For my design blitz, I decided to focus on the seemingly mundane designs we interact with every day, the kinds of designs we take for granted. As we learn about the principles and characteristics of design, I think we should become more aware of its impact on our daily lives. After all, aren’t all the objects in our material world designed at least with some purpose in mind? I’d like to think that an assignment like this helped me push myself to analyze more of my surroundings and look around a little on the day-to-day.
The first example is this T-shirt I found at the mall. Now, this isn’t an inherently bad design. There is a keen sense of balance; the characters are symmetrically aligned on the T-shirt, which acts as a plane for the composition to inhabit. The choice of fonts is not overtly offensive, and the color palette creates a sense of unity within the whole. However, what makes little to no sense at all is the choice of symbol and the resulting impact it has on the message of the design. Even without knowing what the logo is, you know it’s standing in for the “heart” that would usually be in the phrase. However, the choice of this logo not only obscures the meaning of the phrase but also discredits the design entirely. The yellow bird icon represents the legendary Staten Island hip hop group, Wu-Tang Clan. While the group was neutral in the east-west feud of the late 1990s, their inclusion makes zero sense here. Ultimately, just like many clothing designs, this only exists to capitalize on the pop culture notoriety of the two subjects: the city of LA and Wu-Tang, while ignoring the lack of any connection between the two. In short, we can assume the designer had little clarity in their purpose and knew relatively little of the subject matter.
Next, we have this poster advertising the UMW Theatre production of Hand to God (which you should totally go see this weekend). This is a great design. For one, it has clarity of function and messaging: it advertises tickets to see the show. This informs the placement of the QR code as well as other information, as an easy way to access the product. What I like most about this design is the hierarchy at play in the typography. Of course, the title is most important, dominant in bold, deep red, and the other fonts seem scrawled on, hinting at the play’s premise: a puppet gains sentience. The tagline perfectly summarizes what to expect from the show, and dares the reader to see it for themselves with the “YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.” The loose-leaf patterning on the back is also a genius touch of detail and adds a sense of rhythm to the design from top to bottom. Overall, a very intelligent design!
Finally, bringing it all together, we have the Olive Garden menu. Looking at this is almost like taking a step into the average American’s idea of true cuisine. The most important characteristic here is unity. As much as someone more informed about graphic design would dunk on this menu, everything does fit together: the color of the background and the dishes, the typography, and the placement of the items. All are clearly positioned in relation to one another. It definitely has a lot less going on than most other menus, but it is functional and clear.