Copyright Issues

Images and fonts can be found widely across the internet from a number of places. However as designers we have to be aware of where these resources come from. 
Fonts and images often have licensing options, which means - how you are going to use them, and how many times you're going to use them. For instance, if you are only going to use a stock image on a small print run job it will cost you less than it will for a large print run job. 


FONTS - 
Fonts can be found on a number of websites. One that I use regularly is www.dafont.com, here you can search for a number of styles of fonts. They are almost all free fonts, with an option to donate to the author. The smart authors combine a read-me document in their files that you download, which state their terms and conditions. Here it often says that the font is free for personal use and if you wish to use it for commercial purposes you must contact the author and receive permission. That is all well and good for these fonts which are often "home made" but for fonts that are crafted by well known designers, professional typeface designers, there is often a fee involved and more strict terms and conditions.


"Font Font - The world's largest library of original contemporary typefaces" is just one of the places you can find these types of type (ha!)

Screen shot - Showing file format, character set options and number of licenses.Here the number of licences selected is five. That means the font can be used by 5 different people/on 5 different computers/ on 5 different printers in one location.

Screen shot - Showing file format, character set options and number of licenses.Here the number of licenses is 1000, obviously the price goes up quite a bit.

For corporations such as Font Font, it is important to follow the EULA (End User License Agreement) which states clearly the who the user is and how you use the license. In Font Font's User Agreement it states that the license relates to the geographical location of your business, and the number of units you may have at that one location. For example if you purchase a licensed font for 5 users, only 5 computers may have that font installed and ready to use/editing. 


Once you have decided how many licenses you need, you can buy your font, agree to the EULA and proceed to download the fonts immediately once payment has cleared. 


This is just an example of one company and how they control the licensing agreements. It's always best to double check the term and conditions on each website. 


A great article to help any business out is http://tinyurl.com/3czkark The Eight Golden Rules of Font Licensing. Check out the comments too!

IMAGES - Stock images work similarly to font licensing. One website where you can find great stock photography is www.iStockphoto.com. Images are paid for with credits which you purchase online. Once you pay for the images they are ready to download. Other sites such as Getty Images prefer you to pay online - the photo you are after goes into your shopping cart and then you proceed to the check out where you pay online via credit card etc. The price goes up depending on the size you buy. Getty Images offer a variety of options for the business savvy. There are "Royalty Free" images which allow you to purchase the license for an image and then you can use it as many times as you wish, however you wish. Then there are "Rights Managed" images which offer more exclusivity and have more restrictions on the usage.

It's hard to constantly make sure you are doing the right thing by the original creators of work, but most reputable companies or websites will have terms and conditions to explain how they expect their work to be used. And as designers ourselves we must respect the work and effort that has gone into creating a resource for us to use.
To be safe rather than sorry - original work is your best bet!

My Team Logo

I have chosen boxing as my sport as Hercules is a very strong and agile demi-god. Boxing also has been traced back to Ancient Greece and was accepted as a sport in the olympics in 688 BC.

Hercules is known to have completed 12 Labours which were all battles against great mythological creatures. In boxing you go up against your component in rounds aiming to knock them out. This is similar to the trials of Hercules.

Hercules is the son of Jupiter, also known as Zeus. Jab is a term used in boxing, which is a quick straight punch. I've used a more literal approach here showing the actual planet. The top logo has the arm coming around like the rings of Jupiter. I like this idea, would perhaps explore it more in a retro style, with a tattooed arm.

Hercules was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1969 comedy, Hercules in New York. In this film he finds work as a body builder. This logo is a little bit of a play on that, the muscular back, reminiscent of the pose. I think this logo would have the boxing gloves on so you can tell which sport it is for. Slugger is the term for a certain style of boxing, and the club can have two meanings, the club in which the boxing matches might be held. Or the type of club that Hercules is often portrayed to be holding.

This logo is a simple play on the thought of Hercules being half god, the son of Zeus who lives in the sky, controlling thunder and lightening. Brawlers, again, is another style of boxer. I really like the simplicity of this one, and just using type for the logo. I think the word "Thunder" would have to be rather heavy and illustrative to give this more impact.

Cultural Awareness

Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks logo directly represents the core of the Native American's culture. The logo depicts a Native American's headdress and has distinctive features that are revered within the Native American community.

The feathers that appear in a Chiefs headdress is considered more important than anything else within a tribe. It is seen as a symbol of strength and bravery. Feathers are received after great acts of bravery are committed, which in turn means that the more feathers one has, the more they are respected within the tribe. It is interesting to know that only the men took part in this event and the headdresses were made by warriors who were very close to the chief or the chief himself. The seriousness of the headdress is often overlooked and should be kept sacred and honoured today.

I think it's interesting that the Chicago Blackhawks have chosen this symbolic motif as their logo as it shows their depiction of courage and strength while playing the game of ice hockey.

The logo was originally designed by Irene Castle in 1926 who was Frederic McLaughlin, the owner of The Blackhawks, wife. Since the the logo has undergone a few subtle changes but remains basically the same.

The logo has organic lines and symbols which also reflect the culture of Native Americans.

SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Blackhawks

http://www.indians.org/articles/native-american-headdress.html

Australian Indigenous Design - Functions and Philosophies.

Respect

The rights of Indigenous people to own and control their heritage, including Indigenous images, designs, stories and other cultural expressions, should be respected.

Customs and protocols for respect vary widely across the many and diverse communities of Indigenous Australian people. Respecting Indigenous rights to cultural heritage includes the following protocols.

Indigenous Control

Indigenous people have the right to selfdetermination in their cultural affairs and the expression of their cultural material. There are many ways in which this right can be respected in the creation, production and exhibition of art.

Communication, consultation and consent

Communication and consultation are important in Indigenous visual arts projects. Consent is necessary for the reproduction of Indigenous visual arts, and if traditional communal designs are included, consent may be required from traditional owners.

SOURCES:

http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/32368/Visual_arts_protocol_guide.pdf

Dustin Martin - T-Shirt maker

My comment:

http://www.indigodesignnetwork.org/?p=774&cpage=1#comment-367

AGIDEAS - Concept Evaluation

The concept behind this piece of work is really strong and therefore translates into a really creative and eye catching piece of advertising. The work was created for Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper by Electric Art and aims at bringing the digital media to the forefront and making it more accessible.

I think the advertisement is really clever and it plays on what we know as a 'desktop'. In today's digital world the desktop is on the computer screen made up of pixels and this ad plays on the old and the new meaning of the word. The newspaper can be read online daily via the internet and can also be picked up in printed form. This ad shows all meanings of the idea with the tagline 'News to your desktop'.

The visuals of the current affairs and issues dropping around the woman in the middle gives a sense of urgency and also gives the feeling of being up to date and in the moment whilst the news is happening.

I think this advertisement really conveys a new feeling of being in touch with news and the media through the internet but also connects back to the more traditional idea of sitting down at your desk and reading the news.

http://www.electricart.com.au/index.php?album=retouching%2Ffairfax&image=SMH_DESKTOP_WAR_WEB_ZP.jpg&w=1476&h=880

AGIDEAS Design Trends

THE ART OF THE CRAFT

A great deal of the designers that spoke at agIdeas focused on refining your craft. One speaker in particular, Bruce Bigelow, talked about the difference between work that is crafted and work that isn't and how it makes the work stand out at a high professional level. Another trend that I feel falls into this category is the art of handmade work, whether it is traditional printing methods or handmade book binding. Stephen Dupont took each of his photographic journeys and hand bound them into collective pieces of work, all of which are unique and one offs.

Stephen Dupont - Raskols
http://www.stephendupont.com/

Stephen Dupont - Hand crafted and hand made books. Sixty gelatin silver prints of photographs and hand etched text on pages assembled in accordion fold binding with stainless steel front and back covers. Book is housed inside rubber sealed inner lining, screw and bolted stainless steel case. Each book is unique with a different chemical etched photo on the case cover. Each page is hand printed in the dark room by the artist's printer Chris Reid and all etching and design is by the artist.

Bruce Bigelow - Electric Art
http://www.electricart.com.au/index.php?album=retouching%2Fjohn-west&image=Bear-and-Diving-Man-RGB-Final_WEB_ZP.jpg&w=1476&h=880

Paying attention to the details and doing the work justice, crafting your work to make it look exceptional.

ALL THE COLOURS

Fanette Mellier - Circus
http://www.fanettemellier.com/

Another design trend or theme was the use of vivid colour in design. As the digital world descends quickly upon us more design is web based, or screen based. As a result design is created more and more in RGB format which allows for brighter colours. This is not to say that print design is dead, but designers are looking for more ways to stay on trend and up to date in a digital world.

Fanette Mellier - Fontenew
http://www.fanettemellier.com/

Fanette Mellier - An artist/designer who really expressed her love for colour and shape was Fanette Mellier, a French graphic artist and typographer. Although she doesn't really like being referred to as this. Her work is extremely playful and colourful.

Another designer who was a fave among the crowd at agIdeas was Claudio Kirac, an Australian gent who has worked in the industry for over 15 years.
His use of colour creates and emotional response as he explores the cross over between art and popular culture.

Claudio Kirac
http://www.claudiokirac.com/

Claudio Kirac
http://www.claudiokirac.com/

Claudio Kirac
http://www.claudiokirac.com/

Melbourne Sports Museum Critiques

Port Adelaide 'Power' Team Logo

The Port Adelaide 'Power' Team Logo uses a number of design elements and principles to convey the idea of strength, power and indestructibility.
The elements of solid vertical black line across the logo give repetition and stability, the shape of the lightning bolt and fist also give the logo strength and as it is centred within the logo, this also communicates strength and power. The design has only one element of colour, teal, and the rest of the design is monochromatic or grayscale - using only black, white and grey. The teal give the design an element of interest and links to nature being a blue/green colour - the colour most evident in nature. This gives the logo an added sense of strength as nature is a force that is uncontrollable and incredibly powerful. Again this ties in with the shape of the lightening bolt - which is in a example of natures frightening strength.[Image Source: http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/]

This design, I think, would be well suited to the Russian Constructivism movement. The period was well known for strong simple imagery and the symbol of the fist clenched in the air is well known in relation to the Russian Constructivism movement. If the teal in the logo was red, it would be perfectly fitting!

This also relates to the theme of the logo which is obviously power and strength. The motif of the fist clenched in the air symbolises this and is seen in design often. This cologne bottle design for Diesel uses the motif of the clenched fist and as seen here the name of the cologne is "Only the Brave" which appeals to men who are brave and courageous. [Image Source: http://www.nuochoa.asia/]

I think the Port Adelaide Power Logo is heavily referencing Greek Mythology. Zeus is often depicted clenching a bolt of lightning as he is the ruler of heaven and is seen as strong, wise and all knowing.
I think the logo in this case very clearly communicates the theme of strength and power. The fist and lightening bolt is a common motif seen in design and history that communicates this theme. [Image Source: http://www.scrapetv.com/]

2008 Beijing Olympics Torch Design

The Olympic Torch for the Beijing Olympic games in 2008 uses a number of design elements and principles to create a beautiful and striking design. The concept of the torch design is conveyed through the design and the implementation of the design.

Firstly, the colour red has a great impact and evokes a feeling of passion. Along with the silver background colour is gives the design a modern feel. The organic thick curving lines create a feeling of harmony within people and nature - and as the design is for the Beijing Olympics the design heavily references the Chinese culture of spirituality and harmony.

The logo design is symbolic of the phoenix which is represented by fire in the five elements, and as the phoenix dies and then is reborn from its ashes it represents the spirit of man striving for sucess. This idea is repeated throughout the design of the torch. The design incorporates pattern and rhythm to create a flowing eye catching application.
[Image Source: http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/ ]

This style of design is quite basic in it's nature as it is a repeated circular pattern and because of this I think it's well suited the Primitivism movement which goes back to the basic elements of art and design, for example Wassily Kandinsky who created simplistic but interesting abstract art. [Image Source: http://www.art-in-print.com/modern_prints.html]

The motif of the repeating pattern is seen throughout the application of this design and is similiar to the Greek Meander pattern which is often seen on vases and artwork from Ancient Greece. I think the design is effective in describing the concept of harmony, the spirit of man and the phoenix .

SOURCES:

http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/image/corepatterns/

http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/image/torchdesign/index.shtml

Critiquing Tools

ART VOCABULARY LIST

Mood - a feeling evoked by design/art often created by colour or imagery

Positive Space - is an area filled by the design elements

Negative Space - is the area that is left empty within the design

Transparent - see through, or allowing light to pass through

Proportion - whether the elements are balanced within relation to each other

ADJECTIVE LIST

Geometric - square; hard lines; straight edges

Organic - curvilinear; flowing round

Contrast - juxtaposition of opposing elements

Smooth - even, level, flat - referring to texture

Tactile - when referring to texture tactile is something you can feel.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Stability - strength given often by centred vertical elements

Dynamics - movement within design conveyed by diagonal elements

Rhythm - movement created by repetition

Scale - size of elements in relation to each other

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Line - This image has organic, flowing, sensitive line

Colour - Colour is used effectively to draw attention to the arm and parts of the hair

Texture - Texture is seen through the watercolour paint used

Shape - is seen with the imagery along the arm

Form - form is given the hair with the highlights and shadows

Images:

www.ffffound.com