Autumn Schreiber Creative

Tag: design

  • winter break update #2

    Well guys, it’s been a busy break! I visited more family, worked on more projects, and am trying to stay in my software.

    Adding the yarn
    Almost done!
    Hung out with my family at Falls Park

    After seeing my mom’s side of the family for Christmas, I used my days off of work to start an awareness campaign. Right now, the proposed South Dakota budget reduces the SD Library budget by 64%! Click here for the article. I’ve always loved the library and want to let South Dakotans know. Together we can let our voices be heard and retain our amazing library resources.

    So as a start for my campaign, I wanted to create posters. I like my initial Lorax idea but upon second glance, the Lorax is a copyrighted icon. So he had to go.

    The first poster idea

    I decided to keep my poster simple. I really wanted to make it eye-catching and memorable, but time is of the essence in this moment. By going with a simple poster, I’m able to redirect my energy into the social media aspect.

    The final form! (for now)

    Now that I have a poster made, my plan is to print off copies and hang them up around town. Maybe even in surrounding towns. I also created a social media account (sdlibraryadvocates) on Facebook and Instagram. My goal is to highlight the many resources that our state library provides for us, as well as how to fight the proposed budget cut.

    I’ll keep you posted on my library crusade! Until next time 🙂

    Posts

  • the final countdown: aka semester final projects

    I’ve been chipping away at my final projects! Right now, I’m finalizing my last article spread. I really want to have it nearly finished so I can get feedback and turn in my magazine before class ends tomorrow.

    Here are my different iterations:

    I think I’m leaning towards the last one. Maybe I’ll change the top bar color.

    I’m also working on my perfume label. It’s come a long way since my last update.

    When I got some pointers from my teacher, it was clear that he wanted imagery instead of illustration. I might switch the colors from green to orange because it is an orange scent. Not too sure right now.

    That’s all she wrote! (for now) Wishing all students an easy finals week.

    Posts

  • perfume label progress

    I’ve been steadily working on my perfume label in class. Initially, I wanted the perfume to have the scent of bleeding heart flowers, but since the bottle is an amber color, I decided on an orange scent.

    I’m still playing around with font combinations for the brand. But I am happy with the body copy font (The Seasons).

    The brand font in this early stage was Gautreaux
    Here are my WIP font options… still not sold on any yet

    Then I wanted to include orange blossoms on the label for some floral imagery. I found a reference online and digitized the flower for a sketch/illustration feel. I then resized it to better fit the label.

    The current iteration of the perfume label, with a different brand font

    I think I’m starting to get somewhere now. I need to play around with the borders (color, thickness, etc) as well as the color of the label itself. The brand font is better, but needs to be tampered with a bit. The orange blossom flowers need stems and perhaps leaves. This is far from its final form. Stay posted!!

    From the blog

    Stay up to date with the latest from our blog.

    • intern diaries #3

      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…

    • finishing up odds and ends

      With the clock ticking until graduation, I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire. This week has been crazy hectic and so far I’ve…

    • the intern diaries #2

      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…

    • new etching design: the process

      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…

  • design legends you should know #7 Jessica Walsh

    Jessica Walsh is a graphic designer, creative director, author, illustrator, design teacher, and founder of the design agency &Walsh.

    Her Career

    Walsh was born in Rhode Island in 1986. Before even stepping foot in college, she coded and designed websites at 11 years old. She got her BFA at Rhode Island School of Design in 2008. Shortly after, she was off to New York City to pursue design. Walsh interned at Pentagram under designer Paula Scher. Her career continued to explode. She was at Sagmeister Inc. for two years, before becoming a partner. After years of working at Sagmeister & Walsh, Walsh split and formed her own agency (&Walsh). Walsh also teaches typography and design at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She’s worked with Jay Z, the New York Times, Adobe, and Levi’s to name a few.

    Her Work

    Sources

  • what the heck is a lead in spread

    Well folks I hit a brick wall. Even google couldn’t give me a clear answer when googling “what is a lead in magazine spread?” I’m furiously researching this because I happen to have a lead in spread due tomorrow afternoon for class. I’ve scavenged the internet and found resources for how to write a lead in spread, but nothing on how to design one. I’ve looked at Linkedin Learning and haven’t found anything directly relating to lead in spreads.

    My basic understanding of a lead in spread is that it is a spread that mainly has a large image across one page and a blurb of writing that teases the article.

    Here are some Fast Company magazine lead in spreads below

    So it seems the formula is simply

    large image + banner+ title and introduction blurb= lead in spread

    Here is my finished lead in spread

    If anyone else has any resources or clarifying information, please let me know in the comments below!

  • product spread adventures

    product spread adventures

    Making my first product spread was a rollercoaster! It challenged me to beef up my photography skills and problem-solve.

    My magazine is all design-centered. So I wanted my product spread to align with that. I decided to make the theme of the spread: things designers need. (That way I could scavenge my apartment for things I already had)

    The (Pinterest) Inspo

    The Trials and Tribulations of The Product Spread

    My intial thought was that I could take one picture with everything laid out in the lightbox. However, I had trouble getting a wide enough shot. It was also tricky to get enough height to take the picture.

    So, I pivoted to taking individual pictures of my products. This way, I could place everything on the spread wherever I wanted it. I had a hard time taking a picture of a mug. When I placed it on its side, it rolled, and angling the camera was a bust. I ended up with six product pictures of tea, coffee, pens, a sketchbook, a planner, and a journal.

    I took my pictures into Photoshop and got rid of the background, fixed the brightness, etc. Placement was difficult to pin down. I wanted the spread to resemble a semi-messy desk. But the finished spread had the products more centered and neat.

    Honestly, at this point I wasn’t too happy with what I had. I didn’t consider all of the colors of my products. The colors didn’t really go together, so I ended up finding a different planner and teabags to reshoot.

    Then I tackled the background. I wanted it to have some sort of texture. I found two different brown paper bags and some wrinkled wrapping paper. The wrapping paper ended up being the wrong color and a bit too wrinkly. But the brown paper bag worked out just right. I got inspired by a Trader Joe’s bag and took pictures of the illustrations. Then I removed the backgrounds in post and added them to my spread for some fun.

    The Evolution of My Product Spread

    The early iteration with the old planner and tea bags
    After talking with my teacher, I moved some things around
    I moved the kettle behind to allow more space for the text (the final form)

    That’s all she wrote! Comment your design roadblocks and how you overcame them.

  • creating a perfume brand

    This weeks new project was introduced and I’m soooo excited. We are making product labels! Everyone in class had to bring in a package with an inset label. I dug up a funky shaped body spray bottle. So my task is to make another label for the bottle. We get to make a brand, logo, and design!

    Initial Thoughts

    After brainstorming some names, I settled on Gibson Girl. I wanted a fun, frilly, romantic perfume/body spray. In order to stay somewhat true to the Gibson Girl image, I did some research.

    Research

    What is the Gibson Girl?

    Charles Gibson’s drawing of his iconic Gibson Girl

    The Gibson Girl was coined the “New Woman” of the 1900. She was the American beauty standard of the 1890s-1910s. The “New Woman” was well-educated, physically fit, beautiful, romantic, and independent. However, they also pursued marriage. Despite this more modern and progressive view of the ideal woman, Gibson Girls were still portrayed in domestic spheres. The look of such a woman was defined by tall stature, slender but curvy, and chignon styled hair.

    Artist Charles Dana Gibson coined the term “Gibson Girl” and his drawings encapsulated his ideas. His drawings were inspired by Evelyn Nesbit,  Irene Langhorne, Mabel Normand, and Minnie Clark.

    Sources

    Pinterest and Moodboards

    I created a board on Pinterest for some visuals. I pinned images of old perfume labels, florals, and all sorts of romantic notions. ( Click here)

    That’s all folks! Once I figure out fonts and more solid mood boards, I will update ya’ll.

    • the ten piece poster final form

      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…

    • intern diaries #3

      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…

    • finishing up odds and ends

      With the clock ticking until graduation, I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire. This week has been crazy hectic and so far I’ve crossed some stuff off my to do list like: and believe it or not I still have a lot more to do 🙁 My growing to do list: I’m gonna…

  • making more moodboards

    making more moodboards

    In my New Media Class, we are making website mood boards for a fictitious client. The website is for Chef Jaqueline, who specializes in making cakes and baked goods for big events. I first started off with making up a moodboard template in Photoshop and then filling it in. There are various mood board templates online that you can find as well.

    I love color and decided to hop onto color.adobe.com. They have all sorts of color palettes. I searched up terms like bakery, cookies, and cake to get some potential color options. I ended up going with a pink French bakery color palette.

    For fonts, I wasn’t too sure. I looked at other local bakery sites for ideas. Most headline fonts were bold, readable, and sans serif.

    I found a font I really liked for headlines, called New Kansas. I usually get my fonts from Adobe fonts. I went with a sans serif sub headline font, Elza. And then a simple serif font, Dolly Pro, for the body copy.

    I also had to make sure my navbar colors were easily readable. I experimented with my different palette colors to find the best option. To make sure, I used this color checker website.

    Ta Da! The finished mood board

    Read more posts for design insights. Until next time 🙂

    From the blog

    Stay up to date with the latest from our blog.

    • intern diaries #3

      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…

    • finishing up odds and ends

      With the clock ticking until graduation, I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire. This week has been crazy hectic and so far I’ve…

    • the intern diaries #2

      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…

    • new etching design: the process

      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…

  • design legends you should know #6 Chip Kidd

    Chip Kidd is a book jacket designer, associate art director for Alfred A. Knopf, certified comic nerd, freelancer, and novelist.

    Kidd’s Career

    Kidd got his start in the design world with a graphic design degree at Penn State in 1986. From there he moved to New York, and became a junior assistant in the Alfred A. Knopf publishing art department. He worked his way up the company ladder, becoming the Associate Art Director in 2013. Kidd has created book covers for David Sedaris, Neil Gaiman, Cormac McCarthy and many more authors.

    In 2001, Kidd published his first novel, The Cheese Monkeys. He wrote a sequel, The Learners. He has helped write and design other books, as well as writing his own children’s graphic design guide, A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design.

    In 2014, he was awarded an AIGA medal. He continues to work at Alfred A. Knopf and has also given a Ted Talk on design philosophy.

    His Work

    Kidd designed the iconic Jurassic Park book cover

    Sources