Box Prototypes

Hello!

I've been working on some prototype ideas for my box. Last week, I came into class with these three ideas: 

The one on the far left is a silhouette of a pointe shoe, the middle is the sole of the shoe, and the far right is a silhouette of a dancer's leg on pointe. I had liked these ideas, but I got some great feedback from my peers. After hearing what my teacher and peers had to say, I decided to not go with such a literal silhouette so see the shoes through.

I worked on a different prototype over the weekend and came up with this:

 

The silhouette cut out on the front of the box is the ribbon pattern of the shoes. When looking at a dancer's foot, this is what a viewer would see: triangle patterns. 

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, here is what the ribbons look like when pointe shoes are on a dancer's foot:

See the pattern I'm referring to? I thought this idea was a little less literal than cutting out a dancer's foot or leg. I'm looking forward to getting started on this box. I will keep you all updated on how it's going!

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Practice Makes Perfect

Hi there!

Yesterday during class, we got to experiment with the band saw a little bit. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. There is an inner wood shopper in me that I never knew existed WHERE HAS WOOD SHOP AMY BEEN ALL OF MY LIFE? I experimented with some straight and curvy lines. Here are some of my experiments:

The puzzle piece....

The puzzle piece again because I was excited....

And my straight edge block!

First off, I know you guys are all like "DANG AMY WHY AREN'T YOU A MODEL?" Don't worry, I'm considering it. 

Anywho after I got to work with the band saw a bit, I was able to visualize how I wanted my box to look. For our homework, we were told to make three prototypes of our box.

This is my favorite one:

You can see the pointe shoes in the box through the dancer leg silhouette. I like this because you don't have to see the entire pair of pointe shoes in the box to understand what they are. It's like I'm allowing viewers to complete the picture on their own. I don't want to give to much away. ~~mYsTeriOuS~~ amiright ?

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Wayfinding Project: Finished

Hi again.

As promised, here is my post about how the wayfinding project ended for me. After all of the trial and error solutions, this is what my group came up with:

Instead of coloring the architecture (the wall panels and bannisters), we went on a simpler route. We placed a colored line with signage on walls for viewers. The lines aren't on every wall, only walls that are absolutely necessary.

Overall, we realized that we were during much more than we needed to. We broke things down and decided that less is more, and users responded much better to our simpler idea.
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Vessel Sketching

Greetings!

The Wayfinding project has been wrapped up, and we are officially moving onto the next project. I promise I will post the finalizations for the Wayfinding project SOON. I promise. I REALLY DO PROMISE.

For this next project, we were told to create a bandsaw box to hold something of meaning to us. I know that you're probably laughing at the image of me using a bandsaw right now. Trust me, I'm still laughing at that. LOL AMY USING A BANDSAW? THAT'S A JOKE. Haha it's actually not a joke, so let's hope that I can learn how to use it well!

Anywho, I decided to make a box for my first pair of pointe shoes. Any ballet dancer in the world knows how exciting it is to earn your first pair of pointe shoes. Ballet has always been a big part of my life, and these shoes really symbolize that. I went on pointe when I was twelve years old, and I remember literally jumping off the walls when I found out that I was finally getting my first pair of pointe shoes. Once I got pointe shoes, it was definitely a love/hate relationship. THEY HURT REALLY BAD AND THEY GIVE YOU INGROWN TOE NAILS AND THEY GIVE YOU 39480931285 BLISTERS, but that's beside the point. They're an accomplishment!

Here is a picture of them:

I've had a few ideas with how I'm going design the box, but I still feel a little stuck. I've never done anything like this before, so brainstorming hasn't necessarily been easy. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

I want to display the shoes as well as keep them in a safe place. So in the above sketch, the shoes would be hanging from a hook in a box, and the front of the box has a square opening so people can view the pointe shoes inside of the box.

This box is just like the box in the first picture, except the box is a pointe shoe shape.

This box is also similar to the picture above, except there is not hook to hang the shoes from. Instead, I would just place the shoes in the box.

This is my favorite idea. The box is in a pointe shoe shape, but the oval on top of the pointe shoe is a lid for the box. So I would just take the lid off and place the shoes in the box. The oval/lid on top of the shoe actually makes it look more like a pointe shoe because that is usually were dancer's place their feet.

So those are my favorite ideas at the moment, but I'm hoping to get some feedback from my teacher and classmates tomorrow during class. I will keep you all posted on this project DON'T YOU FRET!
Until then, just imagine me handling a band saw, and I'm sure you will have a great day.

Happy Monday!
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"What would life be if we had no courage to try anything?" -Vincent Van Gogh 

Layouts on Layouts on Layouts

Well, hello again. 

The past couple of days I've really been inspired by some page layouts. I've been browsing on Pinterest and Designspiration, and I've found some SUPER COOL TOTALLY AWESOME AND FANTASTIC page layouts to share with you all! 

This magazine spread:

What this designer has done with the corners of each page is basic, yet modern. It feels sleek and fashionable. The third set of pages is my favorite. I love how it is symmetrical; yet, different colors are used on each side. I also love the the second set of pages where the pink stipe goes across both pages. It's nice to see a continuation between pages like that. 

This magazine page set:

This is awesome. I love that the V is separating the text from the picture. It makes the text readable, and the picture is interesting to look at around the form of the V. I also really like how the V is not directly centered. It makes this page set look like a design, and there is no separation between the two pages. To appreciate each page, you have to view them together, not separately.  

And last but not least, this:

There is something so beautiful about this page layout. It's simple and basic, but that makes it aesthetically pleasing. This designer's simplicity is his/her aesthetic. There is not much going on here, but that is what I love about it.
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Inspiring Thangs

Hello my friends!

I was browsing across Designspiration (go visit the website, so cool), and I found a couple of awesome and inspiring things (haha designspiration.. get it?).

This "save the date":

What I love about this "save the date" card is how simple it is. I love the adorable graphic that goes around the couple. It ties them together. This card has a nice vintage feel to it. Vintage is really in right now, and as a graphic designer, it's important to recognize current trends.

I'm also very in love with this page layout:

It's super interesting how the text actually overlaps the pictures on each page. As a viewer, I'm pulled into each picture immediately because of the overlapping text. My eye can directly look at the text and pictures simultaneously.  I also like how this page is entirely black and white with a little bit of blue to give it color and excitement. This color scheme sets off a sophisticated vibe.


Anywho, I hope y'all have had a great week!
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Bondbons

Helllllloooooooo!

Recently, I was given a wonderful opportunity to design a logo. A friend of mine referred me to a lady who has her own chocolate business. The business is called Bondbons (her last name is Bond, ISN'T THAT SO CUTE?) She specializes in gourmet cake balls, Oreo balls, chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered oreos, and more. She was in need of a logo for her business, and I was more than excited to help her out! Here is the final logo:

She wanted me make the O's look like cake balls, and have the "D" in Bond stand out. I went through several refinements until I got to this final logo, and my client was very happy with it.

I was really afraid to take on this job. There was a moment I thought I would turn it down because I didn't think there was any way I could design something a client would like. I am SO GLAD I took the opportunity. This is a huge accomplishment for me (and I'm getting cake balls in return so SCORE). It was like I was a REAL graphic designer WOAH HOW COOL IS THAT? This logo will be seen by all of her customers! That's so so so so exciting.
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"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."

Wayfinding Happenings

Hi friends!

I know you're dying for an update on my project. So, here you go!

My group decided to do this Wayfinding project on Budig hall. As a freshmen in the design department, finding room 110 for Hallmark Symposium was quite confusing. Everything looks the same in Budig hall, and there is not much direction. I found myself wandering around Budig in circles until I found the right room.

Here's a map of Budig so you can begin to understand the building:

So we came up with a few different solutions. At first, we thought we could color code the banisters and wall panels that were already existing within the building:

We came to realize that the bright red color did not go well with the building. This shade of red didn’t help to keep the building's aesthetic. Budig is a beautiful building, and by coloring some of the building, we took that aesthetic away. 

So, here is what we came up with for our second solution:

We changed the shade of red to more of a deeper, coral color. This color went much better with the building. We also made a few minor changes as well: we took out signage on the floor, and we moved signage down closer to the banister. However, our wayfinding design seemed too complex. We needed to simplify it.

Since coloring the banisters and wall panels was too complex, we put up signage only in needed places and placed colored lines on the walls to create a simpler and more efficient wayfinding system. I don't have pictures of what this looks like yet, but once I do I'll post another update.

I've been working on my process book over the weekend, and I'm really starting to like it. Here's a few pictures:

I will post another update SO SOON YOU WON'T EVEN BELIEVE IT!

Have a greaaatttt week!

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