Post 5

When first introduced to exercise one, I was both a little excited and a little nervous. Firstly, I was nervous because I have never used the Adobe Illustrator program before. I had just gotten sort of used to how InDesign worked, so starting a new design program got my nerves going. However, it seems as though illustrator and indesign have many of the same features and shortcuts.

The assignment seemed strange to me at first. Recreate an image using only rectangles? Hmm... How do I go about this? I began playing around with different sized rectangles and placing them in different angles and such. I found that there is not much variety I could show except for color, size, and placement. Using these three elements, how can I recreate this painting without distorting too far away from the original photo?

Something I found difficult while recreating the photograph was understanding the actual picture. How can you begin to redesign something without knowing what the artist was trying to say? When I look at the original photo, I see a body that was twisted and distorted looking. To recreate this, I'll start with the head and work my way down. Another challenge to this exercise, is the limited number of rectangles we're allowed. The first time I did the exercise, I had way over 20 rectangles. Now the really hard part will be eliminating rectangles but keeping the image that I have created.

I will post an updated blog with a picture when I am finished with this exercise!

Post 4

I've always enjoyed reading magazines, so when we received the assignment sheet for project number two, I was excited to see what ideas I could come up with. I started by picking up my favorite copy of People Fashion. When I'm flipping through the pages, I know almost immediately if there is something that I want to look further at or not. There are certain things that catch my eye as I flip through a magazine such as colors, pictures, word count/ size, and even the layout of the page. Like most others, if I see something that is visually appealing, I am more likely to stop and look at it. The first thing that caught my attention in the copy of People Fashion was a page titled "7 Spring Break Must Haves". Simple, and to the point. It was in bright big letters with pictures of beautiful models showing off whatever was being advertised.

In another one of my communication classes, I learned about effective advertisement, and ineffective advertisement. When it comes to magazines it's quite simple. Each magazine has a specific audience that they are targeting. Successful designers will place the correct ad in the correct magazine. For example, in a men's magazine, ads may have sexual images of women. And for that magazine, that would be an effective advertisement.

I haven't begun to design my magazine layout yet, but I have been brainstorming ideas. I want to do something that would attract a young woman around my age, because those are the types of magazines I have been reading and know the most about. I believe that in order to make my design successful, I just need to follow the criteria that I believe creates an eye catching advertisement. Big, bold, and beautiful!

Post 3

When project number one was introduced, I was excited to start working on the InDesign program. I had very little experience working with this type of program. In my public relations writing course last semester, one of the last assignments we did was making a brochure on InDesign. At first, I found it very confusing and frustrating to use. Luckily, my professor wasn't expecting professional designs from us. I got a feel for the program and was interested in learning more.

My first thought about the initials project was, "How will I incorporate words along with my initials?" I had brainstormed a few ideas, but had nothing set in my mind. When we got the collage assignment on the class blog to do over the weekend, I created a design based on love. I love love, so I figured why not find a bunch of words that I love, and form a heart around my initials.

It was then in class when I presented that collage to Professor Greenan, that she suggested basing my initials project on the collage I did. At first I was a little iffy about the idea, but as I began playing around with things that I love and my initials, I found that this was the best way to describe myself. It took a few tries of choosing the right font and colors, but when I came across my final project I said, "That's it! That's me!"