Design Campaign- Super Image (Identity)

Identity

I was responsible for the identity aspect of our design campaign for Super Image. The identity of the existing film production company was choppy. A lot of work was needed in order to amp up the product so it would leave a little something with the viewer after interaction. My friend was in advertising in Chicago for a solid twenty years, so I asked for his help with creating a new look for Super Image.

Originally the logo was Super Image Ltd in a bland, bold text style. And you could text a couple kids created it. The colors were red and black with not much going on artistically.

While brainstorming the new Super Image logo, I thought about what I feel film looks like.
A classic black and white pays homage to the beginning of the art of filmmaking, so we went with black and white as the logos colors. Plus, black and white is the simplest, cheapest and easiest to reproduce.

We incorporated a film reel within the letter "S" for Super. Rather than risking confusion with SI being recognizable for Sports Illustrated, we made the "I" an eye, paying respect to the organ that allows us to take film in.

While coming up with new ideas, I thought we should incorporate a few tributes to film gurus my group and I love and respect. Wes Anderson is brilliant when it comes to color. His movies are a constant stream of paintings, for me. We chose a color scheme from the film, Rushmore.

Considering our demographic was mainly focused on independent film making, we thought the color palette from Rushmore was a perfect match to the mood we were wanting to create. Rushmore is also a favorite among the members of the group.

For the typestyle, we chose type writer. Not only does type writer look bad ass, but we also liked the independent feel of the font. The typestyle is intentionally "off" on the logo for a fews reasons. The biggest reason being the company is called Super Image, hinting towards the brilliance and perfection of an image, there's something ironic and tongue and cheek about the way the type writer is broken, creating this off, smudged lettering that's interesting and adds character.

This is our new logo. We're proud of how it turned out and are happy that is represents our company.
While assessing this logo, there is much to appreciate about it.

Although it's chopped off on the bottom, the motion of the film reel brings you around and up the "S" and to the eye and immediately down to the messy lettered "Super image." The black and white is bold and classy and clean. While brainstorming ideas for the logo, we wanted the lettering to be edgy. The type writer font adds edge and funk, while the film reel and eye are clean and pristine with a hint of attitude.
The law of proximity plays a part in the logo. Each of the elements of the logo are close enough to one another that we, as the viewer, can see them as a whole.
The law of continuity is obvious in the way the "S" draws you from the bottom part of the reel, around the small block of nothingness, up the rest of the reel, through the eye into the pupil and down to the text.
I believe law of closure would also apply here. There's a slice out of the bottom of the "S" creating a small void but that void is filled with the rest of the solid and dotted lines from the "S."

Compose Your Frame

This is a shot I took of my friend, Jeff. This photograph not only represents a lot about the subject but possesses natural lines and that's my favorite part.

As soon as I look at this photo, my eye is immediately drawn to the the middle of the guitar where his fingers are pressing down on strings creating a chord.
There's a triangle that is created with the color on his hands starting with his rings and his fingers on his left hand to the hand in motion up to the extended colored thumb on top of the neck.
There are many occurrences of ovals throughout this shot. His left hand holding the neck creates a round shape bringing the viewer's eye back to his right arm strumming. His bracelets curve enough to swing the viewers eye back to the colored left hand. The curves of the guitar do the same thing.

There are many diagonal lines throughout this shot. The strongest one to me is the neck of the guitar which possesses even more lines within it.
His left arm holding up the guitar creates a strong line throughout the middle of the picture. His right arm strumming creates a line going downward.
The arms and hands, neck, frets and strings all create lines that act as arrows directing the viewers eyes back to the focal point of the action in the photograph.

The photo draws the viewer's eyes to the left hand and to the area between the two hands. Staying with the rule of thirds, the attention is drawn to the left side of the photo.

I feel like this shot has a few types of vectors going on within it.
First, the right hand creates a motion vector leading the eye to the center of the guitar creating a flow.

The neck of the guitar guides the eye out of the frame or the other way, towards the center of the guitar creating an index vector with the strong lines from the strings.

The vertical and diagonal lines created by the strings and frets forces the z-axis attraction.

contrast, balance & harmony - f.scholder

Woman in Nature AP 1991

Whether or not I was aware of it, Fritz Scholder's work has always played a significant role in my life. As a lover of art, and life, I see his work as a reflection and a reminder to be open to all things. I see and feel emotion from looking at this painting and countless others of his.

Contextually this piece is extremely powerful. Being a woman present day sucks ass. Like, gross ass.
I see this print and feel many different emotions. A big ole mixture of sadness and gratitude.

I believe with what happened just recently with the Million Women March, this piece is supported socially. Showing the darkness women are often push in to by not having a voice, along with the face not being visible, speaking loudly about how we are often times just considered a body.

Psychologically, I believe all of the above are felt by women. At least for me, I see this and connect it with decisions being made right now about our bodies and whether or not our government will support a woman's option of abortion. Not only women in America, but women across the planet marched this last weekend. Women standing hand-in-hand, supporting one another, and fighting for a cause across the planet, is so important.

We possess a sack of meat that works pretty damn well. Granted some work differently than others, but we have hands so we can touch and feel, we have eyes to see the beauty that surrounds us and we have organs inside of us that have the capabilities to grow another human being.
And we are being told to shut up and stay back and to not think that we can think.

This painting symbolizes to me, what it feels like to be a woman.

The woman's face in the print is hidden. Accentuating the body. But seeing the face is not important. What is important is the motion of the painting. The figure is turned creating motion, the drips and the kinetic brush strokes continue the feeling of motion and harmony.
Generally, it's not popular to have your focal point center, but because of the movement of her arm and her breast, a triangle is created furthering the balanced motion of the painting.
The dark shadow on the leg prevents the figure from being flat.

Everything brings you back to the body.
The figure is cold but the painting as a whole is warm.
The yellows and oranges and purples and greens and blues that seep from underneath create warmth.
The overpainting on the top quarter creates an overall effect of warmth.

The brush strokes create energy and it flows with the top quarter and drips down expanding the energy throughout.
The more energy, more feel, more flow brings your eye back to the woman.

Woman in Nature AP is piece that reminds me how brilliant it is to be alive to see art like this.

Visceral Response

Georgia O’Keeffe created this piece in 1918. Its title is Music Pink and Blue II. Music Pink and Blue is a separate piece, alike in many ways but distinctively different color schemes.

O’Keeffe started as an abstract painter but moved away from it partly because she grew weary of critics and art people reading too much into her images that she contends were never intended to be interpreted in such ways.

Many believe O’Keeffe’s paintings reflected her sexuality and sex in general.

I chose this painting specifically because it tells us something about ourselves.

Music Pink and Blue II is a fine example of the controversy surrounding her art as well as our visceral response as humans.

I would love nothing more than to just stare at this piece and feel the color and movement that’s plainly provided for me. But I have another visceral response.  I can’t get the fact that it looks like a female sex organ out of my mind and that changes the piece for me.  

In this case, at least for me, it’s impossible to be objective because my viewing of some of her art has been polluted by opinions and observations made by others as I’ve learned and experienced art.

Where does this piece guide me?
It guides me straight into the blue void. Right into the mystery, and it pulses with life. Just like music. And you guessed it, just like a vagina.

Shape is pertinent in this piece.

The repeating of the ovals in the painting always brings the viewer back to the blue void. I start at the green to yellow stem, which leads me back to the void, continually in a loop.

Simply as an abstract piece, this works because of composition and color and that intangible something that all good art shares. It is made even better because it possesses layers. I see color and movement. I feel the color.

But I also see a vagina.  What does that say about me?

That’s precisely what I love about good art; it exposes things about ourselves if we choose to see them.