Finals Due Dec. 12th

Finals due next week, December 12th.

You will be graded on Illustration quality and attention to detail, text design and layout & overall design.

For your final presented you must present a full scale mock-up or a color print mounted with spray mount on black poster or matte board with a 3″ margin around the edges. Make sure all 4 sides are viewable in 1 layout or another.

Example: A photo of a completed mock-up may only show 2 sides of a carton, then mount an additional piece with your flattened, 4-sided design.

Remember you must show at least 2 different milk options (1%, 2%, Chocolate, etc).

Email me a PDF of your work this week if you’d like some feedback.

If you decide you’d like more time to work on the project, you may turn in your final by December 19th of finals week, however you MUST deliver to me in Whitefish. You also must let me know before next class, December 12th, if you need the extension.

milk packaging final project.

Next class, Nov. 21st.

Due: 3 design concepts x 6 artboards each for 2 of the designs.

Come to class with AI files ready for critique with the class.

For the final class project we will be creating milk packaging. Why milk? I want to start with the most plain product imaginable, and make it look good.

This project does not need to be illustration based. Consider a focus on text with back ground illustration elements like some of these samples from InspirationFeed.com.

You final project will have at least 2 types of milk displayed. For example you may have 1% and 2% milk, 2% and Skim, Whole and Skim or even strawberry and vanilla.

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holiday postcards with six artboards.

Next class, Nov. 7th.

Due: 2 advanced design comps with at least 6 artboards per design.

Come to class with AI files ready for critique with the class.

Artboards Panel

Use the Artboards panel to create and rearrange your artboards. A layout something like this will be easiest for in-class presentation.

How to draw the beach…for class.

Next class, Oct. 31st.

If at least 1 person comes to class in costume, we can leave at 7pm!

Due: 2+ advanced design comps due, each must be unique from the rest.
Also, 3 text-only designs due each using a unique font and layout with your illustration concept in mind, but not used.

Come to class with a b/w print out and color PDF.

In class we will draw a beach scene.

Grab these 2 images:

http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/40517.jpg

http://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview_approve/9401215/2/stock-photo-9401215-beach-umbrella.jpg
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Class Samples.

Next class, Oct. 24th.
Due: 3+ design comps due, each must be unique from the rest.
b/w print out, color PDF.

Be prepared for an in-class critique.

Here are a few samples I’m showing class for our next project: Holiday Cards.


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Design as a feeling.

So lately I’ve been working hard to show off my design through well designed presentation. Instead of showing a screen shot of a completed project, I’m showing the project in an appealing way. The main element, in most cases, being through good photography. It’s amazing how much more effective a well taken and creative photo and design around a portfolio piece can inspire others (including new clients) then showing all the intimate details of the design itself. Presentation is king – just this once – your impeccable kerning is not!

A few examples, just to prove I have been doing something the last year.

Brewfest Poster

SFC Winter Poster

May Lawn and Home Car Website

How to have fun ruining a perfectly good idea!

I thought I’d nailed it this week. I had a logo concept that the client liked and had huge potential. It just needed a little tweak. The circles that built it were to perfect. It need something more organic. But something that would still convert to a vector format easily. I was thinking dirt. No, gravel. They’re both going to muck up my lightbox.

What I needed was something of inconsistent size, similar to gravel. Large enough to photograph and convert into an illustration as to not end up as a photographic logo. What has a non-uniform surface. Dark in color to contrast on white. Preferably candy coated…

Well, whatever the solution, the outcome was awful. But I had a lot of fun ruining a perfectly good idea.

iPhone users, click here to view on YouTube.

Are you a Pretty Bird?

Ah, Twitter. Sounding board to the masses. Do you Tweet? How often, and what about? The focus, relevancy and frequency of Tweets is in constant discussion regarding what make a successful Twat.

In a medium so focused on the message, and what you have to say, people often forget about the visual. Is your Twitter page attractive? Sure, a lot of people ad contact info and ads to their pages. But regularly they are bland or boring if not downright ugly.

In a see of little boxes, little boxes made of ticky-tacky, does your User Picture look just the same? I made mine lighter, with extra open space to stand out. Then added my condensed web address in case anyone wants to look me up.

Having a well designed Twitter background is a great way to show off your brand, pass along important info, and make a lasting impression to visitors. Smashing Magazine put together a great showcase of some very nice looking Twitter accounts.

Another oft forgotten element of Tweeting is your User Picture. For a personal account used simply to communicate with friends, a self portrait is sufficient. However, DO NOT use a picture of your child or pet unless they use the account as well! Please, this is “you” speaking, or typing, whatever.

If you are using your account for work, an image of your logo often gets the job done. Other users can quickly view your User Picture to identify who a Tweet is from quickly and accurately. However, if you are trying to reach more quickly to a market that Tweets heavily. And if you would like you message to be viewed in a timely manner, consider creating a picture/icon that can be more quickly identified when lined up with 10, 20, 50 others. Show what you do, or at least where you are from.

A little more interesting than the standard Twitter page with contact info on the left, and a little about what I do on the right.

With more and more companies and personalities joining Twitter daily, the competition is getting more fierce. When you look at your Twitter page and User image, do they stand out? Where they professionally done? Should they be?

Taking my own advice, I’ve recently redone the Ovid Nine Twitter “brand.” Take a look and let me know if you’d like me to help you with yours.

10 More Del.icio.us

Link Share v.2

Another year of collecting random links has passed. Del.icio.us has changed to Delicious.com, less creative, but easier to spell I admit. It’s amazing how quickly the modern world changes. Scrolling through my old links, I found TwitPic saved, b/c in September 2008 it was new and I didn’t want to forget the URL should I ever have a use for such a service.

So for you geeks out there, bored at work, with time to kill, I hope I can show you something new and entertaining.
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RFFRC Annual Report

I just received a box of Annual Reports from the printer for Roaring Fork Family Resource Centers. As I lay them out to photograph, I thought about rolling around in them. Can you blame me? Two months of my life’s work is in the ink and paper before me. I have a connection too these little staple-bound bundles. And after perhaps 60-90 minutes with them, all but a few will leave me forever. Read More →

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