Tri-Fold

Okay, so I narrowed it down to what I want to do for the last project. Me and my best friend/roommate have always spoke about going into business together. We want to open up a bakery, her being the baker, and me handling the business end of the shop. We are planning on moving to Washington state, around the Seattle area, and trying to open it up there. It dawned on me that we could possible use a tri-fold to just help with the business. Even though this shop and bakery is just a dream, which I one day hope to attain, I figured that I might as well start now.

The Bakery is going to be call Ashley's Special Stuff. We have a very quirky and fun personality. We are still joking around with the title, and trying to figure out the best fit, but for now this is the name that I am going to use. There is a special ingredient that is going to be used in all of the goods that are going to be made. (If you think of the state, the title, and look at the logo below, you can easily figure it out).

So far, all I have is the image logo. I know that this project is going to take my forever because of how nit picky I am.

Tri-Fold

I am semi excited for this Ti-fold project. I have done one before and it's tedious and really time consuming but when the finish product is in front of you, it's really rewarding. Last time, I did one on my sorority, and we actually use it to this day. It's a great way to get a lot of information out in one little pamphlet. Amy mentioned today in class that it is easy to tuck away and gives a lot of information.

I'm not to sure what organization or thing I will be doing my project on, and ideas would be helpful. I can't seem to think of anything that I would want to spend that much time on, especially because I already did my organiztion and everything. So now, I am seeking new horizons. I might just do an extension of the Slut walk, to break down and give more information about the movement. I was also asked to cover a story about a new renewable resource that I could possibly do this project on as well.

I feel like whatever I chose, it needs to be close to have meaning, or I won't be able to delve into it the way I would like. Even though the tri-fold is really long and hard to do, the finish is what is going to be the most satisfying for you (the students). If the finish product is used at a later date, you will be extra happy about it and the accomplishment.

Illistrator vs. InDesign vs. Photoshop

I will start out by saying that I love InDesign. I know my way around computers, but I am not a computer genious. InDesign makes things easier and clear when it comes to making things and designs. Things are very simple, and user friendly. It is also a lot less intimidating when it comes to making things. Now, this isn't the case with a lot of applications that are avalible for computers. Photoshop and Illustrator aren't as clear and defined as InDesign is, in my opinion.

So when I am in class and I am trying to do the exersises, I tend to get massive headaches (ha-ha). Things seem so unsure, and not that clear. I feel like I am going into a maze of layers and cutting that just confuses me if I am not following along with Amy. I will literally sit at the screen and stare at it and try for it to telepathically do what I want it to do, but that doesn't really work out for me all the time.

I really like this last photoshop exersise though. It is a really cool concept and I want to do it all out, but even when I tried to follow along, it just got me confused this time. I do not know if this is just me and my slow-ness at times, but I would really like to learn how to utilize these applications for future projects I could have in the work force.

Next class, I need to sit down, and really look into getting everything done and the way I like.

No More Original Art

So in the last post, I touched on the fact that a lot of art is computer generated now. It seems to be that way for a lot of things in this generation. Everyone wants this instantaneously, and there seems to be a lack of originality. Everyone is copying from everyone else, and the line begins to fade when it comes to copy-righting things. Take something like instagram for example, now everyone is a professional photographer. Just like tumblr, and many blog sites, everyone is a writer now. I'm not putting anyone down for some of these people have great pages that I look at for inspiration on workouts or various other things, but the shortcuts keep getting shorter.

So, getting to the point of this blog, has original art died? Has the process of finding the right canvas and the perfect acrylic paint, with the perfect paint brush, tracing tails of tears, laughter, pain, and passion across that canvas board, has it all died? Has the tantalizing affects of making a beautiful piece of art with our hands, and feeling the pen carve into the paper as it bleeds it last breaths into a piece of white paper, has that all gone away? I was never blessed with the ability to draw things perfectly or paint the perfect piece of art, and I do appreciate the technology that has been bestowed upon me, but I can't help but wonder if all that wonder and awe of artists has gone away.


I'm from NYC, and there are a lot of graffiti art on the streets that, some people think is an eye sore, but I think is real art. No one seems to be doing that anymore. The years of the rebellion has dispersed into the generation of the conformist. This is all just some thoughts regarding graphic design.

Posters

I went back to the COM 322 blog, and I was just looking over the posters that were shown in class. I feel amazed that graphics have came this far in such short time, when thinking about it. It's interesting to grasp the idea that once upon a time, fliers, posters, and art, essentially, was done by hand. Now you can simply sit behind the computer and create something that can change the world. Change the world is used loosely when thinking about it, because looking at the Obama poster and the simple use of the word 'hope' on the bottom of it, made a huge impact on the campaign itself. I feel like it definitely gave politics a news and fresh edge that it needed.

Since the poster idea that I chose has to do with rape and things like that, I looked into the link that was labeled "Anti-rape posters". I wasn't too excited to see what I saw in the posters. One of the posters was extremely wordy, and didn't really grab my eye. The other poster made the woman look weak, frail, and scared. Rape is a serious issue, and a serious crime. Although people tend to think of those who have been raped as weak, frail, and scared, they are the opposite. These women are strong, unbreakable, and fearless because of what they went through, because of the fact that they are staying strong and holding on. In my own opinion, anti-rape posters shouldn't put of these victims to be sad, scared beings, they should make them out to be survivors, not victims.

Another set of posters that I looked at was the "you can do it!" poster and the "Uncle Sam Wants You" poster. These are two of America's most famous pieces of art. They show strength and empowerment. Its funny how these pieces of art were created by someones hands instead of a computer. These are really recognizable and have a lot of substance to them. I find that the older the poster, or the newer the poster, I tend to like it. Some of the things that are inbetween don't really catch my eye that much. I'm not to fond of the 70's in general (no offense to anyone), I tend to think of trashy clothing, and things that are simply thrown together. Hopefully the poster that I designed (and am still working on) can relate to the posters that I find most appealing.

Poster Trial #1

So here is the poster that I have so far. The concept is simple in terms of the design. Like in my other posts and designs, I am a firm believer in "simplicity is best" idea. This is the idea that I came up with, because my theme is "The length of the dress does not mean yes" I thought that it would be a good idea to have a series of stick figure women with different dress lengths and cuts. The first one is not that long on one side, and longer on the other. The second is a mini dress. The third is a long, touching the floor dress. The last one is a dress with the center cut out of it. I love the concept of that, and I feel like it's a great attention grabber. The font, on the other hand, I am having a hard time with. I have this one idea in my mind, and I can't seem to see the font that fits in with that idea, and it's very, very, frustrating. It's like trying to find something that is perfect, but it doesn't exist. Truth be told, I am a little bit of a perfectionist, and it's hard for me to be satisfied with something that I feel like could be so much better than what it is. I don't like being on the "safe" side of things, but when I have this really cool, and creative idea (in my opinion) I want to follow through. Right now, InDesign is not on my good-side for not having the font that I want. This is the product that I have so far. I like the clean cut quality it has. I like the color (a color scheme that I used for the initials project that we had in the beginning of the semester). I would really appreciate input or suggestions if anyone has any!

The Slut Walk

The slut walk originated in Canada. It sparked from a case of rape. When the trial was happening, the police officer said something like "if she didn't want to get raped she should have dressed the way she did." When I heard about this, it infuriated me. Since when is it okay to RAPE someone because of how she dresses? It makes me sick that this is something said to DEFEND the man who did this horrific thing. To this day, many times when women are raped or assaulted, they are asked "are you sure you didn't ask for it?" This shouldn't be asked. It doesn't matter how pernicious a woman dresses, or how she act, or who she hangs out with. Rape is rape and there is no excuse for it. The slut walk is a gathering of people of all ages, races, and genders, to come together and walk for a cause. Women wear whatever they want, short skirts, a bra, hot pants, anything they want. The point is to try to take back the word "slut". It is to take back from the rape that was sadly put upon some women. My theme for this poster is: "The length of the dress does not mean yes!" To me, this simply means that no matter what a woman wears, it should open the door for a man to take advantage of her. It's sickening. My sorority, Lambda Theta Alpha, along side an on campus organization, Breaking Free, are bringing the slut walk to Buffalo this coming spring. We feel that rape, especially around college campuses, needs to come to the light. There is no excuse for rape.

Colors and heavy text.

So usually I don't have an issue with the creative sides or things like that, but with this project, I found it really difficult. Trying to incorporate the heavy amount of text,incporporating a picture, and having everything look cohesive, really daunted me. I threw out about 5 different layouts, and I'm honestly not even happy with the final outcome I had. It's not horrible, but I feel like it could have been a lot better than it is. I like the concept of clean cut, and neatly organized. I like color, but not too much color.If things are too busy, it gives me anxiety and makes me feel cluttered. So, I seriously believe in the "less is more" concept. I have horrible vision, so when I am reading things, if threre is too much going on, I don't know where to focus, then I loose focus. I like the "color" in the background a lot, it draws the eye, but in a way that is subtle. It's noticeable but it's not too overwhelming. This was a very difficult assignment, and the end product was something that I'm not too happy with, but I am dealing with it.

Work Logo

For my job, I work as a personal assistant for an author. For a while, she was looking to make a new logo. I had explained to her that she needs to brand herself, and needs a logo that will be easy for people to identify "Hey! I know that company!". I came up with the logo that is posted. The pink little star is something that is on all of her books. It was easy to chose that start to be a main concept for her. There was a lot of trial and error in the making of this logo, and it was really difficult to sit in front of a computer and try to make something for someone else. I went through about 10 different logos, and each time I found something that wasn't fitting right or colors that didn't fit. Too much space on one side or too much nothing-ness. I finally settled with the logo below. It's simple, clean, and organized. She liked the pink, and the concept of her initials and name on the bottom the way it was laid out. I would like some feedback about it, please and thank you.