Design Principle G224 UH

Sooooo… The main project of this class is to create a media advertising piece.  I have a choice of pamphlet or postcard.  Since I already love, love, love www.vistaprint.com ‘s service, I’m definitely going postcard.  I think I also really enjoy the idea of making the front of the postcard only an image so it doubles as a collector’s “mini-poster” for fans, as well as a promotional advertising item.

Week 1: CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

The type of event and artists:

This will be a design detailing the upcoming show of a local band.  The location will be central Florida, the performers can be seen here http://www.myspace.com/victoryboundrival. Basically, it’s four rambunctious young men who have an intense love for music and are about to bust big into the scene.

The name of event:

Victory Bound Rival: checkmate

Target Audience:

• Ages 15-25 (school age)
• Male and female
• Middle class
• Lives in rural/urban areas

Primary message of design:

Fun concert to attend!

Secondary message of design:

Great music!

For this design, I hope to create a poster that is colorful, fun, and exciting.  I want it to be a bit urban and edgy, but still friendly and inviting.  I’ll probably collaborate from one of the boys from the band, but I don’t think it will be an actual event.  I named the concert Checkmate, simply because I think it’s a wonderful term for where the band is in their career right now.  They are right on the brink of being signed and making it “big.”  I wish them the best in this, and I hope this design might spur some interest in more local concerts, so I can go!

WEEK 2: THUMBNAILING

For my thumbnails, I plan on taking photos and making a photo montage using Photoshop and illustrator.  Each image will be realistic but with exaggerated color and striking tones.  I want my design to include each of the band members, since the target audience will soon associate the band members to their music and shows.  Since my target audience is middle class teenagers, I want it to have harsh shadows and highlights.

I plan on making the photos realistic, but with almost a fantasy type feel, like many of the movies that are so popular to today’s middle class teen culture.

I really like the idea of doing a postcard that is 5 x 7.”  I know a website, vistaprint.com, where I can have these printed for cheap.  I’ve used illustrator to do these thumbs, but keep in mind they will be all made with real photography that we will shoot.  Each of the thumbs has some type of theme.

TOP LEFT: This thumb will have the faces of all the band members poking their heads through a mass amount of bubbles.  Each band member will have some type of facial attribute also made out of bubbles, like a mustache or exaggerated beard.  I think the contrast of the bubble with the faces would be instantly attention grabbing but still fun.

TOP RIGHT: This thumb will have a dark stormy sea and a dark stormy sky with the 4 band members dressed Cpt. Ahab style in nautical gear.  The thing that makes this design unique and fun is that the boat will actually be a large red umbrella.

MIDDLE LEFT: This thumbnail is a bit more complex.  Each band member will be dressed as a real life representation of a chess piece: knight, king, queen, and bishop.  They will be standing on a huge chess board with rooks in the background.

MIDDLE RIGHT: This thumbnail doesn’t have as much of a theme, but I think the simple design would demand to be flipped over if you saw it on the ground.  The front of the postcard would be completely white except the tops of the boys’ heads.  They each have crazy awesome hair, so they would still be recognizable.

BOTTOM LEFT: This thumb will feature two girls playing chess, almost leaning in to kiss.  One very feminine, the other a bit rocker.

BOTTOM RIGHT: This postcard design will feature the guys all wearing black shirts and blue jeans.  On their faces though we will paint eyes right above their mouths, so it looks like little faces.  Each face will house a crazy expression.  Maybe on their shirts we will have the info for the event.