Week Six, Stefaniak

Design Strategy:

I wanted to create a poster that intrigues the audience in a visual and modern way as well as create interest in the event and its purpose. In addition, I aimed to broaden the scope past the regular audience that art auctions target since they mostly attract art and animal lovers. In having relatively no parameters, (my organization was paired with a larger organization for this event), I was able to create my design to the best of my ability using full color and design.

Typefaces:

Since the design is intricate and multi-layered, I felt that a sans serif font would work best for the headline. Folio Std provides the design with a coherent typeface that mirrors the thin and thick brushstrokes of the cat. To further imitate the picture, I decided to use the medium weight for the main words “Support” and “Pawcasso,” and the light weight for the words in between. I felt this also sandwiched in the message to create a compressed and direct headline. For the information below the headline, I decided to use a complimentary sans serif typeface, Gill Sans Regular, to tie in the information to the design.

Visuals:

I created the visual in Adobe Illustrator by using a mixture the different tools (pen, pencil, paint) and CMYK color and its adjustments. I wanted to hand draw a visual that combines Picasso’s style of art and the use of an animal to pull in the main headline and the event. The use of duller CMYK colors adds a modern flair to the otherwise heavy color palette that Picasso used; otherwise, I would have added too much bulk to the design and lost the connection between the picture and the event. In keeping the design modern, I wanted it to rest on a soft background that compliments the color; I used CMYK in InDesign and adjusted the colors.

Week Four Schwartz

Strategy: When designing my resume, my aim was to produce a creative but professional expression of self. I wanted to add personality to my design and structure without taking it over the top. Because of my major, PR, I wanted to create a resume that would be broad enough to apply to a spectrum of jobs. I knew that it would be seen by mostly professionals, so I wanted to spark individuality in a different way. I made my wordmark creative while still maintaining its quality. I kept my resume bold and to the point, highlighting the information and experiences that I have had. I like the simplicity that it contains. I did not use color or any intricate design work for this reason as well, maintaining the quality of my content.

Typefaces: For my wordmark and headers, I used Eurostile LT Std. I liked this font because it was bold and also quirky. I was particularly drawn to the sans serif fonts, as I also used Thornburi for my body text. I like the clean cut image they portray. I chose to make my wordmark in all caps for a bold effect, and as a way to draw attention to the prominence of my name. I liked both these typefaces because they provided uniqueness through a seemingly simple font. I chose to maintain a pattern of bold, black, lettering through the entirety of my resume to keep consistently through style.

Week Two | Palladino

This old-fashioned advertisement is for a machinery and woodworking company, however the true intentions behind it are very confusing. Mixing serifs and a few sans serif typefaces, the advertisement presents itself as very blockish with a bit of circus feel as well. The wavy baselines for the biggest headlines at the top add a creative touch, however as one looks further down the ad, things being to get more and more confusing. The use of a thick serif typeface for the bulk of the detailed paragraph makes it difficult to read. In addition, the strange hyphenations at the end of some of the lines make a reading of this ad very choppy and difficult. I believe if a thinner, sans serif was used for the big paragraph, maybe one similar to the typeface that was used for the words, "Cincinnati. Ohio. USA," the advertisement would be more understandable and less cluttered.

"Letter Response," Stefaniak

What should be so important as a person's safety is seemingly ignored by the font used in this warning. As a sticker on the inside of a subway door, it should use text that is alarming at the least. A loud, largely bold and uppercase type might do the trick, but instead, the lowercase letters and extremely large x-height detract from the reality of what the message is trying to convey. If you lean on the door and the door happens to open, you won't fall onto a fluffy mattress of feathers and pillows of which the font gives the impression. Instead, something severely harmful might be the result.