The 8 Types of Bad Creative Critics
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Funny, Graphic Design
Anyone who does day-to-day work as a creative will undoubtedly love this.
The NEW penguincreative.com!
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Branding, Graphic Design, Internet / Blogs, New Work
After many months, we are very excited to announce the launch of the all-NEW penguincreative.com! In addition to the website, we are also proud to unveil a brand new Penguin blog (seen here).
Thank you all for your continued business and support! We wouldn’t be here without you and are excited about all of the new opportunities this year continues to bring. Please let us know what you think!
Real-Life Photoshop
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Advertising, Graphic Design
Great ad from the people at Adobe.
Logo Tournament
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Branding, Graphic Design
With the help of Siegel+Gale’s Howard Belk and Sven Seger, Pentagram’s Michael Bierut, and LogoLounge.com’s Bill Gardner, Fortune magazine pitted 16 logos to determine the ultimate logo. Although the selection process obviously wasn’t a science, it is still fun to see the results. (I would have never guessed Target would win it all. (via BrandNew)
T.I. - Paper Trail
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Graphic Design, Music
This is one of the most beautiful and creative album concepts I have seen in years. Part of my admiration for this idea is the fact that the work is real, and the payoff truly shows. It is very rewarding to see something organic hit the mainstream every once in a while and this is no exception. The art was design/conceptualized by Ian Wright.
700 Obama Covers
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Graphic Design, Magazines, Politics
This site has an amazing collection of Obama newspaper covers from around the country and world.
A New Journey
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Branding, Graphic Design
I have the privilege of joining three other incredibly talented individuals to form a new agency called the Vine Collective. Our new site just went live today. I will continue as a freelance designer, but am quite excited to see what new territory the Vine will take us to.
The Art of the Title
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Film / Video, Graphic Design
For those of you that enjoy movie credits, The Art of the Title is one of the best blogs out there for title sequences. The opening to Stranger Than Fiction (below) is one of my favorites. Love this one for Carnivale as well.
A Few Steps Behind
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Graphic Design, Information Design
Above, the new face of British currency, announced by the Royal Mint. The striking new designs, selected from an open competition that attracted four thousand entries, are the work of a 26-year old graphic designer named Matthew Dent. They are Mr. Dent’s first foray into currency design.
Below, the new five dollar bill, introduced last month by the United States Department of the Treasury. The new design, which features a big purple Helvetica five, is the work of a 147-year-old government agency called the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It employs 2,500 people, and has an annual budget of $525,000,000. (content via HF&J).
Great video/typography
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Film / Video, Graphic Design, Music
Philippe Starck tells magazine design is dead
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Graphic Design
Renowned French designer Philippe Starck says he is fed up with his job and plans to retire in two years, in an interview published in a German weekly.
Starck, who is known for his interior design of hotels and Eurostar trains and mass consumption objects ranging from chairs to tooth brushes and lemon juice squeezers, went on to say that he believed that design on the whole was dead.
“In future there will be no more designers. The designers of the future will be the personal coach, the gym trainer, the diet consultant,” he said.
Photoshop Disasters
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Graphic Design, Photography
Below are a few of my favorite posts from a great blog devoted to Photoshop mishaps.
Images from iStockPhoto: $12
Stealing the preview images instead: $0
Seeing the watermark on your finished, printed artwork: priceless
Sir Lancelot gazed fondly into the soft blue pools of Lady Guineviere’s eyes and gently held her mutant third hand. Wait, what?
Where’s the head? Sports Illustrated should know better.
Kelly Osbourne can apparently change shape at will.
May The Best Logo Win
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Branding, Graphic Design
Salon.com has a great article on the strategy, and importance, of a strong visual identity in the presidential race. I love the way they put it: “The battle for the presidency may have as much to do with fonts, flags and sunrises as healthcare plans and war stances.”
Apparently, not all of the candidates think their graphics are particularly important, based on some of the below logos. But there is one clear standout in the batch. “Obama is marketing like Apple, Nike or Starbucks. He’s selling an experience. It is all done with such skill and finesse that as a professional I am in absolute awe,” according to Michael Beirut of Pentagram.
Obama’s signature “O” is the product of Chicago-based branding firm Sender. A true logo, one that is recognizable apart from the candidate’s name, it uses the traditional color palette. “You can’t walk away from the red, white and blue completely,” argues Sol Sender, the company’s president, “so what can you do that’s new and fresh?” Sender’s team came up with a white sunrise against a blue sky, over a landscape implied by red and white stripes. Indeed, it seems to be an allusion to Ronald Reagan’s effective 1984 slogan: “It’s morning in America.” It also recalls the Japanese rising sun and, more interestingly, has a strong graphic kinship with the state flag of Arizona, home state of Republican front-runner John McCain.
The Evolution of Tech Logos
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Branding, Graphic Design, History
Neatorama has an amazing article on the origin of tech companies’ logos and how they evolved over time. Some of the highlights are below.
Adobe
Apple
Canon
Google
IBM
LG
Microsoft
Motorola
Palm
Xerox
Bring Bad Design to Justice
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Graphic Design
These great (and printable) sticker templates are a must have for every designer. And there’s 5 pages of ‘em. Courtesy of the Design Police.
Type Is Image
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Film / Video, Graphic Design, Wisdom
Great video on renowned typographer/designer Paula Scher. In the video she says she designed the final “Citi” logo before her initial meeting was over by sketching the idea on a napkin (!)
USPS Eames Stamps Unveiled
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Graphic Design, Product Design
Glancing at the various state license plates, the national currency and even the recently redesigned U.S. Passports, it’s quite obvious that form almost always follows function in U.S. governmental design (take a look at the design of the Swiss franc and the Euro and you’ll quickly notice how far behind we really are). However, it was a pleasant surprise to see that the U.S. Postal Service will be unveiling an amazing set of stamps next summer honoring the work and life of design legends Charles and Ray Eames. Gotta get me some of these.
CCM covers
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Graphic Design, Magazines, New Work, Photography
I recently shot five covers of Family Force 5 for CCM Magazine’s annual reader’s choice issue. The band by far is the most energetic group I have ever worked with (…I don’t think they took their ritalin that morning).
New Website!
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Graphic Design, New Work, Photography
After over a half a year of labor, I am extremely excited to announce the premiere of the new Penguin Creative website! Literally, as I write this, the relief is just starting to hit me that this site is DONE! For the past 8 months I have had the task of filtering through over 30,000 photos from the past year and a half of travels around the world. My wife has been incredibly patient with my late nights and incredibly helpful in giving me the thumbs up or down on many of the images you see.
The past two years have undoubtedly been the most challenging of my life, but also the most rewarding. I have never felt more conviction, joy and refinement that I did during my global trek. My desire is that the photos and the stories on this site inspire you all, and hopefully stretch your paradigms a bit too. The more I see, the more I realize that I am incredibly blessed and incredibly spoiled at the same time, just being born in this country. We have all been given the resources, education, creativity and finances to move mountains. My desire is to one day pool those exponential resources to make a lasting impact in the lives of the scores of underprivledged.
I have to mention, this site would not have been possible without the amazing wizardry of Pupon of A3 Interactive and Design. Pupon not only captured this vision by making this site intuitive and (virtually) dummy-proof, but far exceeded what I could have ever expected when I began. My gratitude exceeds my words.
Future of Hip-Hop
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Graphic Design, Magazines, New Work
The upcoming cover for CCM’s “Future of Hip-Hop” issue, featuring Grits.
Sugar the Movie
Posted by Lee Steffen | Filed under Film / Video, Graphic Design, New Work
I recently completed the packaging for Sugar the movie, written, directed and produced by my friend Alex Beh. He also did the hair and makeup, styling, post production, music, dance choregraphy and catering. Kidding.