For my redo, I worked hard to implement the changes suggested by Professor Harper. As for the grid, I aligned my spread so that it was perfectly even on both sides of the page. I noticed that the columns don’t really do this, so I moved the type slightly outside the column so that it would fit perfectly between the page. I knew that the type on my image could not be read very well, so I took the hardest type to read and I cut it out, this way it looks like my article just has one, simple to read paragraph to start it off. I also got rid of the gradient I used over the type because I thought that it actually made the text harder to read. On the second spread, I changed my paragraphs so that they were the same size, I did this by changing the 4th page back to 2 columns, and rearranging my pull out quote. For my tour dates, I made them stand out better by choosing a bigger and bolder typeface. I then shortened the title and made my tour dates bigger so they would stand out more. I aligned all of it with the type in the article and put the dates and title to the left so they weren’t inside the bright tan smoke, which made them much easier to read. I underlined the title for neatness. I then rearranged my text so they would be the same amount away from both images on the second spread. I moved the text box down, to give the type more room away from each image, and I thought this ended up looking a lot cleaner.
For my magazine redo, I did not have too much to fix. On the cover page, I moved around the text to make it farther away from the image and then aligned the date. For the 1st spread, I pulled the green from the image and made it the type color for the sub headlines. For the 2nd spread I did not have anything to fix. And for the third spread, I added a picture of Karl Lagerfeld to the “sidebar” part of the page and added arrows to direct it towards his obsessions. I got rid of some of the obsessions as I did not want the page to be too cluttered. I think I cleaned it up a lot and made everything neater. I hope you like it and have a nice holiday!
My magazine needed a few changes for the redo. On the front cover I added the date of the magazine and brought the subheads closer together. They were spaced farther apart in my first version which made it awkward for the eye to travel across the page.
On my first spread I changed the color of “Discovering” to a less opaque swatch of the word “Florence” this way it maintains visual continuity and is more readable. I also eliminated the hyphenation in the intro text.
On the second spread, Professor Harper commented that the type should only be left justified. I double-checked and the text is indeed left justified. It may look like it is fully justified because the final lines of each paragraph stretch most of the way across the columns. I also changed my grid. Previously my increment was not set to be the same as my leading in order for the text to “breathe.” Now my grid is set to be the same as leading, condensing the text more.
On the third spread I carefully adjusted the text wraps in order to minimize any awkward jumps between words. As with any oddly shaped text wrap, sentences are going to be broken up unless it is a perfect shape. Now the sentences flow more smoothly around the strangely shaped images. I also lightened the images by about 50% so they would be lighter for printing.
Hopefully these changes make my magazine easier to read and visually appealing. The redo helped me learn more technical knowledge of how to design layouts.
In redoing my magazine design a few things were imperative; following the grid, picking the right typography, and aligning things in a logical way. I believe I did that successfully. I chose Helvetica fonts and variations of it. Because it is such a symmetrical and useable font, I thought it would balance well with the artwork included in the piece. The biggest challenge was allowing the artwork to be the main focus while not letting the typography over power the work. That’s why I used Helvetica in black and a darker red.
Also, I redesigned the cover of the magazine as well. I created a bigger and readable magazine name as well as aligning the the visual ad font properly. I feel as if this redo is much better than my original piece. Overall it makes much more sense graphically and I believe that is why it is successful.
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.
Samantha Danziger
GRA 217.5
Magazine Rationale Redo
For my Magazine Redo I got rid of widows on my captions and my introduction on the first spread was shortened and evened out. Also the by line was lightened and better aligned
The most work came on the side bar, where I had to get rid of the abundance of hyphenated words. I tried playing with word order and a few other methods but ultimately ended up making the font smaller and more open. I also stylized the heads and changed the text colors to coordinate with the members of the band and the color bars underneath.
***PLEASE NOTE THAT THE 5TH PAGE IS MISSING A CLOUD OVER “Take Action” BUT IT IS THERE ON THE PDF (I don’t know why JPEG won’t show the cloud for this page….***
Karen Hor
GRA217.2 / Professor Harper
Web Design Rationale
Projects just get more challenging through out the semester doesn’t it! This web design project was extremely time-consuming and difficult to conceptualize and create. I have never pulled an all-nighter inside a school building before—last night I didn’t sleep and stayed at Newhouse Mac lab to get this web design together. To my surprise, I also saw three other classmates from our class as well. Congratulations, Professor Harper, your course made four of your students lose a night of sleep! Also, I was upset the water main broke in Newhouse—I couldn’t brush my teeth in the morning.
As for my web design, I based off my website from the poster project: ASPCA. I thoroughly enjoyed this project despite the hardship because I am a huge animal lover and Animal Planet. The first time I ever heard about ASPCA was on a series called, “Animal Cops.” I decided to incorporate the orange from its logo (it’s their signature color) and also a shade of light sky blue. Both are complementary colors, not to mention Syracuse University’s colors, so I thought it would be effective in that way.
I spent hours looking for the right images on Google. I meticulously chose specific pictures to match each “tab” in the website. For example, the home page shows a cute Chihuahua in an elf costume because we are nearing the holidays. The “Take Action” tab has an image of two dogs running—hence, action. I also made sure to write cute, catchy quotes (that they would probably say if animals could talk!) with each corresponding image.
I used Helvetica throughout the whole site because it was simple and clear to read. I realize I used a lot of text in this project and that you said we should keep in mind to keep things on a minimum and simple, but due to the nature of this organization, I believed it was important to write as much as possible. A website full of images of animals just isn’t enough information. It works for Charity Water, but ASPCA needs a more informative approach rather than a visual one.
I know that it is not perfect, but I think it’s safe to say I’m probably most proud of the work and time I put into this project compared to our other ones. I still like my resume project the most, though. Happy Holidays!!
As an advertising major, it interests me to see some good ads. These ones are pretty hilarious, and if you’re looking for a stress reliever, you should check these out for fun. What I noticed about all these ads, is they are all of high quality. None of them are sloppy, they really seem clean and pop right out at you. That is what a good image does, it pops out because it is clean and has great quality. None of these images look pixelated or blurry and they all have a very real feel to them. Check out these hilarious ads when you get the chance.
Newsweek has had some of the most influential people on its cover over the last few decades, yet in this choice they really missed the mark. Since I am working out my magazine redo I decided to do some more research and came across this unflattering cover of Sarah Palin. It decapitates half her face, shows all of her wrinkles and caked on makeup, and if I were she I would be very upset. Who approved this before it went to print? Were they trying to be innovative in the setup? This seems to contradict the things our Graphics 217 class and lab have taught us about what makes a good, clean and simple magazine cover.
