Experimenting With Grid Layouts

This week we learnt about grid layouts that are used when designing (particularly in magazines and newspapers) to help layout the information in an interesting but correctly proportioned manner.

In groups we then had to each create a magazine spread for some information and images given to us, using a house style across all our work in order for it all to flow together well and look consistent.

This is the design I came up with using the grids created on indesign. I stuck to quite a basic layout because it has allowed for me to explore the concept of "breaking the grid" which I shall post after this blog. Our hours style included very minimalistic colours, due to the type of information we were all writing about. All the articles are quite formal so we decided to use black and white mainly, but add in hints of the colour red just to add a bit of variety. 

In regards to type, we chose to use a Sans Serif font for the headings of each of our articles, and then a Serif font for the main body of text. The heading font used is "Lao MN" and the heading font is "Lucinda Fax". By using a Serif font in the main part of the article it makes it easier to read, especially with their being a large volume of writing. The Sans Serif heading breaks this up slightly, and as the font is larger in size, there is no difficultly in reading the text.

After creating my main layout, I decided to justify the text in each of the columns as I felt this made it far easier to read then when the alignment was to the right. Overall, I feel this design is quite simple, but with sticking to the basic rigid grid layout it has made an effective presentation for the type of article. 

This simple exercise of working within the grids has helped with my knowledge and understanding of magazine and newspaper layouts, and has also meant that I've learn what it then means to "break the grid." 

Things I find cool!

I was just having a quick browse to get some creative ideas flowing, and came across these two uses of visual design that I find really interesting.

I personally love these quirky experimentations with colour, type and designs! I particularly like the several different trials and attempts at logos used in this ensemble. Also the use of very calm pale/pastel type colours are really successful and the choices made compliment each other well.

This is a logo that has been designed for a friend of mine's band. I really like the font used here in this design, and I feel the decision to colour it white over the black and white/sepia shaded photograph works very effectively!

Colour Case Studies

For my two colour case studies, I've chosen to look at Parma Violet sweets.

The parma violet sweet packaging uses pinks and purples all over. On the smaller packets of sweets only the writing is present in the vibrant pink coloured lettering outlined in a darker purple. On these small packets, no background colour is used, as the sweets themselves act as the pale purple background. For the "giant" parma violet packaging, a background colour is used, and this is seen to be the same pale purple colour as the sweets. 

The colour choice in this packaging helps to emphasise the product inside. The word "violet" in the products title, is supported by the sweet colour itself as well as the range or dark/light purples and pinks in the packaging. Also, many people consider pink and related colours to have connotations of candy of sweets, so this use of colour on the Parma Violets packaging works really effectively. 

The next colour case study I want to look at is the logo and packaging design for the Monster Energy drink. The solid black background accompanied by the bright green"M" - extended downwards as if created by claws- helps to create an eye catching design for the can. The use of colour is quite simple, however I feel it works quite effectively in relation to the products name. The black background allows the green to stand out boldly on top and also helps to support this idea of monsters being quite dark and evil beings. To add to this belief, the green is often a colour people associate with monsters or creatures of this kind and also could relate in with the idea people have about jealousy and this making people into "a green eyed monster."

Overall, I feel the use of these two very bold colours works well together in this design. The black representing darkness and evil perhaps, with the green clawed "M" leading to connotations of monsters or jealousy helps promote the products name really well.

Album Cover Design

Below is the album cover design I've created for this week's task. I have made it for the album "Life in a Beautiful Light" by Amy Macdonald. I have decided to keep the design quite simple whilst creating it, to try and create a more pretty and elegant looking cover. I have used a dark grey background, and in the centre inserted a photograph - taken by myself -  into a circle. I have chosen to use the light version of the font "American Typewriter" as I feel this is in keeping with the minimalistic yet elegant look of the rest of the cover.

Photographic Case Studies

This week we had to find photographic case studies. For these, I have chosen to use two advertisements that incorporate photography as one of the visual elements used alongside typography.  In both of these example, the images are used to create a meaning behind what is being advertised to the audience. Without these images, the choice of wordings and type used would mean very little, and would not fully portray the product being discussed. As well as this, without the use of images and photography, both of these advertisements would be extremely plain and lacking in anything interesting/engaging to draw in the attention of the intended audience. Both examples for my photographic case studies use rhetoric in their choice of design to try and persuade the audience into purchasing their particular product. 

The first of my case studies is this advert for Revlon lipstick. This example shows use of all forms of rhetoric (verbal, presentational, photographic and editing) in order to engage the audience and make their product seem appealing. For presentational rhetoric, the use of acres Emma Stone has been selected to try and entice the target audience (females). By using quite a well known actor at the time, makes their product more appealing, as it creates this idea in a audience's mind that if a celebrity wears that product then it must be good and they too want to own it. The colours used are very fresh and vibrant looking - pinks, corals, oranges.  This makes the advertisement engaging and attractive, and due to the bright/pretty looking colours, makes the poster as a whole quite eye catching. The use of these colours  gives a healthy look to Emma Stone, and again makes the audience think that by using this product they can look/be like her.  

In the case of editing rhetoric, they have decided to have their subject looking directly into the camera. By doing this it's as though she's directly in contact with the audience, and it also makes her look strong and confident - something they may be suggesting happens when using this product.

For this second case study, again all four types of rhetoric have been used to persuade the audience into buying this product. What's particularly interesting in the advertisement though, is the composition of the subjects in relation to the camera. This is something that has been cleverly thought out and it is used to make this particular product even more appealing to their female target audience. By having this photographed image of the man and woman together as the main body of the advertisement - supported only by minimal text and a small image of the product itself - it instantly grabs the attention of the audience. Both these subjects appear to be naked (or in very minimal clothing) which instantly triggers connotations of sex in an audience's mind. This instant connotation, placed alongside their closeness and embrace in the photograph makes it seem as though the advertisement is saying, "wear this perfume and your life will be like this." 

Also, with the female subject being place slightly higher then the male, and with her gaze looking directly into the camera - as opposed to the male who can only be seen slightly in comparison, and who is embraced in her hands and leaning into her body - it instantly gives the impression that she has power. This positioning alongside the connotations of sex, create the impression that as a female, if you wear this perfume, you will become confident, sexy and adored by men. 

Not necessarily the case.... but it is a definitely a clever use of photography in a marketing campaign. 

Sourcing Images

This week we discussed the practice of collecting/gathering images to use in our personal work.

When using images in our own work, we have to be careful about where we source these images from; to avoid being in breach of copyright laws. To avoid this happening, there are many places where you can source photographs/images in a way that will protect you from going against the various copyright laws that exist.

One idea, is to use images that you have photographed yourself, as of course this means that you are free to do as you please with your own images! As well as this, there are stock websites you can use such as "istockphoto.com" and “shuttershock”, from which you can purchase the rights to use particular photos. Prices for photographs can vary depending on several factors. These are things such as: how much the photographer wants for their image and the intended use of the image. 

Another great site to use is www.flickr.com as you can browse through thousands of photography, and have the option of checking the image permissions to be sure you are allowed to use it for your required purpose.  On this site, you also have the options to advance your search so you are only presented with images with particular rights etc. Another great feature of Flickr is that you can choose to only search within Creative Commons licensed content. This means you can search through people’s photographs and see the conditions on which you can use their image. The use of Creative Commons allows individuals to change the copyright permissions of their work from “all rights reserved” to “some rights reserved”, and with the use of Flickr you can easily see the rights selected by the individual on sharing and using their work.

You can find out more information about Creative Commons and what it is they do, by visiting:

www. http://creativecommons.org

My very own font!

For my placement, they asked me if I would create a font that could be used in a trailer for a short animated film they're creating. Below is the font I came up with!

These following three images, are just a selection of what I had to put together for the trailer after completing the font design: