Grid Layout Case Studies

This layout is very interesting because it formats the articles in an appealing way, capturing the interest because of its unique style. The creativity aspect is created by applying images that fit with the article. All the columns are incorporated with the wheels and the text provides various shapes which give rhythm to the overall design.  The grids create tension as they are divided in five main columns broken by images. Even the grids that are not broken by images are divided by titles with different sizes. I do consider that despite the fact that the page looks very interesting it is very complicated to follow the article.  

This article is very interesting because of the fact that every grid is actually a letter or an extension of it. There can be seen the newspaper's title in the main article. The text can be read easily even if the grids are broken so many times. There are 2 grids in total, but the structure is divided into 3 parts, yet the article does not have a symmetry.

Breaking the Grid

For my first experiment I create a simple appearance to introduce a quote in the middle of the article. I used the same font for every column, but I changed the size for the centre quote. The main article font is 18 pt., whereas the quote has 24 pt.

For my second experiment I used a yellow square in order to highlight the quote. I also put it in the middle of the page to capture the attention. By placing there the most interesting quote I tried to make the reader curious to read the whole article.

For the third experiment I used a brown square to create a contrast between the article and the quote. 

For the final experiment I used a red polygon in order to create an interesting overview. I liked the way that the text fits every corner of the polygon and I used white colour for the inside text to make a connection with the article, creating a light contrast. 

Grid Layouts

     
          Working Abroad

I chose as a cover a photo that express the theme - Working Abroad- For the title I used Stroke in order to be visible. For the logo I used Papyrus - Regular- font and for the title I used Book Antiqua font. The colour - blue- I do believe that expresses the distance and it gives a feeling of depression, yet I used it to create a connection between readers and people who actually Work Abroad.

First and second pages are containing the main article. I used a the photo to create an understanding for readers and to express the message of the article. I used two columns to make the text clear and I think that the blue circle break the grids in harmony, creating a perfect symmetry. 

For the third page I used the same blue circle to introduce the final part of the article. In the circles there can be seen the most important quotes from the article. I used the photo in the left corner of the page because I think that its colours fit the blue circle and express the other part of working abroad: the self satisfaction. 

Experiments with type, shape and colour

For this week I explored the shapes by applying images. I created the text by modifying the Vertical and Horizontal Scales.

CD Cover Design Project

Kalistenic

Kalistenic is a Romanian band formed in 

late March 2011.Kalistenic brings a distinct sound to the romanian music scene. Having aselect lineup with members influenced by a lot of various genres, Kalistenic combines groove and prog metal to bring a unique sound to the metal industry. George, Loris, Razvan and Gabi recorded their first demo in June 2011, and had their live debut in August 2011. Along with Andrei, their newest member, they are working on new tracks soon to be heard on their upcoming album.

CD Cover

All the photos I used as experiments and the final CD cover were provided by Valeriu Catalineanu - the photographer- himself. He send me these photos for free without any Copyrights condition to use only for this project.   

I used Face your Fears font downloaded for free from dafont.com. I used this font because I do consider that it fits for the genre of music the band promotes. 'Alone I die' - the title of the CD- is actually one of their Hits, yet the font is connected to the message that the song expresses. I chose black as a colour because black is a trademark for rock metal music, yet I wanted to create a specific atmosphere. I chose this photo because it is very expressive according to the title. 

Photographic Case Studies

The message 'You can help. Stop global warming' is significant accentuated by an image that presents two penguins: a mother and her child. They are looking helpless to a container of toxic substances that are burning, a factor that causes global warming. The background is apocalyptic, presenting the destruction of Earth, the main colour being grey. The only bright colours are the ones from the message and orange, colour of fire. This picture expresses depression, making the main message more dramatic. The whole advertisement captures the human attention by presenting a possible hypothesis of global warming, fact that probably would not capture the attention without a strong image. Even the message is written on bin trash metal, expressing the idea that this will be our last material if we continue to destroy the natural resources.

Having penguins as the main characters, the ad conceptualize the human feelings and kindness for animals and the campaign advices us to protect animals’ natural habitats in order to save the Planet. The way penguins are looking at the container gives a strong emotion and sadness, forcing us to be more careful with our lifestyle.

The message captures a strong meaning by adding this apocalyptic image, thus the main purpose of the campaign, to alert people about the global warming, is accomplished.  

 As the obesity is a global issue that few of us are conscious about, this campaign alerts overweight people that ‘Obesity kills’. It is used the most common killing arm: a pistol, making the message obvious for everyone. The pistol is actually a chocolate tablet and the bullet is the bitten part of the tablet. The excess of sugar, in this case chocolate, is the first cause of obesity, yet the image has a strong impact. The message ‘Obesity takes one life every 12 seconds’ is demonstrated by the concept of the photo.

Own the Colour

Tiffany & Co box

Tiffany Blue

Tiffany & Co blue colour is trademarked in the US and elsewhere. This nuance of blue expresses elegance and luxury. It gives the experience of touching the finest and royal jewellery, yet customers can actually feel the pure form of the jewellery only by looking at the blue little box. The colour is produced by Pantone, with PMS number 1837 which means the year of Tiffany & Co fondation. The colour is not printed in the Pantone Marching System and it is available only for the company. This nuance of blue is so famous that it has a Wikipedia page.

   

                                                                              Pullman Brown

UPS Truck

The brown colour used by UPS is now a trademarked for the company. They used the same brown nuance for their trucks since 1916. In 1998 a former UPS executive explain their reasons of choosing this colour: 'it was the epitome of luxury at the time' The brand's tagline is 'What can Brown do for you?' Brown gives a serious overlook for the company, as they based their services on professionalism.This colour is also associate with plainness in some cultures over the world.