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Your not-so-favorite design Clichés
- Thread starter Yr Blues
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It's not one that I 'give into' as I never use it myself, but for me nothing says 'business' like a close up of two besuited business-types shaking hands.
Bonus points are awarded if one hand is belongs to a black/female business-type.
L
Lau
Guest
^ Oh don't. 
It's one I had to use quite often in the last job, albeit with a lot of glossy Photoshopping to make look interesting. We only had a limited photo-library with no subscriptions and internal clients with very quick turn-arounds.
There is no outward shame in design, just gnawed internal resentments at the things we have to occasionally stoop to. If I can get through the rest of my life without having to put a wet floor on something, I'll be pleased.
It's one I had to use quite often in the last job, albeit with a lot of glossy Photoshopping to make look interesting. We only had a limited photo-library with no subscriptions and internal clients with very quick turn-arounds.
There is no outward shame in design, just gnawed internal resentments at the things we have to occasionally stoop to. If I can get through the rest of my life without having to put a wet floor on something, I'll be pleased.
I should've titled this thread, design-cliché essentials for making a living in graphic design.
I don't know if it falls into the form of cliche, but I have started seeming more and more logo designs and the like done in comic sans.
Seriously who would do that?
yuk.
I could see maybe a toy store or something, but I have even seen a charter airline's logo in comic sans.
Beyond that I would agree with the general public's addiction to drop shadows.
Seriously who would do that?
yuk.
I could see maybe a toy store or something, but I have even seen a charter airline's logo in comic sans.
Beyond that I would agree with the general public's addiction to drop shadows.
I love bursts. They are the greatest call to action anyone can ever do. The only thing better than one burst, is two, three or even four bursts.
Grunge look backgrounds
"70's look" photo processing
Kuler color combos
Black as a design element
"70's look" photo processing
Kuler color combos
Black as a design element
Drop-caps or small-caps I think they're called... correct me if I'm wrong about one or the other.
I can't stand inCaps (camel-case). Though it's once in a blue moon you see it used in graphic stuff.
I personally find Swooshes (only Nike can do it right) and Web 2.0 Bubbles-and-White-Borders-with-Drop-Shadow look is waaaay overdone. The Glass bevel is a close second. All of them are illustrated in one way or another right here (sometimes all at once). None of those logos stand above the rest I warrant..
Paint splatters
Swoosh logos
People who blatantly rip off Apple's centered-tab-menu web layout
Rounded corners (I go back and forth on this one every year or two, kinda like pleated pants)
Trying to manufacture a modern/minimalist aesthetic just by using Futura (or if you're a total ******, Century Gothic)
Actually speaking of fonts, and this might more be not-so-favorite-n00b-design-cliché but I'll include it anyhow... any of the following fonts: Bradley Hand, Brush Script, Curlz MT, Papyrus, Rage Italic, Trajan, Viner Hand, Zapfino
Small caps (eeuughhh)
Obviously standard layer effects
Wet floors (thanks for that, I had just always thought of it in my head as "the web 2.0 reflection thingie")
Swoosh logos
People who blatantly rip off Apple's centered-tab-menu web layout
Rounded corners (I go back and forth on this one every year or two, kinda like pleated pants)
Trying to manufacture a modern/minimalist aesthetic just by using Futura (or if you're a total ******, Century Gothic)
Actually speaking of fonts, and this might more be not-so-favorite-n00b-design-cliché but I'll include it anyhow... any of the following fonts: Bradley Hand, Brush Script, Curlz MT, Papyrus, Rage Italic, Trajan, Viner Hand, Zapfino
Small caps (eeuughhh)
Obviously standard layer effects
Wet floors
(thanks for that, I had just always thought of it in my head as "the web 2.0 reflection thingie")
i am not having a go at anyone but it would be great to see all of your portfolios without these cliches in them......
I'll fess up: I have one swoosh in my portfolio - but in my defense it's HMS (Highly Modified Swoosh)
None of these things are in my portfolio, mainly because of the kind of work I've been doing over the past few years which is mostly corporate.
LOL
sometimes the client knows nothing! Is it a sell out to just do what they want cos they think it looks cool!?
sometimes the client knows nothing! Is it a sell out to just do what they want cos they think it looks cool!?
Reminds me of Maddox:
When a corporation claims to be diverse, what they really mean is that they hire black people, asians, and a latino every now and then. There is no image more meticulously engineered in this world than that of a corporation's statement on "diversity." For example, the energy company Entergy states on its website that the cornerstone of their corporate culture is:
respect ... for every individual regardless of race, gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or any other cultural factor. "Tolerance" is insufficient in this organization that values differences...
Entergy should be commended for having the courage to go beyond simply "tolerating" different races by treating them with respect, because it is assumed that other races are not treated with respect unless a corporation explicitly states that they do on their website. The world needs more companies willing to follow Entergy's bold leadership by doing more than just tolerating other races.
And this:
curly-haired black women are the preferred marketing tool to sell obscure telecom products and telephone services so long as their skin tone isn't too dark. She should be dark enough to score that hip diversity dollar, but not so dark as to scare away that heartland racist dollar.
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=stock_photos
This is overly cynical and simplistic. Having worked in organisations with robust diversity policies, these extend further than just token hiring. Maddox is an arsehole at times.
It's post-ironic.
Actually, I did set a logo in Comic Sans once. The client insisted. I begged them not to - actually begged, but the MD of the client company had spent an entire morning in Word mocking up a logo in Comic Sans, all caps, with two spaces between each character and that was what he wanted.
So ... you do a mental calculation about how easy it would be to pay the mortgage if you quit on the spot, then you swallow your pride and do the job.
Ho hum ...
Jim
That's the type of thing that makes me cry out in the night like a baby...
Kind of like the client that asks for a Flash intro and then says it shouldn't take long to make because it's like Powerpoint.