GGRP Sound resurrects the folding cardboard phonograph
Sure, it’s nothing new. Folks who grew up in the 70s have probably seen something of the sort. For the younger bucks, though, this thing is absolutely fresh: a cardboard 45rpm record sleeve that can actually play vinyl. Like magic.
While audio engineering company GGRP Sound obviously can’t claim responsibility for the clever creation, their decision to resurrect it for a marketing material (they sent it to creative directors across North America) is definitely awesome. Even though you’re likely to only play it for the novelty of doing so, it could make for a meaty few minutes of absolute fun.
The Folding Cardboard Phonograph is a sleeve made from corrugated cardboard that houses a complimentary 45rpm record pressed by GGRP. More than a humble sleeve, however, it details instructions on how to use the packaging to play the included record. Once assembled, you can put the record through the attached needle and spin it using a pencil (or any pointed object) punched through a preset hole. The sound vibrations are amplified through the cardboard material.
Just like a real record player, you can spin it slower or faster to alter the resulting tune, perhaps even scratching it for a slightly modern twist. The video below should give you a clearer idea of how it can be played.
Some products are inextricably infused with nostalgia. Letraset is one of them. Sheets of film that would be rubbed with the end of a pencil to give way to beautifully formed letters—as long as you had a steady hand and the patience of a saint.
Letraset launched its dry-transfer lettering system in 1961, and graphic designers and architects embraced it with gusto. But so did amateur bedroom publishers, where Letraset became de rigueur for music fanzines and school magazines.
Simon Garfield, author of Just My Type: A Book About Fonts and an early adopter of the technology, writes, “The range included all the standard popular fonts, but there was a sort of anarchic freedom to the wilder designs, something indelibly linked to the 1960s and ’70s, and now much used in retro branding.”
Mute Records first release in 1978 by The Normal, T.V.O.D. / Warm Leatherette. Image courtesy Discogs.
With their DIY philosophy, young punk rockers embraced Letraset for their gig posters and record sleeves. One interesting example is the 1978 Mute Records logo, its “walking man” plucked from a Letraset sheet of architectural symbols. Daniel Miller formed Mute Records as a vehicle to release his own single, “T.V.O.D.”/”Warm Leatherette,” under the moniker The Normal. The label, once home to Depeche Mode and Erasure, continues today—with Mr. Miller as its executive chairman—under the EMI banner.
Poster created by Basement Light Design, utilizing Letraset type.
Letraset history courtesy BBC News Mute Records history courtesy Ibiza Voice
The notion of flat, “digitally authentic” design has lately been a popular topic of conversation and controversy, especially with the software design efforts of Apple, Microsoft, and their respective flagship operating systems. Subtle colors, light typography and the other commonalities of modern flat design are components of the design trends many are coming to love (or hate).
Safari’s current icon on the left versus its flat version. The latter foregoes lighting effects, bevels and other details to create an attractive flat alternative while still retaining the compass metaphor.
While many specifics of the constituent theories that form the concept of flat, digitally authentic design, this design form has evolved as a move away from skeuomorphic, metaphorical design.
Skeuomorphism is the term one applies to a trend where elements of a graphical user interface mimic a physical object. For example, a skeuomorphic note-taking app may resemble a lined yellow legal pad. Skeuomorphism exists in many different industries but in the context of web and software design, designers know skeuomorphism primarily as the technique of using metaphors to induce familiarity.
Many examples of flat design exist. In this post the efforts of Microsoft and Apple wll be examined, due to their collective wide reach. Also, each of these companies are likely candidates to establish significant style guidelines that designers can investigate in order to emulate their interpretation of flat design.
Microsoft Microsoft opted for one of the most radical and controversial redesigns of recent times with Windows 8. Its creation of the design language formerly known as Metro (now known as the Microsoft Design Language, but with the former term often colloquially applied) was first seen in widespread use with Windows Phone (and also in Zune, the platform’s inaugural design). It was Windows 8’s 2012 release that shined a light on the flat design trend.
Windows 8’s start screen breaks away from its former desktop design, being composed of flat, colorful live tiles, instead of icons. The tiles are not merely a stylistic choice: They allow useful information to be displayed on the start screen in the manner of a dashboard.
Apple While Microsoft and others were making major changes to their design languages, Apple stuck by its skeuomorphic principles through multiple generations of its operating system. That changed with the announcement of iOS 7, taking a drastically different step in the design of the OS. Icons are flatter, typography is lighter and the metaphors are out.
Image courtesy of Smashing Magazine
This is particularly evident with iOS when you compare the current iteration of, say, the calculator app to its iOS 7 counterpart. That particular app has jumped from trying to resemble a physical device with buttons signified by gradient backgrounds to a completely flat design independent of any unnecessary metaphors.
The flat interface style is more than a trend. It is the manifestation of a desire for greater authenticity in design, a desire to curb visual excess and eliminate the fake and the superfluous.
This article excerpted courtesy Connor Turnbull, tutsplus
A few local shops are getting national attention with their clever marketing and beautiful design for Austin Beerworks’ Peacemaker Anytime Ale 99-Pack campaign. Cheers to Helms Workshop, Austin Beerworks, Beef and Pie Productions, and Source Pixel Foundry.
Just about every designer has used color wheels. But today there are many other aids available, from hex code palettes, to books, to infographics. What follows are 10 resources crucial to the designer’s arsenal.
01 Flat UI Colors Simply click on the desired color displayed by this web app, and it will copy the HTML hex code to your device’s clipboard.
02 ColourLovers Most loved! An oldie but goodie…
03 color.hailpixel.com Hover your mouse around to select the color, click and it will save it for you.
04 hexu.al A browser of words formed from HTML hex codes—displays colorful words in action.
05 Mudcube Sphere An interactive color visualizer. Clear as mud!
06 Color Scheme Designer Another classic color picker.
07 Color Design Workbook A real-world guide to using color in graphic design, by Terry Lee Stone, Sean Adams, Noreen Morioka
08 Color A course in mastering the art of mixing colors, by Betty Edwards. Great guide for teaching kids (and grownups) about color theory.
09 Pantone Color Resource Color: Messages and Meanings, by Leatrice Eiseman. Explains the suggestive meanings behind color.
10 Pantone Guide Guide to communicating with color, by Leatrice Eiseman. Stylish, modern, and utterly sophisticated, this vibrant calendar celebrates a classic, charismatic, and undeniably inspiring pairing: fabulous color in combination with great design.
Typographic Hell. It’s not a pleasant place to be. Some of us are headed there, and we’re making others suffer along the way. But fear not: Redemption is here. In the July Issue of HOW, designer and typography junkie Jim Godfrey tells of 34 Typographic sins (download all now) and how to free yourself from their grip. Preview 7 of these unsightly sins.
01 Two spaces between sentences.
Your keyboarding teacher not only taught you how to type, but also how to sin. Once upon a time, typewriters used a monospaced typeface. Since all of the letters were the same width, it became customary to add an extra space at the end of a sentence to call attention to a new sentence. This was never the practice of professional typesetters, who always used one space. (If you’re a doubting Thomas, go find an old book and see for yourself.) Since most typefaces on our computers vary in width, unsightly gaps appear if two spaces are used. Repent of this sin by using only one space.
02 Failing to align baselines of type in adjacent columns of body text.
Baselines of all columns of text on a page should align. This creates a pleasing margin of pure white space.
03 Failing to tuck periods/commas inside quotes marks.
Admittedly, this is an American convention; Europeans may do it differently, but let’s go on a typographic crusade across the pond. It will keep unsightly negative space from drawing unnecessary attention to the period or comma. By the way, punctuation such as question marks and exclamation points belong either inside the quote if they are part of the quote, or outside the quote if they are not part of it. Semicolons and colons always appear outside quotation marks.
Immoral: “I love type so much”, she confessed.
Chaste: “I love type so much,” she testified.
04 Failing to kern display type.
Nothing bellows “I’m an amateur!” quite like display type that hasn’t been properly kerned. Unseemly gaps can impede readability by distracting the reader. The kerning tables of some typefaces are great, but the human eye is divine. Adjust the spacing between letters and assuage your guilt.
05 Indenting a paragraph too far.
The standard indent for a paragraph is 1 em (the point size of the type), not half an inch. Most software has default tabs set for half an inch, creating a big hole in the text. To hide your sins, make penance by adjusting the tabs.
06 Using process colors for body text.
It’s harder to read, but more important, it’s hell to register on press. Instead, use 100% cyan or magenta (yellow? never) or spec a Pantone color. Your pressman will sing praises to your name.
07 Faux italic/oblique, bold and small cap type.
Thanks to word processors everywhere, we see type that’s hypocritical: It kind of looks italic (or bold) but it’s not. Cast out the hypocrites: Select the italic or bold version from the font menu, and if a typeface doesn’t have genuine small caps, don’t use them (the weight of the letterforms will be inconsistent and, consequently, unattractive).
We designers often struggle to communicate with our clients, having to parse technical language in order to be understood clearly. Wouldn’t it be terrific if clients had an understanding of basic design terminology? I stumbled across this brilliant glossary that would be helpful to any business wanting to work with designers. By no means is this glossary complete—but I’ve found it to contain much of today’s design terminology.
I’m totally stoked to announce that a brochure designed by Basement Light Design for the Austin Symphony‘s 2013–14 season has been awarded the honor of “Most Awesome Brochure” for 2013 by the League of American Orchestras. I am proud of the work that ASO Marketing Director Jason Nicholson and I continue to produce over the past five years. I urge every Austinite to support this wonderful musical institution as often as possible!
Brochure design by Scott M Deems, Basement Light Design; principal photography by Kenny Trice
—Scott
The following story is reposted via Trevor O’Donnell, who regularly blogs about marketing the arts
I’ve written before about the great work Jason Nicholson from the Austin Symphony is doing. Today I’m delighted to let you know that his 2013/14 season brochure has been recognized by peers at the League of American Orchestras as the “Most Awesome Brochure” in his category.
Early reports suggest that the brochure is pulling ahead of last year’s, but we’re waiting for overall results. What we insiders like and what works aren’t always the same thing, of course, so we’ll have to hold off on making judgements until the numbers are in. (Surprising as it may seem to some veteran arts pros, sales results are the only reliable indicators of an orchestra brochure’s quality.)
From a strategic perspective, however, I can identify several elements of this brochure that make it worthy of its awesome designation:
It’s based on research into audience motivations. Jason learned from audience members on the outer fringes of his support system that the experience of enjoying a night out was as important as the content of that night out, so he created a brochure that focused on the customers’ experience.
It’s as much about the customer as it is about the product. Commercial marketers know that one of the best ways to sell a product is to show happy people who represent their target demographic actually enjoying the product. This does that beautifully. (Larger orchestras that use their promotional real estate to talk exclusively about how wonderful and important they are could learn a thing or two from this.)
It tells a story. Rather than simply presenting sequential product information, this brochure tells a compelling emotional story about a couple’s night at the symphony. It uses narrative to draw consumers in and help them identify more personally with the product. That last shot of the happy couple walking hand-in-hand up the aisle under the words “Subscriber Information” is priceless.
It breaks the fourth wall. I could write a lengthy treatise about the rhetorical impact of that shot of the patrons and musicians in the same hallway.
It meets the audience where they live. Arts institutions often maintain a philosophical belief that audiences should aspire to their level, which is fine and may be true, but allowing that philosophy to spill into marketing messages can be suicidal. This brochure avoids condescension by saying, “This is about you,” which is exactly what it is.
I’m a huge fan of the work the Austin Symphony Orchestra is doing and I look forward to seeing great things coming from Jason and his team in the future.
Congratulations, Jason. Can’t wait to hear how the campaign works.
See some of the winners from the Press Lions at Cannes…
01 Grand Prix: Apple iPad mini
Agency: TBWA/Media Arts Lab, Los Angeles
These iPad mini ads, released late last year, were placed on the back covers of several national magazines—including Time, Wired and The New Yorker. The tablet is shown actual size, with its display featuring that magazine’s front cover.
02 Two Gold Lions: Penguin Audiobooks
Agency: McCann, Mumbai
This campaign turned famous authors into headphones.
03 Two Gold Lions: Sunlight Dishwasher Detergent (Unilever)
Agency: Lowe, Bangkok, Thailand
Get that pig off your plate with Sunlight. An average idea, perhaps, but the illustrations are impressive.
04 Gold Lion: Comedy Central
Agency: Grey, Buenos Aires, Argentina
These ads are an homage to Mad magazine’s “fold-ins.” Fold the page to meet the dotted lines… comedy ensues.
05 Gold Lion: Dove beauty products (Unilever)
Agency: Ogilvy, São Paulo, Brazil
What follows is one of the drawings from the famous “Real Beauty Sketches” campaign, which won the Titanium Grand Prix this year. At left is a woman as described to a sketch artist by the woman. At right is the same woman as described by a stranger.
Looking for something different for your business card? Why not try letterpress printing? Letterpress printing actually presses the type and image into the paper resulting in a tactile impression you can feel. Is it affordable? It can be… letterpress shops such as The Mandate Press offer 250 single-ink-color letterpressed calling cards for $95.
