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Armin Hofmann

Hofmann’s work is centered around contrasting colors, shape, and negative space.  I was instantly intrigued by his ability to create interesting and dynamic designs with simple and economic elements.  He is able to abstract elements and use negative space to carry the viewers eye.  

I really love this piece.  While there are separate sections and different designs the entire design feels as though it fits together.  For example, the wave created in the bottom right corner is very different than the half circle/rectangle element in the top left.  Despite the fact that these two elements are are different neither one feels out of place.  I believe this is achieved through the uniform color scheme and the repetition of the contrast between the straight, rectangle elements and the round circle ones.  Also, the large amount of text is arranged in a way that the line lengths are digestible and no viewer would have a problem reading the body copy.

This piece is interesting, too.  I’m not positive what the shapes are representing but I also don’t care, they’re interesting and fill the space without seeming overbearing or crowded.  The variation between the thick and thin lines along with the proximity of the shapes adds movement and tension.  While one shape is red, it does not feel out of place because of the red text.  The text in the bottom left helps integrate the entire design.

As a whole I enjoyed looking through Hofmann’s portfolio.  He has interesting work and I love the simplicity of his designs.

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Chip Kidd

I definitely enjoy Chip Kidd’s work.  His designs are fun you can sense a quirky personality while browsing through his portfolio.  A lot of his work includes photographs and I like the way he integrates type and image.

I really love this piece and how the negative and positive space in the letters work together with the background image.  While the text is easy to read, it pulls you in and the white shapes are interesting.  I think this is especially true in the K in the word black.  Without viewing the image as a whole I don’t think I would read the K as a letter.

I also love this piece and am always interested by illustrations in design.  This design has a lot of movement and I love the amount of negative space.  The colors are limited and the design is economic but it doesn’t feel flat. 

I am interested in this piece for a lot of the same reasons as I was for The Boomer.  I love the shaky quality to the illustration and the tension brought to “the antagonist” by the finger and the pen.  Like with The Boomer, the color palette is limited and there is a lot of negative space but the composition is still interesting, there is movement, and the design doesn’t feel flat.

Overall I really enjoy Chip Kidd’s work.  He has an interesting and fun vibe and I appreciate the economic qualities to his work.

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April Greiman

I find Greiman’s work to be really interesting.  She adds a lot of digital elements to her pieces such as gritty filters.  A lot of her photos are intentionally out of focus and blurry.  I think this approach to photography is really innovative; especially since her images are still interesting and effective.  

I really love Greiman’s piece entitled Body Part.  I love this piece because of how abstracted the image is and the colors and composition used.  I have no idea what the object in the photo is and the title of the piece makes it more interesting as your mind tries to figure out what exactly is in the image.  The orange and blue colors work well together and add another layer of interest.

Greiman has a series called Drive-By Shootings in which she took photos of the scenery while she was riding in a car.  She started this project over 20 years ago and said the following statement on her interest in drive-by shots:

“ I think what attracted me was the tension between control and lack of con- trol this technique encouraged in intuitively compiling a personal record of nature.” 

Overall I like more traditional art better and am not usually a fan of work close to Greiman’s but I enjoy the abstraction in her pieces.  

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The Art Institute of Chicago Recreates Van Gogh’s Famous Bedroom to be Rented on Airbnb

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Entertainment

For an entertainment website I would like to critique cartoonnetwork.com.  Their website is very clearly designed for children and young people.  The designers have used a lot of bright colors and images.  The type is large and very straight forward.  

The tabs are straight forward and the search bar is easy to locate to help with navigation.  I clicked on a video to watch and the layout of the rest of the website is similar to the homepage.  Lots of bright colors and a lot of information.  I think that the familiarity of the characters throughout the website helps balance the craziness among the multiple video and game options.  Even though there is a lot of information to take in visitors are able to easily locate what they want by looking for their favorite characters.  This is a lot easier than reading through lists to find a specific cartoon.

Overall I think the cartoon network website shows an accurate representation of the channel.  The bright colors and wide range of images helps entertain their target audience and the organization of the site makes navigation easy.      

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Milton Glaser

Milton Glaser is definitely innovative.  His work is extremely well known and for good reason.  His designs are simple but interesting.  A piece of his that i really love is the “I heart NY” design and the impact it has had on pop culture.  

The “I heart NY” logo is extremely simple but has become an icon in our culture.  There are so many parodies of the design and before researching Glaser I had no idea who had designed it.  

Glaser also created logos for companies such as Angels in America, Aurora, and the New York magazine.  His ability to create such well known and widely used is inspirational.

Overall, I love the simple design Glaser created and I definitely believe he is an innovative designer.

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Mod Cloth

One of my favorite websites is www.modcloth.com.  I really enjoy the products they have and I like the design of their website.

The focal point of the homepage is a large image displaying recent clothing or merchandise.  The photos always seem casual and help create the laid back feel of the website.  Above that are tabs to help the user navigate through the site.  I like the way boxes drop down with additional information and photos when the mouse rolls over each tab, this makes navigating the website easy (you don’t have to actually click the mouse) and interesting.  

I clicked on the “Dresses” option and was brought to a page with an image of a girl wearing a dress followed by the dresses they sell in a grid pattern.  On the left options are given to sort through the dresses by price, size, color, style, etc.  This makes searching a lot easier.  

Overall I believe the website represents the company well and I like their design

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David Carson

I really love Carson’s ability to combine photography and typography.  His typography is really interesting and he is able to create dynamic compositions. 

I especially liked the Pepsi work he made in the 90s.  The way he was able to create the shape of Pepsi products through typography without actual outlines is very innovative.  The focus he puts onto the phrase “I wanna be young, have fun, drink pepsi” through bold letters ad color choices allows the viewer to understand the concept of the piece without reading the entire bottle/can.  

Even though I am not a fan of the type of work he produces, I appreciate his innovation and interesting compositions.   

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Livia Marin

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Neville Brody

Neville Brody has a very unique style.  His work is full of motion and energy and creates a unique feel.  I really liked his album covers.

The album covers that Brody designed have a grungy feel to them.  I like how they feel like collages.  I especially enjoy the cover for the album Seven Songs by 23 Skidoo.  I really like the honey comb/wire fence background and the use of negative space in the upper left corner.  

 I like that he uses a minimal color palette in his album covers.  Each cover has at most 5 colors.  The simplicity in the color choices helps balance the craziness in his design.

Even though the style of work Brody creates isnt what I am interested in I still like and appreciate what he has created.  

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When you’re fishing and the fish nibbles on the bait then swims away

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Grassroots

A grassroots website that I used to visit quite frequently is www.animalcrossingcommunity.com.  Around 2006 I started playing Animal Crossing: Wild World and have continued to love the Animal Crossing series since.  Animal Crossing Community is an extremely useful website when looking up hair style guides, furniture collections, or specific villagers.  

The home page is really busy.  There is a lot of information and it takes a while for your eye to get adjusted and locate what you are looking for.  The home page includes recent AC updates, weekly polls, site updates, and multiple places to donate money.  There is a lot of text on the page and it feels obnoxious.  On the left there are links to help break down your search.  

I clicked on the “AC:WW Guides” link and was brought to a page listed with topics I could select and learn more about.  However, I wasn’t able to look at any information without an account which is definitely annoying.  After navigating through the site I realized most of the information now requires an account. 

Positive qualities about the design is the details throughout the site.  The background is the same triangle pattern found in the grass and the “Animal Crossing” logo has snow on it because it is winter.  In the summer the background will be green and the snow will be gone, I like the way the website interacts with the real world.  

Overall I think the website does a good job organizing the large amount of contend that it holds.  The design of the website as a whole is outdated (there are a lot of boxes and a lot of unneeded gradients) but I believe it fulfills the function of supplying information about the Animal Crossing series well.  

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Honestly one of the most important things I can say I’ve learned as an artist is that if you feel like you’re really stagnating, that probably means you’re seeing problems in your work that you have never been able to see before, but you haven’t figured out how to fix them yet.

You’re not really stagnating

You’re understanding of drawing has moved beyond your current execution.

Once you have finished processing the problems you’re suddenly seeing, you’re likely to correct them and suddenly make a huge breakthrough in your drawing.

Don’t push yourself, either. Sometimes you have to remove yourself from a problem temporarily to solve it, just don’t give up drawing altogether.

TL;DR feeling like your drawing is stagnating/getting worse means your eye is improving, and your hands are likely to catch up soon.

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I believe that Alexey Brodovitch was extremely innovative for his time.  His work is unique and he was able to combine photography and type in interesting and original ways.  His use of black and white allows the shape of the models and the text to be the focus of his designs.  

Out of the Brodovitch designs I examined my favorite was of two women ripping out of newspaper.  I believe that this design would still be innovative today.  The piece is interesting to look at and the concept is unique.  I love the way he was able to use images and type as one entity rather than two separate sets of information. 

I also enjoy the colored covers for the magazine Bazaar that he created.  The design for each one is interesting.  I especially enjoy the edition with hands on the cover.

As a whole I like the work that Alexey Brodovitch was able to create and believe that his work is still unique and innovative today.