Various things I like

I like this design for Journal Deluxe and it's use of overprinting spot colours. It creates quite a dynamic effect and the wave effect is something I'm going to try and apply to the 'Drink The Kool Aid' Jonestown design. I think the really simple geometric nature of it works really well and the different distances they travel across the page creates quite a dynamic effect. I don't think the colours work particularly work, they've gone for 'complimentary' red and green, but I personally don't like the way complimentary colours go together. It seems almost kitsch, like it harks back to the kind of design in the seventies.


This is an example of how extremely simple design can be incredibly effective. The circular shapes create a strong visual presence, and the use of colour (or lack there of) with everything reversed out against it avoids the objects getting lost in loads of white space.


This design by Moshik Nadavad works because it's use of a large amount of negative space, within which sits very clear and regimented design. The cults brief I started seems to be working on a similar principle, though this is actually a much more dynamic and irregular layout to mine, almost simulating elements of collage, in fact it reminds me of some of the work Vickie Simpson produces.


I couldn't find a credit for this design, but I thought the way the symbols worked created quite an interesting and ambiguous aesthetic that I want to capture with the spot varnish elements to my book.


This branding/map design uses very nice typographical choices and a strong logo constructed from a simple tear drop shape. The pattern that it creates as they're overlayed provides something a little more visually stimulating than the use of a tear drop on it's own might.



The thing I really love about this piece of design is the use of geometric shapes combined with very well gridded typography. There are a few thing I dislike, for example the red stripe down the side of the page of body copy. It feels like they were trying to avoid having a blank white page but haven't come to a satisfactory resolution of this problem.


I found this image but I couldn't find a credit. The simple shape and colour presence is again what works, and I think this simplicity is somethign I need to refer back to whenever looking at my own design practice. Throwing too much at something or trying to be too complex can often be a hinderence to a brief, rather than a success. The use of serif type here actually really compliments the design, I wouldn't normally ever use a serif font in my work, but I guess there are a few rare occasions where it may be appropriate.


Finally some more research on identity. The angular shape is a really strong and simple shape thats quite dynamic and it applies well across a range of products in various colours. Again, this shows how effective an ambiguous symbol can be, as long as you get the shapes right you can actually say a lot with not much.