GRA361 Web Software: Dreamweaver Starter template project

First website built in what feels like FOREVER! Working with Dreamweaver's starter pages along with basic HTML/CSS.

Certainly won't win any design awards with this site, in fact, if I saw this site on the web, I'd want to gauge my eyes out, but I'm still happy with how smoothly this project went.

Check it out: http://graemethedigitalmediaartist.com/uploads/GRA361/index.html

GRA310: Final Modern Typefamily Brochures

 Feedback from my professor was relatively positive, so only a few minor changes. The knock out type point size was reduce to a size that's more appropriate for body text. The body text examples were nudged to the right to prevent the text from falling into the gutter and I added the name of the type families to each of the brochures.

GRA350: Crowne Plaza Hotel & Resorts: Final Print

With feedback from my professor being generally positive, we managed to discuss a few minor changes to be made. I scaled the logo way down in order to draw more attention to the image and the headline. It also allowed me to make the headline type larger and open up the image size as well. The body text was also moved up in place of where the logo originally was before so that readers see the information right after the image/header.

Finally size: 7.5x9 inches

GRA320: Photoshop Composite

Working with the "Refine Edge" tool in Photoshop. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes a rather powerful tool to use. Also working with photo filters to give it a warmer feeling.

GRA350: Crowne Plaza Hotel Ad: Initial Concepts

For my Production Design course (GRA350), we were tasked with designing an ad for the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The layout is 7x9.5 in, the images had to be converted from JPEGs to TIFFs, we had to convert the colour profiles from RGB to CMYK and apply any colour corrections to the photos.

These are the 3 concepts that I came up with:

Concept #1: Hotel themed design (Interior of the plaza)

Concept #2: People themed design

Concept #3: Hybrid design of the previous two designs; both people and hotel images. This is the one I'll most likely re-tool for final submission. I like the interactivity of this design; the headline: "we've been expecting you..." paired with people who look like the hotel staff ready to serve you.

GRA310: Modern Type Family Brochures: Revised Concepts

Modified the Bodoni brochure cover; I think this design is better. Added a stained paper texture to all the designs. Although these are "modern" typefaces, their history dates back 200-300 years ago. I went with the knock out type throughout all 3 designs because I feel that it makes a design bolder than black text on a white background.

After finally deciding on a cover for the brochure and after eliminating "widows"...

GRA320: Photoshop Manipulations

So after 2 weeks of Photoshop class (Software Training), this is what we've covered; mostly a review of what we looked at last semester.

For this assignment, we had to change the colour of the car from green to red/burgundy using the "Colour Range" option, re-touch the sign post out of the picture to improve the composition, adjust the colour cast on the bus windows, blur the background while keeping the car in focus using layer masks, apply colour corrections to the photo using adjustment layers (non destructive edits) and desaturate the background and vignette the image to help improve the focus on the car.

Before

After

This one is a personal photo of mine, I took it at the Toronto Zoo. This was our first project; pick your best photo and apply all the corrections/skills we learned in semester 2 to make the image even better. Basically the car image followed the same process as this image did. The hardest part of this project was clone stamping in the beak so that it appears infront of the branches, instead of behind them.

GRA310: Modern Type Family Brochures: Initial Concepts

Initial layouts/designs for the "modern" or Didone type families. I chose Bodoni, Didot and ITC Fenice for my brochure designs.

Typography Mind Map

Found this awesome mind map regarding typography. It's a good way of looking at choosing appropriate typefaces for specific projects. Check it out here: http://urbantaster.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/soyouneedatypeface.jpeg