I had just binged watch all the Star Wars movies (except for Star Wars: The Force Awakens) when I came across this particular packaging on Pinterest. I was drawn to these coffee cups for the obvious reason: Darth Vader (aka Anakin Skywalker). Once clicking on the actual link from the pin itself, I found out that this package and brand are just conceptual designs (sad!) for a hypothetic coffee company called Dark Brew Coffee House. It was designed by two Seattle-based designers, Spencer Davis and Scott Schenone. The company’s tagline sticks to the Star Wars concept as well: “A coffee house with a dark side.” The targeted audience for this brand were Star Wars fans who are both coffee drinkers and “force-sensitive” to dark side. The coffee cups also featured adapted Star Wars quotes.

I think they have successfully combined two of the greatest things people have provided to us: Star Wars and coffee. I find the idea of drinking coffee from Darth Vader and Stormtrooper coffee lids awesome! You totally get the feeling of the dark side with the cup lids and quotes because they are all considered to part of the dark side. I would have never thought of using Star Wars has a branding and packaging approach to coffee! It’s a shame that this doesn’t really exist!

Sources:

http://www.packagingoftheworld.com/2015/12/dark-brew-coffee-house-concept.html

http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/drink/star-wars-coffee-brew-dark-vaders-heart

Behance Page for Spencer Davis and Scott Schenone:

https://www.behance.net/spencedvs

https://www.behance.net/ScottSchenone

I came across this BuzzFeed article on my Facebook news feed the other day about 18 beautifully designed book covers from the new Pocket Penguin Series. I LOVE looking at book covers! In fact, my favorite project from Typography I is my To Kill A Mockingbird redesigned book cover. From reading article I found out that these books consist of famous and not so famous classic novels that were pulled deep from the archives of Penguin Books. I also found out these books are also small enough for you to carry in your back pocket, ergo the name, “Pocket Penguins.” But what was really interesting for me was how simplistic these book covers really are because They all have the same layout on the front and back covers. The front covers consist of two bold blocks of color and basic book cover info (author and title) but have the publisher smack dab in the middle separating the two color blocks and the book number at the bottom. On the back, front cover color is seen by font color of the quote and Penguin Books logo. Colors are consistent and adhere to a color-coding system based on the publishing origins (ex. orange= English; red= Russian; purple= French). Based on the minimalist style, it’s safe to say that the covers are for an audience who want a pocket sized book. Overall, I think they have a successful type pairing happening. Also, the covers make excellent use of the white space to draw in attention from the front to the back. I would definitely buy one of these books.

BuzzFeed Article: https://www.buzzfeed.com/danieldalton/pocket-penguins?utm_term=.vgeOb2erjW#.gl7gPl7Bz3

Welcome to my first blog post! What better way to start out this new endeavor than to describe to you my design theory. You see to me, graphic design communicates in its many forms. I believe it is an art that defines the relationship between ideas and concepts with the visual and textual approaches it takes in order to get the idea out there. Most artists create a piece of work with the intention to invoke an emotion. When a designer, like me, creates a design for any platform (digital, physical, or both), it is to make a reaction come out of that emotion. I design by combining a simplistic/minimalist approach with the elements and the space. Each design is original, innovated, and illustrative. I truly believe that any and all design should inspiring, thought-provoking, and one of a kind.

P.S. I’m still working out the kinks of this website!