Personal Manifesto

Mellow Fellow’s +1

Research and Presentation

Page 2Principles of Design.

Page 10Manifesto Reviews.

Page 5Mellow Fellow’s +1Manifesto.

Mellow Fellows

WritersAmanda MuscatClint GaleaJean Marc ZerafaMatthew VellaMatthew Zammit

The aim of our company is to provide, our clients a way to enhance their success with quality, affordable, clean style, graphic design and web design produced in a timely, profes-sional, and service oriented manner.We value having these privileges and are aware of the responsibility, and appreciate the confidence and trust our clients have placed in us to work on their designs.We pride ourselves on developing strong and long term relationships with our clients, as well as responding to their individual priorities with solutions that are tailored to their requirements, time frames and budgets. We work with our clients to understand the full scope and aims of each project, enabling us to design the most appropriate solution.Your goals become our goals!

Mission Statment

Principles ofDesignScale Overall size

Proportion / scale Relative size within the work

Unity Repetition > rhythm > pattern > Harmonycontinunity

BalanceEqualizing the visual weight of elements

DirectionVisual path

EmphasisFocal point

Dominance“get” the point of the design.

Form follows functionIts design must support that function

Line Line is an infinite series of points

ColourEverywhere and conveys a message

ShapeCan determine its mood and message.

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Look To TheSky

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TextureCreate visual texture that mirrors actual texture.

ValueDesign is meant to be used as a facilitator.

Focalpoint & SubordinationAttract attention in the design

Movement Directional Forces, Direction & Empasis

White SpaceAreas of a design devoid of text or graphics.

RythmA recurrence or repetition of one or more Elements within a

visual composition with the goal of creating Harmony

Principles ofDesign

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MellowFellow’s+1 ManifestoBASICRelax take a step back when the going gets tough

Dream wake-up and make it happen

Smile to make the world a better place

You haven’t seen a tree until you’ve seen its shadow from the sky.

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SENSESListen to the requirements and do what your mind deems best

Observe evolve, design, re-designSmell the farts and make a perfume

Feel the message

Taste the rainbow and draw it

PERSUADE Challenge get out of your comfort zone Ask everything Dismiss nothing

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Always Under the Spotlight..What should good design convey for us?

Balance & Contrast > Space / Colour / PlacementFunctionality Timeless Not by the book but aesthetically pleasing

What information, do we as designers need to able to work well?

Why?? Focus on the message and means of delivering. Brief5 W’s (Who, What, Why, When, Where)Time & Budget

How should a design be made so it is exciting/ entertaining?Shocking / DisturbingInteractive

Which form/medium could have that quality? List of mediums/ formats have these qualities (Example animation - final stand should include animation)

• Give life – Animate & Create movement • Remix Ideas

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I am Designer ManifestoAvoid Spec work like the plague, it produces superficial design, wastes your time, and cheapens your work. You wouldn’t tell a hairdresser that you would only pay if the haircut was good, why design for a client who is not committed to paying.

As Designers sometimes we are pushed to do a number of “creative works” under certain directions and conditions, which are neither aesthetically pleasing nor anything which one could call a good design. Moreover, if the work will not satisfy the client, the designer will end up not being paid, thus don’t do it in the first place.

Don’t work for free under the guise of ‘good exposure’. It is bad exposure. If you don’t value your own work, neither will anyone else.

Many times, especially in the beginning of one’s career in the design industry, one might try to get some experience in the new field by designing something for free, also trying to show his capability and a advertise himself indirectly. If one’s work is excellent, then he must be paid for it.

The proof is in the pudding. If you work on what you love, people will love your work, and you will get noticed. Clients should pick you based on your previous body of work; you do not need to prove yourself every time you negotiate a job.

One’s success is shown in his work, the work he loves to do at the end of the day. One has to show how capable he is, and impresses others with his final work and projects, and not just with praises and words.

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Don’t be mysterious. Transparency is key to trust and understanding. As a designer you provide a unique skill set and point of view, the better you can explain this to a client, the more they will trust you. The more they trust you, the more innovative you can be.

Trying to talk in technical detail, or in an abstract way. Show what are one’s assets and competences so the clients will know more what they want, and what they will be waiting for

Design and designerly thinking are a powerful and effective cultural force and busi-ness practice. As designers it is important that we treat ourselves and our industry with the respect each deserves.

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Manifesto - cavedogstudioListenThe designer’s main task is to help the client convey a message. If we don’t listen carefully for what that mes- sage is, we fail as communicators. Asking the right questions and gleaning the best answers is the only way to understand a client’s needs, competition, and market. If we don’t know something about your business, we’ll ask questions until we do.

Keep it simpleIn most cases, creating a simple, clean design requires more effort and attention than quickly tossing some- thing together. Simplicity in design is often deceptive - that clean, spare look takes a great deal of time to achieve.

ConsistencyTreating elements with consistent graphic appearance is critical. In long texts, the organization and heirarchy of infor-mation needs to be displayed using consistent fonts, colors, and other elements. Without some level of predictability in the design, the reader can get lost quickly.

Be inventiveEach client, each project, each subject is unique - even if only in the combination of factors that are in play. Developing a truly unique and customized solution for every design problem can be difficult, but that’s where the magic happens. Inspiration for design comes from all around us, from architecture to microscopy; nature to circuit board design. The key is finding how to incorporate seemingly disparate influences to solve the problem at hand.

Be appropriateUsing the appropriate tone (in design choices, layout, supporting photos, etc.) is critical when creating a de- sign “lan-guage” for a project. We never rule out a particular approach or style until it can be shown to be less effective than another. Humor, pathos, technical, nostalgic, anger... all are often on the table during the initial phases of a project.

Present simplyWe used to go by the “standard” accepted practice of always presenting multiple mockups of early designs. Many designers still work this way - always at least 3 options for a design, refining one or parts of more than one. We still take this approach at times, but more often we will focus our time on creating one proposed design solution. Internally, we may go through dozens of rough sketches or multiple mockups for a project, but the client may only see a single refined solution. This approach has proven to be far more efficient and, at times, less confusing for the client.

Production perfectionOr, at least we strive for perfection. We take the time to be sure all artwork that leaves Cave Dog is as clean as pos-sible and free of potential pitfalls that can delay a project or run into problems once we pass it on to others. Tight code

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on websites makes for fewer potential problems down the road as the site matures. Clean print artwork that doesn’t have to be massaged by the printer or prepress house makes for faster production and timely delivery of the finished piece.

Review..Cavedogstudio manifesto is very concise and clear which is a great way for the company to communicate with their clients. They strive to give their best in terms of design and to satisfy the client from every way pos- sible. The only problem noticed is that as a manifesto, could be more clean and straight to the point, with less words and better idea.As we go through the manifesto, one can notice a very formal way of statements. Cavedogstudio states that the designer’s main task is to communicate clearly and listen what the client really wants, to best satisfy him. They make sure to ask the right question and get to know the client well to best suit his needs.As they say “Less is More” and Cavedogstudio prefers to keep designs clean and at a minimal level. “Simplic- ity in design is often deceptive”.The company strives to keep consistent in their designs, in terms of appearance such as fonts, colors, grids etc. They believe that without consistency the client might get confused.The company’s aim is to be innovative and inventive, to be unique and different from other graphic design companies.In the ‘be appropriate’ statement the messasge is quite unclear, but, the idea seems that while creating the pro- ject, the company does not use a specific guide.Cavedogstudio has a presentable manifesto but certain statements could have been more clear and certain state-ments seems to be similar.

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3Dimensional wall art, “I feel good today”

The Artist: Niels Bruschke of Santiago DesignThe location: A popular Coffee shop, the erste liebe (first love) bar in Hamburg.

The use of play in typography and calligraphy in conjunc-tion to the physical bike (promoting eco transport) and the illustrations are well balanced. Colour scheme is based on the shades of black along the hints of light blue making good contrast to the white background.

The message itself seems as if the more you focus on words that uplift you, the more you embody the ideas contained in those words which make it ideal located in a busy coffee shop.

Simple, playful & functional.

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Nature of the Beast

The Artist: Chris Valentine and Billy Bogiatzoglou aka BillelisThe Location: Intrinsic Nature Experiment 11

Good combination of traditional and digital drawing and the choice to keep it monochromatic was good to enhance the details. The illustration is beautiful by itself, but when combined with the textures of watercolours and shapes it makes it so much more dynamic. There is also a sense of motion and energy from the piece.

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