Samantha Nelson and Michael Oborne, together run their business Magenta Lotus, a design studio based in Albany.

Samantha is originally form Denmark, she grew up in Perth and studied fine arts in Melbourne. I recently contacted sam via email to ask her a few questions.

After working in Karratha for 8 months Sam decided to return to Albany in 2009 to further her Design career. She enrolled in Cert 4 Graphic design at TAFE. This however didn't work out for Sam as she dropped out mid semester.  Despite this setback Sam continued on to from her business 'Magenta Lotus Design', together with Michael Oborne. 

"It may go to show that with the basics of design down, you can certainly go forth and make the most of it on your own terms. So far branching out alone has worked out for me, though I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone."

The above graphic, Sam created for a bridal expo using illustrator and photoshop programs. The Graphic below Sam created whilst at TAFE for a Psychedelic 60's poster.

This is my Mum's Art nouveau style teapot. I really like the intricate flower patterns, and the bright colours. It's from singapore, not that old and probably not worth very much but I still like it because of it's art nouveau influences.

I thought this t-shirt was completely wacky, I do not get the meaning or purpose of it at all and for that reason i think it's really cool. Obviously white helvetica text is used on a black background, to make it stand out. But still, the reason why someone would wear this, or even be able to come up with this design is completely out of my mind and thats why I really like it.

I think this is image is really cool, it looks like it's been done on a program similar to photoshop. I really like the way that the negative space on the butterfly shows the yellow petal underneath, the layers are interesting as well. The cutting out of the objects isn't neat, but it gives a really cool grungy look to an innocent butterfly. The black and yellow also really makes a statement.

This casino building is designed in really 'bad taste', the curvy design of the building reflects the Kitsch designers love of curves. There is also at least 5 different typefaces on the building. It's a really funky and bold design, it would be great to see this type of building around today.

I really like this Art Noveau image, the bold, organic flowing lines are typical of the Art Noveau design movement, I like it because of it's femininity and the draping, intricate patterns that the woman's hair make. The colors almost look purple and gold, complementary, however they work harmoniously together. Maybe an add for cigarettes?? It really makes smoking look feminine, beautiful and elegant. The total opposite of what you would see on a cigarette packet today.

I found these two cosmo magazines next to each other while looking up the magazine on google, it's interesting to compare the two magazines, the first from June 2009 and the Second from January 1969.

The first thing I noted was the use of colors, both use very feminine pinks and purples. The first magazine uses lots of different colors, whereas the second one uses mostly monochromatic tones of purple, and the woman's skin as an accent color. This clearly comes across that the older magazine is more 'stylish and conservative' the colors of the newer magazine come across as very sexual and more 'out-there', to coincide with the changing times.

The second thing I noticed was the use of typography and also the use of language, it's interesting to see how much more society accepts words like 'bitch, dirty, lying and sex' on the cover of a magazine, the older magazine says many of the same things in a conservative and feminine way.

 The first cover uses over four different types in a range of colors, again you can see that the second magazine is conservative as it uses only two different types, in only one color.

Overall the two magazines targeted the same audience in their era's, it's things like these magazine covers that give us an insight to how times and styles have changed.

This is my Dad's "VALET" Auto Srop Safety Rozor, in MODEL 'C', it comes complete with tin case and Rodgers Razor Blades, which have all been engraved with 'STAR CROSS SHEFFIELD ENGLAND' and Rodger's in nice curvy type, to ensure quality and have been kept in little paper envelopes in a little brass case with the razor.
The razor itself has also been engraved with the Valet Auto Strop name.

The inside of the case is lined with velvet too keep the razor protected.

It's interesting to own this little piece of history.

I researched this model razor on the internet and from the information I can find it was made around 1907, the time when the Victorian design style was phasing out, so is probably one of the last razor's designed this way.

This is my Mum's little police officer teapot. It's fairly modern however it's design has very art deco influences.

I just find it interesting how the designer has thought to actually make a teapot into a little person, and this teapot is completely useable combining function with an interesting form.

I am not sure how old the teapot actually is but I'm guessing it has influences from England/Europe because of the style of clothing that the policeman is wearing.

I bought a bottle of water on special the other day and didn't think anything of the design until I picked it up the next day and had a closer look. I was really intrigued by the design so I looked it up on google and decided to write about it in my blog. At first glance all you really notice is a simple bottle of water. The bottle has been decorated with close up image of a palm tree and a picture of a flower along with the text - nothing unusual on a package design. What I did find interesting though was the fact that the background image of the palm tree is actually on the back of the bottle and you can see it by looking through the water. 

Another thing i noticed is the rectangular shape of the bottle with a round lid, very unlike the circular bottle shapes you usually pick up in the supermarket. 

The colours make it a peaceful, relaxing and refreshing design - everything that good water should be. 

Over I like this design, it is expensive water to buy (as you can see by the design) compared to others and i wouldn't have picked it up if it wasn't on special for only $1 :)

This movie poster by graphic designer and film maker Saul Bass was designed for the 1971 movie Such Good Friends.

The design itself is simple yet interesting. The way in which Bass has used simple curved block shapes to look like a pair of woman's legs  almost looks like a stencil print. This has been used as a focus point to the poster and stands out against the vibrant orange background, it's almost a red colour however not as stimulating to the eye as red is.

The way in which the poster has been put together  is so simple looking yet is a complicated design.

The type in all white caps I find interesting because of it's thin italic style, and close spacing looks good against the rest of the orange and black. 

The poster has been finished of with small rows of text at the bottom, which In my opinion the poster would have been better without, however necessary to give the viewer that small amount of information about the film.

This p.i.n.k vodka ad shows a photograph of the product (the bottle of vodka) centered against a plain black background. The image of  the bottle has been reflected against the black background at the base of the bottle to give a sense of depth. A pink electrical cord is shown coming out of the back of the bottle, to complement the pink text in the top centre of the ad 'Super-charged'. Underneath the main image (centered) a few sentences of small plain white text have been used to describe the product and the words 'caffeine' and 'guarana' have been highlighted in pink to capture the viewers attention. Further below this is the product logo (also shown on the bottle) which contains the letters p.i.n.k, separated by full stops, all in lowercase also the color pink. directly under this is a catch phrase 'the worlds perfect party spirit' written in the same plan white text used throughout the ad. Further below this is also the fine print also in white. 

The add has a 'central' layout, all elements of the add have been centered and our eye is drawn from the photograph of the bottle in the direct centre, up to the text at the top and then down to the power cord coming from the bottle, and finally to the text at the bottom of the page.

The color of the add has been used to directly draw the viewers attention to the image of the product in the center which highly stands out against the blackness of the background. The color pink has been used to remind the viewer of the name of the product p.i.n.k. Overall the only colors used are black for the background, the pink highlights and the white text. I find this a good way to use color as it isn't overwhelming on the page and draws the attention to the viewer. Pink is also a good color to use as it promotes femininity and targets the female audience.

I was drawn to this victorian style coca cola poster because of its elegant victorian style and it's use of rich burgundy reds and peachy pinks.  Also the fact that a glass of coke only costs like 5c!!!! 

I LOVE this poster!! It's a psychedelic poster for a James Brown concert in the 1960's. It caught my attention because of the way the words have been 'squeezed' into the shape of the face, and that they are difficult to read. I also like the black silhouette of the James Brown against the masses of blue text fanning outwards.

I did a google search on the singer and came across another one of his posters in a similar style. This time it is black, purple and peach but still has the same silhouette of Brown, filled in with unreadable masses of writing. 

The design itself is psychedelic, funky and 'different' however it is very overwhelming and confusing so I don't think it's a very good poster for advertising the concert.

Psychedelic Hendrix Poster

While researching the Psychedelia design movement of the 1960's and early 1970's, I found this Jimmi Hendrix poster on google and it caught my attention because of it's 'psychedelic' design, the colours, typography and the two-colour image of Hendrix.

What I believe is most appealing is split-complementary use of colour (the orange complemented with the purple and aqua-blue). The poster was most probably aimed at the younger generation of the 60's and early 70's because it is relatable to the 'hippy' youth culture of the time. 

The typography is also interesting as it is in the psychedelic 'unreadable' style. It is made to be easily read and interesting for the youth, and hard to understand and confusing for the elderly. This is a characteristic of most psychedelic designs, which 'squeeze' text into the most abnormal shapes to make it difficult to read at first.

The use of the black border is nice as it 'breaks up' some of the colour and is more pleasing to the eye than the rest of the poster.

Overall the design is spontaneous and loud and it was because of this that attracted me to the piece.

Nina Ricci Perfume

ok after quite some time trying to figure out how to change the file size of this image i have finally managed to upload it, the photo however, is not meant to be blue!!! Ok so if you can imagine all the blue being red.... you get the idea....

So I was given this bottle of perfume as a prezzie, and decided to write about it as i really like the packaging design and the shape of the actual perfume bottle which is the shape of an apple. The packaging itself is a white, rough textured box with the basic shape of a red apple surrounded with a silver brush stroke and a silver leaf. I think it is really well done, despite the fact it is so simple. Even the print 'Nina' has been used in an elegant font to match the rest of the elegant design of the packaging.

Vogue Cover

I stumbled across this vogue cover when i was looking for examples of 2D design for an assignment and it immediately caught my attention because of it's classic vintage style and the way the main image of the woman looks as if it has been drawn using illustrator, which being a modern computer program is contrasted with the older look of the magazine. 

The peaceful green, blue and white colours are also attractive and work together well in the context of this particular magazine. 

I don't think the magazine would make many sales in this particular day and age due to it's style, but if it was on the shelf in a shop i would definantly be tempted to pick it up out of curiosity as it would stand out against other magazines on the shelf.

Eskimo Joe CD cover

Hi guys, well this is my first blog, on Eskimo Joe. Read, enjoy and leave feedback... e.t.c    (:

I was drawn to this eskimo joe CD cover because of the triad of colors it has used (The black, red as well as the yellow and pinkish skin tones), as well as the watercolor effect of the three figures and the way it has been composed using the rule of thirds. I find that there is a strong contrast between the black 'hair' and the faces and text. The designer has used soft features combined with the edgy lines around the eyes, nose and mouth to give us an insight into the nature and style of the band and their music. 

The text is bold yet simple and is the first part that our eye is drawn to before the image, it gives us that small bit of information we need, yet doesn't draw our attention away from the image of the band members.

Overall I think its a successful promotional tool, I bought the CD so obviously I like the band, it's a strange design, but i guess it just gives us a hint to their music style :)