You Can't Miss: Virtual Sneakers and Marian Bantjes

This week on designverb.com, there were some pretty cool things posted in terms of technological design. This photo comes from a Paris shop, where instead of physically trying on shoes, patrons can stand in front of a green screen and virtually see how they would look. Especially in light of my becomign techno-savy via building a website (haha) I thought this was pretty cool step for innovative technologies. Just goes to show that it's important to keep up with the times.























I stumbled across the work of an illustrator named Marian Bantjes. She has some really cool, innovative designs, especially in terms of her use of typography. This illustration was used as a promotional project for NYC's Central Park. She has a digital portfolio, which was interesting to look at as well. I like her unique typography, but I was surprised that the site didn't have any kind of homepage or splash page. You can check out the site and more of her work at bantjes.com.

Critique: 3.29 Screen

Although I wasn't originally scheduled to design for this issue, I'm really glad I had the opportunity to try my hand at yet another illustration. I found this story particularly difficult to represent visually because of the subject matter. The story is about college students being incorporated into the Nielsen ratings. I'm relatively happy with the way the illustration turned out, although I wish I would have played with some more complex treatments for the image. The problem with being too complex though was that Nielsen ratings in themselves are rather difficult to represent visually. So I iked my color choices, but I think the heads on the couch could have been spruced up a bit. I guess it just looks a little elementary. In my next illustration I'd like to experiment a little bit more with a more unique style.

As far as page layout goes, however, I like the use of the cutout to add visual interest and I think the page flows really well with the sidebar not breaking up the text.

Response: Websites

It was great to see the beginnings of everyone's websites today. One of my favorite parts of this was watching everyone's personalities emerge through the setup and design of the sites. Building my first website has certainly been both exhilarating and frustrating. I know a lot of other people are probably feeling this, but it's so hard to layout something in 10 minutes in inDesign and then spending hours trying to get it all to look the way you'd planned in Dreamweaver. And then there's Flash. That's whole other story. But I'm really glad that we've had the chance to work on building this portfolio. I think having something on the web is essential looking at the job market, and though obviously I don't have a job yet, I can only imagine how enticing it will look to a potential employer.

I still have a long way to go on my website, but I feel like I'm continuing to improve on using the technology. It's just one of those things that takes practice, I think. Right now I'm also not completely sure I've created the look and feel I want for my site. I want something that pops and reflects my personality, but at the same time I want it simple and classy enough that it lets my portfolio pieces essentially do the talking. I can't wait to get some feedback on Thursday. Who knows, by the time I get back from Spring Break, my site might look entirely different.

You Can't Miss: 25 Logos and DIY Culture

Check out this great article from Print Magazine about DIY Culture. I know a lot of people have talked about hos Ready Made is one of their favorite magazines, so this article is perfect for you all! The article talks a lot about designers with formal training as opposed to those who don't have the education, but still consider themselves designers. What do you all think? Is a design degree essential to calling yourself a designer? Check out the article at - http://printmag.com/design_articles/your_design_here/tabid/214/Default.aspx


And this week on designverb.com, in keeping with our logo thoughts, there is an interesting link to the 25 Next Best Internet Start-Ups. But what's coolest about the article is the collage of logos on designverb. Take a look at them. There's a lot of simplicity in their designs. I found them quite inspirational!

Critique: Screen Design Number Trois

Designing this week's screen department was challenging due to some time constraints over the weekend. I'm fairly pleased with the way it turned out. I found the Irish Mob story quite a challenge to illustrate (and I know Sherin had some issues with the cover as well). I'm fairly happy with what I ended up with, although I wish I could have had a little more time to do some more manipulation with the Fighting Irish figure...maybe added a gun to his hand or something like that.

In terms of page layout, I tried to play around with the setup of the page...after designing a few of these now, I've started getting bored with the lack of variety there's been in terms of layout.

Response: Convergence Logos

It was really fun to see everyone's logos today. It's amazing to see how many different directions people went in with their logos. Looking back on my own logos, I wish I would have thought in more abstract, simple terms. In doing a lot of my sketches, I think I tried to be too literal and tried to include too much into a single logo. I think some of the most successful logos were those that took a single idea and ran with it by creating a common denominator of a simple design element. When I think of some of the most successful logos, like Adidas, Nike, Target, etc...they are all very simple. Moral of the story - next time I design logos, I'm going to try to be more simple.

Response: Flash

I'm really glad we've had a chance to get our feet wet in Flash over the past couple of weeks, although I'm feeling quite overwhelmed by it all. I just wish I had more time to sit down and play with the program a little bit more...but I'm definitely happy to know some of the basics.

Whether we like it or not, I think it's so important in this day and age to be familiar with multimedia technologies. While I believe there will always be jobs in print. I don't doubt nearly all magazine designers at some point will have to take over multimedia responsibilities. I know they talked about that at Meredith, and as I look more into possible jobs, it's obvious that the web and multimedia is where the growth is.

You Can't Miss: Fun Food Finds!

This week on design verb, I was directed to another really cool blog, . Not only has it been named one of Time Magazine's "50 Coolest Websites," it has a great section called "packaging" where it takes a look at some really uniqe and well-executed food packages. I've always loved flipping through CommArts where they have sections on packaging, so it was great finding this awesome website!



Keeping with the foodie theme, I found a really cool website on winebusiness.com about what makes a successful wine label. You can check out the rest of the story at http://winebusiness.com/ReferenceLibrary/webarticle.cfm?dataId=44322. The article talks about the label's ability to "tell a story and create memories." I love wine and have the best method of choosing a new bottle of wine when I go to the store...which one has the best label. Sometimes its a good wine, sometimes it's not, but whatever it tastes like you can always say, "well, at least it had a cool label."

Critique: Poise (Read Made-ish Version)

I really tried to push the envelope with this prototype, and I think I was successful in creating a cohesive package...although I agree with some of the insights today, it could be difficult to keep this feel issue after issue. But this is my favorite of the two prototypes. With so many women's magazines on the market, I feel like this is truly a unique product that could really jump out to consumers on the newsstand.

I'd like to play around with bringing the food and party stories over to this prototype and seeing if I could fit them into this feel. I think by switching out a few images and colors, I could make the switch quite easily.

Overall though, I'm really happy about the way this turned out. Whether or not the publishing class uses the designs, I feel like these pieces are innovative and unique for my portfolio.

Critique: Poise (Real Simple-ish Version)

While this prototype is a little more expected, I tried to still bring in some interesting elements and have fun with the design. I think the colors could use a little more punch, although I really like my treatment on the "put your work down now" story. I'm not crazy about the covers. I like the use of black and white, but I think it could get stale on newstands really quickly.

For the departments, I tried to include a lot of quick and easy pullouts and sidebars, although I think I could do an even better job of making those more reader-friendly. I love the way the winding down page turned out...I think it's a great escape that really fits in with this magazine's personality.