Final Wrap Up Post

I know this post is really late and probably not going to count, but I thought I'd do it anyway. I've learned a lot in graphics this semester. Before this class, I didn't even know what indesign was, let alone how to use it or photoshop and illustrator. Although I struggled at times with my designs, I was proud of my final products. Obviously, I really struggled with my blog postings and I have no excuses for that. They were relatively easy assignments and because I don't have Friday classes, often times I completely forgot, which is totally my fault. Other than that, I really enjoyed the class and I learned a lot. I also really appreciated my peer feedback during class, you guys were awesome. Thanks so much for a great semester!

Wrap-Up

I thought GRA 217 is a beneficial class because graphic and visual knowledge is incredibly important to what we do in communications. There are so many ways to communicate, and to make it in this industry at this time it is important to be able to communicate in many diverse ways. I came into this class with good knowledge of the programs, but now I can channel my creativity into more concise and graphically pleasing products that I can hopefully use in the magazine industry. I also really enjoyed Professor Taylor and I hope to take another class with her again. I LOVE GRAPHICS!!

Wrap-Up

This class was awesome in many ways. I've never used any of the Adobe programs prior to this course (I never had to) but after taking this course, I come to appreciate them and their potential use in real life. I also learned to be more creative and original, and although many of the projects were challenging, the challenge was necessary for me to learn the important skills. I know I never created projects that blew people's mind away, but I know that I improved a lot since the first day of class. I'm just thankful that I was given the opportunity to take this class with Professor Taylor and Wasim who were both very helpful in and out of class. Thank you once again.

Wrap Up Post

I enjoyed Graphics 217 and learned a lot about the different programs. I really will not lok at type or color the same. I liked the poster project and enjoyed learning about Adobe illustrator. Overall there were some components that were harder than others (the magazine project), however I do feel that I accomplished and learned a lot from this class. Thanks Wasim for your help and I hope to take what I learned in this class and apply it to other classes and possibly beyond graduation.

Wrap Up Post

I thought that GRA 217 was a very interesting experience, and I did learn a lot from the course. Even though I am not a graphics major, I think that the knowledge of the Adobe Suites is extremely beneficial for anything that I may do later in my college and professional careers. My favorite projects of this course would have to be the logo and the resume because I think that I will most definitely be able to use those designs in the near future. Also, I thought that we learned a number of interesting things in lecture that necessarily weren't connected to our graphics project, but were still good things to know. Overall, I think that GRA 217 was a good experience and I would totally recommended taking it with Prof. Taylor to any of my classmates.

MODaMOUTH.com

This is modamouth.com which is like a blog site. In terms of visual hierarchy, the most important things are made evident by the size of the font and usage of color. i like the background of the picture and how it is repeated in the subcatergories. The colors to me really pop out at you. i think their usage of whitespace and containers is very good. The only thing i would of done differently is the lenght of the paragraph. the paragraphs look extremely dense and one a blogsite its better to be short and to the point.

WRAP UP

I believe that i have learned a lot from this class about layouts and how to create an effective one. I find myself look at things more critically. I notice the typeface and the color more than I have ever done in my life. Never have I ever brought a magazine but now I find myself buying magazines because of the layout. Learning the Adobe suite was extremely beneficial. I am now capable of doing more things to papers and projects. the only thing i would change is the blog postings. Its annoying to post every week. how about every two weeks???

Website floating re-do...

I tried to keep this website really simple; I tend to over design things. Green is the basic color because the organization is an envionmental advocacy group. I brought in elements from my poster, because I designed it for the same organization. The photos are from the actual events of this organization. I used georgia font and made the pretty vines in Indesign.

End.

Wrapping it Up

If I could take this class over again, I probably would. It was a nice break from the typical lecture-exam structure of the rest of my courses, and it stretched my mind in a way I definitely wasn't used to. I loved learning to use inDesign and I know it will definitely be helpful in the future to have a little bit of a background in graphics and to understand all of the Adobe programs. I think I'll have to agree with Katrina's post. I doubt I'll remember the terms we discussed a year from now, but I know the concepts and skills will definitely stick with me. Thanks Wasim and Professor Taylor for an excellent semester! :)

Wrap-Up Post

Overall I enjoyed this class. I learned a lot, simply because I barely knew anything about graphics when I first started. I found the gestalt principles the most interesting part of the class and I really enjoyed the part on color. I also found it very useful to learn how to use the adobe programs and I really want them for my own computer.

I found the projects to be a lot of fun, but that's about it. I didn't think they were very helpful to my future. Being a print major, i found a majority of what I learned not applicable to my life and hopeful career. It was nice to know but in all honesty I will probably forget the terms by next year. However I will most likely use the concepts I learned for much longer.

Thank you from Wasim

I just wanted to thank everyone for posting on this blog for the semester and, for the most part, actively commenting on each others' work. I know it's been a thorn in the side sometimes, and we sometimes got off track, but I hope everyone learned a little bit from doing the assignments and sharing their projects with this peers.

Blogging will be important once you all enter the "real world" out of college. It's a great (and cheap!) self-promotional tool. What we did this semester was just the start; a way to whet your appetite for blogging.

By creating a Google account to use this blog for the class, you've already created 90 percent of what you need to start your own blog, which I hope many of you try. College is a great time to learn the ropes of blogging.

As many of you have probably figured out, I run my own blog using Blogger - something I created after taking the same graphics class (albeit the graduate-level version). You can check it out at http://wasimonline.blogspot.com/. You'll find a link there to my Web site, which was created using the same principles I learned here in the interface design project. And I already showed you all how blogging can drive traffic to your Web site. It's a synergistic relationship between the two.

Try it - you may even find it's fun! All it takes is signing in and clicking on "Dashboard" at the top and then "Create a blog" on the next page.

Thanks everyone for a great semester. You all worked really hard and I saw some great work coming from this class. It's been a pleasure to work with you in my first instructional associate job here in Syracuse.

Wrap-up post

I honestly don't know where to begin with graphics. I loved it, but at the same time it was conducive to my obsessive perfectionism, which of course had me in the labs for a good portion of this semester. It is so helpful that we learned Adobe Creative Suite. I never knew I was capable of properly using a Mac, in fact. Now, a PC just seems complicated. I got in touch with my artsy side, and want to take more graphics classes. In fact, I'd like to switch into the major.
I never knew font would matter so much to me. I never really noticed type-faces on trivial things like medicine bottles or trucks- meaning that I never knew they mattered. Now I find myself analyzing every sign and label for a recognizable font. Yay, graphics! I also made friends with all of the students that work in the labs because I am in there so often for extended periods of time.

magazine re-do. fun stuff.

Sharing resources

This class was very useful to me in learning about the visual side of the communications industry--I'm grateful for the software training and the knowledge about design, photography and printing that I now have.

For those of you who would love to see your business cards in print, this site gives away 10 cards for free that come with a 10 percent coupon. It's a great way to see your cards before you by them on a proper piece of paper with double-sided or glossy effects. You just upload your image.

Enjoy your breaks!

Interface Design

Design Strategy:
I chose the same event as my not for profit poster, and purposely incorporated the poster design aspects into my website. The same icons – the band aid, pumpkin, candy corn, etc. – are featured in the navigation bar as identifiers for each section. I chose to do this because I not only wanted continuity between all publicity objects representing the SAFE event, but I also feel I captured the audience so well in my poster that I would incorporate the same child like shapes and colors in my website. This is a website for parents and kids to enjoy, and I designed for that audience.
The navigation bar’s shape and placement is for readability and eye travel. As the eye begins at the top left, it immediately sees the reason for the Web site – the event name. Then the eye travels down the curve to each brightly colored section bubble.
I used wide, but short blocks of text with colorful headers to make for “quick reads” and always included my helpful links on the right side of the page for consistency and eye travel. The eye will see them last, and they will hopefully be inclined to click through.

Typeface:
My “novelty” header font is Marker Felt and my body text is Georgia. I wanted to stick with a web-friendly font for my body, because the Red Cross might actually use this, as I am still an intern. Marker Felt reminds me of childhood handwriting, yet with enough readability to attract adults. The serif/sans serif contrast makes the website look professional despite its youthful theme.

Color:
I chose the traditional Halloween colors because it is a children’s event and it speaks to the audience, just as the bright candies and band-aids do. The black background serves as a matte background for the bright fonts and pictures to really pop out of the screen. My colors for the other navigation windows derive from the poster and from my own realm of bright, child like colors. I purposely did not stick with one color theme throughout; I wanted each page to be a little different with color, and used the design aspects to create consistency.

Website Project!!

Design brief:
I used the same organization from my poster project for my interface project. Jazzmin Hall is a friend of mine that is trying to start a new program with in the community of Englewood for young female children. I tried to accommodate the different of needs her website. I tried t use pictures that were visually pleasing to adults as well as children.
I did a page for things that I thought were important to the organization and this event. I made a page for the home page which describes what the event is about. I did a page about the organization mission and the style of dance that is being offered. I did a page on joining the organization.
I did a page on contributing and contacting the org.
In each I provide quick reads that were long enough to give the read some insight but not to long to push them away. I provided extra links on the pages that you would see on really websites. For example, a link for directions.

Typefaces:
I used verdana because this is the one out of the many typefaces that was recommended. It provided a small amount of versatility but definitely allowed me to follow the rule of visual hierarchy. Another thing about this font is that you could use it at a smaller size and it will still be legible.

Color:
I pulled the color out of the pictures that I used. I used mostly warm colors because I wanted her site to be warm and inviting. I also believe that it would make the website pop more than colors that were too dark or too light. In addition, the background is white; therefore, light colors would fade into the white. I felt that dark colors would not work with the theme of dance.

interface design

This web page is designed to attract both children and parents who might be interested in registering for the CNY Korean School. Therefore, my design strategy here was to put bright colors and cute icons to draw their attention. Bright colors such as red, purple, and yellow were chosen for the icons, and I purposely chose light shade of orange as sort of the main color for this webpage because it immediately caught my eyes and it seemed like an appropriate color for the concept. Each page has an icon that sums up what the page is basically; for example, in the “where we are” section, I drew a “car” to indicate what this page was going to be about. These icons are placed next to its headings to also indicate what the heading mean.

The links are in the shape of grass because when we think about things that children like to do, we make a link with outdoor activities. When the link is clicked, the entire link is highlighted in white which I think is pretty cool and unique.

I left the text box in white to show contrast with the colors around it. By doing this, I felt that it was much easier for readers to read the body text.

The lists on the page are placed in order so that it goes from most important ones to the least important ones.

Interface design

For this project I choose to pick an event connected to my poster design. This event is a coat drive put on by an organization called New York Cares in December. For my poster project I did another event from this organization. The homepage is the last image and I used a picture with children in coats because children usually evoke positive emotions from people. The other pages support the homepage and give more information about the organization. I also created a donation page that is not pictured here and a receipt for people to claim their donations on their taxes.

web design

Design Strategy
I decided to do the top of the web page in the curvy shape because I wanted it to resemble a wave since the event involves running into water. I added the curves to give the illusion of waves and to add dimension to the design.
I put the navigation bar on the left because it’s easy to find things there. I decided to change the color of the link the person was on so that they would know which page they were on. I kept all of the paragraphs short because it would be easier to read that way. I also presented some information in list form so that it would cause diversity to the webpage and thus make it more pleasing.
I feel that the links I chose answered the questions that would generally arise. The who, what and why are addressed on the home page. The where and when are discussed in the event page. I added a donations link because that is the main function of the event. The other links, photos and press, were added for fun things for people to look at. The links are arranged in that order based on their importance to the event and reader.

Choice of Typefaces:
I chose Verdana because I wanted a font that would be used on all types of computers. I was able to create diversity of the font by using it as italic and regular and in different sizes.

Choice of color
I decided to use greens and blues and whites in the design because of the pictures I found. I based the color scheme off the water in the pictures. I also used these colors because the plunge is very early in the new year so the water will be very cold so I wanted cool colors.

Choice of Pictures
All of the pictures I used were from google images except for one. The one of the girls dressed up like superheroes is from Facebook. I chose these pictures because I wanted penguins since the event is called the Penguin Plunge. I chose the superhero picture because it’s one my friends took from when they participated

Hey look, visual hierarchy!

I love this layout because it is painfully simple, as it should be- it is webassign after all. Online homework should be straightforward. The red leads our eyes around the page, there are two navigation bars- top and left side. They are very simple and easy to understand. There is a nice red border outlining the sign-in page, and there is a nice red button, which your eye hits and then you realize "oh, this is where I sign in". That screams great visual hierarchy (score! easy navigation).

Visual Hierarchy

Barack Obama's website is genius, and is the most copied website right now.  The blue catches my eye and brings me in. You can see the visual hierarchy immediately. The white navigation bar stands out brightly against the very American blue, and the pres and vice pres elect "oversee" the website with strength. There is no doubt who this website is for.  My eyes skips from red button to red button, encouraging me to click.  Well organized, informative, and modern. My favorite!

Clint Clemens - a bit late

I attended the Clint Clemens lecture on November 6th (and am just now getting around to writing about it). I'm definitely not a photographer, but I certainly appreciate good photography and it was a treat to hear Clint explain how a lot of his photos came to be. I was impressed with his tendency to get in on the action wherever he can find it, and it made me appreciate the art a little more just hearing everything that goes into one of his photographs. Clint is definitely very scientifically-minded (as was evidenced by the second half of his lecture/presentation), and I was very surprised at how technical some of the processes he used were. I would never think to attach a paraplegic's sidecar to a motorcycle to get action photos, and the device he conjured up for some of his boating clients was ingenious. Being very naive to the whole photographic process, I had no idea that it would require an elaborate rig like that to get a blurry background and focused subject, so this presentation gave me a newfound appreciation for the art and science of photography.

visual hierarchy

the visual hierarchy here in Youtube site is very strong. They placed the search function at the
very top and middle of the page since it is the most important one. Then as you scroll down, you'll see that they added icons in red and orange. Red and orange are said to be very strong colors; they are capable of attracting viewers' eyes. These icons are placed in boxes and each box takes you to different page. At the right corner of the top page, you will see a log in function. By separating this with the entire website, it allows members to easily find it and log in. The website overall is very organized, and even though there are alot of ads, they organized them in a way that is not distracting.

visual hierarchy

I really like CNN's website. The visual hierarchy is great on the website with the navigation bar on top and then with the breaking news right under that. Under the breaking stories are groups depending on subject which makes it easier to find what your looking for. The big picture for one of the stories attracts the reader's attention, as does the use of red. The idea to post both articles and videos is clever as well. The one thing I would change is the length of the page. It tends to be pretty long. Overall it's a very nice website.

Visual Hierarchy

I think the Vitamin Water website is a great site. I love the way it has plenty of white space and is very simple, yet fun with all of the color. I really like the setup with all of the flavors of water lined up and trailing off into the background. It creates a great element of movement and the visual hierarchy, with the product being the most prominent thing at first glance, is fantastic.

Magazine (Floating Redo)

Sorry this is late. I did my floating redo, and I couldn't figure out how to get it on here until my lab TA helped me yesterday!

Rationale

Coming from an Italian family, I have seen my share of wine magazines. I have always thought they were very stuffy; almost inapproachable. These memories inspired me to create CORKED, a wine and style magazine. The magazine is aimed at wine enthusiasts from ages 21 to 60 right up into the 70’s. It is modern and clean, yet appealing to those who enjoy moving forward with the modern times with a glass of Chardonnay in their hands.
When I found the “Unpretentious Pairings” story on LexisNexis from the October 2007 issue of Cheers, I knew it was the perfect fit. It espouses everything my magazine is about: keeping up with the trends while maintaining that classic wine relationship. It also provided several options for sidebars, so I picked it.
Upon reading it, I was inspired by all the descriptions of the foods – sour, tangy, spicy, acid, grilled, fried, buttery, etc. – and I went on a quest for pictures that tickled my taste buds like the story. The first picture I saw was a plain white dinner plate, and the headline “Well Plated” (a play on the idiom “well stated”) popped into my head. I would put the dek on the plate and have a beautiful bleeding editorial image on the right side. Clean, stark. That is the momentum and the purpose of my design.
The idea to put the dek in the shape of the wine glass came about after seeing the dek just in a square on the plate and realizing it didn’t connect to the story or to the visual. So a wine glass was born.
I purposely have a frame of white around my text. It makes it stark and really makes the red (the spot color from the wine) stand out against the page, the same way the red stands out in the picture. Everything is squared off, keeping with my modern feel for the magazine. The script keeps the old=fashioned feel. I was able to achieve this with my 5x5 grid pattern.
The picture on the second spread emphasized the variety of wines available to enthusiasts and I purposely lined up the levels of wine to the text to carry the eye over. The pictures on the third spread are bright and incorporate the colors in them.
The sidebar fits in perfectly with my 5x5 grid. I rarely see a sidebar at the top, so I used my imagination and added that innovative aspect to my design, while sticking to clean basics for the majority of it. I want it to be modern and readable, and I hope I have achieved this.

Type Challenge - Mary Tyler Moore

This week's type challenge is from the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

What is the typeface used in the title?


First person to e-mail Professor Taylor with the correct answer wins a Starbucks card.

PR student's survey

Professor Taylor passes along this survey from a PR student. Here's the message:

We appreciate you taking the time to complete our MAR 356 survey about our
Hookah Bar proposal for Marshall Street. The survey should take about
15 minutes to complete. Please be assured that the information you
provide on this survey is anonymous.

Here is the website:


http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=RzsVcHdx47zFceHTo4WASg_3d_3d



Thank you for your time,

Scott Lepkofker
Lina Lisnere
Joanna Rivera
Viviana Rodriguez

PR student

Brown Sugar :)