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Little_Miss
09-29-2007, 06:28 AM
Hello,
I was just wondering if you could let me know what you think of this little poster I have designed. Im really interested in becoming a graphic designer but I haven't had any education or anything yet, so I still have a long way to go, but nobody around me is very artistic so its hard to know if they're just saying it looks okay or it actually does.... any advice would be great! I made it in Illustrator which I just started using a couple of months ago.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee159/mz_lindsay07/Livebreathecreate.jpg
hewligan
09-29-2007, 12:05 PM
(Please keep in mind that as I type this, I am currently a quite drunk graphic designer, and my typing skills may not be what they were when I was sober...)
I don't want to say that this is bad in any way, but as a GD, everything I design is intended to communicate something. What is this intende to comunicate? Without knowing that, we can't offer any meaningful critique.
It's quite pretty, and I sometimes joke that my job is to make stuff pretty. But, I do that when I can't be botheed explaining why I really do things. What I do has nothing to do with making stuff pretty, I try to maximise the effectiveness of the communication. I'm not a fine artist. Whether you think what I did is pretty or not is actually largely irrelevant. The important ting is that you get what I was trying to say.
So what are you trying to say?
Without knonwing that, we can't tell whether you were successful or not.
Little Miss...I think considering what you have shown us and what you have explained in your post, it shows some nice potential for growing into a wonderfully fun work. Without any formal training, you have created a interesting little piece which I am guessing is just for fun? Inspiration?
The other day I was talking with an artist who is about 60 . He has made a living with his art which I greatly admired. What he said in response to my question of "What inspires you?" he replied, "I breathe art." Just as a person breathes, I must create." He wasn't lying either or just talking to talk the talk. When I saw the massive amounts of finished works he had, it was truly amazing! I don't think he spends hardly a waking moment without creating.
I think your message could be very well related to that. But Hewligan is correct, in GD it should communicate a message. Maybe yours is not clear enough. Others may chime in here on that, so wait and see.
Critically, we could break it apart and try to improve it, but I'm not sure if you want that yet or are even asking that. Does it look nice? Yes, for where you are at, it's pretty darn good. Will it sell as a let's say a inspirational poster? Maybe not quite yet, but it has potential to go there.
Do you have other drawings? or designs? (It's sort of hard to judge if you have any artistic abilities on one piece.) Don't second guess yourself though based on what people say or don't say. If you have the passion, follow that and try to take in everything you can.
mattbing
09-29-2007, 04:49 PM
i see boobies.
GraphixNPrint
09-29-2007, 05:25 PM
i see boobies.hehe
pretty stars
Listen to hewligan. He should actually get drunk and post more often,lol
teniworks
09-30-2007, 05:32 AM
i see boobies.
I see chickens.
As an aside, I don't think that we can give you an opinion on it one way or the other since you are just starting out, testing the waters and such. I agree with Hewligan. Design should communicate something. Start learning about the principles of design and effective communication and you should be on your way.
vxhorusxv
09-30-2007, 06:17 PM
This currently hungover designer sees the Star & Crescent of Islam on the right-hand side.
Do you think your Rorschach test results are markedly different when you're drunk? I think they might be more accurate =).
SpugNothuson
09-30-2007, 06:21 PM
i see boobies.This was the first image that conjurred up into my mind as well.
It's a great piece of art for hidden messages.
iamallthatiam
09-30-2007, 06:43 PM
hewligan is right. i try to explain that to a lot of people especially ones who doesn't know the difference between a graphic designer and an artist. my fiance show me designs he made all the time and he's actually a very talented designer. i always ask him...what are you trying to say? what is the intention behind that piece of work?
he always shrugs and say he just think it looks cool. it frustrates the living balls out of me. he's slowly getting it though. it also frustrates me that he's a better designer than i am...i'm a little jealous...but i can only hope to practice and get better.
BTW, it's looks really pretty. but what is the aim of that piece. what are you trying to say? trying to tell people? what do you want people to get out of it? if your aim is to make it pleasing for people to look at...you succeed it. that's why i really like design vs art. art is you trying to express your personal feelings and thoughts to the world. design is you trying to get people to see things the way you see. trying to communicate an idea in a fresher way. there is a clear aim in design as oppose to fine art...
Little_Miss
10-01-2007, 12:00 AM
Well thankyou very much to everybody who replied! To be honest, I don't know what I was expecting from that piece, you are all right, it has no clear message. I guess I was just proud of it and wanted to see what other people thought. Its just a poster with a statement, nothing more. But thankyou saying it's pretty, you brought a smile to my face :)
Ive created a few other posters and a shitload of business cards which I will upload soon(er or later) to get your feedback. For now, Ive got this poster which sure, conveys a message, and I know that usually less is more... but does it verge on boring? Is it totally shit?
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee159/mz_lindsay07/STOP-DISCRIM.jpg
Red Kittie Kat
10-01-2007, 12:24 AM
I fixed your tag Miss - this board doesn't accept html code - just use the [img] codes :)
This one does convey a message for sure :)
One thing I see right off though is the N is running off the orange.
GraphixNPrint
10-01-2007, 12:43 AM
<-- going back to looking for the boobies since he does not discriminate...
apples, green beans, strawberries... they are all our freinds! :)
vxhorusxv
10-01-2007, 12:47 AM
Well, this definitely does have a message! =)
I think it would be better served as a one or two color job though without the box around the handprint. I would also consider moving the copy to the same portion of the poster, instead of splitting it by the hand. The handprint is sufficiently powerful to stand as your graphic headline, so that could be the topmost element. Play around with the layout and see where you think things fit. Maybe try some different iterations on the design by thinking about what discrimination is and what it means to be discriminated against. The two biggest associations I have are "separation" and "exclusion". I tend to sketch my iterations, it's faster and I can generally envision enough of it to see if I want to go to an execution stage.
Hope that helps!
Little_Miss
10-01-2007, 03:37 AM
[quote=Red Kittie Kat]I fixed your tag Miss - this board doesn't accept html code - just use the [img] codes :)
Okay thanks! I didn't realise that but ill use the img ones now.
sierng
10-01-2007, 05:16 AM
my hand is bigger. Wooo.
iamallthatiam
10-01-2007, 05:38 PM
you need play around with the order of the piece. it's a good concept and you're almost there. what do you want to be the strongest point of the poster? the hand? or the word "stop"? right now the hand is the strongest point, but it's in the way of the words "stop discrimination". Think of it like this, right now your poster is going Hand (the first thing the audience's eyes fall on) and then Stop...what? so the audience has to search around to find the word "discrimination". You want to guide the audience eyes. Make them follow a path you set.
Play around with it a little bit more. ^_^ You're getting there.
Maybe next time you create something do your own brief before you work out a composition or concept. In "real life" you don't get to choose your project or have your composition/idea dictate what it will be for since, you get a handed what to do from someone else. Here it looks as if you had an image in mind then had the image dictate what the design is about which is a bad habit in the beginning. Take more time drafting out a brief before you start. This way you will actually be solving a visual problem rather then creating something then having what it solved dictated by the compoition or idea behind it- does that make sense?
sierng
10-03-2007, 01:07 PM
The message is clearly either...
High Five
Or
Talk to the hand.
vtwin_gary
10-03-2007, 01:18 PM
on the first piece add another space between live breathe. i found it hard to read.
mattbing
10-03-2007, 01:23 PM
Maybe next time you create something do your own brief before you work out a composition or concept. In "real life" you don't get to choose your project or have your composition/idea dictate what it will be for since, you get a handed what to do from someone else. Here it looks as if you had an image in mind then had the image dictate what the design is about which is a bad habit in the beginning. Take more time drafting out a brief before you start. This way you will actually be solving a visual problem rather then creating something then having what it solved dictated by the compoition or idea behind it- does that make sense?
Taking the fun out of everything since 2005.
Danger_Mouse
10-03-2007, 03:52 PM
The message is clearly either...
High Five
Or
Talk to the hand.
haha ....good ones
I think the hand says very clearly "STOP" quite obviously really more than your suggestions..... especially with the bigger than life word STOP right above it. I don't think that the message is as big a problem as the actual design.
TZ makes a good point above and hit the nail on the head.