For this activity, I selected a photo I had, formed a color palette, and then played with the color palette to create layout designs featuring aspects of my image. I tried to vary the designs, as was a focus in earlier units, and incorporate colors based in the original photo above. I attempted to pick a mix of bold and muted colors in my final color palette, which I developed through the eye dropper tool. In the designs, I varied different objects within the color palette to maintain balance.

In this activity, I chose six pictures that I have taken to crop, based on the principles learned from Design Basics Index.

Again with the ledge!

I chose number 3 (logo and resume). I thought this would be helpful because I have been editing my resume to start sending out for positions after graduation, and feel my current resume is plain. I thought this would be a great opportunity to explore new design options. I aimed for my design to be modern-looking and professional so that I could use it as a letterhead. I wanted it to clearly display my name, but inventively and in a way that is eye catching. I started with my logo, which is a clear type font of my initials, interrupted in the middle by my full name written over in a scripted font. In creating the resume format, I tried to maximize space and create a balance on both sides, since some bullet points may end at various points of the page and could create an imbalance if it was all laid out vertically. I chose a clear and professional font for the text.

On pg 143, the prompt asks us to design a logo for a variety of companies, first through a sketch, and then in a digital graphic. I chose to make a logo for a financial company. Initially, I based these sketches on shapes which I believed would convey the aim of the company and based the design around those. I included several variations of these shapes in logo ideas, and then I used design skills from this module in varied ways through the designs presented (shading, balance, composition).

Ultimately, I decided on the top two sketches to transfer to a digital design. In my digital design, I included a color palette and drop shadow to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

For Part I of our Mini-Art School assignment, we are asked to analyze a piece of graphic design against the rules of design we have learned from a variety of sources. For my design example, I chose to analyze the “1917” movie poster, in honor of my pick for “Best Picture” at tonight’s Academy Awards. This movie poster is one of several made for this film, but this qualifies as the official promotional poster. Based on the rules we have learned about regarding design,

1. The first thing I noticed about this poster is that it does not follow the rule of typography brought up in the writedesignonline.com article. The type on this poster is very small on the background, however it could be argued that the “1917” shaped images are type themselves, in which case it would not break this rule.
2. From the same article, this poster does follow the rule of difference. The title is meant to be the focus of the poster and therefore is the largest and most vibrant part of the design.
3. The colors located within the title emphasize the rule of intensity as well. The intensity of the warm and cool hues included in the title make it the focal point of the image.
4. Based on the “10 Web Design Rules You Can Break” article, I would say that this poster does not make the movie’s purpose as clear as it could. The poster shows that the movie is about World War I, but it doesn’t give a description or any sort of tagline that would show any detail. The viewer cannot tell from the image what will make this movie different from another movie about World War I, which I think they should have done to make their purpose more clear and draw more attention.
5. Despite this, the poster aligns with the rule established in “White Space is Not Your Enemy” in that it uses simplicity and restraint. The design is very straightforward, and the poster is definitely not too busy. ( Hagen & Golombinsky 37).
6. This poster also went against the amateur error of centering everything. Every piece of the design is shifted to one side or another. (Hagen & Golombinsky 35).
7. Hagen and Golombinsky also point out on page 74 that a visual should not impact the flow of reading. Because the visual is positioned within the title, I am not sure if this counts or not, but I believe it was acceptable for them to break this rule, since the text is so large, and is simple to read. If it had more characters, it may not have been visually appealing and harder to read.
8. From Krause’s “Design Basics Index”, the poster does not follow line placement rules, as all the graphics are on the same background with images and text, but the text serves as a line in this case, complementing the overall images.
9. Krause’s description of the visual hierarchy was clearly implemented with the title image placed decisively on the design.
10. Krause also introduces the idea of “alternative cropping” of images, “Images need not always reside in a box.” (Page 194) The image used in this poster is placed inside the typography.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.