3 Page Type only Advertising Ad

         This past weekend was an absolute horror as far as finding time to get work done. Emergency after emergency that carried into Monday. Anywho, today we have a type only, with the company logo authorized, ad for our chosen logo. The point is to have the viewer be able to figure out what the message is saying. You don't see them that often, when it comes to ads, which portray a twisted version of taking out the competition. Not sure what happened with the third one when they all saved as a .jpg. It is obvious that a section has been warped. I am pleased with the results of this project.

Controversy

         So we have had a very productive week. Friday was amazing. I ended up at a sports bar for lunch with one of my business partners and our investor. Well, let's just say that next weeks blog could have some exciting news. Anywho, in my Graphic Symbolism class I was instructed to design a project of four different photographs. With each image I was to apply an effect on each image then take all the images and create an overall design. The images are: and forest with a stone path running through it which I apply a emboss to give it a metallic look, the photograph of some green aurora in the north pole area with a rippled glass effect, a photo shopped image of a pot leaf made of fire of which I altered the color, and finally a photograph of a flower and it's large leafs which I applied a watercolor effect. The base image is the forest with full opacity and the other three images have been placed on top of each other, and the opacity of each image was adjusted until I felt the concept was complete and the artistic piece was ready to be viewed. One of my professors thoroughly enjoyed the look of this project and was wanting to place it in the school show case; however, due to the controversy of the subject matter he did not, in order to save all parties involved from a waste of their time and energy.

Graphic Design company's Logo

          Today I picked to place the logo I designed for a company I am creating in my Professional Development Class. This past weekend I was able to get a lot accomplished including changing the look of the logo for Monster GraFX, LLC. This was quite difficult to find a type and style in which to make the "Gra" part of the logo name. I finally have gone with a 3D effect with a bevel added. This allowed me to add the matching colors and keep the FX effect.

Movie Satire Poster

Paws the movie

 

           This past week has been a bit better. What we have today is a movie satire design of mine. I have always been a fan of the movie Jaws and I love humor; therefore I went for the all terrifying move "Paws." I bat around a few ideas, however the daily humor in households around the world deal with this style of "movie" all the time. I grew up with cats and own two now. We also grew up with fish in the house as well. Time and time again my family and I would find the cats sitting right next to the big fish tank enthralled with all the fish swimming around in hopes of getting one of them. Just like the movie the cat always ended up loosing in my house too.

Fictional Logo Design

Potential basketball team for a college

          Well so far this past week has been quite a difficult one for me. I am down to my last two quarters of my degree program and the classes are starting to get to me really bad because I am taking 4 of them and they are all quite involved. Today I have posted a logo I designed for a potential basketball team of a college. Coming up with something was not too hard for me because I love dragons. The hardest part of the whole design was getting the outlines to work properly so that the color will hold in place. Most of my fellow students said how much they like the way the logo looks overall.

Difficult Week

     This past week has been especially difficult for me. I have been feeling quite overwhelmed with all the classes and the amount of projects that I must work on. As of this very moment I do not have anything that I feel is worthy to be shown. I am currently working on a few things in the classes that I am in and will hopefully have something nice to place up for next week. The process of coming up with different concepts for each assignment is very difficult now however I feel as if I can find some inspiration from the different sights around me. Creativeness is a process that can sometimes be slow and hard to realize what your supposed to come up with. Well I guess I shouldn't leave you totally empty handed. Therefore, I have placed a Photograph that I took. It is one of the best shots that I had done in my photography class and my professor really liked the look of it himself.

Field of Vision diagram

Visual Map Diagram

          The purpose of this project was to show the information, without the added text, abd explain the exact process of which you the designer wants to portray. I decided to demonstrate the different potential field of vision losses. Using color coordination shows the area of the visual pathways that is/are affected when the black areas of vision are seen on a visual field test readout. One of the Optometrists that I work with was very impressed by how professional the diagram looks as well as the complete accuracy of the project's overall design.

Cliche'

"Money Hand Over Fist"

          In my Graphic Symbolism class we were giving the assignment to create visually a cliche' of our choice. First thoughts were the hand over fist cliche'. The creation of the money hand was extremely difficult to pull off and went through many variations of the design. This particular piece was also placed in the college art display area.

Collateral Design Poster

Interactive Poster

          In Collateral Design class I was instructed to make an interactive poster for the Alaska Zoo Experience. The background photograph was taken by myself. The bald eagle and the glove were carefully selected from images I retrieved from ThinkStock.com using Adobe Photoshop then placed into the composition. The black hole next to the glove is designed to be cut out so that the patron of the zoo can place their arm into it and a photograph can be taken making it appear they are actually catching a bald eagle. My professor said the selected image of the eagle was so well done that he can't tell it was place in the image.

Potential Book Series

The Original Story Series

         In my Collateral Design class we were asked to come up with a book series which could be done in three books. Well, as the type and style of books was left up to the imagination of the graphic artist, I opted to create spoofs on original stories for humor purposes. The entire covers are fabricated with details you would see in an actual book with all the type being readable. A large majority of books you find on the shelves of stores are sort of similar in the layout of the type. The difficult part was to place the desired image on the cover that would allow for a seamless look to the cover when laid out flat. I must agree with my professor that "Wilson" is by far the best story-line out of the three. However, he was very impressed with the overall look of the book series.

Drawing Magazine

Magazine Remake

        The assignment I was given was to remake an actual magazine in order to potentially attract a newer different style of clientele. All aspects of the remake must be actual content from the real magazine. Bellow you will see the copies of the Cover, Content, and Article pages. The above is my version of what I feel the new look should be. Changing the font style of the name was important as it grabs the reader's attention therefore I wanted a font style that was bold enough yet allow for the rest of the name be just as drawing as the initial letter. Adding the drop shadow allows for the name to "jump" out at the reader in a playful manner. I feel as though the font families I used and the more organized flow of the content page as well as the Article page lets the reader find the material with more free flowing line of sight.

Logo Design

     The purpose of this composition is to create a logo for a potential local company. I choose the Columbia Cannons. I was instructed to make the logo using the gestalt method. I felt that an old cannon would work perfectly due to the bulkiness of them. Adding the soccer player doing a bicycle kick at the base where the wheel would be just seemed natural. The goal I had in mind was, that the  over all message you take away from the image is that the members of the team have kicks that are like a cannon propelling the soccer ball to it's destination. Adding the type was a challenge but found that angling the type to follow the direction of the cannon gave the entire logo a more box look while counteracting the curves throughout the image.

Resort Branding Campaign

 Bonne Terre Dive Resort Logo Design

          The campaign you see here is the total creation of a fictional resort that has the potential to be a reality however not as of yet. The purpose of this particular exercise was to create a new look on an existing resort. The most difficult part of the entire project was coming up with the logo itself. I sketched out many different ideas. I actually created and recreated the logo many times over. It came down to simplicity. Placing the diver's silhouette at the base was an easy choice however coming up with how it would interact with the type was a bit of a challenge. What makes the logo it's overall look is the type. I spent many hours going through different fonts and families and then had to find the proper balance of the two words. My professor said that it was a well designed logo that was simplistic with an inviting look.

Photoshop colored illustration

Chinese Dragon

         This particular illustration started out as a drawing of mine. I drew the outline of the dragon using a pencil. After the outline was completed I took the drawing and scanned it in order to be able to manipulate and enhance the piece using the Adobe Photoshop program. Using different filters and effects added to the color in order to create a design which when printed makes you want to feel the illustration because it appears to have texture. Each scale was painted individually as well as the skin that fills the empty spaces between the scales. I left the hair of the dragon as it looks when scanned; which gives the dragon an older look due to the grey look of the pencil marks of the hair. Once again I am using a different program to show how each and every graphic design programs can be used to achieve a colored illustration with digital texture. The department chair of South University's Design Degree program told me it was an extremely nice piece that could I should make sure stays in my portfolio.

A poster design competition during 2012. Describe censorship.

"Censorship"

         The first year I attended South Universities' Graphic Design degree program, SUGD. The school had signs in the halls and in the Mac lab for a poster design contest. I got excited because this gave me a perfect chance to see what kind of work I could produce before getting too deep into the degree's curriculum. 

         I would say the first thought I had was everyone else thought would be...I "Google" censorship. I don't go THAT route. I used a stock download website that SU had an account for. The "Silver Surfer" image you see above caught my attention right away. I love the clean lines and modern look of the faceless silver man. The hands covering this eyes, mouth, and ears mimic the same skin tone make up. The perfect backdrop for my composition. I did not have to think very hard on what kinds of images I wanted. It was just which one of the hundreds I looked through. Narrowed my search down to the for you see in the upper and middle quadrants of the piece itself.

         Each of the images involved in the upper two I selected the desired portion of the overall picture and made sure to refine the edges for a seamless effect. The Capital building dome, of course, represents our government. The placement of it was deliberate. Other than the background it was the first piece of my composition. Western society reads from left to right therefore it is natural to look at the upper left hand corner of pages. The first arm takes you the viewer downward to the bright purple arrow which quickly catches your eyes and tells you to look further downward. Next is the hands bound by chains which represents the controlling what we are a nation cannot show and can show in a public/private settings. Again a bright purple arrow catches your eyes and onward you move to the right where your eyes fall upon a naked women with censorship markers covering private parts so that you may not HAVE to view them. But once again, Another arrow pushes your eyes upward to the last image...Bubble Boy Hitler. Good O'l Adolf  was the "God Father of Censorship" of which he silver toungued his way to the people's hearts. There is a double arrow between the Capital dome and Hitler. They are saying that if the government pushes censorship they are in a sense acting as Adolf Hitler did with the Nazi's. Now, the second hand, covering the left ear of the faceless man, draws your eyes to the man's head covered in hands that represent the hear, speak, and see no evil, as the ultimate censorship of how you as an American can live.

         Since you're done exploring the upper two thirds of this design mind as well look as see what other information you can find on the bottom third. A vectorized government warning labels with the words "Government Censorship Protecting You From Reality" are placed in mid chest with the opacity level set on 30% in order to give the piece a look of being tattooed onto his chest. The message of the entire piece sums up the entire composition with a simple statement. " 'crapping' on the first amendment". Hitler's people had no freedom of speech and our government is starting to do the exact same things...Be afraid...be alert...be vigalent.

Design Statement

          I have a passion for creativity and problem solving. I have an inquisitive imagination that has been fostered my entire life through a supportive family and friends that recognized my potential and encouraging me to pursue my interests. The idea of taking a blank field and composing a design, of which can go in any creative direction, is not only a challenge, but a wonderful opportunity to express my creative ambitions. I see graphic design as a way for the professional adult to “let their hair down” and become part of the design while still achieving the project’s objectives. I have always felt that I was artistic in whatever I do as a profession causing me to become a good problem solver with excellent skill at improving organizational workflows. Taking complex or congested areas and streamlining them so everything in that specific area flows smoother or enhances the effectiveness, has always come naturally to me.

            In the world you find design in every medium. The principles of design are able to stretch over almost every facet of society. As a designer I am able to draw inspiration from a 200 year-old tree to the subtle curves of the modern office buildings. Flowers can evoke emotion while a simple type form can show the same emotion just through how it is placed in a composition.  All in all, as a graphic “engineer” it is my responsibility to take the ideas and information that a client wants and create a product that will capture the viewer’s attention. At the same time informing said viewer of the true intent of the artistic piece.

Benjamin K. Hreha

Personal Branded Logo

     As a Designer I feel that it is very important to have your own logo that represents you as an individual artist. In order to create what will visually represent myself, I did not have to think long. To be honest, my good friend Gary Robinson, was at my house looking at the drawings that I have done. Gary made the comment that it would make a great logo...and the rest is "history." The image above is a drawing of I discovered and added a single object into the image that I feel has improved the over all look. As you no doubt have gathered from the logo I am a Christian. I feel it is very important to be upfront about who you truly are with anyone you meet. Any way, I digress. The significance of the three drops of blood are two fold. First and foremost they represent the shed blood. The second less noticeable meaning is the three nails used to hang Him. What drew me to this particular imagery was the abstract look. Some people who see this logo can't see the overall image because they are not taking in account the negative space around each object on the composition. For those who have not seen the total image yet I will describe each section. The top are thorns made into a crown. The three smoothly flowing downward objects represent Jesus' hair. To the left of where the first blood drop and the left hair piece is, His eyebrow with an eye and the second eye directly to the left.