GROKKIN’ DESIGN
Jon Tan

A kid on a plane
(A bit about me)
Used to have hair
Creative Director at http://omniti.com/
Blogs at http://jontangerine.com/
Responds via @jontangerine
Likes Toblerone

Design is: ‣ Brand and identity
80% Science, 20% Art ‣ Typography and layout
Condensed into three sections… ‣ Colour

“People think it’s this veneer — that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’
That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like.
Design is how it works.” .
— Steve Jobs, 2003

BRAND & IDENTITY

Brand evolution
International Time Recording Co. (1889) and the Computing Scale Co. (1891) became the
Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. in 1914 and then International Business Machines in 1924.

…and fina&y…
International Business Machines as an acronym emerged in 1947, changed again in 1956.
It evolved into the current IBM logotype in 1972.

Nikon
Some use pure type as a logomark.

Coca-Cola
Some use custom type as a logomark.

Nike
Some combine type and an icon into a single graphic symbol.

Sony Vaio
Can some be both a logomark and logotype?

Brand is more than just a pretty logo…

…it’s the experience that surrounds it.

Branding: basic guide
‣ Vision
‣ Brand equity is user experience
‣ Keywords
‣ Emotional response
‣ Typeface
‣ Colour
‣ Test in context

TYPOGRAPHY

Is typography important? Bruce Lawson’s spoof Zen Garden entry may give us a clue.

The Raster Wars
Different operating systems.
Different browsers.
Different result.
Affe)s:
Measure (line length) which can cause
extra lines to be created as text wraps.
Test, test, test again.
http://tr.im/rasterwars

Core web fonts
‣ Andale Mono by Steve Matteson
‣ Arial by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders
‣ Arial Black by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders
‣ Comic Sans MS by Vincent Connare
‣ Courier New by Adrian Frutiger and Howard Kettler
‣ Georgia by Matthew Carter
‣ Impact by Geoffrey Lee
‣ Times New Roman by Stanley Morison with Starling Burgess and Victor
Lardent
‣ Trebuchet MS by Vincent Connare
‣ Verdana by Matthew Carter
http://tr.im/testwebfonts

LAYOUT BASICS

One grid to rule
them a&
Wem Crouwel’s 1968 Vormgevers poster
for the Stedelik Museum, Amsterdam.
Wem Crouwel used this grid for every
piece of work he did.

“I did it my way!”
Grids for the Web.
(Props to Sinatra for the tangerine skin.)

Exact golden ratio. Round up values. Add gutters and margins. Adjust to suit.

Rule of thirds (my version). Round up if you wish. Add gutters and margins.

Compare this (A) with…

…this (B). Which is better?

1. Two columns. Approximate golden ratio split.

2. Basic body text and leading (line height).

3. One lead equals the line height of the body text. It is also the same as the distance between baselines.

4. One lead is the grid! Known as a ‘baseline grid’.

5. Head and lead, multiplied!

6. Headings and hierarchy

8. Vertical rhythm

6. Scale and Fibonacci numbers

7. Result recap

7. Result recap

Typography & layout summary
‣ Choose type to fit the content.
‣ Set type for legibility.
‣ Stack type with CSS based on availability:
• font-family {
'<preferred font>', '<system font>', '<core web font>', <generic>;
}
‣ Test for rendering quality.
‣ Line height or ‘1 lead‘ defines the vertical rhythm.
‣ Use a grid.
‣ Try Fibonacci numbers. Compose to a scale. Aim for balance.

Balance and composition may take a bit of practice

COLOUR BASICS

Colour Wheel
12 colours: Primaries,
secondaries, and tertiaries.

Colour Wheel
Opposites attract…

Colour Wheel
Opposites attract…

Colour Wheel
Opposites attract…

Colour Wheel
Opposites attract…

Colour Wheel
Opposites attract…

Colour Wheel
Opposites attract…

Colour Wheel
Choose a primary color and either one or
two compliments.
One or more can be used as muted tones.

Tints
Adding lightness.

Shades
Reducing lightness.

Tones
Reducing saturation.

Vibrant colour
Rich, evocative, energetic.
http://lealea.net/

Minimal colour
Simple. Peaceful. Clear.
http://jontangerine.com/

There’s a colour for every mood.

“A*er a certain high level of technical ski& is achieved, science, and art tend to coalesce
in æsthetics…and form.”
— Albert Einstien, 1923

Thank you!

Credits & references
‣ Woman painting te wing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2178437377/
‣ ‘Your logo here’ body: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jystewart/3393580386/
‣ IBM iterations: http://www.zlok.net/blog/2009/01/13/ibm-logo-design-history/
‣ ‘Freshly made’: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/327003878/
‣ Yee Haw Heidelberg Windmill Press: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tnboriqua/1176715935
‣ Sinatra: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelonoah/2939542950
‣ Copy used in examples from The God-Idea of the Ancients (or Sex in Religion) by Eliza Gamble:
http://www.authorama.com/god-idea-of-the-ancients-1.html
‣ Color wheels adapted from: www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-wheel/color-wheels.htm
‣ Auto polo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2477626151/
‣ Y-fronts worn by Vitruvian Man: model’s own.