Lesson 16 Print Advertisement Reflection

These two COACH ads are to be featured side by as a whole in a fashion magazine.  There is not really a line other than the Coach logo.  I really like this ad because of the color and detail.  There are a lot of products being advertised all at once.  The most dominant product is the yellow leather purse.  Then the viewer starts to notice all of the other items--the scarf, bracelets, necklace, belt, cardigan.  I also love the green lattice background.  The photographer did a great job including it in focus and out of focus.  Overall, this is a really creative way to advertise several items at once and is very visually stimulating. 

Illustrator Composite Logo Design

I designed this for a quilting store I visited while on Spring Break with my parents in Idaho.  The logo actually features a fabric that is sold in the store!

PERSONAL LOGO

FASHION POLICE--Oscar's 2010

WORST

These are totally my opinions, and I would love to hear feedback!

Charlize Theron in Christian Dior

I HATE this dress!  I hate the colors. I hate the plain-ness.  I hate the bodice.  I just hate it!  The only thing I like is the train fabric carried over from the front.  Too bad because I love Charlize!

Zoe Saldana in Givenchy

I love the top of this dress & I would love the bottom if wasn't so busy & full, but overall.....Not.  Way to take a risk by wearing couture though!

Mariah Carey in Valentino

I really am not loving this dress.  I don't know if it's the color or the assymetric hemline.

Diane Kruger in Chanel

I love the idea of this dress and the fabrics and the texture, but something about it just isn't working for me.  It makes her look really short.

Miley Cyrus in Jennie Packham

Miley, there is something wrong when your mom looks way better than you!

BEST

Sarah Jessica Parker in Chanel

One of my most favorite dresses EVER.  I love the reverse halter & the metallic details.  Her jewelry was perfect, too.  She is stunning!

Rachel McAdams in Ellie Saab

STUNNING!  I love the colors, the fabric, the pleats, EVERYTHING!  It's amazing & looks fantastic on her.

Queen Latifah in Bagdley Mischka

Queen Latifah picked the perfect dress for her shape!  I wish i could have found a picture of the back because it was equally as amazing!  The one shoulder style are super in right now, too! 

Jennifer Lopez in Armani Prive

I'm mixed on this one, but overall I love it.  I love the unique bodice, the train to the side and the fabric, but I would like to see her in a warmer color.  Overall, amazing!

Sandra Bullock in Marchesa

Ridiculously Stunning!  The way the light hit the fabric when she was on stage was absolutely incredible!  Way to go Sandra!!!

Sandy Powell-Oscar winner for Costume Design

I wish I could have found a picture of the whole dress, but I LOVED this.  I love the hat & the huge cuffed bangles.  She was incredible!  And I have decided that I want to win an Oscar for costume design someday.  This was her THIRD!  She won for "The Yound Victoria" & in the past she won for Aviator & Shakespeare in Love.

Elizabeth Banks in Versace

My FAVORITE dress of the entire night!  I LOVE the color, the skirt, the bodice, absolutely EVERYTHING about it! 

Illustrator Tutorials

I've tried a few of these to help my drawing skills in Illustrator, so here is one of my favorites!

 

And HERE'S the link!

Give it a try!   :)

BONUS! Path+Text+Gradient

VECTOR IMAGES

To kick off our Illustrator portion of this class, I decided to find examples of vector images.

I'm pretty sure these were all created using coral Draw, but I would love to learn how to do something similar in Illustrator!  Aren't these AMAZING!

Lesson 6

Typography Assignment

Good

Bad

Text Effect Tutorial

CLICK HERE

LADY GAGA

So I am kind of obsessed with Lady Gaga.  She is definitely super bizarre & crazy, but I really admire her style & all of her amazing Armani Prive costumes.  Her fashion sense is like no other celebrity.  No one else could pull this off!  She is constantly wearing couture right off the runway, but the bottom line is that she is insanely entertaining & always keeps us guessing.  

Weekly Reflection

This is the catalog cover I designed for Lesson 5!  I was so proud of myself that I wanted to share it with everyone!  Betsey Johnson is amazing!  I used the Quick Selection tool, the Magic Eraser, Clipping Mask, Type Mask, Blending Options for the Layers, Gradients and Text!  I love how this turned out!  :)

MORE BETSEY JOHNSON

 

I did not create this one, but I found it on Flickr & you can definitely tell it's been photoshopped!  They added a border & the XOX Betsey was probably selected, copied & pasted into a new layer from a different picture.  This is vintage Betsey.

 

I also thought this was really cool!  Someone on Flickr creates these fashion sketches from runway pics.  I'm not sure if she uses photoshop or not, but I definitely want to learn how to do this!  This is Betsey Johnson Spring 2009.

Assignment #2

COMPOSITION

SIMPLICITY

I thought that this Coach ad demonstrated simplicity very well.  It has the most simple color scheme possible--black and white and uses simple lines to guide your eyes around the image.  The background is basic white with some shading and the logo is small and all black.  Even though it is so simple, it makes a big statement, and I love it!  This is a JPEG file which means that it is a "lossy" file, each time I save it the picture loses some of it's integrity.

CENTERING

This is a great example of centering.  Everything in this photo is crazy and unorganized, but it is still very balanced because it has a strong center for the eyes to focus on.  The line of the street also draws the eye towards the center using leading lines.  This image is also a JPEG.

RULE OF THIRDS

I thought this was a great example of the thirds rule.  The four points of interest are the left and right sides of the fullest part of the bow and also the edge of the red sole, both of which are defining features of these fabulous Louboutin shoes.  The photographer did a great job with the angle as well.  Most people are looking down at shoes as they or someone else is wearing them.  The eye level angle makes these look super dramatic & makes me wish I could afford them!  :)

How to Change Your Background

I had a lot of people ask me how to change your blog background, so here are some simple instructions.  Generally the Blogspot template you have selected does not effect the background, but the best template to use is Minima.  Most of the backgrounds are made for that template, and it is also transparent so that the whole background is visible behind your text and photos. 

There are several websites and blogs that have free layouts and backgrounds.  Here are a few of the ones that I use:

Allie Brown Layouts

Delightful Dots  (This blog has a lot of links to more blogs & websites.)

The Cutest Blog on the Block

Hot Bliggity Blog

Shabby Blogs

Once you find the layout you like, copy the code.  From the Dashboard page where you manage your blog, click on Layout.  Now you will be on the page called Page Elements.  This page allows you to move the elements around wherever you want them.  In order to change your background, you must click on one of the Add a Gadget links.  It does not matter which one.  The gadget that you need is the HTML/JavaScript.  Now, paste the code you copied earlier into the content section and save.  That is all there is to it.  Most sites give you instructions and some have a general layout HTML that you copy, then choose the background code to paste in a specified area of the general HTML.  Good luck!

One of the problems that happens with using the cute backgrounds is that it can make your text really hard to read.  The best way to solve this problem is to change your template into a 3 Column.  This is kind of confusing since you must intentionally edit pieces of the HTML code, but if you are up for a challenge, CLICK HERE for instructions.  It took me a couple tries to get it right, but you can also restore the default HTML if it gets really messed up, so there is no harm in trying! 

Assignment #1

CONTRAST-Chanel

This Chanel ad demonstrates good use of contrast. The first place that your eyes focus is the large black purse which is perfect because it is the item being advertised. Then you notice the sunglasses, bracelets and large ring, all of which are black. The use of white everywhere else really makes these elements bold and noticeable.

PROPORTION-Christian Louboutin

I thought this ad was really awesome. It has extremely interesting proportion. The shoes are most definitely the dominant feature, and then you see the crushed cars. I'm not sure exactly what it means, but I loved the size relationship between the shoes and cars.