things are getting crazy.

Thank GOODNESS spring break is on the horizon (Friday to be exact), because I am feeling the pressssure of being in my last semester. I am SO jealous that I won't be heading to Jamaica or Mexico or Vegas with my friends/roommates/etc. However, because of recent lack of sleep, I am indeed excited to head back to Kirkwood to get some much needed R&R. I'm hoping that it will involve some job hunting and catching up on other classes, but from past experience, I won't count on being super productive while I'm home. 


Critique: Lethal Injections Feature
This week I finished my feature. It made many transformations throughout the designing process. It went from black and white to color photos. I had to make some changes in terms of whitespace in order to fit content, but I really am happy with the final product. 

I wanted to leave as much whitespace as possible and run the photos huge. The photos are all very similar since they were taken in the same visiting room, so I used typography and whitespace to make the very text-heavy spread more interesting. There was some debate on whether to keep the photos in color or change them to black and white. I initially felt very strongly that they should be black and white. It gave the spreads a certain mood. However, now that they are finished, I understand Hayley's thinking that the color shows how stark the prison surroundings are. 

There are still a few changes being made (i.e. the headline may be changing, the online blurb needs to be completed), but overall, this is how it turned out....and I'm happy. 

Response: Prototype draft presentations

Today all of our mag groups made introductory presentations of our prototype progress before Thursday's critique. While most of us seem to be at different points in our progress, I think that everyones' prototypes have a lot of potential. 

Nosh: I was very impressed with Theresa and the rest of the group's progress. They have a very cohesive style and a lot of attention to detail. They have done a lot of good things in terms of typography and organization of their content. There were a few design elements that seem to be overused but that can easily be fixed. 

Modern Midwest: I think that this prototype has a lot of potential. It is the most unconventional of all four prototypes. There are definitely more off-the-wall stories, and it has a very young, fresh feel. It isn't as developed as Nosh, but then again, none of the them are yet. I think there wasn't enough cohesion of the design between the departments as well as the features, but I'm sure that will come with time. 

Cupboard: I loved the cover of this prototype. I think the typography and photos were well thought out, and I think there needs to be more of that throughout the rest of the designs. 

Shindig: I think this team has done a really great job in figuring out typography so far. Like Nosh, it felt like a cohesive package. Some of the spreads still need developing, and something that ties them together, but I think there is so much potential. 

Check It Out: Typographic poetry and typographic designs

This week a friend from home posted this really awesome video from VIMEO. The sound is of poet Taylor Mali reciting one of his beautiful, thought-provoking and witty poems. The typographic work is done by Ronnie Bruce. While Mali says that Bruce did not ask for permission to do this, he basically says he can't even be mad because the result is so good. Enjoy.

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

The other gem I found this week is from YOUTHEDESIGNER. The post is '40 Typography Designs that will Tickle Your Imagination' and let me tell you, they did. This one is my favorite. 

This one entitled 'Fast Asleep' comes from a Spanish blog that also features some beautiful photographs. There are others that are solely created in illustrator, but overall, they're all pretty wonderful. 

Take a look.

Hoping to find more inspiration on this long-awaited break. Until next time, be happy.

ups and downs.

This week our final SJI logos were due, my second draft of my lethal injections feature is due, and we've been doing lots of work on our prototype project. It's been busy, but we've been getting a lot of constructive feedback which is helpful and appreciated. 


Critique: SJI Logos and Lethal Injections
We had to revise our five best logos. I posted the first drafts of my final five and here are the revised logos to turn in. 

The final two logos I am submitting are #3 and #5. I tried to use color to encompass the mission of SJI which is to bring diversity to newsrooms (gender and race). Instead of using a blatantly obvious representation of diversity, so I, like many of my classmates, attempted to incorporate color into the design. 

The other main project I've been working on this week is my second draft of the lethal injections feature. The actual pictures finally came in so I kept a lot the same from the first draft, but made more room for copy. The copy is SO long, so that will definitely be my biggest challenge. 

With lethal injections being such a serious topic, I wanted the design to match the feeling of the story. I tried to leave whitespace wherever possible and include the most striking pictures I could find. 

Response: Portfolio presentation

Last week and this week, we all printed the materials that we have compiled so far for our portfolios. I presented mine on Thursday and realized several things. First, my portfolio is very incomplete. I hope by the end of the semester it will be where I want it to be. Second, it was pretty nerve-wracking putting my work out there for everyone to critique. Makes me nervous for real life. I hope that as the semester goes on my skills will developed and reach a level at which I am excited to present all of my work. 

Check It Out: Pop-Culture Referencing Illustrations and Typography Portraits

So this week in my search for inspiration for logos and developing my portfolio, I found lots of really amazing typographic illustrations. That is definitely one area of design that I want to improve on. There are so many amazing and creative typographic creations out there that it definitely motivates me to improve. 

Here is just one example of a pop-culture illustration from My Modern Metropolis. 

This one, titled 'Tiger Blood,' is very obviously a reference to Charlie Sheen's recent meltdown. It's a very original way to create a clever play-on-words.

The second cool site that I found features 25 typography portraits from Designers Revolution. There are some reallllllllly amazing ones. Looking at them right now, I can't imagine being able to create something so polished solely out of typography. Below is one of my favorites. It is a portrait of Thom Yorke of Radiohead. The illustration is even better because all of the typography used includes lyrics and song titles and other Radiohead references. Enjoy. 

 

Well that's all I have for now, folks. Until next time, happy designing. 

challenges.

The past week or so has been a litttttle hectic. Okay, a lot hectic. Tests, a feature, department pages, logos, blogs, prototype work. Just a lot to do. I apologize if this post is a little scatterbrained. Enjoy. 


Critique: SJI Logos


We have been commissioned by the Sports Journalism Institute to make them a new logo like I mentioned earlier. Yesterday, we all had 20 logos due to be critiqued. From there, with the help of Jan, Erica and the rest of the class, we narrowed it down to our top five. Next Tuesday, we have to turn in our new and improved top five. Below are my top five (in no particular order). 

The biggest challenge I faced was trying to encompass the entire mission of SJI: bringing diversity to the newsroom. The program strives to bring women and minorities into sports journalism. Encompassing all aspects of the motto into a logo that still looks professional is definitely not as easy as it seems. With the second round of logos, I'm definitely going to have to work on bringing the minority/women aspect into the logo in a way that isn't cliche or tacky. It's definitely going to be a challenge. New logos to come next week. 

Response:MU iPad Conference

Monday was the MU iPad Conference and let me tell you, it was very impressive (and pretty exciting). There were editors, art directors, writers, etc from magazines from ESPN The Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Popular Science and Wired. They talked about the industry, the future of their magazines in terms of technology and the rapid changes going on everywhere. 

We're going to be creating an iPad app for our prototype, and while I'm nervous because I literally know nothing about Mag+ at this point, it will be really great experience. As a lot of us get ready to graduate, it's a little scary how much the industry is changing. I consider myself a print designer mainly because it is what I enjoy doing the most. However, as the industry continues to change, I guess becoming knowledgeable about all things technology is the best idea. 

For me, listening to ESPN's Rob King was the most inspirational. He was not only funny but very encouraging. One of my favorite things that he said was:

"It's gonna work out; you just don't know how yet."

It was great to hear that kind of encouragement from someone who has been so successful in the magazine industry. I am personally terrified to enter the job market, but the conference definitely showed me that many people in the industry understand our worries. 

Check it Out: YOUTHEDESIGNER &


This week on YOUTHEDESIGNER, I found some really cool vector patterns that can be created in Illustrator. I was thinking about doing ANOTHER redesign to my blog and maybe creating one for my background. Hope you like. 

awesome vector patterns

Also, I found this really cool video on YouTube. I'm not going to give it away. But seriously, watch it. It is beautiful and unbelievable and makes me happy. 

tall painting

Happy Wednesday!

gearing up for a design-filled weekend.

In true j-school fashion, instead of spending my weekend at home in STL for Mardi Gras (like most of my roommates and most normal college students), my weekend will be spent in good old Lee Hills, and I'll get to dabble in True/False. Lots to do this weekend that I'm very excited about. 
The pictures will finally be in for my Vox lethal injections features, so I'll be creating my final draft (photos to come). I'm also designing my second set of department pages this weekend and am creating a charticle (?) for Insight. That should be an adventure. AND I'll hopefully finally find the time to start/finish my 20/10 SJI logos (being too busy is no longer an option).

Critique: Lots of miscellaneous
Seeing as this week has been spent doing little bits of work on lots of projects, I don't have any real completions to post. The first draft of my lethal injections spread gave me a little bit of difficulty because the copy was in the very beginning stages (I'm talking 200 words with much to come) and the photos were non-existent when the draft was due. But I threw together a four page spread using previously published Missourian photos and got the initial concept together. 


In thinking about how I wanted the spreads to turn out, I decided that I wanted a lot of white space and very little color. Death (and especially the death penalty) is a somber thing and needs no celebration. Even without the pictures, I think the story is going to be very driven by the photography. So I ran the photos big and left a lot of white space. I'm super excited for the real pictures from the penitentiary to be taken tomorrow and to be able to make some real progress on this feature. 


One thing that I've really come to appreciate through designing for Vox is that I get to learn a LOT while I'm designing about the stories that I'm designing about. For instance, reading the Dirty Jobs vignettes for my cover and now reading the lethal injection copy for my feature has taught me a lot about subjects that I probably otherwise wouldn't have learned about (or would have avoided learning about). 


Response: Charlie Sheen (are you surprised?)


Normally I would respond to some event/design/creation of some intellectual value, but with any good celebrity breakdown, some internet and designer humor has come of Charlie Sheen's recent....deterioration. Not sure what's really going on with this self-proclaimed 'rockstar,' but his very epic quotes are providing material for many creative outlets. 


Here is a wordpress page that features kittens alongside some of the 'Sheen-isms.' 

not-so-nice kittens

And yet another site that has actually garnered some media attention is titled 'Live the Sheen Dream.' It is a random quote generator that includes only a picture of Sheen's angry face. 

the Sheen 'dream'

I don't condone Sheen's actions or his completely off-the-wall beliefs, but he is definitely providing some much needed comedic relief through his insanity.

Check it out: Some Smashing desktop calendars and YOUTHEDESIGNER web design

I LOVE calendars. I especially love the kind that you tear off each day individually and they give you some fact, quote, photo, mindless joke. However, I also love monthly calendars, and these are NEAT. Every month, Smashing Magazine allows designers to enter their own desktop calendar designs, and they feature some of the best. This one is currently on my desktop because I love the design, and this is one of my favorite quotes. 

But there are lots of other cool, funky and really unexpected ones as well. Take a gander.

The other cool thing I found this week was from YOUTHEDESIGNER. They really like the number 40, and this week they have '40 Cool Website Design Ideas You Should Check." And they really are cool. Websites can easily just be boring templates. That doesn't make people want to explore, use, discover a site. So here are some very different, very fun web designs for everything from Sony Ericsson to web designers like Gunjan Bhutani. But those are only two of the cool ones. 

Here are the rest.

Okay well for some reason, I am having very much difficulty focusing on this blog whether it's due to the sunshine or the full page to-do list sitting next to me. That's all for now.