Covers

Possible pressmark

This is what I am thinking for my pressmark. What do you think?

Title page examples

So here are three ideas I've come up with for my book's title page. I think the first design flows the best from the left to right pages. My favorite, though, I think is the third design. It feels symmetrical or balanced, but I think I need to change the colors around a little bit. Maybe make the circle cyan and the square magenta so that it doesn't take away from the rest of the page as much. Does our title page need to be neutral, like it is reflecting all artists, or rather none in particular? Of course I don't want to make the other artists seem unimportant in comparison to mine, yet I still want it to reflect my artist because it is going to be turned in with my book.

Table of Contents

These are three possible ideas for my table of contents. The first one is a unique design similar to an image I found on Google. I kind of like it. The second one is also interesting. It looks like a bar graph, which seems unusual for a list of this sort, but it's a fun and different way to personalize my table of contents. My personal favorite, I think, is the third idea. It's easy to read and the magenta squares bring your attention right to the designers. I also think it's a cool touch that I put "Table of Contents" into my designer's Alphabet 26 typeface in all three spreads.

B. Thompson 4

I think my main goal with this last spread of the originals, was to bring even more color and I tried to find bigger images with 300 ppi, which was surprisingly difficult for Bradbury bring so well known. I also tried to put in a few direct quotes that I highlighted in magenta and made a little larger than the rest of the text.

B. Thompson 3

This is one of the three original spreads. I loved the dynamic angle made by the multi-colored images on the front page (which Bradbury is known for doing). Other than that, I really wanted to make paragraph breaks using color blocks, and I think they are actually fairly successful. My only worry is how the yellow blocks will print. After all, Bradbury is also famous for using pure CMYK hues and I wanted to incorporate that into my book design.

B. Thompson 2

This was my original layout with the bibliography at the beginning. I think I like the colors in this one better, but I like the arrangement of my other spread better. When I first presented it to my classmates, they decided in favor of this spread, out of the original three, because they liked the difference in shapes; this one wasn't as "blocky." Margie suggested I could get rid of most of the circles, but keep four to put page numbers in. It's a possibility...

B. Thompson 1

This is the first layout for my pages in the book. I think I have gotten used to the guides, but I still think they are a pain to use sometimes. Overall I like the look of this spread with the bibliography at the end. I do, however, have another option which I shall bring along with this sequence to class for critique.

Future Vessel

After I get the box back, I would like to apply the poly to the interior of the larger box, which I had neglected to do because of the slightly more obvious glue stains still on the walls. Glue which is a pain to remove. I will also be adding some sort of hook to the underside of the lid from which to hang my necklace, and source of inspiration. Also, a student suggested that, because my lid fits in properly one way only, to indicate which way the lid and box fit together. Possibly by incorporating a thin walnut strip, off-center and stretching from the side of the box and coordinating side of the lid. I was thinking the same as she suggested it, so I might also do that when I reacquire my project. Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed this project (the best so far I think) and I love my box.

Vessel Complete... mostly

I finished my box, with a few changes. In the end, I decided that I didn't want to add a top piece to the lid. I also held off on burning or carving my "toy box" initials into the sides of my box. After it was done, and after applying the polyurethane, I thought the box looked beautiful just having the simple exterior with the added substantial piece of the walnut of the bottom, in addition to the surprise slide-out interior/stopper. I believe that the added lego or interlocking circles on the lid would have made it look a little cheesy or like they were added as an afterthought, at the last minute. I also think that if I had burned the designs onto the sides, it would have taken away from the overall simplistic look of the box, and I love the look of the natural wood itself.

Box progress 1

I decided to make my slide-out box using cherry with a layer of walnut at the bottom to ground it and add a little interest to the otherwise plain exterior. I have the pieces cut out and now I just need to sand, sand, sand, glue them all together, then put on the polish. The picture I have is of the interior from the bottom. The U-shape is going to be glued to the top lid to act as both a stopper and the holder for my necklace.

Vessel Models

I made three models of my chosen ideas: the slide-out box, brain box, and toy box. The latter two I made out of foam instead of cardboard. The toy box was easy to model, but the foam I got for the brain box was difficult to carve. As a result, I couldn't really imagine what it would be like to actually carve it out of the band saw. Because of the positive responses I got with both the mechanics of the slide-out box and toy box both, I was trying to decide if I wanted to combine the ideas and carve the initials onto the sides of the slide box. I shall see how it looks first and see how intricate it'll be. I don't want it to be too busy.

Box Ideas

I drew my 10 sketches. Some of them I think could potentially work out, some I think are would turn out really cool (if I could actually do it), and some I don't really like at all. My favorites are the TMNT head (my brother and I both love those turtles!), the interlocking puzzle pieces, and the slide-out box. The slide out is pretty simple, yet is a little unexpected. The puzzle pieces show how complicated my brother and I are, yet we are fairly close in age as well as in our relationship. The inside doesn't exactly follow the contour of the form, which makes it a little more interesting, and the walls are thick (going off of Margie's suggestion that my item is precious and so is protected). My only issue is that I don't know whether I should do the typical puzzle piece shapes, or piece together C and P for our first names. Either way, it's a little cheesy, but then again, so are me and my brother. The turtle head I would say is inspired by Michelangelo. My brother is funny and silly sometimes, yet loyal and sweet, just like this orange-wrapped ninja turtle. Personally, I think I'm also like Mikey, so it works out for both of us. The slide out box is simple yet unexpected, as I said before. It is, I think more interesting that just a box with an open/shut lid. It's a good place to put my treasure.

Beginning Project 3

We are getting ready to start project 3 and I'm actually very excited. Both my father and grandfather have a history in carpentry and woodworking, so I'm hoping they could help me make some good, yet creative choices for my final box. I'm focusing my piece around a necklace I have with a picture pendant featuring my brother and I at very young ages: 3 and 5 I think. I wear it when I need a little inspiration or to borrow a few "smarts" from my brother (he's going into computer engineering and is ridiculously intelligent). Based on that I think I'd like to make a box that both soft and complex, in a way. Maybe a taller box with a secret compartment or something, ha. I think this project will be very fun and very challenging.

Part 3 final

This is my final drawing so far, I had fun with it and I have my elephant :) I don't feel as though it's done, but I'm not sure what else I can do with it. Maybe add a few clouds in the background for some contrast on the left? Any suggestions?

To Sketchup or not to Sketchup?

I have to admit, I'm not so sure about what I am going to do for my final perspective drawing. We have to draw our chair in some type of environment. I'm trying to decide if I should emphasize the meaning of my chair (and my relationship with my mother) through its surroundings, or if I should go for the opposite and make the environment totally surreal or completely unrelated to the chair in terms of content. I was also thinking about something one of the other students said about the chair top opening up like a flower. That could lead to something interesting. The other option for the final piece is to create it using Google Sketchup. Right now that seems a little intimidating given that a majority of my chair, as I have said before, isn't square. It also isn't totally circular either... I'll try it and see what happens!

Chair part 3

So the third part of our chair project is to make a couple drawings of our chair using two-point perspective. It was definitely a challenge to draw my chair in perspective just because a majority of my chair isn't square and I honestly don't have much practice drawing non-square type objects in perspective. However, I think I just needed to get started. Once I did start, it was a little easier. In the end I think they turned out pretty good! What do you think?

Chair part 2... part 2

Based on the suggestions of Margie and my classmates, I redesigned the seat cover so that it was still comfortable to sit on, yet revealed parts of the inside structure. Hence, people would be more likely to unfold the cover to view the intricate interior of the seat. In the end I wanted my seat to represent the relationship between me and my mother. We are very close. We connect so well, we finish each others' sentences and seem to be on "the same wavelength" all the time. She is my rock. She is solid and steady, and I love her deeply. Hopefully my chair shows that :)

Chair Part 2

 Success! I am definitely liking part two of the chair project much better than part one. Being able to use more than one piece of cardboard is much easier and made me feel much more creative, I think, in generating ideas that would work more efficiently. I have finished my preliminary chair for the in-process critique tomorrow, however, I'm not sure what else I can do do improve the chair for my final submission. My only idea would be to go through with my original plan and make a back for the chair. So far, my chair works very well. It's solid and doesn't shear or bend in any way. Opinions?

Puryear and Buster

Martin Puryear's works provide some examples of interesting forms we can make or base our chair ideas off of. All of his pieces are very organic, both in shape and material. I think they are beautifully thought out and executed. They are natural, rhythmic, and abstract forms and play with your senses. His wood work is my favorite. I think his most intriguing piece, although fairly basic, was his ladder. It is short, but appears long because it is leaned against the wall and increasingly gets thinner the higher the ladder goes, making the work an illusion of depth. I am partial to the organic, rhythmic, and quiet nature of, well, nature. So, I really like his work because it is so unique in the way those concepts are portrayed. I can just imaging his exhibit smelling like earth, pine trees, and the crisp air commonly found in forests. I think he's trying to tell us to keep the environment in mind. To see its beauty as something we should care for and appreciate.

Kendall's work feels very structural and sculptural. They almost look as if they are a real-life version of some 3D digital creation. They are very dimensional and grid-like. Yet, they are very organic and appear light, almost airy. Some of them actually look like lanterns, once again conveying the idea of being light, only now literally. Her works are layered and look sturdy and strong. Some of them are layered, yet feel almost buoyant. They also seem to imitate natural objects, like clouds or bubbles, in addition to almost futuristic exhibits. One piece almost looks like a skyline from a space colony of some sort. They are meant for people to interact with them. Same as our project. For our project part 2, we need a structure and form that we can utilize and actually sit on. Kendall's pieces exemplify support and structure, which we need to take advantage of.

My cardboard throne

I think I have an idea for my cardboard chair. It's a work in progress and am going to continue to mess with my models this weekend, but I think I'll be ready and (hopefully) successful by Tuesday! My theory is that if there is more surface area to support me, my weight will be distributed more evenly and therefore will hold me more effectively. My 12"x12" model was able to hold up a heavy Paula Dean stoneware casserole dish and a metal tea kettle with water still in it. That gives me hope my legit chair will work! I still need to figure out a way to get the base to not flip back out from the folds. Like I said: work in progress.

Working towards the final

Ok, so I've been steadily working on trying to integrate people into the right side of my "map." I'm definitely glad Margie is letting us cut our images, because if that couldn't happen, my project would be looking all sorts of weird. It's still somewhat difficult trying to figure out how to place them so it doesn't feel as if there is a big horizontal line drawn down the middle. I'd still like the viewer's eye to follow along the movement, but make it not so obvious. I've also tried to put in a few more of the grayer photographs to break up the monotony of the Johnson County Beige. Hopefully I'm on the right track.

My First

      Hey everyone, my name is Paige. I've never actually had a blog before, so this is going to be an interesting experience for me. Especially because blogging is evidently such an integral part of becoming a graphic designer. So I guess for my first post I'm going to put up my photo I took of my photography project. Once again, through my panoramic effect, I'm trying to simultaneously convey the empty sterility of Budig Hall during class time, and the chaos of the time in between when students are rushing in and out of the auditoriums. I have the basic "map" of the hall done, showing the more empty side, but I'm not sure how to incorporate my photos of the people clogging the hallways. Now that I've learned we can cut the images to fit into our collages, it might be a little easier. Any more suggestions?