Finalizing that third answer

So I just realized I forgot to post this before the third answer blog post, but this post was dedicated to the possible answers competing for the 3rd answer. So yea.

So for my third answer, I have two possible answers and about two more that just suck. The two semi good ones are Visuals and Typography. The two ehh ones that I have are Design Flow and Consistency. Visuals are just images and typography is type, the two main components of a yearbook. I'm leaning towards visuals, but the answer seems too broad, so I might go with typography. I think I might just drop the ehh answers. They could work, but with research so hard to find in those two, there is no point in trying it.

Blog 18: Third Answer

What is the best way graphic design can be used to augment a yearbook?

Typography, the use of type in a creative manner, can augment yearbooks by giving personality to the headlines and copy throughout the book.

Typography can make legal documents less of a pain to read. One typographer turned lawyer implements it in his legal paperwork so that it is less of a hassle to sort through and the judge actually enjoys reading it. (ARTL 14)

Typography is an art; another element to implement correctly. You have to go through a long checklist before you have your type looking the way you want it. (ARTL 30)

Typography can make the main point even more apparent. By using the right type of font, you can solidify an idea. Such as using a cursive font for "Wedding Day" versus a death metal band style font. (ARTL 35)

Typography, an important aspect of yearbook today, is a cornerstone of modern graphic design that is currently heavily focused on in yearbooks today.

Answer 2 (?)

With Answer 1 over and done with, it's time to look forward and think about the next two answers. The third one is probably not going to come for a while, but for answer 2, I think I may have an idea....

COLOR THEORY!

Even though there isn't much color in OUR yearbook doesn't mean that good color can't make a yearbook look gorgeous

Blog 10 Senior Project: The Holiday

1. Over the break, I worked on updating my blog and thinking of answers to my EQ.

2. The most important thing I learned from what I did was coming up with one possible answer, white space. It was the most important because it gave me something to find research for. The source of what I learned was the Class of 2014 Best & Most Yearbook spread.

3. The person I would talk to for my new EQ would be Paul Ender if I could get in contact with him. He is a self-taught designer and a yearbook advisor. If I could not get in contact with him, I would talk to Mimi Orth, a Herff Jones Sales Representative that assists in the yearbook design process, or Ron Martinez, a self-taught graphic designer.

EQ

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2. State whether or not the following EQ's follow the rule of three and why.

a. Yes, it follows the rule of three. It is a question that requires research into the topic to find different ways of losing weight, It allows you to back up those answers with information, and the format is fine.

b. No, it does not follow the rule of three. The formatting of this question is wrong and it doesn't make obvious sense.

c.  Yes, it follows all of the criteria for the rule of three. The formatting is great, there are several different hairstyles and different types of people, so it is open ended, but finding research might be a little difficult. Not impossible, but not easy.

d. No, it does not follow the rule of three. This question is not open ended and it seems like there is only one answer to it.

3. What aspects of graphic design as a whole are most important in making an everlasting impact within am audience?

Vector Art vs Pixel Art

So, I found this article that basically told me the pros and cons of pixel art & vector art. In case you don't know the difference, pixel art is normally done in Photoshop and is what pictures use. You manipulate little pixels to your liking. Vector Art is better done in Illustrator. You use the pen tool to manipulate lines to the shape you want.
The biggest con when it comes to vector art is that adding in little details is strenuous work. My latest piece for my Independent Component 1 blog will show it soon when I update it. Making a flat image requires almost no effort, but when making realistic objects, prepare for a long journey of blood, sweat & tears.
The biggest pro for vector art is that no matter how zoomed in you are, there is no pixelation. Since vector art is just mathematical lines, you can make it as large or as small as you wish since no matter how zoomed out or in you are, you can always go further.
Pixel art is basically swapped in that its biggest pro is easy manipulation of realistic objects whereas its con is that if you zoom in too much, depending on the DPI of the photo or file, you will eventually hit pixelation. Here's an example of one of my designs in pixel and vector form.

PIXEL

VECTOR

Research and Working EQ

1. What aspect of graphic design is most important in impacting the audience?

2. Two possible answers to this working EQ are:

• Typography is the most important as readability is necessary or else a misunderstanding can come across and void your entire design.
• Visuals are the most important aspect of graphic design since they are what the eyes are drawn to. If the type is legible but there are no visuals or they are not pleasing, no one will even give your design more than a quick glance.

3. A book that I have not cited yet has helped me in understanding design a bit more. It is titled Design Elements, Typography Fundamentals: A Graphic Style Manual for Understand How Typography Affects Design. It has taught me how important Typography is which is why it is one of my possible answers for my EQ.

4. My first mentor is Mimi Orth and my second mentor is Ron Martinez. With Mimi, we are working with the yearbook to see what we could improve on our design, see what works, what doesn't and how every aspect of the spread just works in unison. With Ron, I have showed him some of my designs which he has critiqued and help me improve them.

Possible Books

FINALLY. After about 3 weeks of searching for a book that I can read online using ProQuest, I finally found a couple books. The first is a book on typography by Kristin Cullen; Design Elements, Typography Fundamentals: A Graphic Style Manual for Understanding How Typography Affects Design. So far, its had quite a bit of good information, but I'm having difficulty deciding how to Cornell note it, so I might wait a bit before I cite it. The second book is by Fábio Sasso; Abduzeedo Inspiration Guide for Designers. The main difference between these books though is that rather than being text heavy, this book, so far, has just shown a lot of examples of great design. I probably won't ever cite it, but I'll reference it for future design work.

Blog 5 Project Reflection and Working EQ

The Pentagon
1. A positive thing that occurred during my mentorship was that I learned how to use Adobe Illustrator. It's the program I used to make my current blog background and it is used for vectors rather than pixels like Adobe Photoshop. Basically, that means that if you zoom in really really really close, it will still look amazing since there aren't blocks (pixels) that make up the image, but actual mathematical lines (vectors).

2. When I read many of the typography articles, many of which I have yet to use for research checks, it helps me understand fonts even more than I currently do. Some people think that fonts are not very important, but oh, if only they knew.

3. Everything. I know a few graphic designers, I have the programs and I have master race OS. Windows. Stay mad Apple.

4. I will never be able to actually shadow one of my mentors when she is not at iPoly. Mimi is unbelievably busy and travels often. The only time I get to mentor with her is when she comes to iPoly. ;_;

5. a. What part of a design is the most important in making an impact in the audience?
b. I plan on mentoring with Mimi Orth, Mr. Martinez, and, if possible, a graphic designer that Mr. Daly knows.

2013 2-Hour Presentation Reflections

Literal
  1. I saw fourteen presentations during these last two weeks. The presentations I attended are:

• Gina - Cinical Pharmacy
• Clara - Special Needs Behavioral Consult
• Teo - Real Estate
• Xavier - Web Design
• Nicole - Forensic Photography
• Valerie - Dance Choreography
• Amanda - Film Directing
• Taylor - Arthoscopic Scope Surgery
• Rachel - Deaf Culture
• Johanis - Mexican Folk Art
• Alissa - Molecular Biology
• Evan - Foley Art
• Alexis - Teaching Mathematics
• Stephany - Graphic Design

  2. I have a few questions about the Senior Project. Some of these include:

• What are the requirements are for the presentation?
• How many mentors are required?
• How is everything graded?

Interpretive

  3. Based on what I saw during the presentations, I would say that the most important part of it all is making sure you enjoy your topic and know everything about it.

Applied
  4. I am considering doing graphic design since I enjoy designing wallpapers and random logos and have worked on projects for people as well. Since graphic design is quite a broad topic, if I must, I can specify and decide on the typography aspect of graphic design or the actual logo design of graphic design.