GRAPHIC DESIGN

[Solo]

Hunter,

I know you've changed covers. (Good idea, the artist is good but the cover wasn't exciting enough) Have you looked at these guys...
www.studioronin.com/home.htm

I know some of your competition uses them...BUT still they are very good and certainly EXCITING!

Sherm

ps. probably too late but...the graphic design of the new t20 should say 2001 not 1980. no simple black cover with a stripe and times text inside. Be provocative and inovative in the design. Make the book fun and inviting to look at and read. (not hard to look at though )

Just some thoughts
Sherm

 

[tjoneslo]

I looked through their artist portfolios. While Thom Mieczniknowski has a few interesting 3D spaceship shots, most of the work (by all the artists) falls into what I would call Dark Fantasy. While good, it's not my first choice for Traveller artwork,

 

[DrSkull]

I'll just pipe in a second to say, I really hate fancy backgtound images on the paper. You can put stuff around the amrgins, that's cool, but I want white and white only behind the text so my poor feeble eyes can read the stuff.

------------------
Dave "Dr. Skull" Nelson

 

[Ron]

I liked Ronin studios portfolios. I agree that many works are dark fantasy, but there are a few suitable to the Far Future. Perhaps Sherm is right in the need for a complete facelift in Traveller's graphic design. I am not sure if Ronin talented artist would be the best choice, but their technique is very sofisticated and, for reasonable prices, I would like to see their studies for a T20 image project. However, it appears that Quicklink already took a step in providing a visual identity to T20. Most images are in cartoonistic style. I liked them, although I fear that they will not be as popular as we all wish to be.

 

[Solo]

I like the StudioRonin stuff but I understand it's not to everyones taste.

BUT, that doesn't change the fact that good graphic design and excellent artwork improve the sales of books. Publishers don't spend months working on covers for no reason. They realize that the cover sells a book more than anything else. I just don't think a book with a black cover and a red stripe will stick out enough amongst the competition. Nor do I think the artwork shone so far is striking enough.

Look at other professional artist around the net, Jim Burns (one of my favorites), Dave Dorman, etc. These guys sell books and have a style that would represent traveller well. (How about Chris Foss who did the color plates and cover for T4, the only good thing about that book)

As far as the readability issue goes. If clarity is sacrificed for style then its bad graphic design. End of story. You'll get no argument from me on that.

Anyway,
Just an Opinion

Sherm
Graphic Artist

 

[MJD]

Foss Art was a good thing about T4?

Gawd no! It was irrelevant, unTraveller and just plain wrong for the setting. The only worse thing about T4 than the Foss art was the crappy editorial work and the habit of using writers who didn't know Traveller from, well, anything. That, and not paying those of us who did write decent material....

 

[Solo]

MJD,

Are you saying that Foss was a bad artist? Or just that what he depicted wasn't relevant to the setting? If the latter, then the fault for that goes to the editor or art editor (if that wasn't Foss). Artist need direction just like writers...

If the former then I'll have to disagree.

 

[Ron]

Foss is a great artist but I don't think that the editor commissioned new art for the game. Rather, they used pieces from his portfolio. The result was very frustrating because, as MJD have pointed, the pieces were not appropriated to the setting.

 

[kafka47]

For me I think they overdid Foss' work. It worked very well in the original T4 rulebook which was supposed to non-Milieu specific. But, when other things began cropping up that were completely unknown, it make me question: What the hell is that doing there?

This problem was slightly rectified as we get past the first three books but we get into the problem of terrible written content. I think art is very important, (which is why I ran the best cover competition in an earlier post ~~sadly not to many offerings). As the only reason I picked up Fading Suns (2nd edition) was because I was told of the great background and found the art to be great. I strongly urge people to consider art more seriously as I think it was of the prime movers in the RPG marketing arsenal for attracting new players. Rules will never bring in new players. In fact, one of the great things that HDI says: ignore them if they don't suit you!