just a design journal

Graphic Design student at Drexel University

[marcelachristlieb]

Activity Follow-up

We were to, in groups, talk to some juniors and seniors. I thought it was very informative. We went over how our freshman year is going, we talked about how co-op is like, and some of the future projects that the graphic designers had to do. The information I learned when we went over co-op was very helpful. The seniors said that they had about 3 interviews in a day and a total of 12 interviews. When I heard this I got overwhelmed and it got me nervous for the future, but the seniors said its actually not that bad once you get the hang of it. I also thought the projects that the juniors/seniors did were really cool. They showed us some books they had hand sewn and illustrated. It got me really excited for future classes and projects. At the same time I get worried that I won't be able to make something that great. They said that it may seem overwhelming but once the day comes where you are assigned the project you will be ready and the professor will be there to help you. In conclusion, I am excited for future classes and projects and the co-op program.

[marcelachristlieb]

Title Sequences

The first title sequence is from American Horror Story’s fourth season, Freak Show. I liked this sequence because of how it represents what this season is about. American Horror Story’s intros all have the same tune but changed according to what the theme is. This intro has more of a carnival tune to the song. Also the intro includes a variety of miniature freak show characters. This gives you an an idea of what the characters in this season could be. I also like the American Horror Story font, because its unique and works with their genre.

The second title sequence is from Orange is the New Black. The thing that really caught my attention was the song. It was very catchy and while I was watching the series I would start singing along to it. Another thing about this title sequence that I thought was interesting was the visuals of the convicts’ eyes and mouths. It makes it seem as if they are just regular people and not people that have committed crimes. I also liked how the slide of the people’s faces went along with the music. 

[marcelachristlieb]

Web Design

I chose these five designs because they are simple and beautiful at the same time. My favorite is the let’s travel somewhere website. It is a travel journal website. It is filled with people’s travel experiences from around the world and has professional photography to go along with it. I love how well organized the website is. Each continent is color coded to help you navigate through the journals. My next favorite has to be food sense. Once you click on the page you can see the simple and easy to use navigation page. The logo and the icons look almost hand drawn. This is a great website to get your vegetarian and home cooked meal recipes. The photography of the food is also very aesthetically pleasing. Another example of a simple website is These are things. The website has a super simple design but what caught my eye was that the mouse has glitter falling out of it. Not only that if you scroll over the brand name the words become animated with rainbow. You should give them a look yourself.

Websites:

http://www.one.org/us/

http://foodsense.is

http://traveloregon.com

http://www.letstravelsomewhere.com

http://thesearethings.com

[marcelachristlieb]

Constitution Center

I really enjoyed my experience at the Constitution Center. It was my first time there since I don't live in Philly. Most people have been there at least once, so I found it interesting. I loved learning about the process of how they made the exhibit and how long it takes. They exhibit itself was fun and informative. I liked how it took you through the process of being the president. I mostly enjoyed making the election buttons and writing sticky notes section, mostly because people had written the funniest comments down. With all the interactive sections of the exhibit paired with the informative parts you could say that it was aimed towards a younger audience. This helps to keep their attention more and makes it easier for children to learn, since this normally wouldn't be a topic interesting to children. 

[marcelachristlieb]

Book Design

The book I chose is called “imagemakers.” It is a book about fashion illustration and contains many different illustrations that students have made. Each person has there own unique style and they explain why they they chose the style that they did. This book caught my attention because of how unique the cover was. The cover has various shades of orange and very geometric. The layout of the book was well down. Each chapter break included sneak peeks into the types of illustration they were going to show, as well as a description on the theme of the fashion they were going for. Each person has there own section with examples of their illustration, and they have a description of what their style means. 

[marcelachristlieb]

Time Management

I have a bad habit of procrastinating most of my projects and homework. Right now my classes are pretty spread out, so I can manage my assignment better without procrastinating. If I were to make a plan to manage my time, I would write my homework assignments in my planner. I would then probably set a timer on my phone just so I don't forget. I would also make sure to do 3 to 4 hours of homework each. By doing this I would probably have more time to do things I like instead of cramming everything on the last day.

[marcelachristlieb]

Old City Adventure

The group and I headed out to Old City. We took a subway to get there. Once we arrived we went straight to the liberty bell. I never actually saw the liberty bell in person. The place was that crowded so we went in pretty fast. After that we decided to walk around and see what we could find. We took pictures of some old buildings and visited Ben Franklins grave. At Ben’s grave we all decided to through a penny in his honor. After the grave we wonder through some random gift shops to look around and get warm because it was cold out. We eventually got hungry so we went to the other side of Old City to get something to eat. We found our way to a small pizza place called Big Ass Slices. We got some pizza and ate. The slices were huge, hence the name. After we ate we explored the other stores and found Shane’s Confectionary store. It is a very cute store containing a large variety of candies and chocolate. In the back of the store there was an area where you could purchase some delicious hot chocolate. After that we decided to head back home. Overall, Old City is a very nice place. There are so many places and restaurants to explore and try out. I would be happy to go there again and have fun. 

[marcelachristlieb]

Fashion

I decided to look at Valentino. The designs from his collections are usually known for their patterns, textures, and colors. A dress I thought was interesting was the seventh dress. It contains various patches of different flowers which gave the dress texture. Also in each of the patches there are different shades of green and red, making the whole dress look like a garden. As you can see her dress wraps around her body nicely and makes her look like she came out a meadow. I personally like the shimmery, bold dresses . A main element in his designs are flowy and formal. Many of his dresses have been used on red carpets, concerts, and weddings. The fifth dress has been worn in the past by Taylor Swift in one of her concerts. She has also worn many more Valentino dresses on the red carpet and in music videos. It is an elegant gold dress with gold sequins lining the bust part of the dress. The gold sequins continue to go along the skirt part of the dress, then feather out.

Valentino does an incredible job when it comes to colors and shades. In my design class we recently learned about the importance of color and shade. We had to do a gradation with multiple colors. Just recently Valentino made a new collection called Rojo Valentino, where he designs dresses with different shades of red. He does a very nice job with the tonalities and textures. The one example from his new collection is the sixth dress. I love this dress. The shade of red is very bold, as well as the dress itself. It has dark red floral lace across the bust and a beautiful dark red ruched skirt. Overall, Valentino is an incredible artist that knows how to work pattern, shade, and texture, which is what makes him so popular. If I could I would get of his wonderful dresses.

[marcelachristlieb]

Restaurant in Philly

I really liked this restaurant called Distrito. Distrito is a Mexican restaurant on 39th and Chestnut. I really enjoyed the complementary color choice of red and green. The colors definitely fit well with the restaurant since the colors mostly associated with Mexico are green, red, and white. What really caught my attention was how the owners brought pieces of Mexico to the restaurant with the taxi you could eat in and the light up menu above the bar. The food they serve also looks like the traditional Mexican food. They made the menu design simple and easy to use. They don't just have a paper menu but also the light one above the bar, which contains the specials. The logo is simple since it is just the name and the color matched the color theme. The atmosphere of Distrito comes out as fun and inviting for both friends and families.

[marcelachristlieb]

Best Of

I chose two book cover and six movie posters. My favorite movie poster has to be The Shining one. I liked the contrast of the cream color with the red. I also liked the use of negative space, making the young boy the cream color. Also I loved how they used the red and made it drip like blood, since it is a classic horror movie. My second favorite has to be the Juno poster. It is made very simple by just including the orange tic tacs. The orange tic tacs are important detail in the movie so it makes it the focal point. My favorite book cover is The Road because it is so simple. The contrast between the blue and black work well with each other. 

[marcelachristlieb]

Looking Forward

This new quarter I'm looking forward to learning more about design. Especially in my design II class. I would like to learn more about color and how they affect design, as well as new tools and skills. I know that the class will be a bit difficult with the work load, but I will try to manage. Im also looking forward to exploring more of Philly. I definitely want to go out and eat more varieties of food. Also I might want to go to different concerts with my friends. I also would like to go to parts of Philly i haven't gotten the chance to go to yet. I am really excited for this quarter and more to come.

[marcelachristlieb]

Environmental Graphic Design

These environmental graphic design images all stood out to me. They are all bold and creative. The colors in each of the images have high contrast. My favorite would have to be the second one. It has beautiful typography that goes along with the building which is the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Each word on the building has to do with the performing arts. The first image shows the word out, but if you looked at it from a different angle the word would be distorted. This type of design is mostly seen in parking garages. The El Banco De Uno image used the space of the glass to but there motto. The used a color scheme that I thought was unique. I like some designers use the whole entire space of a hallway or room, it adds to the beauty and immersion. 

[marcelachristlieb]

Advertisements

I chose advertisements that I thought were creative. All of these caught my eye. Most of the ads I chose are bright and clever. Clever is what usually catches someone`s eye. My favorite is probably the ink ad. I like it because its brightly colored and edgy. The Dolce and Gabbana one also catches my eye because there is a strong contrast between the black of her clothing and bags to the white background.

There were also some advertisements that I thought were clever. Such as the McDonalds ad with the filet-o-fish. It was clever in that it is a fish sandwich but they made the burger into a fish bowel. Another example would be the paint ad. They were advertising paint but did it in a unique way. They matched the color the paint with sky so it looks like they painted the sky. Advertising is such a unique and clever way to put your product or company out there and I like coming across an ad that catches my eye.

[marcelachristlieb]

Cool Looking Typography

[marcelachristlieb]

Color Combination

My favorite color combination has to the one with the sun flower and the fence. The yellow sunflower contrasts with the blue gate since the yellow is bright. I liked how simple the picture was. I also liked the one I took of the beach in Mexico. The beach in Rivera Maya is so bright and beautiful. I can't wait to go there again. The vibrant orange towels contrast beautifully with the green bushes and the pale sky. The picture with the tree by the lake is similar to the beach photo since they have the same contrast in colors.

[marcelachristlieb]

Illustrations 

All of these illustrations caught my eye. I really love the illustrations that are just smooth and have a lot of little details. My favorite illustration would have to be the one with the tree that forms into a skull and the forest scene inside of it. I loved the intricate details on the tree and the forest. The neutral colors sets a melancholy mood. I find it interesting how the leaves are bright orange which contrasts the dark details. I also like the fact that there are two different scenes to look at in the picture. It draws your attention to one part and then your eyes move to the next. 

[marcelachristlieb]

Our Excursion

On our excursion we went to Philadelphia’s Fairmont neighborhood. We decided to go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We went up the Rocky steps and headed into the museum. Once we got in we had to get our tickets and since we are art students we got in for free. Then we went to see all the art. Many different styles of art such as furniture, videos, and paintings. I happy to see Monet’s paintings because he is one of my favorite artists. After we were finished looking around inside we decided to head out. Right outside the museum there is a sculpture garden. Around the sculpture garden we saw someone having a wedding there. When we finished looking around the garden we went to a small pizza place to eat. I had a cold so I decided to eat a something healthy and light. I will try to go back once I get better to try the pizza because it looked really good. I really liked Fairmont. It was the first time I was at the art museum so I will definitely be visiting back to see more.