Page 95 - DLIS402_INFORMATION_ANALYSIS_AND_REPACKAGING

Information Analysis and Repackaging

Notes Concentric

Yes, they are pushing the boundaries on acceptable levels of detail and reproduction challenges. But
this crop of logos has an almost hypnotic optical mystique to charm the consumer. Repetition of fine
lines concentrically crafted to play out an image may symbolically achieve the same effect as the
cross-section of a tree telling the story of a life. It can be the tale of a journey or the timeline of a
process. Scientific in nature, the creation of these marks is closely tied to the technology that helped
spring them to life.
These designs are almost a cross-pollination of Spirograms (mentioned as a sidebar last year) and
Jawbreakers (discussed in the trend report from three years ago). Many of these may conjure up a
Timothy Leary moment. Whether used as the foundation of the mark or just as a portion, these
solutions have dizzying impact on the viewer. This challenges, and like it or not, forces the consumer
to confront the mark. They demand a reaction.

Loopys
Spoiler alert: The following trend deals with the surface treatment of logos. Jump to the next trend if
hand-wringing of more than two hours is likely to result.
Seriously, while we all love discovering a logo that combines solid draftsmanship with clever concept
and a memorable shape, we also have to acknowledge that exploration of diverse surface technique
is a thriving business. Designers are hell-bent on discovering and laying claim to the next genre of
surface decoration.
Marks in this latest group have a special looseness and casual appeal. A clearly handcrafted loopy,
loopy line is applied to the surface of an otherwise unremarkable but recognizable shape. In fact,
this scribbling is the punch line to the logo. No pretentious calligraphic thick and thin strokes here.
The whole affair is once again crafted using a monoline technique, which has become a common
thread in several of this year’s trends. Other noted logos this year were silhouettes, similarly filled
with a more erratic scrawl, but they lacked the modest panache exhibited here.

Banded
Exhibiting symptoms of an identity disorder, these marks demonstrate signs of being perfectly happy
in flatland when suddenly they want to roll up off the page for a stroll in the 3D world. These marks
are often constructed of a band that could be coloured plastic or some other extruded substance. The
notable identifier is the need to create a shadow on one’s self when turning a corner, but not casting
a shadow on the page as they are not really of our world. Some examples of this trend have pretty
grandiose dimensional tendencies, while others merely hint at an attempt to take flight.
Embracing the pleasures of working with gradients, designers are discovering that dimension plus
shape equals unexplored territories. Flat, lifeless concepts take on pleasurable dimension that is
attractive to the consumer’s eye. Though not the only one, this technique presents a graphic
compromise for the purist between flat vector shapes and the crystal-capped dimensional hysteria
of the last decade. The Microsoft Office for Mac suite icons formally cast long shadows and had a
full-on dimensional appearance with bulbous shapes covered with light pings. Frog Design has
dramatically reigned in the dimensionality and the shadow, as seen here.

Comma
What is it about this shape? It continues to reoccur in broadly differing incarnations. It’s an unexplained
obsession, like when Richard Dreyfuss tries to craft the alien landing site out of mashed potatoes in
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” We’re calling them “comma” because they look like a large,
dimensional comma or maybe a bit of a nautilus shell playing out the concept of mathematical
perfection. There’s a swirl in play that tells us motion is a part of the story as well. Or maybe it is a
seed unfurling as it prepares to spring into life in a new form.

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