days and I hope to publish a new post at least once a week. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures of the pumpkin carving bonanza that has been taking part at DWD over the last week or so. Have a great halloween.
I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon and do one of those annoying competitions to allow anyone the chance at winning a copy of my book, Smashing Logo Design. To enter, all you have to do is send a public tweet or to @downwithdesign explaining why you are ‘down with design’. It can be positive or negative, it’s entirely up to you but be sure to include the hashtag #downwithdesignbook. You can send tweets from 12pm – 12am GMT on...
I’m pleased to say that my book, Smashing Logo Design, will go on sale in both the UK & US on Friday 10th June 2011. Pre-orders are now being taken from all of the large book retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Waterstones. To find out more about the book please visit: www.smashinglogodesign.net
Unless you’ve been hibernating for the past god knows how many months, you’ll know that there has recently been a Royal Wedding. With so much intrigue into the design of the dress, what flowers they will pick and even down the nature of the vows, I was sat watching it looking out for logos. Yes, I know that is very sad, but in a way I was forced to watch it (I’m sure you’ve all been there). It got me...
