Introduction To The Graphic Arts GRA217.5B

Wrapping up an awesome semester

2010-05-11T22:52:00.002-04:00

I don't know how something this important slipped my mind, but it did amidst a whirlwind that comprised almost entirely of a 3247279 page long media plan report. But I digress.

This course has been everything I expected it to be and more. Prior to taking this course, I've had a very undisciplined experience with Adobe CS. It basically consisted of me exploring Photoshop on my own and claiming I had mastery over it just like that. No surprise that much of the work I produced during that period had a very distinct style: overuse of filters and various layer style effects... It was pretty much special effects vomit.

Then I come to GRA 217 and finally learn how to use the whole suite effectively. My life has definitely changed for the better for this. The resume project was definitely the most beneficial project. In fact, I feel like it was one of the reasons why I began getting responses to my internship applications.

SO thank you Professor Hedges! Thank you for everything.

Wrap-Up Post

2010-05-07T14:36:00.004-04:00

Ugh, I thought this was due at 5pm today (Friday). I suck. Nonetheless, I do have an opinion on what GRA 217 taught me this semester, and it taught me a lot. Looking back on it now, I feel like a lot of the stuff we learned was really basic, probably because it's now so ingrained in my head as a given that I don't even think about it anymore. Good design is about space, and balance, and cleanliness, and unity, and when you think about it, that's what life is like

Even keeping images in separate image folder means something in the grand scheme of things. This class, more than anything else, more than typography, more than color relationships, more than using programs, taught me about order -- as Thom Yorke says, "Everything in It's Right Place." After spending dozens of hours per project in the labs and staring at a computer screen, it's pretty evident to me that you need planning for things to work out, and you also need to be open. It's about striking a balance between white space and clutter to find that perfect, functional, visually-appealing DESIGN.

At first I thought it was about creativity, and I heard an inordinate amount of idiots in the labs with me whine and moan about how their creativity was being stifled. It's really not about that. It's more about communicating a message in a functional way. Making it interesting is secondary, and, usually, functionality is already plenty interesting.

At least that's my take on it. I had a great semester, and hopefully I can take a graphics elective or something down the line.

-- Eric V-B

Wrap Up Post

2010-05-06T17:49:00.002-04:00

Ahhh GRA 217, what a rollercoaster of emotion. This was definitely one of the most time consuming classes I've ever taken, but no matter how frustrating- it was worth it. I realized how important learning these programs will be for the rest of my college career and in life. Working on these types of projects is a different kind of work, and one that I definitely enjoyed when I had the time to. There's so much freedom in design and that was a little intimidating, but it made for some long nights and essentially finding what I visually like. It's very interesting content that I now pay attention to daily. GRA 217 was a challenge, but one that I needed to grow and learn.

Wrap -Up Post by Hua Xin

2010-05-06T16:44:00.001-04:00

GRA217 is my first graphic class, and probably will be my last graphic class. I heard so many rumors about how crazy and frustrating this class can be. I still remember one of my friends told me her own experience with this class: you went to professor’s office again and again, and the professor would like none of your designs. I always thought that design is something highly depends on personal preference, and I was also afraid of the grading system will be intangible and obscure.

However, after I had my first graphic design class with Greg, all my concerns and worries were gone. Greg made the whole class so organized and everything is so clear. I like the way he speak, the way he organize his lecture, the way he present his slides, the way he express his opinion. I think most of my classmates must already mention the page-long comment, which is stunning. The first time I got the feedback, I was shocked for a few seconds, and I even told my mother I wanted to frame my professor’s feedback and hung it up on my bedroom wall. My mother said, “You must like your professor very much.” I replied, “I think I will never be able to see a more responsible professor. And Grey is much more than helpful, he is intelligent yet amiable, he is professional yet humble, he is ingenious yet patient, I cannot believe he is such a great person and at the same time happen to be my professor.”

As to the class, I think the most significant influence on me is not only the graphic design concept, but how to think like a designer and generate ideas. I never thought about I could know so many professional terms and concept in an introductory course. When I talk to my friend about font and using of white space, I felt like I am an insider although I only had a few class of graphic design. When I looked at the world around me, I am so proud to say that I am able to look at it using a way most people don’t use. I understand the way why things are organized in a certain way. I understand the importance of hierarchy which may hide in a single bread shelf. Graphic arts is not only about designing advertisement, covers or posters. It is more about the way people look at the world and hope it to be the way they want, it is about express your opinion using an indirect way, it is about communicating with people and getting response. Greg gave us all these amazing information within only one semester.

I am not sure about whether I will continue my interests on graphic arts, but the concepts I learned from this class has already mixed into my mind and become a part of me. However, one thing I am definitely sure is that I will frame Greg’s critique and hang it up as soon as my flight landed.

Wrap up post! Lifang Lin

2010-05-06T14:57:00.003-04:00

There is one significant improvement for me.
I had no idea about any fonts beside Times and Arial (not even Verdana) before this semester. Well now, I know at least 5 typefaces and I finally figure out how typefaces different from each others.(obviously I have no idea about strokes and serifs or anything else 4 months ago.)

I pretty enjoy working on the projects, although they are really time consuming. I really learn a lot from working on these projects and I think the projects really gives me better explanations of what Greg said in lecture.

It is hard to believe it is already the end of the semester, I can still remember the endless queue outside Greg's office and the hopelessness when I found out there are 13 people in front of me. OK, anyway, thank you Greg, you are definitely the most available teacher ever!

Florence - Last Blog (Reflection)

2010-05-06T13:09:00.004-04:00

Graphics has been one of my favorite classes at SU so far.

I feel very fortunate to have had such an incredible professor, such patient TAs, and such creative classmates this semester. I remember people telling me that graphics class was going to be a pain in the butt because it required so many extra hours in the lab.

Although I did spend countless of hours in the lab this semester, I did not mind it as much as I thought I would. At the end of the day, I was proud that I was able to create something that looked decent.

After taking GRA 217/218, I have become more aware of designs around me. I find myself looking at differnt poster, ads, magazine layouts, websites, etc. and analyzing them. In my head, I will go over what makes the design good and waht makes certain designs look like crap. I found that learning how to use InDesign and Illustrator is going to be very helpful longer on in life. I loved InDesign when we first started using it because I like to control of how and where text should go on the page. Illustrator was also a cool program. I really liked using it to make my logo. I'm bad at drawing so I like that Illustrator allows me to manipulate shapes into a cool design.

Professor Hedges is one of the most hard-working, helpful, patient, friendly, and overall awesome professor I have ever had. It feels bitter-sweet to write this blog today. This last blog symbolizes the end of this crazy semester for me but it also means that I will no longer have Hedges as a professor. I’m glad that he is going to continue his profession as a graphic designer but I do hope that he comes back to teaching some day. He has great insights and I think that as a professor, he makes Syracuse a better university.

I was lucky to have found some classmates who turned out to become good friends of mine. Spending late nights in the lab helped to form strong friendships. So in a way, I was glad to spend so much time working in the labs.

I hope that everyone will have a great summer!!

Wrap Up - Kim

2010-05-06T11:43:00.006-04:00

From day one I knew this class was going to be awesome. Greg presented graphic arts in a way I had never thought of before. I had always been very aware of the media-dominant world we live in but this class made me realize just how much of a visual and image-based culture we are. Everything we learned was fresh and exciting to me. Although all of the projects were daunting (especially the interface project), I really enjoyed the process of doing them--they were very hands-on and they really allowed our creativity to flow and take form. Whenever an idea would pop into my head, I would pull out a sheet of paper and just start making sketches. Looking back at them now, I am amazed at how many drafts it took to reach the final product.

The projects were extremely time consuming but without a doubt, they gave me a better understanding of the many steps, complexities and principles behind graphic design. I definitely have a deeper appreciation for all of the work that goes into good design, which requires well-developed concepts, doing and re-doing, and a LOT of time in order to successfully catch the viewer's attention and to visually communicate a message in a clear and effective way. Doing the projects also developed my eye for looking at design. I find myself critiquing and admiring websites, ads, posters and magazines all the time now. I actually examine the typeface of the text before actually reading the text.

I truly appreciated the page-long critique we received for each project. That to me demonstrates what kind of professor Greg is--he shows genuine interest in his students, actually takes the time to thoroughly analyze our hard work and offers great, insightful feedback. He is definitely one of the best professors I have had at SU and I feel so lucky and grateful to have had the chance to learn from him (The students taking graphics in the following years are seriously missing out). Overall, GRA 217 was all I want and expect from a college-level class: challenging, thought provoking and rewarding.

Ali Marsz_Wrap Up

2010-05-06T11:29:00.009-04:00

Ending our Graphics 217 career yesterday was actually a little bittersweet for me. Yes, I was extremely nervous about the course when it first started and wanted nothing more then for the semester to be over the day the class started, but I ended up really enjoying it love the feeling that I feel I really accomplished something looking back at how far we've all come from the first project. I might have gotten a little sick to my stomach every time one project was handed in and the next was immediately handed out, but Hedges and the entire course really caused me to think about the reasons I did things a certain way in my design, got me to think outside the box, and changed all my previous notions of what I thought was considered good graphic design. Although at the time the late nights, the long office hour lines and the stress didn't seem worth it, graphics really challenged me and I feel as if I really learned a lot about the subject and about my own creative abilities during the last couple of months. I've watched my assignments and drafts go from cluttered, unorganized, messy designs to projects that had purpose, simplicity, hierarchy, good visual design and told a story without a million random unneeded pictures or typefaces scattered around everywhere. Having to write a rationale for every project also really helped me to examine what I learned about myself and my abilities throughout each project. I can't believe how comfortable I became with each of the programs I had never used before. I work at the Athletic Department, and I can't believe how much better I can do my assignments knowing how to use InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop, where before I had to either pass on certain pieces of work because I didn't know what I was doing, Before, I'd have to ask a million questions and really guess on everything. I now can use the tools and commands we learned and do my work quickly and do projects I wasn't able to do before. I know these skills will continue to give me an upperhand in all future internships and work experiences. I thought every project really taught us new skills and allowed us to build on what we already knew and that each project was worth arriving at through hard work, sweat and tears. I really appreciated Greg's feedback at office hours and enclosed in our graded projects. I can't believe how much time he spent reading and trying to understand my vision behind the design and the choice I made. It made me feel so good knowing that someone really took the time to look at what I did, appreciate it, and come up with a grade according to my asserted effort and final product. Although it may have been on of the most difficult classes for me, I really have come out of it a much stronger person, a better/more effective communicator, a better visual critic and designer, and a great all-night/sleepover partner because of learning how to function on so little sleep. Thanks again, Greg, I really, really appreciated you and your class A LOT!!! Good luck with everything!

Wrap Up- Ann Banjerdkorapin

2010-05-06T10:28:00.002-04:00

I enjoyed being a part of this class a lot. I think Greg is a very funny teacher and he makes his classes interesting. This is the first class that I took that is so different from what I have taken before in my life. I never took graphic before and had no idea of how to use those adobe programs. However, right now, I know how to use and operate them, which is the best evidence that I learned many skills in this class.
One thing I think I got that I find very useful from this class is our first project, the resume. I have never written a resume before and that first project kind of does me a favor. And I love my design.
Classmates are also nice and understanding. Some are rather entertaining.
I will miss those times when I have to wait in line for the New House printer to print along with twenty other students who have their projects due and are printing. Good Times.

Wrap up post_ Talia Rossman

2010-05-05T17:57:00.000-04:00

This is completely one of those times when I feel so sad and so happy at the same time. I loved the class because it was unlike anything I have ever taken before. It wasn’t the usual reading and memorizing and taking exams. It was more like an art class on the computer. I love art and if I could fit it into my schedule to take art classes I would. This satisfied my art class craving. It taught me to pay attention to detail and think about things that I have never thought about before. I also am so thankful that I learned how to use the adobe programs. Knowing how to work these programs is so valuable. I had to complete an advertising campaign and was able to use the adobe programs and I really don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t know how. I also love working really hard on something and having it pay off. I never felt like my hard work was overlooked in this class. The grade you receive directly reflects the effort and time you put into the projects and I really appreciated that when I worked hard, I was rewarded for it. I also really appreciated the feedback I got from Hedges during office hours and when we got our projects back. Usually teachers place a grade on the project with a few scribbled comments and that’s it. I spent countless hours on these projects and liked that he took the time to write a full-page response to my work and why I received the grade I did.

I have also become a graphics nerd, the other day I was driving and I tapped my friend who also is taking graphics and said “Ugh look at that font on the awning, there is so much visual tension”

Not kidding!

Anyway, I was really lucky to have taken this class. Hedges is a great teacher and a true expert and I learned so much from taking his class.

Have a great summer everyone!

Peace out- Victoria Newman

2010-05-05T16:59:00.003-04:00

Wow- I'm actually really upset this class is over...I have learned so much over these past couple of months and cannot believe how fast it went by. I had such a great time with every project and learned something different with each one- I am leaving with all kinds of new skills, many of which I am especially proud of (I can work photoshop in my sleep now, thanks to actually sleeping at the labs) and will use for the rest of my life. Like Hedges said in the beginning, we will all walk out of this course with an inherent understanding of design and a new perspective. I can't walk by a sign without critiquing whether or not the typeface works, or the colors match well. I am incredibly grateful to Hedges for everything he has taught me.

Bye guys!

Wrap-Up Post

2010-05-05T16:49:00.002-04:00

I can't believe graphics has finally come to end. I feel like I've been waiting for this day since the beginning of the semester and now that its over I'm kind of sad. I am so appreciative to have had Greg as a teacher. He was absolutely awesome. I'm thankful that he always made himself available and went out of his way to give us the help that we needed. However; to be honest I don't know if I can say I have learned a lot from graphics. I feel like I learned enough to get me through the projects. The one thing I can say I did learn is that graphics is all about having an eye for design and I don't think everyone has it. Taking graphics has also given me the opportunity to question and ponder if I still want to get into creative advertising.
I really wished that that the class was more consistent with the labs and that instead of having two lectures we had two lab periods and a lecture. For a class like this I think it would of been more beneficial to always have it in the computer labs. This class is all about application and often times I would sit in lecture and not really get much from it. I know if that I was applying the topics we discussed on the computer as we were learning it I would of gotten a lot more from the class. Nonetheless is was a great semester I'm going to miss the late nights and the long lines outside of Greg's office. Good luck to you Greg and may you all have a wonderful summer!!

Snader - Wrap up post

2010-05-04T21:11:00.004-04:00

I have learned so much in the last few months that has allowed me to notice so many things about graphics in the "real world." I've started noticing good designs around campus, as well as some not-so-good ones. I loved the chance I had to create a more personalized résumé than what is normally distributed. I liked all the projects we had to complete - it helped me to fully appreciate the work that goes into creating a product that is visually appealing and also serves to communicate easily and clearly with the audience.

Coming into this class, I had a fairly strong background in InDesign, but I had only worked a little with Illustrator and Photoshop. I loved learning about all the capabilities that each program had to make my end product something that could actually be used.

I'm not planning to be a graphic designer, but having this knowledge will help me with any position I have in a magazine in the future. I'll have an idea of how design works, and I'll be able to work better with a design team when writing or editing. I can much better appreciate the design process.

Last Post-Ricky Marti

2010-05-04T17:27:00.002-04:00

It's so SAD! My favorite class has come to an end. But its okay because I will always have with me the great knowledge I have achieved. At first, it was a little difficult working with the programs, but then you get used to them and end up being a pro. This class is very challenging. It took so many hours to do a project and then re-do them again after you visited Greg's office hours. But it was all worth it, because the final result ended up being a great resume, magazine, or whatever it was! Something I wouldn't change about the class would be Lupton's book. "Type helped me a lot to prepare myself for the class and understand better the material. The blog was a ton of fun. It was probably my favorite part of the class. Posting current events keeps you updated with everything thats going on in the world, logo-wise. And posting your projects made you kind of feel good that people can see them and appreciate them. Overall, it was a great time and experience. TOTALLY WORTH IT! Thank you Greg!

Wrap-Up

2010-05-03T21:05:00.002-04:00

Being one of the least visually creative people on the planet, Graphics has not been an easy class for me. I came into the course with pretty much 0 experience with the Adobe Creative Suite and an inability to understand new and frightening technology. Thanks to the lab portion of this class, I must admit that I know feel almost entirely comfortable using these programs, especially Photoshop. That being said, I hope to never again have to use these program... Ever. I hope to never again spend hours in the Newhouse labs squinting at a computer screen, barely checking the urge to put my fist through it. While I found Graphics to be an interesting class on the whole, it certainly isn't something I'd want to do with the rest of my life... or ever again. Seriously.

Corey - Wrap-up

2010-05-03T01:27:00.003-04:00

Like most people, I had no experience with Adobe Suite prior to taking GRA 217. However, I am glad I had the opportunity to take it because I learned a lot. I have always been interested in art, I took numerous courses in high school. Although, I never had any experience with bringing my artwork digital.

As an advertising major, the course has definitely made a positive impact on me. Being able to create eye-catching, engaging advertisements and posters is so important because of the amount of messages consumers are bombarded with each day. I would definitely recommend this course to others. Even though the work can be stressful at points, it definitely beats crunching numbers and solving equations.

2010-05-02T21:16:00.002-04:00

As a Communication Design major, coming into Graphics 217 I had a strong background of all the programs and basic techniques and fundamentals of layouts. However, the saying "you learn something new every day" holds true to its meaning as there were aspects I did not know and picked up on. I enjoyed the resume project the most as that is the only project I have never experienced before. It was good to get my resume started in order to send it out for internships and job opportunities.

Design is not natural and practice makes perfect. By having problems to solve and assignments to accomplish I feel myself as a designer has grown. Those little mistakes a month ago that I have learned from help me immensely.

I am currently working toward developing the skills to soon begin producing my own created projects to build up my portfolio. Last week I was amazed by the looks of the senior portfolios as I thought I'd never be able to accomplish such a thing. However, within time my progression as a designer will increase rapidly and I'll be amazed with myself just as I was amazed with the seniors. I hope to apply for art director internships in my future to visually broadcast my ideas throughout the community.

Wrap Up Post - Megan M.

2010-05-02T13:18:00.002-04:00

When I first registered for Graphics 217, I was intimidated to say the least. I had no experience working with graphics or with the Adobe Creative Suite. As an advertising major, I've always been intrigued by the creative elements of advertising- how it is developed, why one decision is made over another, how each decision furthers an intended message to a specific audience. Building on this interest and inexperience, I faced Graphics 217 with a slight hesitation.

Looking back on the semester, I am amazed at the amount of information I have learned. From typeography and design layout to creating my own art on the computer, I feel so much more prepared for a career in advertising because I now better understand the technique and process that a design must go through. After taking this class, I am more interested in the creative side of advertising and look forward to exploring more of it in future classes, internships, and professional positions.

Extra Credit Blog Post- Victoria Newman

2010-04-23T15:01:00.002-04:00

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has redesigned its organization's logo, and I think for the better. The GLAAD organization is a national group that “amplifies the voice of the LGBT community by empowering real people to share their stories, holding the media accountable for the words and images they present, and helping grassroots organizations communicate effectively.” The logo redesign is consistent with its mission: before, the logo was not representative of the "voice" the group has for gays and lesbians.

Now, the logo clearly shows (with the symbol that looks like a speakerphone) the goals of the group, which is to give a voice to gays and lesbians across the country. The use of color in the logo also helps send out the message of being loud and outspoken- the reds and oranges really pop out and are strong colors, which is also consistent with the group's goal to speak out for the rights of the LGBT community. I really like the new logo because I think it gives the group a better identity, one that is closer to the type of message that the organization wants to convey.

extra-credit blog

2010-04-23T14:41:00.003-04:00

The State University of New York changed its new logo, which looks like a round crystal ball. I personally think the new logo shows some new concept, like the color of the new logo is more fresh and comfortable to see. The crystal ball makes people thinking of Harry Potter or some other mysterious things. Crystal ball also indicates the wisdom and unknown things, which implies the knowledge a student need to learn and disciplines need to explore. The crystal ball shows a modern feeling that the old logo don't have.

The old logo, on the other hand, is a very typical university logo. The color is black and white. It is a round circle with the symbol of the university. I feel like it shows a long history of the university and this is more important for a university. As to the typography, the new logo have no serif while the old one have.

I believe the SUNY wants to express a feeling that going to college is not a serious options, it is a creative and happy experience. I think the new logo shows that very clearly, but abandon the history of the logo is also not a desirable thing to do.

Extra Credit Blog - Arielle Knapp

2010-04-22T18:21:00.002-04:00

New generation coke?! Coke for years has built its way to be so recognizable on the market. They have branded themselves so sufficiently to the point they can play with their look and feel and logo and would still be recognized, similar to snickers' ads with the different sayings within their logo. Coke has presented itself in cups, bottles of varied shapes; plastic vs glass, tall/skinny/short/fat, and cans. This idea of the square shape was brought to the table and simply rejected. Although at first it looks like an aesthetic unique piece however, it has more cons than pros. The design does allow for the designer to implement many graphics, however, the reason coke is remember is for its iconic curvilinear shape. Turning it into box form takes a whole new toll on the design that I don't believe the world is ready to encounter.

Magazine Design

2010-04-16T16:16:00.002-04:00

Rational

Hua Xin

Project: Magazine Project

Apr 14, 2010

Magazine Identity and readership

The identity of my magazine is a travel magazine. My magazine intends to introduce different places of interests around the world, including some place not that famous or well-known, but worth to go see it. My magazine targets on a very wide of audience who has interests in traveling and exploring the world. I will show the fantastic scenery of the nature and let people have a chance to feel relax even when they cannot really go to that place.

Magazine Visual Identity

My magazine mostly uses a variety of photographs to attract the audience. The photographs of the nature are always very astonishing and stunning. I will use the image to visually influence my audience and let them enter into another world without work stress or complicated relationship issue.

Article Visual Identity

The article I chose is about an island in Hawaii—Maui. This island is not very well developed and majority of the island has no people live there. The image I use of the jump spread is a sunset of the beach. It is very beautiful and attractive. People who see the image will feel the immense of the see immediately. So, audience who attracted by this image will be interest in reading the article.

Article Design Strategy

The initial impression of my design is the stunning sea viewing. People who buy the magazine will be attracted by the sea scenery immediately. Then, I divided the text by using a quote in the article. I also use the typeface of party LET to express a casual and relax feeling. So my audience will be attracted by this feeling and wish to go to Maui. I also use the impression of adventure to encourage those who wish to explore the world and finding their neverland. The image I chose are all very happy and positive image, which can bring people a positive attitude towards life.

Style Sheet

Cover Headline Cascade Script LT Std, Medium, 72pt, White

Party LET, Plain, 150pt, white

Cover Teaser Optima LT Std, Bold, 14pt, white

Jump Spread Pull Quote Optima LT Std , Bold, 24pt, Deep Blue

Jump Spread Text Garamond 3 LT Std, regular, 10pt, black

Side Bar Headline Cascade Script LT Std, bold, 12pt, pink

Side Bar Teaser Helvetica Neue, regular, 11pt, pink

Side Bar Text Helvetica, bold, 8pt, white

Document Grid

I use three columns and I think it is very conventional for travel magazine. The dominant image I use is across the three columns, the other image I use occupies two columns. The Side Bar I use in at the bottom of the right page and all the way across the three columns. The design I use is follow the Z pattern and I think it is effective.

Source

Sunset image:

http://blog.omahalovers.net/images/sunset.jpg

Windsurfer, Sea Center:

http://www.smartdestinations.com/design/images/maui/index.html

Side Bar Image:

http://www.visitmaui.com/maui/itineraries/adventure

Victoria Newman Magazine Project

2010-04-16T15:44:00.002-04:00

Magazine identity and readership

The identity of my magazine is fashionable, young and chic. It is intended to be most appealing to and read by a younger (18+) audience, and the content is meant to be targeted towards females.

Magazine visual identity

Through my magazine design, I intended to convey a sense of softness and sensuality, because I wanted to portray a more sensual and less overtly sexual side of Megan Fox. Therefore, I wanted the tone of my design to be sexy and classic while still in good taste, but also while showing that she has her rebellious side. I did this because I wanted my readers to see the versatility of the actress and possibly be able to relate more to this side of her.

Article visual identity

Since I wanted to emphasize the softer sexuality of Megan Fox, I wanted the article to look clean and simple. I wanted the pictures to reflect the softer tone of the article but still wanted to convey a sense of rebellion. I only used two pull quotes and two pictures to maintain a simple and clean look.

Article Design Strategy

I think my design communicates feelings of fun, sexiness and rebellion, while still being simple and clean. I think the initial impression my feature makes is powerful because many people don’t believe the feature picture I used is Megan Fox at first glance, because most photos of her are more sexually explicit. The headline complements the picture well because the size and placement of the type reflects her body in the picture. The headline, “rebel with a cause” is counterintuitive because the picture is so understated. The “C” of cause is larger than the rest of the type because it is meant to imitate the cups of her brassiere and “cause” is the biggest type because I wanted it to pop out on the page. I used the same color palette (the brownish red from her hair, the golden hues from her outfit) throughout the feature and jump spread to maintain a sense of consistency and to visually bring the spreads together for the readers, but switched between the browns and golden colors to create contrast and make the spreads interesting visually. I used the pictures that I did in the jump spread because I think they convey perfectly the sense of sensuality combined with a fun, outgoing personality.

O'Malley Magazine

2010-04-16T15:40:00.001-04:00

The identity of my magazine is for people who listen to indie/punk/rock music. The readers of my magazine and article would know who Andy Hull/ Manchester Orchestra is and would most likely understand the title “Son of a Bastard” are lyrics in a Manchester Orchestra song as well as “I’ve Got Friends”. If not, it is included in the article.

I intended to convey the vibe that Manchester gives off. Their music isn’t happy. The top of the title I liked in black rather than white because white gave off a much different vibe. I think the black is still readable. The type I used for “bastard” continues into the jump spread and it looks slightly angry/etched but not unreadable.

The content of my article focuses a lot on Andy Hull being a huge leader of the band. It talks a lot about the personal life of him, his relationship with his father, and where he grew up. It also talks about he direction of the band.

I tried to keep the jump spread very structured because the picture on the feature spread is very structured. There are lines in the background of the shot and the band is very specifically spaced.

Cover line one: ITC Avante Garde Bold
Cover line two: Papita
Cover small paragraph: ITC Avante Garde
Jump Spread Main Text: Candida
Jump Spread Drop Cap Words: Pepita
Jump Spread Jump Quotes: ITC Avante Garde Medium Oblique
Jump Spread Side Bar: ITC Avante Garde (Medium/Light/Bold)

I used three columns per page. I didn’t want to make it to condesnsed but It needed a structure. Also I noticed that the lines on the feature spread are three and around the same width of my columns. I set the bottom margin slightly bigger than the top.

Ali Marsz - Magazine Project

2010-04-16T14:31:00.013-04:00

Magazine Identity and Readership

I grew up watching classic movies and musicals, which is why I’ve always appreciated and have been fascinated with old movie stars, vintage styles, and the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. For this reason, I was very excited to see Grace Kelly on the cover of Vanity Fair. With her inspiration and flawless features, my magazine developed a personality that was classic, feminine, and simple yet glamorous. I decided to call my magazine “Etoile,” which means star in French, a name that is simplistic yet fun. My expected target audience would be young to middle-aged women, who are inspired by the styles, fashion and people from the past, as well as current celebrities and trends, as it would be a unique fashion-inspired magazine that was inspiring to women. It would reintroduce some old styles and celebrities intermixed with modern fashion through its pages, tying in the old with the new.

Magazine Visual Identity

Grace Kelly, in her role as an actress and a princess, really needs no introduction. She is the epitome of beauty, elegance, and class, as she is a timeless role model for generations alike. I knew that incorporating her into the magazine would automatically give it a certain ladylike and old-style glamour, which I used in my design. I liked the vintage feel that the pictures exuded, and played off that classic feel they helped to create, which also influenced the rest of my design choices which continued this trend.

Article Visual Identity

Visually, I wanted to please the eye using a calm, cool, yet classy blue color to bring a fresh perspective into the mix with the old-fashion, traditional tone. I wanted to keep my spreads poised without being boring, and didn’t want to keep everything completely standardized and static. Chic and wholesome could additionally be used to describe my visual design.

Article Design Strategy

I think that my feature spread does a good job of making an immediate and memorable statement that conveys the personality of my magazine. As the article traces Grace Kelly’s transformation from girl next door to fairytale princess in parallel to her influence on Hollywood and the fashion industry, I thought the feature image was fitting. A still shot from the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock movie “Rear Window,” Kelly sits in an effortless elegance on the stairs, ladylike and stunning, exuding femininity and class from every pore of her body. In the classic black and white photo, she looks as if she was born to be a princess, and along with the billowing skirt and pose, sets an enchanting, classy tone. I chose to use ITC Isadora Std font for Grace’s name and the phrase “Once Upon A Time,” because those words needed to convey those same feelings as the traits she possesses and have a similar fairytale feel. My deck head needed to be neat, simple and still a little girly, which is why I liked the Bell Gothic Std type. Using Engravers LT Std for the rest of the headline added some variation and the right amount of contrast. The Tiffany’s blue pops against the black background and enhances the elegance. I transferred my intended theme to the jump by continuing to incorporate the same fonts and also by focusing attention on other classic photos. With her face also used in the background of my sidebar, I chose to highlight some of her memorable fashion moments, as it is both part of her identity and the magazine’s. The large jump spread photo gave me the perfect location to place my pull quote, and I incorporated the blue into it, the drop cap, and the sidebar as well. Adobe Jenson Pro was a good type choice for the body text of the magazine, as it too was simple, clean and classic.

Document Grid

For my magazine, I used a baseline grid with three columns per page. I experimented awhile with the margins, but came to the conclusions that the standard setting fit the traditional, elegant theme I sought. I did bring up the bottom margin to add the right amount of white space and not clutter the pages, however. I used the subheading “The Kelly Way” to add a good division in the article and the drop heads additionally keeps it organized and clean.

Extras

Whenever I see the black and white combination in a layout or design, I immediately want to add the colors red or pink for emphasis with surrounding words, shapes, etc. However, Vanity Fair had already used a classic red color on their cover design, and I decided to experiment with other colors instead of going to the pink alternative. What came to mind was the store Tiffany’s, which is the ultimate place of high class and elegance, which embodies many of the same qualities I associate with Grace. So, I sought out images with their signature blue colored box and used my type in that color to accent both of my spreads. I’m am quite please with its resulting effect.

Lady Gaga

2010-04-16T14:17:00.001-04:00

InDesign ate my sidebar...

Magazine Identity & Readership
Originally, I intended to model my magazine after last month’s issue of Cosmopolitan. Unfortunately, I lost the article that I had intended to use and, after frantically scouring both Schine Student Center and CVS to no avail, decided to go in a different direction. Thus, “Jagged” was born. “Jagged” is modeled closely after “Spin” magazine, which is, essentially, a college-oriented music publication. The body of my text was originally an unpublished interview with a well-known New York DJ.

Magazine Visual Identity
Visually, I wanted to convey the essence of Lady Gaga. This was not a simple task. Rather than express her wild side, I wanted to play up who she is as a person as opposed to the fame monster she has become. My interpretation of Gaga is more stripped-down than you would normally find.

Article Visual Identity
In my article I wanted to portray Lady Gaga more as a person rather than an icon. Additionally, rather than including images of her at her wildest, I chose to portray a softer, more human side. That being said, I still wanted the “fame monster” sense of Lady Gaga to still be present, just not at the forefront.

Article Design Strategy
The feature page is rather simple in it’s design. The picture I chose to open my article is a bit more glamorous than one usually sees of Gaga. She isn’t dressed to outrageously, yet it still maintain her essence as a fashion icon. I chose to use hot pink in the headline because it is a color that is easily identifiable with Gaga. In the headline I used two different typefaces, Criticized and White Squared. Criticized is a fairly reserved looking font, while I used White Squared to make Gaga’s name pop. The artist is anything but ordinary and I wanted to convey how she stands out through the text I used. In the jump spread I continued to use hot pink as the primary color in the article. I didn’t want to make the jump too crazy or busy, as I wanted the content of the article to be just as important as the design. While people generally associate Gaga with a flashy, showman-type attitude, I wanted this article to stand out from the dozens of others that have been done before.

Magazine Project Vilas-Boas

2010-04-16T13:43:00.006-04:00

Rationale

magazine identity & readership
The magazine I designed is basically a seedier Vogue. Recherché is about style, fashion, celebrities and visuals. It appeals to those readers who want to feel classy but who don’t have the means to buy something like Vogue. Also, it’s got more pop-culture-y stories to present to its readers. The name Recherché means exuisite, or refined in French (it’s the past participle of the verb rechercher “to seek out”), and the word can be used in English as a tongue-in-cheek way to say “pretentious.”

magazine visual identity
I wanted to create a magazine that would be both accessible and easily readable as well as sophisticated. Though I only designed one story, the tabs that extend to the edges of the pages are intended to be a constant thing, and the magazine would be defined and color-coded by sections and individual longer stories. The choice of typefaces reflects this too, with Garamond, Avant Garde and Franklin Gothic used for their readability, elegance and dynamism. I think the readership will enjoy a magazine that looks a lot like something like Vogue (Avant Garde is the same font used to display stories on Vogue’s cover), but takes less work to access.

article design strategy
I started off by finding a good feature spread image, and finding one for Lady Gaga wasn’t too difficult. From there, my natural instinct was to find a ragged, jagged typeface to match her shirt and her zany personality; enter Firecat. The feature page conveys some intimidation, which is key to Gaga’s work, through her unwavering glare in the photo and the use of Firecat. At the same time, the Garamond pulls it back a bit, grounding the reader’s impression. I feathered the page at the bottom because it would be too dark otherwise and it was a great way to counter-intuitively “highlight” the dek, which was lined up with the byline to further its relationship with the title. The dek was presented with both black and white type to mimic her shirt and call out the individual words in the text.
For the jump spread I established continuity by using the tealish blue color from the display type in the feature spread. I used Garamond for body copy and Franklin Gothic for the sidebar and photo credits (and carried Avant Garde over from the cover for the sidebar’s title). No typeface is used just once, and my goal was to keep everything cohesive and relative to something else. The green tabs around the photos and sidebar serve this end too, as does the use of Firecat again, in the pull-quote and the pulled-out “drop-cap.” The article also reads in the natural “Z” pattern described in class.

style sheet

COVER
COVER HEADLINE: Didot Roman, 109/130.8, optical kerning, tracking 90
COVER HEADLINE (“magazine”): Didot Roman, 23/27.6, optical kerning, tracking 220
COVER TEASERS (Middle): ITC Avant Garde Gothic Std Book, 55/46.65, optical kerning, tracking 0
COVER TEASERS (Middle-Underneath): ITC Avant Garde Gothic Std Book, 15/18, optical kerning, tracking 0
COVER TEASERS (Left): ITC Avant Garde Gothic Std Book, 29/25, optical kerning, tracking 0
COVER TEASERS (Left-Underneath): ITC Avant Garde Gothic Std Book, 15/18, optical kerning, tracking 0
COVER TEASERS (Right): ITC Avant Garde Gothic Std Book, 25/30, optical kerning, tracking 0
COVER TEASERS (Right-Underneath): ITC Avant Garde Gothic Std Book, 12/14.4, optical kerning, tracking 0
DATE/ISSUE #: ITC Avant Garde Gothic Std Book, 8/9.6, optical kerning, tracking 0

OPENING SPREAD
OPENING SPREAD HEADLINE: Garamond LT 3 Regular, 48/57.6, metrics kerning, tracking 120
OPENING SPREAD HEADLINE: Firecat Medium, 83.393/100.072, optical kerning, tracking 0
OPENING SPREAD DEK: Garamond LT 3 Regular, 32/38.4, optical kerning, tracking 0
OPENING SPREAD BYLINE: Garamond LT 3 Regular, 21/25.2, optical kerning, tracking 0
OPENING SPREAD PHOTO CREDIT: Garamond LT 3 Regular, 10/12, optical kerning, tracking 0

JUMP SPREAD
JUMP SPREAD DROP-CAP: Firecat Medium, 99/118.8, metrics kerning, tracking 0
JUMP SPREAD PULL QUOTE: Firecat Medium, 13/15.6, optical kerning, tracking 0
JUMP SPREAD BODY COPY: Garamond LT 3, 10/13, optical kerning, tracking 0 (5, 10, 20)
JUMP SPREAD PHOTO CREDITS: ITC Franklin Gothic Medium, 9/13, optical kerning, tracking 0
JUMP SPREAD SIDEBAR (HEADLINE): ITC Avant Garde Gothic Std Book, 20/24, optical kerning, tracking 420
JUMP SPREAD SIDEBAR (COPY): ITC Franklin Gothic Book, 9/13, optical kerning, tracking 0
JUMP SPREAD FOLIOS: Didot LT Std Roman, 9/10.8, optical kerning, tracking 90

document grid
There are three columns in my grid and the baseline grid began from 3p0 with an interval every 13pt. Since Garamond sets nicely at 10 with ideal leading at 13, this was the natural decision to make. The outside margin is wider than the standard (6p10) so that the magazine’s upscale nature could come across more, and so that the pages could breathe more with more room for design.

sources
cover: http://live.drjays.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Lady_Gaga_Heartbeats.jpg
feature: http://glaadblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/lady-gaga.jpg
flaming piano: http://images.townnews.com/trentonian.com/content/articles/2009/11/23/entertainment/doc4b0a18bf96d8b263431722.jpg
microphone: http://www.epublika.si/userfiles/image/novice/rumena_lady%20gaga.jpg
Telephone video image: http://photos.posh24.com/p/768433/l/lady_gaga/lady_gaga_telephone_video_sneak_peak.jpg
Bad Romance video image: http://pswnio.gr/archives/4418
Poker Face video image: http://www.dogasaur.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/lady-gaga-poker-face-great-danes2.jpg

extras
Color was a pretty crucial part of this design, just because of how visual Lady Gaga is. Because the bluish-green color of her painted lightning bolt on the picture on the feature spread was not coming out clearly enough, I drew one over it with the Pen tool, filling it in with a teal color. That’s the color that I continued using throughout the design. It was definitely a process finding a color that both printed and displayed reasonably well on a screen.

Rachel McAdams feature, Schmitt

2010-04-16T13:05:00.002-04:00

Magazine Identity & Readership

Celebrity Insider is a celebrity gossip magazine, but targets a classier audience. It is similar to People. It’s audience respects the celebrities and does not believe trash that they read in the tabloids. It would be displayed at grocery stores, but on the top shelf.

Magazine Visual Identity

Most readers have had some knowledge of Rachel McAdams and her work as an actress. Those who would be most interested in this article might be fans that have anticipated the release of Sherlock Holmes. By choosing edgier pictures of this classic beauty, it may draw in a larger audience who are curious about this side of her they didn’t know about, much different from the innocence in The Notebook.

Article Visual Identity

The cover of my article is simple and elegant. It sets the scene for an article surrounding intimate details of the actress’ life. The very personal picture of her, a close up shot, revealing her collarbone, shows this. Her mouth opened this way makes it look like she’s telling the audience a secret.

Article Design Strategy

My design follows through with a great color scheme reflecting her lipstick color. This color is dark and romantic, and will attract female readers. When you first flip open to the page, you catch glimpse of the flirtatious photograph of McAdams in what seems to be a forest. Her light pink dress is another thematic color throughout the article. It is very cohesive. I kept the design simple, so it would be simple to read and follow. The drop cap ‘w’ is written in the same font as the article title. This serif font, to me, reflects the new movie Sherlock Holmes, that being the meaning of “Clued In” as the title. The pull quote continues with this color use and font. The sidebar story uses a simple sans serif font that has a ‘y’ that resembles a mirror. I thought this was clever because the sidebar is about her hairstyles.

Style Sheet

Cover Headline: Belwe Std Medium, 86/103.2, metrics

Cover Teaser: Bell Std Italic, 21/25.2, metrics

Cover credits: Bell Std Regular, 14/16.8, metrics

Feature Drop Cap: Belwe Std Medium, 86/98.4, metrics

Jump spread type: Adobe Caslon pro Regular, 10/13.2, metrics

Pull Quote: Belwe Std Light, 16/19.2, metrics

Sidebar Title: Bauhaus Std Medium, 36/43.2, metrics

Sidebar teaser: ITC Eras Std, Book, 11/13.2, metrics

Sidebar photo captions: ITC Eras Std, Book, Bold, 10/12, metrics

Footer: Adobe Caslon pro regular/italic, 12/14.4, metrics

Sources

Page 4, pink dress photo: http://www.fanpop.com/spots/rachel-mcadams/images/5727759/title/julie-dennis-brothers-photoshoot

Sidebar, pink hair: http://www.fabsugar.com/Rachel-McAdams-Pink-Highlights-Love-Hate-111565

Sidebar, Mean Girls: http://content7.flixster.com/question/36/66/37/3666373_std.jpg

Sidebar, The Notebook: http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupprofile&groupID=106521592

Sidebar, Wedding Crashers: http://www.rachel-mcadams.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/259

Sidebar, Sherlock Holmes: http://filmreviewonline.com/2009/12/23/sherlock-holmes-rachel-mcadams/

Yang's Magazine Project

2010-04-16T12:52:00.002-04:00

Magazine Identity and Readership
My magazine is called Face Forward. Its target audience is professional women 24-45 years old. They read the magazine to be inspired by successful female celebrities and want to connect to the feminine side in them.

Magazine Visual Identity
The colour and font scheme of the entire magazine will be bold but feminine because this is both the personality of the readers and the subjects in each article. This would mean that for the most part, the magazine will steer away from cliché and outdated elements that have been associated with females: frilly design and script fonts. The readers are professional and progressive and expect the same from the magazine.

Article Visual Identity
The design of the article is meant to bring forth Tina Fey’s serious side. Despite being known for her adroitness at making witty comments and inappropriate jokes, Tina Fey adheres strictly to some rule and values in her life. Since the headline says “Vote for Tina” and the deck mentions “presidency” the byline is printed on a campaign sticker.

Article Design Strategy
The photo I have chosen for the feature spread helped decide which design elements to use. I chose to extend the colours from the background of the photo into the facing page because of the way Tina Fey is seated. Her body is turned towards the right even though her face engages you as it’s faced forward. As such, it seems as if she is welcoming the reader to sit on the sofa beside her. This draws attention to the headline and deck. The colours in this facing page are extracted from minor details in the feature photo – Tina Fey’s shoe strap and skirt. However, plum and green work very well together to complement the background. I duplicated and faded out the title to place in the background because I hoped to use it to create motion and move the reader towards flipping the page. The jump spread uses the same colour scheme and picks up two details from the feature spread: The asymmetrical colour block in the background and the Japanese dots reflect the designs on the sofa. I used Helvetica Neue for the headline, deck, pull quote and side-bar because the symmetry in its characters and consistent stroke weight match the bold designs on the cushions in the feature photo.

Style Sheet
Opening Spread Headline: Helvetica Neue Regular, 98/100, optical kerning, tracking 0
Opening Spread Deck: Helvetica Neue Light, 16/16, optical kerning, tracking 0
Jump Spread Pull Quote: Helvetica Neue Condensed Bold, 30/35 optical kerning, tracking 0
Jump Spread Drop Cap: Helvetica Neue Regular, 114/35 optical kerning, tracking 0
Jump Spread Body Text: Adobe Garamond Pro, 9.5/10.3, optical kerning, tracking 0

Document Grid
The document grid is more apparent in the text-heavy jump spread. Each page is clearly divided into 3 columns with 0p8 gutter in between each one. I placed elements in a Z-shape (Drop-cp, photo, pull-quote), imitating the way the eyes naturally move across a page. I put in a bigger margin between the bottom edge of the text box and the edge of the page because I wanted to give the folio a clear segmented space.

Sources:
http://accessories.about.com/od/photogalleries/ig/SAG-Awards-2009/Tina-Fey---Double-Wrap-Belt.htm (Images in side-bar all from the same site)

http://www.perfectpeople.net/photo-picture-image/137215/tina-fey.htm (Image from feature spread and center of jump spread)

Magazine Project by Tyra Jeffries

2010-04-16T10:56:00.002-04:00

Rationale

Name: Tyra Jeffries

Project: Magazine Project

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Magazine Identity & Readership

The magazine would be for the audience of young women. Those who read Cosmo, Teen Vogue, Glamour, etc. would enjoy this magazine. The identity of my magazine is to show high-end fashion related stories and tips. The goal of the magazine is to provide the reader with insight into the fashion world, whether or not they understand it.

Magazine Visual Identity

I wanted to convey a sense of sophistication, style and interesting stories that are relevant to the fashion industry. I intend on packaging this magazine with plastic wrap because I find that many of the more exclusive and well-organized magazines tend to have that. The tone that I wish to convey is simply an air of sophistication and style simply by looking and picking up the magazine.

Article Visual Identity

What I am hoping to convey with relations to my cover article is interesting and sophistication. The simple photograph that says a lot not only about the model, but the designer of the layout is that we pay close attention to detail. Also, the visual aspects have been tied in through use of color schemes to convey a sense of unity throughout the layout.

Article Design Strategy

The primary design strategy of this magazine was how can I translate to my readers something that is interesting, relatively insightful and fashion related. I believe that this design layout covers all of these because I decided to choose a supermodel, Alessandra Ambrosio because although she is a top model, I feel many people don’t know too much about her. I was able to use the photos to tell a story of how she is this beautifully stunning top model, but attempted to humanize her with the jump quotes and photo on the final page. Similarly to the Cosmopolitan magazines take on celebrities, I wanted to create a personable layout that allows the reader to feel a sense of connection with the celebrity. By discussing stories relative to her life that we would not have know created a comfort level with a woman that many would consider to be their role models. Also by emphasizing the fashion industry’s lust for Brazilian models, since she is one I felt that need to express through the layout. I try to tie all of the different elements together through use of a color scheme. Also in the first spread with just her photo, I decided to use a stylistic technique of placing an accent mark over the “o” in her last name. The reason being is she doesn’t ever really use it in the industry, but it is still a part of her. I set it up lighter so to suttly show that it is a hidden part of her identity.

Style Sheet

I decided not to do a cover.

Opening Spread Headline: Snell Roundhand Bold, 62/74.4, optical kerning, tracking 0, 16 degrees tilt

Jump Spread Pull Quote: Apple Chancery, 18/21.6, metric, tracking 50

Document grid: I utilized the three grid per a page of the spread. I decided to do three since many magazines set there’s up that way. I had lowered the bottom margins slightly to allow for more for photos and space to accommodate them. Along with bleeding over the margins when it came to pictures. I wanted to create a new and much more interesting take and thus, I changed the margins.

Sources:

Main Photo on page 54:

http://www.vivagoal.com/tag/alessandra-ambrosio/page/5/

“Made in Brazil” pictures starting from left to right

Photo 1:

http://www.graphicshunt.com/celebrities/images/alessandra_ambrosio_at_the_victoria_secret_fashion_show-2887.htm

Photo 2:

http://dsfewfge.269g.net/image/victorias-secret-2005-alessandra-ambrosio-02.jpg

Photo 3:

http://media.photobucket.com/image/alessandra%20ambrosio%20runway/sweetdweamz/67098_alessandra_ambrosio2.jpg

Page #55

Laughing picture:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-Cb_iV_LnpU/SQT9OvMhiHI/AAAAAAAAHIc/wmVCXl-X6gA/s1600/alessandra-ambrosio-1600x1200-26191.jpg

Magazine Inflluence:

Fashion Lifestyle Magazine

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fashion-lifestyle.net/images/broi10/21_alessandra24.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fashion-lifestyle.net/fotomodels_en_broi10&usg=__ZCnG-nsT9dAsvojZFu_ZDWwrSu0=&h=300&w=375&sz=47&hl=en&start=9&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=kesUEcOqG3hcKM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=122&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dalessandra%2Bambrosio%2Bmagazine%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1

Extras

I decided to use four main colors: pink, black, white and gray. The pink was taken from her lips in the first spread. The black, gray and white were taken from her dress. Then were carried out thorough the spreads.

Magazine - Lifang Lin

2010-04-16T00:38:00.004-04:00

Magazine identity & readership
This magazine is called The New Magazine. As its name states, the magazine is about something new and also related to daily live. Not a magazine for science professionals or crazy high-tech followers but the technology products that may change our daily lives. The target readers are young people who are easy adaptor to new technologies and interested in everything that will make live easier. The most likely readers are college students.

Magazine visual identity
I want to appeal to young people so the magazine should have a dynamic look and sense of on-going. Also, it should be a magazine that appears more contemporary, so that I place irregular color lumps with the folio. I pick Lithos Pro for folio to add on the feeling of youthful spirit. Also, I try to incorporate the design of feature spread with the tone of the magazine by rotating the title to add a feeling of changing.

Article visual identity:
I want to create a sense of motion with my feature spread design. While the feature is a little bit playful, I hope my jump spread can bring back the feeling of money, which is more solid and block rather than playful.

Article design strategy:
I use greenish and yellowish colors as tone of the design because they are color of paper bills, so that readers are easier to come up the idea of money with such colors.
The feature spread is aiming to create the feeling of motion – the title is rotated and placed out of frame; the money sign is placed as if it is running out of the page. I choose Kabel LT Std as typeface for the title, because this typeface’s design really gives a sense of motion by itself, especially the “e”s. The design for jump spread is pretty geometric with rotated ghosted word “Free” to recall the design on Feature spread. I use Avenir LT Std as font for deck and credit due to its readability and its geometric looking.
Since money is more about rational thinking, the geometric layout may bring readers such feeling. I pick Caslon 540 LT Std as typeface for body text due to its readability and clean design. The basic idea of side bar is to show how money transfers from commodities thousands years ago to digital as it is today. So I simply us line to link up every stage to showcase the sequence of evolution. Avenir LT Std is used again in sidebar to give contrast with the body text and add credit to the geometric design of jump spread.

Document Grid
Margin: Top 3p0; Bottom 2p0; Inside 3p6; Outside 3p6
I set bottom margin smaller because I want to place my sidebar into it without cut the article too much, since there are already some photos placed on the top. The inside and outside margins are huge because I want the article appears more concentrated.
Column Quantity = 2
I feel 3 Columns design will make the jump spread less geometric and it is also weird to place a center photo bar with the 3 columns design. In additional, because sentence in the article are long, so it might be good for reading with just 2 columns instead of more.

Magazine Project - Megan M.

2010-04-15T20:06:00.006-04:00

name: Megan Murphy

project: Magazine Project

date: 4/15/10

magazine identity & readership

The magazine I designed would fill the void that many of today’s women’s magazines leave. Centered as a publication for the smart, sophisticated, intelligent, urban woman, Savoir-Faire combines the traditional beauty and fashion interests of women’s magazines with intriguing editorial stories centered on current political, social, economic events. The term “savoir-faire” comes from the French verbs “savoir,” to do, and “faire,” to make, and has this definition: the ability to say or do the right or graceful thing. Savoir-Faire goes beyond publications like fashion- centered Vogue or Marie Claire and represents the educated, graceful, and considerate woman.

magazine visual identity

I wanted to convey the many facets of Michelle Obama’s personality. She is a strong, intelligent and professional woman but is also graceful, sensitive, and loving. Now as the First Lady, I wanted to represent her many roles as a mother, a wife. a daughter, a friend, fashion icon, inspiration and an international representation of the United States. Her ability to juggle all of these roles without compromising any part of her vibrant personality was an inspiration for my design.

article visual identity

The article I chose examined Michelle Obama’s life through her different roles, first as a mother, then as a wife and as a fashion icon. Included in the article were a number of quotes on Michelle that summed up who she is very well that I thought were great to feature. Because the article was originally in Vogue magazine, much of the article discusses Mrs. Obama’s unusual, but acclaimed fashion choices. I chose to create a sidebar about this because not since Jackie Kennedy has a First Lady’s fashion choices inspired and been so closely watched.

article design strategy

The use of a headshot of Michelle Obama on the feature spread introduces the article as a closer look at Michelle Obama’s life than just as America’s new First Lady. Because she has taken on the First Lady role, she is stepping into an intense spotlight for the next four years. The Spartan LT Std typeface is bold and fearless while the ITC Stone Informal Std typeface is elegant and confident. The “Stepping Into The Spotlight” title carries through to the jump spread and acts as the theme for the entire design. The pull quotes and sidebar emphasize the spotlight idea and discuss Mrs. Obama’s figurative stepping or shining under the spotlight. I chose different colored dresses to highlight in the sidebar to represent her many roles. I continued the same use of typefaces on the sidebar’s title to represent her dedication and constant commitment to every one of her roles. The pictures I chose on the second jump spread represent the newness of her role as First Lady. I chose Kepler Std for the body text because of its elegance and femininity.

style sheet

OPENING SPREAD HEADLINE (1): ITC Stone Informal Std Medium Italic, 47/56.4, metrics kerning, 0

OPENING SPREAD HEADLINE (2): Spartan LT Std Heavy Classified, 72/86.4, metrics kerning, 0

OPENING SPREAD DECK (1): ITC Stone Informal Std Medium, 21/32, metrics kerning, 0

OPENING SPREAD DECK (2): ITC Stone Informal Std Medium Italic, 21/32, metrics kerning, 0

JUMP SPREAD DROP CAPS: Spartan LT Std Book Classified, 10/12, metrics kerning, 0

JUMP SPREAD BODY TEXT: Kepler Std Regular, 10/12, metrics kerning, 0

JUMP SPREAD PULL QUOTE: ITC Stone Informal Std Medium Italic, 13/14, metrics kerning, 0

JUMP SPREAD PHOTO CAPTIONS: Thonburi Bold, 8.5/10.2, metrics kerning, 0

SIDEBAR HEADLINE (1): ITC Stone Informal Std Medium Italic, 25/30, metrics kerning, 0

SIDEBAR HEADLINE (2): Spartan LT Std Heavy Classified, 47/56.4, metrics kerning, 0

SIDEBAR DECK: Thonburi Bold, 11/15, metrics kerning, 0

SIDEBAR PHOTO TITLES: Spartan Lt Std Heavy Classified, 12/14.4, metrics kerning, 0

SIDEBAR PHOTO COMMENTARY: Thonburi 9/10.8, metrics kerning, 0

PHOTO CREDIT TEXT: Thonburi Regular, 6/7.2, metrics kerning, 0

FOLIO TEXT: Chaparral Bold, Semibold Display, 10/12, metrics kerning, 0

document grid

I chose three columns to convey a more news-like magazine feel to the article. A six-column grid worked well with the three-column text because it created twelve columns and allowed for a lot of variation in my design choices. The margins I set for the feature spread are very similar to the standard margins because there was no need to change them. The margins on my first jump spread accommodate the side bar I included, and the ones on the second spread accommodate the folio.

sources

http://www.answers.com/topic/michelle-obama-large-image

http://michellepictures.com/files/2009/09/Michelle-Obama-Oscar-Moises-de-la-Renta-Presidential-Medal-of-Freedom.jpg

http://michelledresswatch.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/obama-concert.jpg

http://mrs-o.org/newdata/2010/3/31/garden-chic.html

http://blogs.trb.com/features/consumer/shopping/blog/US%20NEWS%20INAUGURATION%20497%20LX.jpg

http://stylefrizz.com/img/michelle-obama-isabel-toledo-yellow-suit-inauguration-day.jpg

http://michelleobamawatch.com/2009/12/photos-video-first-lady-michelle-obama-at-nobel-peace-prize-festivities/

http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_free_images/0519-0906-1216-4659_president_barack_obama_and_first_lady_michelle_obama_dance_

at_the_governors_ball_o.jpg

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/imagecache/embedded_img_full/image/image_file/familyPortrait.jpg

extras

I used the classic Tiffany & Co. blue throughout the design to relate the famous brand and epitome of style and elegance, characteristics that Michelle Obama and the Savoir-Faire magazine share. I thought that the tan color pulled from the feature spread picture complimented the blue so well that I continued it throughout the spread to create a sense of cohesiveness.

Arielle Knapp - Magazine

2010-04-15T17:19:00.002-04:00

Name: Arielle Knapp

Project: Magazine Project

Date: April 15, 2010

Magazine Identity & Readership: My magazine is focused towards teenage girls. Its focal celebrity is Amanda Bynes, a celebrity girls in the age group 17-20 grew up following as a younger child. The article focuses on how Amanda grows from the youth actor we all viewed her as transforming her career into a more mature adult manner.

Magazine Visual Identity: My article focuses on how Amanda grew up being a youth comedian that everyone loved and adored. However, as she has grown out of her youth body and age, she wishes to transform her career as well. As Amanda ideally wants to settle down and have more of a voice in her work, I chose to make my article spread more sophisticated looking to convey that. I believe designing an article is all about visually conveying the voice of the main character. This way, your audience can step into the shoes and understand where the focus is coming from.

Article Visual Identity: My cover article has a dominate eye catching visual of Amanda Bynes in a more provocative pose. As the title is ‘Amanda Bynes Dirty Little Secret”, I believe the imagery connects the two together. The large pixel boxes in the background represent change in Amanda’s life as she is about to step out of the box and put the pieces to her life together through her transformation.

Article Design Strategy: The feature spread includes many elements that are carried over into my article. I talk a lot about the transformation in Amanda’s life. I believe my spreads do that as well. The feature spread exemplifies loud and bold imagery tying with the headline that transform in the jump spread into a more sophisticated and more mature looking layout. I think this is important to show as it has become the life cycle of Amanda, explained throughout the article. I bring a lot of my feature elements into my jump spread through the text, graphic elements such as the bracket, and colors. Overall, I believe the two tell a strong story along with coinciding with one another.

Style Sheet:

Feature Headline (amanda): American Typewriter Light, 76.877/92.252
Feature Headline (bynes): American Typewriter Regular, 76.877/92.252
Feature Headline (dirty little secret): Hand of Sean, 36/43.2
Feature Subhead: Helvetica Neue Light, 16/19.2
Feature Byline: Times, 9/10.8
Jump Spread Folio: Times, 9/10.8
Jump Spread Drop Cap: American Typewriter Bold, 136/163.2
Jump Spread Body Text: Times, 10/12
Jump Spread Pull Quote: Helvetica Neue Bold Condensed, 14/16.8
Jump Spread Photo Credit: Times, 6/7.2
Jump Spread Sub Head: Times Bold, 14/16.8
Side Bar Headline (the evolution of): Hand of Sean, 20.781/24.973
Side Bar Headline (amanda): American Typewriter Light, 44.377/53.252
Side Bar Headline (bynes): American Typewriter Regular, 44.377/53.252
Side Bar Subhead: Helvetica Neue Bold Condensed, 10/12
Side Bar Descriptors: Helvetica Neue Bold Condensed, 8/9.6

Document Grid: For my grid I played with several options. First I began with a four-column grid however, the line lengths were too short and the rags looked awful. Then I expanded it to a two-column grid where my layouts looked too chunky. To find a happy medium I settled on the three-column grid, shown in most magazines, which seemed to make my layout look organized and realistic. I extended my margins to 4p0 in order for the body copy to not look cluttered. However, I broke the grid with my folios and my side bar for visual attention.

Sources:
Feature Spread Image:
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/1040/201002maxim05.jpg

Jump Spread Left Hand Image:
http://picturepush.com/public/441511

First Side Bar Image:
http://www.aboutamanda.com/amanda/products/2.jpg

Second Side Bar Image:
http://a.media.abcfamily.go.com/abcfamily/Shows/WhatILikeAboutYou/Editions/2009-11-28/Images/synopsis_whatilikeaboutyou.png

Third Side Bar Image:
http://www.impawards.com/2006/posters/shes_the_man_ver2.jpg

Fourth Side Bar Image:
http://www.aolcdn.com/red_galleries/amanda-bynes-hairspray-400ds0824.jpg

Magazine Project

2010-04-15T17:09:00.002-04:00

Magazine Identity & readership “DUNK!” magazine provides basketball news stories. Intended readership is aimed at all sports fans and basketball fans in particular. The magazine covers both the NBA and NCAA.
Magazine Visual Identity My magazine intends to attract readers with athletic, memorable moments, captured in photos. For example, the cover picture of Wesley Johnson displays an athletic slam dunk, which also correlates to the name of the magazine. You’ll notice that the teasers include posters, interesting stories on the NBA draft, and other popular house-hold names. By including memorable moments through photos, I hope to attract readership.
Article Visual Identity The feature spread also includes an image of a slam dunk. Arinze Onuaku’s eyes lead you to the headline, which ultimately leads you into the deck head. I used the orange color to highlight names and give people a reason to keep reading on.
Article Design Strategy Like I said earlier, the image of Arinze Onuaku dunking tries to capture avid sport fans. His eyes lead you to the headline, where the type is big, bold, orange, and is a sans serif, very similar to the type on the Syracuse jerseys. The headline leads you down to the deck head which is shaped like a basketball net. Important keywords are also highlighted in orange to keep the consistency with the whole Syracuse Orange article. The jump spread keeps the reader interested when they turn the page because of the use of images, in a z shape. It makes it easier on the eyes for the reader and provides them with visual relief. The drop cap uses the same type and color of the headline from the feature spread, and I include pull quotes on each page as well to ease the tension. The sidebar in the end of the article provides the reader with a last bit of relief, although they will probably read that and the captions in the photos before reading the article. The orange color is consistent, and so is the type used in the pull quotes (same as the deck head), and the sans serif type (provides contrast) in the captions is the same as the sidebar.
Document Grid I use three evenly disbursed columns, which allows me to use my sidebar along the bottom edge of the page. It works well with my images as I bleed the first one off the top , left, and right margins. It also allows me to put my pull quotes in the middle of the page. The margins are 3p0 around, which gives the page a nice, clean look. I aligned my paragraphs to the baseline grid with 13 leading.

Sources My entire project is based off of SLAM magazine, and mostly from the Kentucky article.
• Andy Rautins: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3425/3279231309_12615aeaa5_o.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/31467317%40N02/3279231309/&usg=___9TvpwkQvWDcKFkrDeuypz0GVVE=&h=2000&w=3008&sz=195&hl=en&start=35&sig2=Zh7LRsywjj78LJgxrGzKtA&itbs=1&tbnid=DbCLeR8jMFCoqM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsyracuse%2Bbasketball%26start%3D18%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26imgsz%3D4mp%26ndsp%3D18%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=32LGS7qUGoHCMIH0iSw
• Arinze Onuaku: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://mitchellfranz.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/subball_800game_01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://mitchellfranz.wordpress.com/&usg=__MMPlGTmdD5EdLmC0OdmTIHr0ru8=&h=2496&w=1633&sz=2486&hl=en&start=83&sig2=C67npkGcdwk_xI0bJWfhWQ&itbs=1&tbnid=FNpEM6JAaBubsM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsyracuse%2Bbasketball%26start%3D80%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbo%3D1%26gbv%3D2%26imgsz%3D4mp%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=t2LGS8y4GI72Ndf-2Cs
• Wesley Johnson: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.williamshotshotphotos.com/Professional/Home-page-slideshow/DWDunk0SyracusevSetonHall/758473658_cFVLW-S.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.williamshotshotphotos.com/Professional/Home-page-slideshow/3763637_t2Fu4/2/758473658_cFVLW&usg=__H8SKVYmqmt3Al6miAvMMOUy_4GI=&h=280&w=400&sz=50&hl=en&start=7&sig2=JMVrzVHIjDiOH4XEyQ-ZEg&itbs=1&tbnid=czbDq_QVOdR8XM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwesley%2Bjohnson%2Bsyracuse%2Bdunks%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbo%3D1%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=BWXGS_ykNZm6M6WO4OcN
• West Virginia: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.campofchamps.com/ebookv2/images/products/WV%2520logo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.campofchamps.com/ebookv2/index.php%3Fcmd%3Dcategory%26cat_id%3D17&usg=__aS4R0tO0X7P1O4cywIlLiV7GXgs=&h=295&w=300&sz=15&hl=en&start=1&sig2=bq-f-eDmE9dy_f_R2ZzIzQ&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=P6erAM5Ch1HctM:&tbnh=114&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwest%2Bvirginia%2Bbasketball%2Blogo%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26tbo%3D1%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=pWbGS7qJF8H6lwf_vriCDA
• Louisville: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://friarsbasketball.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/louisville-logo.gif&imgrefurl=http://friarsbasketball.wordpress.com/2009/11/&usg=__Hu5Z3bCnHfHA7cNOdrdWcizpVgs=&h=539&w=475&sz=9&hl=en&start=2&sig2=ivQrWthL26QIK9kzu8aBWg&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=xO3hX03864iCxM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlouisville%2Bbasketball%2Blogo%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26tbo%3D1%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=0WbGS-aCN4P7lwflyImBDA
• Pittsburgh: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pittpantherstickets.com/img/articles/Pitt%2520Panthers%2520Welcome.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.pittpantherstickets.com/main/newsArchive&usg=__ZIU7MbW_u1OAySuyUYjq_L29DYI=&h=284&w=455&sz=19&hl=en&start=4&sig2=_CkEaz2CdtvfdAbgKnqtkw&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=55edmAi1g8jwcM:&tbnh=80&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpittsburgh%2Bbasketball%2Blogo%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26tbo%3D1%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=6mbGS8z9CYaBlAfv_siDDA
• Georgetown: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.campofchamps.com/ebookv2/images/products/georgetown_logo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.campofchamps.com/ebookv2/index.php%3Fcmd%3Dcategory%26cat_id%3D17&usg=__bamy4iPMSrvfYO-48mRQD7zIrvg=&h=270&w=298&sz=26&hl=en&start=3&sig2=QtrMhjNejF7D8aK-Nop3kg&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=O4QZmySyGIYfKM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgeorgetown%2Bbasketball%2Blogo%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1B3WZPB_enUS364US368%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=BmfGS721KsT7lwf2j-mADA
• Syracuse: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.campofchamps.com/ebookv2/images/products/su%2520logo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.campofchamps.com/ebookv2/index.php%3Fcmd%3Dcategory%26cat_id%3D17&usg=__VA3eJDsLka5i47hhwaCwwP6LrHI=&h=300&w=350&sz=21&hl=en&start=2&sig2=JHtRBrBl-IEXSK5BVzPYyQ&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=RHTS4j_-iQEhaM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsyracuse%2Bbasketball%2Blogo%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26rlz%3D1B3WZPB_enUS364US368%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=KmfGS6v6LoWKlwfn14SDDA
Extras I used orange throughout the project because my article was about the Syracuse Orange.

Talia Rossman Magazine Project

2010-04-15T16:44:00.001-04:00

Magazine Identity & Readership

H&B (Health and Beauty) Magazine is predominantly targeted toward females. Its goal is to inform women how to enhance their beauty in natural healthy ways. Good health will result in beauty which is a more efficient way to achieve it, rather than resulting in artificial products.

Magazine Visual Identity

I intend to convey visually that beauty and health are not separate. The look of the magazine is crisp and clean. It uses bright colors and appreciates white space. It has a modern, almost chic appeal. I also want to convey that being healthy does not mean a person needs to give up their favorite foods. It takes a little extra effort, but the benefits make up for it. I would package my magazine on eco friendly paper that doesn’t interfere with the color-rich pictures.

Article Visual Identity

The article intended to mimic the personality and goal of the entire magazine but in a specific example. It is more about clearing up the misconceptions about being organic and tying it into the fact that it will help maintain a healthy weight and in turn will result in a pleasing appearance. (Health and Beauty magazine: with this article concentrating on health but subtly can tie in beauty). All of this was done through the richness of the pictures and colors and the content of the pull quotes.

Article Design Strategy

The fact that the article has personality and an extra flare to it, expresses that being health conscious doesn’t mean no fun. I think the article is informative in a light-hearted way. The picture on the jump spread looks delicious and I think many would agree. This from the start is enticing because a common misconception of eating an organic is that it only allows for green vegetables and wheat. The colors in the picture already fight this false assertion. The font of Kuenstler Script LT Std contains retrained movement. It was chosen because I want to express that an organic diet is not as rigid as people may think and that there is a little “wiggle room” allowed. I also used the word “skinny” because it is a slang way to say “lowdown” but also refers to the fact that organic diets will help maintain weight. Although the green in the photo is limited, I think it was important to pick up this color and tie it into the magazine heading. (I also think that when people think organic, they think green rather than purple and red, the more dominant colors). In the jump spread, I open with a picture rich in color to again re-iterate that organic diets can be rich in color and taste. I then remain consistent with my drop cap font and my headline font. For the sidebar, I chose the san serif of Myriad Pro, because I thought it flowed well with my serif font and is clean and easy to read (it also has a lot of variations).

Document Grid

My article appearance and the appearance of the entire magazine is simple, organized and clean. I therefore wanted to avoid being text heavy. I choose a two column appearance because it is easiest to read and worked well with my pictures and other content. The columns are three and a half inches wide. My margins follow the classical margin style.

Extra

The use of color was explained in other sections of this rationale but to re-iterate, I really wanted to use bright colors. People often think that organic diets are bland and tasteless. Many wouldn’t think that the photo used on the feature was of an organic snack. Although green is not dominant in this picture, I thought it was important to highlight it in the headline because when people think organic or the environment, they most likely think of green. It was also a color that was versatile and worked well with my pictures on the jump (making it cohesive). I didn’t want to ignore the rich reds in the main picture and in the first picture on the jump, so I made sure to pick up this color in small areas to accent (world “decadent” on the deck and the quotation marks).

Magazine Project

2010-04-15T16:03:00.003-04:00

magazine identity & readership
This magazine is intended for young women who are interested in fashion. This magazine will cost less than usual fashion magazine. Other parts of the magazine will include beauty tips and any news and current events that young women might be interested in. The specific targeted age group for this magazine could be anything from 16-30.

magazine visual identity
I intended this magazine to look simple but also with enough creativity going on which embrace the content of the story. The reason is that the color and the design would make the magazine more attracted to the eye of the readers instead of just having text in the body. Big images are used to capture attention and the color of the images are chosen to go well together so that they do not clash and make the page seems too busy and has too many things going on.

article visual identity
This magazine article is about Keira Knightly and she is known to be classy, elegant, and sometimes stern, because she usually represents the high-end industry and audience do not really see her cute, playful or funny side. The author of this article interviews her and he claims that she is not serious and snobbish as others think, but rather playful and down to earth. Therefore, I choose an image of Keira Knightly sitting down wearing only a simple purple sweater and looking at the audience. I hope this could pull closer the gap between her and the readers and I was trying to achieve the sense that Keira is sitting down and is willing to share her true side with everyone.

article design strategy
The feeling that the audience should have when first look at the feather page is relaxed and bubbly because of the transparent circles on the pages. Keira is sitting on the right of the page ready to tell the audience about herself and therefore, the heading says “Discover the real Keira.” The typeface used for the feature spread are set in different typeface so that it is more interesting to the eye. Those elements are carried to the jump spreads, the bubbles become smaller but with the same color at the border of the pages to connect the two pages together. The color of the drop caps are made to have the same color and the typeface with the title in the feature spread. The sidebar is coherent with the line that goes across the feature page which is also the color taken from DNA of the hair of Keira. The page is set to have the limit of those 3 colors to keep it simple, which is what the message or the context of the article.

document grid
The top and bottom margin of this magazine is set to be 5pt so have the negative space for the eye and also for image placement. Another reason to have more space at the bottom is also because of the folio that goes there. The text is in two columns so it is easier for the readers for their continuity in readings and does not have to change lines too often because of more text that can fit in a single line. Images are present on both pages so that the reader won’t be too overwhelmed with text.

use of color
All the colors used in the project were derived from the DNA of the big picture in the feature spread. The purple is from her lips and the pink letters are from the color of her lips. On the jump spread, the black and white color in the first top left corner image is supposed to correspond with her hair on the first page because her hair appears to be dark brown. Same with the side bar, the color of the side bar was chosen to be semicircle and in coherence with the image on the opposite end.

Kim - Magazine project

2010-04-15T15:59:00.004-04:00

RATIONALE

Magazine Identity and Readership

Landscape Lifescape is a world travel magazine similar to National Geographic Traveler, which is where I got my article and inspiration from. My magazine publishes 12 monthly issues and serves as the ultimate resource and guide to active and curious travelers who are interested in reading about and exploring a world outside of theirs. More specifically, it would be directed toward people who bypass resorts and fancy hotels to seek out a truly unique and hands-on experience with the place. The age range of my magazine’s target audience would be from the 20s to the 60s.

Magazine Visual Identity

This magazine would inform and provide insight into exotic and remote places. By presenting intriguing photographs and interesting stories, it would motivate readers to get out of their comfort zone and to travel. It would also encourage travelers to set their own agenda instead of following the tourist trail.

Article Visual Identity

Maui is an incredibly popular travel destination but it’s not just about sandy beaches. I wanted to present it as an untouched, almost mystical place that still holds relatively secret and hidden spots. This article would reveal things about Maui not usually seen or sought out by the average tourist.

Article Design Strategy

I used a large photo of a seascape in Maui. It captures the essence of Maui and works well with my concept. I decided to set it against a white page. Although I was originally going to use a dark color, I decided that a dark page would distract from the powerful photo and make it difficult for the text to stand out. I set “Maui” in a green color that I pulled from the moss on the rocks of the photo. I decided to use the New Berolina MT Std typeface for “Maui” because the elongated “M” mimic rolling hills and the curved features of the typeface looks like waves. I used the typeface Cronos Pro for the smaller words, deck head, and bylines. Cronos Pro has rounded, delicate, and slightly curvy features that complement New Berolina well. I pulled a dark blue color of the water in the photo for the words and used green for the byline and to call out the words “untouched treasures” and “off-the-beaten path.” I incorporated the look of the feature spread into the jump spread by setting the drop cap of the article in the same typeface and color. I used ITC Berkeley Old Style Regular for the body text. It is compact, delicate, and the natural spacing of the words makes it easy on the eyes. The photo of the orange flowers is placed on the right side of the first page to draw the reader in. I placed and centered a pull quote on the right page to provide balance to the large image of the left jump spread. For the sidebar, I decided to place small photos of animals and text that provides one fact about each animal in white boxes with drop shadows to evoke Polaroid pictures. This plays on the headline word “snapshots.” I set the headline in the New Berolina typeface to match the feature-spread title.

Document Grid

I decided to break the text into three columns because I wanted a grid that was visually appealing and easy to read. The three column grid is practical, flexible and easy to work with. It allowed the large image on my feature spread to fit in nicely with the text. I set the top margin as 3p5 and the bottom margin as 4p1 to give a good amount of white space so that the reader would not feel bombarded by an overload of text. For the sidebar, I bled the light green box off the page and lined up the two outermost photos with the margins. Then I placed a ruler in the center to align the photos and provide an equal amount of space in between each of them.

Extras

When I think of Maui, the color green instantly pops into my head. I used the color green that I pulled from my feature spread photo throughout my entire magazine project so that there is a subtle but clear connection between the feature and jump spreads. I didn’t want to use too much color because I felt the large image on the right page of the jump spread and the small images in the sidebar provided bright and vibrant colors. I toned down the color of the sidebar by setting the opacity of the darker green line to 75% and the light green box to 31% so that it stood out while still complementing the rest of the jump spread.

Magazine Project - Jessica's Missing Heart

2010-04-15T15:48:00.004-04:00

Rationale

Magazine Identity & Readership

I created a magazine called “Casual Day” that targets relatively young audience, which they can take the magazine to class, the beach, or anywhere and just relax casually reading the articles wherever they are. Niche audience would be 17 years old through 27 years old.

Magazine Visual Identity

The original article’s design was intended to entertain and update people with information but in a way that felt more of a gossip. With the magazine I created, I intend to bring in people with emotions; in this case mostly people with dogs. This is why the image I put on my feature spread is a cute furry dog that anybody would love, and then putting on my headline and deck head the bad news, (and also giving them a hint with the structure of a flyer for the image), the cute dog is missing. This would definitely capture the attention and feelings of the audience.

Article Visual Identity

The visual message I wanted to convey is how important dogs are to us (the owners) and how important we are to them. This is why I put a quote of the dog saying: “I miss my mommy” as if Jessica’s dog were saying it. Also I put dog prints, pictures of how Jessica took her dog everywhere she went, and on my side bar also put how other celebrities have dogs as well. And the most important symbol to convey this message is the headline: Jessica’s missing heart, of course her heart isn’t missing, but because her dog is, then she feels empty hearted.

Article Design

The use of type is very important in my article in order to pull off what I’m trying to portray. One of the type I used is Handwritting-Dakota so it shows Jessica’s desperation. Because when your dog is missing the first thing you do is spread the word; grab a marker and paper, and start putting flyers around. Bell Centennial Std, another font I use, complements well the first font, it gives it contrast and seriousness to the situation. The last type I use is Garamond 3 LT Std, is an easy to read san serif, that I chose to use for the body text that makes a perfect match with the other types.

Style Sheet

Opening spread headline: Bell Centennial Std Adress, 88/106.5, Metrics Kerning, tracking 0

Handwriting - Dakota Regular, 90/108, Metrics Kerning, tracking 0

Bell Centennial Std Address, 92/110.4, Optical Kerning, tracking 30

Deck head: Garamond 3 LT Std Bold, 14/14, Metrics Kerning, tracking 0

By line: Garamond 3 LT Std Bold, 16/19.2, Metrics Kerning, tracking 0

Body Text: Garamond 3 LT Std Regular, 10.5/12.6, Metrics Kerning, tracking 0

Pull quote: Bell Centennial Std Name and Number, 16/17, Metrics Kerning, tracking 0

Bell Centennial Std Bold Listing, 16/17, Metrics Kerning, tracking 0

Side Bar: Bell Centennial Std Address, 24/28.8, Metrics Kerning, tracking 0

Garamond 3 LT Std Bold, 10/12, Metrics Kerning, tracking 0

Photo captions: Garamond 3 LT Std Regular, 9/10.8, Metrics Kerning, tracking 0

Paragraphs headlines: Handwriting - Dakota Regular, 18/21.6, Metrics, tracking 0

Folios: Garamond 3 LT Std Bold, 9/10.8, Metrics, tracking 0

Document grid

I chose to do three columns per page of my magazine because it is lighter and easier to read. I actually started doing two columns per page and it was too crowded and harder to read. Each column has a width of 14p4 and the gutter between each column is 1p0. I think it is enough gutter in order for the columns to breath, and perfect width in order for the columns to flow well. For my margins, I left a little extra space from what I wanted to leave, so I could fit the narrow blue columns on the sides.
Colors

For the magazine I used the color of blue, just because the blanket the dog is laying on the feature spread is blue. On my jump spread there is a picture where Jessica is wearing a blue blouse as well.

Eliza Magazine Project

2010-04-15T13:48:00.001-04:00

Wen Wolf Magazine

2010-04-14T22:39:00.006-04:00

Magazine Identity & Readership:

Natural Insights is a monthly glue-bonded magazine that delivers current events about nature and wildlife. The magazine is intended for people who are interested in the nature and are concerned about the environment. This magazine is written in a way so that the general public can understand it. There are still many scientific terms and statistics in the magazine so that it remains credible and interesting to scientists. This magazine is intended for people who are somewhat familiar with science and are between the ages 18–65.

Magazine Visual Identity:

I hope that the clean design of my magazine spreads show that the Natural Insights is dedicated to providing its readers with a high quality magazine. I hope that the high quality and the selection of the pictures can be compared to National Geographic. I want the magazine to show people that Natural Insights care about the well being of the earth and will provide stories that cover the latest discoveries about nature. Natural Insights have credible writers and photographers who have experience in studying wildlife and therefore delivers a credible and insightful magazine to its readers every month.

Article Visual Identity:

This article aims to raise awareness about wolves being an endangered species even though their population size has increased over the past few decades. I titled this article, “Howling For Help” because wolves are viewed only as bloodthirsty predators by many Westerners and are being killed mercilessly. I want to show that wolves are more than just skilled hunters; they are also victims to humans, who are hunting them and disturbing their natural habitat.

Article Design Strategy:

I wanted the feature spread to convey a somber mood because I want the readers to sympathize with the wolves. I chose a darker picture for my feature spread and used a deep blue background to represent the unfortunate situation the wolves are facing. To tie the jump spread with my feature spread, I made a drop cap using the same font, Ex Ponto Pro, from the word “Howling” in my headline. I used the eye drop tool to pick up the deep blue color from my feature spread and used it on my sidebar. I wanted a picture of a dead wolf to show that people are in fact hunting wolves and displaying them as trophies. I was able to find a picture of a man displaying his kill and I chose it for the jump spread because the wolf was not mangled or covered in blood. I think by adding a picture of wolf pups will further show my point that wolves are more than just top-chain predators; they can be vulnerable and in need of protection. To lighten the somber mood of my article I decided to add other success stories about endangered species in my sidebar.

Style Sheet:

Feature Spread Headline:

- “Howling”: Ex Ponto Pro Regular, 229/274.8, metrics kerning, tracking -30

- “For Help”: Stemple Garamond LT Italic, 64/76.8, metrics kerning, tracking -20

Feature Spread Deckhead:

- “Grey Wolves”: ITC Giovanni Std Book, 18/21.6, metrics kerning, tracking -10

- Rest of Deckhead: ITC Giovanni Std Book, 13/15.6, metrics kerning, tracking -10

Feature Spread Byline:

- ITC Giovanni Std Book, 12/14.4, metrics kerning, tracking 0

Drop Cap:

- “W”: Ex Ponto Pro Regular, 119/142, metrics kerning, tracking 0

Body Text:

- Stemple Garamond LT Std Roman, 9.5/13, metrics kerning, tracking 0

Pull Quote:

- Stemple Garamond LT Std Roman, 16.5/21, metrics kerning, tracking 0

Captions:

- Futura Std Medium, 7.5/9, metrics kerning, tracking 0

Sidebar:

- Title: Futura Book, 18/21.6, metrics kerning, tracking 0

- Animal Names: Futura Std Heavy, 8.6/10.3, metrics kerning, tracking 0

- Description: Futura Std Book, 8/9.6, metrics kerning, tracking 0

Folio:

- Stemple Garamond LT Std Bold, 7.5/9, metrics kerning, tracking 0

Gutter Text:

- Stemple Garamond LT Std Roman, 5/6, metrics kerning, tracking 0

Document Grid:

I chose to make three columns to organize my body text because it makes the article look clean and easy to read. I didn’t want too many columns because the text will look cramped in the thin columns and I didn’t want just one or two columns because the article will just look like one huge, boring chunk of text. I made my bottom and my top margins slightly bigger than the default (top: 3p6, bottom: 3p7). I wanted to give my article a good amount of white space at the margins so that the reader does not feel overwhelmed by the contents.

Snader Magazine Design

2010-04-14T20:41:00.004-04:00

My Rationale:

Magazine Identity and Readership

My new magazine, called The Reformist, is a bi-weekly publication meant to bring attention to areas in the United States that need to be changed or somehow reformed. The magazine is targeted toward people who care about change and improving certain aspects of American life and culture. This magazine will be targeted to a professional, news-conscious audience who have the abilities and determination to bring about change. I want to target an audience much like the one that reads publications like Newsweek or Time. In this issue of the magazine, the topic is education reform, based off of an article published by Newsweek in their March issue.

Magazine Visual Identity

The main purpose of any publication should be to make the reader react in some way. In this case, I want my readers to see this article on the needed education reform and actually do something about it. This magazine needs to inform the reader about the issue in a rational, logical way. However, I also want the magazine to have a fresh feel, with more provocative feature articles that will spur people on to greater (often much-needed) change.

Article Visual Identity

On my jump spread, I want to convey the idea that something is wrong with the educational system, and that something needs to be done about it. Within the article I also want to show that people are upset about the current system, and that there is tension between major players in the field of education. I also want to show that this is a legitimate, serious topic that needs to be discussed in further detail. Finally, I want to show that change can occur; it will just take additional effort to see that change come about.

Article Design Strategy

On the jump spread I showed the error of the educational system by using a large picture of rotten apples. Apples are closely related to education, so I used a picture that distorts the normal image we have of a nice, shiny red apple on a teacher’s desk. I also used a novel font for part of the headline that correlates with this idea - the font is distorted, messy, and -in a word - disgusting. I wanted the reader to be repulsed by the image, but also be curious enough to read more about the issue in the feature spread. The feature spread draws the reader in right away with a powerful image of a woman at a protest. The photo is very energized, and will hopefully keep the reader on the page. The second photo I used in the feature spread is one of small children, meant to remind the reader that the reform is needed for the children, not to appease the politics of any certain person. I also use large, orange pull quotes to give more attention to some of the controversy surrounding education reform. My sidebar also uses strong imagery of the key players in education in action, either in debate or at conferences to promote their viewpoints. My sidebar, pull quotes, and drop cap use the orange I have in the headline, which is a color derived from the rotten apple picture. The drop cap uses the same novel font as the headline, and the pull quotes are a variated font that is the same as my deckhead. This hopefully creates a certain continuity throughout the text that shows the reader the two pages are connected.

Style Sheet - Jump Spread

Headline (“A...Education”): New Century Schoolbook LT Std Roman, 85/102, “Education” has optical kerning

Headline (“Rotten”): Banshee Std Regular, 170/204 (orange)

Deckhead: New Century Schoolbook LT Std Roman, 14/31 (“education reform” is orange)

Bylines: Avenir LT Std 45 Book, 12/14.4

Style Sheet - Feature Spread

Body Text: Horley Old Style MT Std Regular, 9.5/11.4

Pull Quote (left): New Century Schoolbook LT Std Bold Italic, 18/21.6 (orange)

Pull Quote (right): New Century Schoolbook LT Std Bold Italic, 17/20.4 (orange)

Drop Cap (“T”): Banshee Std Regular, 18/21.6 (orange)

Captions: Avenir LT Std 85 Heavy, 8/9.6

Photo Credits: Horley Old Style MT Std Regular, 7/8.4

Sidebar headline: Avenir LT Std 85 Heavy, 30/36 (white)

Sidebar sub-heading: Avenir LT Std 65 Medium Oblique, 11/13.2, optical kerning (black 23% tint)

Sidebar subject names: Avenir LT Std 85 Heavy, 10.5/12.6 (white)

Sidebar subject information: Avenir LT Std 85 Heavy, 8/9.6 (black 23% tint)

Document Grid

I used three text columns with an underlying 9-column grid. I chose three text columns because that is normally the setup for a news magazine, which is the same type of style I am trying to emulate. I chose a nine-column grid because it allowed me to set up my sidebar and the placement of my pictures in a rational manner. My top and bottom margins are 3p1, just a tad larger than the standard margins to allow for a tiny bit more breathing room along the edges. However, because this is a more news-type magazine, I wanted to keep the margins smaller than other publications like fashion magazines or expensive, monthly productions.

Extras

The main use of color in my spreads was a burnt orange. I used this color because it was derived from the picture of the rotten apples. The color is strong enough to draw the reader in, but not to the extent of being overly distracting. I had tried red first, but the hues I tried were to distracting from the rest of the design. I also used white and a gray tint for the lettering in the sidebar to create contrast with the burnt orange background.

Current Events by annban (late)

2010-04-11T21:35:00.007-04:00

I have always been an Olympics fans and have been interested in the upcoming Olympics that will take place in London in the year 2012, which is the year I will graduate. As many of us know, the original logo of Olympics are consists of five hoops connecting to each other in different colors. An image is shown above.

This is an image of the logo created by Wolff Olins and was going to be used as the London Olympics in 2012. However, The logo for the 2012 London Olympics above has generated a public outcry and has over 35,000 people signing a petition to scrap it. The cost to make this logo was 400,000 UK pounds and it took almost a year to create.

I personally did not like that logo either. It does not make the hoops the significant elements, it took away the colors of the hoops which has meaning and the numbers used as the background is unclear and too bold and does not say much to me.

There were many more logos that audience thought was better.
In the end, this logo created by BBC web site reader Richard Voysey has been chosen as the readers' favorite. And I agree.

2010-04-09T20:18:00.004-04:00

Griffin has redesigned its logo a few times since the introduction of the company, and each time it has become more modernized and new. The company has collaborated over the years with Apple to produce more and more iPod compatible products and the logo, in my opinion, reflects that characteristic of the company. Before, the logo resembled a button that would be on an electronic product, but now the logo is a reflection of the name of the company (a G). To me, the G looks like an @ symbol. I like the colors together- the orange and the dark gray compliment each other well, but I think the structure of the G is too abstract. Is it a lower case G with a continued tail or an uppercase G or both? I think the company could have done a better job with the redesigning.

New York Mets Jersey Change

2010-04-09T17:36:00.005-04:00

The New York Mets introduced a new jersey on opening day, Monday. There new home jersey is a cream, off-white color. It will replace there old white with blue pinstripes jerseys. Although it isn't much of a change, I personally like the new cream colors because it reminds me their old jerseys that were worn when players like Tom Seaver played. The last time the team wore this cream colored jersey was in 1969 when they miraculously won the world series. Thus, it is much more symbolic to fans who are familiar with their past rather than any other baseball fans.
You can read more about the reasoning (low sales, etc.) on Metsblog.com or here.

Old Navy Logo Change

2010-04-09T16:57:00.002-04:00

Although this may be 'old' news, I think the Old Navy logo change was one that wasn't brought much attention to. Due to the fact that the old one was so boring, with classic sans serif font, but still really identifiable, I think the change was for the better. The new logo offers dimension and looks more modern. They still maintain the old sans serif at the bottom, but use color and empty space to form the letter 'O' which is clever. I think this is very appropriate for a store that sells clothes to both genders and al ages.

current events--HONG KONG new dragon logo

2010-04-09T16:13:00.003-04:00

Hong Kong is a city that mix up the variety of cultures, economy markets and people together. The city has its unique identity and the government works very hard on express this to the whole world. The new logo they design, however, I think does not represent the city better.

The dragon head, I personally think the old version is much better than the new one. The old version has more waves than the new one and the design looks comfortable. The new one simplified it and made the logo looks clumsy and dull. Especially the eye of the dragon, the circle instead of the eyes shape, is really a failure. In Chinese culture, the eyes of the dragon is the most important part of the dragon, it owns the spirit of the dragon. The circle eye design can no longer express that. Also the color choice of the new design is not smart. In ancient Chinese culture, the dragon is represent by the color red and yellow. Red and Yellow is also the royal color, only the empire can use the yellow roof and red column in architecture design. I have no idea why the new logo add another color purple. I see no point.

The new logo also add three ribbons, and I think it totally break the power of the dragon head and made it less attractive. I understand the government want to add the dynamic on logo, but they sacrifice the strength of the dragon head, which is really not wise.

Overall, I think the old logo is much better than the new one according to the color choice, the simplicity and the meaning of the dragon icon.

Desain Grafis Indonesia - Current event post

2010-04-09T15:43:00.004-04:00

In Indonesia there is a company that called Desain Grafis Indonesia (which in English means Indonesia Graphic Designs). This company did not have a logo. WHAT SORT OF GRAPHICS DESIGN COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE A LOGO! Well, now they do have one, and its amazing. When I first saw it I was shocked because from three words they were using to present themselves, now they have a nice structure for these three words, a design with the initials of the company. These initials "DGI" were merged into one shape which at first sight you only see the D and the G, but then you can notice that the "i" is actually there, hidden in the right part of the G. The type used for the name of the company actually looks very alike to the logo. It is very curved with round endpoints. I think it is a very well designed logo, and from just having the name of the company, to bringing this creative symbol, I call it success for the company.

AT&T goes through rebranding... again...

2010-04-09T12:49:00.004-04:00

So it must be true that the only thing that is constant is change. Because AT&T, I mean at&t, is going thru rebranding again.

and now,

Don't worry, that squiggly Orangina-esque logo isn't the new logo. Rather it's one of several hundred (it seems) possibilities that the original sphere can evolve into (See here for more variations) Notice that an executive decision had been made to drop the name from the logo completely. I guess the whole idea is for at&t to come across as more flexible and having its own personality. It has been embroiled in advertisement sparring with Verizon since forever, so much so that people can't mention one without the other. So I guess at&t needed to be the mature one to step away from the battle and try to stake out its own territories. In which case, this rebranding couldn't have come at a better time, I just hope it's here to stay.

Current Event - Ali Marsz

2010-04-09T10:35:00.011-04:00

Brock University, a 17,000 student university in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada, recently experienced an update and redesign of their logo for the first time since 1964.

Major General Sir Isaac Brock, for whom the university is named, served as the original logo's silhouetted figure, along with some "brutishly old serif typeface." After extensive research, the Canadian firm Target Marketing & Communication introduced the logo redesign.

Brock's brand positioning statement explains the purpose of the new logo, identifying them as "A unique university, as distinctive as fingerprints. We are not numbers. We are individuals encouraged to make our marks, to develop both sides of our brain." Brock's Brand Personality classifies its new logo as being "young, smart, fresh, creative, dynamic, passionate and energetic, unpretentious, casual and relaxed, welcoming, open and supportive."

I definitely agree that the original logo was in for a much needed makeover, however I have mixed feelings about their unusual graphic of a fingerprint. Upon reading the university's mission statement, I see where they were trying to go with it. I like the bold, serif text against the red background, I think it demands attention and has a more modern look and feel. However, its unusual to associate fingerprints with a university, as it looks as it belongs more on a sign for a crime lab. As one reader commented, "It looks more like a Nancy Drew detective agency!" I agree, but I do appreciate that the graphic is an uncomplicated version of a fingerprint, an abstract concept that fits the theme of individuality, but I wonder if they could've incorporated the fingerprint in a different way then just in the middle of the "o." The original design definitely conveys the message that the university is an institute of higher learning, while the new doesn't reflect academics. I think we have to remember, however, that a high school student undergoing the college application process would most likely be more attracted to the modern feel of the new logo design, and that's most likely what they were looking for.

Their concept of uniqueness and an university that stimulates "both sides of the brain" is further continued in their campaign with the following images. I agree with the author of this post when he says, "The result is cool and edgy, in an academic sort of way, but nothing to get too excited about."

Current Events--Eliza Catalino

2010-04-08T20:39:00.004-04:00

I loved the spoof that Dunkin Donuts played for April Fools. I remember talking about this in class. I was reading the article on Brand New and their was a post about how Dunkin Donuts was changing their logo. The post was so real and everyone believed it. People did not realize it was an April Fools joke till the person who posted the post had replied to the comments of others. I thought this was an excellent prank first of all and it is also a good example of brand loyalty and identity.

Everyone knows the Dunkin Donuts brand and logo. It's one that is simple in design and color yet everyone knows what it is. I thought it was fascinating what a slight change in typeface could do. The logo went from this bold san serif to a handwritten script like typeface. That small changed really affected the Dunkin Donuts brand and what people thought of it for awhile. This just goes to show the power of branding.

Current Event - New Brand Hong Kong

2010-04-08T17:21:00.005-04:00

The new logo for Brand Hong Kong (BHK) catch my attention when I was reading posts on Brand New.

Hong Kong is one of the earliest city which try to branding a city. The old logo is used for a long time. I can remember that I was still in elementary school when the old logo came out. I can tell that is a dragon at once when I saw it, but for the new logo, I'm sure.

I feel the old logo is stronger than the new one. The ribbons in the new one becomes the main object while the symbol of dragon becomes subtle. Although I can understand why they do so (add those ribbons), I feel what they did is making their identity blur.

The old logo makes Hong Kong unique. Dragon is a good symbol to Hong Kong. It is a Chinese city which is strong and energetic. The gradient they add on the symbol gives a pretty good dynamic feeling.

Compare to the old one, the new logo is more colorful. They use more gradients in design and more complex design. Dragon by itself is not a simple (geometrical) symbol, with all those add-ons, it becomes a picture rather than a symbol. It becomes less impressive and hard to understand the reasoning behind the design without reading their announcement. (at least, I was confused when I saw it.)

Current Event_ Talia Rossman

2010-04-08T17:03:00.005-04:00

Many smart changes have been made to the "Dolby" logo. First off the logo on the left seems restricted. The letters are kerned very tightly making them too close together. They are also made very thick and bolded adding unwanted tension. The "d"s are a little confusing as well. The white space in between them make it seem like it could be saying "DID". The box around the "dolby" is uptight, limiting and random. It serves no purpose and just adds noise.

The new logo is more pleasing to the eye. The typography is much more readable and the letters are farther apart making it easy on the eye. The blue tone also liberates the logo from such a tense appearance making it more legible. The box around the word "DOLBY" has been removed making it less restrictive and easier on the eye. The D's were merged together taking away the white space that used to exist between them. This makes it less confusing and the double d's are now the focal point. The new logo appears to be more modern. Dolby is a company that deals with technology, innovation and entertainment. The old logo looks old fashioned while the new logo appears more futurist and therefore more promising. Dolby deals with audio and sound. The sound of the new logo is is lighter and less clunky than the old logo.

Kim - Current Event Post

2010-04-08T15:02:00.007-04:00

I was looking through Logo Design Love and the Wine Searcher logo immediately caught my attention.

The bright green color really pops out and I like the choice of typeface that the designer used for the simple and straightforward word-mark--it doesn't overshadow the fun and creative image at all. They complement each other well. I love how the green lines outline the shape and contours of a wine bottle. The two half-bottles come together to create an image of a binocular--this cleverly plays on the second part of the logo's name.

The logo is practical as well. It works really well in the poster because it mimics the real bottles on the poster. I personally don't think the poster would be able to send across the company's message successfully without the logo. Overall, I think this logo is so creative and brilliant--the concept behind it is great and the design was executed so well.

Current Event - Fashionista - Megan M.

2010-04-07T23:19:00.005-04:00

Fashion brands and logos span a wide range of design due to diverse audiences and an intense artistic focus to the creation of collections. With the expansion of the fashion world to include at-home designers, unknown photographers, and now bloggers, the multi-billion fashion industry has extended it reach and interaction with consumers, further communication and discussion of brands and products. The site devoted to all trails of fashion from high-end to knockoffs, Fashionista, has recently revamped their logo with the help of Felix Sockwell, a designer and frequent Brand New blogger.

Here are some of the sketches he made in his design of the fashionista logo:

As the CEO of Breaking Media Jonah Bloom commented and the Brand New writer Armin agreed, the gothic, blocky letters of the old logo did not reflect the modern, intelligent, critical essence of the Fashionista site. The more fluid and needle/thread detail of the new logo is softer and more relevant to the 91% women audience. A lot of commenters for this post on Brand New found the new logo to be illegible, but I disagree. I think the single line cursive leads the eye through the letters as if the reader was writing the word himself. Commenters also argued that the redesign is not emphatic of the meaning behind the word "fashionista." While the term does usually connote a confident or fierce fashion lover, a person can be a fashionista without being outlandish and wild in their fashion choices. The logo reflects all fashionistas and doesn't limit itself to only the extreme urban street fashion that some blogs feature.

Logo update - Snader

2010-04-07T20:33:00.004-04:00

I found this logo update on Brand New, and I like the fresh feeling that the new logo exudes. I think the new logo conveys a technical, scientific feel with its cube-like structure. The sans-serif typeface also gives a more modern feel to the design, especially due to the fact that it is set in all lowercase type.

The museum said that it wants to emphasize the updated look of the museum, but also the new features located at the attraction. Though the logo doesn't correlate to any of the new displays in the museum, it does suggest a shift toward a more modern look and feel.

I also like the colors used in the design. The design company, Futurebrand, said that their idea came from the element carbon, which is the building block for all life forms. I think this idea was represented well with the light green and blue, which suggest the typical colors for showing life on Earth.

Some critics on the Brand New blog said that the lowercase "i" in the design is awkward and the overall design isn't as good as it could be. I agree that the letters are set at a weird angle, and yet anything is better than the old, stoic design the museum had been using before. Flaws aside, I think this redesign is a good choice.

Florence - Current Events - New Playboy Logo??

2010-04-06T22:23:00.009-04:00

Some of you guys might be wondering why I'm blogging so early.
Well, I have a little bit of free time and I want to do this before I forget, so there. =)

I found this blog where an Alex Cornell, MBA student a San Francisco’s Academy of Art and an intern at the place of business of artist/musician Scott Hansen, ISO50, remade the Playboy logo as an assignment. Alex made a really interesting logo. He used a fox instead of a bunny for his new logo. In the "new" logo, there is a fox with a bow tie hanging from its mouth. It's supposed to show that the fox (new logo) consumed the bunny (old logo).
Here are some images that show his progression in the logo:

As cool and as well executed as I think this logo is, I don't think that it will be able to replace the Playboy bunny. Playboy has spent too much money branding the bunny that they will never stop using it. On Alex's blog, he added that the new logo with the fox is supposed to help strip away the trashy image that Playboy is associated with today. I like that the final version of the logo says "Read it for the articles" since Playboy has lost its reputation as a magazine for journalism and is known for its provocative pictures of models.

Here is the link to Alex blog to check out more drafts on the "new" Playboy logo:
http://blog.iso50.com/2009/11/24/rebranding-playboy/

Grids

2010-04-01T22:30:00.003-04:00

In the last section of her book, Lupton highlights the functions and importance of grids. We are so used to seeking out grids to help us determine a hierarchy of importance when faced with a chunk of information. When it's used well, grids can be more effective that using various emphatic font settings to show us how information is organised. Take a look at the following screen capture of Interview magazine's website:

Unlike other webpages where fonts are in various sizes and colour to try to draw our attention to individual items, almost all the text here are black. Yet our eyes naturally move from one item to the other because we recognize that information is being placed into neat columns and rows. The structure is predictable but crucial to avoiding cluttered spaces. This is a simple grid that is highly functional because no matter how small the viewers' computer screens are, they will still be able to peruse the content at their leisure without distraction.

Lupton "Grid" - Megan M.

2010-04-01T22:08:00.003-04:00

A grid system is used by almost every media production to create order, designate hierarchy, and create a coherent path for the viewer's eye to follow. The size and composition of the columns may change, as they do in newspapers, as a response to the information that fills them, or they may be structured to maintain a balance and a recognizable design for a publication such as a magazine.

With the internet boom, clothing stores and companies jumped on the growing online market to develop another outlet to sell their merchandise. Many online stores are set up similarly in an even, and most often symmetrical grid in order to create an easily navigable site for the customer and an easily maintainable site for the retailer. Clothing retailer Urban Outfitter's site has a very simple design and is set up with continuous horizontal columns at the top and bottom of the page, the navigational bars, and a consistent grid of five horizontal columns to display each item for sale. This large scale grid allows for a great amount of information to be displayed cleanly all at once.

Luptin - Grid by annban

2010-04-01T21:43:00.003-04:00

This week's blog is about a section in the textbook "Grid." Grid exists anywhere. We see it in the newspapers, book, magazine, or even on websites. We are working and seeing grids everyday without noticing that it is there. Grid helps us organize the information or the content that we are trying to present. Good use of gird and space makes delivering the message efficient. For example, facebook, a website that we use everyday makes good use of grid and spaces. The use of grid allows the website to have many functions at a time.

As we can see, facebook has three separate columns in which each columns represents different sections and contains different information. The design is very simple and the separation within each column is made by a simple horizontal line with a bold headings on the top left of it. Also, the main column is in the middle where the main information posts, and comments are. It is made the widest of the three which communicates the order of importance. The top bar has a different design for navigation efficiency. I think facebook is designed really well and is very easy to use. It is the main reason why so many people are using it because they kept it simple and straight forward.

Lupton Reading-- Grid

2010-04-01T21:40:00.004-04:00

In Lupton's chapter of Grid, we know the importance of the grid and how it interacts with the hierarchy and white space. I personally think that sometimes grid is more important than the typography or content in graphic design. Grid shows the whole structure and the designer's understanding of the event or objects. The image above is the website of The American Institute of Architects. We can clearly see the grid works efficiently on the screen.

The main page is divided into four major parts, yet each part is closely related together. The grid makes the structure of the website very clean and neat. The top red line is a overview of the site map. The big image above the grey background is very attractive and it let the audience keep their eyes on the website. The columns below that are some quick links. The hierarchy of the website is very clear due to the grid. We know that the big image is most impressive element of the whole page, so the designer put it in the middle and made it big.

In Lupton's book, he also talks about the golden screen which divided the screen with squares and golden rectangles. We can see that the designer of the website also use the golden screen here, which makes the audience very comfortable to read. Overall, I think it is a very well designed website according to its hierarchy, structure and grid design.

Lupton Grid - iGoogle

2010-04-01T19:38:00.004-04:00

As Lupton stated, grid is an essential part of design. I completely agree with that. To a magazine, a newspaper or a website, no matter how beautiful the pictures are and how perfect the article is, without a proper grid to guide the design, the layout will not look good.
I admit that I am such a google fan. Besides today's April fool joke, I never feel confused about google - I can always easily learn where the function I am looking for in iGoolge.

As we can see, the grid of the site is really clear. The web page is dividend by function into several box. It is tidy and organized. On the further left of the page is a navigator. Functions besides those display in the boxes are shown here. Someone might think that such a over organized function is boring. But Google do a good job to avoid "boring" by allowing users deciding which to put on their iGoogle page. But no matter what apps users choose, the site still looks "Google" because of its grid never change.

Perez Hilton

2010-04-01T19:31:00.005-04:00

It's not the most professional news source, but Perez Hilton's website has a simple design that promotes a quick viewing for users. The content of his website is celebrity gossip, so it's not necessarily something people will be fully scanning and viewing in detail. His grid structure entails individual boxes containing photographs and any related stories or comments Perez makes about the scene or celebrity photographed. These are the main focus of the page and are outlined in white, which makes them stand out. I find this gridwork very effective.

The right side of the website feature clips from interviews that Perez conducts, as well as all advertisements. The left side offers a search bar and way to contact Perez, translate the site and advertise on the website. The color scheme also promotes easy viewing and gives it a gossipy feel.

Cosmopolitan Website

2010-04-01T19:31:00.004-04:00

HOW DOES COSMO USE THE GRID SYSTEM???????

In Lupton reading he discussed two different types of grid systems the older edition he uses the example the Bible and how it sets up three columns. Then he later goes into describing how in magazines they use the three grid system.

In this screen shot of cosmo there are definitely three distinct unequal sized grids. But how they use them it what is important. In not only discussing grids, but hierarchy as well as discussed in class what is our attracted to? Yes, we are attracted to order, it is natural and the website definitely sets it up as so. But the way in which the website is set up is interactive, bright color usage, and things that interest their audience. The grid is not only set up in columns but also in rows. The center column has rows, which allows the viewer to divide between the different topics that are to be discussed if you click on them.

Overall, I think the Cosmo website does a pretty decent job with their website. It isn't too flashy and the grids are simple enough to understand, but not necessarily stylistic. But sometimes simplicity is the best choice.

Lupton Response--NewsHouse Grid Design

2010-04-01T18:56:00.005-04:00

Above I've posted a jpg of http://thenewshouse.com 's homepage. Currently it's flipped upside down for the first 10 or so seconds you spend on it (April Fool's Day), but beyond that, it's a very functional and workable grid.

TheNewsHouse, as I understand it, is run predominantly by professors and graduate students in Newhouse and serves as an online-exclusive campus media alternative. Their grid is both functional and works exceptionally well for the kind of content that TheNewsHouse typically produces. Known for its high-quality multimedia and online photo content, TheNewsHouse's centerpiece is and always will be the huge graphic in the middle of the page. Typically a photo- or video-heavy story, this headline is always put on display in high-def. In the case above, it's a big headshot of Common, who just visited campus, and it works because it's so detailed, important and necessary to have a high-quality image, almost like the cover photo on a magazine.

Beyond the headline, the site also hierarchizes its blogs, Twitter talk and the latest smaller pieces. Above the headline, we see a menu of categories. The grid is a very simple one, and it doesn't divert too much from its format until you get to the bottom of the homepage, but it works and works well.

AP Column Style- Current Event

2010-04-01T17:22:00.003-04:00

I was reading AP today and decided to take a look on their website. I found out that there is a very consistent style they use not only throughout the magazine but throughout their website. AP has a more masculine style and keeps everything i tight rectangular shapes. Everything is kept in to a strict two columns and then the columns are further divided up from there. This continues in the magazine where the most columns on any given page you see are three in the feature spread.

Eliza Catalino-Lupton Grids

2010-04-01T16:43:00.000-04:00

I completely agree with what Lupton has to say about grids. Grids are an essential part of graphic design. The foundation of any project usually starts with some type of layout. Grids allows your layout and your ultimate design to stay organize, neat, clean and simple. Grids allows for things to be created easily. Grids give structure and direction. If you have a really good grid design it makes everything else fall into place. After you have created a grid and your layout is set from there it’s all a matter of placement.

From this image I have chosen it shows exactly what a grid can do. It allows for the words to neatly fall on the page. It separates the different columns. The pictures are placed in a specific location. GRIDS=STRUCTURE. No matter what magazine you look at or what layout you observe it’s clear that a grid was used because everything is placed so meticulously. Even the boldest words or statements placed on a page look effortless.

Grid Current Event_ Talia Rossman

2010-04-01T16:28:00.006-04:00

As made clear by the last section of Lupton’s “Thinking With Type” grids are an essential piece to a creative layout and design. They help guide and make it possible to have sensible and functional layouts. The use of a grid system allows for flexibility and creativity while still maintaining a sense of organization. Some layouts may look disorganized and free of guidelines but in reality, most of these follow a sort of “structured chaos” that allows the viewer to see it as pleasing to the eye.

On the website, Tastespotting.com, it is clear that the web designer used a grid to organize the page. This is a very obvious example because you can see the columns and rows. This adds to the effectiveness of the site for a number of reasons. Specifically in the food world, presentation is a key component in whether a meal is received positively or not. The presentation can cause the person to be turned off or turned on by the meal even before the person tastes it. To remain consistent with this fact, it is important for the website to have a strong aesthetic appeal. Food has been considered an art form, the website promoting food should emulate this. The grid in this example makes the site incredibly easy to navigate. It is fresh and clean and the colors are vibrant and organized in a tasteful way.

Once the desired food is chosen, the browser can simply click on it and is then taken to another website in which the same photo is along with simple directions on how to make the food. The grid on this specific recipe site is obvious in its columns but not as obvious in its rows. The columns are made obvious by color. The rows are less obvious but when taking a closer look you can see that the top of the picture lines up perfectly with the first bullet under "latest recipes". The left side of the photo is perfectly matched with the beginning to the "&" symbol in "PB & J". Although PB & J isn't centered and appears off balance and free, other elements in the post are lined up with it in ways that are only possible by the use of grids.

Arielle Knapp - Grid

2010-04-01T13:51:00.003-04:00

Lupton states, "The gird as infinite space–defying edges and dominated by mind rather than body–is a powerful instrument within modernist theory, where it is a form both rational and sublime." I like this quote because all design is formed from a grid with hierarchy to move the viewers eye from piece to piece throughout a layout. Using the grid is very important to include structure and order in a piece of design. However, breaking the grid at points within a design causes visual attraction and appeal implemented as a design tool.

In the magazine spread, GreenMinutes, a 3 column grid is introduced within the layout. The designer chose to dedicate a single column to their body copy as the headline and sub head expand through three columns to call attention to through hierarchy. In addition, the call out on the right page is presented in the third column. However, the image of the clock breaks the grid and calls visual attention to itself as being the focus of the page. Also, the folios lay within the columns as well. Overall, this layout shows a great use of the grid.

Lupton Post - Ali Marsz

2010-04-01T12:57:00.009-04:00

One of my friends recently showed me a web site called WeAreHunted, an online music chart that shows the 99 most popular songs emerging in the world today, this week, and this month. It is an excellent example of strong, visual site that clearly operates on a grid system, Lupton's focus in the final section of "Thinking with Type."

Although it may be a simple design, the 3x3 grid system has a very fresh, effective, and unique approach for displaying something the Billboard Top 100 has been known to set in a traditional list form. The nine album art clips move horizontally, to display the top 99 in 11 pages of grid form. The navigation bar is also easily found in a left grid column format. As Lupton states, "Visual displays of data allow readers to quickly compare items," which is advice this site makes use of. It gives a very strong eye-pleasing presentation with an easily accessible list of top music choices and an instant preview of songs. I think WeAreHunted creatively worked with a traditional grid system that results in a web site that extremely easy to use and a place where information can be accessed quickly.

Snader Grid Post

2010-04-01T11:13:00.003-04:00

I like the quote Lupton includes by Paul Renner who says, "The new typography not only contests the classical 'framework' but also the whole principle of symmetry." In my interpretation, this goes to show that typography adds so much to the overall design and flow of a design. Text is not just body copy meant to be divided into arbitrary columns, but it is also used to direct the reader around a page in an organized way. I think the Newsweek website does a good job of using text to contribute to the overall grid of the site.

Everything about the site exudes organized thought processes that went behind the design. Text, shaded boxes, and photos work together to create a cohesive grid that allows the reader to navigate easily around the home page. I really like the way the text is not all located into one column, but is spaced specifically to create balance with photos on the page. The site is meant to deliver news quickly and clearly, and I think the design allows the Newsweek staff to do so.

Florence - Lupton Grid

2010-04-01T01:01:00.007-04:00

I find grids very helpful when it comes to designing with type. Grids help organize text and give the reader a sense of order.

One section in the Grid chapter that stuck out to me was when artists started rebelling against

the traditional formats of printed texts. F. T. Marinetti was brilliant for defying the rules of the strict structures of the grid system. Marinetti began the Futurist Movement in 1909 when he began to make certain parts of the text stretch through several lines. I think that this is a great way to call out attention to certain words while still having some sort of order in the design. I really like that even though Marinetti challenged the traditional struct

ures in print, he still worked within the parameters of the grid system. This allows him to be creative without losing his message in a disorganized canvas.

"Marinetti's ingenius manipulations of the printing process work against–but within– the constraints of letterpress, exposing the technological grid even while trying to overturn it." (Lupton pg.121)

I think that as Marinetti continued in his career, he became more daring with his designs. I imagine that after some time, he said, "The hell with grids, I'm making my own rules." =)

His designs really challenged the norm at the time and yet, there is still some sort of balance and order. Here is an example that I found:

Kim - Lupton Grid Post

2010-03-31T09:56:00.004-04:00

The passage in Lupton's Grid chapter that stuck out to me the most was when she stated, "...an effective grid is not a rigid formula but a flexible and resilient structure, a skeleton that moves in concert with the muscular mass of information." I thought that Spin Magazine's website was particularly emblematic of this.

The layout of the site is neat and straightforward. There are a lot of images and text but the site arranges them in an organized fashion so that the viewer doesn't feel bombarded or overwhelmed by the information. There are three very apparent columns that are separated by the gray of the background. I especially love how the white boxes with tabs on top look like manila folders. This allows the viewer to immediately know that each tab depicts a new section/topic of the site. The site uses limited colors--mostly white, black, and gray with bold accents of red to place emphasis on the important aspects of the magazine, such as its name. The sizes of the white boxes can be manipulated according to the content it needs to hold--this illustrates Lupton's statement that grids are flexible, critical, and systematic tools. Overall, the site is easy to navigate and read due to its simple, balanced and rational layout.

Lupton - Grid reading

2010-03-31T00:21:00.007-04:00

In Lupton's last section, Grid, she starts by discussing ancient grids from the 15th century and includes some biblical references. Later in the chapter she mentions more modern grids used in programs like Quark and InDesign.
"In addition to creating vertical zones with the columns of the grid, you can also divide the page horizontally. For example, an area across the top can be reserved for images and captions, and body text can "hang" from a common line." (143)
The Syracuse.com website is a good example of this.

The website is divided into 3 columns, and the top of the page is divided horizontally. However, the text within the columns is not symmetrical. Even though each section may vary in length, the headers help the reader find stories they are looking for. For example, you can look for sports stories, real-time news, entertainment, and so forth. Thus, although the stories are asymmetrical, it doesn't create negative tension because readers can easily distinguish between the different sections, and the contrast in colors.

Lupton III: Grid (Starter Post)

2010-03-30T10:21:00.001-04:00

In the last section of the Lupton's "Thinking With Type" she describes grids and their importance to all forms of graphic design, whether they be print or web based.

"For graphic designers, grids are carefully honed intellectual devices, infused with ideology and ambition, and they are the inescapable mesh that filters at some level of resolution, nearly every system of writing and reproduction." (113)

Grids certainly do guide design, whether it is in the making or breaking of the grid. Magazines and newspapers thrive on a grid system in order to create consistent environments that are functional and reproducible. Some have challenged this layout. We'll at a few slides from David Carson in a few weeks (click name to watch a video) and his design for "Raygun" magazine from the 1990's and you'll see how he broke the grid. But even in breaking the grid a system of order is created, that although not traditional in a linear sense, still can feel very natural and organized.

Lupton goes on to discuss the power of grids in magazine and print design and the evolution of the grid in web design through tables and Cascading Style Sheets and the more free form environment afforded by the use of Flash. Which leads us to your objective, should you choose to accept it...

Find an example of a grid system being used in print or on the web. You can select from magazines, web sites or newspapers. Discuss the grid system in place. How well do the designs work within the boundaries, or even by breaking boundaries of the grid? Our minds are trained to see and be comfortable with order. We organize the second we look at anything because of those Gestalt principles and our craving for the whole. How does the grid in your example aid the reader or user? Does it engage them with its structure or lack thereof? Does it cause tension, either positive or negative?

Attach screen shots, links or images in order to help illustrate your example.

Screen capture on a MAC:
Apple Key + Shift + 3

Screen capture on a PC:
Hit the "Print Screen" button (usually found on the top right of the keyboard).

Vilas-Boas Logo Project

2010-03-26T17:00:00.007-04:00

Rationale

project: Logo System

3/22/10

visual message

With my logo I wanted to convey three messages: my name (initials), my job (music magazine production/editing), and my Brazilian heritage. I also wanted to tie it in visually with my resume.

audience

This logo is designed so that when I hand it to potential employers and other people I meet while reporting or in the professional world, they can look at it, and whether they like it or not, still remember it and know exactly who I am and what I do.

design strategy

There were three big pieces of this logo that I wanted to bring together: my three initials, my interest in music, and my interest in magazines. By drawing some basic abstract polygons I had my initials in no time. By silhouetting the iconic Gibson Reverse Flying-V guitar in place of the “V” in my initials I brought in music aspect. Once I put all these elements together, I cut them in half and warped them to simulate turning the pages of a magazine. I also incorporated my Brazilian heritage into the design by making the colors of each half yellow and green. I wanted to unify the three parts of the project as much as I could because nothing is stronger than a strong brand. That said, I tried to tie my logo in to my resume by incorporating the Avenir and Georgia fonts that I used on that project. In addition I brought the thin double line that I used in my resume back to work in my stationery.

style sheet

• “V” Avenir LT 55 Roman, 65/75, kerning -67, tracking 0

• “ilas-boas” Avenir LT 55 Roman, 61/73.2, kerning variable (optical, -90, -60, -40, -50),

tracking 0

• “eric” Georgia 25/30, optical kerning, tracking 230

• STATIONERY ADDRESS & EMAIL: Avenir LT 55 Roman, 10/12, optical kerning,

tracking 20

• ENVELOPE NAME/ADDRESS: Avenir LT 35 Light, 15/18, optical kerning, tracking 0

• BUSINESS CARD NAME: Avenir LT 45 Book, 19/22.8, optical kerning, tracking 0

• BUSINESS CARD TITLE: Avenir LT 45 Book, 11/13.2, optical kerning, tracking 0

• BUSINESS CARD ADDRESS & EMAIL: Avenir LT 45 Book, 8/9.6, optical kerning, tracking 0

sources and influences

Gibson’s Reverse Flying-V guitars were used as inspiration for the center of the logo. Apart from that, I can’t think of any logos that use books or magazines opening up, so I don’t think I copied anyone.

extras

The colors of the Brazilian flag were used to a great extent; I’ve included an Illustrator file and a printout. Apart from complementing each other nicely, I liked how they worked in print. The original grey of my wordmark was served well by the yellow, as was the black by the green.

2010-03-26T15:45:00.001-04:00

Visual Message
For this project I wanted to convey a different sense of myself than I had with my resume. My resume was very serious and business-like, while my logo and stationary are more fun and creative. I chose not to represent my career aspiration directly through this project, as both a public relations and political science major I felt somewhat limited graphically. Instead of using an old standby like a light bulb or a pencil I chose to make my logo simply my surname. I’m rather attached to my surname, as it seems to have taken the place of my given name, hence it’s emphasis. The font I chose to use is rather more whimsical than I would normally use, but I liked the sort of “Alice in Wonderland”-like feel it expressed.

Audience
The intended audience for this design would most likely be young, creative people in the PR world. While I realize such a design would not be suitable for a career in political science, I really wanted to create something lighthearted.

Design Strategy
The initial impression my logo makes is this: “Wow, this girl must really like purple!” And it’s true; as much as I’ve tried to fight it I seem to be inexorably drawn to things that are purple. While I wouldn’t say that purple is my favorite color, it seems to be the color of the majority of things I own. Thus, it is a color that many people associate with me. The next most obvious thing about my logo is the font I chose. When looking through fonts I asked my roommate, which she thought, represented me. She immediately said some sort of Gothic font…which I found somewhat rude… and strange. However, after polling the majority of my friends they all agreed that the font Biblioteque represented me. And, with some modifications, this was the font I used in my design. I have to admit, I really do like the eerie, whimsical quality it expresses. While this design might not be the most appropriate for my chosen profession, it most definitely represents who I am.

2010-03-26T15:12:00.004-04:00

Talia Rossman: Logo/ Stationary Set

2010-03-26T15:02:00.015-04:00

Visual Message:

When trying to find a logo that best suits me, I realized that many of my qualities contradict each other, which made the production of a logo difficult. For example, I am a perfectionist but I am also a free spirit. I tried to pick my most prevalent qualities and have my logo reflect those instead of trying to encompass my entire being. I am feminine and girly. My favorite colors are pink and green. I appreciate “frills” but only when they are accompanied by simplicity and clean lines. The flower is my go to “doodle”. I am very active; enjoy being outdoors and often find it hard to sit still. There are many sides to my personality that range from vibrant to serene. I tried to portray these qualities in my logo.

Audience:

This logo expresses the personal qualities that I possess that aren’t necessarily vital to my chosen profession. I think it would be most appropriate to only use this set with those who I can be comfortable acting casual with.

Design Strategy

In order to create and interesting logo that was entertaining to the eye, I decided to focus on my more lively qualities. Overall, through design and color choices, my logo communicates elements of artistic flare. The “t” is curvy to express femininity and contains a lot of movement. Although there is obvious movement, the lines are also crisp and clean in a way that expresses order and control. The strategy in this is to help describe how I am: a free spirit who can let loose but who is always in some element of control. To remain consistent with the “t” and the contact information, I needed to find a print that worked with script. I chose to use the font known as Adobe Garamond Pro because it seemed to accomplish this. I used italicized Georgia for my name because I think its aids in the transition from the script “t” and the print contact information. The design throughout my set is the same but I switched the colors around in some cases where I saw it appropriate.

2010-03-26T13:27:00.001-04:00

Rationale

Visual Message: Through this project, I wanted to create something simultaneously professional and fun. I also wanted to convey my personality. I decided to make a dragonfly for my logo because it symbolizes strength, agility, and harmony to me. It is also an emblem of a free spirit. Also, I tried to incorporate my initials (two “k”s) into my logo. I found that I could use the four wings and the body of the dragonfly to create two reversed “k”s. Overall, I wanted to come across as an independent, creative, and unique individual.

Audience: I designed my logo and stationery system to be sent to prospective employers in the magazine industry. I would send this to an art magazine or other creative magazines.

Design Strategy: I started off my creating a dragonfly using the pen tool. I decided to curve the tail of the dragonfly to make the design more dynamic. I also made the tail pointed so that it draws the viewer’s eyes down to my name and contact information. The curved body gives movement and the outstretched wings on either side of the body further emphasize a sense of flight. The two wings on each side also provide a sense of balance. I used Peignot for my name because the smooth and bold features of the typeface complemented the design well. The deign and the name go well with each other because they each stand out without overpowering the other. I placed the dragonfly above my name to show it taking flight off of it. I chose to use enlarged images of the right half of the dragonfly for the front of the envelope and for the back of the business card to emphasize the letter “k”.

Sources and Influences: I browsed online for inspiration. One site that had really creative and beautiful logo designs was instantshift.com. (http://www.instantshift.com/2009/08/23/60-beautiful-logo-designs-for-design-inspiration/). I also used google.com to look for images of drangonflies. I used the pen tool to create my own dragonfly.

Extras: The color orange is my favorite color so I decided I would use that for one element of my logo. I found a red-orange color that really stood out to me and I used it for the body of the dragonfly. The color is really vibrant, eye-catching, and provides strong structure to the dragonfly. I used the color swatch tool to look at its complementary colors. I decided on a soft teal color for the wings. The teal is calm and subdued and offers a good constrast to the bright and energetic red-orange. I used the teal in my name and the red-orange in my stationary information for consistency.

LOGO DESIGN– HUA

2010-03-26T12:46:00.007-04:00

Hua Xin

Project: Logo System

Date: Mar 22^nd

Visual Message

The logo I design is an abstract image of a dragon. In my home country China, every year was given a symbol of a meaningful animal, for example, this year is the year of tiger. The year I born was the year of dragon. I also chose dragon to be my logo because it always represents powerful, brave and courage. In most of the mythology, dragon usually comes along with knights and secret mission. I am also a big fan of fancy fiction novels that usually describe dragon as a symbol of mystery and a source of power. The purple color I chose is because I want to add more mysterious to my logo, and purple gives me that powerful yet humble feeling. The dragon image I trace is very abstract, and I am intended to make it feel less fierce and terrifying. The impression I wish to make is to let people consider I am a brave, determined, strong-will person who are willing to take risks.

Audience

The audience I think maybe the people I need to contact or other graphic designers. I think my audience can be very general and even people without graphic design background can appreciate my logo design.

Design Strategy

The image of dragon is very impressive and it can easily attract people’s attention. The purple color can decrease the horrible impression people usually have for dragon and add richness to the logo. The font I chose for my name is Linotext STD. This typeface is consistent to my logo and it also gives people a feeling of ancient mythology. I also use a large image of dragon and set it 12% of transparency. The front I use for address, email and phone number is Helvetica, and this typeface also gives people a feeling of neat and organized personality. I also use my logo in my envelope and business card design to make the whole thing consistent. I was original thinking of adding another color of pink in my design, but I think it will break the simplicity of my design.

Style Sheet

STATIONERY NAME: Linotext Std, 24pt, purple

STATIONERY ADDRESS & EMAIL: Helvetica Neue, 10pt, purple

BUSINESS CARD NAME: Linotext Std, 24pt, purple

BUSINESS CARD CONTACT INFORMATION: Helvetica Neue, 9pt, purple

LETTER NAME: Linotext Std, 14pt, purple

LETTER CONTACT INFORMATION: Helvetica Neue, 9pt, purple

Sources

http://www.rainbowguitars.com/accessories/planet-waves/dragon-icon-25-leather-guitar-strap/25LDRG/PW

Tyra's Logo Project

2010-03-26T10:00:00.003-04:00

Tyra Jeffries

Project: Logo System

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Visual Message:

What I was trying to convey with this logo was first it was inspired by the Fleur-de-Lis symbol. I wanted to personalize this archaic symbol and give it a newer and equally if not more sophisticated look. I took the stems on the right and left side of the symbol and gave a somewhat more cartoonish look and by doing this I believe that it assisted in making it look newer. The design itself is simple, yet it is able to convey all the messages I wanted to translate, which is new and fresh take on things, but still having value of historic things. Also this symbol has had a great influence on life in the sense of things I love and am a part of.

Audience:

The audience for this can be the people of where I am applying to internships, particularly ones with a creative side. Also the audience would be to whomever I wanted to describe myself to with a simple symbol.

Design Strategy:

I tried to give the Fleur-de-lis symbol and fresher and newer look, while still remaining a sophisiticated symbol. I was able to constrast the stems of the symbol to give it a much newer look, while in the middle it stayed more structured and relative to its original design. The constrast I believe allowed me to translate the conflicting while complementary ideas. I chose “font here” because it had an older gothic look, which also helped to add to creating a much more sophisticated image for the symbol. I took two triangles and placed them together and took two “C”s that I designed using the brush tool and placed them together. I wanted the symbol to remain symbol, yet be able to send the message I wanted.

Style Sheet:

Name: Charlemagne Std display, 10/12 optical kerning, tracking 0

Stationary Address & E-mail: Times display, 12/14, metrics kerning, tracking 0

Business Card Name: Copperplate (TT) display, 10/12. optical kerning, tracking 0

Business Card Contact Information: Palatino, 10/12, optical kerning, tracking 0:

Sources and Influences:

The Fleur-de-Lis derives from the Creole flag, part of my ethnicity; it is on the Florence soccer team flag as well as the Florentine flag. Also it is one of the few symbols of my sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, along with being a French royalty sign, and I also love things French.

Ali Marsz - Logo Project

2010-03-26T02:43:00.007-04:00

Visual Message

After closely examining my sketches, I decided that an image of an eye would be a logo that best represented me. I felt that it would be personal and yet something that represented some of my respectable qualities. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had people tell me that my eyes are the first thing they notice about me and that they are extremely expressive, giving away the emotions I feel at any given moment. Although it’s a cliché, I feel the eye can be a window to the soul, showing truth, genuineness and honesty, while also symbolizing having a vision or fresh perspective on ideas and situations. I think that this image is both something to remember me by as well as a logo that would desmonstrate these important characteristics. Although not as complex as other logos may be, I felt the eye image I created showed these things.

Audience

Although simple, my logo is versatile enough to be placed on all three mediums (card, stationary, and envelope). I could specifically distribute any of them to potential employers whether I’m sending them my resume, writing a thank you note, or distributing my card during an interview for a possible job or internship.

Design Strategy

I was surprised to find that the most bold and visually pleasing image was actually comprised of a design only using the simplest of shapes. Although straightforward, I came to find it was the most powerful logo option I had. I attempted to use an oval outline shape around the eyeball to complete the eye image for one of my drafts, however it didn’t seem to have the same effect as the solo image. I added the smaller white circle in the upper left area of the eye to show a glare, further completing the image and making it distinctive of me. I chose to use the Gill Sans type because it was clear and easy to read even in the smallest of sizes, complementing my simple yet powerful design message I wished to convey.

Sources & Influences

I searched various web images for inspiration, but ended up constructing my logo from scratch. During the brainstorm process, I looked at various Egyptian inspired eyes and shapes, but decided to just use a more simplistic, unique design construction instead.

Color

Blue is not only one of my favorite colors, but its one I find to be attractive, calming, and bold at the same time. As my eyes are also blue, I felt that incorporating just a single color in my eye and using it with my name offered the right amount of color without distraction. I wanted the color I used in my logo to be memorable but not overwhelming, which I think I accomplished with this shade of blue.

Lin's Logo Post

2010-03-26T01:11:00.015-04:00

Visual message:
I want to keep my logo simple so that it is easy for people to memorize. The logo basicly shows my initials. I want to leave viewers a feeling of clean and organized. I hope my logo can be simple but stands out. Instead of showing my hobbies or abilities, I want to show more about my personality. Since I am dual majors, I want my logo works in both fields.
Audience:
The target audience will be my future employers and my colleagues.
Design strategy:
In order to show the sense of clean and organized, I use circle as as basic shape of my logo and use several lines to make two “L”s in the circle. The shape of the logo is simple so that I try to use color to make it stands out. Instead of using one shade of color, I use both green and yellow in my logo. Colors gradully change from yellow to green from top to bottom. In this way I can convince a sense of flexibility as well as the freshness which color green and yellow can bring us.
I keep green as a basic tone of my stationery set and leting my logo appear on each of them to keep consistency. I choose Myriad Pro as typeface in my statinery set. I pick this font because its rounded curves and clean straight strokes. It is consistent with the design of my logo.

annban's logo project

2010-03-25T22:53:00.004-04:00

visual message

This logo has many meanings. When I was young, I wanted to be a female heart surgeon. Female heart surgeon is rare in Thailand, where I came from. Therefore, I wanted to incorporate the feminism by putting together a universal heart shape and with the heartbeat line through the middle indicating that it has something to do with medical. Also, most medical logos seem very professional and serious, this logo intend to connect more with the audience since it does not look as formal.

audience

My audience is anyone that I can write to such as professors, friends, parents, etc.

design strategy

The first impression of this logo should be bold and something about the heart. The audience would first see the big shape of the heart and associate it to something to do with love and life, then, as they see the heartbeat line going through, then they should get the message that this heart has something to do with the beating of the heart which indicates sign of life. The whole logo then should represent something having to do with cardiac medical field. To keep the logo simple, my name is also set in the same red as the logo to make it bold and straightforward. The font chosen was Corona LT Std throughout the envelope, letter heard and the name card. This font is easy to read and does not have too many stokes to it, which is good for the eye.

style sheet

STATIONERY

NAME: Corona LT Std Bold Face No. 2, 10/12, metrics kerning, tracking - 0

CONTACT INFORMATION: Corona LT Std, 9/10.8, metrics kerning, tracking - 0

ENVELOPE

NAME: Corona LT Std Bold Face No. 2, 10/12, metrics kerning, tracking - 0

CONTACT INFORMATION: Corona LT Std, 9/10.8, metrics kerning, tracking - 0

BUSSINESS CARD

NAME: Corona LT Std Bold Face No. 2, 8/9.6, metrics kerning, tracking - 0

ADDRESS: Corona LT Std, 7/8.4, metrics kerning, tracking - 0

sources and influences

There are two parts to the logo. First, it is the heart and then there is the heartbeat line in white on top of the heart. Both images were created using the pen tool in the Illustrator Program, therefore, there is no sources associated with this logo.

use of color

The color chosen was pure dark red. This is because red is a universal heart color and the logo does not look presentable with any other color. The deep red chosen is meant for the logo to be bold and strong. The name that goes with the logo is chosen also to be in the same shade of red to keep the color consistent because incorporating too many colors in the logo would make the logo not strong, as it should be. The single color used in the logo also meant for later changes if needed. For example, the audience would still recognize the logo if it was in a different color.