Project 8 - Newsletter Round 2

Our assignment for this week was to re-examine and recreate one of our previous newsletters by building off of the feedback we were given during our midterm evaluation. I chose to redesign my four-page newsletter layout from week 5. This assignment dealt with a large amount of information that had to be constructed in a way that was both visually appealing and easy to read. The initial project required the information to be mixed with images of our choice, within a two-palette color scheme, which would communicate the ideas of the text through our composition.

I developed a design that consisted of a clean, grid like structure, trying to arrange all of the body copy in a way that was easy to read and did not conflict with the imagery or accompanying elements of my piece. I felt that my initial design was successful in this manner, but I had incorporated many elements that were very predictable, especially my ‘straight-to-the-point’ graphics. In redesigning this assignment my main focus was to create a visually stimulating composition that communicated the ideas of the text without using literal images and precise structure (This is a major challenge for me because I am a very structured individual, and basic rules and principles tend to overwhelm my work). My first objective was to read through the copy again and to develop a different approach to communicate a somewhat dry and technical content that dealt with various means of composing and transmitting e-newsletters. In my initial design I fell into the trap of using literal images of computers and keyboards, along with very clean and legible text, which made the content even more boring. For this assignment I came up with the concept of movement – information moving quickly, but with direction. This concept influenced me to clear out all of the copy on my cover page and replace it with an engaging image that conveyed this message through the use of simple shapes and color. I kept my palette from the first attempt, utilizing complementary blues and oranges, which cause a form of visual contrasting movement on the page. This concept was then carried over into my information design on the inner pages. Though not as busy as my cover, I used simple gradations of color inside of simple shapes to further express a feeling of movement (Light shapes becoming darker). By using simple shapes, instead of boring images, I was able to keep the structure of my design neat and clean and was able to visually express meaning without being overly predictable. I am glad we had the chance to approach an assignment in a different manner and hope that I can use this exercise to add a little more thought into my future conceptual designs.