G R A P H I C D E S I G N / B R A N D I N G JZA+D Branding

JOSHUA ZINDER ARCHITECTURE + DESIGNProject Manager.

Princeton, 2009-2011.

ALEXANDRE Branding

Ludwing Vaca, LEED AP

Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 2012-2013.

B O A R DD E S I G N

24"x36" final presentation board.

VIGNELLI CANON:

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Massimo Vignelli is an Italian designer who studied architec-ture at the Politecnico di Milano and Universita di Architettura in Venice, but has had significant work done in the area of graphic design, from the corporate identities of recognizable brands as American Airlines and Knoll, to the signage and map for the New York City Subway system.

In 2009 he publishd his Vignelli Canon as a free PDF book and a printed version the following year. In it he outlines his fundamental principles of design that he has established in his practice of many decades.

Available free to download at http://www.vignelli.com/canon.pdf

GRID:

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The use of a grid is a fundamental tool for board layouts. It is the basic structure to begin a layout and organize the content that one would like to show on a board.

Start with laying out the margins and then decide the board in a certain amount of columns and rows depending on the content, like in the examples shown. This creates a number of modules for one to start introducing the content in this strcu-tured format.

This book uses a 4x6 grid structure.

SKETCHING:

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Sketching different layouts quickly either in paper or the com-puter to scale is important before deciding on the final layout of a board.

Very quicky you can see if you would like to put an emphaisis on a particular image or have all the image have equal weight. You can also start to arrange images by type, color or scale together.

The emphasis of this is to do several layouts in a fast fash-ion before without spending much time on detail or technical items. This process will let you flush out ideas or designs that are not workable or would be too time consuming.

SCALE/PROPORTION:

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Scale and proportion relationships are also crucial for design layout, that either being on grid modules or type sizes as in the example presented.

Always try to work with similar sizes and when scaling different objects or type always do them in a proportional manner, this will create a more balanced layout, as well as give the different elements hierarchy.

In this book, notice that the title are twice as large as the body text (20pt and 10pt respectively). The rulers also have an hierchical relationship, from 2pt for the body of text to 4 pt for the page markers.

NEGATIVE SPACE:

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Negative space becomes one of the fundametal design tools in board design to allow an image, or text stand out in the board layout.

As in the adjacent example presented, the high contrast of black and white and the scale and type of the font used (gara-mound and the cursive signature respectively) allows the viewer to clear see the emphasis on the names presented. The power-full use of black as the negative space allows for these names to jump out of the page.

The same can be done to images, photographs, and renderings on an architectural presentation.

In this book, notice the full bleed spread cyan color at the introduction, helping give an emphasis for the title of the chapter: Board Design.

FULL BLEED IMAGES:

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Using full bleed images is another tool that makes images and boards stand out. A full bleed image is one that spreads over the margins of the art board and will print without any borders.

For the adjacent example, look how the double spread of a photograph (top and bottom images) have a more powerful impact to the viewer, compared images that are borken into smaller parts of the grid.

In this book, notice the full bleed image spread ascting as a chapter introd-cution. The same is done with the full bleed spread cyan color.

FONTS:

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As Vignelli suggests the invention of the computer and thou-sands of typefaces has become a bit toxic for graphic and ty-peography design. He suggest to use a handful of fonts on ones design library, he personally uses only half a dozen type-faces to create the thousands of projects he has worked on in his life time.

This book was created using only two fonts: Helvertica and Garamand.

ASSEMBLY DIAGRAM

PRISTINE FINE DRY CLEANINGPRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

Pristine Fine Dry Cleaning represents an evolution from your conventional dry cleaning operation. The facility uses an innovative, sustainable process using CO2 as a cleaning agent, and unlike other cleaners, they also offer a community concierge service. The client wanted the 765 sq. ft. space to have a “high-end” feel that fit within their budget constraints, to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and also effectively symbolize a departure from the industry standard.

Taking those conditions into consideration, a reception kiosk was designed to simultaneously unite and separate each of the functional elements of the project. This kiosk needed to be small, efficient and provide different levels of transparency to maximize screening of the clothing racks and allow for views out and through the space. The modern design, complemented by a hint of industrial aesthetic, supports specific functional needs, client interaction, and signage. The reception area acts as a transition point, with a complimentary curvilinear wall feature leading clients in need of tailoring services to a private circular fitting area toward the back of the space.

To reflect the “green” nature of the client’s cleaning process, sustainable design elements were brought to the project including energy efficient lighting, no VOC paint, no VOC concrete stain, and recycled tile. The completed space utilizes a simple palette of sustainable materials in warm wood and earth tones framed within each of the white curvilinear elements.

The architecture of Pristine Fine Dry Cleaning strives to embody the definition of its name, reflecting purity in its materials and design, creating a new kind of dry cleaning experience.

ASSEMBLY DIAGRAM

CASE STUDY:grid.

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GRID:The 40"x40" board is divided into smaller 8"x8" squares. The grid itself is visible and printein white lines, giving the board a subtle but effective composition.

40"x40" presentation board for AIA New Jersey Awards printed in glossy photo paper and moounted on black gator board.

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The larger image takes 20 of the 25 smaller squares. One square is for text, another one for an explodable axonometric and the remainder 3 for an a panoramic view of the interior space.

ASSEMBLY DIAGRAM

PRISTINE FINE DRY CLEANINGPRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

Pristine Fine Dry Cleaning represents an evolution from your conventional dry cleaning operation. The facility uses an innovative, sustainable process using CO2 as a cleaning agent, and unlike other cleaners, they also offer a community concierge service. The client wanted the 765 sq. ft. space to have a “high-end” feel that fit within their budget constraints, to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and also effectively symbolize a departure from the industry standard.

Taking those conditions into consideration, a reception kiosk was designed to simultaneously unite and separate each of the functional elements of the project. This kiosk needed to be small, efficient and provide different levels of transparency to maximize screening of the clothing racks and allow for views out and through the space. The modern design, complemented by a hint of industrial aesthetic, supports specific functional needs, client interaction, and signage. The reception area acts as a transition point, with a complimentary curvilinear wall feature leading clients in need of tailoring services to a private circular fitting area toward the back of the space.

To reflect the “green” nature of the client’s cleaning process, sustainable design elements were brought to the project including energy efficient lighting, no VOC paint, no VOC concrete stain, and recycled tile. The completed space utilizes a simple palette of sustainable materials in warm wood and earth tones framed within each of the white curvilinear elements.

The architecture of Pristine Fine Dry Cleaning strives to embody the definition of its name, reflecting purity in its materials and design, creating a new kind of dry cleaning experience.

ASSEMBLY DIAGRAM

CASE STUDY: full bleed/hierarchy.

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FULL BLEED/HIERARCHY:The full bleed image taking most of the space on the board gives it the most impact. Its full bleed quality gives the image a bigger than life feeling, specially since it was printed in such a large format (40"x40"), given the viewer the ability to be in-mersed in the space.

40"x40" presentation board for AIA New Jersey Awards printed in glossy photo paper and moounted on black gator board.

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The same is done in a smaller scale on the panoramic view on the top left, making this image second in importance on the board. The rest of the elements (the axonometric and text) take a third importance, whiile the title and firm name at the bottom make a subtle and last impression on the viewer.

CASE STUDY: image size

24"x36" presentation board for school of architecture graduate design course in glossy photo paper and moounted on black gator board.

40’

7"x4" jpg images150DPI

24"x36" jpg150DPIbackgournd image with clipping mask and gradient sky

PDF line workfrom ACAD.

line width 1PT.

line work from in illustrator

line width 4PT.

24"x4" jpg150DPI

all images sized in photoshop to their cor-rect sizes for plotting.

negative space for line work drawing.

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from the tool menu, use the MAG-IC wand or LASSO tool (or a combination of both), trace the outline of the mountains. RIGHT CLICK and then use SELECT INVERSE.

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PHOTOSHOP:image size & layer mask

select the ADD LAYER MASK.

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after making the selction with the previous tools, select the layer you wish to apply the CLIIPING MASK on.

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image size:go the menu bar under IMAGE, then IMAGE SIZE.

for 24"x36" board, set the RESOLUTION to 150 DPI. if working on 8.5"x11" or 11"x17" books, the resolution can be increased to 300 DPI.

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ILLUSTRATOR:printing

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never print directly from AI file in Illustrator, as the memory size and layering on them will make the plot too long to print.

under FILE, select SAVE AS, and then select PDF.

on the save Abobe PDF setting, select HIGH QUALITY PRINT on the preset and under OPTIONS, make sure you UNCLICK "preserve illustrator editing capabilities.

open the new file on Adobe Acrobat and then print the file from here.

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