You look mahhhvelous dahling!
Prada, Christian Dior, Donatella Versace, and Ralph Lauren are some of the names and brands that are synonymous with fashion.

Fashion has a trickle-down effect in the industry. What you see on 5^th Avenue and Paris runways eventually influence what you may see on the clothes racks of your local department store or clothing outlets.
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Let the ads begin!
Fashion design ads are the mainstay for designers in getting the word out about new lines of clothing and coming trends. Fashion advertisements can sometimes run into bumps along the road if attention to detail is lacking in the design phase.

In this installment of Graphic design mistakes and blunders we’ll look closely at some fashion advertisements and see, literally, where things went off course.

Look and laugh but above all, learn from the missteps that can sometimes occur even to the best of us.

InStyle out of style?
InStyle magazine says that it provides ‘…the best of what’s in fashion’ plus glimpses of  ‘celebrity lifestyles.’

In this advertisement from InStyle, Amy Adams strikes a pose for the photographer and shows off her colorful gown. But there is something about this photo that seems odd.

Can you spot the error?

While the lighting for this photograph is good, the pose is not. Amy tries to give her best model pout pose but it turns into something comical because she looks as if she has the beginnings of a headache.

What also looks odd is her posing like a stork–if you look closely she only seems to be standing on just one leg.

We are guessing that Amy’s other leg is exiting out on the other side of the dress but the pose doesn’t indicate this at all.
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Elegant but wait…
In this ad for Calleija Jewelers we see the model in full wedding attire amidst muted pastel pinks. It works well on many levels.

The color palette for the set is nicely done, the pose is good, and the advertisement has an upscale feel to it.

However, there seems to be something a bit askew with the otherwise serene setting of the photograph.

Can you spot the error?

The movie ET, directed by Stephen Spielberg, was a blockbuster hit. The main character, ET (extraterrestrial) is stranded on Earth and longs to find a way back to his home planet.

The model in this ad seems to have taken a cue from ET–she also sports a rather long neck. Was this a Photoshop error or just a bad camera angle? We don’t know but this mistake could have been prevented before the ad was published.
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GQ or DQ?
GQ stands for Gentleman’s Quarterly and is a mainstay magazine for men who are into fashion and the good life. DQ stands for disqualification in sporting events. In this particular GQ ad, we believe it has been dq’ed for bad art direction.

We like the concept in the Ralph Lauren ad but unfortunately the execution of the idea has crashed due to the way the shadow on the wall is depicted.

Yes, it could have been on purpose, but to what purpose we are at a loss to explain. In any event, the otherwise classy advertisement comes off as funny and a bit disturbing.

Graphic design school and advertising
If you are interested in advertising, enrolling in a graphic design college is a good first step in the right direction. You’ll learn about design principles, proper layout, computer graphics, and many other topics that can help you in your design career.

Make an appointment with a graphic design school representative to see how an education in design can help you to qualify for jobs in the advertising industry.

The inside info
If you are contemplating or curious about graphic design colleges, you want more information and answers to the questions you have about these educational institutions.

In this series we’ll explore the 5 top things that people want to know about graphic design school life and whether pursuing a graphic design education is right for you.
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5. Prepare to judge and be judged
No matter how much talent you have, the rude awakening in graphic design school is there are actually people with more talent than you! On the flip-side you have more talent than others.

In any liberal arts college, talent is the coin of the realm and if you have a well-balanced, realistic image about your abilities and skills, you won’t be fixating about comparing yourself to others.

On the other hand, if you believe you have superior skills, Michelangelo said, “I am still learning.” If the great Renaissance master understood this principle about talent, you can also remain open in your education experiences.

4. Lean on me
Bill Withers, composer of the song “Lean on me,” has a lyric that speaks about the need for relying on others:

Lean on me when you’re not strong,
I’ll be your friend,
I’ll help you to carry on…

In graphic design school your classmates can be a tremendous help in providing you with honest feedback, moral support, and in some cases the beginnings of lifelong friendships.

Whether you are outgoing or not, due to the natural camaraderie that exists in liberal arts colleges, you’ll find opportunities to develop good social networks.

Be sure to enrich your college education with student support in addition to your academic life.

Graphic design school and your future
It doesn’t matter if you are a graphic designer or someone who is contemplating an education in graphic design-the need for solid career training is essential for today’s job market.

The fast pace in this industry means keeping up-to-date with the latest trends, software applications, and design hardware in order to remain competitive and qualified for new job opportunities.

Speak to a graphic design school representative to find out what your education options are.

Next time…
How do you select a good graphic design college? Is a graphic design career right for you? We’ll answer these questions in our next installment of ‘5 top things you should know about graphic design schools.’

Mistakes on Purpose?
The principles you learn in graphic design school are meant to teach you the basics of design, composition and artistic technique.

Once you know the rules you can sometimes break them for effect.

In this article, we’ll go over a few errors. Can you tell if they were done on purpose or are they real mistakes? (Click on the images to see the larger versions.)

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What’s wrong with this picture?
Nicki Minaj is a successful hip hop singer who likes to reveal her personal experiences in the song lyrics she writes. Her most recent album, Pink Friday, has her posing as a Barbie doll.

Upon the release of the album many fans and non-fans remarked that the doll’s legs were highly disproportional to the rest of its body and that the arms seemed to be missing as well.

Question: Is this design by mistake or on purpose? (Make your decision before looking at the answer.)

Answer: On purpose

According to GL Wood, the photographer who shot the image, the effect of distortion was used to make a statement about the “perfect” Barbie image and lifestyle.

“[Nicki] wanted to rip [the doll's] arms off to really do the whole Barbie theme; [it's] like when little girls trash their dolls. She wanted to look like one of those broken Barbies.

“There [are] people who are going to get it and not get it, but that’s the point. There [are] few if any female artists now who are pushing the envelope. And that’s far from a bad thing.”
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The image is shocking and attention grabbing and many fans say that they expected no less from Nicki Minaj.

Prada goes negative
Prada is a well-known brand among fashionistas. But just how do you publicize the latest fashion line produced by this company? Do you use bright colors or do you use close-ups of the models?

In this ad, Prada decides to go starkly minimalist.

Question: Is this a design mistake or done on purpose?

Answer: On purpose

As a photographer, art director or graphic designer the very idea of not filling in blank space is hard to overcome. However, the concept of negative space can be very effective in emphasizing an idea or product.

In this Prada advertisement the design draws you to the two biggest ideas of the image: Prada and the clothes. Nothing distracts you from these two points.

But one thing does seem to surface as a mistake; the model could have been angled slightly more to the right in order to show her arm instead of an empty shoulder sleeve.

We know — picky, picky, picky.

Graphic design school and the principles of graphic design
Beethoven produced some of the most beautiful classical music ever composed. But music students frequently point out “mistakes” in his harmony such as recurring parallel fifths.

But as one music teacher said, “You need to know the rules before you break them. He knew he was breaking the rules.”

Graphic design college helps you to be proficient in proper layout, design and technique. You’ll also understand that sometimes breaking the rules can be of benefit in designing your graphics.

Speak to a graphic design school representative to see what courses can help you in your design skills.

Next Time…
We’ll take a close look at fashion advertisements and see how too much or too little Photoshopping can hurt a design.

Are you a visionary?
What will cars look like in the future? How will our dwelling places look like? What sorts of home appliances and electronics will be available to the families of the future?

If you have thought about these questions you have the opportunity to show your ideas of the future by entering the RTT Funky Visualization Contest 2011.

The contest details
Send in your best renderings in 2D or 3D to Realtime Technology.

The sponsor states:

“Show your creative visualizations for product innovations in the year 2020. What comforts and luxuries you envision for future consumer goods like cars, home appliances or any other objects. Make these modifications tangible, through the use of 2D or 3D stills and animations.

“RTT is asking the next generation of computer scientists, creative design, architectural and illustrative visionaries to step up and submit their visions for innovative product interface designs in the future.”

Submission guidelines

* You may submit your images in digital format or an URL link to your ….artwork
* You must send in a project description of your work
* Your project description should show the proposed solution and reason
* The project description should be submitted in PDF format (in English)

Send your entries to: contest [at] rtt.ag (replace [at] with “@”)

Prizes
Winners will be invited to the RTT Excite 2011 event in Munich, Germany (May 19-20) to present their projects. There will also be two Intuos4 M Tablet PCs given to the two winning teams.

Contest links and information
Send your questions about this contest to: contest [at] rtt.ag. The contest deadline for entries is April 15, 2011. The contest is free to enter.

Follow this link to the contest website:

RTT Funky Visualization Contest 2011

Graphic design school and your future
If you are thinking about entering the RTT Funky Visualization Contest your active imagination for designing products may be strengthened through classes at a graphic design college.

You will learn about the principles of design, layout, and related courses that will help you to improve and hone your design talents in package design, industrial design and other related disciplines.

Speak with a graphic design school representative and find out what sort of classes and educational opportunities are available to you.

Look, laugh and listen
In this article we’ll show more of the graphic design mistakes that slipped through the cracks during the production phase. Were these errors made under tight deadlines or too much pressure? These are the times when visual gaffes happen.

Some slip-ups are understandable while others could have been entirely preventable. Whatever the case, we hope that the mistakes of others can help all of us to be more careful when producing our images.

Have a good laugh and file these “lessons” away until you need them…especially when you only have a few hours left till deadline. Our thanks go to the members of photodisasteters.com for finding all of these gems or should we say lumps of coal?

Sweat the little stuff
Sometimes it’s the little stuff that gets past the gatekeepers during production. The errors aren’t big ones but they do point out that someone didn’t take the time to be more precise in the editing of the images.

In this case, an ad for the Audi A5 dashboard looks elegant and sporty except for one little detail.
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If you look closely between the 5 and 6 on the tachometer (left dial) you’ll see that the image has the rpm markers missing.

Yes, it’s just a little detail but car fans will immediately notice the omission.

This would be OK for the general public but to a car fan it’s a definite no-no.
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Was it really worth it?
Large businesses and companies spend a great deal of ad money to get the word out on their products; the ads cost a princely sum to produce.

Scarlett Johansson has represented Moët beverages for several years and this photo is one of the many she posed for in the Moët magazine ads.

But if you consider that Moët probably spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to have this ad produced, you may have said to yourself, “I could have done that…and probably a lot cheaper too.”
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This ad is about as “cut and paste” as you can get and we don’t mean that in a good way.

The balloons were shot separately in a studio (note the double highlights on many of them), while Ms. Johansson was photographed on a couch during another photo session.

The background (out of focus) was used as the backdrop for this image. Drop out the green screen behind the balloons and Ms. Johansson, do a few layers and voila, you have a composite image.

There’s nothing wrong, inherently with the concept, but considering the cost of this ad we think that Moët received the short end of the stick when the contract was signed with this ad agency.

Sweat the little stuff, again…
Sometimes it’s cost effective to use an old graphic for an event that happens annually. All you have to do is to change the year or date and you’re done.

Not so fast, bud. You have to be careful that you’ve changed all the important graphics in the image to make sure none of the old dates are still present. Can you spot the error in this image?
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The year “09” appears correct but if you look at its reflection you can see that it says “08” from the previous year’s ad.

You can see the enlarged ad here and the actual mistake here.

Graphic design school
Talent can help you attain a career in graphic design; graphic design schools help you to master the techniques of using various elements to produce professional graphics.

If you are a graphic designer, continued education classes are available at your graphic design college. These courses can bring you up to speed on the latest software and hardware applications.

If you are planning to attend a graphic design school, speak to your school counselor about the various career training options available to you in this fast-moving industry.

Next time…
Not everything that is a “mistake” is a mistake. In some cases graphic designers and art directors break the rules to make a point or draw attention to the subject at hand.

Stay tuned for examples in next week’s article on Graphic design mistakes and blunders.

Got art?
It’s time to clean out your desk because the old sketches or long forgotten brainstorm images you created for fun may be good candidates for an art competition.

You may be a professional in the graphics industry, an artist or just someone who likes to draw and create images, but whatever your station in life the More Glory Contest is seeking your best work.

The More Glory Contest sponsors state:

“Each of us has artwork laying around at home - like university, freelance or spare time stuff - that we are really proud of but may have never gotten the chance to present to anyone.

“Just choose your favorite / best / craziest / most innovative work that you have done so far and submit it. Done.”

What to submit
This is an open ended contest with no specific theme. The only request is to submit your best and brightest work.

You may send in any of your works in virtually any category of media such as:

* Photos
* Graphics
* Illustrations
* Installations
* Videos
* Animations
* Ads

Prizes
Every idea that Jovoto decides to license will receive £50 (80 USD) and a free flight for the winner to New York or Berlin and a night out with the crew of Jovoto.

General contest rules

* This is an open contest and anyone may participate
* If your piece was a joint creation please list the others as co-authors
* You need the rights to publish your work if they have been ….previously published elsewhere
* All participants need to have a registered account on Jovoto

Contest links and other information
There are no entry fees for this contest. The deadline for entries is March 10, 2011.

Follow these links for more contest information:
Official website
Registration site

Graphic design school and talent
If you are thinking about entering the More Glory contest, you probably have a good grasp of graphic design principles and layout.

But you can always improve your talents by taking a few classes at a graphic design school to learn more about the wonderful world of design.

Speak with a graphic design college representative and find out what sort of classes and educational opportunities are available to you.