reflections

Every designer is influenced by their surroundings, the people they meet, and design trends - but does that mean that we’re all affected in the same way, or does each of us retain a sense of uniqueness in our designs - regardless of influence?

Tara at the Graphic Design Blog decided to run an experiment to find out. The experiment (open to anyone who wants to take part) requires you to scribble down a logo idea (or several if you wish) for two fictitious companies.

Well, I couldn’t resist finding out if my patterns of thought when designing are my own - so without further ado, I present my submission to the experiment!

Caffeine Rush - Espresso Machine & Accessory Supplies

The first scan shows my initial brainstorming sheet. I wrote down the two words from the company name, then strung off various keywords and sub-words that were related to them. Finally I put asterisks by the words that had visual cues for me.

The main idea I played with on the second sheet was the different ways of portraying coffee cups and mugs (1-5, 13, 15). I also looked at coffee beans (6-9) and their shape, latte art swirls (10-12), coffee leaves (14) and a remembered idea for a lettering style (16).

The third sheet shows me playing around with various ways of indicating speed (17-20) and movement (21), and drawing out an idea about a rocket (!) that popped into my head (22). There’s also a stamp motif idea (23 - like they have burned into the sides of coffee sacks), and some messin around with letter spacing, word division and text placement (24-30).

Cheap ‘n’ Cheerful - Budget Fancy Dress Shop

Same as before, but I wrote down three main keywords this time, strung off the related keywords and sub-words, and put in the asterisks by the most visual words.

I played around with various clown, jester and harlequin concepts on this sheet (1-5) and then a couple of interesting ways to use them (6 - glove puppet, 7 - toy on a stick).

This sheet’s got a couple of jack-in-the-box ideas (8 and 9), and then I’m playing around with letter styling, word positioning and placement of the graphic (10-14).

The Final Designs

I realise that this wasn’t a part of the experiment - the sketches alone should be enough alone to indicate my thought processes - but I couldn’t stand the idea of not taking my favourite concepts through to completion! So, here they are…

Thanks again to Tara for coming up with the idea - I can’t wait to see the results of the experiment… Remember to check out the other submissions too: Tara’s sketches are here, Tess (from Thoughts and Such) has some up here, and Siong’s are here.

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Ben Yoskovitz of the Instigator Blog recently started the ultimate guide to productivity meme, and (as my first tagging since starting blogging) I’ve been tagged by Aaron of miLienzo - to share my thoughts!

Ironically enough though, I’m pretty lousy when it comes to productivity! I generally leave everything to the last minute, and put things off that typically turn out to be easier than I had thought. However, occasionally I do have short bursts of inspiration, and during those times this is what I do…

Dirty Desk = Dirty Mind

I believe that if your desktop is clear of clutter then it’s easier to focus on a task at hand - and that goes for your digital workspace too. The only thing on my real desk (apart from my computer and accessories) is my coffee cup, and the only icon on my virtual desktop is the Recycle Bin. Of course, my mind may still be dirty - but at least my working space isn’t!

Increased Caffiene Intake

Being a designer, there is rarely a time during my working day when I don’t have a cup of coffee by my side. Some creatives prefer tea, but I believe that something made from leaves is really a poor excuse for a hot beverage. Basically, the stronger the better - and if you are forced to drink the weak stuff (perhaps because that’s all they buy in your office) then at least subsidise it with some Red Bull or something!

Take Breaks

It may sound counter-productive, but sometimes the worse thing you can do is push yourself too hard. Look away from your monitor (yes, it is possible) at least every five minutes, and take a walk around if you start you feel your neck or back muscles get tight of they start to ache.

If you have problems making yourself do these things then pictures of scantily-clad ladies (or gentlemen) can help with the first, and becoming a smoker can help with the second.

Keep On Top Of Email

I’d like to contradict what many other people are saying, suggesting that emails and voicemails should be left to collect - to be dealt with in one massive onslaught… I personally feel much more relaxed dealing with each mail or call as is arrives - and it means that I don’t have a nagging thought at the back of my mind, telling me that I’ll have 2000 messages to wade through at the end of the day!

Get A Whiteboard

Seriously. Don’t mess around with scribbling cryptic notes to yourself on post-it pads, or spending days making your own personal planning sheets… Get something big and white, and stick it up on your wall - so that you can see it every time you leave and return to your desk. This alone has helped me to keep on top of more than 30 projects at once, simply because it’s all in one place and I can’t miss it!

So that’s my tips done and dusted! If you’re still hungry for more then these people seem to be slightly more productive than me:

Tara - Secrets to Productivity
Randa - Secrets to Productivity
StevieB - 100 Ways To Be More Productive

And to keep this thing moving, I’m tagging:

Charity at Design Adaptations
J David Macor
Zep at The In-Sect
webee design blog
Scot at Meridiancrest

[Thanks to Charity, Zep, Aaron, David, Char, StevieB, Scot, The Paper Bull and Brett for their comments on my previous post]

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