Blog 10 National Actor's Theater

Identity and Stationery System

This Logo and Stationery System was developed for the National Actors Theatre Company in NYC by Christina Freyss Design. I find it an elegant, intriguing, and a creative solution for a theater company. I enlarged the mark and placed it in the upper left-hand corner so it can be more easily examined.

MARK: Comedy/tragedy theater masks are something we have all seen and we know that they are related to the theater. The concept of this mark combines the comedytragey mask into a single unit which is abstracted yet easily recognizable. It is well balanced in its positive and negative space and the series of lines on the left hand side create an interesting edge for the side of the mask.

STATIONERY SYSTEM: The logo itself is very appealing and well-balanced. The serif text in all caps (maybe Garamond) represents the formality of the theater as does the centering of all of the letters beneath the mark. The bullets add a little weight to the text and to balance it with the mark. The letterhead is an interesting combination of right and centered text which seems to work well. The business card has the logo on the left side as well for consistency. The envelope elongates and spaces the address quite a bit which generates an well-designed effect.

Source: Rosenbaum, Alvin, Trademarks, Logos, Stationary Systems & Corporate Identity USA, Graphic-SHA Publishing, Company, LTD., Tokyo, Japan 1993.

Blog 9 Rosemary's Baby

Movie Poster

This is a movie poster for Roman Polanski’s 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby. The poster was designed by Steve Franfurt. For those of you who don’t know about the film. Here’s a super-quick summary. Rosemary and her husband move next door to an eccentric couple. Rosemary fears that the couple is in a satanic cult. The couple offers Rosemary’s husband “help” with is acting career, which comes at a rather large cost. Rosemary ends up carrying Satan’s baby.

Mia Farrow's profile looms over the horizon as if it were the setting sun, as if she were larger than life. In contrast, the silhouetted baby carriage looks insubstantial and vulnerable. This strong visual image is ironic because in the movie the baby is larger than life and the mother is reduced to a fearful, vessel that will bring the baby into the world. The colors are dark and menacing. It reminds me of being in a photo developing room where only certain color frequencies are allowed. The green glow emanating from the carriage gives a hint that something is amiss. To me, this is a highly creative and artistically sound way to deal with the plot of this film.

Source: King, Emily, A Century of Movie Posters From Silent to Art House, Barron's Educational Seriea, Inc., 2003

Blog 8 Beasts of No Nation

Book Cover

This is a book cover designed by Mary Schuck for Harper Collins. I read this book a few years ago but it had a different cover–a photograph of a grassy hill with some young men in silhouette standing atop the hill. Why they changed from the cover posted in Print Magazine, I will never know!

I love simplicity in design–when a designer can convey the message of a piece with uncomplicated illustrations, great color choices, and minimal text.  This cover is reminscent of one of my favorite designers, Saul Bass. It has lots of his trademarks: hand-drawn text, clean lines, simple graphics, and thoughtful use of color & space.

The main reason I am so attracted to this cover is that it evoked an emotional response for me. I remembered just how I felt when I was reading the book (as narrated by Agu): the overwhelming sadness as he sees his father murdered; the horror as he becomes a child soldier; the grief when he looses of faith in humanity; and the mixed-emotions of the unresolved ending of the book. I don't really like remembering the book because it was very hard to read nevertheless, the cover is highly successful since it triggered such an emotional response. I guess you might ask if I saw the original cover would I also have such a response? I have seen it several times while looking through my bookshelves and haven't given it a second thought. But who knows, it could be just because it has been there for years.

Source: Print Magazine Regional Design Annual, November/December 2007.

Blog 7 artwagen

Illustrative Logo

This is a design by Marcus Hewitt from the design firm Hopper-Hewitt. I was initially attracted to the piece because of the simplicity and the cleverness. I like the implication of individual creativity through the use of fingerprints which make up the “wagen.” Creating the “wagen” in seemingly in primary hues of red, blue, and green, creates and image that will appeal to artists of all ages. The title treatment is straightforward yet extremely appealing, emphasis on the word art. The use of Futura (I believe) is reminiscent of primary school printing which fits perfectly with the overall scheme of the logo.  All-in-all, this is an extremely successful and creative logo.

Source: Budelmann, Kevin, Yang, Kim, and Wozniak, Curt, Brand Identity Essentials, Rockport Publishers, Inc. Bevererly, MA. USA, 2010.