Communication Artifact

I was in charge of the poster for our design project. We created a media outlet company called Ruzzix. Because word document is so limited, I decided to draw out a rough first draft of the poster. In this first draft I didn't know what our logo was going to be so I simply had Ruzzix on the top. To give a general idea of our company, I included Southern Utah's first premier media outlet. To add energy to the poster I did faded lines across the page. I also want to incorporate a picture or two involving different outlets for creativity like computers and art supplies. This will draw more attention to the poster and provide some insight as well.

Me and Kayla got together and collaborated with her logo design and my idea of the poster to create the final image. We were pleasantly surprised how similar our designs were and how easily they fit together. The intention of the poster and logo was to be simple, professional, and recognizable. For the font we wanted something bold and "clean." Instead of using the yellow fade across the entire page, we moved it to the bottom half of the page to create a contrast. We also incorporated photos that demonstrate what we focus on as a company.

Color scheme:
C: 0                 C: 0              C: 5              C: 5
M: 5.8             M: 29           M: 0             M: 0
Y: 20               Y: 100          Y: 0              Y: 0
K: 0                 K: 0              K: 80           K: 100

Mad Max: Fury Road (Makeup/hair)

Lelsey Vanderwalt won the 2016 Oscar for her hair and makeup work on Mad Max: Fury Road

1. War Boys

• White body chalk to help identify them but also provides the gestalt principle of similarity
• Heat/scar damage on bodies and face (some intentional)
• Black face paint applied differently on each war boy

2. Furiosa

• Furiosa's black forehead war paint
• Eyes pop and enhanced checkbones
• Shaved head 

3. Challenges

• High tempertures
• Intense scene
• Cast numbers

Design Presentation

I've selected two movie posters to demonstrate good and bad design qualities. The movies are based off popular books, and both target a similar age group. I have seen and read both of the books and movies, in which I have a favorite in each category. The Host is my all time favorite book but I thought they butchered the film, along with the poster. Mockingjay, however, I didn't necessarily like the book, but I did love everything about the film, including the posters. I'm using these examples because both of them had potential to be great, but only one was executed right.

The good
The poster for Mockingjay part 1 is an excellent example of good design. The contrast between the darkness and the light shining on her back is striking. The texture of the armor looks strong and smooth, and the wings are symbolic to the mockingjay, in which she represents. The Gestalt principle of simplicity also comes into play in this poster. Because The Hunger Games franchise is so well known, the poster doesn't even include the title of the film. The simple silhouette of Katniss Everdeen is enough to create an enormous reaction from fans. The fact that the poster doesn't even show her face is a brilliant design choice. The mockingjay pin symbol at the bottom of the poster provides a pop of color and draws your eye to the date in which the film was released. I also love the fact that they didn't include a quote by a critic but instead used words spoken by Katniss in the first official teaser trailer for Mockingjay part 1.







The bad

The Host being my absolute favorite book I've ever read, I was more than disappointed when I saw the official poster. The lack of creativity is alarming, and gives little to no information as to what the film is actually about. The poster is almost identical to the twilight saga posters and if that's not obvious enough, they also provide a sentence stating that the author of the twilight saga also wrote the book in which this film is based off of. Even though they tried to hint that the    alien theme by showing the blue ring in her eyes, it is simply overlooked because of other distracting elements. The blue and orange colors clash and create a confusing setting. The only clear adaptation in the entire poster is the love triangle between the three characters. If the poster would have just stuck with the beautiful simplicity of the book cover (right photo), it would have been successful.

Contrast, Balance, Harmony

This photo is meaningful to me because it captures the beauty of Fall. I have always enjoyed the changing of leaves and weather that this season brings. My favorite holiday being Halloween, this photo also represents the magic I feel this time of year. I took this photo from my Pinterest, and with it came this quote by George R.R Martin, "We read fantasy to find the colors again, I think. To taste strong spices and hear the songs the sirens sang. There is something old and true in fantasy that speaks to something deep within us, to the child who dreamt that one day he would hunt the forests of the night, and feast beneath the hollow hills, and find a love to last forever somewhere south of Oz and north of Shangri-La. They can keep their heaven. When I die, I'd sooner go to middle Earth." This quote compliments the photo brilliantly, pushing the viewer to open their mind to fantasy.

Contrast in this photo, I believe, comes from what is real and what is not. The hand looks very real, even providing some texture from the skin and hair. The leave, however, is not real and is the reason the photo is deemed as fantasy. There is also contrast between the out of focus background and the clearly in focus hand and leave. 

Balance in the photo comes from both the bright and dim lighting. It looks as though the image is 50% light and 50% dark. Although most of the bright and dim lighting resides at the top or bottom of the photo, I think it provides even more balance that they are a little mixed within. 

Harmony is the way the photo perfectly combines both real and not real elements. The tree image in the leave gives a sense of belonging and family. The leaves blowing off the main leave represents the new breaking away from the old. The true beauty in this photo is the imagination that is triggered when looking at it.

 

Visceral Response

This photograph is stupefying to me because it represents one of my favorite movies. In the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Shire is my absolute favorite location. I instantly feel a sense of excitement, happiness, and peace when looking at this photo. It also reminds me of my dad, who shares the same love for the films as I do.

This photo would not have the same effect on me if it wasn't for the colors. The green is definitely the most prominent color in the photo, representing life and type of purity. The yellow paint breaks up the image and compliments the green perfectly, while the brown provides a nice border between the two.

The horizontal and vertical lines in the photo are not completely straight, which makes the photo seem all the more whimsical. Because this photo was taken on a angle, the lines (even though a little curved), all seem to be going in the same direction. I specifically love the lines on the wood because it not only adds texture, but it also provides a nice contrast between the softness of the grass and the roughness of the wood.

There are many shapes visible in the photo, all of which contribute to a very specific look. The small, round door is uniquely used to give a sense of fantasy. The triangle window on the door breaks up all the roundness going on and provides an inviting tone to the already welcoming image.