John LeMasney (lemsy) is an artist, graphic designer, and technology creative. He is located in beautiful Nelson County, VA, but works remotely with ease. Contact him at: lemasney@gmail.com to discuss your next creative project.
Have you seen those beautiful posters that visualize and demonstrate statistics in fun and elegant ways? Those are called infographics, and you can make them with some time, practice, and free design tools. In this two-hour session, John LeMasney shows you how to make interesting, sharable graphics that help you make your point. We’ll look at some examples of great infographics, recreate one or two, and then use what you learned to make an original personal infographic that might be the next viral hit on Pinterest, Facebook, and everywhere else. Skill Level: Intermediate No registration necessary”
The chasm between kindness and chaos by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
I wanted to try to capture my own feelings about the terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon today, and this was the result. I am sad and… lost that there is so much effort devoted to short-sighted destruction, mayhem, and chaos. So many other choices are possible.
most people exist (Wilde) by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
I really love the truth in this quote by Oscar Wilde on the difference between living and existing: “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all”
I decided to create an illustration of the idea to underscore it.
In this session, Sean Piotrowski and John LeMasney talk about customer service in the contexts of the value of recognition, client engagement, and not being a total jerk just because you suddenly realize that they don’t hold immediate clear value for you.
Maybe you are a long time iOS user and are not sure why everyone is excited about Samsung Android products. Perhaps you are new to mobile computing, and want to know more about the options that Android provides. Maybe you are a long time Android user, and want to get more out of it. In any case, I’d love to see you there tonight.
Here is the presentation that I gave for this talk.
I thought I’d share the things I think about when approaching a new design. Over the last 10 years or so, I’ve developed a way to think about design when faced with a blank digital canvas, and it’s helped me to develop solutions every time. There are many principles of design and breakthroughs that have happened in its history, but these are the ones that I consider first.
Font English: A comparison between the fonts Helvetica and Arial. (Original description: Useful letters for fast differentiation between Helvetica and Arial) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Usually, unless I am working on a piece in the interest of fine arts, where one may value abstraction and ambiguity, I am trying to convey something specific in design. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is with words. However, the typography is a message in itself. If you choose to display the word “gravity” in Helvetica, Comic Sans, or Creampuff, it is three different ways of emphasizing the word, one of business and straightforwardness, one of childish play, and one of casual sexiness. Be careful not only what you are saying, but how you are saying it, and fonts are a great way to define the how.
Background
The way that you set the background of a design allows you to carry through and finish your thought from the foreground. What textures best represent your ideas? What makes the most sense from a legibility standpoint? Will a cracked and peeling wall of paint give the adequate tone, or will it be a simple fade from a lighter color in your palette to a darker one at the edges?
LineLogo for the School of Visual Arts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hard, thick edged lines create gravity and strength in a design. Lighter, curved, frilly lines create an atmosphere of elegance. Angular accents create active layouts, pointing the eye here and there. You can use line to direct the eye, border elements in your design, or bring the viewer back again and again to a symbol.
Palette I often use photography as a starting point for palette. If I am doing a design on fresh food, I might use a photo of fresh food as my palette, choosing colors from the deepest red in a tomato or the brightest green in asparagus to reinforce my points.
LayoutUsing lorem ipsum to focus attention on graphic elements in a website design proposal. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
What happens visually when you line three words up, one after the other, in a perfect square? What happens when you take those same three words and create a rectangle? What about if you give them some space? What about if you angle the words? The overall shape of your design will carry a message, the virtual lines created by words will carry a message, and the flow of the viewer’s eye from one element to another will carry a message.
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