K E R N Zine-Folio
July 2021
By Elsa Mae B
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Contents IN EVERY ISSUE 2 Contents
4 Letter from the Designer 36 Contact Information
ARTICLES 14 Circular Design
28 Deconstructing the Barbie Doll 42 The Creator of Shapes Lyrics
PORTFOLIO PIECES 6 La Didot Poster
12 Typography T-shirt 16 Tidetabs Packaging 22 Recording Engineer Icons 24 Didot Bag 32 Savon Du Monde Packaging 38 Happy Toast 40 Coffee Pots Logo
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WELCOME TO THE ISSUE
KERN magazine is a portfolio--magazine hybrid. By presenting my printed portfolio alongside related articles, KERN celebrates the interconnectivity that the world has on designers, and that design has on the world. All of the content in this magazine is original.
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Letter from the Designer
Old and New My mother has a knack for taking the same piece of furniture, fabric, or decorations and rearranging it in a way that makes it feel brand new again. In that same fashion, creating this portfolio-magazine has been an incredible venture that allowed me to both find new ways to present my projects and to breathe life into photos and illustrations that I’ve filed away over the years. I hope you, the reader, are reminded of your own ways of reinventing, rediscovering, and reimagining different combinations of what’s already in front of you. British philosopher Alan Watts said, “We didn’t come into this world, we came out of it.” We ourselves are rearrangements of what already was, and we are part of the circular motion that bridges the old to the new. Design is circular too. We look at the past for advice on how to create new designs. We look to nature and history to enrich our designs with context and milieu. And now more than ever, we are thinking of ways to reuse materials and break away from the throwaway culture that we’ve become accustomed to. KERN was created one year into the Coronavirus Pandemic, and although it’s been a time of isolation and uncertainty, it’s also been a moment to reflect on where we are, and how we can revive and reinvigorate what we already have with what we will create in the future.
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g La Didot, typography poster. See animation at elsamaeb.com/design/la-didot-type-poster 6 KERN
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Italic
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Bold
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Bold Italic
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Headline
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LA DID OT
Didone, Modern, 1784-1811 Neoclassical serif typeface, high stroke contrast, flat, unbracketed, hairline serifs, condenced armature, vertical stress. The body text is set in Didot Regular with Small Caps. It is 11/13.2 pt, Flush Left, Ragged Right.
of up gro ned sa ot i s desig mily d i D face a is ot f type e Did nce. It g h a n by t ris, Fr as bei rn a d P e d in goriz r Mo e t o cate done o e Did l l i h a D face. T me we ous m a e c p e ty ir fa d the ily b n fam n for ting a ough w n h i o r T n . p de k cing ltitu nch Fre produ a mu d t type create ir mos faces e y the pe, the ot typ g y n d of t us Di d duri le o l e fam creat skervi ith a w e r B e pe, nd w -1811. a e ty 1784 ired th ntrast o p c at. s , e n m i rok d for iration t s se insp its den of con g with ment per e n Alo dvanc and pa se a e the nology wed th aces f tech ity allo n type h l r a e u wit d q Mo ted d new execu acy an e g r to b e accu llowin s as c a r , o m ision teristi ’s c t c pre chara Dido n h i c ne l i i u l s a det hair e. the edible so fin e incr e to b , k ical o r s t s la s eoc s N e of i t o g . Did the A ent sign with ghtenm n its de t i i cien Enl essed n a o r exp ludes t Roman licity p l It a k and th sim its i e Gre ition w eating and r c d ed a z r r i t . rigo deal and eous, i al form be c o g gor emati nues t day, h i t t t a n o d o ine’s m rde z ot c Did ly rega e Maga e c h hig g Vogu ce sin d a f n i e be r typ lasic an e cov . This c face is of e e 1955 ant typ erpiec t eleg a mas . y trul graphy typo
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Regular
“Typography is two-dimensional architecture based on experience and imagination, and guided by rules and readability.” -Hermann Zapf
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ABOUT La Didot tells the history of the French typeface Didot. Motion graphics bring the letters to life in a retromodern fashion, while the printed poster and booklet display the type families, classifications, poster specs, and a quote. ROLES Layout, typography, motion graphics. TOOLS Adobe Indesign, Adobe After Effects
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LA DIDO T
See the design come to life at ElsaMaeB.com/design/la-didot
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Typography T-shirt
A type-enthusiast’s t-shirt for sale online and in store at ShopColumbia as a part of the Buy Columbia, By Columbia initiative to expand representation of artists. By showing type anatomy on the t-shirt in a scientific way, the design gives the customer a glimpse into the rich world of typography.
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Shopcolum.edu
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Circlular Design W
hether you’re a designer or any other type of member of society, we can all agree that we’d feel better using products that are not harmful to the planet, and better yet if it was beneficial to it. Circular Design proposes the idea that what we make can actually restore life after it is used, which is an ingenious concept given that so much of what we make and use today does not. Rather, most of the items we purchase leak toxic chemicals into the water, ground, and air, and end up as a piece of waste for hundreds to thousands of years. This unethical mind-set has become embedded in our manufacturing process and in how we consume and dispose of products. It would take a lot of effort to change the way things are in order to think more 14 sustainably, but we are stepping into a new generation of KERN designers that are paving the way for future designers to build upon.
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e’re always hearing about what the next big trend in design will be. When it comes to Circular Design, it isn’t just a trend that will come and go. Circular design and sustainable design are about longevity, and it’s becoming the new mind-set that designers are leading their work with. When thinking about products in a straight line you get a pattern that looks like this: you buy something, you use something, and you throw the thing out. Yet, in nature, when something is done serving its purpose, it decomposes or rots, becoming a source of new energy for life. Nature is cyclical and interconnected. If we can integrate our industrialized society with the natural cycle of life, we'd end up creating products that break the mold of 'use me today and throw me away tomorrow.' It connects us to a bigger reality when we find soloutions for what to do next when a product reaches its end of lifeWW. There’s a diagram called the Butterfly Diagram. It has two main focuses, a biological cycle and a technical cycle. It's a feedback-rich system which makes it circular. The technical side thinks of ways to be restorative, using recycling as the loop of last resort. It’s the more inner feedback loops within the Butterfly Diagram that provides better options for the product before getting to the recycling stage. This includes remanufacturing, reusing, and maintenance. On the biological side of the diagram, it includes the materials used, and thinks of ways of creating flows of energy,
materials and information that can return positively and safely into the system, rebuilding and restoring its environment naturally. By thinking resourcefully, we can find ways of using biological materials to do things like generate energy, become fertilizers, be used for the extraction of chemicals, and cascades. Cascades is an under explored area that takes a high quality piece of material and finds many different ways to reuse it. A suit made of cotton, for instance, is made of a material that can be reused for insulation, cleaning products, wipes, or stuffing in a car seat before positively and safely returning it into the natural system. It’s important to remember, the economy is designed by us to work in a ceratin way. When designers see the systemic context of this man made economy, we realize that it can be redesigned and improved, playing an important role in innovating the circular economy. Design activists and networks of organizations create spaces for this free thinking to take place, resulting in a diversity of thinking that combines inclusive and collaborative values that enhance the input and working conditions to strengthen the design thinking process. The power of design is being able to shape the future that we want, and it all starts with a space to see and think differently. By stepping back and zooming in closer from different levels of complexity can help us think about the system that the object or experience is part of in order to see how they might influence the system through the idea of circularity. As humans have done throughout the history, learning from nature is one of the best ways to generate new ideas for circular design. Just as nature evolves and finds ways to improve, products and innovations that come from circular design will too.
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TIDETABS
ABOUT Tidetabs is the fresh spin on Tide Laundry Detergent that we’ve all been waiting for. These tablets would eliminate the need for plastic laundry detergent jugs and synthetic detergents, making a SPLASH in the laundry detergent sector.
ROLES Packaging, art direction, research and development, creative-writing TOOLS Adobe Dimensions, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop KERN 17
WHAT IS THE PRODUCT MADE OF? Material exploration was an important part of my design process. By sketching out the different types of sustainable materials in this simple list, I was able to see which options worked best visually and ethically for the product.
LAYOUT AND CONTENTS Here you'll see where I was figuring out where the logo and text should go and how many tablets could fit in one bag. A sustainable dilemma in packaging is having products with low fill lines that lead to a large portion of the box being filled with air rather than product. This not only misleads consumers, but is an unessasary use of space, creating more material and ink usage than nessasary.
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Tide ECOjar ORTHOGRAPHICS By creating concept boards, sketches, sourcing iconography and photography and creating flat, orthographic views of the packages, I was able to begin bringing this concept to life.
10.2 oz
Front
All other angles
Front View
Tidetabs
Tidetabs
Tidetabs
REFILLS
REFILLS
REFILLS
COTTON SKIES
LOTUS FLOWER
Front of Tidetabs Refill Pack: Cotton Skies
Front of Tidetabs Refill Pack: Lotus Flower
C O S TA L B R E E Z E
Front of Tidetabs Refill Pack: Coastal Breeze
Back View
Directions: Place 1 Tidetab into medium wash. Use 2 Tidetabs for heavier washes.
Produced with 100% Wind Energy
75% Plant Based Detergent
100% Recycled Cardboard Packaging
Directions: Place 1 Tidetab into medium wash. Use 2 Tidetabs for heavier washes.
Produced with 100% Wind Energy
75% Plant Based Detergent
100% Recycled Cardboard Packaging
Directions: Place 1 Tidetab into medium wash. Use 2 Tidetabs for heavier washes.
Produced with 100% Wind Energy
75% Plant Based Detergent
100% Recycled Cardboard Packaging
Refill your ECOjar with Tidetabs Refill Pack. Tidetabs are made with Tide purclean, the worlds first plant based detergent consisting of 75% plant based ingredients. One tablet will provide the same powerful clean as any Tide product.
Refill your ECOjar with Tidetabs Refill Pack. Tidetabs are made with Tide purclean, the worlds first plant based detergent consisting of 75% plant based ingredients. One tablet will provide the same powerful clean as any Tide product.
Refill your ECOjar with Tidetabs Refill Pack. Tidetabs are made with Tide purclean, the worlds first plant based detergent consisting of 75% plant based ingredients. One tablet will provide the same powerful clean as any Tide product.
Tidetabs Refill Pack’s are packaged in 100% recyclable cardboard material. The tablets are not individually wrapped with plastic and safe for the enviornment. Tide strives for a cleaner future with Tidetabs.
Tidetabs Refill Pack’s are packaged in 100% recyclable cardboard material. The tablets are not individually wrapped with plastic and safe for the enviornment. Tide strives for a cleaner future with Tidetabs.
Tidetabs Refill Pack’s are packaged in 100% recyclable cardboard material. The tablets are not individually wrapped with plastic and safe for the enviornment. Tide strives for a cleaner future with Tidetabs.
Back of Tidetabs Refill Pack: Cotton Skies
Back of Tidetabs Refill Pack: Lotus Flower
Back of Tidetabs Refill Pack: Coastal Breeze
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TIDETABS
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT By comparing different laundry detergent competitors and researching up and coming innovations in sustainable laundry, Tidetabs addresses the environmental issues that are common and solvable in the laundry industry.
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Recording Engineer Icons
On sale at thenounproject.com
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thenounproject.com/elsamaeb24/collection/music-podcast-and-radio-broadcasting
AUDIO ICONS
ABOUT A set of icons meant to be used individually or together for web, publication, or merchandise. These icons are inspired by my dad, a recording engineer with a passion for vintage audio and recording equipment.
ROLES Design and illustration TOOLS Adobe Illustrator
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Didot Bag THE BAG THAT’S YOUR TYPE.
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A play on words, this design personafies the type anatomy of the letters OK it in a literal and cheeky sense. The “leg and “foot” of the K became the leg and foot in a powder blue kitten heel.
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TH
E
BA G
TH
AT ’S
YO UR
PLAY ON WORDS If you look closely to the naming of the type anatomy on the left page, you'll notice why I placed a powder blue kitten heel on the foot of the K.
TY PE .
THE PROJECT I created this illustration by making and uploading the letters OK onto my iPad and drew over it using Procreate. This two-layered design works well on merchandise that show a front and back. For instance, the front of a bag could show the illustration, and the reverse side of the bag could show it’s anatomy.
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R B A I Deconstructing the Barbie Doll
A plastic sculpture that finds new ways to fit the mold of the times.
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n 19 5 9, t he crea B a rb ted. ie d Four year ol l w ty ye -old as a r me w s lat Gen er, s as pl erati i x a y ing w on G B a rb ith th irl G ie d e o tta ol l bed to th , jumpin Groove e Wo g on cass rk it ete t the out ape and PC g Barb in m play ame ie y b ing t on m find he G oom bo y da myse x o , d tt s Wi lf go insp ing b ndow a Groov irati a e s c on i k to ‘98. pain n ph the d Now ting otog oll fo I her i r and r art a n wa p h y istic pain , t e p r c o ter R olor sters Barb after ober , and ie ex t Bes the i pose llustr t in ou . T s h t h ator e bo r cul e sig ok F ture, nific it’s c orev ant r alon reate er o g wit d ove and h the le it’s pla r the their yed m d a e ny d child cade iden e s bet ren. tical ween bates Barb ly af doll. i pare t e e w r a t Bild nts he G s ma Lilli d erma strip was n 195 e almost wher d 5 Bil esign e she Germ d Li ed a was an c lli fter port all g a do a co r ayed irl. O ll, ad mic a s n ce L a hig ult m arou ill h-en en w nd an d ere k i was ma d kee de in now p he n to t o r in t carr heir uth H y he car a r andl sag e ag-gi r, the boug ft. ht a foun few der o trave Bild f Ma rede ling L signe ttel, i i l n Eu li do d it l r the f l o s i p nto a whil e. In irst e e spi chi ver B toy f arbie ldrens to red, she air i y n D , debu 1959 oll a of m . Th t the ting y wo e Ba rk is New vinta r b a 199 York ie se ge B 3 rep e lack that rodu n in mos and I fou c t W t i n o h d n of it in Ith the ica, N at a used e Swims u e toy s it Ba man w Yo hop rbie ufac rk. T some ture he or the e d wher i from ginal yelid e versi 1959 s are the r on w to 19 mold ed p as 6 e 1 a d . i nted The heav the s way y ove lips, wim suit and r the a de a t r h eyes e so e bo signe , ld st unde r, I th the rips niab ink t nost on ly ar h a a l t g ’s tistic spar ic be why circulating that the Midge doll didn’t have a ring on her finger, although mine k cre . As auty I am ativi in th draw Grow t y e did, which raised the concern of saying it’s OK to have children out of wed n in m d ing u t o o ll as y ow p, I m late it he n wo 1990 lock, which, for the record, it totally is OK to do that, but for many parents, ainly l p s rk an ’s, i had bug, d sty barb an in ncluded they thought it could be a bad influence on their child. I gave my entire l e . ies fr ing a flata flight om t ble p r e atten h collection to a family friend’s daughters. At the time I said OK but thinking d e lastic VW dant preg punc pool Barb nant back I really wish I held onto them. Maybe I could have passed them down , h Jelo ie, a Mid Midg nd th Barb ge B e wa e i e to my future daughter. But also, in all honestly, I just really want all those c , arbi sad tumm e Do ontrover oll th s y. In i l a l neat, tiny, highly detailed accessories that they made so I could take micro. P at ca l side tiny regn me w the r plast ant ith a photography with it! Well, wherever my old toys ended up, I hope they are e i m c m o b go fr vable ag om b aby so y tumm netic somewhere good—who am I kidding they are probably in a landfill underneath o e u i still r ng p y wa coul regn eme d ha sa tons of garbage, all the little plastic food and plastic shoes sitting there for the m a v n e b mom t to e not p the doll as sh r being i next thousand years. It’s interesting to see how the toy continues to evolve. r n e e were gnan the t was oy is t. I getti conf l e n Over the past few years, they came out with a line of dolls that are more r o g ques with nted me i tione my t and by a d inclusive in body sizes, weights, skin tones, and heights. I’ve seen a ken doll n it wa my m how othe s app r mo we om a ropr t s h with makeup, and another Ken doll that has super long blond beach-hair! I a chi to w iate ld to hy sh er who to gi play e v think it’s cool that the brand changes with us and, in a sense, is a reflection thou e thi with s typ ght . I th e of ink t of our society, filling the ever-changing molding of the times. Who know’s toy t here o were maybe someday they’ll have a biodegradable barbie made from bio-plastics. stori es
R
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savon du monde
ABOUT French for Soap of the World, Savon Du Monde is a line of soaps inspired by the playful, mod fashion of the 1960's. ROLES Packaging Designer TOOLS Adobe Dimensions, Adobe Indesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop.
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About the Designer
NAME Elsa Mae Brydalski EDUCATION Bachelors in Graphic Design Associates in Fine Arts Philosophy Undergrad HOMETOWN Buffalo, NY BASED IN Chicago, IL INTERESTS Singing & Song-writing, Photography, Philosophy, and Sustainability.
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Website www.ElsaMaeB.com Phone 717.322.8830 Email elsamaeb24@gmail.com Social @elsamaeb
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COFFEE POTS
ABOUT Coffee Pots is a new Buffalo, NY business that takes coffee pots and up-cycles them into plant potters. I created the logo and promotional branding material to help launch this beautiful brand into the hands of its customers!
ROLES Branding, illustration, layout TOOLS Procreate, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign
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Lyrics from the Designer The Creator of Shapes A heart looks nothing like a real heart, A star looks nothing like a real star, The creators of shapes were way off. A square is also a rectangle, A diamond is also a square just turned a little. An octagon is also a circle, It has some rough edges but its lines are so subtle. A line and a triangle fell in love and made an arrow. A line and a triangle fell in love and made an arrow. A line and a triangle fell in love and made an arrow. Freckles are polkadots on my skin, When I breathe out My lungs go in. My eyes used to be the color of ice, Now I see they’re just the color of tin, oh. A line and a triangle fell in love and made an arrow. A line and a triangle fell in love and made an arrow. A line and a triangle fell in love and made an arrow. Everything seems to be nothing more Than little circles Put together in a hurry. If you look too closely It becomes blurry, It becomes blurry, It becomes blurry.
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A line and a triangle fell in love and made an arrow.
This first edition magazine was printed by Blurb, 2021, designed in Chicago, IL on premium paper.
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Website www.ElsaMaeB.com Phone 717.322.8830 Email elsamaeb24@gmail.com 44 KERN
Social @elsamaeb
