Who Says Brochures Have to Be Plain? These Designers Don't!

Organic Doesn't Just Pertain To Chemistry.

The design elements in this brochure flow together to create not only an aesthetically pleasing piece, but something that contains a lot of information in a compartmentalized and concise manner. Starting with the outside panel of the brochure, the deep blue accented with lighter streaks of blue give an aura of class and elegance to the feel of the brochure. Also, the rich colors used are attention-grabbing to the eye as opposed to using just one solid color or pattern. The flow of white helps transition the viewer to the graphic used on cover, which is also clever because the blue from the sky and the accents of lighter blue complement each other to make the color palette calming and symmetric.

Focusing on the inside panel, there is a lot of text but it is broken down into small paragraphs, bulleted lists, and subheadings making the extent of information easier to digest. Each panel is different but the designer nails the design hierarchy aspect because each panel has small things in common that make it look interesting yet still unique. For example, each panel has a picture located across the top, the same symbol residing above the body copy, and the same cool, calm colors that enhance the picture as well as pop on the page.

The text that was chosen for this brochure is successful because it is clear and concise, no fancy serifs or wacky fonts that get in the way of delivering the intended message. The size of the text does not overwhelm the graphics nor do the graphics overwhelm the body copy, the two are harmonious in this design. The designer achieved creating an eye-catching brochure while incorporating a lot of info which is hard to do with so many competing elements.

The most successful aspect of this brochure is how the designer used a lot of white highlights to make the colors more vibrant and not allow the darker text to feel so heavy on the page. The designer was able to capture a glow, which is especially apparent on the front cover where the colors seem to glow because of the stark contrasts of the rich dark blue and light blue. Overall, this brochure has excellent composition and really allows the reader to focus on the text while still being a beautiful graphic piece.

Who Said Social Media Can't Be Clever?

The first glance at this brochure brings the eye to the puffy clouds and the eye-catching title of the brochure which was a smart choice in the design plan because if that is the first thing a reader notices, if it is a topic they are interested in they will pick that up and examine further. The simple yet bold text on the front panel allows the point to be made without adding shadows or callouts to the title that would hinder how attention grabbing the cover really is. The text underneath the title is a little small and would have been beneficial to be enlarged just slightly because the callout of the title really dwarfs whatever is trying to be said.

The use of all the small graphics of each different social media platform resting on a cloud is a very clever creative element on the designer’s part because the social media world is all in the “cloud” and is where each has its home. The pop of all the colors really makes the piece fun and breaks up the amount of blue that is used on the brochure. Lastly about the front panel, how the blue clouds are layered by gradient show great attention to detail as well as sophisticate the theme from what could have been slightly childish to quite artsy and cleverly laid out.

Like the brochure above, there is a ton of body copy that could easily have ruined the ethereal feel of the design but is enhanced through subheadings in colors that match the design and break up all of the black text, as well as the use of more graphics and charts to substitute for text. Not only is the text very organized, but the spacing between the paragraphs helps break up the extent of text.

The design hierarchy used in the inside panels all coincide together in a way that doesn’t jumble all of the information and graphics together. Making the information easier to read and understand through charts and percentages is an aspect the designer really nailed.

Lastly, incorporating the social media bubble graphics from the front cover gives the whole brochure a well thought out and polished feel. Overall, this design could have been extremely elementary but through complex design elements and clever body copy, the design is truly impacting and attention grabbing.

                            

Postcard Prerogative.

The postcard assignment was an essential exercise because it allowed us to merge together the three programs we have been working in through creative suites. This exercise allowed us to showcase the skills we have acquired through practice with Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator and turn it into one cohesive piece. This assignment in which we had to display the element of design communication was important because moving forward with future assignments, because I must know how to merge all of the applications together to create more advanced graphics and show that I am learning and developing a grasp on the programs. If executed well, this exercise shows that I grasp the key elements to design and how to draw in the eye, as well as grasping techniques such as transferring images and text between multiple programs and how to create graphics or silhouette images without issues. Also, this exercise helps to develop an eye for what is appealing to a viewer and how to place certain images, text, and colors where in order to direct the eye to a certain space.

In my postcard I used bright colors that complimented each other. I used the color teal because not only is it my favorite color, but the contrast with the white and magenta bring a happy and bubbly feel to the overall aura of the postcard. The gradient also acts as a guide for the eye, it points the viewer to scan the whole page and view every graphic and piece of text I included. The use of bright teal and a pretty magenta were so I could express to the viewer I have a bright and bubbly personality, as well as being very classy and not too flashy or over the top.

I wanted to keep the fonts simple because I wanted the graphics from my postcard to shine through the most. Also, the use of two simple fonts reiterates the fact that I am very simple and not over the top or have an in your face personality.

The graphics were the focal point of this postcard because I wanted to make it look as if it this was a page ripped out of a magazine with the pretty graphics and bright colors. The hearts were made using a pen tool in Illustrator, I placed them on the side with the white gradient because I feel the colors contrast and the white makes the graphic pop. Also, the white stars at the bottom of my postcard were created in Illustrator. They were placed at the left hand, bottom corner because I wanted the eye to follow the strand to the very end where they would be directed to look at the silhouetted image of myself and the text surrounding me. If the stars didn’t do the text justice, I added a dotted box outlining my short biography because I wanted to draw the eye and make the text look like it was on a marquee sign. The overall feel I wanted my postcard to have was one of glamor, sophistication, and brightness.

When designing the postcard I kept it in mind how this design would look to someone seeing it for the first time, and used elements of staggering text, juxtaposing graphics and centering the largest and most attention grabbing image to make a bold statement. I feel with how I arranged my images, graphics, and text, I succeeded in making my postcard look as if it came out of the pages of a magazine, like a sort of mini article.

I feel the only challenge I faced during this project was how to get rid of the background of my silhouetted image so there was no large white space once I placed it on my InDesign document from Photoshop. I was successful in silhouetting my image from the background but once I placed it in InDesign I struggled with getting rid of the background space. I then learned to use the pen tool in InDesign to make an outline around the silhouette of myself which would then get rid of the background space and allow my text to wrap effectively around the outline of myself.

Overall, this assignment was a great learning experience to help me understand which applications I need to focus more of my time on. Also, it allowed me to showcase all I have learned in the class since the first week of school and developing it into one cohesive design. I feel I accomplished executing well thought out design hierarchy and proved I have come far from the first day of learning InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator.