For my logo redo, there weren’t many suggestions on how to fix it. The main thing that I was told was that I had to fix the kerning on my name. When I made the exact distances the same with the ruler and guides, it actually looked worse than it did before. So I realized my kerning would look best if I did what was most visually appealing, and tried my best to space the letters out evenly by eye-balling it instead of keeping my original spacing of 0.5 between each letter. Instead of making the letters closer, I made them farther apart because this was more comfortable looking and spacious. I also made the type smaller on my envelope and business card because I was told it was too large. I also fixed my business card layout. Originally, it had an awkward zig-zag line on it. I decided to make it vertical instead of horizontal and redo the design. I think the new version overall looks a lot better than the old one.
For my magazine redo, there were several things I had to fix. For the cover, I was told that the type was too dark and blended in too much with the page. Because the original color from the type was taken from the feather in the photograph, I had to brighten the colors of the feather in photoshop so it would be consistent with the color of my type. It is now a much more electric and readable color. While I was in photoshop, I also did some work on Miley’s “snaggle tooth” (her bottom tooth that looked kind of funny before) so it would be less obtrusive to the overall image.
For my first spread, I was told that the headline needed a slight push off the page so it would stand out more. I put a very light shadow on the title of the article so it would pop a little bit more. Although this is not very easy to see in the pdf or jpg, it looks much more obvious in the actual document itself and when printed. For my second spread, I had to change the alignment of the image on the left page so that the text was equidistant from it on both the top and the right side. For some reason, this actually was not so simple and took a lot of playing around with to get it right. However, I think it looks pretty good now. I was also told to align the date, but according to the grid, my folio was perfectly even.
My sidebar was probably what needed the most work. The type was way too small when printed, and it was hard to read what it said in the boxes. Originally, I was going to keep the titles of the boxes black, but for some reason when I made the document into a pdf, the black just didn’t look right. So I decided to keep all the type white so it was clean and easy to read. I also made the type a little bigger and shortened the descriptions. I think it is pretty legible now. I also aligned the “Stages of Cyrus” at the top so it fit perfectly over the box. Overall, I think these improvements have made my magazine a lot better, and I am pleased with the final result.
I love dogs, so I wanted to find a non-profit organization that deals with rescuing and caring for them. When I found StrayfromtheHeart.org, I knew it was right for me because it not only had a cool name, but it wasn’t one of those huge, well-known non-profits that I knew other people would be doing. I was happy to bring awareness to an organization that was a little bit more unknown. When I found the home page photo of the three golden retrievers sitting in a tub together, I was inspired and knew exactly what I wanted the tone of my website to be. I wanted something warm, homey, and cheerful. I did not want anything dramatic or edgy.
In choosing my color-palette I took all of my colors from the home page photograph. I used the goldish-brownish color of the dogs’ fur as the background, and the yellow from the tub as my footer. I also used the pink from the dogs’ tongues for my navigation bar, which although may seem tacky to some, I believe keeps the site bright and prevents it from being too boring. I also took dog tags and altered them in photoshop so that I could use them as my buttons on my navigation bar. I also put a slight highlight on the upper half of the tags to make them look shiny. The font I chose for the navigation bar as well as other various elements of the site was Handwriting – Dakota. I felt as though this conveyed the cute and cozy feeling that I wanted the website to portray. For the “Adopt” button, I placed it a bit above the bottom of the photo because had I placed it any lower, it would not have been viewable without scrolling down.
For my About page, my goal was to keep things clean and simple, and not to have too much copy. Hence, I inserted the “read more” links at the bottom so as to offer the reader the opportunity to read on, but not clutter the page in the beginning. I chose the picture of the Beagle sniffing the flower because it conveyed the idea of exploration and discovery, which is what the About section is all about. I took the green from the photo and extended it to a box next to it that reads “Who are we?” I felt as though this was a good way to draw the reader in.
Now my Donate page may seem a bit strange and unconventional, but I don’t believe that good web design necessarily has to look boxy and symmetrical. I wanted to do something a little bit more fun and playful so as to grab the viewer’s attention when it came to giving money. The idea is that the dog is dreaming about a better life as a result of the donations that the organization is receiving. As the thought bubbles get bigger, the donation amounts increase. Of course, I wanted to offer the viewer the opportunity to donate their choice amount of money as well, which is why I created another bubble for that.
I also wanted to make a Shop page, since the website sells a ton of products to help raise money for their cause. This was perhaps the part that took me longest out of anything, because I had to make sure that all the items lined up. I decided to put a pink box behind all of the items so as to be consistent with the navigation bar. I also created a “shop by category” section to help organize the items further. I thought the dog wearing the “bling bling” shirt would be a cute and humorous way to entice people to buy the products. While it may seem a little out of place to some, I think it works perfectly because it gives a page of boring photographs of clothing, hats, etc. some flare.
My Adopt page is all about having the photograph interact with the buttons on the page. The dog in the photo is reaching out of the box with his paw, and the paws next to the buttons line up perfectly with it. The metaphor is that the dog is reaching out for all the things that are on the buttons, which are to be adopted and cared for. This page also follows the same format as the About page, which has the photo with a box next to it that draws from color in the picture. Overall, I think the website induces the warm, bubbly feelings that dogs often do in people, and effectively encourages them to donate and adopt.
Some of these effects are really cool, even if you’re just fooling around in Photoshop. My favorites are the sunglasses reflection and the age progression effect. These are the types of effects that just look really cool, even if you would not usually use them in a professional project. I think it’s still worth appreciating though.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw[/youtube]
Firework is such a nice song. It’s about realizing that you’re special and worth something, etc. So graphically speaking, you would expect touching scenes with people breaking out of their shells and realizing their true potential, right? Well the music video does deliver this, but then, out of nowhere, fireworks start shooting out of Katy Perry’s breasts! Why her breasts? Shouldn’t they be coming out of her hands or something emotional and comforting like that? Plus, the boob guns are so overdone. So basically, this video is ruined by that one graphic element. The effects aren’t even that good. This goes along with the whole principle of consistency. This video is definitely not consistent!
For this re-do I decided to completely overhaul my poster, since I wasn’t able to execute my original idea the way I wanted to. I decided to go with an outer-space theme, and make Birthright about having an “out-of-this-world experience.” I went for an all black background and tiny ellipses with various glow effects on them to resemble stars. I then took an image of the Israeli flag and went to Photoshop to turn it into a spherical object that would most closely resemble a planet. I then put a small image of earth in the background to show the departure from earth to another planet. I wanted all the type to integrate into the poster, so I made it white and chose Gill Sans Ultra Bold to give it a sort-of “spacey” look. I then put a white overlay on all of the text as well as a white drop shadow to make it look like it was glowing, similar to the stars in the background. Overall, I would say this poster came out a lot better than the last one, and that choosing a different theme for it was a good idea.
Debating between using Fireworks or Photoshop? Here is an article that helps explain the programs in a little more depth. Naturally, Photoshop is better suited for dealing with graphics and images, and Fireworks is better suited for web design, but it is also possible to use both. If you are having a hard time figuring it out, this article can help.
Here’s the link:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Difference-Between-Fireworks-and-Photoshop&id=2316451
I know everyone hates Miley Cyrus, but I don’t. I’ve been obsessed with her since high school. I think she’s beautiful, charming, funny, and has one of the most unique voices out there, even if it is not traditionally what you would call “amazing.” So when you told us to do our magazine on something that we are passionate about, I knew Miley would be someone I could bear spending hours after hours and days after days in the computer lab with.
The next question is, why did I do what I did for this magazine? Miley has undergone an undeniable transition over the past few years from the cute little girl everyone knows from the hit show Hannah Montana to a surprisingly over-sexualized 17-year-old performer. The general consensus I’ve gotten from my peers, the media, etc. is that Miley has grown up too fast. She is only 17 (18 as of today!) and the outfits she wears, the dance moves she does, the songs she sings are all way to raunchy for a girl of such a young age. She is following the same track is the Britneys and the Lindseys that came before her. She started out as a wholesome member of the Disney team, and very quickly matured into what people like to call “a slut.” In essence, people frown upon this, think it is terrible, and an abomination of what a teenage girl should be.
My magazine spread says the opposite. Visually speaking,it celebrates Miley’s newfound sexuality, and the magazine’s title, “Edge,” (which, if published monthly, would be a magazine that focuses on a different celebrity each month who is doing something different and edgy, something controversial), goes hand in hand with the idea of Miley pushing things to the edge and surprising people each time she steps out on to a stage or puts out a new music video. One thing that was difficult about this was finding an article that was not completely anti-Miley (as most articles online are). I found one that reviewed her new album “Can’t Be Tamed,” and explains how while she is trying very hard to break out of her corporate shell (her being a “Robot,” which is the title of one the songs on the album), her over-sexualized nature is really just in line with what the corporation that runs her wants. It is what makes money. It is what Britney and Lindsey did, and were they not so busy doing drugs now, they would be making even more money than ever.
So with my choice of pictures I wanted to show off Miley’s sexier side, but I wanted to do it in a sort-of dark and edgy way. I made sure all the large photos of her had black backgrounds and that she was wearing black clothing in all of them. I made sure all of them were also a tad bit raunchy, whether it was because of cleavage, legs, or just very tousled hair. For the cover, I chose a very strong and what I would call a “fierce” look, where Miley’s gaze pierces right through you. I also used the color from the feathers as my color for the words on the page. I thought the typeface I used for “Edge” was perfect for what I was trying to convey (BlairMDITC TT). I also thought it looked really cool that I was able to get the feather to sort of lightly brush through the G.
As far as the first page of my spread goes, I liked the photograph because Miley was interacting with the other side of the page. I also liked the grainy quality of the image (not pixaly!) I took the pink from whatever was hanging on her shirt and applied it to the title of the article, “Just a Robot?” I made the R very large and bled it off the page because it went well with the fact that Edge from the cover was sort of bled off the page. I also made the o in obot sort of nestle itself into the crook of the R because I thought it gave the page a nice shape. I then wrapped the opening paragraph of the text around the shape of Miley’s hair to continue good flow on the page.
For the second page of the speed, I kept the same color scheme for the side-bar, which was black and that same shade of pink. I also incorporated that pink into the quotation marks. I also incorporated a large photo of Miley singing which I think gave the page the energy it needed, and also stayed in line with the black, dark color-scheme. For the body text I chose Adobe Calston because it was simple but still bold enough to go along with statement I was making throughout.
For the ad on the back, I chose something that went perfectly with the cover. The Blue and the black was almost identical to the black and the black on the cover. It also was an ad for alcohol, which complements the whole idea of celebrating Miley’s growing up well.
This is a sample magazine layout from a print/web designer’s website I found. Excuse the screen shot. I wasn’t able to save it off her website. The reason I wanted to post it though, was because I felt like it had some unique aspects that are important to consider when we do our projects. For example, the fish hook that is hooking the “e” is very clever. Although it does seem a tad bit random, it is overall a good idea. I also like the bait on sidebar “Fishing Safety Tips.” Little things like that really bring the layout to life and make it more interesting. While I wouldn’t say it is the most eye-catching layout, it definitely has some unique things about it that make it good.
We’re always learning that simplicity is key, but that it is crucial to make your work pop as well. It’s always important to think of ways to accomplish this, and I think this magazine cover definitely does that. I am not at all familiar with V magazine, but they have several covers like this. The person on the front is often interacting with the V in some way. The huge V framing Natalie Portman’s face and some of her body works perfectly, not only because it’s unique, but because the harsh and sharp lines of the V complement the edgy look that Natalie was given for this cover. Overall, I think it stands out and works really well.
