Final ROR Poste Response

For the last project for Typography I, we got the opportunity to take part in a contest for an organization called Reach Out and Read. This organization's goal is to get parents to start reading to their children at an early age by donating books and communicating this message through family pediatricians/doctors. I wanted my poster to relate to the parent as well as the child. They are my audience and I wanted to communicate a message that relates to both parties individually as well as the parent-child as a whole. I came up with a theme of discovery and learning in which my heading read "discover and read with your child." This both communicates to the parents typographically, and with the imagery I used communicates to the child, pulling both audiences in. After creating thumbnails and iterations, my final poster consisted of a photograph and type. I created a scene in which a boat and waves look as though they are coming out of the book. With this project there was great opportunity with the freedom we had and to create something analog. By creating something analog this also related to the child and the playfulness of using an actual found book in my imagery. I experimented a lot in both the typography in the poster as well as the photographs that were taken. I had many ideas and originally wanted the whole poster to consist of analog produced text as well. After trying to complete this  method the composition ended up looking to busy and clustered. The poster looked much cleaner and simple by using a photograph and digital text. The biggest challenge was incorporating the two. By creating an something visually interesting with the text and making the text and image work as one. I overlapped the text slightly over the sun to join the two together. This meshed the two just slightly, but enough to tie the two together.
Overall, I am really pleased with my poster. I think it is possibly the first project that represents me and who I am becoming as a designer. I think it was a great chance to think out of the box and a great experience on what a project would be like in the "real world." We had to think about the who, what, when, and why.... and I discovered many things about photography technique as well as working with text and image, as well as myself and who I am becoming as a designer.

ROR- More Poster Variations

I have been experimenting with the type on my poster... it has kind of been a struggle, but I feel that am slowly getting closer. As Marty says, "make a moment," with the text, I am trying to do that but at the same time have the photograph be seen plus the text. Making them both work together has been the challange.  I just really needed to focus on the text now and making that a piece and then combining the image and the text. I think the bolder typeface is more successful with the dominance of the image, they look more in sync/ in balance with one another. 

-This is more of the direction I think I am leaning towards now. These top three posters are all the same concept, but with slight differences in the placement and ampersand opacity. I think this helps break up the text as well as the composition of the whole poster.

The ones below are examples of more variation attempts. 

this was chosen at the most recent crit
A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

ROR Posters

We had our first critique for our Reach Out and Read posters. This is competition we are all taking part in, but also this is our last project for Typography I class.  My concepts are geared more towards the children yet, the message being clear to the parent as well. I think that it's important to reach every aspect of your audience, which is the parents but also the kids. I want the poster to be just as attention grabbing towards both parties. I am creating a playful imaginary concept with my posters.
-We began with our thumbnail sketches and chose three from there to complete in color and start ideas on the computer just to show concept and composition. This project is a great opportunity to learn a lot and with the freedom we have to really experiment using digital and analog methods.

POSTERS

-With this poster I wanted to showcase how reading can lead you to different places. I went with a much more graphic approach in this poster compared to my others. This was really one of the first times I have drawn out things in Illustrator and created my own shapes. I drew the flowers then traced them out using line and the pen tool. It was a good learning process if nothing else for me. 

These two posters are the same besides slight difference in composition with the typeface and flowers. I really  like this slogan and idea of the parent and child growing together with books and learning together at the same time. I have the concept of the flower actually growing out of the book. The flowers on these posters are flowers I drew and just scanned in and placed on the picture of the book. 

(The chosen one!) For my third poster, like in the flower ones above, the idea of a parent really interacting in the  learning and reading process with their child. The imagination really stretching.... Opening this book and this scene coming to life. In the waves, moon, and boat above, they are flat water colored book pages that I cut out and scanned onto the computer. For the next steps I am actually going to create a type of diorama (very children inspired) and have the words be hanging by strings and the actual book will be present in the poster by photographing it. I think I am going to change the phrase to just "Learn and discover with your child." I think the- open the book - part will be obvious when I have the book shown in the poster. I want this poster to feel as if it came from a little boy or girls imagination, so deep rich bright colors... I am excited to get started and photograph this. 

I have never really set up something in studio to photograph.... it should be fun!  

Speaking Periodically Project 4: Final Layouts

Monogram

Print Spread

"web" layout

Webpage Layouts (variations)

(A)

(B)

(C) 

Skylab Field Trip

Today we ventured to  Skylab Letterpress and it was a great experience. Being able to see everything up  close and really experience how such beautiful things are made was really interesting. I like how even being a designer I will still hopefully in the future get to work with a letterpress. The paper, ink, letterpresses, and design are wonderful along with the owner Bob Atkins. We got the chance to collect some of their gang sheets, misprints, and work for other businesses. The physicality of a business card or invitation is the greatest part of letterpress. Bob explained that the physical touch is what is so moving about having something letter-pressed, being able to feel the relief of the letters and the quality of the paper and its texture. It makes me want to design something just so I can get it letterpressed! 

Web Layouts

Page Layouts for Helium

These are the final three page spreads.....
I am sure there are a couple things that still need to be fixed, but after one-on-one critique today with Marty she helped me organize the information a bit more. I thought that I didn't have enough on the page and she said that I needed to delete some info. Once I started deleted and fixing things I realized that less is more.

Type: Find and Share Layouts

-I chose to look through a magazine that I have always noticed as having good layout design. Yoga Journal is clean lined and simple which reflects the subject of the magazine as well. 

(1)(2) 

(3)(4)

I believe these second two pages use a five column grid.  It caught my eye because of the pictures and how the text wraps and flows with the pictures they are not clashing in anyway.  I think that was one difficult element of creating a page layout for me. Trying to incorporate pictures and not having them floating in the space or look so stuck in without a purpose. The text wraps around the picture in the fourth page just right and I like how the pictures bleed off the page. Each page uses text and photographs in different ways which keeps the viewer interested and the eye has a lot to look at but it is not overstimulating or to busy. The use of color is relaxing and contrasts well with the background an flows with the photographs. Also, on the first page, there are multiple typefaces being used, which for me is sometime hard to do. To step out of the box of using the same typeface and using a variety of weights to give variation which can create a unique composition. 

Here are some more pages I found that caught me eye. I find all of these very visually interesting through the type and image. Also the color of the type makes the page even more diverse and also helps the use of hierarchy. 

Helium Final Symbol

This is what we decided for my final symbol for the element Helium. Even though I made a slight change we decided to go to with the symbol where the foot of the H is not shown in the counter of the e. I am happy with my symbol. I think it represents the light airiness of of helium and even though there are many properties of helium it is very simple. It is an element with no gravitational pull so the H is floating off and away from the e. 

With the H going through the counter. 

FINAL

Helium Symbols

From the thumbnail sketches we chose three to expand on in 5 more different ways.

Top 10 from sketches:

5 Variations of the three chosen.