Post 9

After taking this class, I've come to look at all aspects of graphic design in a new light. I find myself critiquing different ads and posters I see around me. For example, some of the posters I see hanging around campus really bother me. They don't look like they were created by anyone who has taken this class. What I mean by that, is that often the color schemes are all over the place, fonts don't speak what the poster is trying to say, or even as obvious as a horrible kerning job.

In the beginning weeks of the semester, we watched the film "Helvetica". At this point in the course, I thought this was a huge exaggeration. Turns out, its not! Helvetica is used more often than any other font out there. Many companies use this font in their logo, or even as the awning of their store front. Once you are aware of something like this, you begin to see it over and over again. This gets a bit repetitive. I get that there are many properties of Helvetica that make it a good font to use in many situations, but sometimes I'd like to see something else.

Personally, I've used Helvetica in only one project this year. By using InDesign, I was able to test out many different fonts, and find the one that best fits my objective. The project in which I have chosen to use Helvetica for was the poster. The reason I thought Helvetica was a good choice here was because of the bold statement I was making. "DRINKING AND DRIVING ONLY LEADS TO A DEAD END". What better way is there to make this statement, other than the infamous...

Helvetica!

Post 8

I'd like to take this time to blog about some of my frustrations in this class. As much as I enjoy working in this class and coming up with my own designs, I sometimes get rather frustrated while working in the programs I've never used before. The biggest issue I have is some of the exercises, more especially, the Photoshop ones. I have never used the Photoshop program before I started taking this class, so this is all still very new to me. When we are shown the exercise for the first time, I usually start out trying to follow along with the professor. As the exercise goes past the first few steps, I find myself stuck ten steps back past where the rest of the class is. This sometimes gets discouraging for me because I feel like the rest of the class can do something that I cannot.

I understand that there is a professor that helps us for a reason, but when you're one of the only ones in class who constantly needs help with completing the exercises, you shy away from asking all the time. I also feel like how can I be the only one who is lost? I wonder if I am the only one who feels this way. I don't understand how everyone else can be photoshop and indesign professionals. Maybe it would be helpful for the whole class if the exercises were explained slowly, in a manner that would be easier for the class to follow along.

Its also difficult to master the use of these programs because the only time I have access to them is during the two hour time frame we have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is really hard to get used to new programs in such a short amount of time. Although I have been having some issues with the exercises, I really enjoy the projects where we get to use our own creative ability to come up with designs. Even if its only using a few tricks we've learned, I can still make a pretty cool looking design!

Post 7

I remember when I first saw this poster on a bus stop in Brooklyn, NY. I live in Queens, and over winter break I was driving to my friend's house in Brooklyn. My first reaction was to take a picture of it. Just driving by, I didn't get a chance to read everything that was on it. All I saw were the big bold words, "Stop being black". This caught my attention because without knowing what else the poster says, you would assume this poster is racist.

After reading the poster close up, you then realize it is stating the facts about the percentage of times black people have been stopped by the police and the amount of times the police were in the wrong. These posters are on bus stops and billboards all over Brooklyn. It is part of a larger group called RISE or Racism Still Exists, which is an anonymous group whose mission "is to illuminate some of the ways in which racism operates in this country".

I definitely think that this is an effective poster because it catches your attention, and makes you read the rest. The group that created this design makes these posters every month, and displays them on the streets of Brooklyn. This is a convenient way for them to get their message out to the community, and people can take the information and do with it what they want. The people of Brooklyn have definitely been talking about these posters.

Post 6

When we were first shown all the different pieces of information needed to begin working on project number two, I felt a bit over whelmed. There was so much to read on magazine layouts, grids, and much more, that I wasn't exactly sure where to begin. I am not going to lie, at the start of this project, I didn't read the article text. This made for an extremely uncomfortable feeling when I began to design the layout. After realizing that it was a bit challenging to create a design for something that I don't even know what its about, I went back and read the article. I actually found the article, The Psychology Of Color In Design, very interesting. Not only did I learn about what different colors stand for or what they mean in this world, I found it useful for this class, and my future career in the communication field.

After I had an understanding of the article, I found it much easier to create a design that would be useful for this magazine spread. I found an image of different colors changing from one to another. There was no object or image in the picture itself, it was just color. I then realized it would be cool to have this image as the background of the entire article, opposed to just a rectangular picture box in a random spot in my spread. I played around with the transparency of the background, to find the brightest possible way I could leave it, without making the words difficult to read when printed.

There was one other picture that I found while searching the web for colorful photos. Here it is

I wanted to use this picture in my magazine spread somewhere because I felt as if it shows all the different colors the article was talking about, and it spreads them out in a way that is visually appealing to the eye. Because the image is sort of "cut off" on the bottom, I tried putting it in the bottom right corner of the page. I found that it just didn't fit in with the rest of my layout, so I ended up taking it out and leaving the rest as is.

I am confident in my design, but I am interested in seeing what the rest of the class has to say!

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!"