Ad Critique

The target audience for this advertisement is obviously men. However, I think the goal of this advertisement is to get the reader’s attention and make them laugh. I think the message is that beer is very important to men, even stretching to the point that if your woman doesn’t like that you drink beer then you’ll find another woman. I think the advertisement is trying to make men think that this is a normal point of view.

There is no line in this ad. The body copy is the story on the right. There is no product shot, just the photography of a couple and the woman is upset. The only indication of the product (Miller) is on the bottom right.

I believe this ad would fall under the category of image or lifestyle, but I’m not positive.

There are a few good aspects of the ad: it’s funny and, if you can get someone to read it, they’ll probably remember it.

However, it looks really boring. The picture is boring, the layout is boring, and the plain Miller logo at the bottom…. kind of boring.

I would suggest that they use a much more interesting picture. It doesn’t even quite go with the story because it says “I don’t think she’s coming back…” but they’re sitting together. I would have the photography have something to do with Miller and the story. I also think the way the ad is framed is too old looking. The picture should take up the entire space and the Miller logo should be larger.

Overall they had a good idea but a pretty terrible execution.


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I also wanted to include this ad because I found it when I was looking. I think it's pretty funny and effective.

5 Things I learned about using Photoshop and Illustrator Together

5 Things I learned about using Photoshop and Illustrator Together

1. Make sure and build your artwork at 100 percent.
2. Build no-fill, no-stroke bounding boxes to make placing smart objects from Photoshop to Illustrator easier.
3. Smart objects from Illustrator embed into Photoshop as a vector file so you don’t loose the integrity of the resolution, even if you want to change sizes.
4. It’s better to edit your smart objects in Illustrator before placing them in Photoshop because they become embedded, not linked—so if you then edit it in Illustrator, it won’t update the source file.
5. If you do want to edit a smart object in Photoshop after placing it from Illustrator, double click the object in the layer panel and it will open in Illustrator. You can edit in Illustrator and save and it will update in Photoshop; however, the source file will not be updated.

Personal Logo(s)

This logo, Disney, is very easily recognizable. It is simply text but it has become Disney’s logo because of the uniqueness of the text. Disney also uses this logo and animates it before Disney movies. The use of black is very elegant and the text is very fun. Disney is a corporation that produces products aimed at both children and adults so the use of elegance as well as “fun” creates the perfect Disney logo.

This is my path assignment that I added the text and gradient to a path. I also used a path to trace people and get rid of the origional background.

Composite

So, here's my composite assignment. I like it but I don't think it looks like a real magazine cover. I think I'll keep trying to get something that actually looks like a magazine cover, but I'm at least happy enough with this (elements of the composite project and stuff) to turn it in.

Typography -- Text Effects

This is the website I used for my text effect:

http://www.flash-game-design.com/tutorials/furryText-photoshop-tutorial.html

I used a "furry" text effect to make my letters look like grass.

I love playing with photoshop. Have I mentioned how bummed I am that I can't spend more time on my assignments? I wish I had more time to "play" with photoshop. School sucks.

Love, Ann :) haha

GOOD EXAMPLE
Source of example:
LifeChurch.TV (www.lifechurch.tv

Elements of design exhibited:
Distorting font
Gradient
Possibly a filter
Layers

Why you feel this item is effective:
The design is very appropriate for the purpose. The purpose is to convey the message for the upcoming church series and to interest people in coming to church. The series is about Biblical marriages, which is clearly conveyed. I like that the words make a heart, that there are “love birds” in the image, and that there are little cupids. Clearly the message is about love and marriage.

Who is the target audience?
The target audience is current members of the church as well as prospective members.



BAD EXAMPLE

Source of example:
Internet -- flickr page

Elements of design exhibited (or not exhibited):
This was clearly not created on photoshop, but none-the-less it is a terrible example of typography. The authors did not use consistent fonts or colors. Spacing makes the sign difficult to read. There is an element at the bottom toward the right that was removed but not completely removed.

Why you feel this item is ineffective:
This item is ineffective because it is difficult to read (even if I spoke the language it was written in) and it is definatly not pleasing to look at. If there was a choice between this place and another place with a visually pleasing sign I would assume that the other place had better food and eat there.

Who is the target audience?
The target audience is people on the street. The only thing I can think of that might be a good element in this design is the use of yellow and red on a food sign. I have read that the colors red and yellow stimulate the appetite.

My computer is not letting me comment on anyone else's blog! I don't understand! It just refreshes the page everytime I try to comment.

I completely for got to post to my blog last week -- I don't know if it will make any difference but I'll post at least 2 posts this week and comment on at least 4 blogs.

I have been super stressed and overwhelmed with assignments this semester! I'm only in 13 hours (I usually take 16-18) but there are two labs and they are 13 of the most demanding hours I've ever been in! I realize this blog is not for ranting so I will stop ranting and talk about graphic design :)

Okay...I lied. I'm not going to stop ranting but I will talk about graphic design! Haha.

MASKS. AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I read the chapter. Twice. I still don't really understand how to use masks correctly. Am I alone?! It took me over 3 hours on the last assignment and I'm still not convinced I did it right. It's frustrating having to use campus computers to do homework, I wish the adobe suits weren't so expensive

I've attached a personal project. I used some of the skills I learned from class to make my save the date cards.

Photoshop

I really enjoy learning more about photoshop! I have been working in photoshop teaching myself as I go for a long time and I am already learning a lot of things I didn't know about. I really liked using the color replacement tool. I always knew there was a color replacement tool but I never found a situation in which I wanted to use it. The hot air balloon was a great way to learn to use the tool.

The first photograph (starting at the bottom closest to this paragraph, then working your way UP) is an example of action. Clearly this photography is taken at a peak of an action (bucking) and I think it is a very excellent photography. Obviously I love horses and I also love photography, so my examples are all photographs of horses. My second photograph is an example of taking a photograph from a unique angle. I really like this angle because of the unique line angles in the curvature of the horse's body. The third photograph is an example of framing. The colors are beautiful and the framing makes it obvious that the horse is the focus of the photograph. The lead rope then directs your eye to the man and then the rest of the photograph. I added four pictures because I couldn't pick just three of the ones I chose. So, the fourth photograph is a bonus. Photo four is an example of cropping. Now, of course I cannot prove that the photographer cropped this photograph on his computer after it was taken (although that is pretty likely) but I would definitely consider it cropped because it focuses on an area of the horse that is not typically photographed alone. I think the drop of water on the horse's tongue really adds an interesting element to the photograph. All of the images are raster images saved as .jpeg

Assignment 1

I think that this is a good example of balance because I feel like the images are weighted equally on each side of the page. However, There is a lot of color in the background and I feel like, other than the images, the page is too busy and I don't want to try to read the article.

I think that this example does not make good use of white space. There is way too much white space above the article. However, the designer of this article probably did that intentionally to bring your eye first to the photo and then to the text. I think that the designer could have used a little less white space because the page looks a little empty.