December 20, 2009
Logo Design Love →

An interesting website about logos and there design

December 6, 2009
My coroflot profile →
October 11, 2009
I think the sign for; The Raw Deal in Menomonie is one of the best-designed signs in town.  I really like how simple the whole sign is.  The type and the picture of the avocado are easy to read and understand.  The colors used are warm and natural; they complement each other. “The Raw Deal” is in a font that is a little harder to read but has an organic feel.  None of the letters are the same size and they do not have crisp clean lines.  They look like they are hand drawn with a wobbly hand.  The letters fit together and have the same feel too them.  I like that the a, fits into the e in deal this helps the four letter word be closer to the size of three letter word.  The a in both the “Raw” and “Deal” are the only letter in lower case this helps to eliminates sharp angles and add a more curved flow to the type.  Other then the Main Raw Deal, the rest of the sign’s font is what looks like Helvetica, in a bold and a thin weight.  This works well to let the reader know what the business has to offer in a simple to read format.   The entire font is centered; this works because the sign does not have a lot of information.  The words in the name, The Raw Deal, have a line because they are large and a similar size.  The bottom words fit into closely sized lines so there are no awkward spaces.  The only weird part is the tracking for the first “The”, it is spaced out to be the same width of the “Raw” Letters that are a couple sizes bigger.    Altogether the sign gives off the feeling of being a simple and organic place, which is The Raw Deal.

I think the sign for; The Raw Deal in Menomonie is one of the best-designed signs in town.  I really like how simple the whole sign is.  The type and the picture of the avocado are easy to read and understand.  The colors used are warm and natural; they complement each other. “The Raw Deal” is in a font that is a little harder to read but has an organic feel.  None of the letters are the same size and they do not have crisp clean lines.  They look like they are hand drawn with a wobbly hand.  The letters fit together and have the same feel too them.  I like that the a, fits into the e in deal this helps the four letter word be closer to the size of three letter word.  The a in both the “Raw” and “Deal” are the only letter in lower case this helps to eliminates sharp angles and add a more curved flow to the type.  Other then the Main Raw Deal, the rest of the sign’s font is what looks like Helvetica, in a bold and a thin weight.  This works well to let the reader know what the business has to offer in a simple to read format.   The entire font is centered; this works because the sign does not have a lot of information.  The words in the name, The Raw Deal, have a line because they are large and a similar size.  The bottom words fit into closely sized lines so there are no awkward spaces.  The only weird part is the tracking for the first “The”, it is spaced out to be the same width of the “Raw” Letters that are a couple sizes bigger.    Altogether the sign gives off the feeling of being a simple and organic place, which is The Raw Deal.

September 28, 2009

Saul Bass
I really enjoy looking at Saul Bass’s work because of the way everything’s seems to easily fit together visually. Not only did he make some of the most memorable logos of the 20th century, but he also revolutionized film title sequences. The letters he created for each piece and the shapes that he used are what I find the most spectacular because they are so simple, and yet they convey the piece’s message.
Bass was born on May 8, 1920 in the Bronx. He attended school at Art Students League and then Brooklyn College for two years while working as a freelance commercial artist.  He moved from New York to Hollywood in 1946 and in 1952 started his own firm.  In 1954 Otto Preminger hired Bass to create the title sequence for the film, “Carmen Jones”.  From there he went on to create the title sequences for, “The Seven Year Itch,” “The Man with the Golden Arm”. He also worked with Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Martin Scorsese on multiple films and created the advertisements for these films.  Along with creating film title sequences, Bass created corporate images for many large companies many of which you can see everyday, almost anywhere you go. Bass has done work for airplane companies, (United Airline), spice companies (Lawry’s), and phone companies (Bell and AT&T).  The range of companies the Bass has worked for goes from large oil companies such as Exxon to nonprofits like the United Way and the Girl Scouts.
When I think of sixties modern art, I think of the style of Saul Bass’ work with the bold colors, large shapes, and fonts that are hand written or cut out.  Saul Bass’s work is very recognizable, from its simple but iconic forms, to his hand cut or drawn fonts where each letter is entirely different, but works together; he was able to make ¬¬¬strong statements with uncomplicated shapes and ¬¬lines.  His work has movement even if it is just a company logo. With his work for title sequences and for many of his logos the pieces seem to show you everything you need to know about the film or the company without actually telling you.  Bass’ work is still being emulated today for films and advertisements¬¬¬; like the Coen bothers film poster “Burn After Reading” and Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me if you Can” title sequence.  Even though Saul Bass’ has long gone his style is still influencing designers and making an impact on the design world today.

Brown, Dave “Saul Bass” AIGA. 27 Sept 2009 <http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/medalist-saulbass>
Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis, “The New York School” Meggs’ History of Graphic Design Jon Wiley & Son, Inc. Hoboken New Jersey, 2006.  379-381
“Inspiration: Logos by Saul Bass”  Signalnoise.com. 27 Sept 2009 <http://blog.signalnoise.com/?p=358>
“Saul Bass, Biography” Art Directory. 27 Sept. 2009 <http://www.bass-saul.com/>