Our print collateral work for iam8bit is now up in our portfolio, so take a look.
Logo And Launch of Plastic Highway
Some projects fall outside of the realm of client work, and at Hexanine, we do some of this to keep ourselves sharp, to pursue unique interests, and to grow our capabilities. We’re launching a creative imprint called Plastic Highway as a place to showcase creative efforts that exist at the intersection of art and pop culture. Check out our portfolio entry for more on the identity we designed, and watch this space for an upcoming announcement on the first project released under the Plastic Highway banner.
Why Create When You Can Criticize?
There are so many voices out there.
The ubiquity of cloud computing, publishing software, and mobile devices have made it incredibly easy to make ourselves heard — and that’s great thing, whether it’s pro-democracy tweets from Chile or cat videos on YouTube. Creative collaboration, political dissent, freedom of speech, and organizational innovation have all benefited from a massive uptick in opinions and knowledge sharing. While the number of worldwide creators has skyrocketed through unique platforms — Behance, Etsy, Kickstarter, this also seems to have birthed a dark side.
Writing For LogoNest 01
We’ve just received our copy of the brand-new inspiration book by LogoNest. The book was an outgrowth of the popular logo website, and we were asked to lend our voice to this first collected volume. Hexanine partner Tim contributed the case study/tutorial “Marrying Symbol And Metaphor.” It’s at home among other great writing by Steve Zelle (of Processed Identity), Leighton Hubbell, and a slew of other design authors.
Below is an excerpt from “Marrying Symbol And Metaphor.” For the rest of the story and more great logo inspiration, you can purchase the limited-edition book at the LogoNest website.
Defining The Symbol
A symbol is roughly defined as an image, object or depiction that represents something else. Understanding the basics of symbology is at the core of what we do as designers. It’s crucial for identity designers to absorb the basic symbols of culture, whether they are derived by association, resemblance, or convention. Symbols are super-valuable, because they communicate a vast amount of information with simplified visual depictions. Think of a stop sign’s associations, or the cross that represents a broad array of religious thought. These symbols don’t tell a complete story, but they stand in for much more complex thoughts or concepts. So, the first step of crafting an excellent logo is to generate a library of relevant symbols.
New Work For iam8bit Posted
We’ve just added some work to our portfolio — the redesigned identity of our client and partners, iam8bit. Take a look at the link for more details.
Our Squirt Package Design Review at BevReview
Recently Dr. Pepper Snapple Group redesigned one of its flagship products, Squirt soda. We teamed up with client and collaborators at BevReview to bring you an analysis of the new package design.
Here’s an excerpt:
There are so many factors that influence the success of a beverage brand that have nothing to do with the actual flavor or taste of the drink. In some sense, the way a drink tastes is last in a long chain of events leading up to purchase and guzzling. Every step that leads up to the actual drink pouring down your throat is what brand designers call a “moment of brand engagement,” a singular opportunity for beverage makers to connect with you, the prospective audience/purchaser.
Check out the rest of the article at BevReview, and let them (and us) know what you think.
Tomorrow Is A Great Time For Design
Ferris Bueller said it well:
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
It seems like every other day introduces a new platform, initiative, standard or way of working that forces us to question (if not completely rethink) what we do as designers and how we work.
The changes in our design landscape are ubiquitous and cut across disciplines and borders: gestural computing, social media, ePubs, mobile devices, outsourcing, cloud computing, 3D printing, design thinking – but it’s not going to help us to be afraid of these changes. In some small ways, our own moment seems to parallel the seismic shift in technology that began with the introduction of affordable desktop publishing in the mid-80s.
Read on…
New iam8bit Print Work Added
We’ve just added our poster series project for iam8bit to the Hexanine portfolio. Follow the link for more iconographic video game fun.
Student Spotlight: Gore-Tex Redesign
Within Hexanine’s DNA is a commitment to involvement in the future of our profession, and part of that is working alongside talented design students. We enjoy featuring great student from the classes we teach, so here is some of the latest:
Our Work In Big Book of Packaging
When they say it’s big, they’re not kidding! We just received our copy of Harper Design’s Big Book of Packaging and it’s chock full of great package designs. We’re happy to be in such good company, as we have several entries in the volume as well, including work for Jim Beam, The Art of Spice, Omaha Steaks, and a few others. The solid design of the book keeps all the inspiring work front and center. Highly recommended!