DCa_instructor_guide_complete

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TaBle of
CONTENTs

0 3 MEET DAVID CARSON 2 5 THE BUSINESS END
An introduction to David’s career and pioneering work David’s seven essential tips for
working with clients
0 7 ANATOMY OF TYPOGRAPHY
The elements of letterform and major Latin font groupings 3 3 WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH
DESIGN COMPETITIONS?
1 3 GOING OFF THE GRID The truth about industry contests
In praise of throwing out the design playbook
Assignment
1 5 GLYPH STUDIES
David explains his wonkiest design moment 3 4 E Y E O N T H E P R I Z E
Practice working to a brief by
Assignment entering your work in a contest

1 8 D E S C R I B E T H E S E FO N TS 3 6 PORTFOLIO POINTERS
Start training yourself to harness the How to assemble (or refresh) your
evocative power of typography digital presence

1 9 THE ART OF SEEING 3 7 MAKE YOUR MARK
Use everyday surroundings to ignite The keys to designing an all-time-classic logo
creative inspiration
3 9 CASE STUDY: THE DALÍ MUSEUM
Assignment Breaking down David’s process
for rebranding a surrealist institution
2 0 I N TO T H E W I L D
Explore the possibilities of found Assignment
imagery in your area
4 0 M A K E , B E L I E V E
2 1 RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES Propose a brand identity for
Why are graphic designers obsessed with collage art? a hypothetical company

2 2 BITS AND PIECES 41 HOME SCHOOLING
Five collage artists every designer should know The best affordable resources
for budding designers
Assignment

24 C O L L AG E L I F E
Three exercises to improve your
visual communication skills

2

MEET DAVID
CARSON
It’s no exaggeration to say that David Carson has trans-
3 formed the way graphic design is practiced. If you want to
understand the immensity of his influence, take a moment
to chat up any young print designer. They’ll tell you how
David showed them that success isn’t dependent on fancy
art school degrees or climbing corporate ranks. They’ll say
he’s living proof that rules are made to be broken. They’ll
probably sound inspired. They might even relay a certain

catchphrase: “Don’t give up / David Carson
wasn’t built in a day.”

vbtgmeeiosgercnssIiartaadDotntegtalnmtyvdwieUapmdiJaaueor,eloAevsriaieoto.klhsngnneelchmDnetBhechoeMFefwlehedxiaahowlloatkdrvtiCuaituneupTtlriesotm)ioa,plaeds,avatdnenlaoe,nwsrDkhhwlorrfnscinrDersaiioggr,diseeaannnoudaitcu’nHfarpCricmthahtmisvwgrttaslypawakuBiSncvaaotykutiepoaitmepseutrrsadawntiloienoaemoloodniiuosehsssgr’opsftdseCresitfhtCnweotmlpiSa-ikmpthglidtaycapacAohRto—zirezoosyrotaiusnntamananerecntdiiuerhlued.loonnlithlrgarr-oaiifeTdils’eoNthaeazak,tenslenedttmhetagoaprshoss.rvdehAtilteTrapenekofrlHri,iiooe’andeeiifrossgignerotSTrrnsdnraslcs.aLtsewnnnecodudiArnsieWgi.ntieun,ancuunreeaaicxbCo’EtsdssmecncatvttstsdtnghpaauhaorouzcyayoutiietdeSukdsooosmfrcerer,lurarAudoh,PiaufgdaniuonhisfoosafrpinirncerinihonasiinlctlonpefnsssdtnhygrartsltrtdifigiTnDlekesg,nusoeeonoono1ollbtoaeruiathn9s’ciwnrrwscielurrcytoanfedOnal,nkh5eeiex’sHisanNgnosonh,aagratat4haa.hrtawosthucr-crluovitrorer;riyoiwudwgethueccerlmalwwShapglhiyhgnaaneahoomrnisgoetesteitnywcseagtr(eatmohesteikrn—Sninelehn-esddrtea.lkrdeaidfgceelepé-eddeHuianas1fyhatahedwncSeeslUad9npi;ontdinreieglfvok,gn,hgDsaeSd8rdocnhsrdtaisdothoweepseDokde4her,toiahittlesrmvekhsrtaneeudt,ueavto,eassohnehdbhaewt.-dsiaiarw.Uviferdd-edeoteegIte-lrb-Bthitosae.2aontone-ydeSfoheusrp6ror-r’pen.atnidekit,,lgree-r-hi-hndnsh-e.e-ge.

David’s lack of formal training jibed Design and Cover of the Year from the Society of
with the magazine’s rebellious Publication Designers in New York. That success
streak; he set about remodeling its led to a stint at Surfer magazine, where David
layout, breaking many supposed spearheaded an imaginative redesign. He began
rules of print design by mixing to solidify his reputation as a thoroughly revolu-
opposing fonts, radically cropping tionary figure in graphics and editorial.
photos, and running text where and
how he saw fit. His outsider aesthetic came into full view
in 1992, when he was hired to design a fledg-
This distinctive take on imagery and lettering ling alternative music magazine called Ray
also earned him a spot at the publication’s sister Gun. The publication’s subject matter and
title, Transworld Snowboarding, where he imple- conceptual leanings proved a perfect fit
mented similar changes. In 1989, he left to join for David’s style and attitude; he effec-
Musician magazine in Gloucester, Massachu- tively invented a new visual language
setts, later relocating to New York to work on within the print medium, one character-
SELF magazine. He then headed back west to ized by rich texture, visual distortion,
join the upstart magazine Beach Culture as art and the deconstruction and reconstruc-
director; the title folded after just six issues but tion of typographical and photographic
won numerous awards, including Best Overall elements. Above all else, he championed a
holistic concept of visual communication.
“I’m a big believer in the…message that’s
sent before somebody begins to read,

4

before they get the rest of the information,” David ex-
plained at the 2003 TED Conference. “That area of design
interests me the most.”

David’s graphic treatments for Ray Gun were unmistak-
ably human, meant to convey (and expand upon) the edito-
rial meaning of each story. In doing so, he demonstrated
that traditional layout templates weren’t mandatory—and
that a page’s design could be just as emotive as its prose. In
a 1997 retrospective, The New York Times declared that Da-
vid’s works were “more like Abstract Expressionist canvas-
es than magazine layouts”; the acclaimed video artist Ar-
thur Jafa cited Ray Gun as the best example of visual jazz.

David’s work flowed into popular
culture, causing a paradigm shift in
the appearance of products and
packaging. His style was emulated
by other designers for television
graphics, album and book covers,
posters and signage, logos, clothing,
and advertisements. Unsurprisingly,
the look proved divisive: While many
applauded overlapping images and
disorderly typography, others derided
it as fractured and obfuscating.
But even critics couldn’t deny the
effectiveness of David’s approach.

Before long, he wasn’t just an industry sensation but a gress. Creative Review magazine describes David as
bona fide celebrity, profiled in mainstream outlets like “the most famous graphic designer on the planet”
Newsweek. After designing Cyclops, photographer Albert and “the art director of the era.”
Watson’s award-winning monograph, David published a
monograph of his own, The End of Print, in 1995; that same The common thread throughout David’s epic
year, he left Ray Gun to start his eponymous design studio career and eclectic portfolio? His belief that out-
in New York. There, he developed bleeding-edge cam- standing design is intuitive, personal, and commu-
paigns for Nike, Pepsi, Microsoft, Armani, and other blue- nicative. It doesn’t require formal training, and it
chip clients. He also created album artwork for Prince and certainly isn’t downloaded from a template. Here,
Nine Inch Nails, graphics for the Smithsonian Institute he wants to break down some core elements for
and FOX Sports, television commercials for Xerox and you: sending a message with typography, using
Motrin, type treatments for Eddie Bauer and BMW, logos photographic imagery effectively, and establishing
for Burton Snowboards and Florida’s Dalí Museum, post- your visual identity.
ers for Britain’s National Theatre, and a new version of the
I NY emblem. “At its best, graphic design can express what the
heart is trying to say, what the emotion is trying to
Today, David continues to build on his prolific body of get across to somebody else or to a group,” David
work, hosting design workshops around the globe. He has says. “It’s the feeling we get from looking at some-
published four books; worked with David Byrne, William S. thing—not only what we read, but the emotional
Burroughs, and the estate of Marshall McLuhan; and won impact and how we’re moved.”
more than 240 awards, including the prestigious American
Institute of Graphic Arts gold medal in 2014. His work now
resides in the permanent collection of the Library of Con-

5

“If it feels like anybody could have
just typed it in, then you really don’t
need designers. Did you look at the

space between the letters? IF IT
SHOULD BE IN CAPS? If you
should find something TALL or
CONDENSED? Make those decisions, don’t
get lazy. If it’s readable, it’s okay, but
you won’t have the most fun doing
it, or do your best work. Look at the
obvious, basic categories of fonts—
bold, thick, serif, sans serif, italic,
non-italic, CAPS, lowercase—to see
if something strikes you as feeling
right for the message and works with
the other information on the page,

like a photograph or graphs.”

— DAV I D

6

AnatomyShoulder Tracking Kerning

Counter

Crossbar Baseline

Sans Serif Leading ofTerminal
Serif Italic

StemCap

TypographyHeight Bowl Ascender

Ear

X Height

Bracket

Axis

Descender Loop or Lobe

Link or Neck

David’s designs are all about impact. When it comes to typography,
he often breaks down letterform and reassembles them, mixing and
modifying fonts and pushing the limits of legibility in an effort to
capture (and convey) a specific emotion. Want to start experiment-
ing on your own? Get acquainted with the basic language of typog-
raphy and major font groupings in the Latin alphabet.

7

Major (g1r5otuhpcinegnstuorfyL–aptreinsteynpte) faces

BLACKLETTER HUMANIST GARALDE (SERIF)

Also known as: Textura Also known as: Also known as: Aldine
Old Style, Venetian Origin: France, c. 1540
Origin: Germany, c. 1455 ttiTtehshreitCsintlgalaemruofdreuoespmGoofaafFrntaryaempmneocfanahldcgteyaaspmnetdaockfuets-
Origin: Italy, c. 1465 cdatuIytrnesaeprd.laeiTKatwheininneeosgrtycefhfFdheiucrioiafsirfalenaeflidcrrnsiAfteisrnarloIdnFpmadurrsasaohanrpMudctomosaerontfauoiluonntrtnoi-is-st
Johannes Gutenberg’s printing grammar and orthography
press—and, with it, movable During the Renaissance period, tsw(atphrlieizetlialnsitnegiogtan,ohl,fawycnpooghrnudevanebganreteti,ioaoinknncs,sc,lufeaodmpriin--g
Latin type—meant Western cultural hubs in Europe—largely phasis, and punctuation).
texts could be reproduced in centered around Florence and You’ve seen it:
large volumes at smaller costs Venice in Italy—strived to evolve Abercrombie & Fitch logos
than previous methods of dis- from medieval norms. This ef- Examples:
semination (i.e., writing out fort toward sophistication mani- Bembo, Garamond
each and every publication by fested in new typographic con-
hand). The Bible was the first ventions; printers started to
substantial book Gutenberg create letters that took on the
printed, using blackletter type appearance of the Latin hand-
cut to replicate the handwrit- writing of the era’s philosophers
ing of early 15th-century Ger- and scribes. The lettering ap-
many, which had a formal ap- peared with a calligraphic aes-
pearance partly due to pens thetic, mimicking the angles at
being held at a 45-degree an- which a right-handed person
gle. In the 20th century, black- holds a pen. Traditionally, all
letter styles were co-opted by humanist typefaces were serif
the Nazi party to signify pride fonts, but in recent years de-
in German history. The style signers have created sans serif
was revived in merchandise versions that retain certain
and album cover designs for calligraphic characteristics.
1970s and ’80s metal bands
and, more recently, for those You’ve seen it:
of hip-hop artists. Penguin Classics book covers

You’ve seen it: Examples (serif):
The New York Times Centaur, Verona
nameplate
Examples (sans serif):
Examples: Gill Sans, Johnston, Optima
Bastarda (1455), Darka (2019)

8

TRANSITIONAL DIDONE SLAB SERIF
(SERIF)
Also known as: Also known as: Antique, Egyptian,
Also known as: Realist Modern, Romantics Mechanistic, Mechanical
Origin: France and
Origin: France, c. 1700s Italy, c. 1800 Origin: England, c. 1810
Named after type design-
Transitional fonts were ers Firmin Didot (France) Slab serifs are a broad and varied
born thanks to King Louis and Giambattista Bodoni bunch, characterized by thick, block-
XIV, who was keen on ele- (Italy), didone is the prod- like serifs. They emerged in the early
vating France’s printing uct of an ongoing profes- 19th century, in response to the explo-
prowess. He set about sional rivalry between the sion of commercial advertising, shar-
renovating the Imprimerie two men. The style was in- ing very few elements with previous
Royale (the French gov- formed by writing created type designs. The first known example
ernment’s printing press) by hand using a pointed is a lottery advertisement from London
and commissioned the nib held at a 90-degree in 1810, but the earliest slab is widely
French Academy of Sci- angle. In the West, Didone cited as Antique, by London typogra-
ences to create a new became the standard of pher Vincent Figgins, which appeared
typeface. It came back general-purpose printing in a type specimen dated 1815. Slab
with the Roman du Roi, a during the 19th century. serifs were often created with display
suite of 86 typefaces that You’ve seen it: Vogue purposes in mind—to grab people’s at-
birthed an entirely new magazine nameplate tention on posters and billboards, for
way of creating type: Examples: Bodoni, Didot, example—though some were intend-
drawing letterforms on a ed for use in smaller sizes with large
strictly geometric, grid- Walbaum chunks of text, such as on newsprint.
based system. They were also often used in typewrit-
ers (such as Courier), and so these ex-
Characteristics amples are monospaced, meaning the
Very strong contrast, characters each occupy the same
near-vertical axis, flatter amount of horizontal space. The slab
serifs, refined details category includes typefaces with
square, unbracketed serifs (often
You’ve seen it: called Egyptians) as well as those with
Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. bracketed serifs (sometimes called
album cover Clarendons or Ionics).

Examples: You’ve seen it: Wells Fargo branding
Baskerville, Fournier,
Times Examples: Clarendon, Courier,
Rockwell, Sentinel

9

G R OT E S Q U E GEOMETRIC N E O - G R OT E S Q U E

Also known as: Gothic, Grotesk Origin: Germany, c. 1920s Origin: Switzerland, 1957
Neo-grotesque fonts are
Origin: England, c. 1815 As the name suggests, these the ultimate modernist
are sans serifs constructed typefaces; the first exam-
Grotesque is often used to describe any from simple geometric ples to be categorized as
sans serif font, but the term should really shapes, which are often opti- such—Helvetica (or Neue
be applied to the sorts of typefaces that cally adjusted by typogra- Haas Grotesk by Max
originated in the 19th century and bear phers to make the shapes Miedinger), Univers (by
some unusual characteristics. (The first seem more linear and legible. Adrian Frutiger), and Folio
official sans serif dates back to 1748, Notable early designs include (by Konrad Bauer and Wal-
originating in the foundry of William Erbar by Jakob Erbar, Futura ter Baum)—were released
Caslon; in 1785, Valentin Haüy, founder by Paul Renner, and Herbert in 1957. This category of
of a school for blind children, also devel- Bayer’s Universal alphabet. fonts is associated with the
oped a typeface called the Haüy System, (The latter, an unreleased Swiss International Style
essentially an early sans serif.) The true study from the mid-to-late that emerged in the mid-
grotesque font style was born around 1920s, was revived digitally 20th century and continues
1816 in William Caslon IV’s foundry, which as Architype Bayer in 1997.) to be hugely popular today.
developed the first sans serif printing Some Geometric fonts use a They’re simple, legible, and
type. The letterforms were influenced range of geometric shapes to even neutral, designed with
by Didone typefaces, particularly the give them varied proportions, a range of uses in mind, un-
varying contrasts between thick and thin like more classical roman like original grotesques,
strokes. Re-creating this without serifs typefaces, while others use which were largely intended
means that grotesques have unusual repeated geometric elements for bold headlines.
quirks and exaggerated shapes in strange in the construction of each You’ve seen it: American
places, as the contrasts of calligraphic letter for a more uniform look. Apparel logos
letterforms doesn’t apply to sans serifs. This group is strongly associ- Examples: DIN, Helvetica,
Initially designed to be a bold type style ated with Germany’s famed Univers
for headlines and advertising, most early Bauhaus art school.
grotesques are only created in capital 10
letters, with lowercase versions appearing You’ve seen it:
later on. 2001: A Space Odyssey
movie poster
You’ve seen it: MoMA signage
Examples: Avenir, Century
Examples: Franklin Gothic, Ideal Gothic, Futura
Grotesk, Two Lines English Egyptian

11

"Pay attention to the details. Don't
let software determine the width

between columns, the spaces
between sentences or between
letters... Separate the title from the
subtitle, separate the author from
the body copy. Don't automatically

make all the drop caps or pull
quotes the same. They’re all
decisions you should be making."

— DAV I D

12

Margin

Going Off the Grid
off baseline grid

base aligned

In praise of throwing
out the design playbook

Baseline

Guides for a gridded layout

TMargin o understand why David’s approach to de- The modernists aimed to expand upon these ideas, culmi-
sign is so revolutionary, it’s important to
first understand the conventions he has de- nating in Müller-Brockmann’s 1968 guidebook, Grid Systems
fied. Chief among them is the grid structure,
which became an intrinsic part of graphic in Graphic Design. In it, he offered insights on the interdepen-

dency of type and grids—essentially creating systems for Margin
placing text within a “container,” or page space. He also set

design training after WWII. In the most ba- out recommendations for modular layouts that use horizon-

sic sense, the “grid” is a two-dimensional framework of in- tal rows and vertical “gutters” that stem from the baseline

tersecting lines that helps designers organize content on a text grid, forming modules that he termed “fields.”

page. The idea is to create layouts that are both legible and

aesthetically pleasing without demonstrating the existence Here, it’s important to note that
Müller-Brockmann didn’t intend to
of the framework underpinning the whole thing. create a clinical methodology. He
merely offered the grid as a tool to
This school of design is synonymous with the modernism support a designer’s vision, empha-
sizing individual flair rather than
movement of the 1950s. Proponents like Max Bill, Emil Rud- Guide blind facsimile. He also pointed to
2 Column grid natural and historical precedents: The
er, and Josef Müller-Brockmann were heavily influenced by honeycomb patterns formed by bees,
rudimentary proportions of the hu-
Jan Tschichold’s 1928 book, Die neue Typographie (The New man body, traditional Japanese archi-
tecture, and Egyptian pictograms are
Typography), a strident manifesto for modern design, which all analogous to his gridding concept.
Müller-Brockmann’s tenets can be ex-
could be considered the antithesis of David’s visual lan- panded beyond the page for 3-D appli-
cations, too; the legendary Italian de-
guage. Tschichold advocated for a codified, rules-based sys- signer Massimo Vignelli used similar
modular systems in his iconic map-
tem for design, including the strict use of standardized pa- ping of the New York City Subway.

per sizes and blocky, neutral typefaces. Still, some designers came to see
these principles as rigid and dogmat-
6 Column grid ic. By the 1970s, grids were part of
3 Column grid

13 Margin

Gutters

Uniform spacing between columns

vid just has a different perspective:
“Sometimes I feel I’m one of the few
voices out there trying to keep graph-
ic design a little more emotional or
give it some spirit, which is what in-
trigued me early on.”

He’s not alone. Some critics

now say grids have become yet

sELgueptrudlaaraaentrriigosndnderpeaeitderdAs,d,ditigmnNetenemdeot.ahrTrpclietahhlchayviaenteo.AeagruddSymftvooslaeeoronnroodnistnckew,oalsayfet,ingchraodnosenfmyfsftdeeotpeurwmuelcdedotoeuerfmncremp-thpsaooilinoipedrnf-ex-- another aspect of design system-
dcfndpDwsueaeilisladlmaiDw—lsivyncgepaie’“nud.gtvlmiHyepnniqhdneeewceua’ennsoesesorddrttshranartekautetriodooiintcmonsfntdstong,aehst”rinac.ieycmoncoikesfshnutrtytdelsidosaanesietps,prasestgpuiromiegrggrlnneinoun.dssteaHadefarcbtreesytbholdoypo—msthsoohutuhtsorgatececrwtoiccmragthtaeephhoatdnsheceagsirhya-yl-e-s., atized by modern software, along
otlmywohitrboafkohyfiueertmes“uaihGbstl?nWptoseesgfrgHraoarisaepohtogsstoltpercooomaeew?ohpetgr,’”ssjiseeoetoowcahsoh—tcrfry.Aeohpet“,dmg.uAwreltraeeeoetlonlshdtaslltIriddeuotpgtebghthdtnewlohidheoenoieeiseheagtrpvdrenusaAelelwoaceititsttmrireahwtiiniegvn?lkneeetonecoeotnrW.muooitriDcaanlneihdoaitnsiesttnnra‘ok?sitfeadtfeiehIoHagreenadaatcnrrlbositrcscaactsesw’eoltlibtoerietutrwooiunodhagnonutdkeocheetrststt, with automated type settings
and color corrections, making
intsshiogaoHrnshueeealreeersdsms. toHtaphrbahiilvnnaiisstgnehiztgneoetdnsiqoebtunvhyaeaafnrltoltyisritmtf’ssuyea.dn”tlsioleytodtaurgstaritifiondhebsed,rheDdaaeaks-- the work feel stagnant and de-
tached. Breaking from these
systems, à la David, can help you
facilitate conceptual thinking
and deliver something that’s both
truly original and entirely unex-
pected. “I’d like to encourage you
to not put things where they seem
to want to go,” he says. “Don’t
put them in the obvious place.
The idea that a computer sets up
guidelines is just all wrong to me.

I think this is where you end up

with boring design and boring

designers, and probably a boring

audience. Bring your eye to it,
rather than following somebody

else’s guidelines. Never snap to

guides. We want your mind, we

don’t want your software.”

Tilted text box 2°

14

15

Glyph
Studies

David explains his wonkiest
design moment

Dingbat fonts replace alphabetical or numeric
characters with symbols and shapes. Examples in-
clude Wingdings and Webdings, created by Micro-
soft in 1990 and 1997, respectively, and the Zapf
Dingbats, designed by Hermann Zapf in 1978 for
New York’s International Typeface Corporation,
which licensed it.

In 1994, David’s predilection for typographic
risk-taking—and his resolute adherence to his
own convictions—resulted in one of the most infa-
mous magazine spreads ever created. He was lay-
ing out an interview with Bryan Ferry, the Roxy
Music crooner, for Ray Gun, and David considered
the piece to be “incredibly boring.” So he decided
to make it more interesting (and entirely illegible)
by setting the text in Zapf Dingbats font.

“I’m a bit surprised it became such a big thing,” he
told the American Institute of Graphic Arts blog in
2019. “I don’t show it in my talks, and design-wise
it’s average, it’s okay—it’s kind of funny and quick.
Sometimes you hear a band say they wrote the
song they’re best known for in 10 minutes, like a
throwaway thing, so it’s a bit like that. But it fit
with the attitude of the magazine, and you have a
responsibility to the audience to represent them
and the subject matter.”

And it’s not like David left Ray Gun readers strand-
ed: He ran the Ferry interview (using an entirely
legible font) elsewhere in the issue. If you’re going
to pull a stunt, make sure you stick the landing—
and that you’re doing it in the interest of your audi-
ence, not at their expense.

16

With the font choice,
don’t overlook the message
behind each font. They all have
their own personality, and
you have to decide, as a designer,
which one fits your particular
project the best—one which

doesn’t simply carry
the information. It’ll help you

reinforce a message.”

— DAV I D

17

(descriptor)
(descriptor)
(descriptor)
(descriptor)
(descriptor)
(descriptor)
(descriptor)
(descriptor)
(descriptor)
(descriptor)

Describe These Fonts 18

Typography can speak volumes, subtly (or overtly) conveying your message
to a reader or audience. Take a few minutes to study the front samples above.
Then match each of them with a descriptive term from the word bank below.

18Word bank: quaint, loud, distinguished, gritty, haunting, warm, beautiful,

claustrophobic, insightful, celebratory

The Art minutes a day to draw, without the
of Seeing end goal of presenting the finished
work to anyone, is a great way to dis-
Use your everyday surroundings entangle the thinking mind from its
to ignite creative inspiration more free-associative, creative coun-
terpart.
T he best ideas, as the old cliché goes, come when you aren’t looking
for them. But those ideas are rarely the result of idleness or pas- Similarly, creatives across all disci-
sivity. They’re the product of viewing the world—consciously or plines have espoused the virtues of
not—with an eye for depth and detail. They require that you rec- writing longhand, particularly
ognize emotional resonance and make cognitive leaps that forge through the Morning Pages ritual,
creative connections that no one else would make. popularized by Julia Cameron’s 1992
Take the now-classic severed ear scene in David Lynch’s celebrated 1986 film, book, The Artist’s Way. The exercise
Blue Velvet: The image was born of the Bobby Vinton song that gave the film its simply involves filling three sides of
name. “What came from [hearing] the song at first was red lips in a car, and green A4 paper with words (using pen or
lawns with dew at night,” the director said during a 2015 event in Switzerland. pencil, and kept private) as soon as
“The next thing that came was a severed ear in the grass.” Lynch didn’t take the you wake up. The aim is to write with-
song or its lyrics at face value; instead he formed a surrealist visual narrative in out thinking, stream-of-conscious-
his head. He took the track’s subtle sense of the uncanny, and of unease, and ness style. According to Cameron,
translated the literal meanings of Vinton’s words into a striking sequence. there’s “no wrong way” to go about it,
but she adds that “the second page-
Lynch is a vocal advocate of transcendental meditation as a means of accessing and-a-half comes harder” than the
ideas that the conscious mind might not, or, as he puts it, “catching the big fish.” first, and three pages is the absolute
Designers can try those techniques, too. But with the pressures of client deadlines, limit, to avoid “self-involvement and
you need to create great work even when your muses don’t drop in. By actively narcissism.” Those who swear by the
engaging with what’s around us—visually, sonically, even olfactorily—those types practice extol its virtues for calming
of creative cognitive leaps will come far more readily. anxiety, resolving creative problems,
and leading to fresh insights.
Sometimes that means exercising ways of looking deeper into what might seem
ordinary or banal. Life drawing, for instance, sharpens the connections between The Morning Papers ritual must be
the drawing hand and the mind by breaking down the human body—usually undertaken immediately upon regain-
fraught with insecurities and warped perceptions—into its most basic lines, ing consciousness. This is crucial, and
curves, and proportions. It’s liberating to see the physical for what it is rather than similar meditative activities can be
what it’s associated with. Loosen up the brain to express things in new ways, and incredibly powerful when the brain is
you might find something incredible. still a little sleepy; we’re less inhibited
then, meaning revelations are more
The same can apply to sketching in general. While phones are handy for cap- forthcoming. Truly seeing—and as-
turing an image for later reference, the immediacy and physicality of putting pen similating what we see, connecting it
or pencil to paper—taking in the topography of everyday life unselfconsciously with the unexpected, forging new
on a page—can shine an entirely new light on the mundane. Even just taking five concepts from what might seem insig-
nificant—is almost an art form unto
itself. As adults, especially those for
whom creative awareness pays their
rent, it takes work to arrive at viewing
the world in a way that’s both innately
perceptive and naively unselfcon-
scious. It’s worth the effort.

19

Into the Wild

Awareness is crucial to developing your design eye, and
found imagery can serve as a source of inspiration. David
often photographs the man-made details of his everyday
surroundings, from community posters to graffiti tags.
Walk around your own neighborhood and inspect the text
elements—flyers stapled to telephone poles, signs for yard
sales, posted notices—and photograph them. Then do the
same on a different day while exploring a new neighborhood.
Compare the results. How does each object use typogra-
phy? What message is being conveyed? Which ones are
effective? Which aren’t? What aspects (literal or figurative)
might you be able to translate into one of your own designs?

20

Ripped From
the Headlines

Why are so many graphic designers obsessed with collage art?

David is a huge advocate of collage as “negate the ideological conditions of artistic production, the fact that all artworks
a medium for expression. But, as he are ultimately commodities.”
rightly points out, “collage has been an
abused word over the years, some- Oftentimes, multiple works are cut and reassembled, revealing both hitherto
times it’s been designated as quite unseen meanings and creating new ones by dint of their placement alongside one
‘cute.’ ” He allows for a few “amazing another. This concept of newness from the old—reinventing artifacts through
exceptions” while offering his take on their evisceration or placement—is at the heart of the work of John Stezaker. The
the form: “It doesn’t have the same pioneering conceptual artist’s early collages, in particular, reveal an obsessive
clout as fine art or graphic design.” relationship with mass-produced imagery. Often combining postcards of vast
landscapes with intimate Hollywood film stills, his compositions cleverly riff on
Maybe that’s because collage is an the interplay between outdoor and interior spaces, as well as the aesthetics of
inherently democratic art form, at melodrama. The results are aesthetically beguiling.
least in terms of accessibility of mate-
rials or due to its popular perception Stezaker’s oeuvre exemplifies appropriation done well: He underscores col-
as a rainy-day distraction for kids. But lage’s capacity for subversion while making the case for the timeless relevance of
here’s the truth: Like high-quality the medium. And just as David uses typography and layout as intrinsic message
graphic design, high-quality collage carriers, Stezaker lets his materials communicate the content; postcards, accord-
requires an incredible level of artistic ing to art critic Yuval Etgar, are a deliberate choice to “capture exactly what me-
skill, in both planning and execution. chanical reproduction did to our way of looking at pictures.”

The form’s conceptual underpin- It’s fair to say collage and graphic design share a beauty in subversion. They’re
nings are certainly storied. Collage, as both rooted in theorem or are willfully devoid of them; academic and visceral;
we know it today, is strongly associat- virulently antagonistic and coolly calm. So it’s no wonder that David is drawn to
ed with détournement, a practice that this sort of work. His designs are often calcified by a need to interrogate the status
stems from a midcentury European quo, a belief shared by many of his collage contemporaries. In elevating the mean-
avant-garde movement called situa- ing of materials, graphic designers cannot only find inspiration, but learn to better
tionism. The situationists aimed to understand the power of context.
create new artworks by “creatively
disfiguring” existing ones; as outlined
in situationist theorist Guy Debord’s
1956 essay “A User’s Guide to Détour-
nement,” the resulting piece must

21

5. 1.
Mickalene Thomas
(American, 1974–present) Hannah Höch
Thomas, a hugely influ- (German, 1889–1978)
ential multidisciplinary
artist, brings Black A member of the Berlin Dada movement,
femininity to the fore- and a pioneering artist working
front of her collage in collage and photomontage, Höch
studies. Lush textures, was best known for appropriating
unexpected materials, mass-media images and turning them
and striking juxtaposi- into critiques of the Weimar Repub-
tions give her pieces a lic, gender roles, and identity.

singular look. Five 2.
Collage
4. Artists Linder
Kurt Schwitters (British, 1954–present)
(German, 1887–1948) Every
Associated with both the Graphic First emerging from Man-
constructivist and Dada- Designer chester’s fertile 1970s
ist art movements, Should punk scene, Linder is best
Schwitters created col- known for her provocative
lages from photos, found Know explorations of society’s
objects, typography, and treatment of the female
discarded materials to form; her collages have
comment on the breakneck frequently combined
modernization of the imagery from pornography,
20th-century world. women’s magazines, and
mail-order catalogs.

3.
John Stezaker
(British, 1949–present)

Taking inspiration from surre-
alism, the contemporary concep-
tual artist interrogates no-
tions of truth, memory, time,
and culture through his assem-
blage of postcards, vintage
Hollywood press photos, and
magazine images.

22

“I stay away from anything that
feels too popular—too common,
too forgettable. I’ve always done
some part of hand lettering ... it’s
human. It sends a message that
there’s a person behind it. Never
use a font that’s made to look like
hand lettering: hand letter it, or

get someone else to do so."

— DAV I D

23

Collage Life

David gives design workshops all over the world; one of
his goals is to demonstrate how much can be conveyed
through graphics without using words. He suggests that
you try these three assignments at home to improve
your visual communication skills:

Create a 2-D graphic Create a 2-D graph- Create a 2-D or 3-D
artwork that shows ic artwork that graphic artwork that
who you are, using shows how your life shows where you’d like to
only the letters of is going this week, be a decade from now,
your first name and using only color. without using literal im-
black and white When you’re fin- agery. There are no lim-
coloring. When you’re ished, reflect on the itations on color, texture,
finished, carefully ability of colors to typography, or any other
consider how our cre- send strong mes- elements. When you’re
ative expressions can sages and how you finished, think about how
capture our personal- might use them to a representational or
ity—even when there convey more than abstract visual can still
are strict, mandatory emotion at the communicate powerful,
guidelines in place. same time. grounded ideas.

24

The Business

When designers win work (i.e., get hired to take on a project), it’s not always a result of being ap-
proached directly by the client. There are several ways for a designer to be commissioned. They
might work through something called a tender—invitations from public- and private-sector busi-
nesses to bid for design projects, as listed on sites like Creative Tenders and Global Tenders. These
jobs will include a tender request document, explaining what services they require, with specific in-
structions and desired criteria.

Occasionally, designers can also win business by working “on spec,” a term derived from the
word speculatively. Here, the designer has already created something independently, approaches
a person or company they’re keen to work with, and pitches the work in the hope of being commis-
sioned. More established designers do have a better chance than unproven names in this arena,
but the risk is fairly obvious—if the client isn’t interested, you’ve exerted a huge effort with zero re-
turn on your project. It’s a bit like cold-call sales: difficult but possible.

When a client does approach a designer or studio directly, the work can still require a lengthy
pitch process. Many would argue that these proposals should be paid (and working on spec, de-
pending on how much detail is given, can be seen as creating an unpaid pitch), since the designer
is likely to invest time formulating ideas—and, in cases where they’re pitching against other design
agencies, might not even win the paid commission after doing so.

Of course, winning a project is only the first step. The next is actually doing the work. Everything
starts with the brief—a description of what’s needed from the designer. For some clients, this will
be a comprehensive document, packed with information that outlines each touchpoint the design-
er will work on; maybe it’s a one-off magazine cover, or maybe it’s an entire branding scheme, in-
cluding logo, store signage, staff uniforms, and an app icon. For other clients, the brief could just
begin as a verbal request; in that case, it’s on the designer to find out exactly what’s needed and
how it fits the client’s attitude, selling points, target consumer, or audience.

To ensure that the client is happy (and you get paid in full), here are seven nuggets of wisdom
from David in order to make the most of your commission:

End

DAV I D ’ S S E V E N T I P S FO R WO R K I N G W I T H C L I E N TS

25

1

INTERROGATE THE BRIEF
(AND BEYOND)

Working with a range of different gonna trigger something in you. That’s
clients—editorial (a magazine or other the direction you start exploring with
publication), commercial (a brand), your design work.”
and cultural (record labels, art gal-
leries, theaters)—requires a deft The design elements you create—logos,
touch; as David points out, “They’re typography, color palettes, illustra-
all different.” Regardless of the tions, photographs—should address the
project, though, the best starting issues presented in the brief. But the
point is always the brief. At this brief alone is rarely enough, and a
point, David says, the designer has to good designer won’t take everything at
start asking questions: Who is this face value. They’ll investigate the
client? What are they trying to say? client’s origin story, the competitors
What are the benefits of their product (and how they’re faring), the main au-
or the service? Who is their audience? dience, and new audiences they’re in-
The first ideas for a project, whether tending to reach. Looking back on the
those are strategic or visual, can client’s previous design work can also
only come from thoroughly investigat- inform its future: what worked and
ing these lines of inquiry through what didn’t, and why. Following the
both micro and macro lenses. research phase, the next step is
“gathering materials you think can
“Read that brief. Read it well. And ‘reinforce’ the brief and answer the
what do you get from that? What are questions it brought up,” David says.
you seeing? What are you feeling?” “Then it’s a matter of letting your
says David. “Something in there is design mind go to work.”

26

2 22 ² 2 2 2 2 ² 2 2

ioNsOptGive Them
(and make
sure that you
actually like
all of them)

When it comes to presenting initial ideas to a client, one can better gauge the client’s re- did a lot of work.”
school of thought advises that a designer should bring sponse; if they go for, say, hand-let- In short, David
only their best ideas—three at the most. David dis- tering over something more formal,
agrees. He says that he’s always worked by showing an you can fine-tune the work that’s advises you to “give
array of different concepts, “maybe because I’ve been most aligned with that aesthetic. ’em some options…
doing it for a while and I don’t feel any one project is show the ones you re-
that precious.… Some are safer, some are more out “I’ll come back with a dozen or ally feel passionate
there, some are all in between.” more ideas based on feedback about, and ones that
around the direction [the client is] you feel good about
The client could pick your favorite. They might even liking,” David explains. “I think but are a little safer,
go for the one you consider the most experimental or there’s probably been a couple times and go from there.”
outlandish. But there are countless tales of designers pre- where I confused clients by giving
senting a few options, from which the client picks the one them too many options. Like, literal-
its creator secretly hates. The trick to avoiding that is to ly, a wall of printouts. But for me,
actually like everything you decide to present. Plus, from overall, it works really well. Usually
David’s point of view, by putting forward more ideas, you they’re appreciative of the fact you

27

KNOW YOUR 3
STRENGTHS, Whatever your creative field,
BUT PUSH self-awareness is key. Maybe a de-
YOURSELF signer has a strong grasp on typog-
CREATIVELY raphy but isn’t the best with 3-D
graphics; an illustrator could be fan-
tastic at futuristic CG images but ter-
rible at hand-drawn likenesses. While
everything you do for clients should
fit the brief, you were likely hired be-
cause they spotted something about
your style, process, and chosen me-
diums—so play to those strengths.

David reckons that now, more than
ever, clients are picking designers on
the merits of “personal” work, since
it’ll likely result in a more unique de-
sign product. When the Macallan
whiskey company approached him
about a collaboration, he created a
series of original collages (see
“Ripped From the Headlines” on
page 21) for the brand’s campaign,
which were also made into a limited
run of hand-signed art prints.

“It wasn’t so much a matter of me
looking at this particular client and
saying, ‘Oh, they need collage,’ ” he
explains. Rather, the collages David
created conveyed the “hands-on-
ness” of the whiskey-making process
and included abstractions of the
landscapes around the distillery,
which brought a natural feeling to the
work. In this case, David’s collage art
simply “made sense” for the brand
and the project.

28

4 BE ABLE

TO JUSTIFY
EVERY
ELEMENT

It’s all well and good to present several potential
design routes at an early client meeting, but that
work can be easily undone if, when questioned, you
can’t justify why you proposed these ideas. Simply
liking a certain color or typeface doesn’t cut it.
Every design decision has to be arrived at through
a considered process, whereby you can justify why
it would be a smart approach for that particular
brand, brief, or project. As David says, “It’s just
a cool shape, I like it” isn’t going to sell an idea.

29

Good creative is the product of
unique perspectives, so take ad-
vantage of yours. Don’t just rein-
force the norms of what’s been
seen before for a particular sector
or type of client. Authenticity
sells. To wit, in an early project for
Burton Snowboards, David was
presented with many photos
showing what he terms “people
doing the obvious tricks in the
air.” They felt stale—and staged.
But one image was different: It
was of a man who’d just crossed a
half-frozen lake. Unexpected,
sure, yet it still showed off the
core product perfectly. “I had to
argue for this one, because they
really wanted another high-air
photo. But there was something
real about the way the guy was
looking back at the camera.”

30

6 Eventually, most successful de-
signers struggle to strike a bal-
Use your ance between taking on proj-
work ects to pay the bills and doing
for good, ones they genuinely enjoy.
not just a They’re likely to face difficult
payoourt ethical decisions, too. Some de-
signers and agencies now flat-
portfolio out refuse to collaborate with
piece companies that don’t practice
climate consciousness or have
poor working conditions in
their factories.

In many cases, as a creative,
you can make small but signifi-
cant changes; remember, you’re
in a unique position as someone
charged with making images for

public consumption. Tackling
social issues from the inside, as
a sort of graphic design Trojan
horse, can go a long way toward
effecting change.

And it doesn’t even need to
be overtly political. When Da-
vid was working as the creative
director for Bose Corporation,
he realized that the company
had exclusively used white men
in its previous ads—something
many brands have been guilty
of doing. Rather than reinforc-
ing that hegemony, David went
for a typographic solution that
suggested the design was pro-
gressive, answered the brief,
and, crucially, introduced more
inclusive imagery.

31

MAKE
YOUR

WORK

7 VISIBLE

THERE’S LITTLE HOPE OF A DESIGNER BEING APPROACHED
FOR COMMISSIONS IF THEIR WORK ISN’T READILY ON
DISPLAY, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY’RE STARTING OUT.
HERE, DAVID DOESN’T MINCE WORDS: “YOU COULD BE
THE BEST DESIGNER IN THE WORLD, BUT IF NOBODY
SEES THE WORK, IT’S GONNA BE DIFFICULT.”

OBVIOUSLY, A DECENT WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE,
AND ROBUST ONLINE PORTFOLIO ARE KEY TODAY. BUT

MORE TRADITIONAL ROUTES, LIKE FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS
AND DESIGN COMPETITIONS, CAN STILL DO HEAVY
LIFTING IN GETTING YOUR NAME OUT THERE—AND
WINNING NEW BUSINESS.

32

What’s the Deal With
Design Competitions?

The truth about industry contests

I n recent years, there’s been an more work. It’s no secret that many business-
increasingly heated debate over es use D&AD Annual (which collates the or-
the value of design competitions. ganization’s various award winners) as an
The main arguments against them informal directory when looking for new de-
are expense (free time isn’t free, signers. An award can also act as a short-
suggesting that success can be hand for quality in the eyes of brands that are
“bought,” in a way) and the inequitable nature less familiar with the design world but inter-
of the industry as a whole (bigger agencies, ested in experimenting or eager to commis-
after all, can divert more funding to ancillary sion new work. For studios, awards can help
projects). It’s true that for smaller studios— attract and recruit fresh design talent, too.
those with under, say, 30 people—the costs
to enter competitions can be prohibitive. So entering a competition doesn’t hurt,
provided the studio can allocate suitable
Still, big-name awards have enduring clout. time and resources. Winning will mean in-
Many studios and designers are well-loved creased publicity and recognition, though it’s
by their peers and insider press but struggle arguable how much of that is just peer-to-
with expanding into wider markets or new peer recognition. The good news? If you’re
geographical territories. Recognition from early into your career, student and amateur
Design Week Awards, Cannes Lion, Red design awards are usually free to enter. (See
Dot, Pentawards, or AIGA 50 Books/50 “Eye on the Prize” on page 34.)
Covers can help firms break through the
design-world bubble and, eventually, win

33

Eye on the Prize

New to the world of design? Eager to get more eyeballs on your work
and maybe even pocket some extra cash? Start researching amateur
design competitions. There are numerous contests held around the
globe every year, running the gamut of specialties and mediums,
from travel posters to sustainable packaging. Look closely at the
submission criteria, find a few that match your experience level, then
add the submission deadlines to your personal calendar. Set periodic
reminders to ensure that you allocate time to creating your best origi-
nal work. The entire exercise—research, working to a brief, managing
multiple projects—is great practice for your career. If you feel proud
of your design, add it to your portfolio for future clients to reference.

34

35

Portfolio Pointers

A few things to keep in mind as you assemble (or refresh) your digital presence

Make it easy Case studies, not
to read. just pictures.

If your online portfolio is difficult to No, you don’t need (or want) an essay div-
navigate, it’s an immediate turnoff for ing into each piece. But a few lines explain-
most potential employers or clients. Avoid ing the brief and how your designs fulfill it
bouncing them to external hyperlinks to (and tangible results, like sales conversions
view your projects, as much as that’s possi- or web traffic, if you have them) alongside
the imagery sends a message: You can hit
ble. Keep it tidy. a client’s key points, and get results, while

Curate! making beautiful things.

Making the most of five brilliant projects is Show who
generally better than showing off a doz- you are.
en middling ones. Remember, you can’t
Sure, a quick personal paragraph covering
control how somebody peruses your work; your background and your passions (when
each piece they see—no matter in the it comes to design and maybe beyond) can
help. But your work should do most of the
order they view it—should be your best. talking. You don’t need a memoir here. Let
Padding out your profile with duds makes
you look inconsistent, not more prolific. your creative samples fill in the blanks.

The work you Keep it up
show is likely the to date.

work you’ll get. Check your portfolio periodically to make
sure there aren’t missing images or, if
Clients and collaborators often hire de-
signers based on a certain style, skill set, or you’re forced to hyperlink out, dead URLs.
thematic focus. So if you’re looking to land Add a social media feed, if that’s your
more print work, highlight your previous thing. And when you’ve finished a work
magazine layouts or posters; if you want to
work with climate-friendly brands, show that you’re proud of—personal or profes-
off pieces that cleverly touch on sustain- sional—make sure to include it under the
ability. Dress (your portfolio) for the job
appropriate heading.
you want.
36

Make M A K E I T C O M M U N I CAT E
Your
Mark Recognizing a logo is subconscious; all
it takes is a glimpse of the swoosh or
The keys to designing the golden arches to identify Nike or
an all-time-classic logo McDonald’s. As such, remember that
when we see something, we don’t
At the risk of stating the obvious, a “read” it. What gets our attention, at the
logo is one of the most—if not the most basic level, is color and shape. As
most—significant design elements David puts it: “Don’t mistake legibility
for a brand. This is often the initial for communication. Just because
point of contact for the wider world, something’s legible doesn’t mean it
signifying what a business or organi- communicates. More importantly, it
zation is all about. Logos should be doesn’t mean it communicates the
striking, so that people unfamiliar right thing.”
with the brand notice, and memora-
ble enough to endure regardless of SKETCH IT OUT
the time and place in which they’re
displayed. The best ones demon- Legend holds that graphic design lumi-
strate what both the brand and its nary Milton Glaser came up with his
audience represent, and what sets
them apart from the competition. iconic I NY logo in
the back of a cab, and
“A logo is an image, just like a jotted it down right
word is an image,” says David. “A then and there. You
logo is something we want to recog- never know when in-
nize from a distance, that people spiration will strike, so
want to put on their hats, T-shirts, keep a notebook on you at all times. If
certainly their website, and maybe an idea works, you can always finesse it
their expensive car, too.” digitally later, but pen and paper are far
quicker (and easier) than your comput-
37 er for skeletoning a design idea. Plus,
you won’t get the tunnel vision of star-
ing into a screen.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

When David begins a new logo, he always does so in black and white; the design
should be strong enough to work without color, so leave that until later in the
process. The simplest designs (think: the Apple logo) are often the smartest in
practical terms, since they can easily be adapted across static 2-D mediums,
from an app icon to a billboard, as well as in motion, like in a quick TV spot.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT N E G AT I V E S PAC E
I S N ’ T E M P T Y S PAC E
If all the brands in a particular sector
seem to lean on a certain typo- Need proof? Look no further than the
graphic style or color palette, avoid FedEx logo, which uses the gap be-
it; we don’t need more organic foods tween the uppercase E and lowercase x
packaging in shades of green and as an arrow, suggesting forward motion
brown. Avoid those types of clichés while neatly summarizing the brand’s
as well as lazy visual shorthands, like purpose of transporting parcels. In the
a Clipart-style light bulb graphic to hands of a smart designer, the spaces
represent ideas or a book to repre- that go unfilled can become brilliant
sent education. Follow David’s cre- communication tools.
do: “The more literal the logo gets,
the less interesting it is.”

A logo is not an island. Brand strategy involves much, much more than one
icon, and a good identity works even when the logo isn’t visible. It’s cru-
cial that all visual elements—from color palette to typefaces, text align-
ment, photography style, and copywriting—share a cohesive ap-
proach. When you’re designing a logo from a clean sheet, think about
how it might be iterated. Is it strong enough to provide the conceptual
framework for multimedia advertisements? Packaging? Apparel? The
strongest logo provides a versatile backbone that supports endless

permutations without losing its recognizability.

38

Case Study:
The DalÍ Museum

The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, commissioned David
to create a new brand identity for its grand reopening in 2011.
Here’s a peek into how the design process unfolded

Early Stages
Given the subject matter,

David felt this logo de-
manded experimentation. He

initially sent the client
around 25 mockups, many of

which could be displayed
either horizontally or

vertically, a nod to the
whimsical nature of Salva-

dor Dalí’s artwork.

Refined Per Feedback
When the client expressed concerns about the
design feeling cramped and forced, David real-
ized they wanted something safer. He carried
over the tilted and sideways letterforms from
his initial mockup while simplifying the
composition and adding color for contrast.

The Final Product
After dozens of iterations—including one
with a custom European typeface and anoth-

er incorporating Dalí’s signature—David
finalized the logo. Colorful, versatile,
and inviting, this design conveys an ele-
vated eccentricity, capturing the artist’s
persona (and the museum experience) with-

out reverting to literal elements, like
mustaches or melting clocks.

39

Make, Believe

Ready to put your branding brain to work? Sit down with a friend and invent a fic-
tional company together. Outline the key points of its hypothetical business plan:
what services or products it offers, its origin story, market position, direct compet-
itors, intended customer, and core messaging. Now, on your own, mock up a logo
proposal for the company you’ve invented. This should include examples of how
your design could be adapted to fit various needs, like business cards, a letter-
head, physical signage, and a smartphone app icon. Continue iterating until you
have a handful of mockups that might work. (Try to make at least one option radi-
cal and experimental.) Present them to your friend and ask for feedback. Which
design did they like most? Which one best reflected the spirit of the fictional com-
pany? What did they think of the logo’s color palette, shapes, and fonts? Can you
justify the thinking behind each design element?

40

Home Schooling

The best affordable resources
for budding designers

BOOKS

For branding tips…
Branding: In Five and a Half Steps
by Michael Johnson

For logo history and inspiration…
Logo Modernism
by Jens Müller and Julius Wiedemann

For a go-to typography guide…
The Elements of Typographic Style
by Robert Bringhurst

For advice from the best…
How to Be a Graphic Designer Without
Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy

For definitive design theory…
Ways of Seeing by John Berger

MONOGRAPHS

How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things,
Explain Things, Make Things Look Better,
Make People Laugh, Make People Cry, and
(Every Once in a While) Change the World
by Michael Bierut

The End of Print: The Grafik Design
of David Carson by Lewis Blackwell

The Art of Looking Sideways
by Alan Fletcher

A Designer’s Art by Paul Rand

The Graphic Language of Neville Brody by Jon Wozencraft

Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far
by Stefan Sagmeister

Interaction of Color by Josef Albers

41

WEBSITES FREE DESIGN TOOLS

Best for multidisciplinary Note: Adobe Creative Cloud software
design-industry news… can be downloaded for free for a
Design Week one-month trial, and additional
fonts are available from both Google
Best for inspiration… Fonts and DaFont.
Creative Boom
For vector art…
Best for long-form pieces that
go deep into industry issues… Gravit Designer is suitable for design
Eye on Design tasks ranging from presentations to
creating icon designs to illustration and
Best for discovering animation. Features include nonde-
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It’s Nice That path graphs, plus multiple fills and
blending modes and a powerful text
Best for no-nonsense, engine. It can be used online or down-
practical design tips… loaded onto Windows, macOS, Linux,
Creative Bloq and ChromeOS machines.

FREE ONLINE A genuinely good alternative
ARCHIVES to Adobe Illustrator…

Letterform Vectr offers the usual vector features,
Archive as well as options for filters, shadows,
and fonts. It can be used online, en-
AIGA Design abling live collaboration, or downloaded
Archive for Windows, Linux, or Chrome. Alterna-
tively, GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation
Van Alen Institute Program) is an open-source software
Design Archive available with Linux, Windows, and Mac
versions. It offers all the usual tools—
The Saul Bass painting tools, color correction, cloning,
Poster Archive selection, and enhancement. There’s
even a version available that mimics
MAGAZINES PODCASTS Adobe’s interface.

Eye Typeradio Limited but free alternatives to
Creative Review Design Matters Adobe Creative Cloud programs…
Print Arrest All Mimics
Canva is, broadly speaking, a piece
of image-editing software, but it pro-
vides a wealth of tools. Users can create
color palettes, match font pairings,
generate infographics, and more. It
can be used in-browser or downloaded
for iOS and Android.

Free 3-D–creation software…

Blender, which has been hyped by excit-
ing young creatives like Julian Glander.
It’s now the largest open-source tool for
3-D creation, offering modeling, textur-
ing, animation, rendering, and compos-
iting for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

42

CREDITS

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