History of Graphic Design

35. Describe three design characteristics of the German Bauhaus?

  • Minimalistic
  • Geometric
  • handcrafted look

36. How did the German Bauhaus Designers implement “the rule of thirds” within the grid?

The German Bauhaus Designers tended to avoid placing the designs emphasis on or near the center of the grid and instead placed key information on the outer intersections of the grid. This made way for the Rule of Thirds.

Beverage Label Essay

The Brand Essence of Bad Dog Beer is to simply drink (responsibly) and have a great time doing it! It’s a Pale Ale that you can enjoy during a night out on the town feeling young and dangerous! The brand Identity that I created for Bad Dog Beer really shows the essence of the drink well. With my hand rendered image that I stylized as oil paint in Photoshop, my choice of Typography and colors, you cannot mistake this beer for a regular boring beer. The central image itself depicts an anthropomorphic dog/human smoking a cigarette with a spiked collar. What says “edgy” more than that? This helps relate to the beverage demographics because it has an artsy look and appears to serve the likings of the younger generations (ages 21-35). The two fonts that I paired in this design are a business like Trajan Pro and a hand written looking Trattatello. Both complement each other very well without the feel of clutter.  These also give emphasis to the brand essence. The mixture of the two fonts give the design an edgy and artist, yet professional look.

I created emphasis by placing my central image over black and white, and by using red font colors within the design to create a popping look. I created contrast by placing white letters over black ground, and black letters over white background. I created flow by curving text around the central image which keeps your eye moving throughout the design. I aligned different contents of text with each other which wrap around the bottle. For example, the location of the brewing company is aligned with the company’s website address. I also centered text under the central image to make the design feel organized. Repetition can be found in the font, by using two different font styles. There’s also repetition in the background by alternating black and white rectangles. With the use of all of these elements, I really feel like my design is balanced and unified.

What to Ask Your Client During the First Meeting…

34. Describe the six questions or areas you must address when meeting with your client?

  • Who is the Target Audience?
  • What is the message?
  • What are the specs of the project?
  • What is the budget?
  • Is there a specific deadline?
  • Can the client provide creative direction?

Who is the Target Audience?

Of course, it is important to know who you are designing for. You’ll want to ask your client about the demographics of the design.

What is the Message?

What message does your client wish to portray to its target audience? Distinguish the mood of the piece.

What Are the Specs of the Project?

Does the client already have specific ideas for the project? Find out what your client really wants and if they do not know, brainstorm and present your client with the different options. For example, is this going to be a brochure or a single page design?

What is the Budget?

Find out if the client has a budget cost in mind. The amount of work you put into the design will ultimately be based off of this cost. If the client wants to pay you little, know that you will only provide a certain amount of design options for them. If they are paying well, you can go above and beyond to give them many different options to choose from. If the client does not have a budget, but wants you to set a price, take some time to go over the aspects of the design and find an appropriate price for the work you’re going to put forth and the time you put into it.

Is there a Specific Deadline?

Find out the due date of the project and get it done! If the deadline is too quickly, you may let your client know that an additional charge will be added to the project cost. If there is no deadline, make a schedule for when you plan to complete each part of the design and present it to the client. This will keep you organized and on task.

Can the Client Provide Creative Direction?

You should ask your client if they have any creative direction for the design. This includes their thoughts on color, font, image, design and more. Even though it is the job of the designer to create a unique design, your clients creative direction can help push you in the right direction and have a happy outcome. This is where you can also ask your client if there are any already existing designs that they like.

Starting a Graphic Design Business

31.  Describe three types of graphic design portfolios.

  • Website
  • PDF
  • The Classic Portfolio

Website- The most popular type of portfolio these days is the website portfolio. This is an easy way for viewers to access your work, by simply clinking on your link! This is a very time consuming type of portfolio.

PDF- This type of portfolio is making its way up the ladder of popularity. Using this style will help you create a brochure like collection of your work. This way is easy and quick to put together and makes an easy way to send your work around to others.

The Classic Portfolio- Although old school, this type of portfolio is still around today, and serving a successful way to showcase your work. This is a book of different size prints of your artwork. This will give people an actual idea of size and quality of work. In order to share this with viewers, it must be done in person so it would have to be mailed otherwise, which obviously is not convenient for the digital world. However, for meetings, this type of portfolio is ideal.

32. Describe five ways for promoting your graphic design business.

In the digital world that we live in, it’s a lot easier to promote your business through the uses of different online tools. You can promote through social media, like Twitter and Facebook. You can also promote by creating a business blog that showcases your work. You may also use LinkedIn, which is a networking website for businesses. Creating business cards is important and can promote your business. You can also create a business news letter to help spread your business through word of mouth.

33.  If you started your own graphic design business what approach would you used to set your rates/prices?

If I started my own graphic design business, I would use all possible tools to help promote. However, I do believe that the business blog would be the one I used to set pricing and rates.