Assignment 6 (Improved)

I've edited my design according to the feedback. I think I forgot to mention that my classmates suggested for the word "winds" to be more cursive, with swirls, which is what I've done here.

I hope the fonts are not too small. I think the design will look messy if they were any bigger.

I also hope that the first two lines look similar. I've added different colors to the emphasised words to add interest to the design, but since they are different words, the two lines still don't look particularly similar. I also didn't arrange them in a straight line as I wanted "see" and "hear" to be above "clouds" and "winds" respectively. I'd tried arranging them differently and I think this is the best I can do...

Lastly, I've made the blue color of "out" and "sea" lighter as I think they blended into the blue portion of the background when I printed the design for tutorial.

Assignment 6 Critique

The critique was that I fulfilled the requirements of the assignment, but I can improve on the layout. Since the first two lines were repeated, I can use the same layout for them. I shall try that to further improve the harmony of my design.

Also, after seeing other designs, I realised that my fonts were too small. I'll make them bigger. Hope the layout works out.

Assignment 6

To continue with my dog theme, I chose Gene Hill's quote on dogs for this assignment. It was the longest quote I could find that has imagery that I can use.

The full quote is “He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds. He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea. He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being; by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him. (I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.) When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive. When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile. When I am happy, he is joy unbounded. When I am a fool, he ignores it. When I succeed, he brags. Without him, I am only another man. With him, I am all-powerful. He is loyalty itself. He has taught me the meaning of devotion. With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace. He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant. His head on my knee can heal my human hurts. His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things. He has promised to wait for me... whenever... wherever - in case I need him. And I expect I will - as I always have. He is just my dog.”

I found this to be too long, so I used the first three lines of the quote. I find it easier to express their literal meanings than “forgive,” “loyalty” and “thumps his tail” etc. as I thought abstract words, movements and parts of a dog were difficult to express. However, I realised that dogs were not mentioned in the first three lines, so I added the last line to put the three lines in context.

Then I took the literal meanings of the quote and designed the typefaces. For example, I drew eyes for the words “eyes” and “see,” and I placed “see” above “clouds,” since the quote was “see above the clouds.” I drew sound waves to express “hear,” and slanted the font of “winds” to signify wind blowing at the words. “The part of” is a part of “me,” and “me” is joined to (“reaches out into”) the word “sea.” “Out,” however, is disjointed (out of “me” and “see”). I modified the dogs of my previous assignments to form the word “dog,” as I thought this may provide consistency for my portfolio.

I finished my design rather quickly, but I was stuck at the layout. I found it extremely difficult to make my design harmonious. The first two lines were repeated, and since I used the same font except for the key words that I drew, they looked consistent. On the other hand, “the part of me that reaches out into the sea” and “just my dog” looks like two separate designs. I tried many different layouts, and decided on continuing the S curve of “the part of me that reaches out into the sea,” but I still had harmony problems. In the end, I decided to use a theme.

Since “sea” was the biggest font, I wanted to do a theme based on the sea. However, I thought the design will look weird if dogs were in the sea. Hence I changed my theme to a beach, so the dogs can be on the shore, and the word “sea” in the sea. Moreover, the first two lines had “clouds” and “winds,” which exist in the sky, so it would make sense to put them at the top of the design.

In order to bring focus to “the part of me that reaches out into the sea,” I made the first two lines and “just my dog” smaller. As a result, “just my dog” looks like a logo. Still, I think the design is more harmonious now =)

Assignment 5 (Improved Again)

Ok, I've edited according to the feedback. I think I forgot to mention that Natasha suggested to have a more "chocolatey" Chocolate, i.e. darker brown. I took her suggestion as well, although there's white chocolate ;) I've also added red to "Bright and Sunny." The font and string colors were also changed as necessary to stand out against the background. Most importantly, I've changed "Nature" to "Neon." I think the colors look much nicer now. Love the feedback, really useful =)

Assignment 5 Critique

The most common critique was about the "Nature" color scheme. Most people did not like the purple, as they find it clashing/unrelated to nature. I actually had problems with the purple too, but I thought to keep the colors since they remind me of lilac and orange flowers on a meadow? But after today's critique, I think I'll change it.

Someone suggested for me to use a black background with neon/retro colors. I think it's a great idea, so maybe I'll do that to replace the ugly "Nature" scheme.

Another common comment was to change the font color for lighter backgrounds, which I'll do. There were also comments to change the color of the dog. I didn't want to do that because the dog may look unnatural, and natural colors for dogs are only black, brown and white. Black seems too stark to me, and I think brown looks to similar to orange. Nevertheless, I may give it a try, if I have time.

Someone suggested to add red to the "Bright and Sunny" theme. I think that may be interesting, so I'll try that as well.

Another comment was that the "bells" were nice. I hope she means the X'mas "balls," and has not mistaken the hat for a bell :S Otherwise, I'll have to work on the hat drawing.

Will update the blog soon =)

Assignment 5 (Improved)

Julian commented that the previous design was good, but it can be more creative/unique. So here's my new version:

This is sort of surreal/whimsical (?) as the X'mas balls (for want of a better word) and the dog are out of proportion. I also used rhythm. Hope this is more interesting =)

I kept my idea of the dog wanting the hat for a X'mas gift though, so the hat's hanging on the string. I also outlined the dog and the hat only, so as to bring focus to them.

Next, I did the color schemes, which are the same as those in the previous Asn 5 post.

Assignment 4 (Improved Again)

From the last design, Julian further suggested that I can align the right margin of the copy to the dripping blood. He also suggested to shorten the copy, although it is less than 150 words. Here's the new design:

I do agree about the copy. I had lots of trouble writing the previous version, maybe because I don't read poster copies often. I find it really difficult to capture the right tone. I actually did a Chinese version first, as I'm more familiar with Chinese media. I got it done reasonably quick, but then I was stuck again at the translation. Anyway, I hope this is better.

"Last year, 22% of 600 primary school children indicated in a study that they have suicidal thoughts. Depression, the major cause, may affect up to 17.2% of them.

"Your child deserves a happy childhood. Too much academic stress may indirectly cause his or her death. You would not want to regret when it is too late.

"If your child displays depression symptoms, seek help immediately. For more information, call the Child Guidance Clinic, Health Promotion Board at 6389 2200 or email to hpb@imh.com.sg."

For the layout, I think by aligning the right margin with the blood, the design looks more balanced. (There is white space to the left of the image and to the right of the copy.) I find it interesting, the way this design turns out =)

By the way Julian also mentioned that the many triangular shapes made by the penknife make the design great. I just realised that, but I don't know how many triangles there are. There's really a lot to count. If anyone drops by here, you can count for me if you don't mind ;)  

Assignment 5

For this assignment, I chose to do a Christmas card. I think Chinese New Year cards are not suitable as those are usually in red, and if I were to experiment with color schemes, they'll look funny? Thus, I drew a dog looking at a snowman. This is also to continue with my dog theme. The postcard's composition follows the rule of thirds. Here's the sketch:

The postcard shows that the dog wants the snowman's hat as a Christmas gift (since Christmas is a time of giving and sharing). To make the idea more obvious, the text reads "Can't wait for Christmas?" In addition, I used the same contrasting colors and patterns for the dog's sweater and the snowman's hat.

After working on the Illustrator version, I found the text in the sketch to be too small. Thus I experimented with the layout and decided to put it below the horizon, on the snow.

The four colors I used are blue, green, red and orange. Blue and green are cool colors while the other two are warm colors. This creates contrast, which brings attention to the sweater and the hat. Initially I used bright red and green, but I found them to be too vibrant, so I chose darker shades.

I wanted to keep the design simple, thus I did not draw clouds, snow or the sun in the sky. Instead, I added a gradient to the background to depict light (due to the sun). This color scheme is hence known as "bright daylight." Here are my other color schemes:

 

I named the color schemes after the feelings they evoke (e.g. passionate, warm and cozy), or the objects they remind me of (e.g. nature, chocolate). Most of the color schemes have contrasting colors, except "chocolate," which is monochrome.

Next I did the back of the postcard.

I followed the example in the lecture notes. I only changed the image (where the stamp should be) to the dog on the front, so as to reiterate my theme.

Experimenting with colors is fun! =)

Assignment 4 (Improved)

As suggested, I have aligned the hand with the copy, as well as changed the target audience. There were also comments that the font of the tag line was too small, so I enlarged it. Here's the new version:

And here's the new copy:

"22% of Singapore children thought of suicide."

Suicides, after accidents, are the most common cause of death among Singapore youths, and suicide rates are still on the rise. Last year, 22% of 600 primary school children indicated in a study that they have thought of suicide. Depression, the major cause, may affect up to 17.2% of primary school children.

Every child deserves a happy childhood. Don’t let your child lose out because of academic stress. Talk to your child and find out how he or she is coping. You would not want to see your child depressed, much less be an indirect cause of his or her death.

If your child displays depression symptoms, seek help immediately. For more information, call the Child Guidance Clinic, Health Promotion Board at 6389 2200 or email to hpb@imh.com.sg. 

I got my statistics from this website: http://sg.theasianparent.com/articles/singapore_children_suicide_depression

Hope it's better =)