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.

“Raindrops keep falling on my head…”
That was the title song to the popular 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The film is ranked #151 in the Top 250 movie list of IMDB.com by its members.

But raindrops are more than just lyrics in a song; raindrops are also crucial to the process of rainwater harvesting.

The IRHA (International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance) organization exists to educate and help the public to be aware of the benefits of harvesting rainwater by treating it as a sustainable resource.

In the words of the contest sponsor:

“The aim of this competition is to make the public, too often insufficiently informed, aware of the various advantages that rainwater harvesting offers by providing sustainable access to water.

“It is in this context that the IRHA invites photographers, professional and amateur, to present their vision on the benefits that this celestial resource can have for both humans and nature.”

Contest theme
The full title of this competition is “The Best Photographs on the advantages of the use of rainwater, Raindrops Geneva Award 2011.”

According to the contest rules your photograph may include the following ideas:

* Water is life, the essential element that supports human, animal and ….plant life
* Rain
* Sacred or ritualized use of water or the celebration of rain in spiritual ….ceremonies
* Thirst, scarcity and drought
* Water distribution, including the politics of water distribution, water as ….a commodity.
* The role of harvested rainwater for satisfying needs where ….water cannot be piped.
* Rainwater harvesting, the best tool for adaptation to the climate changes (storms, floods, ….drought)
* Rainwater collection, simple technologies at work, water purification

General submission guidelines

* Winners of the contest must provide a minimum 2000 pixel image in ….300dpi.
* Files must be submitted in either JPG or TIF (unsharpened)
* Photographs may be submitted in portrait or landscape mode
* Entries may be in black and white or color
* Photoshop or image touch-ups are limited to standard darkroom techniques
* Over processing or use of digital effects on images will be grounds for ….disqualification
* No images shot in a studio will be eligible for this contest

Upload your submissions to raindropsaward [at] irha-h2o.org (replace [at] with @)

Prizes

* First Place: 1000 Swiss Francs ($1,034)
* Second Place: 600 Swiss Francs ($620)
* Third Place: 400 Swiss Francs ($413)

Links and other contest information
All submissions must be accompanied by a fact sheet. See the official rules for more details.
This contest has no entry fees. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2011. Follow these links for more contest information:

Official contest site
Contest rules and guidelines
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Graphic design school and you
If you are thinking about entering the Raindrops Geneva Award contest you probably have a good eye for images and composition.

But you can always improve your talents by taking classes at a graphic design school to learn more about photographic techniques, lighting methodology, and digital equipment.

Speak with a graphic design college 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.

Get a scholarship for your education
The EDSF (Electronic Document Scholarship Foundation) recognizes the need for talented industry professionals in document and image management for businesses, government and public record keeping.

If you are a full-time student and majoring in graphic communications or document management, the EDSF Scholarship Program award may help defray part of your college education costs.

Who is eligible for this scholarship?
You must be a full-time student who is committed to seeking a career in document management or an associated major such as graphic communications.

To be fully eligible for consideration of the EDSF scholarship you must meet all of the following criteria:

* Have an interest in pursuing a career in document management or graphic communications
* Have an overall grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale
* Be registered as a full-time student at an accredited university or college as of fall 2011 ….semester

Scholarships are based upon the student’s performance in a combination with the following:

* Scholastic excellence
* Quality of application essay
* Participation in school activities
* Community service
* Honors and organizational affiliations
* Education goals
* Academic and professional recommendations

Other information and scholarship links
Students who also major in graphic design, web design, illustration, information technology and other associated disciplines also qualify for this scholarship.

There are no entry fees for applying to this scholarship. Applications must be postmarked by May 2, 2011.

According to the EDSF your application must include the following items:

* Part 1 - General Information Page
* Part 2 - Cover Letter
* Part 3 - Essays (two essay responses)
* Part 4 - Activities
* Part 5 - College Transcript *
* Part 6 - Recommendation Letters *

* Your college transcript and recommendation letters may be mailed separately.

Submit all application materials to:

EDSF
1845 Precinct Line Road
Suite 212
Hurst, TX 76054
United States

Follow these links for further information:

Official website
PDF application form

Graphic design school and scholarships
If you currently attend a graphic design college or are planning to enroll, be sure to take advantage of the many scholarship programs that are available to students seeking financial assistance for their education.

Some graphic design schools offer scholarships, loan programs, and grants, so be sure to ask your graphic design college representative about these options.