In every piece we create, we must consider scale. Whether it’s a logo that needs to retain legibility and meaning when viewed at both very small and large sizes, or a billboard, which must make an immediate impact at a very large size, determining scale and designing appropriately is a critical step of the process. No matter what size the work is, it should define a sense of scale by contrasting and connecting the elements to real world experiences.

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Recently, we have added Wordpress to our arsenal of publishing tools. A few weeks back we finished a heavily modified WordPress install turned deal-of-the-day website with CMS features. For the cart functionality, we used a popular cart installation from Instinct. This small shop out of New Zealand has created a nice little plugin that has gained much popularity in the WP community.

One of the tweaks that we made was to enable the storeowner to easily change the product that was displayed on the front page each day. Rather than write an entirely new function we used the existing widget functionality of WP and changed two lines of code to enable easy publishing of the item to the front page. This enabled our client to upload an entire month products and simply change one setting to display the product each day. Read more »

“I pay close attention to the variety of shapes and sizes, and place the objects so that the lines and edges create a rhythm that guides the viewer’s eye around the image and into the focal point.” - Sergei Forostovskii

In her book Graphic Design: The New Basics, Ellen Lupton writes, “In design, balance acts as a catalyst for form, anchoring and activating elements in space. If a design is static, it is usually a result of the proportion and placement of elements in relation to each other, and to the negative space - too big, too tight, too flat, misaligned, etc…” To achieve visual balance, one must evenly distribute the weight of objects evenly and/or proportionally in a given space. Large objects must counter-point small objects, dark objects must counter-point light objects, and so on. Read more »

Hello World is a common phrase used by programmers when first learning new types of code or when developing the first pages of a web site. Assembling code and websites can involve substantial amounts of work. For this reason, this simple statement is used to test efficacy of the work.

As we launch our new incarnation of the Flint website, I thought it appropriate begin our blog with our very own ‘Hello World’.

As we move into the future our posts on this page will include tricks and tips for a variety subjects within our discipline. Additionally we will post our musings thought and other sundry topics. We invite you to check back often.