Crap Detector!

Intermediate Computing: Rest of the Semester

Monday, April 21st: Product Shots / Sketch logos and packaging
Wednesday, April 23rd: upload two best logos to flickr / continue packaging
Monday, April 28th: First Final Meeting time at NINE AM / FINAL LOGO and PACKAGING
Tuesday, April 29th: Second Final Meeting time at NINE AM / Present final products, logo and packaging

Product Shot Phobia

You have spent sleepless nights working on your project...it deserves to be documented and documented well! Yikes! How do I do that? I don't know how to take good product shots!

Click on the following links for some helpful product shot hints.
Photojojo is a fabulous online photo DIY resource newsletter. Check out their post about Shooting to Sell: Taking Better Photos for eBay, Etsy & Instructables.

Here is another post by Photojojo, but it is about photographing food! : Photojojo: The Ten Tastiest Food Photography Tips.

Here are some cool camera modifications that you can do yourself that might help you with those pesky product shots (esp. if you don't have access to a pro studio).

Photojojo: Reduce, Reuse, Diffuse: Make Your Own Flash Diffuser from an Old Film Container.

Strobist: How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio.

Etsy :: The Storque :: Photographing your items.

Lighting for Product Shots.

Intermediate Design: DIY Links

Hey Hey Guys!
Here are some helpful links to get your minds going when trying to decide what product you are going to develop:

http://www.papress.com/designityourself/
http://www.makezine.com/
http://www.craftzine.com
http://readymademag.com/
http://www.instructables.com/
http://www.etsy.com/

Intermediate Computing: Reinterpreting A Cliché

Imagery seen too frequently is often not seen at all. This is the case with overused design symbols and everyday objects. Overuse renders them ineffective, and they lose their power to communicate. It is the function of the designer to revitalize these cliched symbols and objects by interpreting them in individual and personal ways. The following twelve examples of typically chiched objects will be reinterpreted.
Heart
Stars
Clouds
Sun
Rose
Apples
Key
Nuts and Bolts
Eye
Trees
Mouth
Light Bulb

SPECIFICATIONS:
size: each final image will be 4x6
color: black and white
medium: no limit, but final must be in photoshop and/or illustrator
NOTE: We will be placing the final 12 images into indesign and creating a small booklet using this program

DUE DATES:
Monday, March 24th: Brainstorm and Sketches
Monday, March 31st: All thumbnails and mind maps due / workday
Wednesday, April 2nd: Group Pre-Crit on all images. Please print out all images
Monday, April 7th: In-design Tutorial / Start laying out book
Wednesday, April 9th: Books Due

Intermediate Computing: I Pledge Allegiance

Redesign the American Flag to make a personal statement about a political or social issue in the United States. In order to maintain a connection between the traditional flag and your new design, you must use stars and stripes (in some fashion) and the colors red, white and blue. These limitations provide experience in using purely graphic elements to resolve a design problem.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Size: 4x6
Color: Red and blue, plus additional colors as necessary
Medium: Final result in photoshop and/or illustrator

Make and edition of 15 of your cards and we will exchange flag cards on the last day of the assignment. You may also design the back, if you wish.

Dates: Wednesday, March 5th: Brainstorm and Sketch
Monday, March 10th: Spring Break
Wednesday, March 12th: Spring Break
Monday, March 17th: 10 Thumbnails each addressing a different concept
Wednesday, March 19th: Pre Crit. Upload ideas to Flickr
Monday, March 24th: Project Due! Trade! Trade!

Intermediate Computing: How'd They Do That?

You will be give four logos and you must recreate them in illustrator. For each logo that you recreate, you must outline the steps you used to recreate the logo (be able to show and explain what you did...take a minimum of four progress screen shots - you can't just scan and live trace the logos!) Try to simplify shapes/paths/points/ etc. as much as possible so that the logo's color is easily modifed later.

SPECIFICATIONS
Size: each final logo will be centered and printed on a 5x5 piece of paper and all four will be mounted on 18x24 black board. Attach an envelope to the back of the board with all of the steps and screen progress shots.

GROUP #1
Jackie, Calvin, Emily

GROUP #2
Alex, Rebecca, Molly

GROUP #3
Stevie, Mo, Mamie

GROUP #4
Jesse, Brandon, Lauren

GROUP #5
Miranda, Kirk, Jessie

medium: Illustrator (you may need to use Photoshop a bit too)

DATES
February 27: Introduce, sketch, workday
March 3rd: Workday (introduce new assignment)
March 5th: Project Due and presentations about your logos

Your logo group assignments are after the jump.

Western State: Geoff Mcfetridge: Designer you should know about

In honor of Jim Coudal's visit yesterday, let's take a look at one of my most favorite design profiles that was produced by Coudal for theirWestern State collection.

more about Geoff here and here.

Intermediate Computing: People You Should Know

sites to look at: Sagmeister, Inc. stefan sagmeister at designboom

TED | Talks | Stefan Sagmeister: Yes, design can make you happy (video)

Stefan Sagmeister (kottke.org) These are good companion links for the TED talk video.

Intermediate Computing: Postage Stamps!

The Postage Stamp Series (three days)
When you express a personal issue honestly, you usually touch an audience much larger than yourself. You have to dare to work in this way. Delving into yourself for a solution results in more than an effective design – you will learn about yourself as well as about visual communication. This represents a true learning situations.

SPECIFICATIONS:
size: 4x4 inches (size may be negotiated)
color: full color
medium: Final result in photoshop and/or illustrator
requirement: design a simulated perforation
option: copy, name of country, and monetary denominations may be used.

Due Dates:
Wednesday 13th: Brainstorm/Research
Monday 18th: Thumbnails
Tuesday 19th: Attend Jim Coudal Lecture at 7 pm in Giles Hall Jury Room
Wednesday 21st: Pre-Crit / Upload progress to flickr / bring in print outs
Monday 25th: NO CLASS / Workday
Wednesday 27th: PROJECT DUE!

Intermediate Computing: Head and Body Montage

Create a full bodied portrait using two recognizable personalities by juxtaposing the head of one onto the body of the other. Do not just scan two photographs and blend. Either illustrate your own people in pencil/color pencil/ paint etc or create in photoshop and/or illustrator. As you look at the newly created "person," you will respond to both your traditional image of each personality and to the newly formed altered image.

Altering images in this way, combing the expected with the unexpected, has the power to hold attention. This is one of the prerequisites of effective communication. Attracting someone's attention even for seconds is a most desired result in the communication world, where each day thousands of images are vying for consideration.

Please make sure that your two people create a stunning combination that will attract attention.

Remember: you may do a brilliant job blending two people together, but if the overall image is void of concept, then you have failed at the project. Create new and surprising imagery...imagery that takes on new meaning. Don't simply mash images together just to mash. Think!