Week 3

CRITIQUE:


This week I am competing for the cover for the 2/17 issue of VOX. There are a few feature stories in the issue; the editors decided to go with the social smoking story. Our goal as designers was to create a cover that related 18-22 year old who don't consider themselves chain smokers, but social smokers who only light up after having a few drinks or when around friends who smoke. These are the first two drafts of my top two covers:

On this cover I used a photograph from the story. I cropped it to just feature the one girl with a cigarette in her mouth, but multiple hands trying to help her light up. I liked the darker feel of this photo because it is not a bright, happy story. The girl is young and reflects the age group the story focuses on. I'm not sure if the photo is as eye-catching as I would like it to be. I also struggled with the placement of the headline and deck. This is the cover I will be working on revisions for so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

This was the runner-up cover for me. My thought process in designing this cover was this: social smoking > makes me think of social networks > almost every young person has a Facebook > what other networks do a lot of people use? > how could I show these networks visually? > oh duh, ICONS!

My struggle with this design was creating an icon that people would be able to identify, and associate with social media. It was a difficult challenge, and in the initial critiques I was told that some people were confused if it was identifying a smoking group on Facebook, or if it was a real network. It is something that I could probably make work if I played with it a lot, but I'm not sure how I would be able to guarantee people would comprehend the message. Thoughts?

RESPONSE:

We recently read a hefty article, "Modern Magazine Design," by William Owens. It was a great read talking about how the designs of magazines have evolved and who the major innovators were in experimenting with such things as layout, cover illustrations, photography and typography.

This is the February 2010 cover of Wired magazine. This is an example of a cover art illustration created solely for this issue. In Owens article it is noted that conceptual cover art began in the 1930s, and Fortune was really into cover design in the 1940s. Wired often features special illustrations and photo illustrations for their covers when a photograph isn't possible or isn't enough. This cover is very strong and it also reminds me of the the famous Rosie Riveter revolution poster.

YOU CAN'T MISS THIS:

As we get farther and farther into advanced design, this column in the blog I am following really reminded me and inspired me with the basic concepts of design. Our amazingness can only improve with the improvement of the basics, and sometimes it's hard to remember that. Also "less is more" is completely true! Sometimes just sticking with the basics is the best way to go when you don't know what else to do. Here's a summary of the post and the pictures that went along with it.

 

1. Space - can be two or three dimensional; can be positive or negative; allows breathing room

2. Line - suggest motion, direction and orientation; lead the viewer's eye

3. Shape - can be geometric or organic

4. Color - gets the viewer's attention; can evoke emotion; can change the mood of an entire composition

5. Texture - can be tactile (you can actually touch it and feel it) or implied (you know how it feels by looking at it)

6. Form - refers to three dimensional objects; can be enhanced by color and texture; defined by light and dark

 

7. Light and Dark - provide contrast; can provide depth of field