Another great design

I have seen pictures of the no H8 campaign. I think it's a great play on simple type that sends a message for equality. It's easy to read and it's a great play on "Prop 8" and the word "H8". In all, the design tells alot without writing a lot, which is why it appealed to me.

Lovely Designs

Everytime I see a Peace Corps advertisement, I think about my life. The simple phrase "Life is calling, how far will you go" makes me think about my life and if I'm living to my full potential. This message is emphasized by the by the picture of the man on the pole. If he's answering the call, I feel like I could to.

The asymmetrical approach

To me this picture is an example of asymmetrical design. When we talked about the rule of thirds in class, I took the ad and folded it. My eye went straight for the dark green and red jelly beans, which were in the line of vision like in the rule of thirds.
I see this and believe it's balanced because I imagine the jelly beans are scattered on a table, about to be eaten.

There is nothing more symmetrical than spoons.

Symmetrical

I love the Halloween season. When I was looking for a caramel apple recipe I came across this advertisement in Family Circle magazine. I think it's a good display of symmetry because the spoons are equal on both sides, which is the first thing I notice. From there they are numbered with a variety of soups. The balance of the elements makes is very visually appealing and I'm left feeling hungry in the end.

Learning CS5 one ghost at a time

I decided to make a costume party invitation for my project in PBDS 502. I instantly found the ghost picture I wanted. The only problem I ran into was merging the photo with the text. As I put the two next to each other, I found that my ghost's hand kept getting cut off. I asked for help. I was pointed to the object>arrange button. This allowed me to bring the text boxes to the foreground of background. This help me merge the two objects so they appeared as if they flowed together. Though my design looks very simple, it merged well in the end.

The Hunt for figure+ground and a little CRAP as well

Unless I saw the tiny logo at the bottom, I would not be aware this was an ad campaign from the WWF. Anyway, I think this is a great example of figure, ground because the image of the reptile blends in with the cracks in the soil. At first glance I was just see the cracks, only to discover the form an animal as well. I like how it blends in so well.




CRAP

I was looking design ideas for my bedroom when I came across the cover of this book. I think it's a simple version of contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity.

For one the thing, the contrast is created with the color of the chairs. Also through the chairs you get the repetition of one almost being on top of one another. With alignment, I feel the text is just proportional, almost centered with the chairs to add to the simplicity. Together these elements help create the book cover.

My idea of Good design

While on the plane back to Baltimore, I came across this design and thought it was a great piece. The reason I think it's a good design is because it's simple, colorful, and made me gaze at it a second time.

From the few design classes I've taken, I was taught that simplicity is an important factor. While this thought has never left me, it's something I keep in mind every time I look at graphics. There isn't a lot of type to this cover, but I instantly get an idea of what the cover story is about just from looking at the waffle.

In addition, I love how the waffle flows with the color of the type. I think the light blue background makes it pop and the shadow of the paint brush adds just a little bit of depth.
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Another design I liked was this Chipotle advertisement. I guess the main reason I liked it was it was different. I was pulled in by the fact they are conveying two messages: 1. the burritos are good and 2. information about where the ingredients come from.

I could debate about the wording, but I like that certain words are bolded while the others are in a light gray. I like the the typeface was simple and in the same font. While there is a lot of text to this display, I was taken by how the important point was highlighted in another color. In all, I got the complete message the design was trying to convey.

Graphic Designs I didn't like

I came across this advertisement while in Edmonton, Canada this weekend. As I was driving, I was really struck by the message. I was so struck by it that I decided to incorporate it into my blog. The design is simple, and straight to the point. Yet it's boring and I don't understand what message it is trying to convey. Is it a divorce firm? or is it a place to get help for divorcing? If you wanted to know, it's actually a place to get counseling, which I looked up (maybe that was the point of the advertisement?).

While I like that the message is simple, it doesn't seem so flow, especially with both the typeface and color scheme. For instance "Divorce the" is all in caps and bolded in an orange-red color while the word "Fair" is bolded, lower cased and in black. The word "way" just exists as if it were styled in times new roman.

The main reason I don't like this graphic is because I think the flow of the two fonts doesn't go well against the white background. I feel a better typeface could of spruced up the message.

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I found this design in my newspaper. Even though I think the advertisements for Cliff's Hi-Tech body shop are funny (they have three other ones like this), I think the display is a little scattered. First of all it's to busy. I spot three different typefaces and I'm not even halfway through the graphic. I think things need to get switched around and simplified to better enchance the picture. I think the photo needs to be the main focus. With so much type around it, it becomes more of a background shot then the thing I'm suppose to be engaged with.

I should be working...but I thought this was funny

As my first post, I came across this old article in my newspaper's archives. It made me laugh and I want to share it with the class. The article is from 1970, I think graphic design has come a long way since then.