Ben Bialek

posted on 11.28.11 Type Radio | Paula Scher

This conversation with Paula Scher, first off was hard to understand, not because she could barely speak, English like some of the designers featured, but because the interview took place in a restaurant. All the clanging dishes, footsteps, and talking in the background seemed to overpower her voice. There were some things that I did take from this interview. She talked about how she enjoys being collaborative with others. I think that being collaborative in designing things is very important because it offers a different perspective on a project. Just a simple discussion can spark a direction that could not of been discovered by yourself, or what you think makes sense, doesn’t make any sense at all.

Paula goes onto discuss how politics, brand, and image all relate. Not just as a branding of President, but how the President can brand the United States of America. Everything that goes into a brand, color, symbols, and name can be related to the United States. I agree with her that it is important for the United States to have and uphold a highly regarded brand and image considering the power we poses as a country. President Obama is the first president that I can recognize to have a strong brand since JFK. Everything that happened in his campaign was well thought and designed. He was able to market himself as a leader better, and that is what an election really is, right?

Paula seems to also have a very strong personality, which to me is very respectable. But to say that the American people are fed up and embarrassed; agreeing that it is an embarrassment to be a United States citizen outside of the country, is a very bold statement to make. Now, I realize that this interview had taken place at the end of the infamous Bush era, but I would really like to hear what she thinks of the so called debacle over seas now. All the “American people” she spoke for didn’t seem too upset to me on the evening of May 1st, 2011. Maybe this whole “War on Terror” did more harm than good, but what are we supposed to do after getting attacked on September 11th, nothing? She also said after the events of 9/11 happened, and the buildings went down, we all want peace. Again, really? Thousands dead and we all want…peace. I know that I am just an average student that may not know everything there is to know about politics, but I do know one thing. If you are embarrassed to be an American then don’t be one, move and become a citizen elsewhere. I know that was quite blunt, but having multiple friends and family members serving in the armed forces puts the whole situation in a different perspective for me.

All in all, there was a ton of content in this episode of Typeradio and I did learn a lot about design and Paula Scher. She has done a lot with design and is famous for what she has done, but in her opinion her best is yet to come. She also want to be remembered by what is still to come.

posted on 11.21.11 Type Radio | Klaus Voormann

Klaus Voormann discussed his work with the one and only Beatles for this episode of Type Radio. Klaus is a musician, producer, and designer. Klaus met the Beatles at a club in Germany, and it was the first rock and roll band that he had ever heard. He met them because he was the only one there that could translate German to English. The Beatles then invited him to listen to their new record, Revolver, and asked him to do the cover artwork. He stated that the tracks were so new and Avant Garde that he knew it would be a big challenge to represent the music. He went through many sketches and different directions, and the only feedback he got was they like it and keep going. It was Kaus’s job on his own to build the bridge between the pop listeners and the new Beatles sound. They were not the typical client, they gave him all the freedom in the world. He mentioned that this was his most important and favorite work because the effort and the harmony it communicates. In example, the cover really helped communicate what the record sounded like, the sound matched the image.

I am not sure if I would want a client that says just give us something. Yes it would be easy to find a solution, but the path to the solution would be more difficult to find and refine. If the client says exactly what they want, and you execute it, they should be happy. In my opinion that would be easy, but also not very exciting. I guess what I am trying to say is that no client will ever be the same. You may get the ones that know and the ones that don’t care. It is all apart of the journey.

posted on 11.13.11 Thoughts From the Windy City

After a long and exciting design weekend in Chicago, there are many thoughts to reflect upon. For my studio visit on Friday, I was assigned to One Design. They were a small team of young designers. They handle any and everything that you can think of that involves the web. From small boutiques, high-end payment systems, and large corporation websites. The guy that gave us the tour was the co-owner and head designer of the group. He seemed very young and described himself as three-time colleges drop out entrepreneur. He let us know some very valuable information, which was very surprising. He told us how much they charge, their processes or how they work, and how many clients they have. He was very laid back about his company and was proud of what he had accomplished. He also had created what he called a Coop. This was a collaborative workspace that can be rented out by all walks of life. This space is used to collaborate with other designers and artists. He mentioned that they often bounce ideas off of the renters of the space to really push the design to the max.

On Saturday, we attended the AIGA Seek Conference. There were many keynote speakers presenting including; Debbie Millman, Danny Yount, and Sean Adams. All of these designers have accomplished careers that we all as students should strive for. There are many things that I took away from this day, but the biggest thing I took away came from Sean Adams. He stressed, “Don’t do any free work.” We as designers have rare talents that 99.9% of people don’t possess. People will always try to push you over and get stuff done for free, especially when you are young, but you have to learn to be strong and stand up for your work.

Finally on Sunday we walked on a two-hour architecture tour of Chicago. Our guide seemed to know everything about Chicago, from designers, influences, city ordinance, and the different phases architecture went through. He pointed out minute details in buildings that were unnoticeable to the naked eye, but made a huge difference in the design of a building. After our tour we spent about an hour and a half at the Art Institute, which was nowhere near enough time. It was nice to see a sampling of what we learned about in Dr. Walker’s class though. All in all it was a jam packed weekend of fun.

posted on 11.07.11 Kris Sowersby on Type Radio

This episode of Type Radio wasn’t that interesting to me. I guess didn’t take much from it and I had to think hard to find something to write about. This a good example of what why I have a hard time listening to Type Radio. Some of the episodes have been valuable experience for me as a student designer, but others have been….well, you can fill in the blank. The major thing that I took from this is internet presence as a designer. Being a marketing minor, along with a design major, I know the importance of having presence on the internet. Doing advertisements or something equivalent in your area, say print ads, are very minute compared to opportunity of people using the internet. It seemed like Kris was nervous or had problems talking about his work, but to me that is understandable. As an independent type designer I wouldn’t imagine him presenting much to a client. After all I don’t think the majority of type faces were designed for a specific client in mind, but I could be very wrong. All of this did give me a perspective on our education. We have been taught through our four years here at Ferris that the best designs may not stand up if they can’t be explained through concept. I could have the coolest thing in the world, but if I can’t explain why I created it the way I did, I could be just a colored piece of paper. So this Type Radio can be taken as a good example of this at least. Being able to talk about your work and sell it to your client is very important.

posted on 11.01.11 Skype with Marc English

I really don’t know where to begin talking about our conversation with Marc English over Skype. I don’t know if it is the fact that he was drinking Gin and Tonic, outside in a Texas ranch hammock, or a combination of every little thing he did. For example, there was a comment about how he cut off a pig’s head on the side of the road because he likes the skull and tusks and wanted to keep them. To say the least I was pleasantly surprised by all of his actions. He didn’t fit any of the stereotypes that I had accidentally put him into. I half expected him to be talking to us inside a big city design studio, considering how well known he is in the design profession. But that is all part of Marc’s brand, which is one of the things I need to start developing, my own brand. Everything Marc did must have been planned and sculpted to fit his brand. From the beard, hat, drink, hammock, scenery, everything he did was his own brand. I think that I have my own brand as of now, but I just need to be able to represent in a business system. This may be the most difficult task that has yet to be done. Your business system has to speak for you in a time that you aren’t there to explain what everything means. Subtle things can say a thousand words, and it is of the utmost importance to get it right and represent yourself in the way you intended.

posted on 18.10.11

Starting to think about what I am going to mock-up for the yardsticks. Still wondering what exactly needs to be entered into the competition. I am worried about something that will fit on an easel, and this car was done in black and silver markers.

posted on 10.18.11 A Response to: It's good to be a graphic designer By Todd Bertsch - President of E-volve Creative Group

Just looking around the web for more Graphic Design inspiration or motivation, mostly a combination of both, I came upon this article. It was written by Todd Bertsch about why it is so awesome to be a Designer. There are few great quotes in this article that has given me a little boost of confidence. First, he says, “we know it’s not for the FAME & Glory. Or the humongous salaries.” As I am becoming more and more interested in what is going to come after college, in my design career, I have heard other professionals say relatively the same thing. Majority of the time a designer may not receive any credit for the work that he or she may produce, but it is definitely a talent that is ours. We have a great talent for communication that will never die out. There will always be a need for a way to communicate, either in text or imagery. Todd talks about how design is a roller coaster. We may have simple days that go on as planned which are promptly followed by up-all-nighters. We could have days where we get the chance to work on the dream job, or perhaps be staring at code. Never the less it is part of the job and it always is a treat to see the finished project, and as mentioned in the article, “it was fun.”

There was also a phenomenal analogy that, just happens to perfectly relate to me. Some of you may have already guessed it, that right Todd relates design to the game of golf! I was honestly beginning to think that I was one of a handful of designers that are interested in sports, let alone play them still. Todd talks about getting hooked for life on design, the moment that makes you always want to come back for more. I have been playing the game of golf since I was a toddler, and it will always be an important aspect of my life. But in design, I think that my moment is coming very soon. Todd relates his experience to making a thirty foot putt, but I think that I would like to relate it to a hole-in-one. Working on this project for the Mindshare event, I feel, is going to be my hole-in-one of my brief Design career. Seeing not just the final outcome of my teammates and myself, but the outcome of my collegiate education basically. Everything I have learned will have ties into this project somewhere along the line. On top of all this, our work will be in front of hundreds of people in Grand Rapids, MI, which I can’t wait for.

Todd ends with this quote, “Design is all around us. It’s Everywhere. We can not get away from it. In the end, it’s what we do. It’s all we know. We are graphic designers…and that’s a good thing.” I completely agree with him and there is nothing to add to that statement.

posted on 10.11.11 Logo Inspiration

In the past weeks I have been doing research on logo design and branding. I have found multiple sources of inspiration on the web and in a few books that were recommended to me. In our Non-Profit re-branding project I wanted to focus on cleverness with the relation between what the logo communicates and my non profit’s business. Here is the one of the best examples I had found of this relationship. The marks in these logos in my opinion are all well thought about and communicate what the company is. For example, the High Contrast Photography and Wine Searcher marks are clever ways to communicate the company. That is my goal for creating the brand for my project. I want to relate the mark to the company in a clever way to get the ah-ha moment.

posted on 10.04.11 Branding of 10,000 Lakes

Our classmate Bryce found this and I thought it was pretty neat. Thanks Bryce!

posted on 10.03.11 John Cage’s Ten Rules

Rules and hints for students and teachers by John Cage is a good guideline for designers to follow. There are three rules that caught my eye. The first rule is rule number five; be self disciplined. This is something that I should strive for. It seems that my biggest obstacle is myself sometimes. There are cross roads along the way in any project where I want to quit, but to have the self discipline to be able to push through it and flush out iterations or thumbnails is very important because this is where design starts. It starts in your mind and on paper. Rule five seg-ways right into rule seven. The only rule is work and if you work, it will lead to something. It is good to have the discipline to be constantly working or thinking about your design and how you can improve it, either through function or aesthetics. Rule number nine I think is the most important on the whole list; be happy whenever you can manage it. It is always important to be happy, if designing doesn’t make you happy, then you shouldn’t be working in design.