Memo - 5/3/2011

To: Rich Rice, English 3369 Professor

From: Colin Niebergall, Student in English 3369

Date: May 3^rd, 2011

Subject: Important lesson learned while enrolled in English 3369

While taking English 3369, perception was the one concept that stuck to me through out the semester. Although other concepts are very important to the design process, perception, in my mind, has the most significance to both the designer and the audience needs. It is not just the perception of the design itself, but also the sub concepts with-in perception that got my mind running.

I enjoyed thinking about how I thought my specific audience in each of my designs would react towards what I was trying to voice. According to Kimball/Hawkins, “document design involves anything that supplies text information, giving us opportunity to communicate, convince, persuade, and express.” (rice.com/3369) The feel, the touch, the look, were all gauges towards my specific audiences wants that I had to decide by myself. These aspects can be called “visual-spatial thinking,” and although I used educated knowledge to gauge these needs, I was able to do so with out extensive research due to my perception of my individual audience. (Kimball, 73)

· Design 1 – Perception of old photo reel

· Design 2 – Perception of a Thai based text, while easy to read for the audience

· Design 3 – Perception of students that don’t want to waste time reading an flyer

· Design 4 – Perception of a relaxed state of mind that is stimulated in the movie

· Design 5 – Perception of a logo used in context with the business

This is a very important skill that designers need in this day in age to be able to compete in a larger market. In many cases, a designer will not have the ability to extensively research the target audience through market research. Market research can include, but are not limited to:

· Focus Groups

· Usability Testing

· Surveys

These research methods require time and can be very costly. As our generation moves towards the forefront of why products are being created and market, time becomes a distinct disadvantage. Our generation is based on the quickness of information that is received due to new technologies that include cellular devices and the Internet. New products and ideas can spread like a wildfire, or just be a campfire that can be put out quickly. When perception is brought into the picture, along with the designers’ ability to understand audience awareness, that designer is able to make a distinct connection with-in the target audience with out wasting valuable time and or money. Being able to do this as an individual designer can save the clients’ idea and or vision from competing companies, products, and ideas. This does not mean that market research is not valuable, but that market research has yet to be able to catch up to the speed in which products are designed and released in today’s’ market.

The above states why perception, in my mind, is the most important concept learned while taking English 3369. My final portfolio will show how I implemented the idea of perception in my re/designs, along with the other concepts learned through the class. The concepts that will be covered, include:

· Learning Objectives

o Audience Awareness

o Critical Thinking

o Diversity and Multiculturalism

o Grammar and style

o Communications Skills

Along with design principles that include:

· Design Principles

o Contrast

o Repetition

o Alignment

o Proximity

My last re/design for this class was the ultimate interview getter, the resume. I have made resumes before, but never really spent much time or cared about working on them. These resumes were all design in the dreaded “Microsoft Word” and of course I spent minimal time devoting working on such a dreadful thing to think about, getting a job a few years. I am just joking about the job part being dreadful, but the designs of these past resumes were awful. Here is where the weird part comes into this story, I actually spent days thinking about how I would go about designing a resume for this class. I felt like it would be a valuable experience to use an advance program like that of “Photoshop,” while also getting a design out and opening my box of ideas for latter job possibilities.

Let’s get to how I came up with my idea, the one above, in the lovely jpg that I have provided. As you know, I came to class on Thursday still stuck with all these ideas in my head. Like I told you, I’m not good at coming up with good design ideas, I am better at doing what people need from me out of design. Anyways, going though ideas and my most recent resume, you were able to talk me through some, if I may say so myself, pretty good ideas. I thank you in advance for the help that you have provided us students this semester. An idea came to mind when I asked you if I should use a company logo in the resume. I automatically thought, let’s go with the “Dallas Stars” logo. I love the team, I love hockey, and I love the amazing “Ice Girls” at the games. A small logo in the top right hand corner of the resume turned into a water mark stain, another one of your ideas, that turned into a water mark stain covering the whole document it self. The stain worked out well, but I did find some problem areas while designing the rest of the document.

Space, like always, is an issue while designing. You do not want to clutter too much or too little in one area of a document. The information needs to be readable, reliable, and realistic in order to capture your audiences’ attention span. For a resume, the audience is pretty straight forward, most likely a HR (Human Resource) employee under the “Dallas Stars” system. I had to do something different to capture that attention. The watermark was a good way to start, but I needed to add a little extra to convince that user to keep on reading through my document. I decided to leave the text aligned and normal on the left side of the document, but when the reader is ready to go on to the second column they are confused, but still want to read, so they turn the document so they can read it. This does require some work by the audience that is viewing the document, but I believe in the end, the user will understand the reasoning and appreciate that I put extra work into the specifically designed resume.

Alignment is pretty specific through out the document, noticing that the sides are even, along with the text on both the left column and right column when looked at as four separate pieces of information. I also added in a granite coloring to each subtitle to add an effect of worn out ice that is typically seen at any ice rink around the country. Overall I think this design went well and that I was able to over come the issues of space by changing the direction of the text.

Re/design 4

Re/design

Original

I decided to take a stab at re/designing the “Dazed and Confused” DVD cover for my forth re/design. I have always thought that the original cover was ugly and did not really construct the right atmosphere of the movie. Going into this design, I found my self struggling with the perception of a DVD cover in American culture. A sudden realization into the designing process told me that I could not deviate too much from this perception in order to not keep my audiences attention. What I mean by perception in this manner is that most DVD covers in America are in the same format from one to another. A basic Title, with a tag line, and a picture, is what our culture expects to find when looking at movies when deciding to buy or rent. I decided to keep this basic outline, but add in a little flare that could connect the whole piece together and add cultural perception to the cult minded film.

Perception

Perception was a hard aspect to handle in this re/design. I wanted to make the movie cover relaxed and free from constraints because the movie is about teenagers trying to do just that. I thought to myself on how to group different parts of information with out using borders. I was able to do this on the front of the DVD cover by using my text effetely. For the title of the movie I went with a text called “Broken Tour Poster” found on dafount.com. In my mind this text conveys a relaxed teenage mind that could possible be under the influence of drugs and or alcohol. The text is different, not usual, and most importantly, a cool way that might be doodled in a teenagers notebook. I used a flag effect to bend the text, but each word as a separate wave. This adds to the psychedelic mood of the movie and the need to be free as a person. The tag line under the title used a simple Helvetica text because of the easiness to read the information. I decided not to use an effect on this section of information in order to help the user understand that it is separate from the title. Something new in my design that is different from the original is the use of adding a main actor line at the bottom of the page. These actors were not big name actors when the film was released in 1993, but in 2011 these actors are known for their works in other films. I wanted to keep the back page simple, so I used Helvetica again for the description of the movie. I was able to separate the two sections by implementing a landscape picture between the two parts of information. The first section of text is a basic description, while the second section of text is a more broad description of what to expect.

Culture

Because the film is considered a “cult classic” and that cult classics are marketed to a specific audience, I knew what my audience would want to see. I did not deviate from the clouds in the background, but did deviate from the psychedelic nature of color in the original. In my mind the original has a mood of gloomy, depressing nature, which does not embody what the film is about. The film is funny and is showing the life of different groups of teenagers in high school. I hate clichés, and the one about high school being hard and depressing is not what is found in this movie. There are parts in the movie that might be considered hard and depressing, but the over all them conveyed is kids trying to find who they are as a person and deviating from the status quo. I also implemented the “intoxicated yellow smiley face” because it’s a symbol that the audience would recognize with the movie. The use of the peace sign was not implemented because although the sign is used in the movie, the symbol it self is from the 1960’s, not the 1970’s. I also implemented the DVD logo and the Universal logo on the spin of the cover to make it look more like an actual DVD. The audience would expect these kinds of logos on any major DVD cover.

Rhetoric

As I have stated before in this post, I wanted to keep this design simple and carefree. When thinking about rhetoric and how I was going to implement those feelings I decided to use two images, front and back. The front image was edited with a blur tool to make it look like the characters are just floating in the air, but still acting like teenagers with confused looks. The back image is just an image of your basic high school hang out in front of a building. I also used this image to imply Matthew McConaughey famous quote, “That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.” I didn’t want to type it out because I think that it will connect with two different viewers in my audience. One viewer will have already seen the movie and know the quote from the picture, the other viewer who has not seen the movie will make the connection after seeing the movie and remember that scene next time they look at the cover. A risky move, but I believe the “cult film” audience will enjoy it. I did not use a blur on this image because I wanted to separate the two different parts of information. On the bottom of the back page I used the same text that was on the original. This text seems to be the same on all DVD covers, so I did not want to deviate to hurt my audience perception.

All in all, I think my re/design came out well. I kept it simple, and clean, while adding visual cues that will trigger in the audiences mind. In my opinion, this re/design is more pleasing to the eye of the audience and captures the atmosphere of the movie better than the original. I hope you enjoy with what I came up with.

Blog Post 3/27

Graphics and culture, what does it mean when we think about these two terms as a whole? We have to think about our audience and their perceptions first. The audiences’ perception of cretin visual elements can make or break a document. A designer must have the ability to recognize and implement these visual perceptions in order to cue the readers mind into the topic of the document. One way to cue the mind of the reader is by use of graphics in a document. The intent of graphic use in document design is used to “show ideas or information” with in the document. The use of graphics also allows the audience to use their own visual rhetoric. The document has to be appealing to the audience in order to capture the attention of the audience. A designer must be specific though when choosing certain graphics and how an audiences and their culture perceive those graphics.

Understanding cultural perception is very important when it comes to designing documents. Your audience has a database of cultural receptors and meanings stored in their mind and it’s up to the designer to be able to recognize those receptors and meanings. The designers’ job is meant to capture that audience and inform the audience about the message that is being brought to their attention. With the understanding of theses factors, graphics can be implemented to help the audience understand the information in a more concise clear manner.

In class on Tuesday I decided to take on the project of redesigning the cover for the movie dazed and confused. When thinking about the audience of this specific movie I can see myself using graphics that tend to be more psychedelic in nature. I also want to be able to implement the use of the “peace sign,” as well as the “yellow smile” that is used in the original cover. I am going to try and implement a sense of carelessness and freeness that the characters strive for in the movie. With the use of graphics, I believe that my audience will be able to understand what the movie is about, even if they haven’t seen it before.

The re/design of the informational sheet for the English department and the possible jobs one could receive with an English degree from Texas Tech was somewhat tedious. The reason for this is because there was so much required text that the original had on it that the new design needed to have. I had to come up with a way to comprise this information, but not make it unbearable to read for the user. Idea came to my head; why not use the sky over the English building to include this information. The picture that was provided in class was the one that I decided to use for this little in class project.

I started out in Photoshop with a basic u.s. letter size that was specific talked about in class to reduce cost of printing. I then decided to use an offsetting gradient that was composed of gray and white colors. I then brought in the photo that was supplied to us in class and made it cover a 3rd of the paper. I started with the title, which I changed a little bit from the original. I went and beveled the edges of this title to make it pop out more to the user. Of course it is in the color of red to make the connection to the “red raiders.” Now it was time to implement all the required text, or jobs that one could get with an English degree. The text was somewhat redundant and unbelievable, but the client wants all the information that was on the original. I then implemented each title of job in the sky, ranging in different text attributes in order to break up the information and not confuse the user of the document. I was joking to kala in class about what I was trying to do when I said my documents reads like you can just “reach up and grab your job,” but I believe that my document actually induces that feeling, especially for a person that is trying to decided if an English degree is the right one for them while attending Texas Tech University.

I know my document is not the best, but I am going to blame that on the amount of time we had in class to work on it. I was just working with an idea and went with it and believe that I could make it look more professional in a college setting if I had more time. Saying that, I do not know if I will go back to this unless we have a chance for extra credit or if I have some more free time during spring break.

I also do not believe that I will comprise any of the elements of design in my later re/designs for a grade. When I design something, I usually story board, or at least try to, before I even get into Photoshop or Indesign. I like to be able to have something in front of me in order to build on that idea that has been story boarded. It is a way for me to track progression in a project and know that I am going through the required steps. As my last re/design for a grade shows, I did not use this process, and thus my grade suffered. Do not throw something away if it works well.

Late - 3/6 Blog Post

Information found at the following URL:

http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communications/identityguidelines/idguidelines/ttu/elements/type.php.

I am not surprised that Texas Tech University has such a strict enforcement of what kinds of typography can be used when publishing things whether in print and or on the internet. TTU is a brand that stretches all across the globe and that brand needs to be consistent with all documents. It shows order, sustainability, and most importantly a center of higher education that cares about what is being published. You will see the same kind of strict enforcements in most centers of higher education, business, and non-profits around the world. It allows a voice to be heard, or in the topic of document design, a voice that can be seen.

Lets get into what Texas Tech uses as founts and why they have chosen these specific founts. When we first go to the identity guideline page for typography, link provided above, Charter is defined. We read that the use of this fount has three reasons.

1. “key concept of fostering success, we chose a highly readable Charter to represent our primary voice”
2. “reinforces the same classical associations we recognize in our campus architecture, forms that evoke a sense of history, integrity and trust”
3. “highly versatile typeface that's appropriate for a variety of applications from formal to casual”

Now that is a lot to take in, just from one use of a fount. Knowing that Texas Tech does not do anything with out research, the office of communication and marketing probably spent thousands of dollars finding out that Charter voices the above three concepts through market research and focus groups. Full circle, it works very well to define that voice of Texas Tech University. The office of communication and marketing even go into how to use Charter in headlines and body text, noting that only a few abstract changes can be made depending on the document that is being made. They also note that users outside the university system might not have the fount Charter installed on their own personal computers and that Times New Roman can be used instead, but in the same character style. I also noticed that they want headlines to be in a gray color tone, in order to voice a friendly nature in communication. I have never noticed the use of this gray fount, but will now have a keen eye to notice this type of voice in documents that are produced at Texas Tech.

The next fount that can be used within the University system is Helvetica Neue. Helvetica is used in everything we see due to its easy nature of reading. The identity guideline website says that Helvetica Neue is a “definitive sans serif font, with a classic neutrality that allows it to be used for all types of communication.” Having watch a documentary film about Helvetica in a past Mass Communication class, I noticed the use of it in many documents around Texas Tech. The communication and marketing office even go to the degree that Helvetica should be used for sub headlines, as well as information in charts and graphics. It can also be noted that Helvetica can be substituted with the use of Arial fount with the colors of red, black, or gray.

Edwardian is the last fount that is listed on the site as a usable form when producing documents under Texas Tech University. It is to be used for formal announcements and invitations. This makes sense, because our culture has seemed to connect cursive type as formal writing. Edwardian has a specific voice and is used correctly under our University system.

Side Note on cursive writing:
This is something I struggled with when I was growing up. I was taught in my private school to write everything in cursive no matter what. When I made the switch to the public school system (8th Grade), the complete opposite was taught. I understand the need for the switch because print type is much easier to read than cursive type. I do not like that the cultural mind set on cursive type is for formal voices. It seems ridiculous to me, and sometimes I even find my self switching from cursive and print type when writing notes in class.

I would not change anything about what the office of communication and marketing has put forth on its usage of typography. As I noted above, the university probably spent thousands of dollars finding out the right founts in order to voice the needs of the University System. Why change something if it works well? These above three founts work very well in my opinion.

Due 3/3/2011

For re/design number three, I decided to go ahead and make an informational flyer for the collegiate chapter of the Association of Fund Rising Professionals. AFP, Texas Tech is a new student organization on campus and we are trying to get the word out about the benefits of joining.

The text on this document is from the national AFP organization that is given to all collegiate chapters to gain the attention of students that are not part of the organization already. I decide to make the text in the main document the same color as the text in the national AFP logo in order keep the document consistent and not confuse the users mind with too much color. I used sub headers with a larger size text to indicate section breaks of information. I then deiced to bold the website URL, which has yet to be determined by the officers of the chapter. The bold text is used to make sure that the reader will be able to find the information easily if they wanted to find out more about our chapter. In this day in age, people will want to research a website in order to find more information. When the website information is hard to find, you start to lose credibility and interest in what you are trying to convey. I also decided to put the url under the contact section of the flyer, next to our presidents contact information because the two are closely related for our users needs. I did not want to use normal bullets for the reasons on why someone should join, so I took the advice from non-designers handbook that said to use a text under windings as bullets, instead of a normal circle or dash. All the text, except the url, is aligned to the left in each section. The information in each section is bumped over a few pixels to add to the separation of information.

I wanted to keep this design clean and simple because this is a national organization and adding to much flash takes away from the credibility of the mission and values in AFP. I also had in mind that we are a new organization on campus, and thus we do not have much funds to put towards printing a lot of ink. Saying this, I still did add in some color. As you can see, the main information in the document is bordered by two blue lines, but leaves white space on both the top and bottom. This also adds to the separation of information in the document as a whole. To enhance the separation of information I also added in gold lines on the top and on the left of each section. I left an opening in the top left corner of these lines to make it easier on the eyes. I did not want my users to be to confine in the document. I believe these opening allow easy movement across the document.

On to the two logos I used. I had to do some secondary research in order to not break any laws. From what I found, I do not believe I broke any rules on both the AFP logo and the Tech logo. When a user sees this document they will be drawn to the tech logo first for a reason. This is for the Texas Tech chapter of AFP and I want students of Texas Tech to understand that. This is the reason I put the double two in the middle of the document. I did not like that there is more space between the tag line of Texas Tech and the AFP logo, but due to constraints of Texas Techs logo, I could not change the spacing. I made the AFP logo bigger in size to imply that this is flyer for the AFP organization, but under a student organization at Texas Tech.