Polygon Magazine

December twenty fifteen

edition nยบ1

polygon lasalle college vancouver

magazine

December twenty fifteen

edition nÂş1

polygon lasalle college vancouver

magazine

Left to Right: Andres Gonzalez Vivas, Kyle Jang, Daryl Askey, Gurjant Singh Sekhon, Adam Gal, Jonathan Joaquin.

Polygon Magazine is produced by the Editorial and Publication class – 3rd term Graphic Design at LaSalle College Vancouver.

101 Smithe Street Vancouver, BC V6B 4Z8 vancouver@lasallecollegevancouver.com lasallecollegevancouver.com/programs/ graphic-design-courses

Check out lasalle student magazines online: http://issuu.com/macromagazine

4 branding New American in the air

By Adam Gal

8

design tips Graphic design tips

By Andres Gonzalez

14

meet the maker 3D printing revolution

By Jonathan Joaquin

16

all about design Facts, stories & art

By Grujant Singh Sekhon

22

behind the scenes At Vancouver Fashion Week

By Kyle Jang

REBRANDING

NEW AMERICAN

IN THE AIR

December 2015 | Polygon Magazine | 5

REBRANDING

A

merican Airlines has just re-branded for the first time in over 40 years. The AA logo of yore is gone, replaced by the Flight Symbol, a red and blue eagle crossed with a wing. And every plane will be tagged with a high-velocity abstraction of the American flag on its tail.

There’s logic behind the decision: AA recently ordered 550 new planes.

Many will have composite bodies that can’t be polished with the mirror shine of American’s existing fleet. The look had to be reassessed for brand continuity, so the company has spent the last 2+ years with Futurebrand reconsidering everything from the plane’s finish (it’ll be mica silver paint) to the logo to the website to the interior seats to the terminal kiosks. But it all started with a question: “What are the things that are relevant from all over the world about America?” Rob Friedman, VP of marketing asks.

“Technology. Entertainment.

Progress. These things people really feel are American attributes,” Futurebrand’s Chief Creative Officer Sven Seger later answers. “We didn’t make this up. It’s from people all over the world.” In approaching the redesign, American polled both their own employees about what defines the American brand (the answers were predominantly the planes’ silver fuselage and the eagle logo) and the larger globe about the American country (which is where tech, entertainment, and progress come in). What they were looking for was, not just what is American Airlines, but what is America in the age of globalization?

“The old identity was slightly

6 | Polygon Magazine | December 2015

skewed to a more powerful American image. We needed to move it to, we call it ‘American spirit.’ What’s the side of America people really, really love,” Seger explains. “People have huge love for the eagle, but not necessarily the eagle in the downward position potentially attacking someone.”

So AA kept the eagle, but it ditched the talons and transformed it into the Flight Symbol. It’s both a bird and a wing. But instead of being focused on

the hunt, it’s focused on the flight, because sleeping through a coast-tocoast red eye doesn’t make you Top Gun. Futurebrand’s research also found that the American flag, of course, was another defining trait of America itself. The challenge was, how does American portray America without becoming blindly patriotic in the global market? The solution was a striped abstraction of our flag, augmented into a

About American Airlines American Airlines focuses on providing an exceptional travel experience across the globe, serving more than 260 airports in more than 50 countries and territories. American’s fleet of nearly 900 aircraft fly more than 3,500 daily flights worldwide from hubs in Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. American flies to nearly 100 international locations including important markets such as London, Madrid, Sao Paulo and Tokyo. With more than 500 new planes scheduled to join the fleet, including continued deliveries of the Boeing 737 family of aircraft and new additions such as the Boeing 777-300ER, and the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, American is building toward the youngest and most modern fleet among major U.S. carriers. American’s website, fleet, including continued deliveries of the Boeing 737 family of aircraft and new additions such as the Boeing 777300ER, and the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, American is building toward the youngest and most modern fleet among major U.S. carriers.

high-velocity graphic printed on each to mocking up several ideas that plane’s tail to make aircraft seem like were far more conservative, polishing they’re flying, even when they’re sitthe old logo and typography but not ting still. In other words, they ditched fundamentally changing it. But as the stars in favour “THE OLD IDENTITY WAS an American, of the stripes.

I have to say, I SLIGHTLY SKEWED TO “With stars, greatly appreciate the design has a the re-branding of A MORE POWERFUL different connotahow a corporation is AMERICAN IMAGE.” tion,” Seger says. “It ultimately representing gets you quickly into the 4th of July. my country, not as an aggressively It doesn’t get you to technology and postured world power, but a TVprogress.” loving society that likes to travel and Interestingly enough, you won’t see makes a decent table. this flag abstraction anywhere else in AA’s re-branding—which includes everything from the insides of their planes to the kiosks at each terminal.

In these spaces, American focused on the Flight Symbol. Spaces will be filled with blue, the new blue of American, specifically to complement the eagle.

“We brought the sky down to the ground so the symbol, the eagle, can actually fly,” Seger says. “It’s blue; it’s very optimistic.”

Additionally, the interiors of both terminals and planes needed to capture the specific feel of America’s interior design. Admittedly, we’re not a country known for its avant-garde furnishings, but we are known for craftsmanship. Futurebrand interpreted this as using wood that’s “a little bit heavier” mixed with steel.

The buzzword they used was “seamless tech,” an implication of technology behind comfort, or a wholly redesigned in-flight entertainment system.

No doubt, not everyone will like AA’s reboot. The original brand has been seared into our consciousness for decades. Even Futurebrand admits

December 2015 | Polygon Magazine | 7

DESIGN TIPS

by Andres Gonzalez

W

hen I was in high school, I was always doodling in my notebooks. Hand-drawn characters design and stuff like that covered my homework, tests, and papers. I would get lost creating new ways to write out my name or drawing cartoon representations of my friends. Teachers were constantly telling me to “knock it off” and focus on my studies.

At the beginning of my journey, I sought advice from graphic designer friends. They were telling me the same thing over and over: “Learn Photoshop and Illustrator”. So thats what i did, I decided to join a graphic design school. As much as I started the school i have learn a lot. But there were still holes in my knowledge that couldn’t be filled by software lessons or books.

Anyone who’s tried to teach themselves creative concepts understands the pain points associated with trying to balance learning fundamentals, navigating new tools, and developing a personal style.

The following tips are pieces of advice I wish I had been given at the onset of my DIY graphic design journey. I hope they help you smooth some bumps in the road..

1. Connections.

2. Collect inspirational work.

3. Dissect the process.

Next time we will look at some more tips. Stay tuned …

December 2015 | Polygon Magazine | 9

8 g r e at

TIPS o f

g r a p h i c

d e s i g n

connections As marketers, we already know how much there is to learn from influencers within an industry.

Influencers have paved the way for others to follow in their footsteps, and they’re often willing to share the secrets to their success. By making

10 | Polygon Magazine | December 2015

a point to listen to these influencers, you’ll expose yourself to more of the design world. This exposure will help you to pick up tips, become comfortable with industry terminology, and stay on top of current design trends.

Collect inspirational work.

You should start building a catalogue of work you think is successful. This can be as simple as bookmarking images in your web browser, making a Pinterest board, or saving items to a folder on your computer. Like following influencers, a catalogue of inspiring work will help you to distinguish current trends in design as you begin to recognize patterns in others’ design. You can also begin to understand your own personal style preferences. If you find yourself continu-

ally saving infographics, for example, then you may want to think about learning how to create those.

There are so many great websites for inspiration, some of my favourites are Dribbble, Pinterest and Behance. You can find so many cool works. You have to see what is out there and not just trust in your memory. You should keep looking for those great artworks and that will help you to make awesome things.

December 2015 | Polygon Magazine | 11

3

Dissect the process.

12 | Polygon Magazine | December 2015

Analyzing the process behind a design will allow you to understand the steps required to produce a piece of work.

Depending on your current skill level, you may have a leg up in knowing which tools were used or which aspect was created first. But don’t let your skill level stop you — examining the construction of a design will let flex your creative muscle. Your educated guesses will do far more to teach you than not doing it at all. You’ll likely find that:

1. You know more than you think you do.

2. When you identify holes in that

knowledge, you’ll know what techniques or concepts you need to explore to narrow the gap.

3. There’s more than one way to achieve a desired result.

December 2015 | Polygon Magazine | 13

MEET THE MAKER

G D 3 INTIN ION T R U P VOL RE

F

rom large global brands to your local school, 3D printing in some shape or form is being used or evaluated for use in their industry.

30% of the top 300 Global Brands are now using 3D printing or evaluating its uses. Over 200 major colleges and universities offer 3D coursework that cover 3D printing and scanning in their curricula.

There is no doubt in my mind that 3D Printing has reached the tipping point it its existence. It has also been observed that there is a sudden acceptance and investment in 3D print-

ing technology. This level of investment has not been seen previously.

As the acceptance of the technology grows so does the technology. In each and every application of this technology new processes and issue arise and the technology evolves. 3D printing has been around for 25 years. Due to recent developments and production advancements, cost of producing these printers have significantly gone down. A 3D printer can now be obtained for $300.

My research on the use of 3D printers has led me all sorts of people who

are currently using the technology for practical commercial uses. For those people who are into Nerf Guns, there is a guy who uses a 3d printer to design parts to modify a Nerf gun to add more parts and accessories. From a longer cartridge to a new scope. https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/3DPrintedSolid .

On another site you can design your own 3D robot and have it printed. 3D printing is gaining ground, more and more people are finding practical uses for this technology be it for commercial or residential use.

Design & Print 3D Robot

http://cubify.com/create/myrobot

3D Printed Solid

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/3DPrintedSolid Custom fitted parts for your Nerf gun.

December 2015 | Polygon Magazine | 15

DESIGN TRIVIA

ALL ABOUT DESIGN

What do font Egyptian, Antique, Grotesque, Doric, Heiti, Lineale, and Simplices have in common?

Forget Facebook, Twitter, google and all the other current websites. Name the 1st website, if you may know?

The oranges share the same mystery as the eternal question as the egg and the chicken. What came first?

16 | Polygon Magazine | December 2015

Look on Page 16 for answers m

KFC

KEEP CALM F*****G

are attracted to blood and the colour red) and can result in the death of chickens. “CANNIBALISM is the word.”

Once cannibalism starts, the only way to solve the issue of these zombie-chickens is to change the lighting to a red light.

This will mask the blood colour and help to calm the birds. After

sometime the chicken’s behaviours settle down and peace is regained.

This illustrates how colours impact chicken’s behaviour. The same can be used to reinforce behaviour of people to advertisements and the colours used. So choose wisely. Be smart.

ANSWERS

[3]But according to studies, the word “orange” appears in the English language as early as the 13th century referring to the fruit. The colour orange was initially called Geoluhread which means yellow-red.

[2]The first website of the Internet was “http://info.cern.ch/” launched in 1992 by Tim Berners-Lee. It is still active.

[1]They were all names of “Sans-serif” in the past.

Y

es chicken are usually peace-loving birds be it on your plate or in their coup.

They believe in the philosophy of ‘Make love and not war!’

But like everything else, this doesn’t last forever…They get mean and start picking on each other. Once blood appears, the problem grows worse (as chickens

December 2015 | Polygon Magazine | 17

NO!

W

orking on a design for few hours.

Rendering. Tired? Annoyed? Lack of Patience? Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the icons of the Renaissance. Da Vinci left a legacy of art, thought, science, and culture which has profoundly affected all ages since.

In spite of the all the facts, being a genius that he was it took Leonardo Da Vinci about 12 years to paint Mona Lisa’s lips.

18 | Polygon Magazine | December 2015

Pout looks good?

C

laude Garamont (ca. 1505 – 1561), known commonly as Claude Garamond, was a French type designer, publisher and punch-cutter from Paris. Considered one of the leading type designers of all time, he is recognized to this day for the elegance of his typefaces. Several contemporary typefaces, including

those currently known as Garamond, Granjon, and Sabon, reflect his influence. Garamond was the first to specialize in type design and punch-cutting as a service to others. As the first type designer and punch-cutter to retail his punches to other printers, Garamond helped to shape the future of commercial printing and to spur

the widespread dissemination of new typefaces. Garamond apprenticed with Antoine Augereau and was perhaps also trained by Simon de Colines.

He later worked with Geoffroy Tory, whose interests in humanist typography and the ancient Greek capital letter-forms, or majuscules, may have informed Garamond’s work.

Claude Garamond, the publisher and legendary type designer after whom Garamond font was named died of poverty at age 81.

December 2015 | Polygon Magazine | 19

AND THE

WINNER IS A ccording to various international studies, the world’s most popular color is blue.

Based on the survey conducted by several global marketing firms, they’ve concluded that people worldwide picked blue (40%) as their favorite color followed by purple (14%). Though some researchers also suggest that red and green are a close second and third respectively. White, orange, and yellow are some of the least favorite colors.

20 | Polygon Magazine | December 2015

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE!

O

n December 3rd, 1961, Henri Matisse’s painting “Le Bateau” was put right-side up after hanging upside-down for 46 days without anyone noticing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

December 2015 | Polygon Magazine | 21

BEHIND THE SCENES

VANCOUVER FASHION WEEK

I

t was a captivating experience. Being engaged with world-renowned designers and local designers alike, the atmosphere was intense yet satisfying. I was glad to be a part of the great show.

– Kyle Jang

22 | Polygon Magazine | December 2015

December 2015 | Polygon Magazine | 23