Design Brief #4

I'm looking forward to designing a brochure for the next design brief.  I think it's cool that it will actually be used by the UWM Writing Center and not just a project for class.  I've designed brochures in the past but I hope to improve my skills further with this project.

I read Robin William's book, "The Non-Designer's Design Book" last year and I found it very helpful.  A lot of the things she discusses seem obvious but you never really think about them.  The most important thing I took from her book is that everything has to line up with something in a layout.  Never put a line of text in a random place because you think it looks good.  Lining everything up makes a lot more sense visually.  

Changes to Layouts

The changes I made to each of my three layouts were pretty similar across the board.  In each one I enlarged the headline to make it stand out more in the composition and to make sure that everyone's eye goes there first.  I also decreased the font size of the body text one point to further help organize the hierarchy.  I bolded the date above the headline because I felt like that needed to be emphasized more.  I also made the body text wrap around the images in all 3 layouts to add visual interest.  I'm happier with the layouts now that I made the changes. 

Imaging Ideology

It's really interesting how big of an impact type can make on something, and not just the type but the positioning, color, size, weight etc.  Each characteristic creates a different meaning and feel.  Moving a line of type a couple inches in a composition can completely change the hierarchy of the entire composition.  You don't realize it in everyday life, but type is very important part of everything we do.  Taking typography and design classes really make you appreciate it a lot more.

Application Form

Contrast

I created contrast through the use of a sans serif font in the headings of the document and a serif font through the rest. I also worked with bold vs. regular type throughout to create hierarchy.

Balance

I kept pretty much the same format throughout the form so I believe that it is balanced.

Proportion

The only visual elements I have are at the top of the form but they are both the same size so it doesn't cause a lot of contrast which could be improved.

Rhythm

Besides at the top of the form, there aren't any shapes or visual elements in the design.

Harmony

This is a very simple design which is what I intended. I wanted it to be straight-forward and easily understandable.

Movement

There is not a lot of movement since it is an application and is not really meant to have much movement.

Unity

The format of the text is similar throughout which creates a visual unity.

*My computer took forever to start up

Typography

The most important thing I got from the readings would probably be the three Cs, concordant, conflicting, and contrasting.  A concordant relationship occurs when you use only one type family without lots of variation in weight style and color.  A conflicting relationship happens when combining typefaces that are similar in style size and weight.  A contrasting relationship occurs when different type faces are combined that are distinctly different from each other.  

There are some guidelines that I learned from the reading in regards to type on page or screen:

-readability for the viewer

-know when to use serif fonts and when to use sans serif fonts.

-work with leading, kerning, and tracking to improve readability

-always experiment with font size and weight to achieve hierarchy

What I thought should used for the fountain....design

This tile was placed in the kitchen category but I intended it to be in the fountain category. I think the strong flowing curvilinear lines resemble waves or water which made me think fountain. I purposely made the letter unrecognizable because I think that adds more visual interest to the piece and makes the viewer have to think about it. Like my other design, this tile is clean and simple which I think works well for the fountain's soothing feel.

In my future work I need to concentrate more on the negative space rather than just the figure. I have to realize that the negative space is just as important as the positive. I've improved on this but could still use more work.

Poet's Kitchen Design

I think this tile fits well in the poet's kitchen for a few reasons:

- you can tell what the letters are which I wanted because letters are related to poet

- the 2 letter "x"s form a shape of their own when combined which I think is effective

- the overall design is simple which I think works well for a poet

I think I can improve with my figure ground relationship still. I've been working with it for a long time but I could still use more practice with it.