Newsletter

For this project we wanted to portray the scary nature of the event. To successfully accomplish this we first decided to make the background of the flyer black and the text white. This would not only create a dark, foreboding feel for the piece, but it would also help to set this particular flyer apart from the typical “black on white” flyers we see so commonly. Next we included several of the images provided to us by the teacher, as it is likely these images would be used on other event paraphernalia and it is important to keep common images, and text as a cohesive unit throughout the marketing campaign. The largest text on the front page (page without image banner at top) was reserved for what we felt were the most important aspects we were trying to convey to the viewer. Thusly the date of the event was the largest (68 pts), followed by ticket purchasing information (24 pts), and the event tagline (“The RIIHF is proud to…etc”) (24 pts), are the most prominent texts on the page. The remaining text is in 12 pt font. The text used is “cracked” and with its severed letters and a rigged look its intent is to convey a spooky feeling to the reader. The date of the event is also red with an orange outline, this allows the text to stand out more to the viewer.

On the reverse side a spooky banner image was used at the top to set the mood for what was going to come. The title text below is a font called PortagoITC TT. This font is a stencil font but with a twist. The sides of the letters are indented and slightly abnormal. This font look is typical of the cliché “army experiment gone horribly wrong” horror movie and is more than appropriate for this horror event. The majority of the text on the back is myriad pro. This was done to ensure readability for those who may not have the eyesight to have read the text on the front, as this is the case much of the important information is repeated. At the Bottom of the page we see a graveyard scene de-saturated in Photoshop, on top of which we see “experience the horror” in large text (PortagoITC TT) outlined in green. The location and price of the show are again repeated at the bottom to ensure the reader retains all the pertinent information.

Brochure

On this brochure assignment, we chose to use Helvetica font for the "Okemo" on the front.  We used Helvetica as the headline for all of our columns.  For "The Art of Snow" and the address on the front of the brochure, we used 

The images that we used were of people snowboarding and skiing because we felt that this would best capture the essence of Okemo Mountain Resort.  The map that we placed on the inside of the brochure is a little more blurry than we would have liked, but it had a very high resolution and we feel that it was readable.

On the background of each fold, we used a gradient involving light blue and white because we thought the colors remind people of winter.  We added snowflakes as bullets because it gave the brochure a fun and winter-y feeling.  We didn't want to use too many effects because we wanted the brochure to remain exciting yet simple so that it was easy to read and not too busy.

We found that Quark and InDesign are equally frustrating programs, but we really had a hard time with Quark.  InDesign made it easier to manipulate the layers and work with images and text.

Concert Poster

I chose to create a concert poster for the band Maroon 5, because they are one of my favorite bands.

Though I found Quark to be a rather temperamental program, once I found out how to work with the layers, I was able to successfully create my poster. I chose a color scheme of black red and white because those are three colors that are often associated with the band.
My favorite part of my poster is the "Maroon 5" overlapping the big grey "M". This is a symbol associated with the band, and I wanted to create it so that it looked similar to what is on most of their posters and album covers. To create the overlap effect, I had to place "M" and "Maroon 5" in separate layers. I then had to put them in the order that I wanted them to appear to the front. I sent the layer containing "M" to the back, so that the "Maroon 5" was in the foreground.

Another part about my poster that I really liked was the lettering that I used. For the "Maroon 5" I used Optima font at 80 pt, and for the "M" behind it I used "Candara" font at 250 pt. To make the white letters with a red outline, I clicked the "Outline" tool in the text toolbar, then created a red that I liked with the color selection tool. For all other text on the poster, I used "Abadi MT Condensed Light" at different sizes. For emphasis on the location of the concert, I chose to make the lettering bold and a solid red color.

The image I chose to use was an image of all 5 band members. The image was black and white to begin with, which I found particularly cool. I used Photoshop to edit the photo. I gave the photo Poster Images from the Effects gallery, which made it seem as though the band members were radiating light. When I inserted the picture onto my poster in Quark, I chose the oval picture frame, because I thought it made the poster look really cool.

One thing that I found difficult with Quark was spacing. I found that under the "View" menu, I can select to view my poster with guides, and I can create my own spacing guides by clicking on the ruler at the left and dragging it to wherever I want my guide to be. I used the ruler to my advantage and used it to find the center of my drawing and space my words and images accordingly.
Another thing about Quark that was mildly frustrating was figuring out how to move items to different levels. Once they were on a level, it was hard to move them to another one. I also found it hard to create and use colors other than the 5 that are provided. I had to create my own shade of red to use because there was no red option in the main colors offered.

Overall, I am glad that I have worked with Quark, but I feel that there are still many parts of it that I need to become familiar with. I hope to become better acquainted with the program during our next project.