Wine Redesign Options

Illustrative Alphabet + Ad

In-Progress Alphabet

My (Makeshift) Workspace

Over the weekend, my room (and usual workspace) flooded so I was forced to relocate into my dining room and in the words of the great man, Tim Gunn, I had to make it work. Anyway, here's my temporary workspace!

Two Fonts Had A Baby

A Block of Type: An Overcast Day in Five Points Athens

What I Collect

                       

There's nothing I like more than watching music videos. This is the single video that has inspired me to use more color in my work. I was starting to get into a straight black and white phase (which I am still kind of in), but this video's overwhelming use of color is fun, and vibrant.

Art toys have always been very interesting to me. I hope one day I can design one. These cool figurines inspire me to explore outside of just designing to print on a flat surface.

If there is one thing I will splurge on it will be music festivals and concerts. I can't count all of the shows I've been to on two hands or four of them. Music festival posters and memorabilia usually have a care-free and loose look. These posters loosen me up to not make design be so serious.  

I love the new direction typography is going in. It is no longer just a bunch of letters. It can be conceptual now too. It makes for great art.

Inspiration

When it comes to who inspires me, the list goes on and on. My family inspires me to be a better person, my boyfriend inspires me to be more loving and considerate, and Björk, musician and artist inspires me to be more creative. As far as design goes, wow, the options are endless. So to keep things short, I am currently inspired by Alex Kirzhner, like I mentioned previously. He moves through photography, illustration, and typography with such an equal amount of fluidity. I believe I can find inspiration in everything. I am an over-thinker which most of the times works against me but in this case, it helps. I find a lot of my inspiration in music. My freshman year of college I went through a phase where I would put headphones on and listened to music that had no lyrics. I would draw what the sounds looked like to me. That's the beauty in art. It allows you to cross your senses together. I can't see sounds but I know what they look like. That probably sounds really weird. I am definitely the most creative in the morning before the sun wakes up. This is new to me because my best ideas used to come at 4 AM. I think design is so much more than visual communication now. Although most of it is trying to say something, there are many times people design just for the aesthetics and that's okay! A piece can be visually stunning and have absolutely no meaning behind it. I think that's part of what makes design so much more flexible now. Here are the pieces that inspire me right now:

My Self-Portrait + My Timeline

Overall, I was quite pleased with the results of my double-page spread and timeline. The only thing I will change is removing the "10 on 10" at the top of my timeline and write "The Life and Times of Betsy Cruz" in the same handwriting as my name in the double page spread. Out of all the pieces I've done at my time here, this one has been the most natural to me.

My Loves + My Hates

I can't help but think to myself that the timing for taking the Advanced Typography course couldn't be better. Why? This summer, I realized: TYPOGRAPHY IS EVERYTHING. I mean, the typography bug really bit me. Anytime I wasn't at work, I was endlessly scrolling through pages and pages of typefaces. The interior design bug bit me too. I always knew my love for drawing and painting would combine easily with graphic design but I never in a million years thought my random love for home decor would. I am so inspired by Scandinavian design in particular, it's minimalistic but statement pieces are living example of good design. Besides those two disciplines, I have discovered that album art is something that I would love to do as a career. I recently discovered Alex Kirzhner, who has received Grammy nominations for outstanding work in album design and limited edition packaging. Here are a few examples of what I believe is good design based on my summer interests.

Via Daily Inspiration

Via dribbble

Via Mad About the House

Via Alex Kirzhner

Unfortunately my eyes have also feasted upon some terrible design. Working as a production artist at a t-shirt company, I have noticed that the general public isn't exactly aware of good kerning. I have also not been a fan of these fitness ads that I have been seeing on Pinterest. My feed is flooded with images of butts with hot pink borders. And finally, I have learned that I have to warm up to the concept of corporate-esque (?) flyers/informational packets. I just believe there's a more modern way to do corporate design now a days.

  

Via UCreative

Via AdWeek