Scribblers' Club

Ben is celebrating his birthday with a merch sale! Lots of cool designs, many by yours truly! Enjoy!

Tomorrow is my birthday, but I'm giving YOU the present. I'm running a special birthday sale in the merch store from now until the end of May! If you want to show off your devotion to the Dork Side, there's never been a better time to pick up a shirt, hoodie, or hat!
http://Dorkintheroad.dashery.com

The little things we take for granted. Here is a small sampling of what is involved in making a simple decal wrap for a commercial product, a decal that needs to withstand the environmental tests of time. In this case to avoid UV damage the decals are best produced using serigraphy with UV stable inks and a support white base for punch. Digital print vendors will claim UV stability but so far real world examples have disproved that claimed longevity. 1. Establish the 'branded' design vernacular that will roll out across all products. 2. Create the various logos needed in a way that they will read as dimensional chrome complete with drop shadows that will fade to reveal machine paint. This dramatically reduces production/installation costs. 3. Incorporate a suite of model numbers, all again illustrated by hand, electronically 'airbrushed' to read as 3D chrome for consistency. A 3D artist could create the models and then export the 3D imagery to be used in print, however the 3D models tend to look too sterile and fake. As Leo' Da Vinci once said,"without a touch of ugliness, there would be no beauty". The man was onto something. 4. Develop files that a vendor can understand when tasked with reproduction. This step is critical, it's alarming how off the rails a production house can get when an element of complexity is added. Heres a collage of bits that make up the decals seen in the final photos.

A good friend made a comment recently, they meant no harm in it, but it has been sitting with me since. We were talking about the current state of AI. Commenting on his perceived state of AI 'threatening' my livelihood. He innocently enough stated that 'AI is great for making logos'. Below are several logos that were not created by AI. I just grabbed these with a quick google search, clever text based logomarks like FedEx or Coca-Cola aren't here but the point remains. None of these marks could be generated by present generative AI. Typically (there are always exceptions) a great logomark is the simplification of a more complicated story. The only logomark I see in this screen grab where AI stands a chance would be Target. Perhaps Chevron. At the extreme other end, an impossibility for AI, are Cisco, Nike, NBC, AUDI, etc. Brands are built over time, over a repetition of placement and service consistency. One could argue that any scribble could become a recognizable brand. Do something well and long enough to build a fanbase of Brandvangelists(TM) and slap an identity on your work and you can build a recognizable brand. But to birth a logo, a competent storytelling mark, that is simple and not a collage of prompts still takes a human. Using AI to help you get there is smart, The contribution of AI's investigative research is massive. It's a tool that expedites excavation, but right now it still takes a human mind to find the gemstones. Speaking of scribbles, I once considered a Uniball pen 'scribble' to update our own mark. Just for sake of experimentation I asked AI to lend a hand. Second image is that first result. The PROMPT V1: "My company name is Scribbler's Club, we are a graphic and industrial design firm that helps clients manage their brand at every touchpoint. Create a logo for the company." The result: FAIL. AI has thrown the kitchen sink at the mark. It lacks any uniqueness. It tried to put a C in there but forgot about the S. Nobody will care about this design. I thought I would give the AI a second chance. That second attempt, providing AI a 'better shot at success' PROMPT V2: "create a quick scribble, using a black ballpoint pen, draw a scribble that is primarily circular movements, isolated on a white background. This will be used as a logo for a company named Scribblers' Club". The result, IYKYK? Comic Sans is the least desirable typeface of the industry. There are sites dedicated to making fun of Comic Sans. I don't see AI being sophisticated enough to have made a clever joke of it. The complexity of the mark is again too much to be practical. It produced what was prompted by a human (I defined circular so as not to feel aggressive, pen: because the Uniball is my goto pen) but again the mark failed with meeting the practical needs of its application. I did give me a chuckle. If you're of the people who need a bakery logo with basic type, or a towing company logo for your hoppy copy business cards that includes a tow truck cartoon and thats 'good enough', then go for it. For everyone else who understand that when it comes to branding "you are what you wear", that your logo speaks volumes, I'm always happy to help out. Extra attached imagery - The original Scribblers' Club name came from the idea that our staff, when they were younger, had parents who hung their artwork on the fridge. We are all part of that club. The mark itself represented the pencil to paper, the idea, passing across a digital screen and being brought to life within that digital space. Originally flat colours c1990, then dimensioned 'as a refresh' c2004. extra ligatures, the dots on the 'i' have been removed intentionally. Also tossed in a few food service related marks I created over time.