Inspiration is something that all designers use when coming up with new ideas and designs. Seeing someone else’s perspective, can really get YOUR mind pumping with new ideas and make your overall final product much stronger. I love seeing things in magazines or on billboards and collecting those images to provide me with inspiration as necessary.

Over the holidays, I was staying in Nashville, TN at a Sheraton hotel, and noticed some of their fine promotional products. I of course captured an image to keep around for future inspiration, but I thought I would share it on here. They literally had a designer come in and create everything from their note paper to their door hangers. And these were not your traditional items you see in a normal hotel. These items had style, class, and used the Gestalt principle of similarity to interconnect as a set. This reminds me a lot of the high quality and classy design work I hope to create in the future. Props to these designers!

The final product is always the fun part for a graphic designer. To see all your hard work pay off certainly gives a sense of accomplishment and motivation. To the left, you can see my final products for my business card and letterhead with my new logo. Of course being a designer, I am sure I will want to tweak and change my logo again in the future, but for now, I am quite pleased.

As a graphic artist, design is on my mind a lot. Whether I am driving in the car, reading a magazine, or eating at a restaurant, I am always noticing ideas that could lead to inspiration for new designs.

Well it seems that some of those inspirational ideas have paid off. I had felt that my previous logo didn’t express me as a designer quite as much as I would have liked. It was a neat idea, but it had a very industrial feel to it. I came home today, and all of a sudden, voilà – new logo ideas!  The new logo I created gives a very, well, creative feel to it. Its artsy, girly, and much more me. I am quite pleased with it and hope that represents me as an artist for years to come!

Its not a surprise that companies like Pepsi and Coke which have been around since the late 1800’s sometimes feel the need to update their corporate identities. But the question remains, are these updates always needed? Do companies need to redo their entire identities to please customers?

Coca-Cola has had a consistent logo throughout the years. Once in awhile they will make small changes that stick very closely to the original design. Many feel (including me) that Coca-Cola is a true example of a timeless classic brand that is ultimately more effective than the Pepsi logo. Pepsi seems to be marketing itself as a kind of perpetual fad, always new, always exciting. Unfortunately in my opinion, they have been unable to obtain that classic feel that everyone recognizes as Coca-Cola. Instead, they launch mediocre logos constantly. For example, their latest logo has a minor change that adds nothing to their branding.

Making unnecessary changes is a waste of time. A designer’s job is to create a recognizable logo that will be able to promote the company for years to come.

Which do you perfer….Pepsi or Coke?

As a graphic designer, who wouldn’t want to receive these messages in their fortune cookies? I suppose they could apply to various other job genres as well, but I like to think that these fortunes were meant for me.

I was browsing the web just now and I came across this article on Logo Design Blog called How to use color in logo design to effectively communicate the right message.  Many people don’t realize this, but color can make or break a design. Color can be used as a tool to communicate as well as evoke emotion. Using the proper colors in design is an important skill to learn as an artist. Perhaps you want to create a feminine feel for a particular design. Although cliche, pink evokes femininity, innocence, softness and health. Take for instance the breast cancer logo below; a pink ribbon meant to imply femininity and health.

Its fairly common for companies to feel that its time for a corporate identity update. Whether it be a fresh new look, or something more modern, even the most famous companies who have world wide recognition of their branding, sometimes feel the need for some updates. However, the end result can be awesome, or a complete disaster. 25 Exciting Redesigned Logos Of 2008 is a look into famous corporate identities that have been around for years, but recently decided to try something new. Be sure to check the article out. Which redesigns are awesome, and which are a disaster?

As a designer, inspiration is key to coming with unique and creative ideas. Why not get inspired daily by adding some creativity to your workspace? 25 Creative Office Ideas To Make Your Workplace Look REALLY Cool shows some of the most creative office tools and gadgets that designers could come up with. My personal favorite, the delete key eraser, is below. Be sure to check out the link above for more fun and inspirational ideas!

Designers are always in need of stock photos. While I was in class yesterday, my professor directed us towards this amazing website called stock.xchng. Stock.xchng carries FREE royalty photos for commercial and personal use! These photos aren’t like the ones that you find on Google images which may be low resolution or even copyrighted. You can actually find a wide variety of high resolution images that are free to download! The idea is to exchange photographs between people who need them and people who are creating them which gives many an alternative to the expense of stock photography. You can browse the photos as much as you like, and if you find a photo you’d like to download, all you need is a free account.