Los Angeles, CA (February 17, 2012) – The brand identity system and packaging system for Agostoni Chocolate were recognized as winning entries in Creative Quarterly’s CQ26 competition. The logo and brand identity system received a winning honor, and the packaging received a runner-up honor. Both systems will be published in the CQ26, which will be available online and on newsstands in Spring of 2012. For the full list of winners, view the Creative Quarterly web site at: http://www.cqjournal.com/winners.html

The Agostoni Chocolate Brand system received a winning honor.

The Agostoni Packaging system received a runners-up honor.

About Ramp Creative

Since 2002, Los Angeles-based design firm Ramp Creative has garnered national and international recognition for its work from such prestigious institutions such as the Communications Arts Design Annual, How Magazine International Design Annual, Blackbook’s AR100, Appleton Design Council Showcase and the Mohawk Paper Show. The firm handles design thinking for their clients through creative communications services in visual branding, corporate collateral, marketing communications, broadcast graphics, interactive design and packaging.

About Creative Quarterly

Creative Quarterly publishes quarterly issues of Creative Quarterly: The Journal of Art and Design exploring inspiration in fine art, design, illustration and photography. http://www.cqjournal.com/

Personality + Communication = Love
A relationship starts with an attraction to personality (brains) and physical traits (beauty), and trust continues development through socializing (conversation). The continuing interpersonal attraction can have different levels of intensity, which affect our mental and emotional understanding of each other. Lasting love depends on behavior as much as biology.

First impressions are hardwired into our psyche.

Brand Attributes + Experiences = Trust
Brands work the same way. In dealing with companies, products and services, consumers are emotionally seeking certain brand traits (story and image). Once consumers find brand personalities they identify with, they decide if brands embody convenience and comfort, and as the relationship continues, loyalty is fostered. Customer commitment to a brand is key to a company’s value and longevity.

People are attracted to brands.

The one thing that does break customer loyalty, is a violation of trust. Bad service, low quality products, frustrating user interface and inconsistency of image can cause consumers to seek new brand relationships. If you want to keep friendships, relationships and customers, stay consistent, dependable, appealing and committed to your fan base.

The NPR post 3 hours prior only got 370 ‘likes’.

Los Angeles, CA (January 30, 2012) – The Agostoni Chocolate logomark, designed by Ramp Creative, was recognized by the Type Directors Club for typographic excellence.

“We are extremely excited to be recognized by one of the world’s most prestigious typographic design competitions,” said Michael Stinson, creative director at Ramp Creative. “The Agostoni Chocolate logo is a carefully crafted mark designed to embody the company’s chocolate-making process: which is a bit of both traditional and modern philosophies, a combination of hand-crafted and technological processes, and blend of Italian and American cultural sensibilities.”

Agostoni Chocolate Logo

The annual awards competition of the International design organization, Type Directors Club (TDC) presents the best typographic design in the world. The awards are renowned for the quality of their selections and the accompanying annual book published by the TDC. The judging panel comprised of Karin Fong, Ian Albinson, Matt Lambert, and Shane Walter. Of the nearly 1800 entries, from 35 countries, only 223 were selected.

Ramp Creative’s winning entry in TDC 58 will be shown at the 58th Awards Exhibition in New York will travel with others in a global exhibitions touring cities in the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, Spain and Vietnam. The winning entries will also be featured in Typography 33, the Annual to be released next year.

About Ramp Creative

Since 2002, Los Angeles-based design firm Ramp Creative has garnered national and international recognition for its work from such prestigious institutions such as the Communications Arts Design Annual, How Magazine International Design Annual, Blackbook’s AR100, Appleton Design Council Showcase and the Mohawk Paper Show. The firm handles design thinking for their clients through creative communications services in visual branding, corporate collateral, marketing communications, broadcast graphics, interactive design and packaging.

About the TDC

The Type Directors Club is the leading international organization whose purpose is to support excellence in typography, both in print and on screen. Founded in 1946 by some of the industry’s leading practitioners, the TDC’s earliest membership included Aaron Burns, Will Burtin, Freeman Craw, Louis Dorfsman, Gene Federico, Edward M. Gottschall, Herb Lubalin, Edward Rondthaler, Bradbury Thompson, and Hermann Zapf. The TDC today represents the best of today’s type design and type use.

Is this the case of the shoemakers’ kids having not shoes? Maybe the editors are so busy finding good design examples, tips and articles that they cannot design something easy on the eyes for themselves? Kinda makes me cringe. The blogs are very unorganized, or look very generic, have hard-to-read type, or just features messy graphics. Many times, there’s just too many advertisements. There’s quite a few out there, but here are five.

Graphic Design Basics

Design Sites Up

Graphic Design Junction

Graphic Identity: Graphic Design Articles & Free Design Box

Graphic Design Web Design Blog

While designing the identity for the Pacific Asian Consortium for Employment, we were immediately drawn to the lyrical and playful approach of Sarah McMenemy’s illustration work. Her work has been published in picture books, food packaging, posters, galleries, environmental graphics, and more… seen both Internationally and locally around London, where she resides. Sarah’s work seemed to complement the feeling we were seeking out for the PACE Web site, and we’re very happy with the outcome.

Your work has a consistent charming style that is flexible enough to fit various industries and a broad range of clients including BBC, Mastercard, Singapore Airlines, Beefeater Gin, Kodak, Mercedes, Harrods, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Elle Magazine, and more. Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes mostly from a wide variety of artists and illustrators that I have admired over the years. Childhood picture books left a lasting impression. Artists such as Ardizzone, Sasek, Ravillious and Shirley Hughes lead to a fascination with drawing. As a student of Illustration fine artists such as Dufy, Matisse, Picasso, L’Autrec fuelled my work. As a professional my influences have broadened out to design in all it’s forms, architecture, nature. My own children provide enormous inspiration and have kept the sense of joy and celebration in my work.

Can you share a bit about your approach to the illustrations you did for PACE?
My approach to the PACE project was to create illustrations which would be engaging, uplifting and friendly, providing welcoming visual guidance to the potential clients who may be at a point in their lives when they most need help.

Rough sketch for the Asset Building Center

There were loose ideas for the concepts for all sections of the website within the brief. It was my job to make the ideas work visually and to capture the meaning in a symbolic way while creating an attractive and sympathetic image. Simple line roughs were developed then discussed and approved to move on to the next stage of adding colour. When colour roughs were approved, the artwork began, using Gouache watercolour paint, black ink and paper collage on watercolour paper.

PACE Home Page sketch

The handmade and human touch lends itself to differentiating so much of what we see now on the Web, which is computer-generated imagery and stock imagery. The fact that you’re using such a tactile process is evident in the texture and whimsy of your illustrations. Is all your finished work done by hand?
Yes, all my work is done by hand. The act of drawing and painting on paper is central to the freshness and integrity of the image from my perspective. It is also a key part of the enjoyment of the process. It is a daily pleasure to be working on hand made paper, squeezing tubes of paint and dipping a pen into ink. Computers are a fantastic tool and are now vital for scanning, correcting and sending images but direct contact with materials is what inspires me.

The finished home page illustration for PACE's Web site

How do you maintain balance in your life between work and play?
When I’m not working, singing in a choir plays a big part in my life, walking in the beautiful British countryside and coast, seeing friends and family, playing the piano and dancing. It’s important to keep some fun and joy in the week as it’s tempting to fill all available time with work when you are a freelance artist. I consider myself very lucky to enjoy my work and get huge satisfaction from it.

Thank you Sarah. You can see more of Sarah’s beautiful work on her Web site at http://www.sarahmcmenemy.com/.

At the studio, we frequently perform design audits of company materials and find ample opportunities for improvement. When we survey such sales and datasheets, we ask a ton of questions: How easy are these to read? Does the layout engage the reader? How quickly can it be read? Is the information understandable at first glance? Like, what if the audience doesn’t read English? Can they tell what the sheet is trying to communicate? Do the visuals translate the information enough?

We usually drum up different approaches on how to improve, but there’s always a few basic ways to add interest and increase the functionality of the content. There’s five simple layout techniques to help increase readability. We do most of our learning through our eyes.

1. Imagery
Photos and illustrations help to add visual reference, define personality of the content, and multiply the meaning of your message. Imagery is powerful. Personally, we prefer illustration for many applications, because it helps to set a company’s communications apart from their competitors’ materials.

2. Infographics
Charts and graphs help to boil down very complex data into simple graphics that allow the reader to use the information for their needs faster. Using data visualization helps readers digest complex information quicker. For example, above is an image about the world’s debt outlook in a graph summary from the Business Insider. The graph outlines the data visually, making it easy to understand and make comparisons. These work well for annual reports.

3. Hierarchy
Creating headings and subheadings organize the copy into bite-sized chunks. Each heading should be signaled by one or more visual cues, applied consistently across a body of text and throughout a document. A cue can be spatial (indent, line spacing, placement on page) or graphic (size, style, color of typeface). More information on this topic is available on Michael’s post about typography formatting.

4. Simplicity
Cutting down on content can really help. There may be a lot of information, but only key points and messages need to be presented. Too much copy to read can repel a reader. Edit down and be precise. Make sure the overall writing voice is directed to the target market.

5. Color
Using color in a systematic way helps to categorize and organize items or sheets into a visual system. Color can be used to designate sidebars, mastheads or columns. Use color sparingly to highlight content and bring attention to certain points. Consult with branding guidelines before making color choices.

Los Angeles, CA (January 2, 2011) – Four logos designed by Los Angeles-based design studio Ramp Creative have been included in the Graphis Logo 8 Annual. The four logos from Ramp Creative are Mantova 449, AIGA/LA Shoptalks, Agostoni Chocolate and UCLA STPP.

Mantova 449 Logo

AIGA Los Angeles Shoptalks Logo

Agostoni Chocolate Logo

UCLA STPP Logo

The Graphis logo series of annuals are published every few years as an outstanding collection of original logos, corporate symbols, and trademarks created by prestigious designers all over the world. The Logo Design 8 annual is available for purchase on the Graphis Web site.

About Graphis
Graphis, The International Journal of Visual Communication, was first published in 1944 by Walter Herdeg in Zurich, Switzerland. Graphis has upheld its reputation as the premier publication covering graphic communications worldwide and has been revered for its artistic presentation, impeccable design, and exemplary production qualities. Global in scope, Graphis is a compelling record of the most significant and influential communication work being produced today.

Ramp Creative
Since 2003, Los Angeles-based design firm Ramp Creative has garnered national and international recognition for its work from such prestigious institutions such as the Communications Arts Design Annual, How Magazine International Design Annual, Blackbook’s AR100, Appleton Design Council Showcase and the Mohawk Paper Show. The firm handles design thinking for their clients through creative communications services in visual branding, corporate collateral, marketing communications, broadcast graphics, interactive design and packaging.

www.rampcreative.com