Research (artist work critique, artist research) - Max O’Brien's NFL Logo Redesign

Max O'Brien, Victoria University Wellington student (Graduated Bachelor's in Design Innovation, class of 2012), set out to redesign the logos of all the teams in the United States National Football League.

The 5 month project taught him a great deal - technique, workflow, design principles, visual cohesion, thematic imagery, process, etc.

It started from procrastination. He designed a few logos and posted them online - and got responses. Some wanted to see their favourite team's logo as designed by him.  It was about improving his hobby. This is how I should view my own work at the moment: as a hobby. Envisioning it as a big professional job is putting too much pressure and gets in the way of playing and learning.

Talk about denver broncos and O'Brien's idea of a 'successful redesign'
Look at the Patriots logo and questioning the use of the Confederate Flag
Look at Ravens misleading silhouette
Bengals very un-tiger-like-swirl
And some positives



Baltimore Ravens

Original 

 

O'Brien's Redesign 

 

O'Brien's aim - try make more scary, try to put some subtlety in the place of that big overly obvious 'B'.

Negatives:

The issue with the redesign is that the silhouette is far too misleading - it could be seen as a creature facing either right or left. No clear indication that it's a raven, and this is only made worse by the very low contrast. 

Original image's silhouette doesn't look particularly raven-like either, but the beak (made prominent by contrasting light value) makes it quite clear what we're looking at.

The strange in-and-out at the back of O'Brien's raven head is a major cause of visual confusion, as is the cut-in just below the beak - are we looking at a bird with it's mouth open, or is the mass below the beak simply the bird's chest?

Original - great sense of left-to-right speed created, and bulky, rounded beak gives a sense of physical robustness. O'Brien's raven loses that clear sense of directional motion, and the beak is thin and more pointed - a pecking beak rather than a battering beak - doesn't quite match the idea of a NFL player charging the enemy team's line to beat his way through.

Purple background and high-value yellow outline only serves to emphasise O'Brien's dodgy silhouette.

Original has 3 seperate focal points - the letter B, the eye, and the beak. And lines of motion lead us loosely from one to the other. Lack of tonal and colour contrast means O'Brien's image has only one clearly defined focal point (the eye) with the spike at the back being a prominent focal point as well as the beak. Beyond the red eye there is very little visual hierarchy.

Positives:

O'Brien's is much darker and more menacing. Creates a more frightening presence than the original, which I imagine could be a good morale choice.

Neutral Notes:

O'Brien's depiction seems to echo the more occult and omenistic view of the Raven, while the original is a bit more cartooned, a bit more friendly. 

What is the 'culture' surrounding the NFL - would it be better to have a slightly more playful logo to encourage community and family involvement?

Cincinnati Bengals

Original logos

 O'Brien's Redesign

Positives: 
Pleasing spiral pattern, if the aim is to create a playful family-friendly (celebratory) logo that has some 'bite' and aggressiveness, then this is well done.

Limited colour pallete (3 + black + white) facilitates easier printing, but could be simplified further (removal of shading on back)

'C' form created by tiger for Cincinnati calls back to team name and heritage

The face passes the squint test, and the bold tiger patterns definitely help the initial read. The detailing in the cheek though does still confuse the eye a little too much.



Negatives:
The curled tail doesn't fit with the idea of a fast, powerful, bulky and dangerous tiger, if the aim is to create a logo that exhudes strength.

Feel like the amount of detail throughout leaves the eye somewhat too distracted and removes focus from the front-face region of the tiger - we're drawn more to the beard region in the center of the spiral.

Is this also an effect of the spiral form itself, that we find our eye pushed inwards to where we estimate the center of the spiral to be?

What if the heavy line weight that we have on the back was shifted to the front of the face? Could perhaps impede sense of forward motion, but would maybe draw eye better.

Project Planning - Brief (Revised, 15/9/13)

Realised and solved some large problems with stress and motivation.
Found I was pushing myself to achieve too much in an already very stressful period of education. This had resulted in a complete lack of motivation to do any work and a complete lack of enjoyment. 

Removed my own personal goals of developing my design skills and figuring out whether or not I enjoyed working in this context and decided to focus purely on getting the designs completed to the best of my current ability. The 'personal aim' section of the brief has been removed. Stress alleviated. 

I've also altered the brief to clarify how cl

Outcome - Final Brief:

Generate designs in a caricatured realism aesthetic that assist the translation of Terry Pratchett's comedy-fantasy novel Jingo into the fantasy live-action film genre. The target audience are fantasy and science fiction fans with an appreciation for humorous wordplay and the exploration and appropriation of cultural tropes through comedy. The designs produced will define some of the key locations, props and characters seen in Jingo, with a focus on those that are central to the plot. As this is an adaptation, the designs will stay true to Pratchett's original tone and characterisations but there is some leeway in terms of aesthetic and functional design. The guidelines for any deviations or alterations to the descriptions that exist in the original text woudl normally be laid down by a client or art director. I am defining the guideline as 'if it doesn't have significant implications to the plot, it is allowed'. The primary focus is on the novel Jingo, so absolute accuracy in relation to other Discworld novels is not essential.

Design - The Dis-Organiser (Research, preparation)

 The Dis-Organiser is the Discworld equivalent of a PDA or electronic diary. It essentially consists of a tiny imp living in a box that the owner can carry in their pocket.

Plan;

1. Gather descriptions of the object to be designed from the source text.
2. Compile a list of adjectives and determine what the design needs to communicate.
3. Gather references based on these needs and start to think how these references could inspire designs.
4. Do some quick brainstorming to consider ways in which the qualities could be communicated, through both actual real-world cultural components/objects and also through visual design language.
5. Define the things to try to capture in the design.
6. Draw thumbnails.
7. Select some distinct thumbnails that serve to communicate the requirements of the design for further refinement.

1. Written Descriptions

From 'Jingo'


'Bingeley–bingeley beep!' said a cheerful voice from his pocket.
'Damn!' said Vimes, but it was too late.
'It is,' said the voice, which had the squeaky friendly quality that begs to be

strangled, 'about... nineish.'
'Nineish?'
'Yep. Nineish. Precisely about nineish.'
Vimes rolled his eyes. 'Precisely about nineish?' he said, pulling a small box

out of his pocket and opening the lid. The demon inside gave him an angry look.

'Yesterday you said,' it said, 'that if I, and I quote, Didn't Stop all that Eight Fifty–Six and Six Seconds Precisely business I Would Be Looking at a Hammer From Below. And when I said, Mr Insert Name Here, that this would invalidate my warranty, you said that I could take my warranty and–'

'I thought you'd lost that thing,' said Carrot.

'Hah,' said the Dis–organizer, 'really? You thought he did? I don't call putting something in your trouser pockets just before they go into the wash losing it.'

'That was an accident,' muttered Vimes.

'Oh? Oh? And dropping me in the dragon's feeding bowl, that was accidental too, was it?' The demon mumbled to itself for a moment and then said, 'Anyway, do you want to know your appointments for this evening?'

Vimes looked at the smouldering wreckage of the embassy.
'Do tell,' he said.
'You don't have any,' said the demon sulkily. 'You haven't told me any.' 'You see?' said Vimes. 'That's what drives me lived! Why should I have to

tell you? Why didn't you tell me, ' 'Eightish: break up riot at Mundane Meals and stop Detritus shooting people," eh?'

'You didn't tell me to tell you!'

'I didn't know! And that's how real life works! How can I tell you to warn me about things that no–one knows are going to happen? If you were any good, that'd be your job!'

'He writes in the manual,' said the demon nastily. 'Did you know that, everybody? He writes in the manual.'

'Well, of course I make notes–'

'He's actually sneakily trying to keep his diary in the manual so his wife won't find out he's never bothered to learn how to use me,' said the demon.

'What about the Vimes manual, then?' snapped Vimes. 'I notice you've never bothered to learn how to use me!'

The demon hesitated. 'Humans come with a manual?' it said.
'It'd be a damn good idea!' said Vimes.
'True,' murmured Angua.
'It could say things like "Chapter One: Bingeley–bingeley beep and other

damn fool things to spring on people at six in the morning," ' said Vimes, his eyes wild. 'And "Toubleshooting: my owner keeps trying to drop me in the privy, what am I doing wrong?" And–'  

One of the universal rules of happiness is: always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.

It cost Sybil three hundred dollars

and it can't even keep track of where I am.'

'Er... beep... error code 746, divergent temporal instability...'

'I am the Dis–organizer Mk II, with many handy hard–touse features,
Insert Name Here!'

'Er... I can maintain an up–to–the–minute contacts directory...' The Dis–

organizer felt movements that suggested the new owner had mounted a horse.


From Pratchett's 'The Truth'

'Congratulations!' said the imp. 'Warranty not applicable if said device is sold, hired, 
transferred, gifted or stolen unless in original packaging and extraneous materials which by then 
you will have thrown away and Part Two of the warranty card which you have lost has been 
filled in and sent to Thttv ggj, thhtfjhsssjk the Scors and quoting 
 the reference number which you did not in fact make a note of. DO yOU W3nt Hie tO 
WipC the 
 contents of my memory?' It produced a cotton-wool bud and prepared to insert it into one 
very large ear. 'Erase Memory Y,'N?' 
 'Your . . . memory . . . ?' 
 'Yes. Erase Memory Y,'N?' 
 'N!' said William. 'And now tell me what exactly it is you are remembering,' he added. 
273 
 'You have to press the Recall button,' said the imp impatiently. 
 'And that will do what?' 
 'A small hammer hits me on the head and I look to see what button you pressed.' 
 'Why don't you just, well, recall?' 
 'Look, I don't make the rules. You've got to press the button. It's in the manual--'

From Wikipedia:

There are several different "generations" of Dis-Organiser, which were probably based on the imp-powered watches; the watches themselves fell out of fashion once people decided clockwork was more reliable. All of them have a relentless enthusiasm that distinguishes them from "single function" imps; they want to show off all their abilities, all the time.
The basic Mark I is an imp, in a box, that (theoretically) remembers your diary and memos. It can also recognise handwriting (a reference to the Apple Newton) but can't understand it; it also claims to be able to tell you what the time is in Klatch, but obviously this is not very useful as they are made in Ankh Morpork, and don't know what time it is anywhere else. It can use precognition to find out what your appointments are before you do, but this may lead to it following a different timeline, which can be disturbing ("...beep... Things To Do Today: Die..."). The Mark II is similar, but also has the ability to change colour, knows several different alarm calls, and can memorise an entire conversation (running its memory backwards to recall it). The Mark V, also known as "The Gooseberry" (a play on the BlackBerry) can deliver messages through Bluenose (cf. Bluetooth), which involves running extremely fast down to the nearest clacks tower, as well as play games and whistle songs through iHUM (cf. iTunes). It can also, unlike the Mark I, read, and its most useful function (to Commander Vimes, at least) is an ability to sort through large amounts of paperwork quickly—Vimes eventually lets it out of its box and employs it as his unofficial secretary.
The name Dis-Organiser is both an obvious pun, and a play on "Dis", the name given to the city in the center of Hell in Dante's Divine Comedy^{[citation needed]}. In The Art of Discworld the Mark I and Mark II are drawn to resemble the Series 1 and Series 3 Psion organisers.

Imps are tiny demons that perform minor tasks rapidly. A number of Discworld labour-saving devices exist which function by trapping small imps (it is implied that they are made using magic, and in Making Money they are described as a "living spell", but small 'wild' demons have also been used). The most notable is the iconograph, but others include watches (The Colour of Magic, Reaper Man, Thief of Time), food processors (Nanny Ogg's Cookbook), razors (Thud!) and personal "dis-organisers" (Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Truth, Thud!).

The imps in these devices seem not to mind their jobs, although they get sarcastic if overworked or asked to do things outside their purview. They also seem to lack imagination making them (theoretically) more reliable to do things correctly.

2. Relevant Extracted Information

The Mark II as seen in 'Jingo'
An 'imp powered device'
Imps - living spells/small 'wild' demons
Box with a lid
Can see into future to book appointments
Temporally unstable - trouser legs of time 
Analogue of contemporary software-based diaries
Price - $300
Manual heavier than DisOrganiser
Show-off
Recognise handwriting
Time-keeper
Change colour
Variety of alarm calls
Memorise conversations
Registration card - defaults to 'Insert Name Here'
Uses a large ear-bud (ear cleaner) to reset memory
A 'recall' button on the box hits imp on head with hammer and he looks to see what the last button pressed was.
Turns out there are buttons


Important adjectives to look for in ref. hunting - things we want to portray:

• Intelligent
• Annoying
• Memory
• Future-seeing
• Expensive
• Buttons
• Small/Pocket-sized
• Imp Inside

3. Collected References:
Sourced on Pinterest, click here to view

Note: Here I introduced a new way of using pinterest - adding my own thoughts regarding the reference image in the description of the image. Denoted from regular image information/captions by the use of [square brackets around my added thoughts]

4. Brainstorming and general written Ideas
How the adjectives could potentially be communicated (a question mark denotes something that may not be appropriate in this particular instance):

Cultural components that might communicate some of these things

• Expensive - elaborate carving or metalwork, valuable materials, ornate, clean and tidy, delicate(?), jewelry box
• Handwriting recognition - imp gets out to see what's written on paper, user writes on carts and feeds into slot, user writes on roll of paper attached to box, user writes on glass pane which imp reads backwards
• External shape - opens like a diary/book, matchbox, cube, large air vents like cat box, buttons on outside, pocket-sized,
• Annoying - big speaker/grammaphone on outside, big bell, vuvuzela
• Communication between imp and owner -  external screen made of cards/paint on glass/etc, speakers, microphone, vent, window, hatch that opens, slot, 
• Style - Japanese/Agaten influence, medieval influence, mixture, Japonism (Art Nouveauish)
• Memory  - said to be imp-based (i.e., the imp's brain holds the thoughts) but we could alter this, add-on by inserting little stacks of paper or memory cartridges
• Future-seeing - crystal ball, magic cards, tea,

Visual language that might communicate some of these things

• Intelligent - grids, lines, numbers, buttons, rectancular forms, rounded rectangles
• Annoying - 
• Memory/recording - book forms, computer memory, lists, tapes
• Expensive - elaborate forms, flowing lines, fancy trim,
• Small/Pobcket-sized - large protrusions in comparison to actual box, chunky detail
• Contains imp - vents, lines/grids/grates, hatches, door shapes, window shapes, house-like forms, vehicle forms, office cubicle 

5. What do we want to communicate with the design?

 

• Annoying - KEY attribute
• Complex
• Intelligent
• Has memory
• Expensive
• Small/Pocket-sized
• Contains an imp
• Functional/Practical 

What could we also think about communicating (lower priority)?

• Ability to see into future

Roadblock - how do we pick which designs to continue on with?

How do we define which visual aspects to focus on most?
I need a clear way to set rules. Do I do this arbitrarily and create a mock-brief, or do I find or devise some sort of process to figure out what should be set in stone and what should be explored creatively?

Richard's Advice: Use the description as written in the book to lay down the rules. Refer back to the description.

I reckon it could be useful to look through references and pick out the aspects of each of them that give them the qualities they have - what makes it look expensive, what makes it look intelligent, what makes it look annoying, small, functional or practical, complex? 

Perhaps do sketches to begin to bring these into visual library if time allows - as per Matt Kohr's suggestion.

What if instead of trying to capture EVERYTHING in a single design, I play up and play down different aspects in each design?

What if I thought about what the core essence of the object is and worked with that? The core essence here is that it's a medieval/magic businessman-style organiser.



 

Project Planning - The Brief - Revised (Aug 20)

Changed direction several weeks ago, removed the idea of doing a sci-fi translation, narrowed focus, removed unnecessary things that would have obstructed learning and the final outcome. Finally found time to revise the brief as seen below.

Outcome -  Brief:

Generate designs in a caricatured realism aesthetic that assist the translation of Terry Pratchett's comedy-fantasy novel Jingo into the fantasy live-action film genre. The target audience are fantasy and science fiction fans with an appreciation for humorous wordplay and the exploration and appropriation of cultural tropes through comedy. The designs produced will define some of the key locations, props and characters seen in Jingo, with a focus on those that are central to the plot. As this is an adaptation, the designs will stay somewhat true to Pratchett's original tone and characterisations but there is some leeway in terms of artistic license. The focus is on the novel Jingo, so absolute accuracy in relation to other Discworld novels is not essential.

Personal Aim:
To develop design skills. The exact contextual function of the concept artist is not priority.

Misc thoughts:

brief makes design process more exciting - builds motivation to start working

Research (design analysis, critique) - Vehicles and Jugs

Jug

Looking at the motion of the eye while looking at the following pitcher created by Sam Scott (as seen here)

I feel as though we'd start by looking at point 1 - the part we need to touch in order to interact with it. It's the primary place we need to go to use this functional object.

Our eye could then go up or down the handle. The handle itself creates an inverted teardrop, the point of which would lead us down to the base of the jug. 

The dark base keeps our eye within the form, and we follow it around. The eye may travel up the stalks of grass, meeting the flowers. Or it may follow around and travel up the right edge of the form. 

The stalks of grass as well as the stamen of the flowers ultimately point us to the top of the jug, where it's function is located - it's where the water comes out. The warmth of this point in comparison to the generally cool grass and flowers creates some contrast.

We may also start our journey at the top, where the brightest warm colours are, then follow the grass or handle down to the base, then back up through the unused path, through the jug and to the top again.

The diagonal blades of grass also lead us around the form, pointing us towards certain elements (the flower on the right side) and inviting us to move around to view it.

Visual balance:

Large visual weight at the front, where the water comes out of the pitcher draws our eye (large dark area, more complex, visually interesting form, real-world importance/function) and this is balanced by the likewise large, dark, functional handle.

Experimenting with removing the flower nearest us and seeing what that does to the visual balance.

The weight has shifted slightly towards the front of the pitcher. The eye is now drawn more clearly to the front, so the act of tipping feels more imminent. Overall visual weight decreased - object feels less heavy on the page, less robust.

By Linda McFarling. Rob Flye notes that here the emphasis of the design is on the curvature of the sides of the jug, and this is emphasised by the black line that follows the form.

Vehicle

Looking at vehicles and examining how the design principles have been used.

Daytime viewing

• More detail and contrast near the front

http://www.bugatti.com/en/veyron/design.html

Research (design theory) - Design Elements and Principles 2 by Rob Flye

Taking the list of fundamental design elements and principles from the following websites:

Natomas High School Design Department, Graphic Design - Elements and Principles of Visual Design (information seems somewhat less accurate and often oversimplified)

The website of Inglemoor High School's art  teacher, Rob Flye (info seems more thoughtful and well reasoned)

And combining them with those written by Matt Kohr in his video series that we looked at previously in order to create a somewhat concise list.

Elements of design - the ingredients we use seperately or combined to create art. "Their use produces the visual language of art".

• Line - 
• Shape - 2D shape on canvas 
• Form - 3D form depicted
• Value - 
• Color - 
• Texture - simulated (purely visual) or actual (tactile) texture on a work of art
• Space - 

Principles of Design - concepts that determine how we use the elements in a composition

• Balance
• Rhythm
• Pattern
• Scale
• Movement
• Contrast
• Emphasis
• Unity

Line can be created

• explicit (an actual distinct line) 
• implied (by the edge of a form)

Line can be used to 

• Outline (diagrammatic, contours)
• Shade and show form (hatching, cross hatching, structural lines)
• Decorate 
• Express emotion
• Direct viewer's eye

Lines can be

• Horizontal
• Vertical
• Diagonal
• Curved
• Zigzag

Lines can look

• A constant thickness - descriptive, analytical, objective, showing little of the action used to create them
• Varied in thickness - flowing, calligraphic, lyrical, showing something of the gesture used to make them

Expressive, gestural lines how force, speed, emotion of their making. Swoop, slash, scar, skip, skid, stutter, whisper across the surface. More confident lines that build up as artist attempts to capture the subject can display character, process of imagination, interest.

Shape is the term used to talk about 2D shapes on a plane rather than 3D forms.

Shapes are enclosed spaces that are defined by line or by contrast to surroundings.

Shapes can be

• Geometric
• Organic

Form is the term used to talk about 3D shapes - defined volumes in space.

Forms can be

• Geometric
• Organic

Space is the term used to talk about 

• the distance around an element or between multiple elements
• the illusion of depth created on the picture plane

Space between elements can emphasise the distance between the elements - used often in film to show emotional separation between two characters.

As space between elements decreases, the space between them more distinctly defined, emphasising the shape/volume of the space, which can create interest. Visual tension builds as they come close to touching. Can be more interesting than if they do contact.

Don't quite understand this bit - further research.

Regarding space and the frame

• An object's gaze or motion - if towards a nearby frame edge can draw attention to interaction between object and frame. Gazing or moving off the frame.
• Above can be used to draw attention to what is outside the frame
• As can external elements reaching into frame - can imply a wider world
• But obviously also potential to lead the eye out of the frame compositionally 

Positive and Negative Space

• Positive space is the subject or areas of detail or physical mass of the art
• Negative space is the area around these bits, the background or space around the art.
• Also known as figure and ground
• A figure-ground reversal is when a light figure is on a dark ground - subverts the norm of having dark figure on light ground.

Perspective and Depth

• Overlapping objects - order of distance from viewer shown by overlapping objects with other objects
• Size - relative sizes of objects - mountains vs trees, etc - to create depth
• Level of detail/focus - percieve less detail on distant objects. Detail closer to us can sometimes help create depth
• Atmospheric Perspective - levels of contrast increase when closer
• Color - GENERALLY, warm colours appear nearer, cool colours appear more distant
• Linear and Curvilinear Perspective - 1, 2, 3 pt = linear, 4, 5, 6 pt = curvelinear, fisheye

Balance is the distribution of interest or visual weight throughout a work.

• If all visual weight in one place and off-center, then work is off balance
• also viewer's gaze stuck in one spot, ignoring the rest of the image
• A balanced image will have art elements arranged so that different areas draw the eye around the piece
• 3D work has both visual balance and physical balance of mass. The presence of one doesn't guarantee the other.

Symmertric/Formal Balance

• When one side of the piece mirrors the other side to create an evenly balanced and symmetrical image
• Less dynamic than asymmetry
• More stable and orderly than asymmetry

A scale between symmetry and asymmetry. Near-symmetry occurs in nature and often in art, where it's not exactly symmetrical - there are small differences to create more visual interest, liveliness and less rigidity.

Larger yet balanced differences create:

Asymmetric/Informal Balance

• A heavy weight can be balanced by several lighter weights, or one lighter weight far from the fulcrum

The page lists the following balances

• A large common shape balanced by a small irregular one
• A dominant element of dull colour balanced by a patch of something bright (saturated?)
• A small area of texture/detail might balacne a larger smoother area or less varied area

Don't quite understand these exactly - look at research on visual weight

Radial Balance

• Parts distributed evenly in a radial manner around the centrepoint

Further links on negative space

http://nightmaremode.net/2012/12/what-can-we-consider-negative-space-in-games-23874/

http://designmodo.com/negative-space/

Further links on design principles

http://www1.coe.neu.edu/~yilin/IE7315_2010/Paper%20Review%20Schedule/Design%20aesthetics%20principles%20of%20pleasure%20in%20design.pdf

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Research [to-do] (design theory) - Valve's Guide for Dota 2 Character Design

http://media.steampowered.com/apps/dota2/workshop/Dota2CharacterArtGuide.pdf