Last Assignment Of Undergrad

 Personal Online Website

We Did It...Kinda

I believe that having an online website is crucial in the world.  Hiring practices are more intense and competitive than ever. It can showcase your creativity, unique style of writing and much more. It also shows employers that you’re willing to go the extra mile to show them what you have to offer. Instead of only bringing in a hard copy of a portfolio once you receive an interview, you can show off your work before the interview. This can up your chances of scoring the interview and the job! Social media is a huge part of any business, especially in a communication field. Having a website that can link your future employers to your social media account, makes it easier for them to see what kind of an online presences you have in a professional way. Social media knowledge is one of the top things employers look for in entry-level job positions. Companies know that to succeed they need to stay relevant and up to date. This is especially true with small businesses and non-profit companies. Showcasing projects like the flyer and the poster that have a hashtag and website included indicates to  employers that you know how to incorporate social media into your work; which is always beneficial for the company. At first, I thought this website was going to be a total pain in the ass. I was wrong, although it was challenging, I learned a lot about how much time and effort it takes to create a website. I wouldn’t be able to create a website fully on my own but knowing the basics and what all goes into it will come in handy sometime in the future. I feel very comfortable working with InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. This website project really hit it home with the basics of these programs, especially when it comes to saving work, which I think can be tricky. I now know why it is so important to be organized when building a website. All semester the class heard “pull out your thumb drives” and I never did. Once, I had a little “ooops” with my website, I knew it was because my work was saving to the wrong place because my thumb drive was still in.  Who knew, the Professor was right after all! A simple lesson like that can really show you how important being organized is. That lesson can also go towards life, not just creating a killer website. I wish I had another opportunity to learn more when it comes to the software. I really enjoyed learning about design and how to work within the Adobe suite.  These skills are becoming more and more important in such a competitive field. I am glad that I took this class seriously and created some nice pieces. Although, I will not be creating any billboards any times soon, I know I can use and build on the skills that I have to better myself in my upcoming career.  Thank you for a great semester, Professor! It was quite an interesting one.

Logo or No-go

Reasons for Success

The Bic logo is very bold and stands out. The black against the yellow makes the writing legible and not over powering. The fact that there is a little person holding a pen make the view aware what this whole business is about.

Although this logo isn't modern, it's classic. The HB combo brings the title together in a simple yet aesthetically pleasing way. The crown brings it all together with a touch of royalty.

 

 This logo is simple yet effective. The white against the red makes the white symbol pop. The name of the store is Lulu Lemon. The fact that is looks like two backwards L's but also isn't directly associated with a letter makes it interesting.

The sprint logo is creative because it looks like the bars on a cell phone. That is the first thing you notice when looking at this symbol. It ties in directly to the company without any confusion.

  

The fact that the creator used a minimal designed toucan really works well with this logo. The toucan is a colorful bird and drives the point home that it is for an ink company. The black bird with the bright colors of the beak stands out and is eye catching.

It's all about ME ME ME!

My company is going to be a small Public Relations company for small businesses. I want to my product to a service. I want it to revolve around being reliable and approachable, especially to our clients. Visually I want the logo to be welcoming and simple. I would like it to be relatable to the common small business.

 

 

What Will Make You Pick It Up?

Jolly Green Giant 

This brochure design that was featured on graphicdesignjunction.com stood out to me because of the bold color that was used throughout the whole background of the brochure. The contrast between the bright and dark greens draws the eye to it, making someone want to pick it up and read it. One of the main reasons this design is successful is because of its cover. Right away without reading anything on the brochure, you can assume that it is about power and electricity. Within the brochure, the designer stuck with a green theme and used white, black and lime green within the text. The colors stand out well on this dark green background. Not only does the text stands out, but it is also easy to read. Throughout the brochure, the designer chose to keep all of the headings in the same font. This gives the brochure a sense of unity even with the text colors being different. The way the designer made the beginning letter of the type larger and bolder brings the reader’s attention to that part of the writing. This brochure also does not have type overload. The purpose of a brochure nowadays is to get people to go to your website. This is a good way of laying out the important facts and not overwhelming the reader. Not only did the designer use an image on the cover of the brochure, but they also decided to add one on the inside panel with a few other background graphics. This is a good way to make sure a brochure is not going overboard on the type or leaving too much white space in the design. The only critique of this design that I can notice off hand is the title of the brochure. The designer could have laid out the business’s name so that it is more pleasing to the eye. It looks as if it was just placed in the corner without any thought. Overall, this designer created a good brochure with design hierarchy and proper color choices.

Head In The Clouds

This brochure was also found on graphicdesignjunction.com. This brochure grabbed my attention because of the graphics on the cover. It was eye catching that the designer decided to put all the social media logos on the cover as if they were floating on a cloud. Social media, for the most part, tends to be light and fun. The designer portrayed that well in their design by using light colors and fluffy cloud graphics. The layout of this brochure does a good job with design hierarchy. On the inside panel, the text starts off on the whole page, then is followed by a center picture with smaller text all around it. It then has more text underneath that is placed evenly below the middle graphics. This brings your eyes to the middle where the important text seems to be placed. The designer carried the social media logo graphics to the inside of the brochure which gives it some liveliness among all the text. The headings on the type are larger than the text bellow which allows the reader to know what each section is about easier. Under the headings is a smaller darker type. This is also good so that it will be easier for the reader to see when looking at large amounts of type. The font goes along with the fun and light style of the brochure. The designer seemed to use color to separate specific parts of the text. This makes it clear for the reader to tell the difference between specific information. There is just enough text in this layout to get the message across without it being overwhelming. The use of social media logos through the design keeps the reader engaged. The designer also used the cloud graphics to fill white space within the layout. The only thing I would personally change on this layout is the small text that is underneath the title of the brochure on the cover. I cannot read what it says, but it looks misplaced, like it is not supposed to be there. If for some reason it was necessary to the brochure, a different color text along with a larger style font would make it look much nicer. Overall, I think the design of this brochure was completed well. Fun and inviting styles make people want to read what you wrote, and that is the whole point of creating a brochure. I would defiantly use some of these elements in my own brochure if I were to create another one.

Postcard: 1   Nicole: 0

This postcard was an essential exercise in many ways. This project allowed the class to be able to use the skills we learned making our flyer in InDesign, editing pictures in Photoshop and creating artwork in Illustrator. Repetition is the key to being successful at any specific thing wither it is a sport, a skill or just an activity.  Having the opportunity to use the skills we’ve learned during the previous weeks gave us the chance to use repetition in our work.

            This assignment made me a lot better with working in layers. I have a better understanding now when it comes to working in layers, both InDesign, and Photoshop. I never used to click on the layer that I was working on before I saved it, which made transferring the image to another template a disaster. After working in layers time and time again, I have begun to automatically click the appropriate layer before saving.

             We were taught how to silhouette an image a few weeks into the semester, but I never had to use it in any other project, so when it came time to do it for the postcard, I was lost. This project made me have to actually look things up by myself on YouTube to be able to complete the project in time. I am grateful for that. I think that sometimes when you teach yourself to do something it really sticks with you.

            My poster was all about my travel experiences. The color of background that I used was a deep yellowish, orange. When I picked this color, I thought about the different sunsets I have watched throughout my travels. Aside from color metaphorically fitting into my poster, it contrasted well with the colors I was wearing in my silhouetted portrait. Lastly, the color was bold and vibrant which I believe is fitting for my personality.

             I also used color in my design of the world. I created a globe in Illustrator to use in my postcard. I used a lighter green and blue for the graphic so that it would not be so harsh on the yellowish, orange background. I also gave it a blended filter so it was easier on the eyes. My hand is extended in the silhouetted portrait of myself, so I thought it would be appropriate to be holding the world in my hand to give the reader and idea of what the postcard is about.

            The font is where I ran into some trouble. Unfortunately, when it came to finding fonts and working between two computers, the fonts did not save properly. Since the postcard project, we went over how to package fonts into a zip file which will come in handy when working on other projects. For the postcard, I wanted to stick with the bold theme as well as giving it the feel of being a travel postcard. The fonts I used for the summited postcard was fonts that had to be changed last minute due to the saving problems. The fonts were Chasing Embers and American Type Writer Light.  I used Chasing Embers for the title of my postcard, where I used a quote instead of my name. I also used Chasing Embers for the font of my name at the bottom. I used American Type Writer Light for the body of my text. I thought it looked clean and legible. Looking back at it now, I would defiantly not choose those fonts again.

            To give my design proper design hierarchy, I used two oversized quotations in the quote that was the title of my postcard. This gave the postcard balance. It extended the title, so it was the largest and boldest sentence on the postcard. From there the body of the text was under the quote, which followed by my name. My name was centered at the bottom of the page under the body so that everything stacked upwards. 

             Overall I think that this project has taught me the most about the Adobe Suite. Even though our poor Professor was about to rip out her hair, it was extremely beneficial. I am a lot more comfortable in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator than I was before. Someone in the library when I was working on my postcard asked me for help to get their background that they had gotten off the Internet onto their InDesign page, and I actually knew how it do it. Although I am not a master of Adobe by any means, it feels good to know that all of this information is being absorbed, even if it may be taking longer than expected.

If You Won't Test It, They Shouldn't Have Too

 Anti Animal Testing

Research:

According to freebase.com, animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments. The research is conducted at universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, farms, defense establishments, and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to industry. It includes pure research as well as applied research. Animals are also used for education, breeding, and defense research. The practice is regulated to various degrees in different countries.

Animal testing can be both a social and political issue. A social issue is an issue that influences and is opposed by a considerable number of individuals within a society. A social issue is defined as the source of a conflicting opinion on the grounds of what is perceived as a morally just personal life or societal order. Different societies have different perceptions. A political issue is defined as one that has to do with government or politics. This may include issues related to party politics or a political system or social, environmental or other issues as determined by the voting public.

The harmful use of animals in tests is not only cruel but also often unsuccessful. Animals are not affected by human diseases the same way we are. For example, they do not get many types of cancers, HIV, Parkinson’s disease, etc.  Because of this, signs of these diseases are artificially induced in animals in laboratories in an attempt to copycat the disease. Experiments like these depreciate the complexity of human conditions that are affected by wide-ranging variables such as genetics, socioeconomic factors, psychological issues and different personal experiences.

Design:

Imagery 

I do not want my poster to be too graphic where people are forced not to look. I want to be able to get my point across without showing the horrible things that are done to animals during animal testing. I will use pictures that portray the message either in a simple and clean way or in a firm and direct way. The pictures below are the examples of the types of images I would possibly use in my poster.

Adjectives

1. Cruel
2. Dangerous
3. Disturbed
4. Immoral
5. Evil
6. Outrageous
7. Repulsive
8. Terrible
9. Horrible
10. Juvenile

Font

Libre Baskerville is known as one of the most serious font types out there, which is fitting for a serious topic such as animal testing. This font also has a large family to it which allows for greater use of the font. This font and its download can be found HERE. Bondoni is another font style that I would consider for my poster.  The face has contrast between thick and thin strokes, and geometric construction that makes it aesthetic pleasing to the eye yet serious. This font also has a large family that will help add texture to the poster. This font and its download can be found HERE.

Theme

The theme of this poster will be powerful. I will be using heavy colors, for example, deep purples and greens or black with dark shades of red or bright shades of yellow. I want the colors of the poster to represent the serious of the matter. It has to be eye catching without having the “fun” factor of multiple bright attention grabbing colors. Design Crowd gave me a lot of ideas when it came to how I want to set up my poster. I want it to be able to be serious without being boring. All the different layouts that I found that could apply to my poster are HERE.

MLA Citation

"Animal testing - Freebase." Insert Name of Site in Italics. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015 <http://www.freebase.com/m/017rsy>.

"Social issue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Insert Name of Site in Italics. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_ill>.

"Political Issue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Insert Name of Site in Italics. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_ill>.

Did You Get Your Message Across?

Design Hierarchy For The WIN

This poster has a certain simplicity to it. The plain ice cream cone on top of a blue background makes the image pop. This is good because the cone is where the important text is. The design on top of the ice cream cone lets the reader know that it this poster is about a film before they even read it. The use of the colors in the film on top fit together nicely. They stand out but do not overpower one another. The way the text fits in the cone is very pleasing to the eye and easy to read. There is not too much information on the poster yet you have all of the information that you need to understand what it is about. The white text on the bottom is neat and organized with a website for additional information. The creator only used one font throughout the text but used different sizes and colors to draw attention to certain parts of the information. 

This poster has a lot going on, but every part of the design brings you a piece of the text. The arrows point to the center making you look at a new piece of information. This poster is organized, and the information is appropriately laid out on the poster by importance. The biggest size text is used for the title that allows for it to be a  focus point. That way people will know what the poster is about before reading into it. From there the information trickles down straight. The lines in the poster also help bring attention to the center part of the poster. The colors are bold but not overwhelming which is another reason this poster is well designed. Without all the focus on the text, this poster could have gone terribly wrong. With the right use of colors, text and visual hierarchy this posters turned out well.

This poster is on a plain white background and yet is extremely eye catching. The way the images float out of the book in different colors is what really draws the attention to the poster. The images are neatly placed around the text, which brings your eyes there. Without even reading the poster you can tell what it is about. The fact that the images tell you what the poster is for leaves room for it to be able to be neat and simple with the minimal use of text. Because there is so much color in the books and the title the fact that the creator decided to use a plain font and black text for additional information was a good idea. It doesn't let the colors overpower the poster. It's really hard to overlook what this poster's meaning. It has the simplicity and creativity to it that would make someone want to take notice in it.

The Bad, The Ugly and The Terrible

This poster is a disaster. It may grab your attention at first because of the crazy colors on the background, but those same colors are what make this poster extremely hard to read. From a glance, people should be able to get an idea of what your poster is about. However, with this specific poster it is close to impossible to tell what it is for. The headline of this poster is too small, making it extra hard to read. On top of the size, the font is at a small size is extremely messy and disheveled, making it look like was no thought or time put into the design. Why would people care about a poster if it looks like the creator doesn’t. There is information at the bottom of the poster but once again, it cannot be read without straining your eyes. This poster does not seem to give any information on the location besides the name of the theater. There is also no website to look for more information on tickets, location or the event in general.

This poster could be great, but, unfortunately, it went terribly wrong. The white against the back is attention grabbing, but there is too much information jammed on one page. The overload of information makes people less likely to read or look at the poster. There is some separation of information but even with that there is too much going on. Each section has different fonts, text that is slanted and text that is straight. There is no need to have 15 different fonts in this poster. It would be okay to keep the fonts of band names the same and one universal font used throughout the poster to give addition information. When it comes to visual hierarchy, having specific information stand out is important but the way this is laid out you can’t tell what is crucial by looking at it. Some of the font at the top and the bottom is so small that you could hardly read it. This information is obviously not important and could have been left out by including a website that would lead to more information for the view if they were interested. 

Once again, the colorful graphic/picture on this poster along with the black background is very attention-grabbing.  However, all those colors in the graphic/picture with the of use of rainbow text in the title makes the poster look messy. The title should be one solid color that is also used in the picture/graphic, that way it would bring the whole poster together while remaining readable. The font is fun for the title but makes the additional information in the smaller sized font, too hard to read. The background color behind the small text does not help the readability either, it makes this poster look too busy. The colors  are too close on the spectrum and does not make the text stand out in a positive way, it just makes it look like a block of color. The text size has not rhyme or reason to it. The title is small then smaller and the large. The size of the font does not seem to be used to distinguish the importance of the information.

Where Art Thou Visual Communication?

    Not every person in the communication world is alike. Many people respond to visual communication better than verbal communication and others respond to verbal communication better than visual communication. This can go for all types of communication whither it be visual, verbal, audio or written. Personally, I respond best to visual communication. This is true especially when it comes to learning. When I am in class or at work and someone is explaining something to me, chances are I will understand the main point they are trying to get across but not necessarily fully comprehend it. When I’m shown a visual image such as a graph in math or a picture of how to set the table for work, I will be more likely to fully understand and keep that information with me.
    The types, images, symbols and colors are all necessary and certainly important tools in visual communication. Although, I feel that images are the key factor of good visual communication. People respond well to images and they are usually easy for people to decode. In a world so immersed in the Internet, there is more visual communication now than ever before. There is everything from social media enthusiasts who create memes for people to interpret and enjoy all the way to advertisements with logos all over every website.
    There are several companies, brands and even people whose visual communication is out of this world. One of the main ones that come to mind is FedEx. Their logo is simple yet creative and their colors are eye catching. The logo is laid out so that the last part, the Ex, is close enough and leveled so that it makes an arrow. This is touching on the fact they are in the shipping business. The arrow is representing moving something from one place to the next. The colors are complimentary so it soft on the eye, yet vibrant enough to be noticed.

    Another company that does a stellar job with visual communication is McDonald's. Their golden arches are known practically everywhere around the world. Without any words at all people know that the arches mean french fries and hamburgers. The colors that they use in their logo represent the condiments that put the final touches on their signature items. Something about being able to tie what your company is about into something so simple, yet creative is admirable.

    A local beer company named Flying Bison is another great example of good visual communication. When you think flying bison, you think a bison with wings. The company however, steered away from that directly and included wings around a circle with a bison in the center. They used different shades of brown to represent the colors of beer. I think they made something that could have turned out corny into a modest piece of art.

    Visual communication comes in all shapes and sizes, literally. Digging deeper into the world of visual communication is exciting and I’m ready to learn more about it!