It is an identity.

Nubby Twiglet is one of my favorite women of the web. She's a blogger, a fashionista, a business owner and a web socialite rooted in graphic design. Her blog, www.nubbytwiglet.com, features bits and pieces of art, fashion, design and business on a day to day basis. She has a striking appeal that clearly exists in all of her work, mostly defined by a limited color pallette of black, white and red. In her case however, I would fondly use the term "limitations," they have branded her identity and allowed her work to stick out...while really never knowing what to expect. Her style of work is constantly evolving and the piece I am looking at this week is her latest personal identity branding, the means by which she sells her self and her work in a concise, Nubby style.

Pictured is her business card, letterhead, cover sheet, invoice, portfolio (on cd) and mailers. The stark white on black balanced by black on white text, curvature in design elements and logo are all positive reinforcements of her overall identity. It is extremely important for one's look to appear succinct as this emphasizes the impact of a design personality. Her use of color, balance and harshness of lines coupled with the delicate use of lines provide the information necessary in a matter of fact yet savory manner. None of the pieces in this identity package appear out of place while simultaneously, no two pieces are alike. She uses subtle changes in design to create a distinct look for each piece but keeps the overall look within certain design standards. It is present from quality of her work to the appearance of her blog that design for her is thoughtful and present everywhere. Her work, both fine art and commercial, is absolutely stunning.

It is a special thanks.

Composite made in Photoshop, super*duper thanks to Mr. Singh for sitting in our class and providing extra insight during our critique!

It is a simple advertisement.

Against Abuse Inc - More than 300,000 children are sexually abused in Germany every year.

This advertisement is a true testament to the concept of simplicity being extremely effective. Using only black and white or negative and positive space, the message is delivered without the use of much text. The small writing at the bottom delivers the information, which is necessary for understanding what this graphic represents. However, without even knowing what the text says the graphic alone is effective in grabbing the audience’s eye. Due to it’s alarming nature coupled with the use of such a strong, striking color scheme, the audience is undoubtedly drawn to the graphic.
By creating an image out of space and color it might not even be that the whole image is seen at first, but rather just the black hand or white legs, followed by it’s compliment to make up the whole image. I believe it is even more effective that the shapes do not take up the whole space but rather subtly rest on the top half of the page. Even the choice of font used at the bottom doesn’t provide a sense of urgency or competition with the graphic, it is inconspicuous yet factual and provides the audience just with the necessary information, no frills. I found this advertisement to be extremely effective on many levels, but most importantly from a design perspective in that less can convincingly be more.

It is a label.

It is an art show!

I tweaked one of my four final logo designs to come up with a new variation that is seen in my newspaper 'Art Show' advertisement:

Reworked advertisement for better newsprint publication:

Final, revised advertisement after class critique:

My revisions included setting a uniform, sans serif font for the informational text and rearranging the objects for better flow. I think this updated version, which does not include unnecessary objects, overall works better.