You can't miss: rad SXSW ad & rude advice for the real world

totally rad
A couple of weeks ago Ministry of Type showcased the type treatment on this great South by Southwest ad. It has a totally rad scrolling feature that you MUST check out. Seriously, it takes like 10 seconds. And there's a great surprise at the end, too. Just click the picture below to see the real interactive version.

totally rude
As we prepare to graduate and enter the workforce, we're facing a whole slew of intimidating obstacles. Maybe you're nervous about finding a job or scared to enter the real adult workforce. Or maybe, like me, your fear of failure is hindering you from pursuing your passion.

If you feel apprehensive about your future, appreciate lewd humor and need some honest advice, this is right up your alley. It's definitely applicable to anybody preparing to graduate and strike out on their own for the first time. The author of the article, Julien Smith, has one message for all of us: "It’s time you stopped being a fucking pussy."

Response: magazine prototype progress

My fellow design capstone junkies and I are preparing to leave for spring break to pretend that we have social lives outside of school. But before we do, we've been sharing the progress of our final projects. Generally, I think all of our groups need to work out the kinks to make sure that our prototypes have a consistent design tone, though disconnects are obviously to be expected with first drafts.

Modern Midwest

This publication definitely has a lot of interesting content, so seeing where the designs progress from here will be exciting. I know it might take some extra work to find good visuals to work with, but it should be comforting that the designers aren't limited to content that primarily centers around food. I think the magazine's nature will make for some really unique design presentations.

Plaid Dad
I feel your pain with having to differentiate between feature and department content. The design team is definitely on the right track as far as recognizing the different ways to present the information to readers logically. They're doing a good job of keeping their target audience — young dads — in mind while creating design concepts. And kudos for coming up with so many nameplate options.

Shindig

I like the idea of using real-world textures, and I hope you guys are able to find some great ones that correspond with the publication's tone. Also, unlike others, I personally like the publication's title, and the design style does completely reclaim the word. I think your overall design concepts were interesting, and I can't wait to see them implemented.

Cupboard

The content for Cupboard is also pretty unique, but at the same time I think it would be difficult to come up with concepts for some of the stories. The crafty feel that the publication is taking on is fun. I would try to play that up as much as possible.

Good luck everybody, and try to have a relaxing break!

Critique: VOX food challenges cover

This week's critique features cover concepts I developed to highlight VOX Magazine's food challenges issue that will be printed during spring break. One problem that arose was defining what exactly a "food challenge" is. Apparently it's really just about people eating huge, spicy or otherwise ridiculous food in a competitive nature. All three of my drafts utilized similar color palettes, which wasn't especially intentional but something that's understandable given the color palettes of the food featured.

meaty madness

Since the story conveys a tone as though the food involved in the challenges is intimidating and confrontational, I wanted to convey a fun photo illustration that gave a sense that the food is "attacking" the challenger, which would be the reader in this case. Although I'm not sure how feasible this concept would have been in regard to the images VOX photographers had produced for the story, I really like how this one turned out.

uncomfortable eats

With this cover concept, I basically wanted to show how unappetizing these challenges can be. I honestly don't think that anybody is going to look at that and say, "Oh, that looks delicious!" I wanted them to think, "Oh God, that looks terrible. Who in their right mind would try to eat that?" Fun fact: after printing my first drafts for critique, my boyfriend pointed out that he read the title as "Uncomfortable Cats." Obviously this would have been a problem, so I would have worked with the type.

the human element

I personally thought that the most compelling part of the story is the fact that actual people choose to partake in these challenges. I definitely thought that showing somebody in the midst of a food challenge would be the best way to entice readers to pick up the issue. In the end, this is the one that the editors and art directors wanted me to rework for our final drafts.

final draft

Unfortunately, once the rest of the photos came in from the photographers, I quickly saw that there weren't any new ones that featured an individual partaking in a challenge. Instead, the photos were basically still-shots of the food, which were obviously not interesting as far as compelling cover images go. I looked through the photographer's raw files of this burger shoot, but this was still the best image as far as content and framing were concerned.

Jan wanted the burger itself to be more dominant as well as more centered, so I zoomed in on that aspect of the photo and tried to rework its position, as well as the title, to make it more of the focus. I knew the words within the title would be crucial for selling the rest of the story, so I worked with the title a lot to find the best way to convey information.

In the end I was satisfied with the end result. I think it looks like something VOX would run, even though it wasn't the final choice for the issue.

Response: designing for VOX's special travel issue

or, "why meeting deadlines is crucial for journalists"

When taking an exam in one of my first real journalism classes at MU (Cross-Cultural Journalism) my professor poked fun at the last few students staying past class to finish up their exams. I'll always remember her saying the bunch of us would probably be good journalists since we were determined to work straight up to deadline.

I have another theory, however. I believe a fair number of people are attracted to studying journalism because it allows for procrastination (to an extent). As a student who's nearing alum status at one of the world's strongest journalism programs, I can tell you all about the rush of adrenaline you get from pumping out a piece right before deadline. It doesn't matter if you're reporting a breaking story or designing 1A. Finishing your work right before deadline — and knowing you did a good job – is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. Even if you're not really procrastinating, it sure does feel like you've been trying to play catch-up.

But there are some who take procrastination too far. They consistently fail to meet their deadlines, which makes it hard for those who work after them to further develop a story. Procrastinators make life harder for those who plan ahead and schedule every step they're going to need to take in order for a story to be published on time without errors.

Unfortunately, designers are all too often left at the end groping for content that isn't available, which requires us to (at times) create designs with a limited understanding of the story to be presented. It is both our curse and our opportunity to make sure that everything in a story's package comes together in a visually appealing, content-driven way. Without the content, though, this can be difficult to navigate.

I know a number of designers struggled with this while working on this week's special edition of VOX. The problems can't be blamed solely on procrastination. A good majority of the publication's template was reworked for the special issue, which threw off everybody working on the issue. Miscommunication played a role as well.

The bottom line is that each individual on the chain needs to work his/her behind off as to not hinder the progress of those who come after them. And if something should go awry along the way, it's okay to admit your fault, apologize to those whose progress you slowed down and then move on with life.

You can't miss: blog redesigns and renovations

During this past week, The Ministry of Type has posted new articles four times. The blog apparently hadn't been updated because the owner was redesigning the blog. The new blog is easier to navigate, and the overall design is cleaner and more streamlined.

The owner also redesigned the blog's logo, which is something that was of special interest to me since I just finished working on logo designs for SJI. Here's a screenshot from the site that shows the logo's progression over the years. I really like the new, simplified logo. I generally think that when a design element is simplified, it almost always looks better. Thus far, this ideology has held true based on my experiences with VOX Magazine.

You should definitely check it out when you have a chance.

After getting acquainted with the new display, I started thinking about why blog redesigns can be good. I began searching to find some good information about bettering a blog. BloggingExperiment.com outlines some of the benefits that can come from redesigning a blog. If you're interested in professionally blogging for a company, AnotherBlogger.com offers advice on how to build a better company blog. The advice in both of these articles can be applied to personal blogs for those wanting to increase their readership, so get to reading and rejuvenating.

Critique: final SJI logos

This week I reworked my top five SJI logos that had been selected from the original 20 concepts. The main change I made was working with a different color palette to give the logos a more professional feel. I also changed up a few of the typefaces so that the logos had a subtle reference to sports. The Columbia Missourian's sports editor came in and collaborated with our design instructors to choose our best two logos, which we each revised one final time.

here are my five revised concepts

and here are the final two logos that will be submitted to SJI

This logo is meant to represent the forward progress SJI provides for women and minority journalists when it comes to sports reporting.

The stick figures are running, signifying forward progress into the future. The suggestion of movement also refers to action in sports as well as journalists who are constantly on the move.

The type refers to uniforms that one would see in a number of sporting events.

Each figure is a different color to show that they are each unique individuals, yet their body motion is synchronized to symbolize their unity in achieving forward progress.

This logo draws attention to the organization's emphasis on sports reporting in the newsroom.

The figures come from three very different sports (even though they all feature balls). The greenish yellow ball can refer either to softball or tennis, both of which feature prominent female athletes.

The colors, bold lines and use of type are intended to relate to a young audience, as the organization aims to assist young aspiring sports journalists.

Can't wait to see whose logo concept SJI chooses to represent its mission.

You can't miss: terrible, horrible, no good, very bad logos and website designs

It's cold and rainy, and I have about five assignments due tomorrow that I'm working on simultaneously.

I'm feeling agitated to say the least. So rather than share some inspiring design work, I've decided to succumb to the pessimistic, sarcastic (and sometimes rude) half of my personality. This part of me likes to poke fun and judge things that I basically just don't like.

The Logo Design Blog has a hilarious post that showcases The Worst Bad, Ugly & Horrible Logo Designs. Although the writing isn't spectacular, it's definitely something worth looking at for those who don't know much about designing logos. At the bare minimum, avoid making stuff like this.

Interestingly enough, the Missouri Department of Conservation's logo is on the list. I've always thought that thing was ugly, even as a kid admiring wildlife at the state fair each summer.

Since we'll be making mock-ups for our design portfolio websites, I thought I'd try and find some of the ugliest websites out there. Design O'Blog features an article that showcases some of the UGLIEST websites I've ever seen. Takeaway message: try to avoid Sarah Palin and trippy neon colors when designing websites.

Side note, the blog I've been following hasn't been updated since February 13, so I didn't feel the need to feature anything from them this week.