Header/Business Card Design

When I began to put together ideas for my header and business card designs, I started of with design styles that I was comfortable with and I didn't try to break away from my minimalist style of design. As I went through each thumbnail though, I realized that even though they were nice to look at, they weren't as dynamic as they could have been.
With some helpful advice, I tried breaking away from where I was and tried branching out with other concepts of design that still felt like myself but pushed the boundaries of what I knew. With my final design, I felt that it was still somewhat minimalist but it broke away from what I typically do.
The final design has a feeling of depth brought on by the way I've broken up the shape and text of the logo to the point where it feels as if there's a layered effect to it. I chose black and white because when I drew the thumbnail, I liked the appearance but I added the yellow in order to add that dash of color that broke up the logo and gave it a more dynamic look. I chose yellow because it's not a color I would naturally go with and it seemed to be the most interesting color to compliment the rest of my design.
I'm pleased overall with how my design turned out and I'm comfortable with each element that I put into it.

Blog Header (Comprehensive)

I felt with my header, I wanted to stick as close to the business card design without repeating it. I stuck with the same color scheme and I think the final product turned out better then I had expected.
In the comprehensive stage, I wanted to take the basic logo design and mix it with the name of my company name. I like the idea of giving depth to an image using a 3D effect with the shape and lettering.

Business Card (Comprehensive & Final)

Here is the finished product. I kept with the basic theme and font while adding background color to give the negative space a more dynamic design. It's very similar to the comprehensive design that I had originally started with...

Though the comprehensive is very similar to the final product, I was unsure of what I was going to do to fill in the negative space around my logo and text, and it took me several tries and changes before I came up with the final design you see above. I retrospect, I wish I had saved a copy of the changes and various design ideas I had before coming up with the final piece.

Business Card Thumbnails 4

These are my final round thumbnails with the bottom business card design being both the thumbnail and comprehensive sketch for the final piece. I basically went from the drawing stage to the digital rendering which is where I got the comprehensive design idea, but I think in the future I'll either do more sketches or digital comprehensive so I can show my progress and the steps taken to arrive at my final design.

Business Card Thumbnails 3

I liked the look of these two, it was out of my comfort zone and more dynamic, but after much thought - and with a helpful suggestion - I went with one of my final designs. I like the Art Deco look of the top one though.

Business Card Thumbnails 2

With the next batch of thumbnails, I was told to think outside of the box, to get out of my comfort zone and branch out with new designs. Though these are similar to what I did before, they are less simplistic in feel and look. Still, I wanted to see where I could go with them.

ADVANCED COMPUTER GRAPHICS: Business Card Thumbnail 1

I've learned that my style for designing anything is minimalist in its appearance, which is how these initial designs were. I liked the look but it wasn't as dynamic as I wanted it to be. It was a start though.

History Poster Essay

I have implemented as much information into my design as possible without making it to cluttered. Though my poster only touches on certain aspects of Spartan history, my hope would be to generate interest in Spartan society and awaken curiosity towards history itself. In choosing the subject for my history poster, I went with something that interests me and something that I enjoy talking about.

I feel it conforms to the Rule of Thirds in that each element is complimentary to each other and it isn't static. Each element moves you through each area of the design and I avoided centering something that would pull your eyes into the design and trap them there. I think that the emphasis is on the helmet that best represents that time in history. With alignment, I felt that each paragraph needed to conform to the shape of the helmet. If the text had been centered or straight it would become static and not as unique. For contrast, I felt that the different size of the text - going from large to small - between the title, thesis and information gave a nice flow from top to bottom- again without becoming static or monotonous. For balance, I implemented the Rule of Thirds in which each element compliments the other - whether in scale or in color. The repetition comes into play with the capital lambda - the symbol of Sparta - that separates the information and breaks up each paragraph.

The biggest element for me was the color red, which again is very representative of the Spartans who wore red cloaks and fabric into battle. Though it seems quite obvious to use it, the color itself is very successful in drawing ones attention to the poster. The other colors are the very subtle bronze and tan which is evocative of the armor that was worn by the Spartan hoplites, and which offsets the strong red that I've used for the majority of the poster.

I'm quite satisfied with how the poster turned out and I was glad to have constructive criticism that I implemented into my poster - which improved the overall product.

History Poster: Final

I've made some minor adjustments and added some extra elements that works with the overall design.

History Poster: Final (Rough)

The final version of my History Poster about the Spartans. The helmet illustration is my own which I edited and added detail in Photoshop. Overall I'm pleased with my design which is actually quite "spartan" in design.

History Poster (Rough)

This is the overall look of the history, I'm sticking with the helmet motif as well as adding a background image of a map of Greece. The large writing is Sparta spelled out in Greek letters.

Thumbnails: Second Draft (History Poster)

Here, I stuck with the helmet and built my design around it. I felt really confident with my design and I built my overall poster using elements from other designs and concepts.

Thumbnails: First Draft (History Poster)

For my design, I chose to go with the Corinthian Helmet which is evocative of the ancient Greek period and especially since my History poster has to do with the Spartans who were the best soldiers among the Greek city states.

Catalog Concept (Essay)

When creating the catalog, I wanted to stick with using typography in order to create interesting forms and shapes that complimented the pictures or visual look that I attempted with this design. I feel that I kept with the mission statement of BCC by showing different sides of BCC including the diversity and the feeling of being a part of a good school and education program, which in turn will appeal to a broad audience. I feel that I still have minimalist style with my catalog design, but I have kept with the "rule of thirds"by placing elements in each area in order to guide a person's eye through the design without cluttering to the point where it's to much visually.

With each element I have placed emphasis on the fact that the school belongs to the student and covers a variety of educational elements. I've used alignment in order to give it an organized feel by using the repetition of shapes and even color elements. I used contrast in color to make the individual pictures stand out from the larger picture in the background, and size also breaks them up in order to keep them from becoming to chaotic or to repetitive. I feel that the negative space I used to create the keyhole effect and the placing of the text have given my piece a good balance and a nice flow that keeps the eye moving throughout the design, without locking it on to one particular element.

For the whole of the design, color has been very important. First there is the contrast between the background picture and the smaller photos, which helps to break up the monotony of keeping everything their natural colors. I also feel that I've tried to tie the pictures together by including similar colors - blue, tan and green. Finally, the color of the letters lend themselves to the design in that I've taken colors from the background photo in order to change the type so that they stand out and give the catalog a more warm and visually appealing look.

All in all I am pleased with my design and feel that I have maintained the basic design principles as well as sticking with the rule of thirds.

Catalog Rough (Digital)

I feel very satisfied with my overall catalog design. There are some minor adjustments that I have to make but I think I'm keeping with most of what I have here. Unfortunately I have to redo the whole thing since my flash drive was stolen.

Catalog (Rough Draft)

I felt that this was a very close proximity to what I wanted to see in the final design, and I believe it was very successful.

Thumbnails: Second Draft (Catalog)

Again, I worked with the typography to create the design that I used in the final production.

Thumbnails: First Draft (Catalog)

Beginning design ideas. I wanted to play with text and the use of negative space, which played into the final design.

Blog Essay (Typographic Project)

For this first Typographical project, I chose the the font Times New Roman which is what a stuck with from the initial concept to the final design. I chose this font because of the complexity of the positive and negative space for the letters which is what attracted me to those letters. Having the serifs for each letter gave an interesting design motif and provided a nice flow for the final design. The characteristic I see for these letters are definitely minimalist in comparison to most other designs, but they have a unique complexity that gives them a depth and form that lead the eye throughout the whole of the design. I could take just the three letters I've used in this project (i,o,P) and make other designs almost without end.

The different shapes within the letters were mostly oblong rectangles and circles, which I broke up using the forms and counter forms that I got when I broke up the letters to use in my design. It was an interesting task to try and break up the forms and counter forms to see what design I could come up, and I feel that the overall end product was quite successful. Each element was unique and I found the elements of the forms and counter forms created an attractive positive space while also creating negative space that added a new letter form to the final design.

I feel that I was successful in implementing the "Rule of Thirds" in that there is an element in each section that helps your eyes move throughout the whole design without capturing them within one particular element. I also feel that I kept the focal point from being dead center and instead placed it in the top 1/3 of the design.

When it came to the elements of design - emphasis, contrast, balance, flow and repetition - I believe I was successful in accomplishing each one.

As I mentioned above, I feel that my emphasis is in the top 1/3 of the design - the enlarged "P". Although it is the focal point for this design I believe it doesn't trap the viewers eye because of the muted grays that I used instead of the stark white of the negative space. The uniqueness of the focal point also comes from the half moon circle which is contrasted to the gray and black of the letter itself. As for contrast, it plays a big part in my design. There is a definite contrast in the size of the letters, but there is also a contrast in the shade of grays used which creates the illusion that through the use of the positive space, there is a unique design created in the negative space. Although my project is asymmetrical in balance, I feel that I kept it simple and was able to achieve a successful design. The enlarged "P" on the left is the focal point, but I have added more objects - circles and rectangular shapes - to the right which I feel balances the whole project out. I also feel the the negative space on the right becomes a whole new character which equals the bold looking "P" in volume. For flow and repetition, I believe I was successful in using the repetition of the "O" throughout the design in order create a flow that guides your eyes from one element - or section of the project - to another. Without repetition there wouldn't have been as nice a flow - especially if I just tried to fill each and every space with more objects.

Overall I'm pleased with my design. I've noticed that throughout the design process I stuck with a minimalist style, but I liked to create a sense of depth and give a 2 dimensional surface a 3 dimensional feel to it.

Final Project 1

Final Project (Rough)

This is the rough draft for my final project. I have stayed with a very minimalist style. Though simplistic, I believe it has a nice flow and depth to it that I hope to capture with the final version of this work. All in all, it's been fun playing around with negative space and form and counter form.

Thumbnails: Second Draft

With the second set of thumbnails, I broke up the letters and pulled certain object that I found from some of my first thumbnails. I enjoyed keeping it a minimalist style and really played with trying to give the 2 dimensional space depth and movement.

Thumbnails First Draft

These are my first thumbnails with which I started to get a feel for the type of style I enjoyed playing with. I stuck with a very minimalist style and I stayed with a serif style font.

Typographical Project Using Key Design Principles

This is a re-work of my original work. I think it flows better without being overly cluttered.

First Work

Here's My First try at using the basic Design Principles using: Emphasis, Balance, Flow, Alignment, Repetition and Contrast.