Final Work

Critique: Shindig iPad App

We’ve been working on iPad app pages for our magazine. The one I’m designing is a cooking guide that has a list of the evening’s menu. It includes the cooking time of each item, when it should be taken out of the oven, for example, and a timer that shows what temperature it should be cooked. There is also a shopping list that provides what food will be needed for the party. Here is what it looks like so far.

Response: Mini Portfolio

I’ve been finalizing my portfolio, and all I have left to put in it is Shindig designs. I’m planning to send it to the printer this weekend to get a proof before we present them to the class. Here is what I have for my front and back cover, a preview of what my labels and page setup will look like, and my resume, which is on the last pages.

You Can’t Miss This

On designverb this week, there is a post about emoticon rings. Chao and Eero Jewel from Finland designed these with inspiration that email and phone messages are used so frequently. Using emoticons to express emotion is probably a daily activity for most people, so I bet many think this is a clever idea. I think they're pretty funny.

I love looking at packaging design, and I found some pretty neat ones on a site called Lovely Package. Much of the designs featured are of beverage labels, but there is a wide variety of categories, such as athletics and home. Here are some of my favorites.

Finalizing Shindig

Critique: Shindig 
Well, Shindig designing is officially almost complete. We’ve come a long way from our first draft, and it has turned out great. I’m so excited to see the finished product. It will be rewarding to see our work in print. Here are my pretty-much-final designs. Some online teases and high-res photos need to be placed, but other than that everything is complete. I was in charge of four departments and two features.

Also, here is my music department design for the 4/21 issue.

Response: Mini Portfolio

I worked on my portfolio this past weekend, and I realized it’s harder to come up with a layout than I expected. I’m having trouble deciding if I want to put designs strictly on the right pages or if I should include designs on the left pages as well. As of right now I have single-page designs on the right pages, and if there is a multiple-page design, I put it on both sides. This strategy might be too inconsistent, but I will decide after I figure out where I’m going to place the section labels. 

You Can’t Miss This:

Designverb hasn't posted much these past two weeks, but there was a post about puppeteers Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones. Their latest creation is of a life-like horse who trots and gallops. Check out the video. It's pretty amazing what they can build.

I came across this neat website of Mathieu Badimon, a French web designer. Check out one of his pages.

Home Stretch

One moth left until graduation! It's scary that I'll be off to the real world soon and exciting as well. For my capstone, I only have two more projects, a few designs for Vox and Shindig finishing touches to do. Four weeks will go by super fast.

Critique: 30 Under 30

Last Thursday I turned in my design for the 30 Under 30 feature. I didn’t spend as much time on it as I would have liked because I was so busy and caught up with Shindig designing. Looking at it now, I wish I would’ve given more typographic treatment to the title. I had a neat idea for it, but I didn’t execute it well. I like the set up of the words, but I could’ve chosen a different font. I also like the dotted lines that connect each photo to the text. I think it has good potential, and with some redesigning it will be a great piece to include in my portfolio. Here is the opening spread.

Response: Mini Portfolio

I’m excited to make my mini portfolio for potential employers. I decided to go with EBM’s printing. I want to use glossy paper and the 7 x 81/2 size. For my front cover, I’m going to have a solid color for the background with my name. For the back cover, I’m going to list my contact information. Finding a great font for my name will be a key part because it will most likely be all that the front includes. I might create a design element to put with my name, but we’ll see how it looks without one first. I’m leaning toward having my designs only on the right-hand side of the pages, and then placing labels in the middle of the left pages. In terms of organization, I think it will be best to have my designs in this order: Shindig, Vox, magazine design class, Cerner and outside design work.

You Can’t Miss This:

Designverb hasn't posted anything on its blog all week, but I will include one as soon as they do.

I found a neat site called creattica. It has a collection of designs for inspiration, such as business cards, logos and HTML/CSS. I thought it’d be a good idea to share some of the website designs I came across. Hopefully they’ll provide everyone with ideas as we start designing our websites. Here is one of my favorites.

Let April Begin

Critique: Shindig Department Pages

This week I’ve been working on second drafts of the Chris Nease feature, and designing the remaining three department pages and feature that I was assigned. Tova did a great job designing the templates. I think everything is looking even more cohesive, and our brand/personality really shines through. I can’t believe that it’s already getting down to the last few weeks before the magazine goes to the printer! We have a lot to do until then, but it's all coming 

together nicely. I’m excited to finish our second drafts later this week. Here is one department and a rough draft of my other feature I’ve designed so far.

Response: Letter Art & Inspiration

I really enjoyed creating the letter art for the spring break project. I’ve always wanted a professional one from Hallmark, and now I can just frame my own work. I decided that I’m going to create more and give as gifts. I’m starting to photograph letters so I can have a variety to pick from. I think this will be a fun hobby and craft for me to have. Taking a photo a day was fun too. I'd love to do it for an entire year, but I know it would be tough to keep up with. Doing it for a week was a good amount of time, especially because I had extra time on my hands. Here is the letter art I designed for class and my four favorite photos I took.