1/28/10

IMAGE. ReadingOne. Semiotics.

While reading the pdf, I had kind of a break through while reading this quick little article. I understand what icon is, that is a very straight forward idea. An icon is something that looks like what it is trying to represent, but it isn't that object. It is just pencil on paper, or just light on a wall. Index is something correlates directly back to the object. A footprint on the ground correlates to a shoe/foot. Smoke correlates directly back to a fire. A symbol, however, is something that functions through agreed rules(taken directly from the reading). That one little phrase made symbol click in my head. However, now figuring out which ones are through agreed rules is the struggle.

TYPETWO. ReadingOne. Type Image Message.

Putting type and image together is something that all designers(supposedly) think, breathe, and dream all the time. It is something that we all face and something that challenges us all. Type exists in black and white area whereas image exists in a much more gray area. When putting those two together it makes the viewer have a harder time understanding the information in front of them. The text is more straight forward and the image makes the viewer think more about what is trying to be conveyed across to the viewer. Though there are different ways that type and image go together and depending on those ways, the viewer understands the relationship differently.

DP. 27. Cielo.


Today's find is Cielo, one of the largest payment networks in the world. It's largest market being Brazil. Cielo was originally called VisaNet. However, come June of this year, they will be handling more than just Visa. So, to help keep confusion down they decided an altered name was in order.

I definitely enjoy this branding much more than VisaNet. VisaNet was boring and the colors very unoriginal. Cielo's branding is definitely more modern, open, and more room to breathe. Which is good seeing as Cielo means sky in Spanish. BrandNew does point out that it has some odd angles and varied widths that make it a little shaky. However, getting past those facts, it's still quite refreshing. The light blue with dark gray isn't anything overly new, but it has always been a color combo that I enjoy. I'm curious as to why they decided to chop up certain letters the way they did. Other than that I am pretty pleased with this latest find.

SOURCES: BRAND NEW, CIELO.

VISCOMTWO. ReadingOne. How to Think.

Ed Boyden makes some pretty good points in that blog. His idea of never read passively was something that I actually spent time working on over break. Always be taking in information while you read. Learn how to take those ideas and apply it to what you already know. Also, the idea of drawing big is definitely something Jamie taught us at the beginning of last semester, but I seemed to stop using, though picking that back up probably would be a pretty good idea. All of the things that were in that article are very useful, but the thing that really stuck out to me the most was to take risks. You'll never know what you can't do until you try it. So try things, take risks, do something that you wouldn't normally do.

SOURCES: TECHNOLOGY REVIEW.