Ryan Gerhardt: Final Wrap Up Post

For me, the original reason that I took the class was because it was a requirement in Newhouse. If it hadn't been, I'm not so sure I would have chosen it. However, I'm glad it was a requirement. While this class has been a lot of work, a lot of it is pretty fun most of the time. Plus, I think it was good to have developed some skill and familiarity with these programs. I am quite technologically illiterate and was scared of most of the software when we started out. Now that I'm leaving the class though, I feel that I have a decent grasp on how to use most of it even if I'm not as proficient as I probably could be.

Being an advertising major, I'm sure some graphics knowledge and ability will come in handy when I get into some of my upper level courses and out into the real world. Like I said, some of the projects such as the magazine project I found to be fun and may even take another graphics course at some point. (so long as it is graded very leniently). If nothing else, I now know how to make a pretty cool looking resume.

lilianchan_resume

Rationale

Name: Lilian Chan
Project: Woodmark & Resumé
Date: September 20th, 2009

Visual message
The design that I was going for in my resumé was a clean and minimalistic one to showcase a little bit of my personality which is simple and fuss-free. The woodmark was not overly intricate which complements the overall design of the resumé perfectly. The section headers and body text are lined to follow the contact details on top making the whole text structured in the center of the page therefore giving a balanced and neat look to the resumé. The key look to the overall design of the resumé is meant to give the impression that I am someone who is well-organized and systematic in her work.

Audience
The resumé is intended for perspective employers who are in the magazine industry, specifically magazines catering to women’s interests.

Design strategy
The woodmark was purposely designed to not be over the top as to implement a style of simplicity. The woodmark sits at the top left of the page and is bigger than the rest of the text in the resumé so that my name ‘pops’ out and may be easily remembered. The woodmark is a combination of two typefaces: for ‘lilian’, Avenir LT Std. Light was used because it seemed to have a very professional feel to it and it was also easy on the eyes whereas for ‘chan’, ITC Isadora Std. Regular was used because it created a feminine touch to the my name which was suitable as I am greatly interested in writing about women’s interests. The ‘h’ from the ‘chan’ that circles the ‘i’ from ‘lilian’ bonds the two names together to show that I am serious about my work although the field is entirely about women’s interests. The ‘lilian’ and ‘chan’ are in different colors too because I prefer being called by my first name rather than my last name. However, all the letters in my name are in lowercase because although I am professional and serious about my work, I have an easy-going nature. The body text follows the main design of the woodmark - section headers use ITC Isadora Std. Regular with the same tinting percentage as the ‘chan’ from the woodmark whereas the rest of the body text are using various types from the Avenir typeface family.

Style sheet
Woodmark: lilian - Avenir LT Std. Light, 60/72
chan - ITC Isadora Std. Regular, 60/72, 60% tint
Contact details: Avenir LT Std. Light, 9.5/14.4, metrics
Section headers: Avenir Lt Std. Light, 12/14.4, 60% tint
Body text: Section titles - Avenir LT Std. Blk, 9.5/11.4
Section details - Avenir LT Std. Light, 9.5/11.4
Dates - Avenir LT Std. Light, 9.5/11.4, 60% tint

Document grid
Top margin: 3pc0
Bottom margin: 8pc11
Left body margin: 5pc6
Right body margin: 7pc9

Ryan Gerhardt Resume Project

I used two serif fonts for my resume. The wordmark and sideways headings are in Monotype Modern Std. Extended and the rest of the text is in some variation of Adobe Jenson Pro. Not having a lot to put on a resume, I thought that this was the best way to fill the white space. Let me know what you think, just don't be too honest. Haha.

Visual Message: The main thing that I was trying to convey through the design of my resume was professionalism. Having little suitable experience meant that I had to convey in a different way my ability to work in a business and professional setting. The wordmark is very large and offset with especially the “R” and “G” being very strong and professional looking, almost like company initials I think. The wordmark also provides a nice frame in which to set the body of my resume. The overall design may be slightly simplistic, but I did not want to clutter the page suggesting that as a potential employee I would have difficulty narrowing my focus.

Audience: As I am not currently sure as to where I would like to work, I tried to create a resume that would be acceptable in most business settings. I am a political science major as well as advertising and I think the professional look of my resume would be suitable for a law firm and government office or even the administrative side of an advertising agency.

Design Strategy: My wordmark creates an instant presence on the page, since there are no immediate words or marks around it. I think the initials of my name create a strong anchor and frame from which the rest of my resume flows out. The initials are also quite heavy, just like the names under my headings, suggesting importance for things such as my job positions and school. The actual headings themselves I feel are less important and only for direction, which is why they are sideways and gray. The two typefaces, Adobe Jenson Pro and Monotype Modern Std. Extended, complement each other very well I feel. Monotype Modern Std. Extended is a little more difficult to read when it is small but is also very professional looking which is why I only used it for the wordmark and headings, being things that are larger font. Adobe Jenson Pro for the body I feel complements very well mostly because stylistically they are similar looking and both serif fonts, but Adobe Jenson Pro is much easier to read as a small font making it more practical.

Style Sheet:

Wordmark Initials: Monotype Modern Std. Extended, 80/96, optical kerning, no tracking

Wordmark body: Monotype Modern Std. Extended, 30/36, optical kerning, tracking +15

Address & E-mail: Adobe Jenson Pro Regular, 11.5/13.8, optical kerning, no tracking

Section Headers: Monotype Modern Std. Extended, 18/21.6, optical kerning, no tracking

Body Headers: Adobe Jenson Pro Bold, 13/13.5, optical kerning, no tracking

Place Names: Adobe Jenson Pro Regular, 13/13.5, optical kerning, no tracking

Dates: Adobe Jenson Pro Italics, 13/13.5, optical kerning, no tracking

College Name: Adobe Jenson Pro Bold, 11.5/13.5, optical kerning, no tracking

Body Text: Adobe Jenson Pro Regular, 11.5/13.5, optical kerning, tracking +20

Document Grid:

Top Margin: 4p2.393

Bottom Margin: 6p2.25

Left Body Margin: 4p8.557

Right Body Margin: 8p9.75