Post 2

Before taking this class, I didn't realize how important font types were. I always figured that Times New Roman was the typical font used, because that was what appeared in most newspapers and periodicals. Personally, I was never too fond of this font. I find it to be rather boring and unexciting. I used to select a font based on what I thought looked nice. For example, I was always fond of Arial, because I thought it looked simple yet elegant.

However, now I realize that so much more goes into creating and selecting fonts. After watching the film, Helvetica, I see the positives and the negatives that go along with a popular font type like that. It definitely has its uses. There is a time and a place for everything, even fonts like Comic Sans. The font you choose can make or break whatever you are trying to create. Sometimes, it is best to play around with the font and the words you are using.

Another thing about font type that I found to be particularly interesting were all the rules and proper uses we were shown in class on Thursday. There were some rules that I appreciated, and others that I found pointless. I was surprised to see all the different elements that go into creating a proper design.

Something that I never knew and find very cool is that you can change the kerning between letters. I've had the issue before when I write in all caps and the spacing between letters looks funny. How cool is it that now I know how to fix this! I look forward to learning much more interesting things I can do with my designs.

Post 1

After we met for the first time, I realized that this class is a combination of many different communication classes I've taken before. It takes the qualities of visual communication and advertisement, and combines it into something I look forward to creating on my own! It is very important for communication majors to study design because no matter what you do in the field, you need to be able to present something in a way that is appealing to others. Whether you're trying to sell a product, promote a company, or create some sort of message, you need to be able to attract the attention of whom ever your audience is. This is done by good design. A good design will automatically catch your eye, and make you want to know more. You can either make a positive image of a company, or a negative one, all dependent on the image you use to identify them.

I'm not going to call this my favorite design in any way, shape, or form, but a design that I can guarantee catches everyone's eyes, whether they notice or not, is the famous McDonald's arch. You can spot a McDonalds from miles down the road. A bright yellow M that is high in the sky is hard to miss. I consider this a good design. It stands out, and you will notice it right away. That must have been what whoever created it was aiming for. So when you're driving down the road and you see that huge arch, you'll stop in for a big mac. To me, that was a well thought out design, that works!