Hensher Creative

The Best Book Cover Designs of 2012

Shaun Hensher — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:36:20 +0000

I am so sorry. I know some of you have been waiting for this, but it’s been a nutty time for me. I’ve had to put blogging on the backburner. But excuses are not what you came here for, so without further ado, I present to you the best book covers of 2012.

It was a really strong year for cover design. It took me forever to go through it all and even paring down to these 80 was a real task. I hope you appreciate the effort!

Do you have a favorite? Is there a cover I’m missing that you think belongs in this list? Sound off in the comments (look waaaay down).

As with the 2011 list, I will try to include designer credits where possible. If you want to help me out, please let me know if you can fill in some of the blanks.

Designer: Unknown

Illustrator: La Boca

Designer: David Tanguy

Designer: Daniel New

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Oliver Munday

Designer: Chelsea Cardinal

Designer: Isaac Tobin

Designer: Unknown

Designer: John Gall

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Henry Sene Yee

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Catherine Casalino

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Abrams / Ben Wiseman

Designer: Catherine Casalino

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Holly Macdonald

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Tad Carpenter

Designer: Jennifer Carrow

Designer: Lynn Buckley

Designer: Michel Vrana

Designer: Henry Sene Yee
Photography: Jon Shireman

Designer: Michel Vrana

Designer: Pete Garceau

Designer: Rex Bonomelli

Designer: Catherine Casalino

Designer: Gail Doobinin

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Nicole Caputo

Designer: Peter Mendelsund

Designer: Charlotte Strick

Designer: Jarred Taylor

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Tom Darracott

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Unknown | Photographer: Unknown

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Catherine Casalino

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Michel Vrana

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Alison Forner

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Fuel

Designer: Henry Sene Yee
Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Jessica Hische

Designer: Unknown

The Best and Worst Contemporary Rebrands

Rachel Sanders — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 17:26:37 +0000

Rebranding a logo can be a daunting task, especially if the original logo is well established and well loved. Sometimes, however, there isn’t really an excuse for mucking up a brand design.

On the other hand, when a logo is rebranded well, it simultaneously encapsulates a brand’s past, present and future. While it’s no simple task, the best redesigned logos are usually the simplest.

Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the contributing author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Hensher Creative.

5 Botched Rebrands

Tropicana

Tropicana made a huge blunder by replacing the deep greens and thick lines of the original font with a skinny, minimal sans serif. They also nixed the classic orange with the straw that sparked the imaginations and tastes of so many past consumers. The redesign had all of the life and brand history sucked out of it, with a minimalism that echoed the starkness of generic brands. At $35 million for this redesign, Tropicana made one expensive mistake. Thank goodness they had the brains to revert to the original.

Sprite

I admit that there is something quintessentially 90s about the former Sprite logo, but it evoked a kind of throwback nostalgia that I personally really dug. The rebranded image takes the gradient transfers between blue and green and squeezes it into a small starburst banner trimmed in silver. Instead of topping the “I” in Sprite with the classic lemon layered over a lime, the new logo attempts to create a new hybrid lemon-lime fruit that is cradled in the arc of the starburst banner. Oh yeah, and the background is green. Way too complicated, Sprite.

Pepsi

For some reason, beverages seem to take the cake in rebranding, but hey, not everyone can be Coca-Cola. I get that, and so does Pepsi. It seems that this company has an almost comic obsession with rebranding, and I think Forbes said it best: “Pepsi needs to find itself before it can find the new Pepsi Generation.” Again, we see a light, airy sans serif font take center stage to replace the bold ALL CAPS Pepsi of before that held a lot of intensity and sense of motion. Instead of the symmetrically satisfying red, white and blue logo with a simple wavy line inside a circle, the can now sports a circle that looks like a laughing mouth in the corner. Oh yes, and the “e” in Pepsi now has the classic wavy line of the former emblem. It is a rebrand that sways between generic and cheesy.

London 2012 Olympic Games

One of the best examples of how an extremely classic logo can fall to pieces when tampered with on a large scale. I’m not even sure I can describe what happened here. The backdrop for this logo is a red and white “2012”with the 20 stacked on top of the 12. It is almost as if a kindergartener was given a pair of scissors and some construction paper and told to try to cut numbers from it. The 2s look like Zs, and the zero is a jagged square. The one resembles an arrow. Then, to make matters worse, they chose a font that looks like comic sans for the “London” portion of the logo. It came in a variety of horribly garish colors.

Gap

Could this be an example of the bar simply being too high? Where do you go when asked to redesign one of the simplest, most classic and most recognizable American brands of the 20th Century. Yes, we know that it’s a new millennium, but does Helvetica really have a place in the Gap? The rebranded logo says nothing. There is no meaning and the white space inside of the “p” feels crowded by a random, floating square. Another instance where the new brand design was scrapped due to a general outrage among consumers.

5 Brilliant Rebrands

ubank

Originally a small banking company, this South African bank was developed to support the needs of the region’s poorly educated working class. Originally called Teba, ubank changed its name and image to promote easy pronunciation (There are 11 indigenous languages in the region) and the company’s original specialization in customized services for their clients. What could be more appropriate to suggest services tailored to suit the customer than a fingerprint? In the “U” of the ubank logo is a fingerprint image. The sleek, modern design puts the company at the doorstep to the future.

Images courtesy of the designer, Jonathan Auret

Apple

This logo is on everyone’s favorites list. The simple graphic — an apple with a bite out of it — spent the 90s wearing colorful stripes. For the new millennium, the apple got a chromed makeover, with a sleek metallic gradient and swooshing patches of light and shadow that give it an almost liquid, mercurial feel.

Google

Google has tweaked its logo a few times over the years, and as a logo that breaks a lot of design rules in the first place — it actually began with a lot of room for improvement. (planned obsolescence, perhaps?) The updates feature fewer color gradients within the logotype, as well as a reduction in the drop shadow. Basic, simple improvements for a simple and powerful logo.

KFC

Perhaps my favorite rebrand is the recent update in the Colonel’s image for the KFC logo. The new logo features an almost identical Colonel, but by nixing the blue tints the palette becomes warmer and more inviting. The lines are bolder and in black, making the face more distinctive and jollier than before. Instead of an all-white coat, the Colonel is also now sporting a red apron with white lines down the breast, just enough white space to provoke a sense of movement within the logo.

Amazon

It was a good logo before, but Amazon’s new logo says so much more. The original logo had the classic swoosh below the “amazon.com”. The new logo keeps the swoosh, but turns it into an arrow that points from “a” to “z”. Thus, the swoosh takes on meaning. Customers who look at this logo can instantly feel the comprehensive nature of the site (from a-z) and the logistics of sending items to another location (the arrow). There is also a smile in that arrow, which is cheerful and inviting.

Rachel Sanders is a graphic design lover and artist who writes for webdesignschoolsguide.com. You can reach Rachel by leaving a comment below!

Book Review: Creative Stuff

Shaun Hensher — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:12:45 +0000

Design is hard. The creative mind is a finicky thing. Sometimes you can get in a flow state and it seems like no design problem is a match for your supreme wit. On the other hand, sometimes you just can’t seem to get in the groove and feel like you couldn’t design your way out of a wet paper bag. Hey, it happens to the best of us.

We all have little tricks and ways of jump-starting the creative process, but sometimes what you need is a little guidance. That’s what a new book by Dave Gouveia and Chris Elkerton offers. Creative Stuff: An Activity Book for Visual Thinkers is stuffed full of activities and exercises designed to help break that mental block.

The review

Overall, I think the creators of this book have done a pretty good job. Admittedly, there are some pages that seem like filler to me (word games and puzzles that I don’t think help much). That being said though, there are plenty of fun and challenging activities that make up for the fluff. The book itself is well designed, colourful,and playful. There is also an abundance of useful information and interesting trivia.

If you need a little kick in the pants to help get those creative juices flowing, this might be just the thing.

www.creativestuffthebook.com

The Best Book Cover Designs of 2011

Shaun Hensher — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:06:57 +0000

It’s that time of year again! Time to showcase the best book cover designs of the year. If you missed last year’s list, check it out here: The Best Book Cover Designs of 2010.

Once again, I’ve sorted through thousands of new books to find the gems for you. 2011 has turned out to be a pretty darn good year for book design. The themes of the year seem to be great art, understated typography, the return of white space, and unique materials/binding/packaging.

Enjoy!

At the request of my readers, I’ve tried to include the designer credits where possible. If you know who designed any of the unknowns, please drop me a line with the info.

Designer: Paul Sahre

Designer: Darren Booth

Designer: Catherine Casalino

Designer: Bob Aufuldish

Designer: Unknown

Designers: Anne Winslow and Keith Hayes

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Bernard Schleifer

Designer: Alex Miles Younger

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Peter Mendelsund

Designer: Paul Sahre

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Suzanne Dean

Designer: Rob Grom

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Suet Yee Chong

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Helen Yentus

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Betsy Stromberg

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Paul Kepler

Art Director: Darren Haggar Designer: Tal Goretsky

Designer: Miriam Rosenbloom

Designer: Abby Weintraub

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Susan Miller

Designer: Unknown

Designer: Diane Hobbing

Designer: Michel Vrana

Designer: Paul Sahre

Designer: Unknown

Designer & Illustrator: Andrew Roberts

Illustrator: Joe McLaren Designer: Susanne Dean

Designer: Unknown

Illustrator: Guy Shield Designer: WH Chong

Designer: Jeff Miller

Designer: Natalya Balnova

Designer: Unknown

Art Director: Jennifer Lum Illustrator: Michael Cho

Designer: Chip Kidd

So there you have it. All the best of book cover design 2011 has to offer. So what are your thoughts?
Do you have a favorite? Are there any that aren’t on this list that you think should be? Sound off in the comments.

FITC Rebrands, Adopts New Meaning

Shaun Hensher — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:29:41 +0000

The first FITC (Flash In The Can) event was held in 2002 as a Flash development conference. That was a decade ago. At that time, IE 6 and Netscape Navigator 7 were the most modern browsers available, “Web 2.0” held meaning, Macromedia Flash MX was the next big thing, and the iPhone was still 5 years away. The world has changed.

Recognizing that, FITC decided it was high time to enter a new direction in their brand design that better represented the brand it has become.

“FITC has evolved into a brand which is embraced by digital creators around the world for playing host to innovative speakers, who share the latest in technology and the creative things being done with it. We wanted our name to capture that, so we came up with four words which represent what our company and the events we host are about.” – Lindsay Munro on the FITC blog

The four words that the acronym FITC now stands for are:
FUTURE. INNOVATION. TECHNOLOGY. CREATIVITY.

Of course the star of the show is the new logo, below.

The identity was designed by fellow Canadian James White, of Signalnoise. You can read a detailed account of the design process here.

Of course, any time a rebrand is announced, opinions are never in short supply. Some say it looks too much like Leica (What, we can’t use red circles and white type ever again?), others say it shouldn’t be lowercase, and the trolls say “lame”. I for one think James has done a pretty good job on this. The mark is clean, stylish and bold, and meets all the crucial criteria of quality execution. So what do you think? Is this a hit or a miss?

The Creative Process

Shaun Hensher — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 04:49:50 +0000

In the last couple of posts, we’ve been talking about how to be creative. In The Creative Mind, we covered the mindset required for creative production. In The Creative Space, we talked about how our surroundings can help us foster our creative thinking. Now let’s talk about the actual creative process.

The Creative Process

How do we go about solving creative problems? Although it may sometimes seem like a mystical or mysterious process, creative ideation is no mystery. Creative problem-solving can actually be made quite simple by following a few tried and true methods.

Research

Research isn’t really part of the ideation process, but is more like the prelude to it. Nevertheless, it’s a crucial step. The internet is my primary source of research information. Depending on the problem you are trying to solve, your research may include a trip to the local reference library, a visit to the field, or conversations with customers. Either way you need to gather as much information about the problem as you can in the time you have. Are there existing solutions? What’s working? What’s not? What is the competition doing? What is the market asking for? Are there places you can look to for inspiration?

Brainstorming

Traditional brainstorming is most effective with groups (I think 5 to 10 is a good size). It is a method that allows you to generate lots of ideas from different perspectives. The more diverse people are in their experience, role, and outlook, the better. One person will have to act as a facilitator and write the ideas down on a board or large sheet of paper. Some suggest giving yourself a time limit or an idea limit. I’m not convinced this is necessary. You’ll get a sense of when people are tapped for ideas. If you do want to set a time limit, 15 to 30 minutes is probably about right.

Define your problem. Make sure everyone understands the goal of the exercise. The problem is sometimes best posed as a question, such as “How can we reduce the cost of producing our widgets?”, “What can we do to get people to join our mailing list?”, or “How can we improve the design of our thingamajig?”
Generate ideas. Get everyone to verbalize their ideas. Put absolutely everything on the board. No filtering of any sort should be happening. Criticism has no place at this stage.
Filter the ideas down. Once all the ideas have been written down, ask for input on which ideas have true merit. Try to narrow it down to 5 or so.
Evaluate the ideas. Now is the time for critical analysis. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each idea? What are potential problems? You may wish to have a list of criteria and assign a score to each solution depending on the criteria they meet.
Decide which idea is the strongest. The decision may be made by a vote, by enumerating the score assigned to each idea, or by executive decision. Depending on the problem, it may be that multiple solutions can be used simultaneously. Regardless of which solution you choose, make sure to record all the ideas, in case you want to go back to them and reevaluate.

Mind Mapping

In ideation, a mind map is a sort of concept diagram that is formed via mental association. This is my preferred initial method of brainstorming. It works quite well for graphic design and branding problems. I think the reason for this is that it mirrors the way the brain actually works. It starts with a central idea and expands outwards as associations are made.

Many people recommend starting with an image that is representative of your main idea, as well as using images to represent ideas. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference. It can make the resultant mind map more engaging and memorable, but personally, I don’t find it helpful. Perhaps it’s because I am a visual thinker and can easy visualize imagery around the words without having to actually illustrate them. Do whatever works for you.

Start with a large blank sheet of paper (in landscape) or a big whiteboard and place your main idea in the center.
Think of things associated with that idea and place them around it, drawing branches to each.
Now take one of the new things and start building associations around it, adding them to the main branch.
Keep expanding outwards until you have as many ideas to draw from as you think you need.
Highlight ideas that you think have potential in solving your problem.

Lateral Thinking

Lateral thinking is the process of solving problems by way of an indirect approach. It approaches a problem obliquely, using ideas that may not be immediately obvious and may not be obtainable using traditional logic. Here are a few of my favorite techniques:

Aleatoricism (a.k.a. Introducing Randomness): It’s a big word, but it’s a simple idea. Aleatory creation involves the introduction of chance into your creative process. It can be a great way to break thought patterns and clear creative blocks. There are innumerable ways to do this. Try taking a random dictionary word. How can you associate that word with your problem? How can you incorporate it into your solution? Pick up a random object. Think hard about how the design of that object might relate to your problem. John Cage, one of the early pioneers of aleatoric music, created compositions by consulting the I Ching, overlaying star maps on blank music sheets, or by rolling dice and flipping coins. There are no limits to the methods used. Be creative. In design, everything we do must have purpose, but sometimes the way we find that purpose might surprise you.

Challenge Facts and Ideas: Consider what you assume to be the facts related to the problem. What differences or advantages might exist if they are not, in fact, fact? Could a particular fact possibly be wrong? Can you modify the fact to better suit the situation? Ask “Why?”. Why is something designed a certain way? Why does it exist at all? What happens if you assume that an idea is wrong? A computer mouse should have multiple buttons and a scroll wheel. Why? Does it have to be that way? By challenging this idea, Apple created the multi-touch magic mouse.

Wishful Thinking: This is sort of related to the challenge facts technique, but it approaches it a different way. This technique asks you to imagine if everything was ideal. What if conditions were perfect? What if money wasn’t an object? What if laws and regulations weren’t an issue? What would your ideal solution look like? Once you’ve dreamed up this perfect situation, what can you take from it? Are there parts of this ideal solution that can be adapted and used?

SCAMPER: This technique uses a series of directed questions to spark creativity and break thought patterns. I won’t go through all the questions, but a thorough explanation can be found here: Creative Problem Solving with SCAMPER

Now that you know my secret, I’ll have to…

…ask you to share it! If you found this article helpful, please pass it along to anyone you think would like to learn about the creative process.

So now you can see, creative ideation is not a mystery. All it takes is the right mindset, a conducive environment, and knowledge of these methods and processes. You now have all the tools you need to be a creative genius. Go out there and create something amazing!

The Creative Space

Shaun Hensher — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:49:49 +0000

In the last article, The Creative Mind, we discussed the mental aspects of fostering creativity. This week, we pick up where we left off. If you haven’t read that article, I recommend checking it out.

Now that we’ve got ourselves acting like kids and thinking like crazy people, let’s talk about some of the external factors that help foster creative thinking.

The Creative Space

Before we are ready to start the process of ideation, it’s important that we take a look at our environment. An environment that encourages creativity can really help ease the process. So what makes a good creative space? There are two factors here — the physical environment and the mental environment.

The physical environment should be comfortable above all else. If we are too cold/hot or our back hurts because we have a crummy chair or there’s too much noise, we will be distracted and unhappy. In the last article, we talked about solitude, and it’s worth re-iterating here: a good creative space should give us the ability to have quiet, and to isolate ourselves if needed. It should also be a place where we can be loud and move around without disturbing others, especially if working in a group. It should not be boring and sterile. Nothing kills creativity like a vast expanse of grey cubicles. If your regular work area is like this, move somewhere else to do your creative work. Decent decor with a little colour helps. Having interesting objects around also helps for a number of reasons. Personally, I love having toys around. It doesn’t have to be Peewee’s Playhouse, but having an area to work in that stimulates the senses seems to make the process more natural. It’s also very important to have writing surfaces. Even if you work alone, having whiteboards, chalkboards, paper easels etc. is essential. I personally have in my office a big whiteboard and a door painted with chalkboard paint. I actually wish I had more writing surfaces. I find I do my best thinking on my feet. I like to move around, pace, pick things up, and write things down as they come to my mind in big chunky sloppy letters. You may find the same is true, especially if you have issues with maintaining focus (ADD etc.). Being on your feet keeps the energy flowing and keeps you focused. It also helps having the ideas up on a board to stare at while doing your deep thinking.

The mental environment is equally as, if not more important than, the physical environment. The crucial factor here is judgement. Whether working alone, or in a group, it is vital that all judgement be deferred to the latter portion of the process. We need to allow ourselves to bring forth every possible idea, even if crazy, stupid, or impractical. We need to remain open to experimental methods, sideways approaches, and outlandish solutions. If working in a group, people should be encouraged to share their ideas and should not be criticized. They should feel comfortable and appreciated, and all hierarchy should be left at the door.

Great examples of creative spaces

So what do you think? How important is your work space in your creative process? What’s your creative space like? Please share!

If you like this post, please help me spread the word by sharing on your social networks.

Next up: The Creative Process | Reliable methods for coming up with great ideas