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We have moved!
AIGA NH/VT has moved our Blog to http://www.aiganhvt.org. In addition to getting our own domain name we have upgraded from the free WordPress.com Blog to a WordPress.org server. We are very excited about the new features and possibilities made possible by this upgrade. Please update your bookmarks with the new URL and visit us often!
-Mark
Fresh Squeezed
Tropicana's fresh branding
This week Pepsico announced it was reverting to the old Tropicana packaging design after the re-design “created confusion in the grocery aisle and put off loyal customers.” The re-design was done by Peter Arnell, the same designer who created the new Pepsi logo and packaging.
Have you seen the re-designed Tropicana packaging? What did you think? Are they giving up on the design too soon?
Leave your comments here.
Digital Arts and Humanities Lecture Series at Dartmouth
Those in the upper valley design community may be interested in some of the topics in the Digital Arts and Humanities Lecture Series at Dartmouth. Dartmouth is bringing humanists, technologists, and artists to campus who focus on the interplay of digital technology, culture, games, art, and science.
The next lecture in the series is tonight, Tuesday February 3, 2009 at 4:30pm
“Communities of Play: Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds”
Celia Pearce, Director of the Experimental Game Lab at Georgia Tech
Dartmouth Campus, Silsby 028
Visit the website for more information on upcoming lectures in the series.
Understanding DPI
DPI is a seemingly simple concept, but there is widespread misconception on what it actually is, and where and how it matters. This is an old topic, but people keep getting it wrong. It’s never bad to revisit things like this and extend our understanding.
DPI vs. PPI
Designers know that DPI (Dots Per Inch) is a measure of how many ink dots a printer is capable of placing along a one inch line. Many designers incorrectly believe that DPI is also a measure of how many image pixels will be placed along a one inch line. There’s a separate term for this: PPI (Pixels Per Inch). Pixels per inch is also used in scanning, where a physical item is converted into a pixel grid.
This is a real easy one to remember: If it’s an output device like a printer, the correct term is DPI. If it’s digital media where pixels are used, (like a digital photo or scan,) it’s PPI.
The confusion is widespread. Many stock photo sites sell images at various DPI values. As of this writing, even Wikipedia discusses digital images in the DPI section. But, take a look a Photoshop’s “Image Size” window. It clearly states “Pixels/Inch” under “Resolution”.
PPI doesn’t matter on the web
Try this: Create a new photoshop document at 300x300px, and set the resolution to 100 PPI. Now, create a second image at 300x300px, this time set the resolution to 200 PPI. Fill both with a solid color. View both on your computer at 100%. They’re the same size on screen: They each use 300×300 pixels on the screen. Now, print both from photoshop at 100%. You’ll notice that on paper, their size differs considerably.
When an image is displayed on the web, it is done so as if it were being viewed at 100%. The PPI value only applies when an image is being printed.
PPI is not a measure of image quality
If you saved the images from the example above and looked at their file sizes, they would be identical. A lower PPI value does not necessarily have less information. The only measure of how much digital information is contained in an image is the number of pixels.
A smaller image at a higher PPI value may contain less information than a larger image at a lower PPI value. It’s easy to figure out which image has more information: multiply the dimensions by the PPI value, and compare the pixel count.
Photoshop allows you to change the PPI value without touching the pixel information. To do this, uncheck “Resample Image” in the “Image Size” dialog. Any changes you make in this way will affect neither how large your image is displayed on screen, nor how large your image is displayed on the web, nor the size of the file when you save it. The only thing you are changing is how large it will print. Any image can be adjusted to print at any size or resolution without changing the pixel data.
PPI cannot exist alone
Since the PPI value can be changed without changing any pixel data, it’s not possible to know how much information is contained in an image if all you have is a PPI value.
Occasionally, stock agencies will sell different image sizes by offering the images at various “DPI” dimensions. There’s very critical information missing here. When the agency does not provide pixel dimensions (or physical dimensions) in addition to PPI, then it’s possible that the agency can sell you the exact same pixel data for all of these image sizes. Most importantly, you have no idea how large and at what quality you are actually able to use the image until after you’ve bought it.
When a client sends you an image, remember: you can always change the PPI value if it’s wrong, but if you don’t have enough pixel data, you’re out of luck.
-Michael Niggel
New Free Font for you! Rovetti Print…
Man, I can't stop with the free stuff!
Yeah, here it is in all of it’s glory… my first foray into the world of type! Criticisms and all the rest are welcome… so go and download it… it over here at:
http://rovettidesign.com/2009/01/rovetti-print-a-new-free-font-for-you/
Let me know what you think, and whether you use it in anything cool? Want a cool tool? Want to know how to make them? Ask me, and I’ll blog about it (that is, if I have any idea how to do it). Anything from making custom brushes, displacement maps, custom gradients, styles, actions… you name it. I’m ready for questions! Just contact me here, or at http://www.rovettidesign.com. Ok, that’s it from your rusty, trusty, and loving web chair for now. Now go get that font and do something with it!! Boo yaah!
Photoshop World Boston | March 25-27
Oh yeah… it’s coming soon. Is anyone registering and making the trek? With the classes and panel of instructors, it’s money well spent. Has anyone been to a Photoshop World before? Sound off… is it valuable, does it look cool, are you afraid of crowds of Photoshop freaks with laptops?
Here’s a snippet from the frontpage of http://www.photoshopworld.com of some of the super-talented instructors.
The Value of Design: Behind the Project
Inspiration behind the designs:
A number of years ago I was working as an in-house designer for Franklin Covey. We were in the midst of reworking the company’s corporate identity. In an attempt to drive home the importance of branding my design manger gave all the designers two products to do a branding switch. I received a box of Wheaties and a can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup. The presentation was effective.
The Project:
As an instructor, teaching the branding class I saw the value of this assignment in teaching the importance of color choice, font, and placement. I also want them to gain an understanding of brand hierarchy. Each year I go shopping for name brands and give students two products. Generally, they are opposites; a food item verses a detergent. Students are then asked to take one product and apply the brand from the other. They are to match as closely as possible the brand from the second product. Students then have at most a week to create the switch.
The Result:
We see the world through design. The branding switch demonstrates the importance of color and other visual expectations that have been created over time. It also demonstrates how brands have changed our perception. The Charmin looks tasty because of the lifesaver brand, while the milk chocolate and Salsa look unappetizing because of our expectations of Spam and the medicinal look of the Crest Toothpaste.
-Barclay Tucker
——————
This design project will be on display in the Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT until November 8th, as part of the Creating Impressions: A Visual Discourse on the Value of Graphic Design exhibit.
The Fall TV Schedule: Opening Credits
Pushing Daisies promo image
There is a lot of great design in opening sequences on TV these days. My favs: The Big Bang Theory – it’s fun, fast paced, and features a theme song by the Barenaked Ladies; Chuck – the campy, nerd-inspired take on James Bond type graphics is fun and illustrative; Without A Trace – the complexity and the collage style of the graphics does a good job in distilling the show down into a 30 second message; Pushing Daisies – Bryan Fuller is brilliant and everything he does is visually spectacular [If your not watching this show, START NOW!]; Numb3rs – it does a great job of tying together the concept of the show with the necessity of stating who the actors are; and True Blood – I LOVE the theme song, and the rapid fire, disturbing images keep me glued to the screen, I can’t turn away even though I want to. Below is a collection of some of the Falls opening credits. Let me know your favs in the comments section below.
MONDAY:
TUESDAY:
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY:
Smallville (CW)
Survivor (CBS)
Ugly Betty (ABC)
Kath & Kim (NBC)
CSI (CBS)
The Office (NBC)
Supernatural (CW)
ER (NBC)
FRIDAY:
Everybody Hates Chris (FOX)
Ghost Whisperer (CBS)
The Ex List (CBS)
Numbers (CBS)
SUNDAY:
The Simpsons (FOX)
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Dexter (Showtime)
True Blood (HBO) (nsfw)
BoNE on the Road comes to Colby-Sawyer College
September 18 – October 16, 2008
Opening reception: Thursday, September 18, 6 – 8 pm
Marian Graves Mugar Art Gallery • Colby-Sawyer College
541 Main Street, New London, NH 03257
AIGA Boston’s 2007 BoNE Show is on the move as a traveling exhibition, showcasing the best designs in New England as chosen by a panel of nationally celebrated judges: Stefan Bucher of 344 Design, Luba Lukova of NY, and Kevin Krueger of SamataMason. The nearly 100 pieces on exhibit were chosen out of more than 500 entries.
Brought to you by AIGA Boston, AIGA New Hampshire/Vermont, and
Colby-Sawyer College. This exhibition is also made possible through the generous support of friends of the Marian Graves Mugar Art Gallery.
Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday 10 am – 5 pm; Saturday 10 am – 2 pm
Phone: 603 526 3000
Objectified: A Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit
On Helvetica’s heels…. here comes another one. Color me excited. Click here for more info, or read a little bit below.
From their website:
About the film
Objectified is a feature-length independent documentary about industrial design. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. It’s about our relationship to mass-produced objects and, by extension, the people who design them.
Through vérité footage and in-depth conversations, the film documents the creative processes of some of the world’s most influential designers, and looks at how the things they make impact our lives. What can we learn about who we are, and who we want to be, from the objects with which we surround ourselves?
AIGA NH\VT 
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