After what seems like actual AGES, I’m almost done with my ten-piece campaign for Layout 3.
I’ve finished
I only have the festival map left! Thank goodness. Here are some snippets of my finished products.
After way too long, I’ve finally finished the ten-piece campaign poster. Deep down, I wanted to create more of an art-centered poster. But with all of my classes and working part-time, I’m left with minimal time. I opted for a simple and sleek poster design. I scrapped most of what I started with. Throughout a lot of my ten-piece designs, I’ve used tree trunks. To keep continuity (and give myself some peace of mind), I decided to use that imagery for my design.
Before settling on my headliner font, it was really hard. I think the compressed font helped keep things crisp and in line. I played around with scale to indicate the more well-known artists.
It might not be the prettiest poster, but I’ve got a lot more things to prioritize. Time to do more homework!
I finally finished my first assigned ticket/project! It was a really simple task but still. I had to turn a bookmark file into an 8.5 x 11″ flyer. There were some bumps in the road. The bookmark functioned as a coupon for a free library bag, which would be odd for a flyer. I asked about that and then scrapped the coupon paragraph. Turning a bookmark into a flyer also made it interesting when trying to place images.
I learned how communication between a client and a designer goes. It was good practice! Another graphic designer was also able to look over my file. I’m still learning what versions of logos to use and where everything is on the I drive. I’ve never used the Share for Review feature in Adobe. It’s pretty handy and I think I’ll remember that for future projects.
Now I’ve got the hang of things (a little bit at least). I can’t wait to update yall on what I work on next 🙂
Currently, I’m working on an ultra top-secret (not really) chatbot design. I’ve been given the chance to determine a chatbot’s graphic and overall branding.
I started my process like any other project, with research. I wanted to get a feel for the chatbot graphic standard as well as fit into my criteria which are:
I spent a good amount of time drafting up potential graphics. When designing, I knew my graphic was going to be very small on a screen. I got a lot of good feedback from my manager and the lead graphic designer.
After the feedback, I went back and revised it. I am not an artist in the drawing sense, and I was a bit worried about my knack for digital art. But I played around and made edits. Hopefully, I’ll get another round of critiques soon.
Here’s where I’m at so far:
Thanks to a tour at JDS Industries, I am the new owner of a leatherette journal. I can etch into it with the school’s laser (like I did with the tree ornament).
I just had a new assignment: a laser/engraving portfolio design piece. Some classmates are buying keychains, pens, etc. I am just rolling with the neat journal. I knew I wanted my design to be lyric-based. After listening to one of my favorite songs (Sunbleached Flies) I knew I had some verses to pick from.
I ended up creating my file in Illustrator and going with an eye-catching cathedral window. Picking out fonts was really fun, I wanted the font to match the tone of the lyric. Script fonts are really fun to play around with and I’ve curated a collection of fun cursive fonts on Adobe Fonts.
With the complex window, I opted to keep the rest of the design simple. I can’t wait to fire up the laser and engrave my notebook. Stay tuned!
Almost a year ago, an old friend gave me some cool old magazines. It was so cool to flip through them and see old ads and stories. There was a 1925 needlework magazine that was battered and it had such neat illustrations, that I just had to turn it into a zine. I did feel bad about cutting into it but it was practically falling apart and it had been scribbled in. (I still feel a little guilty)
I went for the easiest and most basic zine method. Which is basically folding a letter size paper into 8 sections. For the zine, I used paper, the old magazine, elmers glue, and some dried forget me nots. The process took a long time. I wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to go. I started by cutting out my favorite illustrations and bigger words.
This project took a long time and stayed halfway done buried in a sea of half-finished projects. But I finally finished it a week ago! Once I was done with the original, I scanned it and printed off copies. I like the grayscale look, but the original yellow would also be cool. I cut and folded the copies and wham bam I had multiple zines.
The printer did cut off some of the edges, but I’m not bothered. I’m so proud of it!
After a wild year of school, I think it’s official. I have senioritis. I’m not sure if it’s the gloomy weather or the final month before graduation, but I’m loosing bits of motivation and creativity.
I’ve been working on little projects here and there to keep myself creating outside of class. I think this has helped my design process.
So far I’ve made a fabric star garland. It took me a lot longer than I thought. It was fun to just zone out with a show and then see it come together bit by bit.
The fabric choice wasn’t my favorite, but I wanted to challenge myself to use what I already had. Because of that aspect, each star is filled with even more fabric scraps.
Not pictured, but I also hand sewed a felt calico critter keychain holder (similar to pic below).
However, I chose to make a blueberry carrier instead of a star.
What do you do to keep your creative streak?
I’m still at a standstill with my poster. I think I need some time away from it so I can attack with a new perspective. Right now I’ve gotten the website mock up done (below)
The website mock up took ages! I had to make sure my colors were accessible. I used https://contrast-grid.eightshapes.com/. Something that challenged me was trying to place images into unorthodox shapes. To take my image to the arch shape, I had to turn the shape into a smart object and then place the image on top, before using a clipping mask. There has got to be an easier way lol.
I also finished my social media lineup post. This is an imaginary campaign, so I made sure to include my dream lineup.
I tried to make sure the artists matched the same vibe of music. I also hopped on spotify and made a playlist modeled after my lineup. That helped me find flow and before I knew it I had two pieces done!
As I wrote in my last post, I am designing a 10 piece campaign for a music festival. I have finished the logo and stage banner. The current work in progress is the poster. I wanted the poster to be artsy, and be able to be hung on a wall. There’s the easy route of including all of the head liners, but I wanted a more fun approach.
I started with a bunch of small sketches. Nothing really stood out to me. I really wanted to capture the atmosphere of the festival. It’s set in a small Iowa town with mainly indie and alternative artists. The past festival themes have been kinda folksy and hippie ish, or trendy. I wanted to have a ren faire adjacent theme. Something that felt homey, backroads, fun, and comforting.
After a bunch of sketching and scouring Pinterest, I came across a cool frame/medieval banner template.
After looking online for similar frames and borders, I had an idea. I wanted to include snapshots of the festival (the hinter tree, guitar, and a lineup) but in a framed way.
Right now, I’m in the process of editing the sketched snapshots, and finalizing color combos. The tree sketch isn’t my own work, it’s from the public domain. I found it on public.works. That’s a really cool site for images in the public domain.
Thoughts? Concerns? Questions? Until next time!
Lately in Layout 3, we’ve been learning about trapping. It’s a printing technique. I’ve learned how to design, but it’s nice knowing the print side as well.
Here’s a great video that explains the basics.
This articles talks about trapping and different methods.
In class, we talked about different methods, and created our own samples in Illustrator.
It’s a lot to understand and wrap my head around. In class, we didn’t go over everything yet. There’s still more!