You Can't Miss This

This article is about the impact and influence of logos. It talks about an insurance company in Oregon that has decided a new logo is the way to revamp their image and believe it will bring more business by appealing to new consumer groups. I thought this was really interesting considering our 20/10 assignment to design a convergence logo. Check it out!!!



http://designorati.com/graphic-design/2007/oregon-employer-insurer-rebrands-with-expressive-new-logo-2/

Response

I really enjoyed class today. I always like looking at other designers' take on a subject and the way that each person may choose to execute the same topic in completely different ways. I thought that the shutter graffiti assignment was really interesting to look at in that I never typically notice typography on signs around town unless it is particularly inventive or unusual, yet I still recognized and was able to picture most of the letters in the photographs. So, clearly typography relays a stronger message than I believed, and I even notice things like that as a designer. The magazine prototypes we looked at today were really impressive. It was great to see all of the other magazines besides Fusion because I was able to draw inspiration and ideas from the other work I saw- whether it was a particular layout style or the use of little intricate details that really pulled the piece together. My favorite days in class are when we are able to look at one another's work- it not only shows us what everyone does and how everyone sees design, but also teaches us what ideas to try, what works, and what we should stay away from.

Designs

These are two of my covers for Fusion. I am having a hard time with whether or not I feel the cover should focus on the interior of the home with technology, technology, or women. I am in the process of trying to find a photograph the includes all of the above, but I really want the woman to stand out more than the current cover. I have been playing around with some other ideas that are not quite as traditional or "Meredith-esque" as the two I have now, but I am not exactly sure what I want to emphasize. So basically, I am trying to figure out what I want the cover to say and how I want to say that now that I have tried a couple out. Let me know what you think!

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This is an article from designorati.com about the difference between EPS, TIF, and JPG images. I might be the only one, but I was not really sure what the differnce was between all of these types of images and exactly why it mattered which format was used. So, this article helped to clear up some confusion I had about switching all of my images for department pages to TIF and why it really makes a difference. There are also a few more links to other articles about imaging and differences between other portions including colors and density. Check it out!!!

http://designorati.com/dtp/graphics-and-pre-press-4/2005/shall-i-use-tiff-or-eps-files-to-print-images/

Response

Portfolio, portfolio, portfolio!!! After looking at portfolios and the impact of presentation, quantity, and most important, quality of the work displayed today, I realized I really need to get into gear. In response to all of the work that I saw today, I was not only really impressed but also surprised, pleasantly of course, and in awe of everyone's hard work. I think that in terms of design, it is interesting to see how each person interprets and executes the same stories-especially when looking at the Enrique designs and Logbook pages. It was interesting to see everyone's work and different outlook on stories, as well as noticing that each design that was drastically different from one another, still brought fresh ideas and ideas that worked for the piece. Obviously design is so personal and so creative that each of us interprets things based on our own personal preference and "likings" -it was just nice to see everyone's ideas in complete forms from serious issue spreads, to funny spreads, and everything in between!

Design!!!

The first two pages are my design for the music department from the 2/15 issue. I used a lot of photography and not necessarily illustrations, which is something I am hoping to work and improve on for future designs. So...I am experimenting for the music department page for 3/1. The stories running are on a group, Apples in Stereo, which I have great publicity stills for and Kurt Cobain's documentary showing at the T/F Film Festival. I decided to try to come up with some type of illustration for the Kurt Cobain story, as any photos of him are pretty typical and have been seen over and over again- and obviously, none are recent either. What I decided to do was to use a photograph of Cobain, and cropped and changed it through several different tools in photoshop and illustrator to create a new image. From there I have experimented with several different colors and types of shadowing. Now, I am unsure whether to layer these on top of each other, line them up, or choose one color scheme and manipulate the photograph further...I am not really sure. So, if anyone has any advice of thoughts on where I can improve or if you like/dislike this idea, that would be great!!!

You Can't Miss This

I am keeping up with the designorati website and found this article. It's about the top 25 tips to use in InDesign from an InDesign conference, so it should be pretty helpful.

Check it out!!!





http://quarkvsindesign.com/articles/a1/features/2006/top-25-indesign-tips-from-the-indesign-conference/

Response

So, after we experimented with various different tools and tips in Photoshop during lab last week I decided to do some experimenting on my own! Not only did I spend about five hours trying different things and new tools, but I also still couldn't figure out how to do about a million other things I wanted to try. I think I could spend the rest of my life figuring out how to use Photoshop and still not know how to do certain things. The tutorials from lab last week convinced me that I should be more experimental in my design and try to do new things by spending more time with tools that I don't normally use. However, given the amount of time I spent and relatively little progress I made, I am not sure whether or not this would actually help or hinder my design!

Designs

This week was my first week designing my department. Overall, I had a lot of fun with the assignment but realized how different it was from previous design assignments. I couldn't figure out how to upload this design, for some reason it is different than my previous ones, but hopefully I will have it up by tomorrow!

You Can't Miss This

This article is pretty interesting. It discusses whether or not the pencil tool is a pointless/worthless feature for Photoshop. I think he spent way too much time analyzing whether or not its function is necessarily vital to the system, but he does have a point in that most people use photoshop to manipulate and manage photos over drawing. He thinks that the pencil tool is a great feature for illustrator, but that its purpose in photoshop is lost. You should check it out!

http://designorati.com/photoshop/2006/is-photoshops-pencil-tool-worthless/

Response

After our class discussions and presentations today on the Historical Perspectives project I realized not only how far design and typography has come, but also how contemporary some designs of the past were. I critiqued Mademoiselle magazine throughout the 1960's and was truly amazed by the progress made throughout only one decade. I think that the 60s in general was a transition period, and especially for women. The designs from the early 60's are rather similar in design and composition to that of the 40's and 50's and women are basically "taught" how to be women by common societal standards of housekeeping and beauty. However, by the end of the decade, not only do design and typography drastically change and look quite like the 70's and in a few instances the 80's, but also the content of the magazine shifts. It still includes a great deal of information about being the "best woman you can be" in terms of style and beauty, but it also featured short stories and essays by respectable writers, such as Capote and Sylvia Plath. The magazine is praising powerful women and encourages women to succeed in all facets of life, and even details why women should be educated, go to college, and be more independent-of course while displaying the best manicure and physique possible!

I thought this project was really interesting and fun. It was great to look at the history of magazines to see the progress made and just to look through the magazines. Although, I also realized how so much of the content of magazine has truly not changed in terms of the womens style category- it even seemed as though the beauty advice in Mademoiselle practically described the same tips as my current magazines do, simply with new products.

Designs

This is one of my attempts to do an illustration for magazine design last semester. I want to redo it before I put together my portfolio, so if anyone has suggestions that would be great.