YOU CAN'T MISS: Five second test and bike rack design

 

Last Thursday I attended the MAP Conference at Stoney Creek Inn for Magazine Editing. I went to the session called: Design Secrets. For the most party there weren't too many design secrets revealed, but they did post some cool websites, especially http://www.fivesecondtest.com/ Essentially, you can upload a design to it and then post questions about the basic idea or concept of the design, which users must answer within 10 seconds. I can't tell you how may times I've had to ask someone "Do you get that ___ is supposed to look like ____?" This is a great way to get some opinions before proceeding with an idea. 

 

On the Media Bistro Unbeige blog this week, there was a cool post about bike rack design. Apparently, the UK had been having some problems with bike theft so they came up with a competition to design bike racks / locks, which could be implemented around your own home or around the city and yet not look as ugly as a traditional bike rack. There were some pretty cool designs you can check out on that link, they the one above which is connected to a flower pot. We need some more of those around campus.

CRITIQUE: Modern Midwest Draft 1

 

One of the features I'm working on is about throwing a backyard barbecue party. Ideally, I would like to capture that atmosphere with the design. We're hoping to do a photo shoot of younger crowd barbecuing as well as photoshoots of the fridge with leftovers and some drinks. I'd like to incorporate some drink recipes with the drink cutouts as well. I'm going to work with the headline and subhead typography a lot as well as the illustration. I might do a infographic breaking down the fridge with leftovers. The no hamburgers or hot dogs signs right now are pretty week. I've been toying with the idea of making a white picket fence with the signs on the fence, kind of like a no dogs allowed kind of sign that you would see on a backyard. Or maybe a KEEP OUT sign. Also, I need to work with fitting the recipes. 

 

This is a department page I'm working on about a trip to Des Moines. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to find images of these spots in the creative library, so we're going to have to figure that out. I'm thinking about creating a map graphic for this page or at least at some infoboxes to break up the text. I like the clean feeling of the right hand page though. I'll need to move the headline off the photo and also come up with a dek.

RESPONSE: In-class Critiques

It was great to be able to see all the hard work people have been putting in on their magazine prototypes today. I know there's still a long way to go and they were just first drafts, but I think our class is coming up with some fantastic products that I'm excited to see presented in May. As per Jan's request, here's come comments about each of the prototypes:

NOSH: If we had to go to the printer today, I think NOSH would definitely be in the best position. I know they talked about not being happy with the cover photos, but I thought they looked pretty good. I just thought some of the sell lines in black were a little difficult to read and didn't pop as much as everything else in the magazine. There was obvious flow throughout the design and it had a consistent style with the arrows and colored circles. The recipe pages were obviously loaded with text, like most are, but they still looked clean. Great job NOSH team!

Plaid Dad: I really liked the use of the diamond plate along the side on the department pages. It obviously goes well with the theme, but it was contained enough to not be distracting. Also, great job with the typography on the Burnt story. I was a little confused by the title "Stick 'em up ketchup" because it didn't seem to have much to do with the gadgets on the page. I liked the typography, but the color seemed more like a mustard color, which I think would be fine if the headline didn't have the word ketchup in it.

Cupboard: There were some beautiful features in this one that caught my eye, especially the one with the two jars on the left-hand page. I also liked the 10 ingredients one. It seemed like a big improvement from some of the ones from the first mockups. I like the color slash behind the nameplate and even the tilted C, but I thought the slogan or sell line above it was a little awkward.

Shindig: This was another one that I thought flowed pretty well design-wise. Very consistent. I loved the incorporation of the elements like the wide arrow from page to page. The nameplate typeface matches the mood of this magazine perfectly and that theme is carried throughout.

YOU CAN'T MISS: Nelson Mandela's Fashion Line and Seer Outfitters

This week on the Media Unbeige blog, there's a post about the fashion line launched by Nelson Mandela called 46664, which is also the name of his non-profit organization that focuses on humanitarian efforts. "When you buy a 46664 shirt, you are not just buying apparel, you are investing in a process that will help spread the legacy of Nelson Mandela by supporting the long-term sustainability 46664,” Board member Achmat Dangor said. “You will also be empowering young people in communities out there and creating a platform for global change.” I love examples like this of design being used for great causes.  The shirts look pretty cool too.

 Another great example of cool t-shirt design being put to great use is Seer Outfitters. The clothing line  is run by my favorite former Creighton basketball player and current Chicago Bull, Kyle Korver. The proceeds from the shirt go towards his Kyle Korver Foundation which among other great things helps build handicap ramps and does roof work for those who can't afford it. I think the t-shirts are awesome too. Each shirt has a theme to it. My favorite one is the "RESPECT" shirt (on the right). I wish I was better at t-shirt design. There's such a creative style to it, which is important since the design is really the only thing driving sales.

RESPONSE: Putting together a portfolio

It's mid-March (and still snowing), graduation is sneaking up on me and I still don't know what I'm doing after May. Often times I feel like I'm too busy to even think about applying for jobs or look for them. However, it's crunch time now. A good first start was working on putting together my portfolio for class. Fortunately, I have been able to save most of my stuff over the last four years. However, a lost flash drive wipes out some infographics and page designs I did for The Working Press.

Putting together a final portfolio can be extremely difficult. Picking one design and leaving another out can be like abandoning a child. I was stunned to find out that come time for my portfolio review in April, I will only get to pick four clips to present. YIKES! I have absolutely no clue which clips I would pick. That's why I'm thrilled we're doing this exercise in class. It's even set up to help you pick the top four. Personally though, I feel some of my better designs were done years. I used to not care about rules, so I felt like I had more creative power and I also had a lot more time to work on things. I would spend a lot longer thinking about my design ideas. Hopefully, I'll have a good idea after this week about what I want to include. The clock is ticking!

CRITIQUE: Final travel cover and SJI logos

 

Above is the final cover I came up with for the Travel Issue. I wanted to keep the concept of the paper airplane from from the first cover, but since there wasn't a big focus on air travel, I wanted to make that idea more local. I started trying to create a paper car, but that's not a very common thing that people could relate to. So then I thought of one of those power wheels cars I always wanted as a kid, but knew images of those would be copyrighted. So then, just by chance I came across a series of photos featuring this guy in a toy car. I added it to a road background and created the napkin navigation for the sell lines. I thought about using GPS images, but I wanted to make it look more like budget travel and road tripping. A lot of time for a road trip, you would just stop and get directions somewhere and scribble them on a piece of paper. 

 

On the right are the (close to) final drafts of my SJI logos. I incorporated the slogan on all but one of  them (granted, it was the wrong one). I worked with the color and typography on then to make the meaning more clear and also to try to make the diversity meaning more clear. Jan, Erica and Greg went with the ones in the second image, which I revised. My favorite was actually the square one with the X and O and arrow. But, I know it didn't really get the diversity message across so well. I'm excited to see which one they pick.           

                         

CRITIQUE: SJI logos and travel covers

This week, I worked on designing 20 logos for the Sports Journalism Institute. The most difficult thing I ran into was trying to find a balance between diversity, sports, journalism and great typography. I think designing a diversity graphic is always hard because you want to be inclusive and obviously not at all offensive. That can be hard to do sometimes. I think it was also hard to include the sports angle because there's not really a universal symbol for sports. I had a lot of ideas that involved different sports balls, but I felt like if I couldn't include all possible sports, then I shouldn't include any.

On the right are the five designs I'm going to work on for next week. Greg Bowers said that the only thing he was disappointed in was that we didn't reflect the diversity of the organization in the logos, which is really the most important part. I tried several different types of logos with the phrase "Equal Access" a play off of the "All Access Pass" that get sports reporters on the sidelines. I like the lanyard one as an overall design, but it doesn't work very well as a logo to put on the header of a website. I'll have to get creative with that one. There was also the suggestion that I shouldn't include any other words, but I think taking out "Equal Access" takes away the whole concept behind the design.

One design that I just decided to work on after hearing Greg talk is the Tiger-striped one. I thing it can be very symbolic of diversity and I think SJI said they were open to including a Mizzou theme, since the organization is moving here. I didn't see many people try to go for that angle, so I think it might stand out. It obviously needs a lot of work though.

I tried to work in the woman's symbol to the bottom one, but Jan thought it was a bit feminazi. My favorite logo was the top right one, but I think I need to make it more apparent that the line on the right is an "i."

 

This week I'm also working on my final draft of a cover for the travel issue of VOX. Above are the three drafts I came up with. While the editors got a kick out of the baby one, they ultimately agreed that it probably wasn't appropriate to run and didn't really fit the target market. They said I should work on the first two. I think I'm going to try to do a combo of all three. I might stick with the Stay-cation, google map theme, but also include something like the paper airplane (but not, since the focus isn't on flying). I want to bring take the vibe of the baby cover though and incorporate some humor. It's a fun issue, and I think making someone laugh is one of the best things you can do. Not to mention that it encourages people to pick up the magazine.

YOU CAN'T MISS: IDEO and iPad Inspiration

This week on the Media Bistro Unbeige Blog, there's a posting about IDEO.org, which launched this week. The site is designed for “spreading human-centered design throughout the social sector in order to improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world and focus on challenges related to poverty.” It will partner with non-profit organizations and foundations to create inspiring designs. Often times, non-profits don't have a whole lot of funds to use on design-work or even marketing. At Big Brothers Big Sisters, we would love to advertise in the newspapers, design billboards, flyers and brochures galore, but we simply don't have the resources to do that. It will be interesting to see the kind of impact IDEO.org has. They also have a fellowship posted on there that you can apply for.

On the topic of iPad design, I found a great site for inspiration called iOSpirations. Essentially, the site is a collection of screen shots from some of the best iPad apps and games. It also has inspiration for iPhone design and directories of Top 10 apps. Just a little something to get you going as we start to think about what our iPad apps should look like. Plus, the site itself is pretty sleek.

RESPONSE: iPad Conference — Expanding the Editorial Brand

Monday, I attended the iPad conference session called “Expanding the Editorial Brand,” given by Matt Bean of Rodale, Inc. Matt is the associate vice president of mobile, social, and emerging media and works on publications like Men’s Health and Women’s Health.

After hearing a lot about how to develop iPad applications in my Advanced Magazine Design class, it was great to listen to Matt talk about the decisions that have to be made before the design process begins. Matt immediately eliminated the perception that it’s easy to make an app, or that once you have an app, it will be successful. In fact, news apps are pretty low on the list of top-sellers or most downloaded. Only one percent of those who download an app turn into long-term users. Fortunately, news and reference apps lead the market in repeat engagement.

Matt said that before you start coding and designing the app, you have to get to know your customers, know the different platforms and define what type of product you want to create. You have to think like a user, an editor and an engineer. While Matt doesn’t do any coding himself, he thinks that it will be a big help to at least understand the language and be able to convey your ideas to a developer.

So much of the iPad craze has been this perception that you should just spit out an app as fast as you can, or make an app for everything. However, after listening to Matt’s presentation, it’s far more important to take the time to make important decisions about the app, including whether or not the app is even necessary.

YOU CAN'T MISS: Moleskins and Jann Wenner

This week on the Media Bistro Unbeige blog, there was a post about moleskin expanding their product line. I only own one moleskin and I feel like I don't use it enough to consider myself part of their cult-like culture. However, I think they're pretty awesome. This Christmas, I bought my sister a moleskin designed for music lovers. It had sections for playlists, concerts attended, favorite lyrics and other thoughts. It was really cool. The lady at the cash register said her friend Yanni (yes, THAT Yanni) uses it, so it must be good.

Anyway, moleskin is really stepping outside it's niche by bringing in designer Giulio Iacchetti to create news items like bags, pens, reading glasses and USB-rechargeable booklights. Somehow, I doubt USB-rechargeable book likes will obtain the same status as their class black notebooks, but it seems like I pretty innovative idea.

For those of you who are graduating this year (which most of us are), do yourself a favor and visit Jann Wenner's site. Wenner is the founder of Rolling Stone magazine and still works as the editor and publisher. I'm an avid reader of Rolling Stone, but I didn't know much about Wenner. I feel like he doesn't insert himself into the magazine as much as some editors and publishers. What I found out those was stunning. Turns out, Wenner dropped out of Berkeley and founded Rolling Stone when he was 21 YEARS OLD. That was shocking for me. Considering how successful it is today, I was amazed that it was started by someone so young. Maybe he's the prequel to Mark Zuckerberg. Anyway, Wenner started Rolling Stone by borrowing $7500 from some relatives and his future wife's parents (yikes). While as you'll see in my presentation tomorrow, Rolling Stone wasn't the most glamorous of magazines design-wise at the time, it had a clear vision and purpose. As someone who dreams of starting my own magazine, I found Wenner's story to be incredibly inspiring and a real kick in the pants. When I tell people that I'd really like to start a magazine in the next few years, I get a lot of funny looks. Like, you're only 22, you can't possibly do that. Where will you find the money? I still don't have the answers to many of their doubts, but at least I've found my inspiration.

RESPONSE: My greatest college accomplishment

 

This week, I ventured to the fourth floor of Ellis Library for the second time in my college career. But this time it was different. I was seeking out the mystical microfilm room I had only read stories about online. Frankly, I was terrified. But I had chosen Rolling Stone for my historical perspectives assignments and the library only offered it on microfilm. Unfortunately, when I got up to the creepy wing with the microfilm, the office that helps people like me who are clueless about the tiny film, was closed. I was on my own. I walked into a room and faced pullout cabinets from the floor to the ceiling. Somehow, locating the first volume of Rolling Stone was the easiest part of my day. 

Then the fun really began. In the room with the microfilm readers, half of them had signs across the screens indicating they no longer worked. You mean no one knows how to fix these ancient machines? Shocking. I selected the machine that was able to convert the microfilm into pdfs that I could save on a flash drive. To use this machine, not only was there a 15+ step hand drawn infographic on the wall, but also a 25+ page manual on how to use this specific machine. Woof. 

Long story short, I spent four hours flipping through slides and converting them, but it was pretty fascinating. I might go back and look and old magazine on microfilm for fun sometime. Plus, at the end of the day I felt unbelievably accomplished for having learned to use microfilm by myself.  

CRITIQUE: Flyer Design!

 

This is a flyer I designed this week for the Newman Volunteer Corps fundraiser for a library project for victims of human trafficking. The Newman Volunteer Corps is a group of students and resident parishioners of the St. Thomas More Newman Center on campus who plan the service, social justice and education events for the parish. I serve as the Technology Director for NVC and since we couldn't find an Advertising Chair, those duties usually fall to me too. So, I've spent most of my week working on the advertising for this fundraiser.  It presented some challenges in that I had to also think of the theme for the event before I could start designing. I started with "Dining for Dollars" (clever, I know), then went to "Dining for Brighter Futures" before coming up with "Light Up the Night," which I really liked because of the symbolism behind it. 

I wanted to hype up the dinner theater aspect of the event with the design. I feel like a lot of people want to support a good cause, but they don't necessarily care what that cause is. Plus, I think this organization is fairly obscure, so making their name and logo huge wasn't going to help bring people in. While the topic is obviously serious, I wanted to make the flyer kind of fun and inviting. We've had some trouble attracting people to our events in the past, so I wanted to reach as many audiences as possible. Let me know what you think. Also, you should come to the event! We have over 8 musical and dance acts lined up and a great dinner. AND it's only $12 for students!