Vector tuts Highlights Great Design Agencies

Among the 22 deign agencies highlighted by Vectortuts.com, Go Media, based in Cleveland intrigued me with the images that Vectortuts displayed.  Once I arrived at the site and spent some time browsing their work, I found this identity to be nicely done. The font appears to be of a hand crafted design, and the red drop symbolizes what the name says. I would imagine that to simplify this concept even more, if it is desired in the future, that little red drop could become the whole identity. I think this is clean and simple, and the font really gets my attention because I don't recognize it, plus it has a very soft appearance. The brand is apparently for a clothing line that originated as a simple campaign against diabetes.

Award Winning Design Company

In a Google search, I typed "award winning graphic design companies".  The third link down the page grabbed my attention saying Graphic Design Chicago - UpShift Creative , so I clicked and found that the company has designed campaigns for Allstate, Discover Card, and Weber Grills as well as identities for other companies.  I recognized one such company that I just recently saw has been added to our own Champaign area. The  name alone is catchy, but in observing the logo for a minute in it's true and ultimate simplicity, it appears to be a burger. The black on white simple sans-serif font divided by a rounded edged reddish brown line. It is a brilliantly simple and effective design that could almost fit right in with our current chapter study of a Plakatstil poster. 

A well designed logo will inform the customer of what the business does. Often the name of a business with do most of this job and the logo supports it. In this case, the name and logo are one and work in tandem to accomplish the same task. The result is a sure success. 

Beautiful Girls

Maybe Graphic Design does play a part in the decision. Do the following .pdf brochures sell their promise? To me, just about the most beautiful thing in the world is a muscle car. I love the sight of them. I love the sound, the smell, and the feel of a really mean machine. What sells this to the All American Boy? It could be movies. It might be radio. Is it peer pressure or status quo? Maybe it's the influence Dad has on a boy? Or it could just be human nature.  By the time a guy is old enough to responsibly drive one of these beauty's, not to mention afford her, he may need a little extra motivation to choose just the right girl for him. She could be a 

Corvette, Mustang, Camaro,  Challenger, Viper, or even more exotic and expensive. Let's just say he's a regular guy on a budget and every dollar counts. What will he choose? Why will he choose it? Horsepower? Price? Options? Style? Performance? Does the image above sell this car? Click it to see the whole brochure.

 Honestly? For me? No! I love these new Mustang models, but for me she has to be of a rare stock. I like the 550-horsepower Shelby GT500. Otherwise forget the Mustang and go with something like a Corvette. Of course, again here, she couldn't be a plain 430-horsepower Corvette. She would have to be the 505-horsepower Z06 model. Click the image for the brochure. Does it sell the Corvette? Any better than the Mustang?

 Or better yet with gas prices making me angrier every day, I would seriously consider the Tesla Roadster.

This week, I made my second visit to this little Mexican food place in Urbana. (closed menu: left) It shares a building with the new Jimmy Johns on University near Cunningham.  I always like to sample Mexican food places because it is my most favorite food. I like the choice of color in the logo. To me it says desert and cactus.

These are photos of the menu that I picked up while I was there. It's a bit difficult to see it here. The menu, when fully opened up resembles a tortilla. I didn't put that together while it was closed, but it is very obvious once you open it. I think that the designer did a great job with that touch. the edges are cut with an imperfect edge. As far as the Napkin is concerned, same logo, but they add a sombrero and their catch phrase to it. I like the catch phrase. It's perfect for a napkin. Then there is the bi-line "It's all about the Tortilla!". Their claim to fame is apparently their tortillas. And they are admittedly pretty good. I've had their burritos twice now.

It's function is to sell you on the idea that their tortillas are the best around. I think the design and layout of the type inside the menu is well done. The primary thing that you are looking for are the items that they sell. It is a pretty short menu with only 5 items to choose from plus side orders. So, the items names are in the brown squiggly bars with a description in smaller print below. Below that are the options available in the item selected and then the prices. All of the vital quick information is very easy to locate. Of course it is even made easier with the limited selection. I think that the design pulls off the Tex-Mex feel very well. The design is clean and styled correctly for the type of business that it is.