This is almost all refinements, and I think it now has a truly modern appeal. I redid the masthead in the vein of Coni's direction, and replaced the Minion Pro with Garamond for the serif body copy, and used Eurofurence everywhere else. Eurofurence's roundness makes a more elegant and friendly appeal. The paragraph rules have been spaced more.
The photos have also had their corners rounded and are now outlined in orange, and everything has more breathing space. I am exceptionally proud of this design.
The only thing I'd like to do here (beyond add real body copy) is add a page number in the center, which I intend to do on the next/final drafts.
Nat, this logo is definitely a big improvement from the last! The perspective is much better. I'm really liking the blue and orange colored border, but I'm not so sure if I like the colors for the subheadings and the rule. I'm not sure if they go together with the blue and orange. Maybe just keep them the same colors as the border? Good improvements!!
ReplyDeleteNat – why are you still working with fake text? You have no idea how long your articles are or where the subheads will sit… so this is still a pretend layout. However, you have some other elements in place that I’m happy to comment on… but please do not wait for live text… copy/paste it in right away.
ReplyDeleteLogo: We now see hands – yeah! The masthead, for some reason, is sitting small at the left and you have repeated the typography large to the right. You don’t need both – and clearly, the one to use is combo typography and icon. So… enlarge it at the top so we can clearly read the type. Have you considered filling the book with black? Currently we see lots of lines in your icon… and it will be more successful if it is made of shapes, and not outlines.
Color – It looks like you have 2 dominant colors (orange and blue) which are brilliant, high energy colors. Please do not add a green or pink to the mix… or it will start to look like your audience is very young children. Instead, find 2 neutral colors to add to the blue and orange… colors that will sit back and not challenge those dominant ones.
Negative space – until you are using real text, it is hard to comment on the page layout. But please know that the center of your page is a very important area… and cannot be left as an empty negative space.
Color bands… ok, here is a suggestion that will add some sophistication to the layout… instead of having 2 vertical color bands along running along both sides of the page… why not create a grid that allows for just 1 band, down one side of the page? Try it – you are containing and pushing inwards with these 2 bands… instead in this case I think Less if More – and just one will add a color splash to the side, and you will be busy counter-balancing the composition with photos that bleed off the page edge on the other side.
Question – didn’t you, at one time in the midterm exercises, decide to use ethic texture and weavings? What happened to that idea… it was a good one.
Since Professor Coni Porter pretty much hit on all of the points, I'll just move on ahead with the suggestion. Instead of the pink color, why don't you try the dark purple color in the first image. the purple will greatly complement the orange color you have.
ReplyDeleteThe two images is way too overpowering and since they are the same size, it feel like they are clashing with each other for attention. Maybe you can try shrinking one of the two images to establish a more stable level of hierarchy.
Borders are like picture frame. Like picture frame, they should be complementing the picture. That bright orange is a very powerful color, and I find myself drawn to it a lot of time instead of the picture itself. Maybe try a more neutral color.
Hi Nat, I see that your logo is a open book, considering that, why not use only the right side of the border in your cover newsletter, so it can give the readers the idea of a half open book. The blue color will be like pages of on top of each other. I hope you understand my idea.
ReplyDelete