Marks and Symbols

What I learned...

Symbols and logos are also known as marks (or trademarks). Both symbols and logos need to be simple and easily recognized. They are representing a company so the symbol or logo needs to show that it is connected to that certain company through a memorable, simple, and timeless design. 

A Logo

A logo is a word (or words) in type that identify a brand, company, group, or project. It can be a unique way to promote and it also makes it easier to recognize the company, brand, etc. 

A Symbol

A symbol is a mark that has no type in it. It is used to identify an agency, corporation, or institution. It is also another unique and simple way to give a quick impact. There are many key factors in creating an effective symbol. It should be clean and have a good flow. To make your symbol memorable, it needs to be simple and have heavy marks, that way it stands out.

Typography

For the past few weeks, my graphic design class has been working with typography. We had to find quotes or lyrics that somehow connected to us and meant something to us. I chose all of my lyrics from my favorite band, Twenty One Pilots. The band Twenty One Pilots is made up of two artists, Tyler Joseph (the lead singer, plays multiple different instruments, and raps) and Josh Dun (the drummer). Their lyrics are very inspirational and meaningful. I felt that their lyrics would fit perfectly for what my "vision" was. I chose song lyrics that would make sense in a certain format that I wanted. These are the four designs that I created and how I personally view each song. 

Lyrics from Kitchen Sink

          These lyrics are from the song, Kitchen Sink. The song is about helping you to defeat your "demons" that are inside your head. The very first lyric of the song is "Nobody thinks what I think" and in the second verse, the first lyric is "Nobody thinks what you think, No one, Empathy might be on the brink of extinction." I chose this lyric because it is, sadly, becoming true in this day and age. People are judging others before they even know each other. The empathy for technology is greater than the empathy for each other. For thefts, I wanted "EMPATHY" and "EXTINCTION" to look as is they were deteriorating. For the background, I used an image that had smoke on it and I thought that it fit with the lyric and style. 

Lyrics from Forest 

          This design was inspired by the song Forest. It is about living off of emotions and how they effect life, how we are afraid of what will come next. We live in fear and are restricting ourselves from living our lives to the fullest because of it. In the chorus of the song it says "Down in the forest, We'll sing a chorus, One that everybody knows. Hands held higher, We'll be on fire, Singing songs that nobody wrote," what this is saying is that we need to live in the moment and forget about our fears together. I chose the lyric "I don't want to be heard, I want to be listed to," because there is a big difference between being heard and being listened to. For example, if you multitask and work on homework while playing music in the background, you are only hearing the music, you are not paying much attention to it. When you listen to a song by itself and really understand the lyrics and what they are saying, I would call that listening. I chose this specific lyric because I think that every single person can relate to it in some way. 

Lyrics from Screen 

          This lyric is from the song Screen. It is about hiding who you truly are behind this metaphorical "screen." A lyric in the song that really sticks out is "We're broken people," and that is repeated multiple times, it means exactly what it says, there are people who try to act like everything is fine in their life when they're actually trying to hide the fact that they're "broken." I would have chosen that lyric, but I had an image in my head about the specific lyric that I chose. The lyric by itself may not make sense exactly, but if you know that song, the line right before it is "While you're doing fine, There's some people and I, Who have a really tough time getting through this life, So excuse us while we sing to the sky." What this is saying is, you might be enjoying life and you're okay, but that does not mean that every one is like that. There are people out there who are struggling but hide it behind their "screen" so that no one can see their pain. I wanted my graphic to look as if you were looking up at the sky so I made the font a cloud shape with a sun in the center. 

Lyrics from Lovey 

          The final lyric is from the song Lovely. The song is sort of like a message to whoever is listening. The chorus is "Won't you stay alive, I'll take you on a ride, I will make you believe you are lovely." Tyler (the lead singer) is saying that he believes that you are worth it and wants you to believe it too. He tries to stress "Stay Alive" is a lot of his songs, he wants to show that he cares and knows what people can go through. The song is about trying to make you believe that you are worth it and to stay alive because it will get better. I wanted to make the font give off a "lovely" tone so I chose a flowery font and a cursive font. I chose this lyric because I think that everyone should feel lovely and if they don't, I want to make them see just how beautiful they really are.

Responsive Web Design

What is responsive web design and why is it important? 

Responsive web design is the design and development of a website responds to the user's behavior, screen size, and platform/orientation. It consists of grids and layouts with an intelligent use of CSS media. A website needs to look good on all platforms (laptops-iPads-iPhones).  It is important because many people use their cell phones now to look online and if your website looks good on a larger laptop screen but not on the phone, your website will be overlooked.  

What are media queries and breakpoints?

Media queries is a CSS3 module allowing content to adapt to the screen that you are viewing the site on. A breakpoint are the point at which the content of your site will respond to the platform with the best layout.

Example of a Responsive Website

This website works in all sizes of platforms. It works on the laptop and also on the phone. The images and text look good in both platforms. With this website, there isn't that much content, it focuses more on the images and animations, but when there is text, it looks great.