magazines

Here is the website of Mountain Gazette, the magazine I used to work for many years ago. It has undergone some format changes with its recent ownership change, but I get the sense that it still is essentially the same Gazette.

halloween toon

Here, for your holiday enjoyment, is the annual Homestarrunner Halloween Toon. I hope it brings some giggles maybe.

Here are my poster and magazine ad for project three. I need a better logo, but on the whole, I was happy with how they came out.
This is my advertising postcard. This headline is the best of the three. I think I'm going to play with the weight and positioning of the headlines a bit.

show and tell - favorite words

Here are some of my favorite words. I chose all of these words mostly because of their sound. Some have good definitions; others, like "pantiliners" denote things that fall far short of their glorious sounding name. "Pantiliners" may be the finest word in the English language. Unfortunately they are diapers for old people. I think they are even a made up name. By that I mean the Depends people coined the term. Fascinating that a corporation should for once be responsible for bringing beauty into the world.

Pantiliners
Chafe
Rot
Exacerbate
Murmillo
Expunge
Cistern
Tort
Emblem
Immense
Immolate
Effluvium
Argyle
Taciturn
Beatitude
Mirage
Eschew
Kith
Thither
Naught
Aught
Abscond
Caress
Fond

I could name many more fine words, but I think that is enough for now.

trogdor

Just thought I would provide a link to a classic Strong Bad Email in all of its narrative majesty.

narrative

Here is some funny michinima from Youtube. A bit juvenile, but the video fits the world of online gaming well. I never played Halo, but Arby n the Chief offers me a glimpse into that world while managing to be entertaining. The video is too dark, but I like how Master Chief's dialogue is written in the style of a twelve-year-old gamer, with it's alternate spellings and mis-spellings. That kind of juvenile treatment reflects Master Chief's intellect level and personality. I also think that the use of Microsoft Sam and Microsoft Mike for the voices is ingenious.

Here is a marketing manual I got for buying Starbucks's new instant coffee, called Via. I really like what the Starbucks graphic designers did with type and color here. The outlines are clear and stand out on the page. The stories that accompany each page are concise and pack a punch. It's an impressive leaflet, and the coffee isn't bad either, especially for instant. I am a little wary of the whole "beginner, intermediate, advanced" notion, however. I think it really works, but I just have trouble with a corporate giant pushing an outline of people's lives.

This is my postcard

This is my ad

Here are the roughs of my campaign. After last class, I feel I need more visual unification in my pieces to call them a campaign. By the way, the hiking emblem is just a temporary logo until I think of one. I'm leaning towards depicting different families in various circumstances. I like the image above with the family at Yosemite, and I'm thinking of taking that route. I would have pictures of different families doing different vacationy things all the while DANGER IS LURKING IN THEIR LUGGAGE! I just don't know, however, if that is enough visual continuity to make a campaign. Another important aside: this family is not named Anderson, and to my knowledge, they have never had bedbugs. I feel that is important to disclose, with these images being on the internet and all. I have the Attribution for the photo somewhere around my desk, and I will post it tomorrow.

show and tell, call to action on a rugby field

Here is the image I brought in for show and tell, or rather forgot to bring in. It's an add for Amnesty International, and the copy reads, "Thousands are held prisoner for their beliefs in places worse than this. Write until you free them all." I think that is a pretty bold call to action. I wish I was more affected by it.

Maybe I've grown cold and cynical, but I have trouble believing letters are going to convince a cruel regime to change its ways. I guess that is the challenge for Amnesty International advertisers: to overcome peoples' cynicism. I think this is a very cool add, but I have difficulty believing this will get people to start writing letters. I think I feel so because the man in the add looks too hale and hearty. Granted, he is very dirty, and his head is shaved. But he looks like he could be at the bottom of a rugby scrum. He needs to be skinnier and malnourished looking, with maybe some lacerations. Nothing so shocking that a viewer would be repulsed, but this guy looks like he could kick my ass in the forty-yard dash.

I believe I used "scrum" incorrectly. I should have said he was at the bottom of a rugby tackle. Scrum is where they lock shoulders and push eachother around.

Project two final

Here is my final for project two. I had to completely redo this one after the first comp was deemed insufficiently conceptual, a distinction I am having difficulty wrapping my brain around. I feel that this is a much stronger layout, however. I honestly thought that I could leave the question mark half in the gutter and it would look okay due to the thickness of the mark itself. I erred on that mark. I didn't take into consideration the importance of the question mark to the entire design. It would look noticeably odd and distracting with a chunk of the question mark lost to the gutter. When I revise this, I will just move the question mark completely over to the left side and significantly reduce the size of the title, as per Amy's suggestion. I think that will leave a lot of space in the upper right of the layout that I might have to do something with, or not.

Project one final

Here is the final for project one that I turned in last week. I think it turned out pretty well. I am very pleased with how much improved it is over the first comp. I have to agree that the cooked crab looks more appetizing than the live crab I used earlier. Although it was not a conscious decision, the color scheme is very similar to that of Old Bay seasoning, which is very appropriate.

Project Two Phase Three

Project One Phase Three

Here is my phase three comp for project one. I know this is belated, but now that I have a scanner, I will be much more punctual with these posts. Seriously, loving this scanner. It's scannerific.

Show and tell concepts

concepts

Hey everybody, the above link will take you to a website that has some pretty cool advertising concepts. I took the above ad from there. I thought the concepts on this site were pretty interesting. I hope this helps get some creative juices flowing for you.

More collections

Here are some covers from Harper's magazine. I have a collection of Harper's going back to 2005. Easily my favorite mag, Harper's always shows incredible images on its cover.

Show and tell

Okay, I just bought a scanner, so now I am totally going to catch up on all my posts. I know I have not been very good at maintaining this blog but that is changing TODAY! Here are some covers from my comic book collection. I came across these during my recent move. I forgot I had them.