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!"

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!