CRITIQUE: Baby Pageant, Mortgages Covers and Spring Preview

 

Here are my designs for the first competition assignment about baby beauty pageants. I've seen the show Toddlers and Tiaras and honestly it makes me sad. Especially when a mom talked about the state of depression she was in from having two sons before she had a daughter that she could flaunt around in these beauty pageants. It was awful. However, after reading Amanda Woytus' story and looking at the photographs, I got a much different message. I think the story was really just about a proud father, someone that a lot of people could relate to. Reading the story, I thought about the way my dad sends out all the stories I write over his work e-mail listserv, or the way parents put bumper stickers about their children being on the Honor Roll on their car. This was obviously a very loving dad and I didn't find his actions to be all that extreme, just a little more out there than most dads. 

With that idea in mind, I thought of my cover concept, with the semitruck featuring the baby's photo. I wanted to make it look like a tour bus that the two of them would take to competition. I liked my idea, but I think I fell short in a few areas of executing it. For one, I couldn't find a great FREE photo of a semi to use, so I had to go with this one which is sitting there. I would have much rather had one in action, but most of those were also motion blurred, something that I didn't want to have to do to the illustration on the side of the truck. I also wish I could have thought of some more creative way to represent the fact that the dad was the driver of the truck. I think perhaps I needed a headline or deck to reflect that the dad is a truck driver. 

As for the features, I tried to think outside the box a bit by using the trophy photo illustration on the opening page. I thought that would further focus the story on the dad. I wish I would have pushed that illustration a little more with some added elements. The rest of the design was pretty simple and logical in the way I ordered the photos chronologically. One thing I'm just noticing that bothers me is the way my columns aren't the same size throughout. That's something I would definitely fix.

Coming up this week I have three cover designs due for the mortgages feature / classical music feature on 2/10 as well as the Spring Preview assignment. For the mortgages illustration and photo illustration, I'm still finalizing ideas in my head, but after reading a draft of the story I'm thinking something along the lines a housing bubble popping, or a photo or some rundown homes with a giant "FORECLOSED" stamp across it. I've also though about houses sinking into the ground, or a more numbers heavy graphic to represent the housing market. It's a pretty serious story though so I'm debating how much fun to have with the cover. 

For the Spring Preview, the only idea I've thought of so far has to do with baseball lineup cards and baseball cards. I know we're not supposed the think too literally with Spring, but I think there's a difference between baseball representing spring as compared to rain boots, umbrellas, flowers, etc.