Sometimes the most appealing products are not those that are priced the most reasonably, but the ones whose packaging goes beyond functionality and crosses over to the artistic. Alberto Alessi said it best when he described his reason for his own aesthetic designs: “More and more people buy objects for intellectual and spiritual nourishment. People do not buy my coffee makers, kettles and lemon squeezers because they need to make coffee, to boil water, or to squeeze lemons, but for other reasons.” Some of the most aestheically pleasing packages and...

   Clever graphic designers love to use typography to explore the interaction between the look of type and what type actually says. In communicating a message, a balance has to be achieved between the visual and the verbal aspects of a design. Sometimes, however, designers explore the visual aspect of type to a much greater extent than the verbal. In these cases, the visual language does all the talking. This article explores when the visual elements of typography speak louder than words. Cal Swan, author of Language and Typography, makes this point well when he says,...

   TV show logos have become an art. They create recognizable brands that become an important part of a show’s off-air life and legacy. The eclipsing O of “Heroes”, the periodic elements of “Breaking Bad”, the film-negative “X-files”, these title pieces have become instantly recognizable, and help make their shows familiar across many mediums. What makes these logos so unforgettable and remarkable? The answer is tied up in the shows themselves. The most memorable TV show logos are those which are both beautiful and evocative,...

   Calligraphy is an ancient skill, whose origin is difficult to date. It spans across a wide range of cultures and continents, and can be seen to this day all across the globe. Some track calligraphy back to the inception of the Latin alphabet in 600bc, although other notable examples can be seen through history. In the world of design, calligraphy is seen as a medium of many contradictions. On the one hand it has an archaic, dated reputation. On the other, it is still widely used in modern design projects, as has withstood design evolutions, transposing well to...

   Good typography shouldn’t have to rely on ornamental crutches to stand tall. Yet despite all the tools and knowledge available to us, we readily embrace a flourishing, decorative typography, with cheap tricks used in a misguided attempt to make it “pop”. This ancient art may rapidly be gaining popularity, but are we paying it the respect it deserves? Take a snapshot of the visual culture that surrounds you—magazines, movie posters, packaging, websites—how much of it relies on typography? How much of the typography around you is actually well...

   We do more reading on the screen today than we did even a year ago. If we are ever to have a golden age of reading on the screen, this might be the start of it. Tablets, Nooks and Kindles make buying a book or magazine for the screen almost unavoidable. With smartphones, we carry our reading material with us and enjoy instant Web access, enabling the reading experience to flow smoothly from one device to another. And those devices probably have stunning HD reader-friendly screens. Throw in companion services like Readmill and 24symbols, which allow us to share our...

   Typography is the art or technique of arranging type. It’s a broad medium, covering areas such as typeface selection, line length, line spacing, kerning, tracking, and of course wider design features such as color, lighting etc… Typography is a growing phenomenon amongst graphic designers, many of whom have gone beyond the basic placement of lettering, and turned typography pieces into their own works of art. Often typography designs feature elements of photo manipulation, light effects and even 3D elements. Today we bring you a collection of highly...

   With so many designer’s devotion to typography, we felt it was time to shine our spotlight on some of the more artistic typographical creations out there to inspire our readers. Typography is virtually everywhere these days, and the art scene is not lacking in these expressive designs. In fact, it is teeming with finely crafted pieces that take this design element to an entirely new level. One where it plays a much more subtle communicative role, and is more in a decorative one. Just take a look at this showcase we have compiled of some extremely artistic...