The beginning of a new year is always a good time for new inspiration. As a graphic designer, I’m always trying to keep up on the latest and hottest trends and while I don’t have a crystal ball, I do see some recurring trends that have the potential of being the big design focus in 2012 based on the industry: Read more…
Surfing the Web nowadays, I guess you get used to being bombarded by advertisements on almost every Web site that you visit …. no, not THOSE sites … I’m talking about your normal everyday run-of-the-mill Web sites. I usually make it a point not to click on any paid ads that I happen run across … mainly just for spite. Well, that and because I feel like I’m harassed enough by advertising in other media during the course of a day. Even when I do a generic Google search, I avoid the “sponsored links” like the plague. Again, I really don’t have one significant reason for this other than they happen to be “ads” and they happen to annoy me. The few that I actually have clicked on in the past gave me no results related to my initial search so that may have also jaded my enthusiasm for them.
Three….Word….Taglines
Lately, here at Greystone we’ve been talking about updating our printed marketing materials. As I was tossing around ideas for a possible folder cover, I found myself using the dreaded “three word tagline.” My decision came about simply enough. I was thinking of a simple, straightforward design with the possibility of including a few photos. Anyone that is familiar with my design work knows I’m a fan of grouping in threes – photos, text areas, buttons, etc. So, as usual, I ended up with three symmetrical images on a nice, clean, light grey background. This was fine, but then I immediately grabbed three keywords from some of our old printed materials and proceeded to place one under each photo. There I was staring at three photos with three “keywords” underneath them. I have to say that I liked the look, but something still bothered me.