Critique: Week 13

So close, yet so far away...

This week, I changed my focus from one web site project to another and worked like a dog to get a working web portfolio up. Unfortunately for me, figuring out how to host my own web site has proved to be more difficult than I ever thought it would be. I am now on my third redesign of the entire site and am finally starting to like where it is going. Once I figure out how to get it up on the web, I'll be a really happy camper.

My team and I have also been working on the Pets issue. I'm really happy with our style guide. It has just the right amount of fun elements to spice up our clean Vox layout. I haven't done anything else with the animal cruelty feature because I just got a second draft of the copy today. I think I may do the whole thing in black and white with navy accents to contrast the seriousness of the article with the rest of the magazine. Thoughts?

To get you all excited for the May 7th publication here is my baby, Wilke (or Wilk for short).



Oh, and she wears a Mizzou collar. How cute is that?

DesignVerb: Aaron Tang

After all this time I realized I didn't know ANYTHING about the blogger behind DesignVerb: Aaron Tang (I actually didn't even know his name five minutes ago). As it turns out, he's a really interesting designer with a background in industrial design (check out his resume) with a killer online portfolio. Since we have all been designing and redesigning (and redesigning) ours, I thought some inspiration might help. He uses roll overs too, which is proving to be a really effective way to give info on a web site.

Check him out!

You Can't Miss: Multicolr Search Lab

How cool is this? I came across a web site that allows you to search the "most interesting" photos on Flickr by color. The Multicolr Search Lab allows you to find photographs based on your color choices. And you can choose multiple colors and it will find photos that match them too! Check it out for yourself (I found the three photos above by choosing the color combination in my bedroom).

DesignVerb: and a lost robot

This may be the cutest thing I have seen in a long time... and wouldn't you know it, it's a very smart project. Watch. It's too cute not to.



Why you ask? Find out here.

Response: SSND Judging

This week, I attended the College News Design Contest hosted at the University of Missouri. It was really interesting because I had never experienced anything like that before, and I really enjoying comparing my peers' work to work from other universities. I regret not entering because I would have liked to have heard what the judges thought about my work, but the week that entries were due just wasn't my week (heck, this hasn't really been my semester). I know I'm a "loser" for not entering, but, lesson learned I will be sure to mark my calendar for next year when I have more clips worth entering.

If you're interested they kept a blog with audio from the judges, posting of the winnings, etc. Check it out here.

Critique: Week 12

We're getting near the end folks.

This past week I worked on our Meredith project like crazy so that it would be ready for galley edits on Monday, and boy, is it starting to look like a real web site. Today Jena and I joked that it looks "realer" with those ugly ads. Whatever it takes, I guess. Here are some new tidbits:




I also designed our "community" page, but it won't be a working web page, just a PDF to show.

In other news, there was Pet's work to be done both for my feature and and the entire issue. I can give away the good stuff just yet, but I am playing with the idea of chains for my feature (a story on animal cruelty). Here is a preliminary splash page:


I don't necessarily want it to be entirely black and white, but I kinda like where this is headed. The cramped lettering is supposed to mirror the tiny cages that the dogs in the story are stuffed into. I have only seen a first draft of the text, so I am sure my design will change with it.

You Can't Miss: Best and Worst Fashion Spreads

Today The Cut put together what they believe to be the Best and Worst Fashion Spreads from the April issues. They have some interesting categories including Best Hot Mess, Least Progressive Accessory, Best Male Model Wearing No Pants and Best Example of Why Lindsay Lohan Needs a Day Job.

There are also some legit categories too and some really interesting photography. So check it out, even if fashion journalism isn't your thing.

DesignVerb: Relief Prints

Check this out!



Bryan Nash Gill is the artist behind these sweet relief prints, but he's got a really cool blog too. If you are like me, you are always looking for web design inspiration (heck any inspiration will do), but if you are interested you should check it out.

Critique: Week 11

This week has been busy as always.

I redesigned my school safety cover based on the critiques I received last week. I really loved my black cover, but what I loved about it was the directness that it got at the issue. I was told to work on the white cover with the repeated words, so I did my best to blend the two and came up with this:


I also worked on a sweet multimedia component for the books department. Next week, I'll post a link to Voxmagazine.com that will let you check it out.

Also, it has been another big week for our Meredith Project. The web site is really starting to come together and I am proud to have learned as much as I have (with the help of some other talented designers). Here are some more tidbits:

Response: Trend Assignment

What a worthwhile assignment we had this week. By forcing us to make a contact in the field and getting first hand advice, we all have to feel good about the direction our careers are headed. I was very happy to reconnect with Maggie Meyer and hear from a former Advanced Design student how our class translates to the real world (because it does). Thank goodness for content driven design!