tim jessup ([info]redeggmonitor) wrote in [info]graphicdesign,
@ 2004-09-24 10:00:00
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this is a publication cover.
it is for a museum, called common (hence the title).
the museum displays ordinary objects viewed in a different way.
for example, photographs of textures of walls, or sculptures made of matchsticks.
the teeth on the front is a photo of normal, average teeth.
this is to not only be dramatic, but to tie into the theme of the museum.
(something ordinary seen in an extraordinary way).
the publication would be available at the museum as well as mailed to patrons and potential patrons to advertise for current and upcoming exhibits.



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[info]april_wednesday
2004-09-24 11:16 am UTC (link)
quite frankly, i don't get it. i don't understand the link(if any) between any of the elements here. perhaps you would like to elaborate on this? explain to us what this is, what you idea/concept/thoughts were? you shouldn't just drop a random piece of work and expect ppl to respond.

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 11:30 am UTC (link)
forgive me, perhaps publication was not enough information.
the entry has been edited.
for me, the point of design is to communicate.
i am not always going to be there to explain and elaborate on what was going through my head for my work (as is true of the majority of design we come into contact with).
in fact, we respond to random pieces daily, hourly, etc.
i didn't intend to confuse anyone.

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[info]dvsmethid
2004-09-24 11:25 am UTC (link)
four things:

1) the rule all the way to the right. at first i thought it was the crop line for the cover. but now i realize it isnt. Im wondering what its relevance is.

2) I dont really like the fact that there are two taglines (the main tagline and then the quote). maybe thats an editorial decision, but they both float in space and dont seem to work together. plus, theyre both of equal size so I wonder which one is supposed to be emphasized more.

3). I like the simple ligature in the title. wat i dont like is the fact that its cropped just slightly. I know its just cutting off the curved pieces that extend past the baseline, but its so minimal it just looks like a mistake. Id rather see it either all the way in the crop or all the way out (you could easily crop the entire stroke width on the bottom and still have it be legible.

4) whats with the gray box around only part of the photograph? just doesnt make much sense.

otherwise, its nice and simple.
and that picture is really creepy for some reason. i guess it fits the taglines pretty easily.

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 11:36 am UTC (link)
1) the rule. that is there as a design element, and for that purpose alone. it is intuitive.
2)the quote is actually a bigger size and bold than the actual tagline. that is not as clear due to the limitations of my image hosting. good point, though. there is a question as to the heirarchy.
3)you think the cropping is too little? i was worried about legibility, which is why i left it slightly cropped. i will have to crop it more and see what it is like.
4)the box around the image is from scanning it. it is visible all the way around it on the original. again, the limitations of my image hosting.
thanks for all the feedback, some good points to take into consideration.

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[info]dvsmethid
2004-09-24 12:51 pm UTC (link)
well, i wouldnt call something a design element if its only purpose is to be a design element. i think it needs to have some sort of purpose.

the problem is its too long and takes visual hierarchy over all the type. being that you use white space to a great degree, things that take up the white space will grab your attention the most. thats not what you want from the rule. if you shortened it and brought it so the warhol quote is under the image a lot more i could see it working. but right now its just a nuisance.

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 01:13 pm UTC (link)
the entire desing was not based on a grid, or traditional design methods.
i designed this intuitively, purposely ignoring rules.
the publication is about seeing things differently, ignoring the rule of the way things are supposed to be.
i see the vertical line leading to the other elements, not as a distraction.

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[info]mylaptopisevil
2004-09-24 12:03 pm UTC (link)
The main image is too off-center, horizontally. It makes me keep going toward it and away from the name of the event.

And that verticle rule really has to go, or at least get changed.

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 12:17 pm UTC (link)
it is supposed to be imbalanced and not symmetrical.
i kind of like the idea the image causes you to go back and forth, since you do see the publication title. and there is not much else on the cover.
how would you change the vertical rule?
the vertical rule doesn't bother me.

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[info]andaletka
2004-09-24 12:20 pm UTC (link)
I just like the way tis cover looks . I dont know any rules of art but somehow survive, honestly.

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 12:52 pm UTC (link)
thank you very much.
there are rules, and this piece purposely breaks them.
(it is funny how you learn rules, then break them)

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[info]thumbalina
2004-09-24 12:35 pm UTC (link)
the first thing that popped into my head was "gross..."

but thats not bad. not at all. i dont want to look, but for some reason i cant look away.

i do however think you should take out that silly rule line. maybe it is supposed to be an imbalanced piece, but the way you have it is terribly akward. there are much more stylish and interesting ways to make something imbalanced. something more subtle, that makes you go... "ahh! why is the picture leaning?!?" cause you cant figure it out. i dont understand why the piece is supposed to be imbalanced, but it doesnt matter. thats what you want right? (:

also, i think you need to close up that gap between everything. there is way too much white space. it makes the reader have to put in effort to read it. and since its for a museam pblication, you dont want people to just toss it aside because it looks like they will have to put more effort into reading the cover than actually opening it.

especially with a museam pub. that could possibly get quite boring (not personally, i love museams, but think of the couch potato generation... people need instant gratification.) i think youve got a great design going, and the image is really very intrusive, which i like. but if you were to change just those few things, less white space, and that rule line (moved or gone) i think youd have a really great peice.

also - do you think you could put a grey boarder or background on your thumbnail, so we can get a sence of how large the publication will be, and that will maybe help us see where this black rule on the right is going. it might actually look really great, but as of right now, its kind of hard to tell.

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 12:55 pm UTC (link)
it is not intended to be balanced.
there are fewer words (a total of 12) on the cover than the majority of publications, so i don't think that is a problem.
and i feel the opposite of you- there is (almost) no such thing as too much white space! : )
thanks for the feedback!

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[info]thumbalina
2004-09-24 01:01 pm UTC (link)
anytime.

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[info]glarehead
2004-09-24 01:08 pm UTC (link)
This is a cover, right?

You have a lot of well-designed elements on the page, but you're making them fight for my attention.

The first thing I look at, obviously, is the picture. But then where do I go?

You might want to try putting the image into a black ruled box, then connecting that rule to the bottom of that box and running down the page -- but only about halfway (to take care of your white space problem), with the quote flush right, at the bottom of the rule. That way you're guiding me to the quote, which should be the second thing I look at, because of the nice contrast between the image and the quote. There I was, looking at a garish picture, and now I'm reading "I like boring things." There's your effect.

Something I don't get, though -- those teeth certainly aren't boring. What if you used something mundane that made me wonder, "Why is something so boring being on the cover of this publication?" Then I'd follow the line to the quote and I'd understand.

Okay, now the other elements: exhibit | A - Why? What is this supposed to communicate to me? Why a competing vertical line?

Is the cropping effect part of the logo or your design?

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 01:18 pm UTC (link)
yes, it is the cover of the publication.
i don't see a problem with the white space.
exactly, the teeth aren't boring. but they are a photo of perfectly normal and average teeth. that is the point. seeing things in a different way, the normal, the everyday, the common.
that is what the publication and museum are all about.
the exhibit A: museums have exhibits. it is a museum publication about the exhibits, which for this particular issue, it is for exhibit A. exhibit A is the title of the current exhibit.
the cropping is part of the cover's design.

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[info]lemonboy
2004-09-24 01:39 pm UTC (link)
Doesn't seem appealing to me in anyway (the photo)
would not make me want to pick up the brochure or go to the museum.
the text elements are fine the white space is fine
imo play with some different photos from the museums collection
or images of some of the common sculptures.

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[info]goforthbyday
2004-09-24 01:53 pm UTC (link)
hmm, the amount of "negative" sort of reactions to this piece surprise me. i like it. i had a little trouble at first considering the background of this website is white and the piece is mostly white, i had to sort of crop it with my mind. i imagine holding a publication with that cover in my hand and being confused, because seeing teeth would automatically make me think "medical," but it contrasts with the logo since the logo is certainly not "medical" in any way. it would make me open it.

but....i like to see rules broken. so i may be biased. :P

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 01:58 pm UTC (link)
thanks! i appreciate your support and feedback. : )

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[info]mrpotato
2004-09-24 03:51 pm UTC (link)
If you’re just going to keep defending your design and not take under advisement the great advice that these good people have typed, why did you even ask for us to crit your work in the first place?

Just wondering.


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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 04:13 pm UTC (link)
just because i ask for feedback does not mean that i am not going to defend the reasoning behind my work and what i think are valid design choices.
i do want feedback, but again, that does not mean i am going to make every suggested change and/or agree with every comment.
i am pointing out why i did the things that i did.
i think that it is a dialogue.

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[info]enve_oner
2004-09-24 04:24 pm UTC (link)
the only reasoning i've seen you describe behind your work is that you set out to break design "rules". and as far as i can gather from your responses to these people you broke the rules just for the sake of breaking them.

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 04:29 pm UTC (link)
i did not break the rules just to break them.
as i explained before, i designed this piece intuitively, not following any grids, systems, etc.
the organization of the visual elements was felt out, as opposed to laid out.
i hope that makes sense.

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[info]mylaptopisevil
2004-09-24 10:33 pm UTC (link)
Except I think some of us disagree with the way you felt things out.

While I have slowly begun to learn to love grid systems, myself, I tend to love the graphic design work of David Carson quite a bit, and he's hardly the kind of person who follows a grid.

I just dislike some of the elements, regardless of if I'm looking at it as a designer or as someone who just wants to see something interesting.

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-25 12:08 pm UTC (link)
thanks, well said.

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[info]andaletka
2004-09-24 06:22 pm UTC (link)
You know, i believe this way is the best. I always follow intuition,too.

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-24 08:00 pm UTC (link)
thank you.

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[info]lemonboy
2004-09-25 11:44 am UTC (link)
To push or disregard limits for the sake of pushing or disregarding limits only restricts the intention of your work to reach out and ask people to experience something different from their perception.

With experience I think your “feeling” things out will grow and let you know how to explore within the boundaries of mass consumption.

Unless your client(s) are happy only reaching out to a few.

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-25 12:06 pm UTC (link)
again, as i stated, rules were not broken to be broken.
i did not push for the sake of pushing.
it was intiutive. it was that simple.

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[info]lemonboy
2004-09-25 01:39 pm UTC (link)
"thank you very much.
there are rules, and this piece purposely breaks them.
(it is funny how you learn rules, then break them)"

???

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[info]redeggmonitor
2004-09-25 03:43 pm UTC (link)
i also said, "the entire desing was not based on a grid, or traditional design methods.
i designed this intuitively, purposely ignoring rules.
the publication is about seeing things differently, ignoring the rule of the way things are supposed to be."
i didn't sit down and think, ok, the rules are a, b and c. so i am not going to do that. i am going to break them!
again, the piece was designed intuitively, without regard to rules, but not with the intention of breaking rules specifically for the sake of breaking rules.
there is a big difference.
i hope this makes it clear.

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