It has been quite the week so far. Getting prepared for and giving our Meredith Corporation

presentations, which was Monday night for me, and then I've also been trying to crank out and finalize my application for a professional internship at Disney. Thus, I have been doing lots of designing, writing, finalizing of my online portfolio, dealing with sending official transcripts, etc. All of the REALLY fun stuff. But first up, the final Plaid Dad designs. 

Critique: Finalized Plaid Dad Designs  

      So although I kept my main vision and theme the same, there were many things I changed as well from my first draft of designs. If you compare the Plaid Dad designs from my last post to these, you can see that I first had an illustration on the cover of the toolbox on the workbench. My feature spread also changed a lot, partly because it was my least favorite of the three designs. The department spread is what I changed the least, but I did move the workbench there for the toolbox to sit on, and also moved my sidebar to the right page because of what we learned in Magazine Design about how people flip through the pages and will see it better. (Yay retaining knowledge from past classes!)

So were Erica's notes on my first designs and what I needed to change:

"-Pick a different cover image. Rarely do food magazine have an illustration on the cover. Show off the food. Full bleed. 

-There are too many numbers all over the department. Use a grid and organize it a little better. Pick a different font. Try not to use Vox fonts. 

-Feature seems the most dad-like. Not prissy or feminine, but masculine. 

-Work on non-narrative elements, we like that."

So, I definitely took the advice about the cover having a photo. I do agree that a photo makes it look more like a magazine. I also tried to make my feature spread easier to follow. I was satisfied with my changes and with my final designs, but I also liked the other Plaid Dads from my fellow group members. Overall, I think we all have some really great elements that we can merge together and make into a great design. I'm really excited to get the art director and designers figured out so that we can get goin'! Viva Plaid Dad! 

Response: The September Issue

I really can't believe I hadn't seen this movie before Tuesday. I believe it came out when I was in Spain and I kept meaning to see it once I got back to the states but never did. I loved it, and I'm usually not a huge fan of documentaries. But then again, considering the subject matter, I should have.

Because of the questions we received in class, I really paid attention to the role the creative director, Grace, filled. I think it's funny how most people assume that the manager, the president, the editor, all do the most work because their position ranks the top in hierarchy. However, I feel like in most all cases, it's usually the position right below the "head honcho" who really would need numerous bottles of de-stressing lotion. In this case, Grace definitely did most of the dirty work. She organized and agonized over photo shoots, projects, working with the designers, etc. while Anna, the editor-in-chief, spent most of her time saying yes or no and giving skeptical looks. This isn't to say that she doesn't have a hard job, I mean she definitely has to assume responsibility for the magazine, so anything that goes wrong falls on her, but the art director in this case had to be the reasonable one that deals directly with others.

I also think that the job of creative director encompasses way more responsibility than one would imagine. Previous to seeing the movie, I thought the creative director mostly worked with all decisions design. However, the position is way more the editor's right-hand. Anna, who doesn't seem like the type of editor who would go around offering praise frequently, raved about Grace for her greatness and brilliance. You go, Grace.

This photo comes from the feature Grace organized of female models recreating the look of the 1920s. I loved this feature, one because I love the look from the '20s, and two because it was nice to see photos taken in old looking restaurants, in front of mirrors, etc. instead of inside a studio. I loved that she purposely shot the photos softly as to represent the film from the time, instead of sharply. It was quite amazing that even though she's not the actual photographer, she still ultimately determines how the photos are going to look. I believe that should be a sign of a GOOD creative director.

You Can't Miss... This!

The illustration work of Gary Taxali. His work reminds me of old propaganda and war posters. I love this look. I love the bright colors but how they are used in a dull, kind of glazed over look. It's ironic how juvenile cartoons seem, but I can only aspire to ever be capable of this cartoonish kind of illustrating design. Apparently he goes around and has his own art shows, so he's a big name.

Alright well, time for Vox cover designing. I'm sure the end results will make their way here in the next week.


After while, crocodile -
      Kaylee