Final Website

My website promotes myself very easily. From my work done in Indesign, to writings I have done over the semester for other classes. People should be able to tell who I am as a person, and how I write. I have always been told I am a strong writer, my style is unique, and the concepts are generally very good. Writing is a great way to express yourself and promote one self. The brochure created was on Bernie Sanders, which may show who I could possibly vote for. If not, letting others know some key things about Sanders. The homecoming poster might be my favorite piece aside from the brochure because the placement of info on it is well thought out. There is not too much, and key elements are published. My bio may seem straight forward and a bit tense, but that's who I am. The website I created is easy to navigate through, just like me, I'm an easy going individual. I am a big person when it comes to social media, but mainly on Facebook. I have a twitter but don't use it, I don't feel it's necessary for everyone to know every second of my day. As far as Instagram is concerned I don't take many pictures, and don't want to let everyone know who I'm with or where I am all the time. Facebook is my main social media outlet, but I don't have a professional one, hopefully down the road.The most difficult thing about it was making sure everything was linked together. If there were two pages to a story or my brochure, they wouldn't open. Creating another box to put the second page of my brochure in I didn't like how it looked. If more time was granted I would have loved to made it one page and to click on it to open the other, same with my writings. Having my three writing on a separate page was cool. Having them with designs would have been an overload on one page. Overall I enjoyed creating the site. Generally speaking it was easy to do, with the professor taking the class step by step and having great feedback and help. I thought it was going to be hard with all certain types of codes. There were a plethora of codes, but they were already placed. Some of the things, such as placing my writings were a bit of a challenge, but I had awesome help. If I were to use this professionally I think it had the right amount of information. Not graphic, just things to get to know the person. If i were to use the website for personally reasons, I would definitely like to include outside school photos, maybe journals, graphics, and other work done over my college career.

Brochure Brilliance

The MineralKat Brochure is a successfully designed brochure. The color scheme fits perfectly with what the brochure is offering. Having to do with plants and minerals the green, white, and little bit of brown in the photos are mineralesque (made that up). Uses of different greens is superb, as there are many shades of greens in the mineral world, all plants have different colors of greens to them. Having a white background to write the words on is key, making the text green makes them stand out. Even where there is green on green it is executed well. The background green is dark enough and the text green is light enough so the words are visible. It looks as if the way the shapes cut inside the brochure that they are maybe supposed to represent leaves, which is creative. The repetition within the brochure looks the same, just flip flopped which is important. It maybe not be the most well designed thing to do, but it makes the brochure look complete. The bubbles and the light blue sky seem to give calmness. The designer may have used that for effect, but it's affective for the viewer. Laying out the pictures of what look to be different minerals on the same page, using the same layout is great. It keeps less confusion for the viewer, if they want to refer back to something they know right where to go. The text is well placed, colored, and sized. There doesn't seem to be an abundance of text, but at the same time there looks to be a lot of useful information. What the designer wants to stick out as far as title and headers, does with the text size compared to the informational text. Overall the brochure is well thought out and crisp.

When going to the spa the very first thing that comes to mind is relaxation. The Spa Center Brochure without question creates that. Instantly the front cover is extremely easy. A white background, flower, and a mid shot of a person looking relaxed by holding the flower is well designed. If relaxation and comfort is what is being looked for then this seems to be on point. When flipping through the pages a lot of light colors are used. Whites, blues, yellows, and greens, great usage with those. Dark colors may give off a sense of grittiness. The dark colors are only seen in the photos placed in the brochure itself, the designer couldn't do anything about those. There is not a lot of text, which is good. When going to the spa there is not supposed to be a lot to discuss or do. A black text on a white background is always classic and easy to read. The photos fit the brochure to a tee. Showing products that can be used to treat yourself to you own spa day. The shot of the woman laying face down with the heat rocks on her back shows what could happen at a spa. A room with a tub is always a good fit, relaxing feel, along with the woman looking out into the ocean. Looking at a woman performing yoga is a nice treatment, good exercise. The darker colors are well placed on the back page, as they won't be seen much. Having the white text over a black strip is used well so the text can be seen. The only negative is on the second last page, with dark text over part of a dark picture. The left side of the text is okay over a green leaf, but having the black text against what looks to be heat rocks is poorly used. Placing the text on the bottom right of the page wold make more sense, as all of the other text on the left page is on the bottom. Again, spa's are easy and relaxing, which is why having text, white background, and relaxing photos is key. All of this, minus a text error, makes for a successful spa brochure.

The Easily Difficult Postcard

Creating the postcard was a bit of a challenge. Working more and more with Indesign the more familiar it becomes. Along the way learning new tricks and how things are supposed to be done. The postcard project was not difficult, but at the same time it was. Postcards are generally very basic. Writing a little something to someone, with a nice designed background to look at. The background more than likely fits the mood of the writing or the time of year (seasons). However this project was writing about yourself as a person, when postcards are usually meant for someone else, not describing yourself. In the end this is a good way of communicating about yourself in a different way, say other than a resume. My postcard is clearly blue, with a slight design background. Somewhat looks like a monitor background. I wanted it to be easy to look at, simple with no confusion. That's how I feel I am as a person. I like to be straight forward with people and individually. Blue is also one of my top three favorite colors. The fonts were easy to figure out. It's a postcard, not a written document that needs some fancy font to make it stand out. No one wants to take 15 minutes reading a short message trying to figure out what it says. The most complex font on the postcard would be my name. It's stylish which is how I think I can be as a person. Little did I know later on in the project the font I chose would work to my advantage. The shape we created in Illustrator was mainly made for the sake of a text wrap. Near the end of completion I felt like my shape was just an inanimate object. I took the cropped photo of myself created in Photoshop and placed it inside the shape, which was an oval. When I did that I thought of those classic picture frames that are the same shape, yet real fancy, and if they're hanging on a wall have the persons name written underneath them with real nice font. I deleted my shape and went to search for one of those frames on the internet. I thought my postcard was lacking a bit in the excitement part, so the frame would give it more depth. Once the frame was placed with my photo inside i took my name with the fancy font and placed it underneath the frame. It may sound boring but I thought it was a good idea. Indesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator were all used to create this postcard. Indesign was the main cog where everything was finalized and created. Photoshop allowed me to take a photo that included myself and crop myself from the background. Also later on I learned how to incorporate a new background so my cropped self didn't look so odd. Illustrator was used to create our shape. There were definitely some instructions I needed help with to make the final product. Learning how to crop myself out of a photo, adding that to a new background, learning more about the text wrap, and defining the edges of a cropped photo with certain tools in Photoshop.Whenever I write about myself I get tired of writing the same things over and over. I don't think I change much as a person. Im generally pretty laid back which is what I write. I wanted to think of something else to say for once. In the end my description of myself was unusual, and almost story like, but short. I wanted to be more in depth about how I described myself. In reading it, maybe it's too straight forward, but that's how I am.

Hydrolic Fracturing

Fracking is drilling into the earth then injecting fluid at an enormous amount of pressure to break rocks. When this is done natural gas is released. This is also called “hydrolic fracturing”. It is an economical issue. The majority of this process is done in England. Also taking part in the US, however concerns of the environment have risen. After researching fracking, I am against it. The fluid (water) that is used to break the rock requires it to be transferred, which costs the environment. The chemicals that are used can escape therefore contaminating the underground drinking water and pollutes the air. Reports surfaced in 2011 that during fracking, taking place in Blackpool, caused two small earth tremors. The quakes reached 1.5 and 2.2 on the scale. Because fracking is so easy, it has blinded governments from investing in other forms of reusable energy. The only real positive thing about fracking is that it makes it easy to gain access to oil and gas. At the same time, in the US anyway, the gas and oil discovered have lowered has prices. 

Pictures of wells, gas signs, gas prices, oil, oil rigs, drilling into the earth, contaminated water, air polution, side affects of the negatives, environmental energy costs. 

Adjectives: 1) Controversy  2) Environment  3) Chemicals  4) Costly  5) Investing  6) Dangerous  7) Hazardous  8) National  9) Rupture  10) 

Not sure of font names but a few font types could be runny, make a font look like something is dripping representing oil. Another could be something simple, make it look bold, stand out, as this is a widely discussed topic. Have the audience take note of it. Make it noticeable and approachable. 

This topic is sensitive, to a point. People obviously don’t want to have their water polluted or breath is chemicals. Others can turn around and say helpful resources are being obtained, at the same time health risks are involved. Both sides can be argued, but if lives are prone to health related issues and there are other methods or resources that can be used, a different alternative should be discussed.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14432401

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/problems/fracking

Good Posters

WANTED POSTER

When someone sees a wanted poster, it stands out on it's own because of default. There doesn't need to be a bright color to make it stand out. This poster has a lot of useful information. It states who is wanted, why they are wanted, and the price for the capture. The two most important thing's were made to stand out. With the persons picture put directly in the middle on the poster. Also their name was made bigger than other text and bold to stand out. 

RAY CHARLES

Ray Charles was one of the most famous composers of all time. Putting his very recognizable face on this poster makes it stand out alone, not to mention the orange background. A lot of good information on here. The most important sticks out, his name is big with a cool font selection, right at the very top in big letters is where it will take place and when. The little caption next to his face lets people who don't know, that he is very popular. 

GREASE

Excellent use of how the word grease is used. Grease is oily and runny which is how the word is viewed on the poster. Also it is in the form of a car. Judging by how the two individuals are dressed it suggests they could be in college, which college students and their cars are popular. At the very top the two stars of the film are right there nice and bold. With those being the only two names used, making them the only two on the poster makes sense so audiences know who they are. Stating which company is producing the film makes sense. That may persuade some to go see it if they like that companies films.

Bad Posters

ALICE IN WONDERLAND
This poster does not stand out well at all. A black background makes for a very vague look. For people who know the movie they know that's supposed to be the cat's smile. For those who don't they may think it's a bad use of the moon. There is no date or announcement when the movie comes out. Along with no star names or even figures of who is in the film.

NIRVANA
There is good use of attention grabbing with an angel and a can of soup. After looking at the poster it may become confusing. There is little information. For the info that is there however it is difficult to read. The word Nirvana is split into two separate lines, the name should be one line. Same thing for the three lines on the bottom that say "pala chia coo". Not sure if that even is one word or if it's supposed to be that way.

JURASSIC WORLD
Don't get me wrong everyone knows the jurassic park logo. If you know that then you know what the movie is about. I feel like with this Jurassic World the design team could have taken it a step further with it being a new beginning to the franchise. I understand the concept of wanting to keep things the same, or have continuity, but this is an opportunity to promote. Have the star(s) of the movie with their images and names. If there is something new that wasn't in the first three films make that a point of emphasis. Having the logo in the poster is key, something more needs to be included. The tag line "the park is open" is catchy, but for this poster isn't enough.

Visualizing Interest

          I respond to visual communication. When I look at something, whether finding it interesting or not, a lot of things stick in my head. A week later I can go back and say yeah, I remember that. Visualizing something rather than hearing it works better for me. I can look at a stat sheet for my favorite sports team and remember every single number on that sheet. If someone tells me the exact same numbers, the next day I’ll have a hard time remembering them. 

       Necessary tools for visual communication, for me, is the brain and having interest. Everything you do, let alone see, stays in your brain. Finding something colorful helps, but that doesn’t matter if what is seen can’t be retained. This not only goes for visual communication but others as well, you can’t recall what you heard or wrote without the brain remembering it. The brain takes in whatever you see and processes it. If a specific object or image appeals to you, then it will more than likely stick for an even longer amount of time. Here’s the difference. Many people know the “Mona Lisa”, simply because it’s one of the most popular paintings in history, not because of interest. For me, the Joker is my favorite villain and any photo I see of him intrigues me. Others may see them, remember it a few days later. I have interest, therefore will remember longer, thanks to my brain. 

 
  Nike has a very strong form of visual communication. First and foremost, the “swish” logo is world wide known. That logo can’t be associated with anything else. Secondly, Nike’s slogan, “Just Do It”, is also a well known phrase. For their commercials, some of them have popular athletes using Nike brands, persuading people to buy Nike to be like their favorite superstar. Many people have their own unique visual communication. Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus are two that jump out. Both celebrities wear unordinary outfits during shows or in public. Without even looking at their faces people think, that has to be Gaga or Cyrus. Before shows people wonder what they are going to wear rather than what they will sing. This past week during the VMAs Cyrus changed her wardrobe 12 times! The classic N over the Y or whatever way you see it, means one thing, New York Yankees. Loved by thousands, hated by many, the Yankee logo is vastly recognizable. They are one of few teams in sports who have not altered their logo in any way since they were formed. “Bronx Bombers”, is also a popular team slogan. Having countless great players over the teams 102 year existence has helped. Such as Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Babe Ruth, and Yogi Berra. Being in the biggest sports market, New York,   makes the team a commodity. When the New York Mets and Yankees play one another, it’s known as the “subway series”, because fans can simply hop on a subway from one ballpark to the other.