Design I like

I love the simplicity of the Marc Jacobs ad for their Daisy Perfume. The ad is very simple, clean, and leaves you to wonder.  The open and lightness of colors with the focus of the firls and perfume at teh bottm and the name of the perfume and company at the top really portrays that the perfume as well is light and clean.  The design and placement of the words and pictures really captures the vibe they are trying to give in what the smell of their perfume is.

Design Collaboration

When creating a newsletter, I would use Photoshop to enhance, edit, and crop any images and pictures that I want used in the newsletter so that there appearance and size fit with the dimensions I need.  I would use Illustrator to pick apart any images or text that need fine tuning.  Using features such as the pen and other functions that can add more dimension to certain images and text will enhance my work.   I would use Indesign for the final destination.  Collaborating images and text that I have altered in the other two programs, I would use grids and other indesign functions to create the layout for the newsletter.

Good design peice

Instyle Magazine always has a clean and clear layout.  They always have one person off to the side and then list all the items off to the side that they are trying to interest people in the articles.  I like how they have used a sparkly grey that is festive for the holidays.  The sparkly grey is incorporated in both the title along with the headlines.

Branding-Nike

I think Nike has done a fabulous job to reach its audience.  They use many different campaigns to reach their audience and to make a connection with their target consumers.  This campaign is specific to reach women and builds a relationship and connection with women.  Focusing on one body part with a picture and having the words bolded intrigues the audience, and they stop to read the rest of the words on the page.  After reading, women feel a connection with the brand.  The placement of the words and the coloring is very intriguing.

Logos-the good and the bad

The Playboy Bunny Logo and John Deere are two logos that I like and are well recognized.  The John Deere speaks to its target in color, shape, structure.  It's design represents the brand well.  The playboy bunny is smart in that the bunny is masculine. This logo is now available on Smirnoff liquor bottles and people want to buy the bottles simply to have the vodka bottle with the bunny logo.

I dont like this Zoo Logo.  The picture of the Polar Bear is too distracting. Im also not a fan of our National Aquarium Logo. I feel like they could have been more creative. The strikes throughout the lettering I find to be confusing..are they trying to replicate water marks? 

photoshop tutorials

i found this site..that shows you how to do a lot of really creative things using photoshop--take your pick as to which effect you would like and use the video to learn how to use photoshop to get your desired look.

http://designrfix.com/resources/photoshop-tutorials-60-hot-tutorials

mailing

Bed Bath and Beyond Catalog that everyone has seen, I'm sure.  The catalog is thin and flimsy, and holds lots of information and pictures.  It folds in half simply to fit in mail boxes and is durable to withstand outdoor weather such as rain. The pages are set up basically as if you are reading a magazine and don't consider the fold that happens in the mailing process. 

Grids

This was found in Conde Naste, Traveler.  The grids make the article clear and to the point.  Depending on which category you are interested in reading about immediately draws you in to that grid area for more information.

Magazine Layout

I found this in Conde Naste Traveler.  I like the creative spin on the bubbles around the pictures giving you a timeline of things to do over the course of the weekend.  The circles draw your attention and make you interested to know your options for every hour of the day over the course of a weekend when traveling and in addition draw you to follow the circles around the provided images.

Indesign-how its helped

Indesign has been extremely beneficial for me.  It allows me to be more creative with different ideas that I may have that would otherwise not be able to be done in other programs.  It has also allowed me to think differently in terms of placing words and changing letter size and fonts and colors. Using indesign challenges me to think differently in terms of placing items and creating various pieces.

Typography

Both of these companies are similar in that they both use a blue background and white letters.  They appear similar at first glance, but are very different as well. Facebook uses a blue rectangle and its letters are more thick and less type-like. The letters are bold and stand out and have the trademark for the name as well.  Old Navy uses all caps in its lettering implying importance and its shape is oval.  Its interesting how both companies who are very different have chosen very similar concepts for their brand name to be recognized.

Creative Concepts

This is a creative concept...it turns the croc shoes into a little shoes with hands who massages your feet. It tells the audience croc shoes are so comfortable it will remind you of a foot massage...who doesn't want a foot massage? "Feel the love"...these shoes are so great and comfortable you will feel it.

Another creative concept with shoes..reebok uses REE in their reetone slogan so that you dont forget that its reebok that has created shoes that helps you tone while doing every day activities...here a girl is grilling while wearing her shoes.  You can cook dinner and tone your body at the same time...what message could be better for a girl who is health conscious?

Indesign Thoughts

Using Indesign has definitely been interesting experience for me.  The simplest tasks take time to find the buttons to use..so many options and ways to do the same things...the multitude of quick key buttons are definitely helpful and I am thankful to be learning them.  Indesign can be time consuming to learn but has a lot of features and options that allow you to do a variety of editing options to allow creativity.

symmetrical vs asymmetrical

This is an example of a symmetrical ad. The image and words are both centered so that you could cut the document in half and it would look identical.

Here is an example of asymmetrical design.  The picture takes up the entire right side and its the first thing you see.   There are a few words placed next to the image and then the entire left side of the page is one line of text.

CRAP

Although I don't particularly care for this ad, it does have the elements of CRAP. There is contrast of the colors from the white background to the bright colors of the green cucumber and even the white splash. There is repetition in the cucumbers and the four dove bottles on the bottom.  The top part of the ad is aligned so that the woman's head and logo are in the center with the cucumbers surrounding her.  Proximity is also created using the splash and cucumbers.

Figure Vs Ground

 

This image is blurry due to my lack of knowing how to crop in Photoshop, but the image is a lion in a square.  The figure is the lion and the ground is the blue square. 

First Assignment

Lets be honest--I can only improve from here...

Good vs Bad Designs

This ad is one that I don't particularly care for.  While the ice cream containers are cleverly aligned to be the main focus and center of the page, I don't think the overall design with the shadow images ( the white owls) in the background jump out at the audience.  It seems to be a plain picture of stacked ice cream and lacks originality and meaning.

I don't care for this design either.  Again the images are aligned so that the focus image is in the center of the page, with other pictures surrounding it, however its creativity lacking.  The message in the design is clear, however I think there are way more creative ways to get the message across that Arm and Hammer is relaying to their audience.

A sucker for clothes ads, I love this design.  The image of the girl is fun and inviting and makes you wonder why she's having fun.  The woman is off to the side of the page and the other side has the words "hang up the hoodies".  I like the offbeat and off center approach in the design and placement of the woman and words.

This is my favorite design. I love the creativity, color, and shadow play on the picture.  The woman and the plate are in black and white and are the only real images in the photo.  All the other details in the picture are also black and white, but are shadows and are in the background.