Tips to gain ideas for your design

1. Travel
Seeing a new perspective, whether it's a new culture or city, opens my eyes to so many more opportunities.  It isn't always possible to just leave for a large trip, but take a weekend and go to a nearby city.

2.  Sketch
Letting my mind go and just drawing helps me come up with ideas better than forcing an idea into my head.

3.  Exercise
After I've been thinking for so long my mind just turns to mush.  When I let my mind go and do any sort of exercise sometimes an idea will just pop into my mind that I had never thought of before.

4.  Surf the Web
I find just seeing all the different web page designs and different content on each website inspiring, even if it isn't a design website.  Try some of your favorite clothing websites---they always have fun designs and photos.

5.  Watch TV
The same idea as surfing the web.  Commercials can be really 'out there' and sometimes help boost my imagination.

6.  Sleep
Your mind processes everything while you sleep, so taking a nap may help you process all the ideas that have crossed your mind and put it together into one amazing idea.

7. Take a break and take time for another hobby
I personally like cooking so I take a break from designing and will cook a large gourmet meal to ease the mind.  Plus it's tasty so it makes it just as rewarding.  You may not like cooking but take a break and do a hobby you enjoy.

What is Variable Data Print?

Most people already know what print is and all the ways it can be used: for posters, to billboards, postcards and packaging.  But what is variable data print?

Variable data print is used in marketing to target the wanted consumer market in a personalized way that generates response rate from the directed target 3-10 times higher than traditional direct mail does.  This is done through digital print technology and instead of printing 5,000 copies of the same document, that consists of the same exact message to each customer, 5,000 copies of different messages are sent out that is personalized for each individual customer.  This can consist or their name, text, pictures and offers.  This can be a great benefit as when you customize to a customers unique needs and desires your average order sizes improve, cost per response decreases, and repeat business increases.

In a class project I created my own postcard including variable data print for Farmington Ford.

  

In this example you can see that the variable data is included throughout the front of the postcard starting with the person's name.  Along with the person's name being customized we personalized it even more by adding in what car they currently have (2012 Ford F-150) along with a picture of that vehicle (in the bottom right corner).  To make it even more modified we added in a picture of either a man or women, depending on the gender of the receiver, in the postcard as well. 

On the back I also used variable data print for their name and address.
For more info

UNI Presidential Elections Logo

Well it's all said and done, and my campaign logo just wasn't enough for the win.....

I was asked to design a campaign logo for the student body president and vice president for the University of Northern Iowa.  I didn't know either of the candidates but I gladly accepted hoping I could help them come up with a logo that was professional enough for the political world yet popped out from the crowd with a unique difference from the norm.

The Process  

I started by going online to look at different logo designs that have been used in the past.  

Next, I used these ideas and put them into my own designs...

 I then came up with a few "Vote" logo pins...

Which they ended up not wanting anyways...but I thought they were fun to make!

They then made a decision on which one they liked the best---being the first one of the 6 above. 

I then made a few tweaks to this logo to really make it my own based off the ideas I had taken from the "Top 10 Presidential Campaign Logos" by raising/lowering the K, L, and A and incorporating the "vote" and their URL onto the pin design.

Election Week 

Election week finally came and pins, t-shirts, and posters with my logo were everywhere on campus!  There was 3 different candidate groups going for president and vice president so I knew it wasn't going to be an easy win, especially seeing one particular group's logo around campus just as much.  

The votes were in and after being counted we found out the election was not over as Kaleigh and Alicia had won--but not by 50%, with the tough competition right behind them being the other group that I had seen around campus.  Elections between Kaleigh and Alicia and the other strong group would be done again the following week.  The next week everyone voted again with there now only being 2 groups to vote for.  In the end the competition won by only 14 votes.  

But hey just a logo alone can't win an election, and the experience was well worth it!

The New Budweiser Black Crown

From: beerpulse.com

Budweiser has done it again, and come out with a new beer called Black Crown that has gotten many to run out to their nearest convenience store to purchase.  After their last success, Bud Light Platinum, Black Crown has made an impact and has kept Bud a brand to talk about and a must have at any social event.  It's been said that the mainstream same-old brews have lost their spark, and drinkers are looking for that new edged beer with a bolder flavor, and not only that but higher alcohol content.  With that being said, the beer that your father or even grandfather grabs off the shelf is just plain coming out of trend.  

With this being true or not the Black Crown bottle and packaging displays a modern look that is distinctive and sticks out from the shelf with the out of the norm look.  In the past Bud has used reds and blues to made their brand distinguishable, but the new look has taken a 180 and used contemporary colors and a simple design structure to promote the brand.  The black gives it a sleek look while the silver gives it that extra edge and accents the crown appearance.  The use of the  gold colors also gives it that warm feeling that portrays what you can expect to experience when drinking this smooth brew.  The high class look I believe is a great way to stand out in higher scale nightclubs and restaurants, different than their original brew's looks.  The whole look just gives it a different feel made for a  sophisticated setting or if you just want to feel sophisticated yourself.   Giving anyone who drinks it a feeling of royalty.  A great new approach for Bud to stand out from the crowd!