Hi I'm Megan Selby and this is my digital media blog.

I will be posting ideas and inspirations about graphic design and what has inspired me.

60's Influences

After being so inspired by Saul Bass I loved the idea of having a 60's element in my work.

As the camera is the center piece of my poster and my logo, I thought I would use a camera from the 60's and trace it on illustrator. I looked at a few different styles and selected the one I thought was the best. 

The modern camera's just wouldn't have looked like cameras if they had been sketched as they are so small and don't have the universal features anymore that people identify with classic cameras.

Modern:

 

More distinct dated cameras 1960:

            

The significance of typography

When getting a greater understanding of graphic design throughout the weeks I started to learn how significant typography was in graphic design.

This revelation began when in week 2 when we watched the helvetica documentary which I found very interesting. I didn't realize that helvetica was everywhere!

Helvetica is such a timeless font, its simplistic and is standing the test of time. You cant go wrong with Helvetica.

As I learnt more about helvetica and its significance it made me think about other typefaces and their importance.

When I was choosing my typeface I wanted it to really stand out.

Other typography I like:







I noticed that black and white fonts/logos were very popular:










 

Influences and inspiration-

Saul Bass 

Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and film maker. He is most well known for creating iconic and well known film posters, title sequences and film logos.

Saul Bass is one of my favorite graphic designers that I have come across. I really admire how he puts designs together in a very distinct way. I feel like I can now notice Saul Bass designs because they all have an element of similarity although they can also be very different in some ways.

I was drawn to Saul Bass because he designed the poster for the musical West Side Story in the early 60's. West Side Story is my absolute all time favorite film and I am inspired about how he designed the poster as I always think of that poster design when I picture the movie. 

Saul Bass became known and respected in the film industry in the 1950's mainly after creating the title sequence and poster for Otto Preminger's 'The Man with the Golden Arm' in 1955. Bass created a hard hitting poster to match the controversial message of the film which was particularly taboo during the 50's. The film was about a musicians struggle with heroin addiction in the 50's. The central image of the poster is an slightly distorted arm, therefore the link to heroin as the central image is clear, it caused quite a sensation.

Following the 'The Man with the Golden Arm' success Bass was on high demand for creating posters and title sequences as his style was positively recognized.

The following are some of  Saul Bass' most well known and famous film posters.

• 'The Man with the Golden Arm'- 1955

                                                 

• 'Love in the Afternoon'- 1957

                                           

• 'Bonjour Tristesse'-  1958

Bonjour Tristesse has a very different style and font compared to some of Bass' other designs, however it still has a 60's feel to it like the others.

                                     

• 'Vertigo'- 1958

                                       

• 'Anatomy of a Murder'- 1959

                                     

• 'Exodus'- 1960

                                                 

Some of Bass' later work:

• 'Such Good Friends'- 1971

                                      

• 'The Shining'-1980

                                   

• 'Schindler's List'-1993

                                   

Aswell as film posters, Bass also designed logos which have become very distinctive to identify certain companies. In some cases Bass designed the initial logo and it has evolved as time has gone on. 

The history of Saul Bass' logo designs:

     

LAWRYS FOOLS logo. 

Original designed by Saul Bass in 1959 (right) and current version (left).

Logo lifespan: 54 years and counting.

        

ALCOA logo.

Original designed by Saul Bass in 1963 (right) and current version revitalized in 1998 (left).

Logo lifespan: 49 years and counting.

FULLER PAINTS logo.

Original designed by Saul Bass in 1963 (right) and only the name has changed since (left).

Logo lifespan: 50 years and counting.

CONTINENTAL logo.

Original designed by Saul Bass in 1967 (right) and redesigned by Onoma Designs in 1991 (left).

Logo lifespan: 24 years and counting.

Quaker Oats logo.

Original designed by Saul Bass in 1969 (right) and redesigned by Wallace Church in 2010 (left).

Logo lifespan: 41 years (1969-2010).

UNITED WAY logo.

Original designed by Saul Bass in 1972  (right) and redesigned by future brand in 2004 (left).

Logo lifespan: 41 years and counting.

GIRLS SCOUTS logo.

Original designed by Saul Bass in 1978 (right) and developed by OCD Agency in 2010 (left).

Logo Lifespan: 35 years and counting. 

Saul Bass logo's that havent changed:

AVERY (1975)

The company still uses the same logo today.

KIBUN (1984)

The company still uses the same symbol today.

THE GETTY CENTER (1993)

The company still uses the same logo today.

Bass on his logo work:

“If I do my job well, the identity program will also clean up the image of the company, position it as being contemporary and keep it from ever looking dated”. — Saul Bass

 The average lifespan for a Saul Bass logo is 34 years.

Penguin Books-

Presentation work 

I really enjoyed studying penguin books for my presentation as its such an iconic brand and has such a classic design also I have had access to penguin books since I've been a young girl so a sense of nostalgia also accompanied studying this element of design. 

History of Penguin:

• Penguin Books is a British publisher, it was founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K Krishna Menon.
• Penguin Books became popular due to its high quality books and reasonable prices that anyone could afford. They were sold in well known stores such as Woolworth's for a sixpence.
• Penguin books also has a significant impact on public debate in Britain, through its books on politics, the arts and science.
• From the beginning design was crucial to the success of the Penguin brand.
• The initial design was created by a 21 year old office junior  Edward Young, who also drew the first ever version of the Penguin logo.

Due to minimal costs, every aspect of the production and design had to standardized, however the simplistic logo and basic typography is the key to why Penguin became so iconic because it was so effortlessly simple however still very statement. 

The distinct colors marked what genre of Penguin book you were reading.

Orange for fiction-

Green for crime-

Blue for biography-

 

 Penguin was acknowledged and praised for its style and design. It was significant because the book was cheap but effortlessly classic. 

Evolution of Penguin Books:

What we think of as the classic penguin cover was invented by Jan Tschihold in 1945.

                                  

The German typography designer was hired by Lane to give the company a uniform design style.

Tschihold personally designed over 500 books in 3 years at Penguin.

He designed the iconic Shakespeare front cover for Penguin when they began to publish his plays.

Penguin Today:

                  

Penguin books has been extremely influential in the graphic design industry because it simplicity made it relevant to anyone at any time. Penguin Books as a company still thrives across the world today, there timeless and classic to people and families all over.