http://designorati.com/typography/opinion-108/2006/are-we-being-too-mean-to-bad-fonts/
This is a funny article about typography. It talks about how to many people type is such a minute detail, where to designers it is something we analyze, discuss, and ponder over, not to mention an art form. It is a rather witty, well at the beginning then it kind of tapers off, article about how typography really is such an interesting medium that can carry a great deal of weight- perhaps enhancing the overall idea of the story or work, or relaying a contradictory message if not thoroughly examined. Check it out!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Class Response...1/30
During the class discussion today I started thinking about the vast personal differences involved in design and how "good" and "bad" design is really defined. After all, surely a designer would not knowingly design a horrible layout with the intentions of clearly offending others. I started questioning my design and the choices I make, and of course, my feelings when compared to the designs of my peers after turning in an assignment-sometimes happy and sometimes quite disappointed in myself for not being more creative or taking a more unique perspective. Really as a creative form, design is somewhat like fashion, in my eyes- you can wear or design however you want, however outrageous or trendy or "out there" as long as you stand by your "creation" and are confident in your choices and why you made them-actually I guess that is all of life really and not just fashion, haha. So, hopefully the next time I create a layout or attempt to design a story, I will keep in mind to make sure that my overall design will make me proud and confident in my work...after all that is what makes Better Homes and Gardens -THEY ARE SO CONFIDENT AND SURE OF THEIR APPROACH (because it is successful for them) that they don't want to do anything else:)-no really I did have fun at Meredith and truly learned a lot, I just think my mom appreciates their publications more than I do at this time in my life!!!
Designs
This first design was for a grid design assignment in Magazine Design. I revised it a little just for fun, although I kept the same pictures and basic theme. I wanted to work on something just for portfolio examples, but now I am not sure if I even like the second one better, as the simplicity in the first may allow for clearer understanding of the travel destinations. Let me know what you think!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
YOU CAN'T MISS IT!!!!
I have been keeping up on www.designorati.com and have found several interesting sites.
1ST there is a contest for basically anything creative (visually) that has been created by using Adobe systems. The entries are due by April 28, and it would be a great opportunity for anyone interested. Here's the link- www.adobe.com/education.
2ND I found an article about the new Payless Shoes logo. Apparently, Payless thinks that if they reinvent the old logo that has been used for twenty or so years, that new business will follow the "new and improved" logo design. Not that their first logo was very exciting or necessarily enticing, but I think that this new logo is almost worse than the first. You can look and decide for yourself, but I would imagine that if any business were aiming to increase their sales, they would do something to drastically alter the common stereotypes of the brand in order to reinvent a new identity. I think that this new logo does nothing...but who am I to judge?!
http://designorati.com/graphic-design/reviews-3/2006/payless-shoesource-rebrands/#more-936
1ST there is a contest for basically anything creative (visually) that has been created by using Adobe systems. The entries are due by April 28, and it would be a great opportunity for anyone interested. Here's the link- www.adobe.com/education.
2ND I found an article about the new Payless Shoes logo. Apparently, Payless thinks that if they reinvent the old logo that has been used for twenty or so years, that new business will follow the "new and improved" logo design. Not that their first logo was very exciting or necessarily enticing, but I think that this new logo is almost worse than the first. You can look and decide for yourself, but I would imagine that if any business were aiming to increase their sales, they would do something to drastically alter the common stereotypes of the brand in order to reinvent a new identity. I think that this new logo does nothing...but who am I to judge?!
http://designorati.com/graphic-design/reviews-3/2006/payless-shoesource-rebrands/#more-936
2. Response
Today's class period on judging design made me think about not only the judging process of design, but also the thought process of designers, and really all people. As each student was given the task of judging several designs, all of which were well-executed, insightful, or at least visually pleasing on some level, it became apparent that everyone simply sees things differently and has a personal take on what "superior" design is. The short amount of time we were given to examine and judge several designs, all of which must have taken hours of diligent work to complete, made it clear that as a designer, I do not have the luxury of judgement after understanding-meaning most people look over our work in a few short seconds and decided whether or not it is "worthy," without necessarily even knowing the subject matter at hand. In all, this means that a designer's job is all the more important, in that we can bring readers to material they might not have even considered. However, this also means that if we do not strive to create exciting designs that grab the attention of readers, they may simply pass up, or seemingly judge and discard, all of our and the writers, reporters, and editors hard work. That being said, maybe I should be working harder!!!
Today's class period on judging design made me think about not only the judging process of design, but also the thought process of designers, and really all people. As each student was given the task of judging several designs, all of which were well-executed, insightful, or at least visually pleasing on some level, it became apparent that everyone simply sees things differently and has a personal take on what "superior" design is. The short amount of time we were given to examine and judge several designs, all of which must have taken hours of diligent work to complete, made it clear that as a designer, I do not have the luxury of judgement after understanding-meaning most people look over our work in a few short seconds and decided whether or not it is "worthy," without necessarily even knowing the subject matter at hand. In all, this means that a designer's job is all the more important, in that we can bring readers to material they might not have even considered. However, this also means that if we do not strive to create exciting designs that grab the attention of readers, they may simply pass up, or seemingly judge and discard, all of our and the writers, reporters, and editors hard work. That being said, maybe I should be working harder!!!
Magazine Design Blog #1!
1. Critique
a. The design work that I have completed this week was primarily for the "Booby Prize" profile of Heather Carver, detailing her battle with cancer and using comedy as therapy. My overall thought process was to convey the fun and playful nature of the piece, yet relaying the serious tone of the subject matter and conforming to the overall style of VOX. I decided to use black and the red/orange color of Carver's clown nose to form a cohesive color scheme that would highlight the "clown role" and coordinate with the photographs. From this point, I used Carver's clown nose as inspiration. A clown nose is easy to recognize and carries an overall playful and funny notion about letting loose and being humorous, or perhaps crazy. So I took this recognizable feature and played it up throughout both of the spreads and used small rows of dots as borders to keep the circle/ball theme. I now wish I would have spent more time developing this idea and used circles in a much greater way to give more of an impression and impact on the design. Although I think the circles do enhance the overall idea, I think that their mere existence and somewhat small impact did not quite create the tone I had hoped.
For the cover of "Booby Prize" I wanted to show the many facets of Heather Carver as described in the profile. I wanted to show how many roles she has, and I thought a way to portray this was through a play on words of "walking in someone else's shoes." I used the title, "Hard Shoes to Fill" and large, exaggerated clown shoes with a list of "checked-off" items listing all of her roles as described in the piece to show how she is more than a cancer survivor and a clown, but also that she has managed to do all of these other things besides being a cancer survivor and a clown-which I think is the main point to the story.
b. I plan on revising both spreads and the cover for "Booby Prize" in hopes of relaying my ideas in a more visually exciting and interesting manner.
c. some designs!!!
a. The design work that I have completed this week was primarily for the "Booby Prize" profile of Heather Carver, detailing her battle with cancer and using comedy as therapy. My overall thought process was to convey the fun and playful nature of the piece, yet relaying the serious tone of the subject matter and conforming to the overall style of VOX. I decided to use black and the red/orange color of Carver's clown nose to form a cohesive color scheme that would highlight the "clown role" and coordinate with the photographs. From this point, I used Carver's clown nose as inspiration. A clown nose is easy to recognize and carries an overall playful and funny notion about letting loose and being humorous, or perhaps crazy. So I took this recognizable feature and played it up throughout both of the spreads and used small rows of dots as borders to keep the circle/ball theme. I now wish I would have spent more time developing this idea and used circles in a much greater way to give more of an impression and impact on the design. Although I think the circles do enhance the overall idea, I think that their mere existence and somewhat small impact did not quite create the tone I had hoped.
For the cover of "Booby Prize" I wanted to show the many facets of Heather Carver as described in the profile. I wanted to show how many roles she has, and I thought a way to portray this was through a play on words of "walking in someone else's shoes." I used the title, "Hard Shoes to Fill" and large, exaggerated clown shoes with a list of "checked-off" items listing all of her roles as described in the piece to show how she is more than a cancer survivor and a clown, but also that she has managed to do all of these other things besides being a cancer survivor and a clown-which I think is the main point to the story.
b. I plan on revising both spreads and the cover for "Booby Prize" in hopes of relaying my ideas in a more visually exciting and interesting manner.
c. some designs!!!
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