I chose to promote Charleston Race Week. This is a yearly event that occurs in April and draws crowds from around the US and Canada. In designing this postcard, I wanted to incorporate a picture with meaning for the audience. The picture I chose is simple with dull hues of blue and green but also represents the thrill of sailing, which will captivate my audience of sailing enthusiasts. When it came to adding text, I wanted to make the red in the picture pop, so I used a similar shade of red to create a box for the date. Usually these types of postcards/ flyers go out yearly, so although the event itself is important, I really wanted to focus on highlighting the date because I feel that it is the most significant piece of information. I layered the numbers in the box so that it would look like the whole thing is intertwined and connecting, which adds an element of motion. I chose the lettering for the words “Charleston Race Week” because I wanted something retro but with its own character. This font fits that idea because of the small lines that make up parts of each letter. They are subtle because they are so thin, but all together, they add an element of interest and complexity. Since this is an all day event over the course of a weekend, I included days, but not specific times because I felt the purpose of this flyer was to catch the reader’s interest and entice them to seek more information. This is also why I included the website address to direct them to the event’s website.

This concept was one of the hardest for me to choose a design for. From the start, I decided to design a flyer for a florist because I love the idea of floral arrangements and flower bouquets. The only hard part was combining those ideas with a business flyer that was supposed to convey relevant information while also attracting customers with its design. Earlier this week, I came across an advertisement that used the pink shape I adopted for my flyer to create a focal point for text against a larger picture. I liked it so much that I created my own in Photoshop, copying and mirroring the shape to create more of a rounded, unified image and a larger place to put text. I then placed it into InDesign and used it as a background for my text. Finding the right place on the page for my information was somewhat hard because I wanted my flyer to be simple, yet appealing and eye-catching. After I placed my text, I played around with a sold background, but soon decided that placing an opaque image in the background would look the best. I have always loved peonies because before they bloom, you don’t think they will amount to much, but over time they spread out into layers upon layers of small, soft pink petals. I wanted to highlight my favorite flower, so I chose a painting of a peony to be a focal point and background of my flyer. I figured that nothing sells flowers better than flowers themselves, and that the best way to capture the attention of my audience would be to appeal to their sense of sight. Aside from including the relevant store information—name, location, hours, and phone—I also wanted to have a tagline that got people interested. I played off the familiar saying “stop and smell the flowers” by saying “stop in and smell the flowers,” inviting customers in to my store to see what we have to offer.

For this particular design process, the first thing I had to decide on was the music genre. After thinking through the possibilities, I decided to create a cover that represented a Jazz musician. To do this, I wanted to incorporate a strong graphic as well as strong text to illustrate my genre. I knew the aged piano keys would be perfect when I first saw them because they were subtle but could provide a strong focal point for the cover. I also liked the shadows and the fact that the picture fades into a dark background because I knew it would provide me with a perfect place for text that would stand out. The album title is the most important piece of text because it relates the overall message of the artist as well as the songs that they have written, so I wanted to choose a text that was sophisticated as well as representative of the album title. I played around with the sizing and spacing until I was able to find a way for the two words to connect and flow together in one unified element. The text and images I chose are sophisticated which makes them more suitable for my intended audience, which to me consists of men and women middle aged and older. The piano keys speak to more those who are more mature because they show age and character. Similarly, the black and red painting on the back cover relates to a more refined audience who is appreciative of finer art as well as the type of music my cover represents. In keeping with this same cultured tone, I specifically created each song title to represent something with soul that showed the life experiences of the singer. I also created a simple record label out of a single shape, a blue diamond, and careful arrangement and selection of text. Overall, I feel that the graphic elements, as well as the fonts and words come together to create a unified piece of work that speaks to my intended theme and vision.

For this project, my main goal was to incorporate all of the information (the Hollywood menu items) in a clean and easy to read way while still adding creativity. To help with readability, I used columns to divide the page into sections to help break up the large amount of text and information that needed to be included. I also used the concept of tabs and a lead for the menu item headings and prices. This helped the menu flow better and also helped to further divide it into easy to read sections. After reading the sketch ideas from the client, I tried to incorporate the simplicity they stressed while also sticking to the theme of Hollywood. I used a “Hollywood” looking font/ paragraph style for the headings and stuck with “red carpet” colors throughout the menu to maintain that look. I also thought it was important to break up some of the text with pictures, so I spotlighted a menu item by placing a picture underneath it. Overall, my goal was for the menu to be simple but also captivating and aesthetically pleasing at the same time. The white text pops on the red background while the golden-yellow accents soften the overall look of the menu.