We are in the process of moving offices. While doing so, I came across a
1982 book entitled Visual Puns in Design by Eli Kince which I've found to be
a lot of fun and some inspiration. I, personally, had never really thought
much about this technique. It made me wonder if anyone here had used visual
puns in their own designs, or had any examples that they liked that fit the
subject.

Here are some examples from the book. Please post any you may have in your
portfolio, or any examples from other designers you may like. If not, these
examples may give you some ideas.

Logos from Herb Lubalin (Yes, this is the guy who created the type family,
Lubalin)
http://www.leafpublishing.com/puns/lubalin1.jpg

http://www.leafpublishing.com/puns/lubalin2.jpg

Picasso's (who had a great sense of humor in a lot of his art) most famous
visual pun
http://www.leafpublishing.com/puns/bull.jpg

An ad that anyone who read Playboy in the 60's and 70's remebers (Hey, I
only read it for the ads, ok?)
http://www.leafpublishing.com/puns/dubonnet.jpg

Political commentary
http://www.leafpublishing.com/puns/go.jpg

In architecture
http://www.leafpublishing.com/puns/best.jpg

This one became almost universal and was adapted for many other uses
http://www.leafpublishing.com/puns/ny.jpg
--
Fred Doyle

On Sun, 10 Sep 2006 12:47:15 GMT, "Fred Doyle" <fdoyle1@nycap.rr.com>
wrote:

Remember that d00d who was lookin for a free logo for his "PDF
Download" thingy?

Heh...
http://www.backwater-productions.net...enet/wipey.png

It's toilet humor! Get it, toilet. LOL

*rimshot*

I'll be here all night, folks!

--

Onideus Mad Hatter
mhm ¹ x ¹
http://www.backwater-productions.net
http://www.backwater-productions.net/hatter-blog


Hatter Quotes
-------------
"I'm not a professional, I'm an artist."

"Your Usenet blinders are my best friend."

"Usenet Filters - Learn to shut yourself the fuck up!"

"Drugs killed Jesus you know...oh wait, no, that was the Jews, my
bad."

"There are clingy things in the grass...burrs 'n such...mmmm..."

"The more I learn the more I'm killing my idols."

"Is it wrong to incur and then use the hate ridden, vengeful stupidity
of complete strangers in random Usenet froups to further my art?"

"Freedom is only a concept, like race it's merely a social construct
that doesn't really exist outside of your ability to convince others
of its relevancy."

"Next time slow up a lil, then maybe you won't jump the gun and start
creamin yer panties before it's time to pop the champagne proper."

"Reality is directly proportionate to how creative you are."

"People are pretty fucking high on themselves if they think that
they're just born with a soul. *snicker*...yeah, like they're just
givin em out for free."

"Quible, quible said the Hare. Quite a lot of quibling...everywhere.
So the Hare took a long stare and decided at best, to leave the rest,
to their merry little mess."

"There's a difference between 'bad' and 'so earth shatteringly
horrible it makes the angels scream in terror as they violently rip
their heads off, their blood spraying into the faces of a thousand
sweet innocent horrified children, who will forever have the terrible
images burned into their tiny little minds'."

"How sad that you're such a poor judge of style that you can't even
properly gauge the artistic worth of your own efforts."

"Those who record history are those who control history."

"Is my .sig delimiter broken? Really? You're sure? Awww,
gee...that's too bad...for YOU!" `, )

In article <nPTMg.39074$uH6.10779@twister.nyroc.rr.com>,
"Fred Doyle" <fdoyle1@nycap.rr.com> wrote:

very good fred.

"woods" <noreply@none.com> wrote

Thanks. It was an interesting book, and probably out of print,
unfortuantely. It pleasantly delayed me from packing for the move.

--
Fred Doyle

Fred Doyle wrote:
The "Families" logo is one that was looked on during design school as a
solution so simple it was great. The legend went that after being
unhappy with his results, Herb Lubalin called into the office on his
way in that morning and told his staff, "Dot the 'L.'"

I may have to stick this one on the blog.

Brian

blog - http://www.brianleonmays.com

Brian Mays wrote:
Anyone who hasn't already should read this interview with Mr. Lindon
Leader of Leader Creative, the man responsible for the FedEx logo and
its subtle embedded arrow. Yes, it was intentional.

http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000273.php

One of the greatest logo designs of all time.

--
Aaron

"Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems
good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the
rest." -- John Stuart Mill

Aaron wrote:

I love that subtle arrow. I amaze nondesigners when I point it out.
It helps the light bulb come on a little bit as to what graphic design
can do.

Brian Mays
http://www.brianleonmays.com

Brian Mays wrote:
I agree. On the other hand, though, sometimes graphic design (and
graphic designers) have a tendency to apply lofty design principles to
things that their clients and audience just don't understand. Whereas a
group of designers might comprehend and completely enjoy a certain
design or layout, non-designers don't "get it," and pick it apart for
reasons they can't put into words.

For me, personally, that is the most frustrating part of the design
process; being criticized by non-designers. Nevertheless, it is a part
of the job, and one that every designer must come to terms with. Mr.
Leader was fortunate to have worked with a CEO who apparently had an
understanding of design.

Just today I was told that my ongoing web re-design has "too many shades
of blue," and that there are just "too many different colors
everywhere." I wanted to instantly pop up a projector and play that
scene from Amadeus when the emperor, in his wisdom, tells Mozart that
his latest opera had "too many notes."

Mozart naturally defends himself by saying that there weren't "too many
nor too few," but rather exactly the number of notes necessary.

Graphic design starts out as a purely creative process, but eventually
every project becomes a prolonged process of compromising between what,
as a designer, you really want, and what your clients think they want.
Hopefully, by the end, you can still live with the design.

Cheers,

--
Aaron

"Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems
good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the
rest." -- John Stuart Mill

So become an artist, if they don`t like it, they are the dumb ones. ;o)

salami met bami wrote:
And subsequently starve to death.

--
Aaron

"Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems
good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the
rest." -- John Stuart Mill

"Aaron" <aaron@thebailiwick.com> schreef in bericht
news:L_KdnQHO5_qCKZjYnZ2dnUVZ_vCdnZ2d@giganews.com ...
Hey, everything has it`s price.
But when you are dead, they sell for millions. ;o)

On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:10:18 -0400, Aaron <aaron@thebailiwick.com>
wrote:

Or do what I do and have another non-artistic job that you use as your
primary income...then you can create whatever kind of art you want and
not have to be dictated to by some fat, ugly, stupid retard who
wouldn't know good design if it crawled the fuck up his ass and laid
eggs.

--

Onideus Mad Hatter
mhm ¹ x ¹
http://www.backwater-productions.net
http://www.backwater-productions.net/hatter-blog


Hatter Quotes
-------------
"I'm not a professional, I'm an artist."

"Your Usenet blinders are my best friend."

"Usenet Filters - Learn to shut yourself the fuck up!"

"Drugs killed Jesus you know...oh wait, no, that was the Jews, my
bad."

"There are clingy things in the grass...burrs 'n such...mmmm..."

"The more I learn the more I'm killing my idols."

"Is it wrong to incur and then use the hate ridden, vengeful stupidity
of complete strangers in random Usenet froups to further my art?"

"Freedom is only a concept, like race it's merely a social construct
that doesn't really exist outside of your ability to convince others
of its relevancy."

"Next time slow up a lil, then maybe you won't jump the gun and start
creamin yer panties before it's time to pop the champagne proper."

"Reality is directly proportionate to how creative you are."

"People are pretty fucking high on themselves if they think that
they're just born with a soul. *snicker*...yeah, like they're just
givin em out for free."

"Quible, quible said the Hare. Quite a lot of quibling...everywhere.
So the Hare took a long stare and decided at best, to leave the rest,
to their merry little mess."

"There's a difference between 'bad' and 'so earth shatteringly
horrible it makes the angels scream in terror as they violently rip
their heads off, their blood spraying into the faces of a thousand
sweet innocent horrified children, who will forever have the terrible
images burned into their tiny little minds'."

"How sad that you're such a poor judge of style that you can't even
properly gauge the artistic worth of your own efforts."

"Those who record history are those who control history."

"Is my .sig delimiter broken? Really? You're sure? Awww,
gee...that's too bad...for YOU!" `, )

Aaron wrote:

You always have to love when you get some people critiquing your design
who are just trying to justify being in the room...they can't...they
CAN'T just LIKE what you do, no matter what you do.

I've always tried to base my decisions on what the client has said that
I think pushes their buttons...that way when needing to defend, it
comes around to what the client has specifically said that we play off
of.

Brian

blog - http://www.brianleonmays.com

Great thread Fred!

http://www.vasi.com/logos/BMI_Logo_RGB-K_2in.jpg

Here is one I think fits the criteria. I have a couple others that I
think might, but I'm not sure. This was a very interesting job. I had a
group of 9 managers I had to work with on this. I knew it would be a
challenge to create consensus. The first thing I made them do was to
come up with a set of no more than ten adjectives to descibe what they
would like the logo to convey. They had to come to an agreement on that
themselves, then I met with them to review the list. Requiring them to
come to an agreement first made my job much easier. They were
completely surprised and delighted by this logo. They said it was
unlike anything they had imagined. They were also surprised that they
unanamously liked it. That was what surprised them the most I think.
They expected to have a really tough time getting a logo they could
agree would work.

Now I'm going to be more vigilant and look for good examples around me.
I really love this type of solution.

Maybe that's why BMI liked their logo so much. It was a visual pun.


Fred Doyle wrote:

On 11 Sep 2006 14:45:37 -0700, "Glorywest" <glorywest@verizon.net>
wrote:

It's a d00d standing next to a bed! LOL, I like the ones where it's
not outright obvious. ^_^

--

Onideus Mad Hatter
mhm ¹ x ¹
http://www.backwater-productions.net
http://www.backwater-productions.net/hatter-blog


Hatter Quotes
-------------
"I'm not a professional, I'm an artist."

"Your Usenet blinders are my best friend."

"Usenet Filters - Learn to shut yourself the fuck up!"

"Drugs killed Jesus you know...oh wait, no, that was the Jews, my
bad."

"There are clingy things in the grass...burrs 'n such...mmmm..."

"The more I learn the more I'm killing my idols."

"Is it wrong to incur and then use the hate ridden, vengeful stupidity
of complete strangers in random Usenet froups to further my art?"

"Freedom is only a concept, like race it's merely a social construct
that doesn't really exist outside of your ability to convince others
of its relevancy."

"Next time slow up a lil, then maybe you won't jump the gun and start
creamin yer panties before it's time to pop the champagne proper."

"Reality is directly proportionate to how creative you are."

"People are pretty fucking high on themselves if they think that
they're just born with a soul. *snicker*...yeah, like they're just
givin em out for free."

"Quible, quible said the Hare. Quite a lot of quibling...everywhere.
So the Hare took a long stare and decided at best, to leave the rest,
to their merry little mess."

"There's a difference between 'bad' and 'so earth shatteringly
horrible it makes the angels scream in terror as they violently rip
their heads off, their blood spraying into the faces of a thousand
sweet innocent horrified children, who will forever have the terrible
images burned into their tiny little minds'."

"How sad that you're such a poor judge of style that you can't even
properly gauge the artistic worth of your own efforts."

"Those who record history are those who control history."

"Is my .sig delimiter broken? Really? You're sure? Awww,
gee...that's too bad...for YOU!" `, )

On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:55:19 -0700, Onideus Mad Hatter
<usenet@backwater-productions.net> wrote:

Or just a bed with a bed post, that works too.

--

Onideus Mad Hatter
mhm ¹ x ¹
http://www.backwater-productions.net
http://www.backwater-productions.net/hatter-blog


Hatter Quotes
-------------
"I'm not a professional, I'm an artist."

"Your Usenet blinders are my best friend."

"Usenet Filters - Learn to shut yourself the fuck up!"

"Drugs killed Jesus you know...oh wait, no, that was the Jews, my
bad."

"There are clingy things in the grass...burrs 'n such...mmmm..."

"The more I learn the more I'm killing my idols."

"Is it wrong to incur and then use the hate ridden, vengeful stupidity
of complete strangers in random Usenet froups to further my art?"

"Freedom is only a concept, like race it's merely a social construct
that doesn't really exist outside of your ability to convince others
of its relevancy."

"Next time slow up a lil, then maybe you won't jump the gun and start
creamin yer panties before it's time to pop the champagne proper."

"Reality is directly proportionate to how creative you are."

"People are pretty fucking high on themselves if they think that
they're just born with a soul. *snicker*...yeah, like they're just
givin em out for free."

"Quible, quible said the Hare. Quite a lot of quibling...everywhere.
So the Hare took a long stare and decided at best, to leave the rest,
to their merry little mess."

"There's a difference between 'bad' and 'so earth shatteringly
horrible it makes the angels scream in terror as they violently rip
their heads off, their blood spraying into the faces of a thousand
sweet innocent horrified children, who will forever have the terrible
images burned into their tiny little minds'."

"How sad that you're such a poor judge of style that you can't even
properly gauge the artistic worth of your own efforts."

"Those who record history are those who control history."

"Is my .sig delimiter broken? Really? You're sure? Awww,
gee...that's too bad...for YOU!" `, )

"Brian Mays" <brianleonmays@gmail.com> wrote
That's funny, whether it is true or not. I've got a mental image of a whole
office full of people smacking themselves in the forehead and saying "of
course!"

--
Fred Doyle

"Aaron" <aaron@thebailiwick.com> wrote

Great example and a great link. The article showed a lot aboutt he process
and thinking that goes into creating a big time logo. I loved the part about
how he combined elements of two fonts to come up with the font he used.
Thanks for the link

--
Fred Doyle

"Glorywest" <glorywest@verizon.net> wrote

Thanks, and a great, and very creative example. And from your story related
to it, it does show that if you do something truly original and appropriate,
sometimes it gets recognized even by "non-designers"

--
Fred Doyle

I've noticed over the years of designing logos that the ones that
appeal to my clients and a general audience are the bold, negative
space treatment. When I show our book, people are always drawn to those
first. They can't tell me why all the time, but those that can
articulate always say the boldness. Consequently, when working thorugh
ideas I try to make sure I have at least one negative space treatment
or at least a "bold" treatment. I still find it fascinating what
appeals to people.

Fred Doyle wrote: