Welcome to the Official Class Blog of GRA217- Section 4


Friday, February 12, 2010

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.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Week Four | LaSorsa


When approaching my resume, I was extremely particular about how my personality would reflect through this one sheet of paper. The field of Public Communications is extensive so I tried to stay specific to my style while maintaining professionalism. My target audience is a big firm that would respect my traditional but bold approach. My wordmark makes a statement and I believe that it will be a name that a reader will recognize. I was very inspired by the fashion industry and specifically the "YvesSaintLaurent" logo. I choose Bodoni Std for my wordmark because it is a well known fashion typography. I also liked how the type was clean and classic. However, I was careful about the sizing because Bodoni can easily overpower your work. For my body text, I used Myraid Pro for a softer and more legible type. The contrast between the two fonts was easy to distinuish and read just like a magazine. Even though I see myself on the more creative side of Public Relations, I did not want my resume to be playful and lack sophistication. I did not chose to add color to my resume. In order to maintain my creative side, I did rotate my wordmark ninety degrees. This gave my resume an edge while playing down the length of my name. My resume advocates for both my sense of style and my professional skills.

Week Four, Stefaniak

Strategy:

In today’s business world where staying on the current edge is crucial to success in the workplace, it’s important to have an equally current résumé. Especially in the art magazine field, using an outdated design or typeface might be the crucial error that causes a person to be passed over during the application process. For this reason, I’ve tried to produce a resume that reflects my personality as well as mold to the newly changing magazine field. In order to keep up with the flux and uncertainty of the future of magazines, my résumé’s goal is to provide prospective employers with a reason to hire me and help sustain the “dying medium.”

Likewise, I also set guidelines for myself in order to ensure a great résumé. By keeping to a simple design, my achievements and experience are able to stand out amid the rounded rectangles and crisp lines. But in using shapes as dividers and headers, I knew that a fresh color would make them pop; the pea green adds cleanness and originality to an otherwise black type résumé. Though my objective in my résumé is to become an editor/writer, the overall current theme of my résumé will help me break into the design-centered field of art magazines.

Typefaces:

Helvetica Neue UltraLight felt like the best choice for the wordmark and headline. Since it’s a sans serif, it provides the résumé with a streamlined and succinct effect that allows me for the use all caps without making it seem as if I’m too loud or forceful. The thinness of the font really worked for the design. In addition, Gill Sans Light seems to be the perfect complement for the body type. Not only does it continue the pattern of sans serif type throughout the résumé, but the weight and posture also allow for easy readability and cohesion, something I feel is important for a résumé.

Week Four Schwartz

Week Four | Palladino

Design Strategy:

Upon approaching this project, I wanted to try to cater my resume and its design to a specific audience, while also adding my personal touch and keeping it clean and professional. I modeled my resume’s design after Body+Soul magazine and its website, wholeliving.com, because I hope to apply for an internship with them over the summer. The style of both the magazine and the website is crisp, clean and simple, therefore I wanted my resume to mimic that style.

Choice of typefaces:

The typeface I chose for my wordmark and headings is the sans serif ITC Eras Std. I really enjoy the sans serif look and larger x-height this typeface has, and I believe it fits in nicely with the style I’m trying to emulate. Much of Body+Soul magazine and wholeliving.com use sans serif typefaces for their content, and they especially use sans serifs for their headings. I wanted my name to be in the top center of the page, drawing the reader’s eyes to it and capturing their attention. The aspect of ITC Eras Std I like the most is the unclosed bowl of the letter “a.” This gives the counter space of the “a” a unique shape and makes this typeface much more unique as compared to other sans serif typefaces. I also chose to make my wordmark and headings stand out more by altering their CMYK color values to create a soft, pastel green. This shade of green is very similar to the shade used in wholeliving.com’s wordmark.

I chose the oldstyle typeface of Bembo Std for my body text. Since I made my wordmark and headings more modern with a sans serif typeface, I wanted to make my body text more traditional and professional. Choosing an oldstyle typeface worked best for me, especially since Bembo Std.’s x-height and serifs create simple, readable letters. Overall, I think the marrying of modernity and professionalism in my resume is clearly established by my choice of typefaces and design.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

TYPE CHALLENGE 2



Alright guys, here's the Valentine's Special type challenge. Look at the Godiva logo and email Professor Taylor the answer. The winner gets a free Starbucks card.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Week Four- Rinder










Design Strategy:

As a Magazine Major, my intended audience for my resume is editors or HR departments of women’s fashion, health, and/or lifestyle magazines. I wanted my resume to not only represent myself, but also to be appealing to such prospective employers. I wanted it to appear feminine, and stylish, but also clean and modern. I feel that I achieved this with my design and typeface choices.


Choice of Typefaces:

I like the modern, clean lines of the sans serif typeface, especially for a resume. I chose Thonburi to be the typeface of my body-text. It is very readable and works well as a small body-text.

For my word-mark and headers, I wanted it to have a little more flair than my body-text. I chose another sans serif typeface, Antique Olive. When enlarged in my word-mark, the ends of the letters (especially on the ‘a,’ ‘e’, and ‘r’) are slightly angled. I think it looks a bit sharper, and with more character, than if it was just completely straight.

I also kept my word-mark and headers in all lowercase letters to add something a little different to my name. I decided not to put a space between my first and last name, and to kern them closer together, because I like the appearance of the two lowercase ‘r’s lined up.

I made my first name bold, and blue to separate it from my last name, since they are both lowercase and kerned close together. I chose blue because, not only is it my favorite color and therefore represents an aspect of myself, but also because I feel blue evokes feelings of calmness, confidence, and truthfulness, all things that I hope I convey to future employers.