Comic Sans

So I did Comic Sans because I know you (Amy) absolutely have comic sans. So I decided to dig in a little deeper and see the origins and the creator of Comic Sans.



Comic Sans was created by the guy above, Vincent Connare. Connare is an American font designer where he studied at New York Institute of Technology and then his masters degree in type design at the University of Reading. Connare is responsible for Comic Sans and the Trechuchet MS font which you can find on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS as a pre-installed type font.

Comic Sans was released in 1994 by the Microsoft Corporation. Comic Sans is classified as a casual, non-connecting script, and was designed to intimate the historical look of the comic book lettering for the use in informal documents. Since Comic Sans is available through Microsoft windows 95, the font has become widely used and is now being criticized for it.


After reading several websites and why people are so against using Comic Sans is because it is widely used and used incorrectly. I mean what do you expect if it is a free font when you purchase a Microsoft computer or lap top. It is a type face that does not look to serious and fun to use. Similar to Helvetica on being widely used and in appropriate use of the type face. If you think about it, there are no written rules for the average person to read and refer to when it comes to what font is used for what situation.

Paul Rand

Paul Rand is an American graphic designer who is best known for his corporate logo designs. Some of the companies that he made logos for are IBM, UPS, Enron, NeXT and ABC. Rand went to Pratt Institute, Art Students league and Parsons The New School of Design.

Rand was born in 1914 in Brooklyn, NY. Rand had an early start on design with painting signs for his fathers grocery store as well as for school events. You can say Rand is a self-taught as a designer. Rand first assignments was a part time position creating stock images.

Some of his designs for corporations are still in use. Companies such as IBM, ABC, UPS and Enron still use Rands graphic design.



Above are some of the company's logos he has design. Rands design are very simple but pleasant to look at. The one I like the most is the first image of IBM with using the artistic eye, bee and using the original M. It is very clever and easy to recognize. Even something as simple as that is very eye pleasing. The next one I like is UPS. It is very simple but uses a shield like a family crest like knights used back in the mid evil days.

This is a quote from Louis Danziger:

"He almost single handedly convinced business that design was an effective tool. [. . .] Anyone designing in the 1950s and 1960s owed much to Rand, who largely made it possible for us to work. He more than anyone else made the profession reputable. We went from being commercial artists to being graphic designers largely on his merits"

Rand taught design at Yale University and is inducted into the New York Art Directors Club Half of Fame in 1972.

Rand devoted his last years designing and writing his memoirs. Rand died at the age 82 from cancer in 1996.

John Henry Alvin

John Alvin was born November 24, 1948 in Massachusetts. Alvin and his family finally settled in California after his dad retired from the military. Alvin was an American cinematic artist and painter. Alvin is recognizable by his movie posters. Some of his movie posters include ET, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid and The Lion King to name a few.






Alvins first movie poster he ever did was in 1974 for a movie called Blazing Saddles, directed by Mel Brooks. Alvins work for Blazzing Saddles was liked by Books and many other in the industry. Alvin went on to work on a number of Book's later film. Alvin has created artwork for more than 135 film campaigns over 36 years or three decades. One of his most recent works was for the Trilogy of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

Alvins most iconic poster is probably ET.



The design shows E.T's finger touching the finger of his human friend, Elliot, finger tip to finger tip. The fingers create a glow where they touch. The idea for the poster was suggest by the director, Spielberg, and was inspired by Michelangelo's painting, The creation of Adam. Supposedly Alvin used his own daughter Farah Alvin, as the human hand model for the poster.

Alvin also created several masterpieces in Disney Fine Art, which are highly collected and considered extremely valuable. Alvin passed away Feb. 6, 2008.

Comm graphics

I am going to use my last post to quickly do a run down of the semester for Communication Graphics.

Coming in to this class I had some kind of idea of what kind of work I would be doing and what would be expected from me. Being on the computer and working with the different programs and seeing what we can and can not do on photo shop and In design.

Overall I liked the class and recommend to any communication major. They don't necessarily need to be a graphic design major or anything of that sort but I think this class gives you an introduction on hands on work on designing and how to use the programs.

The first project we did is the one that I am most proud of. It was fun brainstorming ideas and then bringing them to life. It was a challenge to use shape, line, pattern, space, value and color. I was very happy about it and I believe my class mates were impressed with it as well. The next project that I did that I am also proud of is my brochure. I like being able to open peoples eyes to my culture and what not. I feel like the east coast does not get much of diverse when it comes to things like that. Of course you see tattoos left and right but those are tattoos you see every day. The Samoan tattoos have traditions and meaning.

One thing I would recommend that the class could use is maybe have a quiz on functions or shot cuts so people would not be asking the same questions over and over again. I know sometimes it happens and I found myself asking the same question but after messing around with shortcuts that I know I was able to figure it out.

Overall the class is fun and interesting. Even as the weather was becoming nice outside I still found myself coming to class because I really liked learning things in photo shop and in design. That can take part because of the professor on making the environment fun to come to every Tuesday and Thursday nights!

Thank you Amy!

Hollywoods Studio Logo.

So I am going to compare and contrast five of the most popular producers in Hollywood. 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Columbia and Metro Goldwyn Mayer (more recognizable by its acronyms) MGM.

Lets start off with 20th Century Fox Television. This studios most popular films include Star Wars, X-Men, Die Hard and Alien. TV- shows produced by the studio include The Simpson's, Family Guy, Glee and 24 to name some. Since the birth of 20th Century Fox in 1935 it's logo has not made any drastic changes. I could not find the reason why they chose this logo. But I do know is that the company will not be changing its logo because the current logo is one of the most recognizable in the world and has "real value" and "positive association" to the public, particularly over seas says an Exec from the company. He also says "it's an 80 year old brand that stand for something and means something to people" so the company will not be changing its logo any time soon.

The logo is pretty basic with box letters that seem to go further back than the height. Kind of gives the feeling that its coming towards you. With the spot lights on the side high lighting the name gives it some character too. I also like the contrast of the sky and clouds with its different colors.

Next we will talk about Paramount. The logo was established in 1914 by W.W. Jodkinson. Apparently he walked by a building complex hearing the name paramount and doodled a star crested mountain and that logo became Paramount's trademark. I'm not sure how accurate this story is but that is one of the few answers i was able to find. Anyways for paramount, a big snowy mountain surrounded by 23 stars... it seems simple and looks majestic. With the mountain being so big it towers over the clouds and also with the contrast of the background sky and clouds works well too.

Next is Columbia Studio which is pretty much a life like statue of the Statue of Liberty in NYC. Also with the clouds in the background. I think its an image every American can relate to because the statue is so iconic which kinda makes Columbia logo iconic as well. In all three of these graphic designs have clouds and the sky. There most of been created by the same person?

Last but not least is MGM. Using the black back ground helps make the gold pop out of the screen. Also using a lion makes it stand out more. I also like how the film roll actually forms a design around the lion as well.

If each of these were shown to me, I would probably be able to name Paramount, Columbia and 20th Century Fox. MGM name does not really pop out. With the lion roaring it takes away from you actually reading the logo.

To answer the questions about the cloud, yes the same person did design Paramount, Columbia and 20th century fox. Another fun fact is that the lion in MGM killed his trainer a few days after filming for MGM and the lion was put down soon after.

Massimo Vignelli

Massimo Vignelli was born Jan. 1931 in Milan, Italy. He has work in many areas packaging design, furniture design and graphic designer. In his early life, Vignelli studied architecture at Politecnico di Milano and later the Universita di Architect, Venice. In 1996  Vignelli started the New York branch of a new company, Unimark International which eventually became the largest design firm in the world. One of the most recognizable work that Massimo worked on was for American Airlines.

Unfortunately American Airlines just changed the logo which personally I do not find attractive at all. But since there is a merger between them and United airlines I suppose the change was inevitable. The American Airline logo that was created by Vignelli def. is an iconic symbol for the airline.

Massimo also designed the iconic signage for the New York City Subway system.


In 1971 Massimo resigned from Unimark and started his own business with his wife who now reside in NYC. Their company is called Bignelli Associates. Some other well known company that Massimo has made designs for was IBM, Knoll, Bloomingdale's and American Airlines.

Massimo also has accumulated numerous awards. His first award was in 1964 and he was presented the Gran Premio Triennale Di Milano. Since then he has accumulated 22 awards, one being the AIGA gold medal and his most recent in 2005 Architecture award from the American Academy of arts and letters in New York.

Below are some of Vignelli furniture designs. As you can tell they are very modern and sleek. The furniture brand is called Knoll which is one of the furniture design company he worked for through out his furniture design career.





Here is a little fun fact, Massimo and his wife agreed to donate the entire archive of their design work in 2008 to the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester NY. The archive is being exhibited in a new building that was designed by both Lella and Massimo Vignelli. The building is now known as The Vignelli Center for Design and Studies.

Massimo also was apart of a documentary that we actually watched in class which was Helvetica and another documentary called typeface for the same name.

Vignelli stated that the building will house comprehensive archive of graphic design, furniture and objects.

Massimo Vignelli has said "If you can design one thing, you can design everything"

Retail logos

One thing that I never paid attention to till this class was the logos that major retailers have. Even though I work for Target I never really sat down and thought about Targets logo or even Walmart's logo. So now I will take time to discuss my thoughts about each retailers logo starting off with my company, Target.


Above is the logo for Target. The design is simple and eye popping with the color red that it uses against the white back ground. The target symbol is now very recognizable and some can say it is iconic. You can associate the symbol as a "Target" or "Bulls eye". They also took it a step further and actually got a mascot with the logo on his eye. I believe they call the dog "bullseye" Of course the breed of the dog, a bull terrier. I believe that the Target logo is a good logo which has made a memorable impression. I am sure if you take the word "Target" and just leave the logo, I am sure that a good majority of people could easily associate the logo with Target.


This next logo is the 2nd biggest retailer in the US for the year 2012. Target is listed 3rd. I personally have never heard of Kroger's and was surprised that they were 2nd on the list above Target. Just off the logo alone I would not know what kind of store Kroger is. Luckily I googled them and they were able to tell me that they are similar to Target and Walmart. For the design it is simple and inviting using the medium to dark color blue and the grayish white on the name. The red does a good job on making the logo pop. Even though Kroger has double the stores of Target I still believe Target logo is more recognizable.



Last but not least the mogul Walmart. Walmart also has a simple design. With its name in a nice blue color and the yellow sun helps the name stand out to grab your attention. This design relies heavily on Walmarts name to designate the sun as part of the logo. I did a test with my roommates and gf and asked them to tell me what the retailer is when I cover up the name and just leave the image. Most of them knew what the Target symbol is and not many knew what the Walmart symbol was.

So all in all Target wins the logo contest.