Peter Mendelsund: Read, Think, Design: Create Stunning Book Covers

I found the Peter Mendelsund’s NPR interview to be very interesting. I never realize how much thought is put into designing book jackets. I was surprised when he was explaining how he usually makes 100 variations of designs on one book jacket. Peter Mendelsund explained how every book has a mood. Designers show the books mood using different colors. After the interview, I looked at some of his designs online. I found them all to be unique and interesting to look at. When I was looking at his book jackets I was defiantly able to understand what he meant when he said every book has a mood.

Peter Mendelsund’s NPR interview

I found the Peter Mendelsund’s NPR interview to be very interesting. I never realize how much thought is put into designing book jackets. I was surprised when he was explaining how he usually makes 100 variations of designs on one book jacket. Peter Mendelsund explained how every book has a mood. Designers show the books mood using different colors. After the interview, I looked at some of his designs online. I found them all to be unique and interesting to look at. When I was looking at his book jackets I was defiantly able to understand what he meant when he said every book has a mood.

PRINT Magazine

In the article, The Seduction of Romance-Novel Design Gail Anderson explains her history with romance novels. She explains how she has been reading them since she was a teenager and now her job is to design them. Anderson explains how the romance book cover design is driven by sales. Most romance books have a similar typeface and photographs on their cover. Familiarity in typeface and layout lets the reader know exactly what kind of book it is. I found this to be interesting because it contradicts the saying “you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

Environmental Design

The article, What Is Environmental Graphics, which can be reached here https://segd.org/article/what-environmental-graphic-design-egd, is a great way of teaching readers the uses for environmental graphics and how necessary it is to society. Environmental graphics are used as a means of communication, directory,  and information. This article made me rethink about the art I use everyday to travel. It also sparked my thinking of what  I can potentially design in the future for my city.

Passing by signs in the subway in New York, I never thought of those signs as graphic design. They are so crucial in all of our lives though. People who are visiting New York City depend on those signs to get to their destinations. Stepping out of the subway, their are several pieces of art connected to the streets such as sculpture. These create an identity for the land around it. It helps people connect the place they are in with art.

Environmental graphic design can also be found in public installations such as museum exhibits. Content is intricately placed to provide a more meaningful and satisfactory experience.

To learn more about environmental graphic design, check out this article, https://segd.org/article/what-environmental-graphic-design-egd. To see examples of environmental design see above! All of these examples can be seen in New York City.

 

 

 

Information Design

I love this info graphic for a few reasons; there is many layers of information, the illustrations and colors are simple, it’s easy to read, and it’s clever and unexpected. Comparing apples to Apple products is something I never thought about but it’s interesting to look at the difference between a food and a smart phone. I love how much this graphic tells you; I kept scrolling and scrolling and it felt never ending. The creator also clearly and extensively listed his/her sources.

The graphic says it was created by https://www.mbaonline.com and I found it at https://mashable.com/2012/01/09/apple-company-fruit-comparison/#fkI8BlsVT8qy

Cedomir Kostovic

Cedomir Kostovic is a graphic and poster designer born in Bosnia. He is now a professor in the Department of Art and Design at Missouri State University. Most of his poster designs focus on social issues from AIDS to the environment.

Here is a link to the rest of his work: http://www.cedoposter.com/index.html

Adobe Portfolio

I really enjoyed experimenting with Adobe Portfolio. The process in which you can create your website is simple and straight forward. It gives you many options for a pre-made layout design and then you can personalize it from there. With mine I was able to create multiple pages to create a nicely organized website so that it is easy for viewers to find what they are looking for. This is also nice for separating important information like the home page, artist statement, and contact information.

https://portfolio.adobe.com/d5f5b8e7-1de7-44a1-a7aa-fbf9b4764b9e/preview/work

ArtStation

A website I’m interested in posting my work on, and have already posted work on, is ArtStation. It is less graphic design and more just, design, but it is what I’m interested in doing. It’s a lot of concept art and 3D modeling for video games and the like. It’s a good portfolio site and considered professional in the video game industry. You might send a potential employer the link to your ArtStation in order to show them your portfolio. There are certain things the site offers that cost a fee, but a basic account for posting images and creating a portfolio is free.

Self Promotion: Florist’s Bouquet Card

A business card in the shape of a flower bouquet for a florist by https://www.latona-m.com/ Latona Marketing. This is a memorable, genius business card idea that is perfect for self promotion because no one will think of another florist before they think of the one with the cool business card. Things that people can look at for only a few moments and remember for a loooong time after are perfect for advertising, especially as a little thing to make your name, your brand, become that much more memorable.

Behance

Behance is a network of sites and services specializing in self-promotion, including consulting and online portfolio sites. It is owned by Adobe. https://www.behance.net/