Mark LaCroix says he loved the Nerdist TV special, but wasn’t that crazy about the opening theme sequence. So he did something about it, 8-bit style:
Matt’s space shuttle is a nice touch, isn’t it? Credit also to David Anthony Wood‘s 8-bit character designs, modified here. And this is more proof of the incredible creativity of Nerdist fans.
You can follow Mark at @Mark_LaCroix.
HT: Jonah Ray
This was great, but shouldn’t Jonah’s bike be taller?
YES! This! I confess, I was a little disappointed when I didn’t see any 8-bittiness in the regular titles – but this is great.
Everyone’s a critic, especially when it’s about visual aesthetics; we all have opinions, regardless of taste or lack of education. Who can say one is better than the other.
However, in the case of graphic design, and in this case, motion graphics, there are obviously solutions that better serve the marketing of a product. As explained by IMakeTitles, this final direction was chosen because it served a larger purpose – it strengthen the brand of the network and drew a larger audience, beyond the die-hard Nerdist fans.
I can go on to comment on the faults (and strengths) of Mark’s version but what’s the point? He tried to improve on an existing design without the objectives of the original project. At best, it’s an exercise. Comparing Mark’s open with the original are apples and oranges. Out of context of a real world situation, it is merely self expression.
His practice will hopefully make him better at what he does; I encourage him to keep doing exercises like this. As with any craft, practice makes perfect, and I’m sure he had fun doing it as did IMakeTitles. The industry needs more designers with passion like theirs.
As for the other critics, I leave you with this quote from the former Design Director of the New York Times:
“Unsolicited redesigns are terrific and fun and useful, and I hope designers never stop doing them. But as they do so, I also hope they remember it helps no one – least of all the author of the redesign – to assume the worst about the original source and the people who work hard to maintain and improve it, even though those efforts may seem imperfect from the outside.”
— Khoi Vinh