Thought Orphanage

We’re pleased to announce that Chibi Planet Critters finally has a new mini-site! A little bit of a teaser for the main site we’re working on.

It’s not every day you get to asked to do work for South Park elementary school… no, not that South Park. But rather South Park Community School here in Victoria. It’s a great school, family-run, and just on the other side of Beacon Hill Park from the studio. (Not to mention that some of my favourite little people are pupils there.) So when they needed a pro-bono publicity poster ATR was happy to step up to the plate.

More details are here if you’re interested in attending/donating. Should be a great time and all the money goes towards a new, much-needed, playground for the munchkins.

Fun little article/blog post on two of my favourite geekeries: typography and math.

Not much intro needed to this one… a great little article from Web Designer Depot on how you should not go about getting a good quality logo.

The exciting news around the water cooler (read: sink) this week is my acceptance as a Professional Member of the GDC.  This is an honour and a privilege that I’ve been working toward for quite some time now, and I’m pleased as punch. Here’s a little blurb from the GDC website:

The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) is Canada’s national certification association for professional visual communicators. GDC Professional Members (FGDC, MGDC, LGDC) must pass a rigorous portfolio review and have formal training. A professional designation by the GDC is the mark of quality and experience.

toothpastefordinner.com

His mannerism is slightly irrelevant, which I like… although he’s obviously very up on the subject. I think he may become the Terry O’Reilly for the next generation of ad geeks!

From the fine folks at the Graphic Design Blog.

1. A logo is the very first impression people get of your company -
   Before a potential client even walks through your door, your logo is a representation of your company. It can make a company appear large, small (whether it really is or not) fun, serious, professional…
2. A logo needs longevity
   Once a logo is designed it will represent your company for many years.
3. A logo needs to be original
   A logo should be designed specifically for your company. A cheap “generic logo” may not reflect your company’s values. A cheap logo may also use clip art which could end up being used by another company.
4. A logo should look professional
   You wouldn’t take a potential new client to Mac Donalds for lunch, in effect this is what is being done with a cheap logo. A logo should give your company a professional image, appropriate to its needs.
5. A logo should reflect the time and thought gone in to designing it
   One of the problems here is that people don’t always realise the amount work that goes into a professionally designed logo:
   • The research – even if the budget is quite small I would expect at the very least to find out who the company’s main competitors are and how they present themselves
   • The brainstorming of ideas
   • The rough sketches
   • The 4 or 5 logo options worked up on the computer
   • The amends, tweaking and further amends
6. A logo is the starting point of your whole corporate image
   The colours typography and style of a logo will often dictate the corporate look of the rest of a company’s literature.

ATR Design wishes you all a very happy World Graphic Design Day.