We present our 58th American Graphic Design Awards Annual. The 700+ pieces showcased — and their creators — are among the best and brightest – and most resilient – of our community.
Category: Blog
Adobe Stock Forecasts 2022 Creative Trends
Adobe Stock’s 2022 Creative Trends Report uncovers key themes in design, visual and motion trends that will dominate in the coming year.
Rachel Zorel: Have Your Cake and Eat It Too!
Thoughts from Rachel Zorel of 7 Layer Studio on how business leaders must redefine the ‘Work/Life Balance’ in the pandemic landscape. ‘Have your cake and eat it too!’ is about taking control of your schedules and respecting the precious resource of time.
GDUSA’s Holiday Gift Guide For Creatives
We’ve pulled together some inspirational suggestions for Holiday gifts for your favorite creative.
Solomeina: Industry Leaders Gather To Teach Design Leadership
Wolff Olins, Tide, Diageo, Zaha Hadid Architects, and Pentagram join forces with Future London Academy to deliver 2021’s Executive Program for Design Leaders.
Markdalen: It’s Time To Make Your Mark
New business realities, including joining with Capgemini Group, mean change for frog. But, says Andreas Markdalen, a new brand strategy is helping the iconic design consultancy stay true to its heritage into the next era.
Full Sail University Builds Virtual Production Studio On Campus
Full Sail University is building a state-of-the-art Virtual Production Studio on its 210+ acre campus located in Winter Park FL.
Adobe MAX Names Keynote Speakers
Register for free to attend the Adobe MAX virtual conference on October 26–28. You will hear from truly inspirational speakers including Riz Ahmed and Tilda Swinton who are pushing aside walls, going above and beyond, and finding new ways to be creative.
Graziani: Creating Symbols And Icons For Genre Fiction
Graziani’s graphic research into the fictional world results in an extensive visual encyclopedia of fictional icons inspired by novels, graphic novels, books, comics, film archives, dramas, and a host of other media.
Gordon Kaye: A Happy Convergence
Welcome to our 21st annual American Web Design Awards winners showcase.
How A Logo, Designed 17 Years Ago, Is Having A Second Life
A logo designed by Alessandro/Weber Design 17 years ago for a minor league hockey team is having a second life as a pop icon logo due to a Netflix released documentary and a hockey jersey worn by Drake.
Richard Shear: A New Way To Evaluate Branding and Package Design
GDUSA is publishing a series of articles by Richard Shear of invōk brands that takes an evolutionary look at consumer search patterns and explains how visual brand designers can use it to their advantage.
Ruffin: Where Are All The Black People?
Amber Ruffin will give the keynote address at the 11th edition of the One Club’s Where Are All The Black People (WAATBP) diversity conference and career fair, taking place virtually September 29-30.
Planting A Seed For A More Diverse Graphic Design Industry
Summer Studio is a pilot program to introduce inner-city students to graphic design as a profession. DJ Haddad led the course in an effort to spotlight that there is a whole world of high-paying careers that exist for the creatively inclined.
Alan Reuter: Staying Ahead In An Evolving Digital Landscape
Alan Reuter argues that, like any other discipline, design can evolve slowly and before you know it, new paradigms develop. If you aren’t paying attention when that happens, you will fall behind.
Gordon Kaye: Inhouse Designers And The Infodemic
Publisher Gordon Kaye on our 2021 American Inhouse Design Awards showcase, the core value proposition for inhouse design departments, and why it all matters in the wake of the pandemic and the great polarization.
Frog’s Puchek: EQ In A Post-Covid Future
Alexis Du Mond Puchek, Executive Director of Design at frog, based out of Austin TX, on why it’s important for brands to prioritize experiential design (both in-person and virtually), even as lockdown restrictions lift.
The Future Of Gas Stations Will Need Better Design
Paul Woods of Edenspiekermann on the future design of gas stations and how the experience must be refreshed from the ground up in order for them to remain relevant and profitable.
Emoji Study: Thumbs Up To Thumbs Up
Adobe surveyed 7,000 global emoji users to explore the impact of emoji on digital communication. Among the findings: a thumbs up for the thumbs up, eggplant confusion, and what else works for work and dating.
Forthcoming Release: Creatives on Creativity
Sure to become a design classic, Creatives on Creativity features interviews with 44 of the world’s best artists, creative directors, designers, illustrators and more. Among them: George Lois, Stefan Sagmeister and Paula Scher.
Ansley Luce: Rainbow Washing Needs To Stop
Advertising affects us in deeply psychological ways, so graphic designers need to be ultra aware of the images put out into the world. Pride should serve as a reminder to all of us to make year-long changes that shatter stereotypes and represent and respect those in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Lipman: How the Internet Ruined Design…
Gregg Lipman of CBX on why design is a process and a craft, not a software-driven deliverable, and is best left to design professionals.
Now Is A Big Idea’s Best Time
Andy Askren of Grady Britton: As companies get so few chances to encourage consumers to make brand changes, now is the time for a Big Idea designed to get their attention.
AIGA Research Explores Evolving Design Profession
AIGA has released the executive summary of its 2021 Design Point of View (POV) research, an in-depth analysis of the design profession, with the goal of creating a better community.
Gordon Kaye: Thoughts On The 2021 Package Design Showcase
Publisher Gordon Kaye welcomes readers to GDUSA’s 58th anniversary American Package Design Awards™ for a celebration of packaging’s importance at the moment of truth.
Sydney Ligouri: Educator To Watch
Sydney Ligouri is a designer who has been teaching at Shillington for over three years and was recently promoted to Head of the New York campus, overseeing all teaching and teaching teams. She is the first of our 2021 Educators to Watch.
Time For A New Approach To Leadership
Simon Berg of Ceros on how the pandemic set fire to the leadership playbook and how leaders can embrace a new approach that is honest and authentic.
Negative Emotional Language Hurts E-Commerce Conversions
Unbounce report shows that, during the pandemic, online traffic was way up but messages associated with negative emotions like fear and sadness depressed conversions.
Integrating A ‘PHD’ Strategy Across Brand Channels
Ryan Schmidt of Landor & Fitch contends that now is the time for brand leaders to reconsider how brand experiences truly integrate the physical, human, and digital to deliver authenticity and truth.
3 Reasons Why Starting Your Own Business Is Difficult For Designers
D.J. Haddad is Founder & Creative Director of Haddad & Partners and Co-founder and Chief of Operations for 321 Ignition. Here are his thoughts on why starting a business is extra-challenging for graphic designers.
Designing For The [Uncertain] Future
Thanks to q30, while it waits for the day for the museum doors to reopen, the Ontario Science Centre is ready to welcome online visitors with a flexible, accessible, and engaging website.
Sales Guys Bragging About New Cars …
DJ Haddad, graphic designer and successful entrepreneur two-times over, recounts the story about what motivated him to start his own agency.
Shutterstock Trends: Individuality, Imperfection, Authenticity, Escapism
Shutterstock has released the 10th anniversary edition of its annual Creative Trends Report, highlighting both global and local trends that will impact creative expression and ingenuity in 2021.
Design Firm Brings Mobile Office To Remote Workers
Design Agency CEO DJ Haddad of Haddad & Partners has taken an unorthodox approach to navigating through the pandemic, bringing a mobile office to the 70+ employees working at home.
Five Things To Think About When Updating Your Logo
Veteran Creative Director Theo Fels of Feisty Brown on when it may be time for your logo to experience a refresh.
T’was The Month Before Christmas
Extension to December 31 for a free demo and deep discounts on FunctionFox Systems’ industry leading time tracking and project management software for creative professionals.
Designing For The Human Era
Brendan Murphy posits that while direct-to-consumer brands have given us a slew of both personal and personable names, the shift from the institutional to the human era has also given rise to much more human brand logos and brand expressions.
Drummond: Meeting The Needs Of An Evolving Design Student Population
Gordon Drummond spoke recently with GDUSA about the objectives of the online Sessions College BFA in Graphic Design program, about his background as an educator, and about trends he sees in design today.
Applications Open For Virtual and Online Design Education
Academy of Art University is currently accepting applications for online, virtual onsite and on-campus education.
Gordon Kaye: We Keep Getting Back Up
The participants in GDUSA’s Socially Responsible Designers editorial feature – an annual look at creative and thought leaders who are designing for good – choose to see a silver lining to the annus horribilis that is 2020.