design showcase

So as a future graphic designer, there is nothing I like better than admiring good design. My friends and family are usually forced to wait as I pause and stare at yet another logo, and people have often given me odd looks after I make a seemingly random comment about how aesthetically pleasing a poster or billboard is.

Sometimes even better than admiring great design is evaluating a good design and asking myself how I would improve upon it. I have compiled a few designs that I've seen just walking around in the past couple months that caught my eye, but also made me wonder if I would have done anything different if I was the designer. Enjoy!

Aqua Bleu is a restaurant in Santa Cruz that Serena and I stumbled upon while walking downtown. Their logo caught my eye right away, probably because I thought the dolphin in the Q was such an awesome idea for a seafood place. Good color scheme too. 

Garlic City Books in Gilroy manages to: allude to Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz, incorporate both a garlic and a book image, give the impression of recycling with the green and the revolving arrows (they sell used books), and catch your eye - all in one logo. That's pretty impressive. At first glance it is visually appealing, and upon closer inspection one finds layers of creativity waiting to be uncovered. I probably wouldn't have combined "Garlic" and "City" though. 

Fro-yo in SLO! So good. Their logo is cute and fun...the "O" reminds me off all the toppings I can put on my yogurt :) It does it's job well because it totally lured me in. Is it possible for a logo to look appetizing? I think so.... 0_o

I love the pretty/trendy floral designs that are so popular right now. Also, the letter "q" in this script is so pretty....makes me want to do calligraphy again :) plus, they have the cutest clothes here!

My new church! I absolutely love it. Not only do they have great theology, they have an awesome website. Whoever does their graphic design is pretty amazing.