Coastal Community Logo

Sorry this post is late. I had dance rehearsals all day because I'm part of the opening act for a T-pain concert tomorrow here in Nanaimo. I'm home and fed now though, so here I am updating this blog :)




This logo appeared on a letter on my doorstep a couple days ago. I thought it would be a fun one to look at. I used to go to this bank when I was younger but I have since switched to RBC. However, I think the Coastal Community Credit Union has a very nice and clean logo. The word 'coastal' is implied by the little icon above the wording consisting of a very stylized sun, mountain and ocean. This simplicity allows for easy recognition of the scene.

"Coastal Community", just under this icon, is in a nice serif font that adds a bit of a classy, professional feel to this logo. Whereas the 'Credit Union" underneath, being in all caps and in a clean sans serif font allows for easy reading and understanding. They do not want the viewer to get lost in the name of the bank and misunderstand its meaning and therefore use the simple yet bold "credit union" to complete the thought in the viewers mind. The increased kerning between the letters allows for a balance in the logo. This is due to it enabling the text to be read as equally white values despite the fonts different styles. Finally, the logo can work in both black and white and colour. In this case, colour was used and well. The blue colour really can, and usually does, remind a viewer of the sea, and a calm, collected, responsible environment. The designer killed two birds with one stone on this one and portrayed the banks name as well as goal.

Overall, a nice piece of design I think.

Japanese Candy Boxes

I stopped by Man Lee's yesterday, which is an Asian food store at Terminal Park (there's another one by the woodgrove area). It carries a lot of interesting candies and I thought I'd compare these two that I bought to some of our better known candy :) I think one of the most interesting differences is flavor and variety. In Canada, things like Kit-Kat have flavors like dark, crunchy, white... and I think thats about it. In Japan, Kit-Kat could get a world record for flavors, some of the ones I've had include ramune, rose, green tea, apple, royal milk tea, sakura, sakura green tea, melon, gingerale etc. (http://inventorspot.com/articles/japan_kit_kat_chocolate_bars_5324) (http://www.weirdasianews.com/2010/03/18/japans-strangest-kit-kat-flavors/) Besides Kit-Kat, many Japanese candies or chocolate bars come out with different flavors depending on the season and change by the year. If you miss one, you may never try it. This, in itself, is one of the best advertising schemes sadly underused in our culture.



For those who were unsure, this is PUMPKIN pocky. I had never tried it before, and who knows if I will again, but it was actually really good, surprisingly. About the package, I thought it definitely did the concept of pumpkin pocky justice. By using bold orange and green colors and the small pumpkins nestled by the corner of the label, it made it obvious what the flavor was. Pocky itself has a very distinctive logo, the baseline of the text following a subtle curve. I think it's important to note the inside wrapping of the pocky package. Unlike Canadian candy, the Japanese put a lot of effort on the appeal of the entire product and by not making the inside package silver it actually increases the experience. Floating pumpkins on a yellow ground really makes one think of autumn :) The little character of course appeals to the Japanese demographic specifically and probably would not be as effective in our culture.












This candy is called "Gummy Choco" (グミチョコ). It is small gummies encased in chocolate and, of course, you can get different flavors. The one pictured here is peach. The cases look fairly similar even if the flavor is changed. Obviously the fruits in the gummy changes along with the colour scheme, but that's usually it. If you buy strawberry however, the case can have Hello Kitty images. The cases themselves are cute and convenient (easy to open). Again, the little characters probably say more about the Japanese culture than ours ;) I especially like the little bit of squiggly writing to the right of the title (translation: From inside the chocolate comes punyo punyo gummies!). I think it adds to the fun of the design. Even the little character to the right of this saying is well placed, as it looks like he/she said it. The package overall is clear enough that there is no doubt left in a consumers mind as to what it is.

Harbour Air

After years and years of looking at this sign without a second glance, it somehow jumped out at me. I think it's because the "Charters and Cruises" font bothers me now. The handwriting font may look nice, but it really doesn't read well. Not to mention the stroke around the letter forms. It's harder to see but there is also a stroke around "Harbourside Adventures". I'm not sure why the designer thought it was necessary but I believe this sign would look fine, if not better, without it.
The best part of this sign is the dark blue strip along the bottom. It's simple and gets the message across very clearly. The use of the simple font and the icon on the right hand side help to make the clarity. I also like the shape of the design, it feels modern and friendly. I also really like that it is see-through, although I'm not sure that was the designer's choice or not.
Overall, its a nice design, despite the fact that some things bother me :)

The Crystal Goblet

Our task this week was to read an article called "The Crystal Goblet" by Beatrice Warde. In this article she discusses the importance of readable typography. She compares good typography to a crystal goblet and bad typography to a gold, jewel encrusted goblet. When it comes to book design, she believes type should only enhance the need to read the message and not be a distraction. However, this also means she disapproves of expressive type.

I think I am of two minds when it comes to this typographical argument.

I believe that yes, type can and should, in the right circumstances, be used as an expression filled element. However, I also believe there are times when this would only distract from the message. If one is advertising a high school dance or a children book it might be appropriate to use type in a fun way, however, if one was printing a brochure on the importance of not drinking and driving it may not be as appropriate. As a graphic designer, I believe it is important to know when and how to use type correctly. This will largely depend on the project at hand and the expectations of the client. In the case of most novels, I believe Beatrice has really hit the mark on its requirements. This is because, really truly, would anyone want to try to read a 500 page book set in Zapfino or Curlz MT, regardless of the content?

For my design I tried to convey my views. The headline was used to create contrast and interest in the composition. Being bold and a point of emphasis, I thought it was appropriate to use a more expressive type. However, on the body copy, I resolutely decided that this type of article called for a clear, concise presentation. Therefore, I focused on getting the quote's message across.

Hi Helvetica....

So there's this font called Helvetica...
.... and it's everywhere.




I thought I'd search for the said font on our home front. And, as I drive to school, one of the first things I noticed was the 'Pay Parking' sign in our lot. I think in the case of this sign, Helvetica actually works beautifully. There's nothing more neutral and uninteresting, albeit important, than a pay parking sign.
All genders, races and ages come to the VIU parking lot for either school or various events. This means it is important to appeal to everyone and yet no one, which seems to be exactly what Helvetica accomplishes here. It is also easily readable from a distance, which is another important aspect of this sign. The audience needs to clearly be able to identify the message from as close or as far away as they park. A simple bold font works best in this situation - all of which Helvetica is.
The actual Helvetica used was Helvetica Condensed Black, as we can tell from the shape of the "G". In regular Helvetica, it is more of a distinct circular shape.
It's interesting how much typography is ruining how I look at everything advertising. Has anyone else noticed seeing signs and thinking 'that kerning is awful...' or 'oh, they used Helvetica...'?