Critique...Feature Final Draft

All I have to say in the way of designing a Vox feature: TALK TO YOUR EDITORS! Trust me, it makes designing the pages so much easier. After reading through a number of the vignettes I was having such a difficult time coming up with a cohesive design for Dirty Jobs -- which ended up as Gross Incomes. However, after speaking with Rob and Ali via email and grounding my thoughts I was able put together a draft that the editors recognized as a difficult task that I had a good start on.


It was a great experience to work on this particular feature, because it wasn't straight forward -- a single story with a set of photos to match. It was a challenge to see the connections, display prominence and work with a total number of stories changing multiple times over the course of the design process. 


In the end, I think my second feature turned out well! It's a great piece for my portfolio.

You Can't Miss...Habits of Effective Designers

This week on Smashing Magazine I really enjoyed their post on the habits of effective designers. And honestly it was nice to see the connections I made with their selected characteristics. 


1. They know when to quit.
2. They redesign processes.
3. They combat distortions of reality.
4. They find the right environment.
5. They habitually rewrite the habits.


Here's my take on these five:

1. It's taken be a long time to learn when to quit, but being in the journalism school has taught me how to go with the flow. 
2. As designers it is our job to execute a vision, meld it with editors and the art director's thoughts and continually redesign everything we do. In doing so we learn our design personality and because every designer is different, we tend to change what used to be.
3. A headline is meant to grab a reader's attention, but it may not include the whole story. And a photo is only a single image, so it's not the same as being there. But as designers it is our job to bring the headline, the text, the captions/pull quotes and photos together in a way that the readers can engage in the story without being lost for understanding.
4. Just as each of us carries around an array of emotions, so do the stories we design. The design sets the initial mood for the story before even a single word is read, so without the perfect environment the story is lost.
5. Designers are weird; we all have our quirks. We get into a niche with something we like and we go with it -- probably more than once, because we know it works. But we also get bored easily and we need something new and different; something people have never seen before. So the niches (or habits) of ours change repeatedly. 

Response...The September Issue

I had a great time in class Tuesday watching The September Issue. I had never seen the movie but always wanted to, so it was a nice surprise for our class. 

It was impressive and informative to see what role the creative director played in even the smallest aspects of coordinating the vision of the magazine. I assumed that as a director, she would be overseeing from the top, but she actually played a role in the process from step one. She went on the photo shoots and oversaw the designs being put together. She really acted as more of a guide then just the person that approved the completed pieces.


I thought it was interesting that she reshot the Color Block feature and took the role of the documentary film maker and put him in the magazine; but in the type of role that a person in this industry wouldn't expect. When we watch documentaries in school the camera man is not normally a part of the film; in fact, we're supposed to feel as though we are in the role of the cameraman -- experiencing the film as though it were first-hand. But what I liked about the final product of the Color Block feature is that it was real. She demanded that he not be PhotoShopped and she went with the reality of what was around her as she was creating the vision for this September Issue.


As much as the rivalry between creative director and editor in chief was played up throughout the film, I think it's completely necessary for them not to agree. They both bring different perspectives to the mission of the magazine. And had they agreed on more or most of the things they discussed they wouldn't have created something that was the best. I believe that type of relationship is probably common among many magazines/publications, because the more people butt heads over any given topic within the magazine, the more better ideas come about so that more readers can relate to the stories/photos/products/etc that they provide.


Most importantly, I learned how much work and energy goes into being a creative director. You have to be an idea generator -- especially on a whim when decisions need to be made quickly. I still believe I have the potential to one day whole a title of Creative Director, but how long it'll be until I get there may be a little longer than originally anticipated. Until then, I'm more than happy to take direction from someone who's already reached that point.


Special thanks to Jan for the shout out on all our hard work. We all do really work really hard to create the best designs we can!

You Can't Miss...Design Events in 2011

On Smashing Magazine this week my favorite post was previewing all the design conferences that are coming up in the next six months -- and they're all over the world. What pulled me into this blog was the vast number of international locations for these conferences. I have always been one that has wanted to see the world throughout my career and after reading these previews I can see how my interest in design and my love for travel could be integrated in the very near future.


Which would I choose?

Because nearly all of the conferences center on technology and web design, I would base my decision on location -- and it would definitely be WebDU in Sydney or UX London in the UK. 


Another thing you all should check out is their post on typography tips for illustrator!!

Critique...Prototype, the First Draft

This first draft is not as elaborate as I would have liked it to be -- to be honest, I had so many ideas that I didn't know what to do with my ideas. I flipped through a number of different magazines and researched online but it was had to select a design feature that fit my vision. Luckly -- this is just a first draft and I will be dedicating my entire weekend to elaborating on my vision for the formal presentation next week.


Color Palette: When both of our groups came together to discuss what we wanted for the magazine we knew we wanted to focus away from how clean cut Real Simple is in there design, but not to take it to the extreme of a craft/scrapbook design. Thus I selected some bold colors that offered a bit of a mellow side as well. I am a girl that loves color, so I avoided shades of the same color.

Cover 1: Of the two features that our publishing group came up with, my favorite was the idea of a portable party -- or a destination party. Thus, my cover design/photo is inspired by their suggestion of a rooftop party. If given the option of working with a photographer and actually shooting a rooftop party I would have liked to have people actually in the photo, but in my search for the perfect cover photo all those with people in them were not classy enough for a cover. 

Cover 2: Their second suggestion was for digital invitations -- a wonderful story idea, but more difficult to translate into a cover then I thought. I know I have a way to go on translating this correctly, but here is my though process on this cover: using a paper invitation on the cover and on the spread, recreating the paper invitation for digital distribution.

Feature Spread: This feature spread is meant to go with the first cover I designed. Each of a number of spreads would show the read how to put together a different "portable" party -- i.e. the beach, a rooftop, tailgate party, etc. My sidebar needs a lot of work -- but what I got to before the midnight deadline was to include a center piece, a party favor and (although I don't have it on my spread here) a food item. In addition, for other spreads of the feature I thought it would be good to have a sidebar on a possible party game/activity.

Department Page: Cheers! This was my favorite page to design, because -- regardless of whether we want to admit it -- what we are drinking at a party can be more important than anything else about the party. 

Between my feature and department pages I kept the design element of the six overlapping circles in an effort to suggest that everything has an overlapping connection within a plan/presentation of a party -- an in itself, everything comes full circle from the start to the finish of a party.

Response...Talking to the Accrediting Team

Last week, Tuesday, a group of about 20 undergraduates and graduate students from the magazine sequence sat down with Doug Boyd,  a Professor and Chief of Staff at the University of Kentucky to discuss what our experiences at the JSchool have been like -- what we enjoyed and what we wish we could change. This team of professions visits campus every six years to t assess the journalism program and re-accredit the school. We discussed the diversity of the faculty and staff that we've worked with throughout our time here. It came as no surprise to me that we all came to the consensus that Missouri's journalism program is one that none will soon surpass -- which is why nearly all of us chose Missouri in the first place. 


Although the name recognition that Missouri offers to prospective employers is not the only thing that will get us the job, the fact that our vast array of opportunities is part of that name will get us the experience that will develop into where our careers take us. For example, this summer I was at Hollywood Life in New York City and despite the fact that I don't claim to be a wonder with reporting, the skills I gained in that area during the school year was a major benefit in taking my role as an intern from minimal to fully engaging myself in the experience of being on a real journalism staff.


We also discussed technology and whether or not we had access to the newest versions and devices that were available. It seems to me that even at other journalism schools they are not getting the same opportunities we are to work with iPad development, camera technology and integrating multimedia into every platform of journalism. This, however, can be a disadvantage to some -- one of the graduate students shared her thoughts on how even though it is wonderful that we have these opportunities, graduate students come into the program and don't know where to begin or how to decide on which courses will be the most beneficial. For undergraduate students, we have four years to decided on a number of different courses and are given more chances to take the classes we want -- graduate students usually have only a fraction of that time. 


All in all, the experience of participating in this panel was great. As I looked around the room that day I saw individuals that I have worked with a number of times and am still working with this semester. It's a bit surreal to think that I was able to be selected based on my current graduation status -- less than three months to the day I will have completed my schooling.

Response...You will never be trained all at once again

Three months...six days...then college graduation. I knew this semester would fly by, but I guess I didn't realize how fast -- because now it's time for a real world job.


During the staff meeting Monday, Jen reminded all of us that were are more responsible for ourselves in school then we think. This semester may be a class for which I will receive a grade -- but the fact is, we are publishing a magazine that is a lot more than a class assignment to those reading Vox each week. 


I wasn't scared about joining the real world when I went to New York City this summer -- but I didn't make the parallel connection to the fact that all of us interning at Hollywood Life this summer started at nearly the same time. So while this internship was real world experience -- we were very much sheltered and walked through the motions for the first few weeks.


Now -- what fear I may have to come to terms with rather soon is that my first job will not offer a hand to hold through those first few obstacles and I may fall down a few times. I guess, come May 15, I will learn to stand on my own two feet.


In the mean time...I will be re-reading my Vox Style Guide and Advanced Magazine Design syllabus!


All that aside, though, the best Jen quote from staff meeting Monday: "Don't think you can get away with things. I have the brain the size of an elephant." So if you're a magazine student at Mizzou -- just know that with Jen Rowe you will never get away with plagiarism. 

You Can't Miss...Photoshop Tricks and Taylor Swift

My favorite post from Smashing Magazine this week dealt with some tricks for Photoshop -- and I am in love with the possibilities that the Creative Suite offers. Every time I open up one of the programs I find a new tool or trick that I didn't know was there.


They focused on three different topics in the post: noise, rounded edges on rectangles and gradients. To be honest -- I read the noise section twice and I'm not sure I really understand what they were trying to tell me -- but, please, feel free to check that section out and learn for yourself. My interest was more-so in relation to the rounded rectangles. While I already know how to give my object the rounded edge, I related to the post's discussion of the annoying pixelation on the corners of the object when you use the tool. They say "to enable pixel-locked drawing for the Rounded Rectangle vector tool, check the “Snap to Pixels” option in the Options bar. If you have “Snap to Pixels” turned off, drawing at 100% zoom achieves the same result." Wonderful!


On another note having nothing to do with design other than that I listen to music while I'm designing...something every Taylor Swift fan should know is that tickets for her concert tour have already been on sale in a number of cities (including St. Louis, which is already sold out). However for those of you in Kansas City and those who, like me, will be moving in the direction of the Magazine Metropolis of the World -- NYC -- tickets for her concerts go on sale TOMORROW at midnight! 

Spreads Inspired By History

The readings for this week tell us that magazines have only been around since the end of the 19th century -- but the way I see, that's over 100 years of changing scenes, fashion trends and endless increases in the technology. That thought in my head is what stuck as I read through the pages and is why the following spread from Harper's Bazaar caught my eye. The caption said the design created a cinematic pacing of fleeing legs with the headline "New Design in Movement."

Between Glamour, Marie Claire, and Cosmo I found a number of spreads that could have worked for this assignment, but I honestly didn't want to scan them in -- thus the internet was a nice alternative. The model on the right-hand side of this spread from The Ecologist, a British environmental magazine, has the same 90 degree angle look that the reading spoke of.

Another Harper's Bazaar spread -- in March 1954 -- offers a lot of influence for fashion magazines today. The reading said in this spread "the reflected curvature of the body in the two photographs is used to create a pair of arcs of visual force which meet at an imaginary point below the page. Depth is created by the contrasted scaling of Lillian Bassman's photographs, and not how the eye, invisible in the right hand picture, is also cropped out of the left to ensure that the reader focuses on the body, not the face."

In today's world of America's Next Top Model and the high fashion of New York Fashion Week, a model's face is nearly as important as their body -- however, it is ultimately the way they wear the products they are fashioning that will make or break their careers.

In this spread from Grazia, I saw many similarities to the spread from Harper's Bazaar. Despite the fact that women are used in this Michael Jackson tribute, their faces being masked by hats and hair allows the fashion resemblance to Jackson's signature looks undeniably familiar.

Critique...Designing a Cover

When going into designing a cover I always think it's going to be easy. Only one page, no problem. WRONG.


While it's true that your ideas are narrowed by the subject of the cover story -- there is no copy arrange, pictures to place or folios to take into account. It can pretty much be anything. And being the type of designer I am -- that structure is what keeps me focused while designing rather than wanting to pull my hair out because there are too many possibilities. That said, hopefully you all will see why a blank canvas can be a bit overwhelming for me in terms of cover design.


As for this first cover competition -- the topic of foreclosure was less than inspirational for me. Despite knowing about the troubles in the housing market, never having owned a home puts a damper on what I feel capable of creating. Never the less, here's what I came up with:

In the first design I went with the concept of a house's blue print and that money ($$) is the foundation of owning a home. To be honest...I don't like that design at all and would start from scratch if asked to do it again or work on it. The second design was a photo I found on one of the accounts Vox provided us with access to. Again, my design (photo) choice came from the idea that money is the foundation to any house -- without money, foreclosure is the only alternative.


After the editor critique I was asked to focus on my second design with the following suggestions: 1. have a fallen house and 2. find the human connection. I took those suggestions and an idea from a one of my peers to create my second draft -- I shot the photo myself using pieces from the Monopoly board game. I wanted to find a friend who had access to Polly Pockets, but due to the snowpocalypse my contacts were limited -- and they are apparently no longer sold in the stores I looked at. I thought, however, the dog piece from Monopoly would offer the human connection the editors were looking for.

In the end, Joe Bradley's cover design was chosen for this issue of Vox. Congrats to him!

Spring Preview...Final Draft!

Hey all...these are the final PDFs from the feature!

Critique...Spring Preview (Competition #2)

I have to say, I could not have been more excited after I got the call from Erica about winning the feature spread design! I had so much fun creating the spreads and the fact that I enjoyed it so much goes to show that great work comes from truly enjoying what you're doing!


While looking to draw inspiration from the editors' discussion of gears and planets I came across a clipart that sparked my imagination and helped me to come up with my overall concept for the splash page and feature spread. The three gears in the clipart were given directions by arrows and all the elements had vibrant bright colors -- and favorite in my design world. From that I came up with my "Switching Gears" idea.

Now...because my all of my creative energy went into my splash page and feature spread, it is quite obvious that my cover is far from inspirational. But I did link it to my "Switching Gears" concept!

I have been unable to get the PDFs of my final designs, but you will all see them TOMORROW in Vox! I'll post those when I get them, though!

Response...Choosing Typeface Takes Forever

In being chosen to design the feature spreads for Spring Preview this week I got the opportunity to work with Aaron Channon -- and we proceeded to spend 45 minutes choosing typefaces. It's definitely not as easy as it sounds. I am all about the fun typefaces, but unfortunately those typefaces become difficult to read depending on the instance they're being used. For example -- the type I chose for my Spring Preview design worked for bigger headlines, but when I used it for the event headers the style became too difficult to read.


Word to the wise...print out a draft of your designs first if you are using a unique font!!

You Can't Miss...40 Free Computer Desktop Calendars!

If you're anything like me, then you'll love all the wallpaper calendars that Smashing Magazine just came out with two days ago! Each of the 40 FREE desktop wallpapers were created by different artists -- and they give you the option of downloading the wallpapers with or without the calendar. I love how each of them has their own unique style and creativity -- it reminds me of the dynamic we have in our designs. 

They are producing these wallpapers every month, so I'll be sure to post the link every month for those of you that are interested in nabbing some awesome designs for your desktop!