lets play Tag

[MyRealName]

Tag ur it.. XD
ive been playing around with graphic design for almost 2 years now, and im thinking on taking some courses about graphic design at school. so i want some opinion of what i whiped up here in my free time.. pls be as harsh as possible in commenting on this pls. XD

[mac.FINN]

It's a little hard to see in any detail as it is. But what I will say is that your copy has errors in it.

should say: "New and Improved Styles which take Design and Clothes to a whole new level."

[MyRealName]

ya its hard b/c i keep on changing back and forth from ps7 to pscs, so far i just know how to use photoshop, a bit of ilustrator, and a bit of Cinema 4D. right now this is one of my favorite intrests, so im thinkin on going into university with graphic design.. any opinions?

[aid4design]

its a tough field to set yourself apart from. designers are a dime a dozen these days, because everyone with a computer and some software thinks they are a designer.. only advice I can offer is 1)to learn the mediums AND their processes.. design/art schools tend to say things like "leave that to prepress..." it is not all about the art, it has to be able to be produced too. 2)listen to the pros, there are alot of fantastically knowledged folks in this forum and some others. 3)art and its beauty are in the eye of the beholder, you'll never be able to create something that EVERYone likes, the key is creating art that the CLIENT likes.

all of this said, I am a novice too, so my opinion is worth JUST that. but without getting out here and attempting, I would never move forward. sounds like you know the way to move forward FOR YOU... that's really all that's important.

and now to the design, I like it. but really how does space
tie into "urban" and /or clothing and design?...

[DesignerScott]

design/art schools tend to say things like "leave that to prepress..."That's funny because everyone in my prepress department here went to school, and are really good at the technical crap, but don't have a single artistic bone in their body. It really makes me laugh that they call prepress technicians "production artists" out here, because they aren't artists.

[tZ]

There is no point to this there for it is not graphic design, but art- regardless of the composition.

Compositionally though its all right. Its hard to critique because there exist no sibject matter which the design corresponds. As far as design goes. When making contrast make it big and make it BOLD. Especially when your composition consistent of so few elements. Furthermore, the background appears as if it was just thrown on to fill space. As designers purposefull manipulation is the key… not just filling space to fill space.

As far as your hierachy goes its there but, should be made more obvious. Cause it seems as if your dominent feature is the negative sapce in the left hand corner- at least that is where my eye is going first. Since, it is the area of the highest contrast besides for the type. However, the type is so small that it is not large enough to make an immediate impact in the hierachy upon initally seeing the design. Therefor, I would fix that. Since, your design basically revolves around type I would recommend finding ways to make it interesting using the type rather then the image in the background which I can't make out any ways.

Which brings me to my final point. Before you can design you need to have something to design. I realize you just whipped this up in your free time but, this looks as if it has no prior thought once so ever. You have two meaningfull parts of type and thats it. Not only that but, the type you have you hide through its size- why?

Anyhow, if your serious then I would suggest spending some in some basic design books. If your in highschool currently then I would suggest spending more time on drawing and basic fundementals cause that is really all a college is going to care about anyways. Since, your going there to learn design. So they will teach that to you, but they normally somewhat expect you to know how to draw and have basics understanding of drawing(proportions) which can be expanded upon before entering design courses.

All and all though not bad for a beginner.

[aid4design]

I made the mistake in a recent post of saying prepress and designers are esentially the same, and I was accurately proven wrong. These two use the same tools, but create totally different outcomes. I would have to agree with you that "prepress technicians" ARE NOT artists. Both positions require creative thinking but the thinking is on different sides of the spectrum.. Design's creative thinking is artistic. Prepress' creative thinking is more tangible and technical, of plate production while maintaining the art. WAY DIFFERENT. There ARE some crossbreeds out here, who can do BOTH, they are the ones who should be labeled as "production artists", but I am starting to learn they are hard to find. I am trying my best to learn both, but like I said, I am a novice and probably will continue to be for years to come. actively I have 3.5 yrs in prepress, and around a dozen design jobs under my belt. the design is growing though, from word of mouth. which is good, but it doesnt mean my design is good. ;) ...a little off topic, apologies.. but hope the insight can help you in your decision to go to school for design, MyRealName.

[aid4design]

There is no point to this there for it is not graphic design, but art- regardless of the composition.

true. it lacks communication.