Final Project - "Push"



Jordan Was Borin' Before I Wore 'Em

Air Jordans or "Jordans" are probably one of the oldest and most infamous brand of shoes produced by Nike.  These shoes were essentially designed for the legend himself, Michael Jordan, and he endorsed them.  The first pair of shoes were released in 1985 and every year after that, the Jordan release has taken the world by storm.

The first pair of Jay's were called Air Jordan I and they were designed by Peter Moore in 1985.  The shoe recieved alot of publicity because it violated the NBA's uniform rules with it's bright black and red design.  In 1994 the Air Jordan 1 was re-released with a lack of success. However, the Air Jordan 1 has been the most reproduced Jordan shoe with over 90 different color schemes.

The Air Jordan 4 was released in 1989 and was designed by Tinker Hatfield.  Thanks to the shoe’s comfortable cushion and unique, sleek design it was the first Jordan shoe to be released on the global market.  Actor and film director, Spike Lee, helped launch the ad with the infamous “Can/Can’t” TV commercial and he also let the shoes make an appearance in his movie “Do The Right Thing”.

Considered the most unique shoe of the Jordan line are the “Six Rings”.  These shoes were released in 2008 and are a combination of the seven pairs of Jordans that Michael Jordan wore during six of his championship seasons.  The combination includes the AJ6, AJ7, AJ8, AJ11, AJ12, AJ13, and the AJ14.  The Jordan company has released the color scheme of each team that the Bulls defeated in the 1990’s ¾ LA Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Seattle Supersonics, and the Utah Jazz.

Gimme that Bass!

Saul Bass is one of my favorite graphic designers.  I'm a big fan of his works, especially his movie posters and flyers for musical events.  His designs are simple, but they are so moving and powerful and they allow you to draw up your own conclusion as to what the movie, play, or musical is supposed to be about. 

Anatomy of a Murder. 1959. Through the use of simple shapes, colors, and lines, Saul Bass achieves a well-balanced and proportioned movie poster. In its entirety is simple but I believe because it is so simple, it causes the eye to move all around the illustration just in case you happened to overlook something the first time.

Vertigo. 1958. The poster uses a great emphasis on line & shape in both the figures and the font causing a sense of balance throughout the whole poster. However, the spiral encases a point of emphasis surrounding the two figures.

Saint Joan. 1957. The colors used in this piece cause a somber feeling but it achieves a sense of unity at the same time, especially in the background with all the different red & purple tones -- maybe those colors symbolized "fire" sense of Joan of Arc was burned to death. Although the squares are not perfect, they do come together and create a neat background for the simple figure to stand in front of. The overall texture of the poster, excluding the font, is rugged, which happens to emphasize Joan of Arc's lifestyle -- rugged.

Paul Rand - Logo Analysis

Essentially, there's a difference between a good logo and a great logo.  A good logo usually consists of something appealing to the eye, but will it be recognizable for years to come?  A great logo is different from other logos, it fits the company's image, it's practical, it's more than what meets the eye, it's simple, it can be scaled in various sizes - big and small, and it conveys the company's intended message.  Famous graphic designer and logo expert, Paul Rand was able to achieve such great logos for large corporate companies like IBM, UPS, Enron, Westinghouse, & etc.

American Broadcasting Company Logo. 1962. This logo is probably one of the most recognizable logos around the world. In my opinion, one of the easiest ways to achieve recognition with logos/symbols is simplicity. Rand took a simple shape like the circle and placed a simple type in the center of this space. To me, this creates a sense of unity, proportion, and balance.

Eye Bee M Poster. 1970. We are automatically able to recognize what Rand intended to illustrate with his use of simple lines and shapes. When I look at this illustration, I feel a rhythm as my eye moves from the "eye" to the "bee" to the "M". The color against the black background create unity as well.

UPS Logo. 1961. After looking at some of the old UPS logos, I noticed that Rand's appeared to be the most simple - nothing too over the top. The lines and overall shape create a composition that's well-balanced and well proportioned. Just about everyone in America knows that UPSes' sole purpose is to deliver packages and Rand did a great job illustrating this by placing a bow-tied package on top of the shield.