Critique: Spring Preview Designs
I thought long and hard about how to approach the Spring Preview designs. I had a rough time with brainstorming ideas because I felt like the assignment was so open-ended. We had total freedom with the designs since the issue isn't over one specific article, but rather a season-long agenda. I knew everyone's designs would come out all looking so different, which I was excited about. Eventually, I decided to go with literal springs, but try to make them look more fun, and turn them into more Spring-looking colors. I also wanted to have words featuring events and things happening that looked like they were literally being sprung in motion. Thus, this is the cover I ended up with. I think I definitely deviated from my usual style, and tried to embrace more white space than normal. Unfortunately, I later discovered that I wasn't the only one with the literal spring idea. So much for originality.
As for my feature and splash page, I was really unsure how to design around sections instead of a story. It was quite the challenge since I'd never seen Vox's style for this type of feature. I thought that putting them in columns would be the easiest way for the reader to figure out the sections and be able to set them apart. After looking at others' blogs and seeing the way they did these features, I realize that mine could've been just as easy-to-read while being a lot prettier. But hey, improving and learning from others is what this is all about, right? Live and learn.
Response: First Class Critique
Last Thursday in lab, we critiqued each others' first design assignments as a class. It honestly fascinates me to see everyone elses' designs because often, there are things that people have done that I never would have thought of. I wonder how we can all have the same exact assignment, and come up with such different results. Granted, last week we were all working with the same story and photos, and so many of our covers were similar. Of course, it makes why the winners were chosen, as they were the only ones that probably stuck out in using different photos as everyone else. But even with the feature spreads, no one had the exact same design. I think just being able to see everyone's work is the most helpful and insightful part of lab critiques. Hearing what others have to say about your work helps, but I feel that most of the time people are too nice and don't want to say everything they really think. Thus, the usual response goes something like: "Well I really like how you put your title on that colored bar. I also like your typography. Maybe I wouldn't have chosen this color because it distracts from the photo, but overall you did a really good job!" It's humorous how we feel we have to quickly say how much we like it (even if we really don't) after we say anything that can be remotely considered constructive criticism. That's how it's going to be in the real world, right? Rainbows, flowers, and overly nice and careful criticism from your colleagues. Yes. Right. Glad we are prepared.
You Can't Miss... This -
This video was featured on the blog I'm following for the semester, Ilovetypography.com It is a fancy and impressive video of typography-transforming designs. Check it out.
Also, I found this through Stumbling my way through amusing design sites, and had never thought about it: the design difference from country to country. It makes loads of sense though. Different parts of the world have different cultures - food, clothing, cars, slang words, spare-time preferences, etc. all depends on location. So why wouldn't design? There are many websites that discuss books that are released internationally, but have different jackets that are published depending on where the book is being released. For example:
One cover is the U.S. design, and one is the U.K.'s. Can you guess which is which?
The following article explores the different design techniques and explains how, essentially, when designing a book cover you are trying to get across the message of the book, but people in different regions read and interpret fiction in different ways.
Here's a paragraph from the article:
There are colder business reasons for creating jackets that differ by territory, says Julian Humphries, head cover designer at Fourth Estate: "Different sales channels have different sensibilities." It can be hard to pinpoint what exactly these sensibilities are – "It's a cultural thing," he says, "as taste-driven as different countries eating different things for breakfast" – but broadly speaking, literary fiction is an easier sell in mainland Europe than in the UK or the US, so publishers there can be less overt in their attempts to grab the attention of customers. "In Europe you often see book covers with simple images and plain type, and that sells books for them," says Burton, whose colourful design for A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz stands in stark contrast to the black-and-white German edition. "The UK book market is more competitive, all the covers in shops shouting: 'Buy me!' We have to put on a bit of extra spin."
Who knew, right? Oh, and the above covers were the U.S. design, and then the U.K. design, respectively.
Alright, time for some more hot chocolate! I know y'all are all probably way more sleet/snow/ice-experienced than this Texan, but still be careful.
Until next week,
- Kaylee
This comment is in regard to your spring preview design. We took a similar approach when coming up with a way to present spring preview information. (I used a retro slinky in my feature.) I understand how some people might consider these themes as too literal, but I think that they're pretty clever overall. Anyway, I like the muted color palette you chose to work with. I think your cover could have been stronger if you had used more springs in one way or another, as they look pretty disparate. Also, I think your font choice could have been a little better; for example, the "2011" on the cover seems a little out of place. Overall, I think you had a good concept in your head, but you could have made some technical tweaks that would have made the overall execution more professional looking.
ReplyDeleteI think you brought up an interesting point in regards to our first critique. I agree in that we all were a little too friendly. People hiring us certainly aren't going to sugar-coat how they feel about our work!
ReplyDeleteI'm all for people telling me what they don't like about my designs. It makes you that much better of a designer when you get honest feedback. And criticism doesn't have to mean you agree with everything they say, it's just something to keep in mind.
Keeping things constructive is key, meaning people should consider why they do/don't like something: "the typeface doesn't work because I think it's ugly" vs. "a Humanist typeface doesn't seem to be appropriate when the story is on a contemporary art museum," or whatever the topic is about.
And in order for constructive criticism to work not everything has to be what we DON'T like; we critique ourselves pretty hard so it's nice to hear if someone else likes what we're doing!
I pledge to be better at giving constructive criticism. Thanks for bringing this up Kaylee!
The response to the class critique was interesting. A few of us had talked about this when we were working on our spring previews. I think it is important that we offer constructive criticism when we critique in class. This is the time when we can all improve and grow as designers. I think all of us should try and make a better effort to say what think needs improvement in one anothers designs because honest feedback is important.
ReplyDeleteI like what you did with your splash page. Using the type as the actual spring is fun. It is a little hard to read, but I like the concept. I agree with Danielle that different font choices would have made the design stronger.
ReplyDeleteI think it's funny that you mention that we are all being so nice in critique. I have felt the same way, but I will admit, it's sometimes hard to be completely honest with your peers. I do agree that we need to stop worrying about hurting each others feelings and start helping each other by being honest. I too pledge to give more constructive criticism.
I agree that we're all a little tentative in peer critique. I found it challenging in our first class critique because we were the only person saying anything about the other person's work, and it seemed like people were trying really hard to seem balanced or fair, rather than giving their honest opinion.
ReplyDeleteI also find it challenging to offer critique via blog comments — I'm much more comfortable speaking in person rather than via the Internet.
But you're right. Being too nice won't help anyone. I think we can all agree that we should do more to push ourselves out of our "niceness" comfort zone. That will hopefully help push ourselves out of our design comfort zone as well.
I laughed when I read your comment about in class critiques. I remember Magazine Design critiques being painfully awkward last semester. Everyone is afraid to speak their mind if there's something they don't like, but that's obviously the most helpful thing for a designer. Hence why it's called "critique" and not "praise". My favorite part is when someone actually does find the nerve to point out a lot of things they would do differently, but then at the end they always say something like "but I really liked it!"
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