I was on a winning pub quiz team the other day. That doesn't happen very often.
Picture by abroomhe, used with thanks, usual stuff applies.
I was on holiday in Yorkshire and we stumbled upon the quiz night at the local pub. Before the quiz started my companions and I all picked our specialist categories. My wife (who got 47 of our 52 correct answers) chose science as she has a Masters from Imperial. One of our friends chose history as she has a degree in the subject and has worked at some of London's most famous museums. The third team member chose music which was handy as he owns more albums than anyone I know and is one of those bizarre people who still buy CD's.
For my specialist subject I chose British and American Graphic Design from 1975 onwards.
You won't be surprised to know that very few graphic design questions came up. Actually there were none. There was one colour question, which I claimed as mine; which colour did Smarties introduce in 1988?
But it got me thinking, what sort of graphic design questions would you ask at a pub quiz? Sure, you could easily have a 'who designed this logo' picture round but what about the other 70 questions?
You couldn't ask 'what is kerning' as pub quiz questions have short, often one word answers.
I guess you could ask things like 'which year was the D&AD founded' and 'which type of printing is commonly used to print stamps'.
What other questions would you ask?
What colour is Pantone 116?
Posted by: davidthedesigner | Sep 01, 2008 at 11:28
weird, i live around the corner from this pub!
"Fill in the blanks of this sentence By Paul Rand:
Without the aesthetic, the computer is but a mindless _____ _______, producing _______ without substance."
Posted by: Thomas Tordoff | Sep 01, 2008 at 14:03
what are the dimensions (in millimetres) of the following standard paper stationery sizes: A1, B5, C5 and A6?
Posted by: lauren | Sep 01, 2008 at 14:26
What is the logo of this company?
Name ten fonts.
Posted by: Jacob Cass | Sep 01, 2008 at 15:50
Whose round is it?
Posted by: John | Sep 01, 2008 at 17:13
It would have to be fairly topical...
Who created the 2012 Olympics Logo?
Posted by: CraigS | Sep 02, 2008 at 07:24
or how much did the V&A buy the Rolling Stones Lips logo for in 2008?
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/va-buys-rolling-stones-lips-logo-for-92500/
Posted by: lauren | Sep 02, 2008 at 09:41
1. Who said 'You can not not communicate'?
2. Name three partners at Pentagram?
3. What does D&AD stand for? (n.b no it is not Dungeons And Dragons)
4. Name one of the authors of the 1964 'First Things First' Manifesto?
5. Who designed the London Underground map?
6. Name both members of Underground who were also members of Tomato?
7. Who designed Arial for Microsoft?
8. What are the key commands for the © icon?
9. In Indesign which palette would Command Alt M show?
10. Who is the editor of Creative Review?
Posted by: Steve Price | Sep 02, 2008 at 17:35
Good Steve, very good.
Posted by: Ben | Sep 02, 2008 at 18:06
How about...
Which London-based graphic designer has the smartest wife?
Posted by: Lisa | Sep 11, 2008 at 15:04
Multiple choice is certainly the way forward. Especially if you're looking to fuel topical debate well past closing with a lock-in of billboard proportions.
How about:
What's the best way of telling a client his idea is stupid (probably because you think it'll make your design look like something Jane from accounts would make in Word)? Do you:
A) Suggest an alternative idea that incorporates at least one of the words he just said, and let him think it was his incredible talent that made such an amazing design possible.
B) Ignore him, do a proper job anyway, and let your account handler colleague pick up the pieces.
C) Tell him you hate eggs because you once saw your grandmother sucking one and it looked disgusting.
Posted by: Colin Firth | Sep 21, 2008 at 20:05
How about something basic like name all of the Primary colours, or name a complimentary colour to Red, or name a contrasting colour to Green.
Jim
Posted by: Printed Balloons | Dec 13, 2008 at 22:51