The ICON Illustration Conference will be in Pasadena, CA, July 14-17, 2010.
For information and registration – Early Bird rate ends on Feb. 28 – click here.
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ICON 6 Illustration Conference in Pasadena in July
January 15th, 2010 by
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Lion of Judah
December 1st, 2009 by
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Since I practice two separate but related disciplines, I am very aware of the commonalities and differences in the process of each. For me, graphic design tends to be more evolutionary in that I start with concept sketches and develop from there. My illustration process is a bit different, because I almost always have the image complete in my imagination before I begin to sketch it on paper. Things may change a bit as I go, but generally speaking I iterate an image onto paper rather than explore and develop options. This is true whether it’s created for a client’s project or for myself.
My illustration of the Lion of Judah, an icon of both Judaism and Christianity, was no exception. I saw this painting fully-formed in my mind and then brought it into being on paper. I made a couple of sketches first, then enlarged and transferred the drawing to watercolor paper.
The concept sketch:
The finished work created in watercolor, gouache and colored pencil on paper:
Some background on the work: Judah means praise. Judah was one of the twelve sons of Jacob and it was out of his line that Jesus Christ came. Judah was referred to as a lion in Genesis, and it is the Lion of Judah, referring to Jesus Christ, who is worthy to open the scroll in Revelation.
Tags: colored pencil · drawing · gouache · Illustration · painting · quick sketch · sketch · water colorComments Off
Leaves In My Gutter
November 27th, 2009 by
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It’s an odd place to find beauty. Gutters are usually the conduits of unwanted odds and ends. They can become pretty nasty. But once in awhile a treasure is found there. In this case the treasure consists of colors and textures expressed through leaves, asphalt, concrete and mildew. 
Tags: color · leaves · photographyComments Off
Sunday Sketch
November 1st, 2009 by
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One row forward and three seats over.
I did this quick sketch in about 10 minutes in my sketchbook during a seminar.
Tags: drawing · pen & ink · quick sketch · sketch · sketchbookComments Off
It’s the 57th Anniversary of the Barcode Patent
October 7th, 2009 by
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Today is the 57th anniversary of the barcode. Google is commemorating this day with a barcode logo.
I remember discussion about the bar code while I was at Art Center – its necessary prominence on the back of any package or the front of any magazine – being the downfall of all that is good design. Everything designed for inventory, sale and tracking had to have a barcode and therefore designers had to accommodate its presence, and for many creatives this was regarded as an intrusion.
On its own, the barcode is aesthetically sound. It employs implied line, a full range of value contrast, decently proportioned linear and numeric elements, and a varied alternating rhythm. Its function requires it to be achromatic.
The original, patented concept was a series of circles. The striped version we’re used to made its debut in 1974 on a pack of gum.
I chose to celebrate today by sorting back through some older work and pulling out an illustration I created back in 1986 (have I been doing this for that long? Wow.) – my own Ode to the Barcode. Of course, my ode to this striped hero of tracking and scanning was in the form of a visual pun, incorporating the striped graphic into the striped surface pattern of an everyday zebra.
©1986 & 2009. Alvalyn Lundgren. All rights reserved.
Tags: bar code · barcode · google · gouache · Illustration · patent · visual pun · zebra2 Comments
The Obama Logo: Iconography, Ideas and Politics
September 28th, 2009 by
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This is an excellent discussion of the power and influence of visual imagery – design and illustration – to change ways of thinking, morals and systems for good or for bad. No matter what your persuasion, you need to understand what’s going on. As you view this, consider how you’ve been influenced.
Video from PJTV, a division of PajamasMedia.
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Paul Rand and Coldplay
September 16th, 2009 by
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Coldplay’s web site created this year, bears a remarkable resemblance to a book cover design by Paul Rand a few decades ago. The comparison cannot be missed.
Compare the Coldplay web page screen capture:
Home page at www.coldplay.com
to Paul Rand’s assertive design:
Cover Design by Paul Rand
Comparing is to focus on what is similar. Contrasting is to focus on what is not. There are obvious similarities but enough differences to understand in these two designs to see that the web design is perhaps more than inspired but not a derivative or copy of the book cover. It is “in the style of”. Maybe it’s even a tip of the hat.
The web page lacks the contrast of precise, explicit edges against accidental edges, and is more “dirty” in sensibility. The book cover is an example of modernism looking forward, the web page is an example of postmodernism looking backward.
Tags: design · Modernism · Paul Rand · PostmodernismComments Off
Critique and Criticism
September 8th, 2009 by
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No one likes to be critiqued, but everyone is a critic.
As a design practitioner and teacher of design, I am involved continually in the analysis and evaluation of design. I critique my students’ work in the classroom and I critique my own work in the studio. My clients critique my work. I critique the work of other designers. Judges critique our work when we submit it to design contests. Our clients’ customers critique our clients based on our designs.
Critique is a normal and necessary part of the design process, yet I find that people don’t like to formally critique a work and they don’t like to have their work critiqued. How can we improve upon anything unless we critique? How can we innovate without evaluation and appraisal? How do we establish value in something unless we assess it?
Critique is simply an assessment, appraisal or evaluation of something. When we critique something we are analyzing it. We do this all the time in the normal course of a day: We critique each other’s driving, style, attitude, favorite movie, political position, religion, job performance, home run average and habits. We each have an opinion about what is good, better, best, bad and ugly.
I think that students and practicing designers don’t enjoy being critiqued because they understand criticism to be destructive or mean-spirited. Or they take it personally, as if it’s them, not the work, being evaluated. Or they don’t want to be wrong. Most critique tends toward negativity.
Criticism is often disguised as critique. They are not they same thing. Criticism involves disapproval of a work based on perceived or obvious faults and shortcomings. There’s a thin line between the two ideas that’s easily crossed. Critique should be objective, honest and useful. Criticism is most often subjective and destructive. Its intent is to tear something down. On the other hand, critique tests for weaknesses for the purpose of improvement and excellence. Criticism accuses; critique edifies.
In reality, critique should be neutral. It should not be feared as much as it is. It should be performed in order to asses what is right with a work and where it can be strengthened.
For critique to be neutral it should be based on established objective guidelines. For a design work, this is fairly simple. We look at the work and its outcome on the basis of the intended goals for the work, since all design has a purpose to it. Are the aesthetic principles supporting the function of the design? Are color, balance, rhythm, harmony, spatial relationships and value all working together to enable the design to accomplish its intended outcome?
If design is not whimsical but purposeful, critique of design should also be purposeful and not based on personal opinion. The kind of response that is, “I think it’s a good design because it reminds me of…” is not an objective criteria. Values, purpose, specifications, etc. are a much more just basis for evaluation. If critique is based on objective criteria it cannot be dismissed with the excuse that it’s just one person’s opinion and therefore invalid.
When all is said and done, honest feedback is better than warm fuzzy feedback. Critique should be honest, just, and balanced between strengths and weaknesses. It should serve to build up the designer (or student) and empower them forward into creative maturity and greater success.
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Color Trends: Orange Is the New Pink
August 24th, 2009 by
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On the evening before during the meeting of a creative team I’m leading, one team member made the statement that orange is a hideous color and no one likes it, so therefore it would not be appropriate used in the particular identity program we were discussing. Having observed varieties of orange in common used, I disagreed, and we had a lighthearted argument.
On the day after, I was recounting the discussion to my students when I happened to look around the classroom and noticed the amount of orange in the room. Almost all of the various branded shopping bags and totes the students used to transport their projects had orange in their design. So I pulled out my iPhone and happily photographed the bags as proof that orange is indeed liked by many and is widely used in design solutions.
Color trends come and go. Orange, which is an energizing and somewhat forceful color, has been enjoying a widespread popularity not seen since the 1970s. It’s used brighter and bolder than the burnt oranges back then, and is often paired with neutral grays or earth tones. As one student commented, “Orange is the new pink”.
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David: Start to Finish
August 13th, 2009 by
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This is the concept rough from my sketchbook, which is not finished enough to be considered a comp, and the finished artwork. The illustration was created in watercolor, gouache and colored pencil, on Arches 140#.
Most depictions of David, the hero king of Israel in the Old Testament, show him fighting Goliath of Gath. A few show him in his later years, and several tell the story of his affair and murderous cover up. In reading about David’s life, he comes across as an all around flawed hero: determined, passionate, sometimes fearful, as capable of screwing up as each of us is, but always trusting in God. I decided to portray David as an intense, visionary and epic young man who was aware of his destiny but sometimes unsure he would achieve it.
The illustration was done for a packaging project – a wrap-around cover for a CD album. The “five smooth stones” are on the back of the package where the audio titles will be placed.
My concept sketch for David illustration and CD album cover
Finished Illustration in watercolor, gouache and colored pencil
Tags: art · colored pencil · gouache · Illustration · painting · portrait · quick sketch · sketch · sketchbook · water color · watercolorComments Off
