You Can't Miss...Graphic Design Stumbles

Here's what happens when I try to blog and stumble at the same time: three awesome things for you all to checkout!

1: Google Logos

Ever visit Google and really like the design? Google has archived all their logos here! 

The idea for doodles (as the logos are called) was created in 1998 when founders Larry and Sergy toyed with the logo while attending the Burning Man Festival in Nevada. From there an intern, Dennis Hwang, was asked to create a doode for Bastille Day. Since then, "doodles on the Google homepage have made searching on Google more fun and enjoyable for its users worldwide." They are now used when news seasons start, important birthdays happen and on anniversaries!

2: Awesome Tutorials

I've always been the type of designer that does better at learning when I just test out the tools to see what it does. But incase you're looking for some specific directions, check out these tutorials by Tutorial Outpost! 

3: Creative Packaging

My favorite part about being a designer is the idea that we get the opportunity to work in every aspect of journalism -- news design, magazine design, promotional and even advertisements like these.  

Response...Commission Nearly Complete

There were definitely times throughout the semester that I was frustrated with my commission project -- either photos weren't working out or designs were not coming out how I pictured them in my head. But not once did I regret taking this capstone. A lot of people told me it was competitive (which it is) and I was told I had to apply for other capstones, just in case (which I didn't); because since the moment I stepped onto campus and decided on a magazine emphasis I knew I was going to find a way to get into this capstone course -- I was going to be a designer and I was going to be good at it.


What I didn't expect from this capstone was to really see the impacts of working on this commission project. I thought we would be given a lot more direction; and now that we're nearly finished with them I'm actually rather happy that we weren't given a step-by-step guide to completing the prototype. Regardless of the role we played (Designer, Webbie, Publisher), we all learned first-hand what it was like to work for a magazine. While many of us have completed internships, I don't think any of us got quite as close to the whole package as we saw this semester.


I'm grateful for having been given this opportunity, because if nothing else, I learned that I am completely satisfied with where I'm headed in my career. Some people find something they like and end up not loving it -- but I found something I really enjoy that I think, in the long run, I am going to be continually happy with.


I can't wait to see everyone's final products!! Great work this semester everyone!

Critique...More Vox

Last month I critiqued my two Vox department spreads...this month I've got two single pages to share with you (photos to come).


The first one here is probably the quickest I've ever completed a department page. I suppose it's just one of those weeks when it all plays out well with the text, art, headline and ads. I was definitely grateful for that!


The second was a bit of a predicament because the story turned out to be such an awkward length given the quarter-page ad that was on it (yes, I know they're necessary -- but still don't have to like them) and that both the recurring sections were too long to fit in the excessive amount of white space I had. But I think it all worked out pretty great! 


Only one more department to design for Vox -- it's been a great semester!

You Can't Miss...Inspiring Photos

I have recently become rather obsessed with Stumble Upon, so if you haven't been to this website -- do it now!

That said, one photography blog I came across had some great inspirational illustrations. I think in all that we've learned there is a lot to say in combining our abilities. Many of us have experience using a professional camera; and that, matched with our extensive use of typography for the last two semesters, would definitely reflect in our ability to create something like the samples I've provided below!

Plus, sometimes we just need a little pick-me-up!

Response...blog designs, my redesign

As I write this entry I wish I'd have taken a screen shot of my blog before I changed it -- but hind sight is 20/20 and it's probably better to just forget about what my blog looked like before this redesign.

After class I thought about what I wanted to do in redesigning my blog -- because I've been meaning to do so and have just not had any motivation to do so. That said, I took into account the comments I was given about my background and blog title color choices and opted for a more subtle, but still bright, turquoise. 

In addition, when we discussed my name plate for the blog it was mentioned that I needed a blog description or a dek below my title. And as I explained in class -- I am not a huge fan of deks, because I feel the space can be better used. So to compromise my misuse of space and my dislike of deks, I created a new name plate in Photoshop that I believe reflects well on my title and takes care of my spacing issues!

Let me know what you think of the changes!!

Critique...being commissioned for work!

The illustration assignment has finally come around for the beginning design students this spring. For all of us that want to be designers it's a chance to do something completely crazy and unique -- but for the writers and editors in the class it's the kiss of death. Silver lining? They get the chance to in creative director's position and commission a designer to create their illustration.

The following is the illustration I created for a friend of mine. She did a great job as creative director and sat with me the whole time as I created the illustration. Her abilities to voice her opinions and give creative suggestions were impressive considering she didn't feel she had any creative talent.

The story is about college graduates that don't complete their full professional "evolution" -- rather than getting a job after graduation, getting married and having kids -- more and more college graduates are seeking other paths.

You Can't Miss...Heel Art

This week I took a break from my normal following of Smashing Magazine, because I can't help but share Kobi Levi's blog featuring her unique high heel designs. It amazes me when I realize that so much of everyone's life is determined by a designer -- the clothes/shoes we wear, the buildings we learn and work in, the cars we drive to get places...and, of course, the magazines we read obsessively!

Response...Mini Portfolios

I think it's wonderful that we're getting the opportunity to create these mini portfolios. To be honest, I had never heard of a mini portfolio before -- which is probably another reason it's great I'm in this capstone course. We all have worked really hard on all of our work, and being able to compile it all together in another place -- other than a pile in our rooms or files on our computers.

It was really great to see other mini portfolios from semesters past, because it's true that all of our greatest was inspired by something that we saw someone else do. That's not to say I plan to copy someone else's mini portfolio, but I definitely got some great ideas that I plan to adapt into my own portfolio's design!

As for my mini portfolio, I am planning to pull the black and hot pink colors from my resume. I don't plan to have a black cover or black pages, but those two colors will be prominently used in my designs. I understand that some individuals don't think hot pink is a serious enough color for my resume or my mini portfolio, but I am a girl with a lot of personality who happens to also love bright colors. I think it is important to wear our personality proudly in our resume/portfolio as well as in our designs.

Critique...Shindig is coming close to the end!

With next week being the final week that we will be working on our commissioned pieces, I thought it would be nice to critique what we've ended up with! We've all being working extremely hard on our designs and I think we're all looking forward to seeing the final pieces after they've been printed.

Departments
Cheers, Baking with Booze: After a bit of concern about how many recipes we were planning on including and then determining the art (it's always the art that seems to be the issue) we landed on three awesome recipes and some great photos, including one I shot myself (a unique, textured border for the top of the right page).

Feast, Basket Case: This spread was definitely not a picnic, but it is one of our most well written pieces from the entire magazine. One difficultly we've had in discussion with our publishers is how reasonable it would be to find artwork for our spreads when we are given very little resources outside of the photo database we are granted permission to and actually shooting the photographs ourself.

Mingle, Hostess Guide: Vintage was our goal and, with the help of Etsy.com, we were able to find great art for our hostess gifts and as I see it, the spread turned out a lot like a product spread I would see in a department of a real magazine.

Flair, Make It or Break It: This is BY FAR my favorite of all the spreads I designed for Shindig. The photo, taken by me, turned out exactly how I had pictured it in my head. I'm not sure about everyone else, but rarely does it actually turn out how I see it in my head. 

Features
Luxe for Less: Lucky us! We found a wine bottle that fit our design needs perfectly. Because, while Photoshop is a wonder and I'm sure I have much to learn about it's capabilities -- I am not a wiz at turning a standard wine bottle into a silver and black one. I say lucky us, because we happened to find one while at one of our photo shoots for the project! That addition to the spread, and a change of color palette completely transformed this piece into another one of my favorites.

Game On: Unfortunately, we got the text for this piece a little late, so we're running behind on the designs, but they're going well and will definitely be ready come the end of next week!

Photos to come after we've submitted our final pieces!!

You Can't Miss...Designing Futures

The more I've been exposed to new ways of designing I have begun to wonder what's coming next. Growing up laptops were new and iPods were nonexistent. This week on Smashing Magazine I read a post on the future of web design. They discuss how Google would equivalently taken 30 days to send a response if it had existed 100 years ago.


"Services such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are becoming the hub for our online life, and we are blending them to create our own unique Web of content: Facebook for our social life, LinkedIn for our professional life, Spotify for music, Netflix for television and film."

"The key rules to bear in mind when working through a design for the portable Web:

1. The website should be available to as wide an audience as possible;
2. The website should contain the same content wherever it is viewed, where feasible;
3. The website’s structure should be the same wherever it is viewed;
4. The content should be displayed in a manner that is appropriate to its environment.

A website that meets all of these criteria would fit snugly in the future portable Web."

Response...Spring Break Photos

I think we all know the styles that inspire us, but rather than take a photo of an interesting item that I saw while on break, I took photos that inspire me to design. They are things that make me happy, silly things that only a designer would notice and simple experiences that reflect the way I am as a designer.

Critique...Spring Break Typography

As I've mentioned before and I'll mention again, I want to live in New York City more than any other place on earth...so it's no surprise that I chose to spell out "New York City" for our spring break typography assignment.

The way I see it...the photos may have been taken in Chicago and spell New York, but it reflects me because I will find a way to make a life for myself in New York despite being a Chicago girl at heart.


Here are the originals from the typography assignment: