Graphic Design | The Magnetic State Blog Dept.

The Mobile-First Approach to Branding

December 2, 2015 by Dan Redding 1 Comment

Normally, ‘mobile-first’ is a concept that applies to web design. The mobile-first approach has historically meant designing a responsive website by starting with the mobile version, then designing upwards towards desktop. This way, the concerns of the mobile experience are considered first, and applied or revised for larger viewports. It’s time to approach branding the same way.

Above: mobile navigation menus offer very limited space for logos

Logos and other branded elements have been reduced to tiny squares across the web. These environments include social media avatars, favicons, and increasingly, the sticky navigation bar on your website itself. Logos are required to communicate your brand identity in a very small space – whether it’s on a mobile device, or even in a Facebook feed on desktop. That’s why it’s time to consider small scales first when you’re designing a brand identity. Design brand iconography that works in small contexts first, then scale your concept up for larger contexts.

A successful brand identity is recognizable or legible at small sizes.

The kind of design that is best suited for these small contexts includes very simple icons, short acronyms/single letters, or very basic secondary identifiers (a simple shape or even color scheme that is integral to your visual identity). In other words, the most basic forms of human communication – icons, letters, runes, color and shape. Full wordmarks don’t often work well at small sizes (see the Amtrak and BrooklynVegan examples on this page).

The Onion’s icon is simple and memorable at this scale. Amtrak’s is blurry, tiny, and illegible.

Ironically, this is the kind of simple, concise icon & logo design that the old masters like Paul Rand and Milton Glaser excelled at. In the past decade, the trend for ‘flexible brand identity’ has moved away from this style of iconography and logo design in favor of motion, animation, and iteration. I think it’s time to reintroduce an element of classic, simple logo and icon design to modern branding.

The next time you build a brand, try starting small: design a mobile icon in a 50 pixel square before you do anything else. Start here before you approach your logo, color palette, or even your brand name. Start small and work up!

The Right Way is the Only Way

August 10, 2015 by Dan Redding Leave a Comment

Here’s a good professional standard: sometimes, the ‘right way’ to do things is the only way.

As a teenager, I learned this valuable lesson from my bass guitar teacher, Bob Valeno. I was 16 and seeking a new teacher to help me advance my skills. I wanted to play like my heroes, Flea and Les Claypool. It was 1996, so I literally opened the phone book and looked at the music ads. I called up Mr. Valeno – a family man and music teacher who spent his weekends gigging at bars and weddings around the Jersey Shore using the name ‘Dr. Bobbyfingers.’ Despite the amusing alias, Mr. Valeno was no joke.

After we introduced ourselves, I said casually, “I’m not looking to learn to read music; I just want to learn to play some of my favorite songs.” Bob replied, “Well, if you don’t want to learn to read music, that’s fine – but I’m not the teacher for you. If you want to work with me, we’ll do things the right way, and I’ll teach you to read.”

One fact immediately came into stark relief: I was a clueless kid and Bob was an experienced professional. I was so impressed by his standards that I signed up for a lesson right away, and studied with him for years. The way that he took authority over his subject and methods was a kind of confidence and knowledge that I wanted, too.

I listen to lots of punk rock and metal, where breaking the rules is a virtue. But you first need to learn the rules in order to break them.

Here’s how this applies to design. A client recently came to me looking for a new website. Her needs were perfectly suited for a website built with WordPress, and I told her so. She said, “But I heard about [insert new, untested startup CMS here] and my friend said it’s good. Can we use that?” My reply was the same thing the Bob would’ve said: “If you want to work with me, we’ll use WordPress, because I know that it’s the most appropriate fit for your needs.” Clients come to you because you’re an expert with the knowledge to make these kinds of decisions – not them. You wouldn’t go to the doctor and tell him to prescribe you laxative for a broken knee.

Do it the right way and do it once. Thanks to Dr. Bobbyfingers for the valuable lesson!

These Emojis Have Truly Surprising Cultural Origins

August 3, 2015 by Dan Redding 3 Comments

Emojis seem to epitomize modern digital communication – but some of these symbols have cultural meanings that go back decades or even centuries. These eight emojis have cultural and historical meanings that will truly surprise you.

Crying Face Emoji

Common usage: This emoji is used to convey feelings of sorrow or rejection. But that water droplet is not a tear; it is actually spit.

Real meaning and origin: In Japan, this emoji is used as an invitation to play ‘seeko han,’ a popular spitting game. [Read more…]

New Work: Kindle Book Cover Design

May 28, 2015 by Dan Redding Leave a Comment

I am excited to have designed my first Kindle book cover! The book is Thomas Paine’s Agrarian Justice: With a new Foreword, “Social Security, Thomas Paine, and the Spirit of America,” published by my friends at Social Security Works. This project was really fun and we have printed books on the way as well. Social Security Works Executive Director Alex Lawson said, “Dan, your cover design is fantastic, the hard copies look amazing.” Thanks to the folks at Social Security Works.

Does ‘You Get What You Pay For’ Apply to Design?

May 14, 2015 by Dan Redding Leave a Comment

Yes.

Case of the Stolen Nineties Goth Logo

October 27, 2014 by Dan Redding 2 Comments

Top: Marilyn Manson’s new logo. Bottom: A Nine Inch Nails logo that the band used circa 1990.

Here’s a delectable morsel for those of you who are clamoring for branding news from the godforsaken realm of the Hot Topic t-shirt rack. That blathering old vampire Marilyn Manson has unveiled a new logo in association with his new album – and boy, does it look an awful lot like an old logo of his former mentor and cryptmate, Trent Reznor. The image above compares the new MM logo with a nineties-era NIN logo that was used on the ‘Sin’ single and other band merch. The two logos use extremely similar shapes to form jagged symmetrical compositions with vertical pillars in the center.

Nine Inch Nails’ debut, the brooding synth-goth masterpiece Pretty Hate Machine, is one of my favorite albums of all time. Reznor has since become known as an early embracer of the digital music industry and an Oscar-winning film score composer. Manson, on the other hand, still makes stuff I guess. Reznor once accused Manson of stabbing him in the back and being a “malicious guy [who] will step on anybody’s face to succeed.” Does this new logo prove that the old bat still has bite? I think the similarities in the designs speak for themselves.

Are there Breasts in the McDonald’s Logo?

October 15, 2014 by Dan Redding 2 Comments

We’ve all seen this logo a million times, but have you ever seen a pair of breasts in it? Sounds absurd, I know – surely only Beavis and Butthead could see that. But here’s the story of how this theory once saved the ‘golden arches’ from getting tossed out with the trash entirely – and why it might not be so crazy.

In the late 1960’s, McDonald’s was demolishing its original buildings and replacing them with what would become the new frontier of American dining: the drive-through restaurant. The company hired design consultant and psychologist Louis Cheskin to help navigate this transition. When McDonald’s considered abandoning the golden arches that were distinctive architectural features of their restaurants, Cheskin objected. He argued that the golden arches should stay because they symbolized a pair of breasts: “mother McDonald’s breasts,” as he put it (source: Fast Food Nation). Not only did the arches stay, but they were integrated into the McDonald’s corporate logo, and with it, the American cultural landscape.

During this time period, the ripple effects of Freudian theory were continuing to reshape the world. Cheskin’s suggestion that the shape of the golden arches has a subconscious sexual meaning in the mind of the viewer is a deeply Freudian concept. Freud believed that most of our impulses are influenced by libido and early childhood experience. He also said that “We are effectively cognitive icebergs with most of our ‘thoughts’ occurring below the water line.”

Was it absurd for Louis Cheskin to imply sexual/reproductive/fertility symbolism in the shape of the golden arches – or was he correct that we perceive this sexual imagery somewhere ‘below the water line’ of our conscious thoughts? I doubt that many have ever looked at that logo and had that conscious Beavis and Butthead moment (“Huh-huh. Looks like boobs”). But the logo has become one of the world’s most iconic, and Cheskin-style ‘hidden persuasion’ branding has only increased in popularity. While there’s no way to measure the image’s subconscious resonance, I believe the symbolism is there on a subtle level.

Freud’s emphasis on the impact of early formative experiences applies to the McDonald’s brand, too. According to the BBC, “psychologists confirm a theory that (McDonald’s founder) Ray Kroc and Walt Disney traded upon, that ‘brand loyalty’ can be established by the age of two.” Much of McDonald’s business – the playgrounds, the clown, the happy meal – are aimed at children. And to what demographic would subconscious, pre-language symbolism of breasts be most potent? You don’t have to be Freud to figure that one out.