IdN v26n2: Edible Graphics — Identity for Restaurants, Bistros, Bars & Cafes

IdN v26n2: Edible Graphics — Identity for Restaurants, Bistros, Bars & Cafes

Edible Identity is the term used for an ID system that is designed to make you want to visit and re-visit a venue that sells F&B. As such, it probably starts with a logo, which in turn spins off printed collateral such as business cards, letter-heads for stationery, menus and so on. So a good name is all-important and it is worth discussing this with the client before accepting the brief. Should it pinpoint the type of food available or the type of customer it wants to attract, the ambience of the place or the quality of its fare, the service or the convenience?

In this issue, we have gathered together 33 creatives with thoroughgoing experience in design identity for food-related projects. They all agree that a good structural plan and meticulous organisation are essential. But the satisfaction that comes from having stamped something of one’s own identity on a place that will, hopefully, remain in situ for a relatively long time is its own reward.

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IdN v26n1: Visual Merchandising & Window Display — Windows onto a New World of Creativity and Ingenuity

IdN v26n1: Visual Merchandising & Window Display — Windows onto a New World of Creativity and Ingenuity

When people say they’re going window-shopping, it usually means to look in a variety of shop windows and get a general idea of what’s on offer. But of course, if they happen to spot something that really takes their fancy, and at the right price, they will probably buy it. So shop-window displays have a dual role: to impress by reflecting the shop’s brand image in the best light and thus encourage return visits, but also to attract with what’s on show and if possible entice the customer inside there and then.

Shops’ display windows tend to come in a variety of shapes and sizes, even those belonging to the same chain. So this is probably the first big challenge that window-display designers face. What are the proportions of the various windows and the resulting space restrictions? How is the lighting positioned and will any installations block its source? How deep is the window? Can walls and ceilings be drilled into? Often such information is not forthcoming until near the end of the design conceptualization and radical changes have to be made at a late stage in the process.

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IdN v25n6: Music Graphics Issue — Music Still Rocking the Design World

IdN v25n6: Music Graphics Issue — Music Still Rocking the Design World

The power of music lies in its ability to unite people from different backgrounds and with different educational levels, even those speaking different languages. Although the listener may not understand a word of the song they listen to, they can still be moved by it. Their emotions can be triggered, leading some to go so far as to learn the language it is performed in just so that they can better comprehend what it is trying to say.

For all its immediacy of impact and universality of appeal, however, music can be enhanced visually by the interpretation of a good designer. Can anyone deny, for instance, that their enjoyment of The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s LonelyHearts Club Band was heightened by its iconic cover? The interpretation by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth of the ground-breaking content must have subtly influenced all who bought it.

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IdN v25n5: Publication Design — The Great Print Comeback

IdN v25n5: Publication Design — The Great Print Comeback

Given the way in which we all seem to be tied to our digital gadgetry as if by an umbilical cord, it is no surprise that publications have been scurrying to go online ever since the first printed computer magazine — Datamation — set the trend way back in 1999. It is something of a surprise, however, to note how many are returning to a hard-copy format.

In the following article, we have gathered together 44 creative talents who take pleasure in designing for print publications and, apart from showcasing their work, we also highlight some of their thoughts on what makes working with what was once deemed an old-fashioned format such an interesting challenge.

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IdN v25n4: Promotional Design Issue — Selling Yourself Out

IdN v25n4: Promotional Design Issue — Selling Yourself Out

The end-goal of nearly all design is to promote — either a brand through its ID profile, a product via visually attractive packaging, or yourself. Paradoxically, this last category is probably the hardest, even though all kinds of promotion involves some degree of drawing attention to yourself and your unique gifts. And perhaps how successful you are at it depends largely on your character: are you a natural introvert, hiding your light under a bushel, or do you enjoy blowing your own trumpet?

In the following feature article, we have gathered together 50 contributors who are experts in making promotional design for themselves and/or others. They share their experience of producing promotional design and their thoughts on what makes a long-lasting piece of self-promotion. However good you may think you are at this already, we guarantee that you will learn something.

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IdN v25n3: Packaging Design — A lot more to it than meets the eye

IdN v25n3: Packaging Design — A lot more to it than meets the eye

There are so many possibilities for packaging design, starting from what colour scheme to use, how to highlight the brand’s identity and maybe further expand it, what graphics to employ to max out it’s appeal. Next, what shape should it be? An original shape may have extra-cost considerations, but on the other hand, its rarity value could boost customers’ attention. Add some special printing techniques such as die-cut, which could reveal a second layer to create a degree of suspense in the unpacking process.

In the following feature, we have gathered together 49 creatives who have all burned much midnight oil on packaging design. They have encountered and overcome all the above concerns and challenges and are happy to share their experiences and the wisdom that came with them on what makes a good piece of packaging design through showcasing their works and as well as their thoughts.

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IdN v25n2: Report, Brochure and Catalogue Design — Dull Chore or Satisfyingly Challenging Act?

IdN v25n2: Report, Brochure and Catalogue Design — Dull Chore or Satisfyingly Challenging Act?

The ideal layout scenario for any graphic designer is virtual equivalence between the amount of space taken up by text and images. There is one area, however, in which such a goal is almost bound to be unachievable – that of designing reports, brochures and catalogues. Annual reports are by definition data-driven, while brochures and catalogues invariably involve a greater proportion of graphics to text. The point of them is to be attracted by the illustrations, which have to speak louder than words.

On the other hand, much of the data needed for reports can be visually presented by way of tables, charts and other infographics, thus lessening the strain of ploughing through hundreds of words. There is a catch, though: given that annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested parties such as journalists and regulators information about the company’s activities and financial performance, it is essential that this information should be 100 percent accurate.

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IdN v25n1: Illustration Special — Deciphering the Language of Illustration

IdN v25n1: Illustration Special — Deciphering the Language of Illustration

The flexibility of illustration as a design genre is both a boon and a handicap. For the artist, it opens up an almost infinite field of opportunities, yet it is also restrictive in that once he or she has been identified with a particular sub-set of illustration — fashion, say, or infographics — the harder it becomes to establish an individual personality within that subject-specific straitjacket.

In the following feature article, we have gathered together 45 creatives who specialise in illustration design across a whole variety of fields. They have shared their latest illustration works together with generous tips about the sort of mistakes that lie in wait for unwary young designers. Never copy or repeat an existing work, for instance, or begin by going back to basics and trying out initial ideas with pen or pencil sketches before fleshing them out digitally. To feel every stroke by hand and create a full concept and structure before moving to the computer is an oft-quoted recipe for success.

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IdN v24n6: Typography & Type Design — To Make a Mark or Strike a Delicate Balance?

IdN v24n6: Typography & Type Design — To Make a Mark or Strike a Delicate Balance?

Designers tend to see typography as visual language; a good piece of typography maintains a delicate balance between being visually stunning and at the same time powerfully conveying the message it is meant to carry. It takes years of practice and enormous talent to make this happen on a regular basis.

In the following feature article, we have gathered together 47 creative types, some who specialise in type design, some in typography, and some who are good at both. When these designers are given 26 letters of the alphabet plus numbers, they can turn them into memorable visuals in their own write — or as elements capable of complementing any number of design-led messages.

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IdN v24n5: Infographics & User Interfaces — Crossing All Borders and Ticking All Boxes

IdN v24n5: Infographics & User Interfaces — Crossing All Borders and Ticking All Boxes

Crossing All Borders and Ticking All Boxes If you really stop to think about it, all design-related works could be categorised under the heading of “infographics”, which is essentially just a matter of combining graphics with information. Whether the information appears by way of text or numerals, it has to be visually arresting to draw the viewer’s eye to it.

This is not our first issue dedicated to infographics and user-interface (UI) design. But we are always amazed that so many inspired infographic works are springing from this relatively new design field. In the digital world that we all now inhabit, apps have become ubiquitous and many of them can be classified as infographics. Most sites’ interfaces combine shades of both info and graphics — and every click you are about to make has been meticulously designed.

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