Fannie May Advertisement

For project #1, I will be recreating an advertisement for a chocolate sale at Fannie May's. One of my sketches is to include an image in the ad. I want to include this image of the local Fannie May's store on Neil Street in Champaign. I believe the striped awning is a landmark in downtown Champaign and would be highly recognizable by the area's chocolate lover's. There's some "fine" print regarding the specifics for the sale. I'm thinking of typesetting it in white, over the dark parking lot at the bottom of the photo.

I took a half dozen photos of the store this week. I would have taken some more, but I think the worker's inside were beginning to wonder why the crazy man in the black truck was taking pictures of their store. Thought I'd better leave before they called the cops.

Sketchbook, 9/29/08

My Own Designs

A couple of years ago, I designed and created a yearbook for the organization to which I belonged.  I've posted a couple of advertisements I designed.  Both ads were created and printed in black & white.  I did all of the design work using Microsoft Word.  I also did all of the work without any formal training.  It wasn't the easiest job in the world, but in spite of it all, I had a great time.  Guess that's why I decided to go for an Associates Degree at Parkland.  

The advertisement above has the black and white photo of the house (full of Pella windows) as the primary focal point.  Even though the photo is actually the background for the ad, I believe it catches the viewer's eye first as it is centered both vertically and horizon

tally.  One could also argue that the Pella logo and slogan are the primary focal point.  We naturally read from left to right and top to bottom, so I think having the logo in the upper left corner was a good choice.  The logo is also balanced by the address and phone information on the right.  Then, the text at the top is balanced with the text on the bottom.

The values of the ad (lights and darks) are fairly evenly placed throughout the design, creating unity.  This also shows balance; creating a safe, pleasing, and comfortable look.  The lake and earth at the bottom and horizon in the middle and sky at the top lend nicely to a natural balance.

And finally, the black lettering at the top against the white lettering at the bottom give the design a little bit of drama and uniqueness.

The other advertisement was for TGI Friday's.  I actually took the photo for this ad myself.  It was a somewhat cloudy day.  I drove up in my truck, rolled down the window, and took a couple black and white photos.  Then, it was off to Microsoft Word to create the ad.  How wonderful it is now to be working on an iMac with Creative Suite 3.  This is how design is suppose to be done.

A couple of points about this ad I'd like to make.  First, with the photo once again as the background for the ad, I've let the photo of the Friday's signage do the talking for me.  The store logo is the primary emphasis.  It is balanced by the text blocks at the bottom of the design.  Once again, I've used both white and black text.

Because both ads employ a photograph for the entire background, space wise, there is depth inherent in the photos themselves.  

Enjoy.

Rhythm & Line in Typography

The words, "FIRMER" and "SOFTER", are used to describe the possible settings for the mattress of the Sleep Number bed.  Both words are skewed to follow the lines of the bed as if the characters were actually sleeping on the bed.  The blue color of "FIRMER" would be more bold than the purple color of the "SOFTER" text.  The text is symmetrical in balance.  Capital letters usually indicate strength or loudness.  However, the text shows up better in all uppercase.  Also, all uppercase in a stretched fashion, represents a human body better than lowercase or title case.  The idea is that one side of the bed can be different than the other side of the bed.  This is captured well in this design.

Design Elements, Line, Post 2 of 2

Line G) Riding the wave, this line is directional in nature. It's a fun, easy-going line.

Line H) This line is strictly nonsense. It could be used to separate parts of a design.

Line I) An arrow is definitely directional. This line would bring attention to the object it is pointing towards.

Line J) The line is sharp and bold. It could be used to represent anger or other negative emotion. It is also loud.

Line K) In contrast to Line J, this line is just the opposite. It is unobtrusive and may not get noticed. It is secondary in focus and light in quality.

Design Elements, Line, Post 1 of 2

Line A)  This line resembles a beating heart.  It could be used for a technical design or just a "fun" design such as romance.

Line B)  A bold, solid line like this is definite and to the point.

Line C)  This is a lighter line.  It has a more flowing, script-like, scroll-like feel.  It's easy-going, with a more tender touch.

Line D)  A thick line with a 3-dimentional approach, it is on the bold side.

Line E)  This line has an "electric" quality.  It demands attention.

Line F)  This line starts out strong as an actual line, then fades to an implied line as if there is more to com.

Sketchbook, 9/18/08