p r a g u e . b l a g u e

To all those going back

So what happens when we get back to Raleigh, and especially what happens to our design?

First some observations on our design habits in Prague. I'm sure the project briefs helped with this, but assuming we didn't have to do design based off Prague and the Czech Republic, would we have done them anyways? Think about it. Is it that we are in a new place that drives our design sensibilities? Back in Raleigh, other than the Lake Johnson project some of you did, has there been any need for Raleigh or North Carolina inspired Design? Is Raleigh and NC State doomed from our eyes as being interesting enough to design around? Maybe that's why personally I need to get out. Out of Raleigh and out of North Carolina. But then there comes another problem. Once you go into the real world and into the workforce, are we really doing design based off our surroundings, or really localized work that's crunched to fit into the contraints of the client?

All food for thought maybe. A bunch of questions and no answers. :)

P.I.G.S

It's finally here.
We're also welcoming new students!
I hope these posters we're sending out get printed and we're represented! I feel so out of the loop this year, but it's kind of cool being able to show fresh and internationally inspired work to some Raleighers.

MoDA Archives

Some sultry and refreshingly contemporary and modern Logo/Icon designs. The dear is especially inspiring and has a very nice 70's look with a mixture of contemporary illustration style. Sweetness.

Sparkling Typography

Here is what I have for Type so far. The typeface starts working some magic when set in a paragraph as parts of the letters and words start to interact in quite interesting ways.

Also the white on black is soooo nice.

Cesky Tees

Here's the link to my presentation/cd design/webiste thing.

The link takes you to the cd design that you click and get to the main presentation.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~imelsedo/ShirtWebsite/splashcd.html

typebling

Type studies at the moment.
More to come tomorrow. Promise.

Shirts Galore

Here are the shirts I've developed so far.
Shirts start with the childrens series. 1 + 2
and then go into more universal grammar shirts 3 - 7
and then ideas for the packaging of the CD 8 + 9

All shirts will come with the CD that includes all the videos.
In number 9, the pocket can either be in the front or back/ house the CD/ and be a pocket for a phrase book in the future.

Please scroll sideways to see all shirts.

Toys toys toys

Toys, a type of dual action souvenir that can be used actively or put on a shelf for enjoyment. It's sort of a guilty pleasure of mine and some other people I know, and makes for a very enjoyable and covetable souvenir. Yes there is Bohemia glass, and I guess it's pretty (atleast not to me), but it's quite fragile and not meant to be physically handled.

Shown in the images I took are nesting dolls, various puzzles and Krtek puppets.

Nesting dolls are probably the least hands on toy and sort of act as a reference to old Russian history and Babushkas. They may not relate to Prague or the Czech Republic exclusively but they at least have a part in Eastern European culture and that's all that matters. Their craft is what plays the biggest role in their appeal and the fact that you get more than one and can stack them is a fun idea.

The various puzzles in souvenir shops are very hands on but almost (if not completely) don't reference anything about the CZ. It's almost like a gimmick and a store window filler to be just a thing you buy for relatives when you come back home.

The most significant and I think worthy toy souvenir would be the toys that reference the likes of Krtek and his friends. The show has such a strong standing in Czech history and appeals to almost everyone. It's a souvenir that can be purchased for children or adults and enjoyed as a simple play thing or to envoke research and thought on the history of the show and it's significance to social and political aspects of Prague and the Czech Republic.

TypeFace similarities

I couldn't really find much on the sites that were given to us. So I looked a lot on http://www.dafont.com They have nice categories and it's amatuer work, sort of like what we're doing.

The closest match I could find to my typeface was: http://www.dafont.com/madredeus.font
It's eerily similar and has some nice detail touches to it. Sadly it gets too predictable with the different shapes, which I want to stay away from.

Formal similarities:
http://www.dafont.com/danube.font
http://www.dafont.com/rezland.font
http://www.dafont.com/club.font

Concept similarities: (i.e the idea of connectivity)
http://www.dafont.com/club.font again
http://www.dafont.com/canstop.font
http://www.dafont.com/ohio-player.font

Dog's World

Here's the poster.
A simple play on the word shit, as a deragatory term and as a literal word for dog extracts. I was trying to be light hearted with my hello, saying that we avoided the usual European tourist cities (referred to as "shit") to come to Prague but when we got to Prague, we literally found a lot of shit on the floor.
Another thing to note is the dog breed representing the Czech Republic. Although the other dogs might be easily recognizable as stereotypical dogbreeds for their respective countries, the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog is a fairly new breed. The Wolfdog was scientifically bred in 1965, and officially recognized as a breed in 1982. This is very symbolic in comparison with the age of the Czech Republic and the amount of years it has taken for the country to esablish itself as it's own entity.

And the photomanips:
These were intended for two audiences. Humans and dogs. The ones residing in the Metro stops live there because a variety of demographics use this form of transportation. There are also numerous younger teens and design saavy individuals that would come in contact with them.
The ones intended for dogs, are not literally going to be read by them. They are supposed to stir interest in their position and cause people to squat down to look at them. When they realize the subject matter of the poster, they can chuckle and also notice their position as being a squat (ironic). This positioning would also catch a designer's eye, because it's not a very practical place to put a poster intended to be read by human individuals.
The poster can also literally be used as a toilet, if placed on lamp posts where a majority of dogs do their business.

This one is a bit special.