Intelligent Design for Communication

Observations on today’s role of graphic design and business communications

We have been observing the blurring on the roles of Art and Graphic Design in today’s graphic designers. There have been many arguments on which is more important and what role should a graphic designer play to evolve as a professional. Should the aesthetic value of the finished project be the key indicator of performance or the effectiveness of the finished project to be valued higher?

Most designers gauge their own performance by the aesthetics value and they strongly believe in breaking boundaries to create something of their own. Only this way would they feel appreciated and respected as a top notch professional designer. There would be a smaller group who would put their client’s interest above their own and feel satisfied by communicating ideas effectively through their designs.

Both types of designers are important to execute beautiful and effective design, so which is more important? In this article, we will explore the various key components to help facilitate your conclusion.


Differences of Art and Graphic Design

Art is basically an expression of an artist, while Graphic Design’s primary role is to translate ideas through visuals effectively for commercial communication.
Art is created primarily to entertain people, through thought provoking works, humor, surprises and emotions. Whereas Graphic Design is focused on selling a product, create brand presence, communicate brand values and ideas. The different intentions are one of the key components in their differences.

The value of the individual discipline has its differences too. Art is valued by the quality of itself and its creator but Graphic Design is valued through its effectiveness to sell an idea or product. If Art does not entertain it does not achieve its purpose and becomes valueless, if Graphic Design does not sell an idea or product but entertains, it becomes Art. When most of the graphic design works does not perform effectively, designers become a bunch of artists whom just seeks to entertain through their works and that’s not the function of a design agency.

You may try a simple experiment by asking yourself the following question honestly. Before you start a design project, do you ask yourself ‘How’ first or ‘What’? If you are asking yourself ‘How would the end product look like?’, you are in the Artist category but if you ask yourself ‘What can I do to help my client achieve their objectives?’, congratulations you are in the Graphic Designer category and you may be a 100 times more effective than many designers in the market.


Conclusion

A communication design agency’s role is primarily to help clients in their business communication; therefore there is always the economical factor in the picture. Whether Art or Design is more important, it really depends on the intent/purpose and value to be created for the various design projects. Great artwork and graphic design could co-exist to entertain and sell at the same time but designers have to be very clear with what they plan to do and what they are seeking to achieve. The client’s interest has to be the top priority over the designer’s self interest to create beautiful artwork. This is what ‘Intelligent Design’ is about and 1 picto design is proud to work with a group of highly rationale graphic designers. They would always put their client’s interest first and they work hard to provide intelligent design solutions for our client’s complex design problems.

Design Means Plan, Not Just Style

(Design means plan, not just style) by Daniel Will-Harris. Good reading for graphic designers who are beginning their career in the design industry. Please follow the source link below to find out more.

Source: http://desktoppub.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=desktoppub&cdn=compute&tm=53&gps=385_384_1362_555&f=00&tt=14&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.will-harris.com/fromzero.htm

VIP cars

If you are bored by the way your car look, realistic enough to not spend too much on enhancing the power of your car and love a luxurious looking car without busting your pocket on expensive european cars, we would like to share with you one of the interesting hypes on the road today with 'VIP' styled cars.

Some of you may see cars with large chrome rims, blings blings and lowered to only few inches away from the ground. This is a trend which originate from Japan and is catching fever in Singapore today. Visit the link below to find out more about this trend, hope you like it.

link: http://www.zerotohundred.com/newforums/the-vip-style/119607-vip-style-cars-luxury-indulgence.html#post1757060

Is Time Travel for real?

This film clip was apparently from a 1928 movie. What makes it so interesting is that you would see a woman walking and talking on a cellphone in this film. There should be no phone network available, now how would she be able to call out? Phone without network but with access to calls, emails and time travel, now that's cool if this is the future of tele communications. Haha..

Why understanding the difference between Style and Design is important.

sTyLe versus DESIGN

I would like to share an article from Jeffrey Zeldman. He talks about the importance to understand the difference between style and design in today's design industry.

Style and design are 2 very different entity and yet it gets blurred in today's design practice. We too have debates on the importance of both and how we should not get consumed by self indulgence and give our client's the very best functional design that could solve their design problems and expectations.

It is a combination of both we felt that should be balanced well. What do you say? Think about it. If you are a designer and you look back at what you have done previously, have you been self indulging yourself by mimicing celebrity designer's styles in client's projects or have you genuinely look at a design problem and solve it by applying design principles, creative concepts with solutions and design aesthetics which will relate to the intended target audiences according to your client's needs so that it can optimise their ROIs.

Just a personal thought, if i were to spent a few thousands of dollars to hire a designer to help improve my company's brand awareness and to increase our ROI, I certainly won't settle at just something beautiful, I would want to know how do I achieve my objectives with the beautiful design. I guess that's only fair to me ain't it? I totally agree with Jeffrey and I have the similar worries as him, read to find out more.

Yours Humbly,
Charles Ho

source: http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/dialogbox/stylevsdesign/

WE ARE HIRING NOW!

We are looking for Web/Print Designers to join our small family.

You should have the following requirements to be considered:

- Adept in Adobe Creative Suite (PS, FLA, HTML etc)

- Basic knowledge in actionscript

- Good knowledge and can work fast on Freehand/Illustrator

- Good time management and an organised individual

- Able to take instructions

- Strong work ethic and responsible

- Pleasant personality

- Able to work as a team and independently

- At least 1-2 years of working experience in Web/Print Design

- Singaporean and PRs only

If you think that you have met all the criterias, send us your portfolio, resume and expected salary to admin@1picto.com.sg. Only shortlisted candidates would be notified. Good Luck!


Position CLOSED.

Ouch!

Our poor art director hurt his toe and spent $70 on medical bill while trying to simulate a kungfu master kicking an enemy for a health product to enhance healthy and strong growth of nails. Unfortunately he didn't have enough of the products, his toe nails broke. Totally uncool man... but you have our respect! Try kicking with the other feet when you're back from MC.

Mazda's new design theme: Soul of Motion

Now this is a real beauty.....check out the Mazda's Shinari Concept Video....

Pencil Sculptures by Dalton Ghetti

Google his name to see more of his remarkable pencil sculptures. Total madness!

There was once...

Feature: Le Creative Sweatshop – WAD

Ndeur (Mathieu Missiaen) and Make a Paper World (Julien Morin) create fashion accessories out of paper for WAD magazine. It's really pretty cool and neat.

Picture by Matthieu Deluc / Artistique Direction and accessories By Le creative Sweatshop
Stylisme: Justine Allain / Hair by Andre Cueto / Make up by Sandrine Engel
Model : Nala (slides) / Benjamin / Boris / Mae (Marilyn Agency)

Check out for more here: http://cargocollective.com/lecreativesweatshop#485368/Fashion-Shoot-for-WAD-magazine

True strength

That's something I would like to keep looking at that when I need some reminders in life.

Meet Nick Vujicic

Ever felt that life's unfair and you really find it tough to be happy. Meet Nick Vujicic, hopefully he can be a source of inspiration.

King of the urban jungle

I am Kong, Michelle Kong.

Lunching at Nandos

To: Mr Bey

In future, go easy on the 'extra hot' peri sauce.

From: Charles

Flooding at Bugis?

This photo was taken at around 10am. Few minutes before I took this photo, a car almost drove itself up to the bus stop as I believe the driver didn't notice the kerb as it was covered by the flood. I can't imagine what is the situation at thomson and other parts of singapore, businesses will surely get very badly affected in low level areas. Let's see the news tonight.

iPhone 4 FaceTime Commercial

Smile more with iPhone 4 :)

We are Hiring!

We are looking for graphic/web designers to join our small family .

You should have these requirements for consideration:

• Adept in Adobe Creative Suite (PS, FLA, HTML)

• Basic knowledge of actionscript

• Good knowledge of Freehand/Illustrator

• Good time management and organizational skills

• Strong work ethic

• Pleasant personality

Please send us your resume and portfolio at admin@1picto.com.sg. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified. Thank you.

100 Most Creative People in Business 2010

Check out the 100 Most Creative People in Business 2010 listing by FAST COMPANY. See how many person can you recognise and if you don't, trust me it's really worth checking them out.

Source: http://www.fastcompany.com/100/2010

CPR

Everyone should learn how to carry out CPR. You'll never know when it comes in handy. *winks*

It's like HELLOOOOOOOO!

Do check on this link here to read the article about what the women rights group 'AWARE' , commented on why the low birth rate situation in Singapore.

Having a child only adds on to the stress level and any caring parents would not want their children to suffer when they are not financially ready to have one.

With the competitive environment we are accustomed to, nobody dare say that they have an 'iron rice bowl' in today's context. Just imagine, once you lost your job due to bad economy or whatever reason, the overheads will just kill you easily. You either must be ready to give up your current luxurious lifestyle to settle for a very simple life, or have less children or none. How many people today can really give up their lifestyle in order to have more children today?

Just our 2 cents worth of view? What say you?

Source: http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/05/20/greater-gender-equality-the-key-to-singapores-big-baby-problem/

Inspiring Speech by Steve Jobs

This is a video of Steve Job giving a speech to Stanford University graduates. It is truly an inspiring speech with alot of advices for any aspiring entrepreneurs out there. Do prepare a pen and paper for note taking.

On some days..

..we ask ourselves why?

LTJ Bukem - Watercolours

Oh man..atmospheric drum and bass has really brought back a lot of memories for me.

Take a listen to LTJ Bukem's sound and chill with the flow in space....

Lost iPhone 4G prototype?

So are you still wondering if the lost iPhone 4G prototype is a stealth marketing strategy or a case of theft? I found an article posted on bits.blogs.nytimes.com which gave some insight on the development of this lost iPhone 4G case.

source: bits.blogs.nytimes.com

52 ways to speed up your Mac Os X

We would like to share with you some practical tips from imafish.co.uk to speed up your Mac Os X if your desktop or laptop has slowed down. Hope this information helps.

Awesome viral advertisement for the new BMW S1000 RR

Now that is a real demonstration of speed, power and creativity. Cool stuff!

Top 10 Type Crime by Ilene Strizver

To all our fellow designers and friends, this is a good information for all of you to check on your type knowledge. Read through the top 10 type crimes and see if you are on the right track. If you are going 'what is this, I don't need to check on my type knowledge', I urge you to please think twice.

source: http://www.itcfonts.com/Ulc/4111/TopTenTypeCrimes.htm

Sadness succumbs

Rest in peace, Ben.

iQuit by stewdio.org

Tired of your bosses? Sick of your mundane job? I think you need to visit http://stewdio.org/iquit/. What an interesting idea and I really love the way semiotics was used in the advert. Brilliant and it really got into my mind.

Warning: Explicit language

Brilliant Signage!

This is definitely not done on purpose but it did kept me staring at it for awhile. Brilliant or what?

Location: Along Queen Street near the Hawker Centre

Cute Doggie Photos at LIFE.COM

LIFE.COM has some really cute doggie photos which is hilarious. Check it out at, http://www.life.com/image/77541854/in-gallery/22386/cutest-doggie-costumes

iPhone (DIY) restoration guide

If you're a proud iPhone user, the following guide that I found would be a great resource for you.

Link: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=871308.

*Note: We will not be responsible for any damages, the link featured above serves as a reference only.

How much do you know about colors?

This is an interesting website that tells you all about colors and its role and you'll be able to gain more knowledge in the area of colors. Please visit their website at http://www.colormatters.com to find out more.

50 amazing iPhone wallpapers

I happen to find a link to some pretty cool wallpapers for your iPhone. Have fun choosing them.

Source: http://www.designer-daily.com/50-amazing-iphone-wallpapers-5452

Hong Kong Space Saver

In a land scarce country like Singapore, it's hard to avoid the day whereby flats would be too expensive for the average citizens to bear and small units would be the only alternative.

Hong Kong has been facing this problem for a while now and you'll be amazed by one specific apartment which is only 330 square feet, but with a sliding wall system it can create up to 24 different room combinations. Do check out this video at here.

Art & Copy

ART & COPY Trailer from ART & COPY on Vimeo.

All creatives would definitely be excited about this film. Find out more at http://www.australianinfront.com.au/presents/listing/art-copy

P-per cell phone concept

I can't remember when was the last time I really wanted to get my hands on a cellphone.This is definitely a design concept which is truly fresh which won a red-dot award in 2007. If this phone is ever going to land in our shores, I believe it will be a hit. Great job to the designers.

Source: http://www.cameraphonesplaza.com/p-per-cell-phone-concept/.

New way to organize your desktop

If you are not an organized person or you simply love to save everything onto your desktop. Check out this new way to organize it. Visit http://bumptop.com/mac/ for more details.

1 PICTO DESIGN has been featured in marketing-interactive.com

1 PICTO DESIGN has been featured in marketing-interactive.com

1 Picto Design has worked with various design projects with MediaRing in the past and is now its principal web and print design agency. "We look forward to working with Spicei2i on an ongoing basis and are confident our creativity and professionalism will effectively drive Spicei2i's messages to its targeted audience," Chris Teo, creative director of 1 Picto Design said.

This information is extracted from http://marketing-interactive.com/news/17409.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

Have you ever seen a full CG film executed as clean as this? Well I personally haven't until I saw this film by Alex Roman. Crazy stuff man...it's just madness!

Eternal Moonwalk - Tribute to Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson would be smiling from above if he would have seen this website. His influence and popularity is just incredible. Contribute to http://www.eternalmoonwalk.com/ if you love flaunting your moonwalk. For those who are just bored stiff with work, have a good laugh at this too.

We are Hiring!

We are looking for web designers to join our small family .

You should have these requirements for consideration:

• Adept in Adobe Creative Suite (PS, FLA, HTML)

• Good knowledge of actionscript

• Basic knowledge of Freehand

• Strong work ethic

• Pleasant personality

Please send us your resume and portfolio at admin@1picto.com.sg. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified. Thank you.

Freerunning Paper

Isn't this insane or what? Creativity is not dead for sure.

A photographer's enthusiasm

Early Monday morning. Whenever, wherever, however, it's never awkward to snap.

Tim Simmons

It is just amazing to see UK photographer, Tim Simmons's location shoots. They are lit to create highlights of the natural environment which has  captured the scenes beautifully in its natural form. Simply marvelous!

www.timsimmons.co.uk

Spice i2i Website launch

Spice i2i new corporate website has been launched. Please visit http://spicei2i.com to find out more about the newly re-branded company which was previously known as MediaRing.