my open door.net » Critique

upside logo roughs

opendoordesign — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:52:43 +0000

Here are my roughs for a new Upside logo. Upside is a non-profit architectural studio at the University of Tennessee focusing on education and neighborhood development in under served communities. David Fox directs Upside, and this semester Upside is focusing its efforts on a short stretch of Magnolia Avenue just south of Cherry Street in East Knoxville.

By now I’ve had a few meetings with David Fox about his Upside architecture studio and their current Green Magnolia project, and I’ve offered to design an identity for them and work with some Pellissippi Media Technologies students to design a presentation package.

My favorites are the two in the upper left. Please leave comments below with your preferences.

Mini Campaigns

opendoordesign — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:51:57 +0000

My Design II students have designed these mini campaigns for national brands ranging from financial to non-profits. Which are the most appropriate, creative, and potentially effective? Students with the most votes will select a team and create a complete campaign based on these designs. Who will be promoted to at director and who will be looking for a job? Help decide! Leave a comment with your favorites and the reason for your choices. On Monday I’ll post the winners.

Amanda McCathern: Amnesty International brochure | billboard | print ad
Deigha Anderson-Davis: Amnesty International campaign
Anastasia Williams: Amnesty International campaign
Ashlee Reed: Morgan Stanley envelope | direct mail | billboard | print ad
Ashley Meiers: Neiman-Marcus button | direct mail | billboard
Brenna Smith: Amazon direct mail | print ad | web banner
Brock Litton: Nikon hanging mobile | print ad | web banner
David Mullinax: Nikon print ad | direct mail | flash banner
Sarah Davis: Morgan Stanley print ad | brochure | billboard
Franny Priestley: Morgan Stanley print ad | tri-fold brochure | billboard
Jason Smith: Nikon web banner | print ad (part 1) | print ad (part 2)
Jerrica Dickenson: Amazon print ad | billboard | web banner
Michael Chandler: Volt print ad | direct mail | billboard
Mike Doty: General Motors brochure | print ad
Megan Singleton: Amazon web banner ad | print ad | billboard
Ryan Jean: Amazon billboard | direct mail: outside | inside | print ad
Cordelia Norris: Neiman-Marcus brochure | brochure | print ad | gift card
Daniel Hallquist: Neiman-Marcus campaign

Update: As of Monday, the winning mini campaigns are from David Mullinax, Amanda McCathern, Deigha Anderson-Williams, and Jerrica Dickenson. Now they are selecting creative teams to present their full campaigns on December 3.

Books are in Bloom

opendoordesign — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:22:12 +0000

It’s the end of the semester, which means it’s about time for a new group of student book projects. My students download the text file for a public domain book from Project Gutenberg, then design and typeset the whole things using Adobe InDesign. This semester I’m expecting more classic books than ever. Pellissippi’s library is planning to use the best projects for e-books, and to print copies to add to the collection. Union Printers have donated a poster proof. I’ll be adding new titles to the download page as I get time.

Students ordering hard copies of their book need to go to the lulu help center. Our books will be 6 x 9″ paperbacks. First, get a page count by adding all sections together, then use the cost calculator to figure the cost, next use the spine width calculator to figure how wide your spine should be (we designed them at a 1″ default.) Finally, adjust your cover layout, upload your PDF files, and order your book.

The photo in my poster design (detail shown) is by Ove Tøpfer.

Holiday Greetings from Theo

opendoordesign — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 02:54:57 +0000

Finally finished my Christmas card for this year. The design is inspired by the paintings of Piet Mondrian and the design work of Theo Van Doesburg, originator of the De Stijl movement. I’m planning to record an audio greeting, including my favorite Christmas short story about selfless generosity. I’ll hand-construct some CD wallets with this image, and hopefully I’ll get around to uploading a PDF formatted for slimline CD cases. In the meantime, here’s the audio book download page on LibriVox, and here’s a link to the text version on Gutenberg. And to all a good night!

Student Book Designs

opendoordesign — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:02:10 +0000

There you have it—the latest book covers designed by my Design I students. Now they are designing the complete text after downloading it from Gutenberg.org. They have begun the challenging process of designing up to 300+ pages of text using chapter titles, folios, and all the other elements of a book. In another week they’ll have a complete downloadable ebook, so check back.

Update: 12/10/07. Ebooks uploaded today.

Holiday Card Redo

opendoordesign — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:21:45 +0000

OK, So I changed my mind. The card design I put up yesterday seemed kind of flat, and too much like an ad. These are “message” cards that advocate generosity during the holiday season, hopefully without being too didactic or “preachy.”

Update: I entered the “volunteer” card and it was juried into the exhibit, along with one designed by my students Ken Van Dyne and Kitty Garland. Check out the whole exhibit online.

Ho, ho, ho O. Henry

opendoordesign — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:31:23 +0000

I just finished my design for the AIGA holiday card competition. This is Verizon meets “Gift of the Magi.” I began with the pocket watch and lock of hair from the story, but struggled with how to include text. I finally hit on the idea of updating the love story of broke urban newlyweds by having them text message each other just before discovering that each has sacrificed their most prized possession for the other.

I like the subversiveness of hiding literary references in a product shot. OK, so Thanksgiving is in two days, and the Christmas season is now officially here. “And now suppose you put the chops on.”

Energy Independence Posters

opendoordesign — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:16:56 +0000

Members of my Design I class were to design a poster to promote energy independence. They did their own research and chose their own concept and approach. Click on each student’s name to see a PDF of his or her design.

Ambir Somirs
Anastasia Williams
Chris Hughes
Cordelia Norris
Mark Friebus
Ryan Jean
Tara Ferrell

Ad Campaign Pitches

opendoordesign — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:39:09 +0000

Today my Design II students presented their ad campaign pitches. Each student was assigned a brand for which they created an ad campaign idea. Click on the links below to see each student’s work. Students may leave three positive comments as votes for their favorite ad campaign ideas. The top three designers by votes will become the art directors, choosing a team for their ad campaign and presenting their campaign at the end of the semester.

Civil War Photostream

opendoordesign — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:41:03 +0000

My Intro students continue to produce strong work from assignments related to our common book. Since we are reading David Madden’s Sharpshooter, a novel set in Civil War East Tennessee, I assigned students to shoot and upload to Flickr photos of Civil War sites in and around Knoxville.

Many of them began by visiting the Fort Sanders exhibit at the McClung Museum. After getting their bearings on places and events from the 1860s, they set out with their digital cameras. Click the students’ names below to view the photographs.

Amanda McCathern, Angela Lowry, Rebecca Higdon, Deigha Davis, Sharon Bowie, Ashlee Reed, Franny Priestly, Craig Newman, Ray Bishop, Kayla Clark
Theresa Homsher, Josh Seaman, Jeremy Presnell, Rebecca Gunnells, Bethany Watson