Design Matters is Armstrong Atlantic State University's premiere Graphic Design club - a student organization. We are open to any AASU student interested in graphic design. We will discuss matters of design.
Why? Because design matters.
Hey guys,With the first summer task having come to a close, I decided I would step up and present the next challenge. Diana mentioned maybe making some things for the Block Party but until we meet up to discuss, I'd like to continue having projects to work on. Without further adieu:
Summer Task #2: Web Site Design
Let me preface this task by saying that your web site design, in no way needs to be functional on the web. A simple JPEG of your conceptualized design will suffice.
Here are a few examples to help you get inspired:
The actual site can be whatever you want it to be. A website for a band, a blog, an online store, anything goes.
Think about Typography and Graphics (images). These days, graphics play a huge role in website design. Remember that you have certain liberties that you might normally be restricted by with print media. Really look around and see what makes certain websites stand out from others.
Let's say that submissions will be due on July 12th. That gives you 9 days to come up with a design. I know this is less time that the previous task but, given that it's summer, I feel like it should be enough.
Okay, so it's been a long time. Summer started a while ago, and I'm sure by now, many of us have wrested some form of laziness or enjoyment from it. I know I have gotten both.
But, if you're up to it, it's time for Design Matters' first Summer Task. There are optional assignments that you can choose to do to have a little fun, challenge yourself, or learn something from. I picked this first medium because I absolutely LOVE poster art, especially the famous gig poster.
A "gig poster" for the uninitiated, are those posters you find at venues or on telephone poles that advertise a concert or performance that is coming at a later date. There's really no boundaries here, as gig posters come in all shapes, sizes, colors and styles. Some are deconstructed, some could be considered high art-- it's all up to you.
I'll try and put some examples down here for you to look at.
Got those gears rolling? Here are some guidelines:
Style: Limitless. Dimensions: Anything, within reason. (Most gig posters are manageable paper size, not billboard big.) Additional Elements (Things to consider): Many gig posters have, in addition to the main act name: additional support band names, date of show, venue name and location, time of show start, price of ticket, venue website.
Put it all in, leave it all out, it's up to you. There really are no restrictions on this one, so just have a day.
Final submissions will be due... let's say... by June 30th. (Send them to designmattersaasu@gmail.com) That gives you TWELVE days, so try and do something that pushes you in a couple areas you haven't ventured in.
Well today was the official last day of the semester. We laughed, we cried, we worked hard to get this club started. So what better way to end the semester with a bang! As a sign of thanks to everyone's contributions to Design Matters, we're having a pizza party next Wed. (May 7th) in the conference room of the fine arts building at 12:30 pm. Food and items will be supplied by the lead reps, so all you gotta do is bring your behind and a stomach! Hope everyone manages to make it. Design Matters wouldn't be where it is without any of you.
So best of luck with finals, see everyone next week, and as always, happy designing! ^_^
Hey guys, here are the minutes for the meeting held on April 9th, 2008.
* Speakers-(If you know people, ask them if they'd like to talk about their experiences int he design field, graduating, taking commissions-- ANYTHING! At least, ask them if they'll write a post that we can post on the blog.)
* Contracts/Work-(Need to figure out prices, what we can and cannot do, and how we'll agree to do it. If you have any experience with this, please help us out!)
* Portfolio-(We're working on making a Flickr account for the club, so send in your design work, layours, art... anything you want to show off, and we can start building on our blog, and shedding a spotlight on what we are capable of.)
* AASU Day-(We can't pass up an opportunity to continue the momentum we've built up after the Outdoor Arts Festival. Let's do everything we can to make our booth at AASU exponentially more killer than our first. There's a booth design contest, and I think we can easily win that with all the things we can bring to it, and the people we know. We're looking to use what worked from the Festival, and apply it to AASU Day-- such as greeting cards, popcorn, and brownies this time, instead of cookies. If you have any ideas, please let them be heard!)
* Club Strength-(While looking forward and planning for festivals and fairs is great, we need to focus on other stuff too. What work can we do, how can we get our name out there, and if we have nothing to do, let's find a way to keep keen and keep ourselves busy with design. Be it critiques, club contests / challenges, or more. Mrs. Horne suggested shopping our name out there, and possibly taking on one project a semester for the school board or the community as a pro-bono (no pay) piece, so we can make ourselves known.)
* Welcome Back! Bash-(This was our last meeting of the semester, but that definitely doesn't mean we're finished for the summer. For our first meeting of the next semester we're planning to do a "Welcome Back! Bash" for our club members-- old AND new. All we have planned right now is to bring in design / artwork that you've done over the months of break, so we can see what people have been up to, and some food to liven things up. Naturally, we want to celebrate what very well may be the last year for some members, and hopefully the first year at Armstrong for others.)
And most importantly--
SPREAD THE WORD & LET US HEAR YOU.
Please e-mail us at DesignMattersAASU@gmail.com .
We really want you guys to have a hand in where this club goes and how it grows, so don't pass up that opportunity.
~LX.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sup folks! We had a great time this Saturday at the Outdoors Art Festival. We wanna thank all of our members for attending if not to at least stop by. This weekend's success couldn't have been done without any of you....and speaking of success:
The club earned a total of $132.17 to be exact!!!! Great job everyone! Not a bad start for our debut. Not bad at all! Mrs. Horne also said we received a lot of great feedback on the manner in which we conducted ourselves at the booth: very professional. Be sure to check out the pics Alex just dropped too. Lets keep up the good work, and until next time, Happy Designing!
Raphyel M. Jordan
The Outdoor Arts Festival: A Recap! (The pictures are linked through my blog, so you might have to click through to see them larger.)
As many of you know,
We’ve been slowly trying to gain some momentum, creating a foundation to build upon, and it all came to a head this weekend. Our first public showing at the Armstrong Annual Outdoor Arts Festival. We put some of our work up, showing what even the few of us are capable of. We sold some designer cookies, popcorn, and greeting cards. Take a looksee:
There you’ll see our President and Vice President in front of our awesome board of accomplishments, where we sat, doing our damnedest to show what we can do, and trying to entice any passerby and staff members to let us do their next business card or letterhead— or anything else!!
You’ll also see our cookies in the final stage, Chris has a bunch of pictures of our troubled but successful making, baking and frosting of them.Not bad for our very first attempt, I’d say!! We made 39, and we sold 35, and only a few of those we bought ourselves. :p
Hey, they looked (and were!) delicious!!
Besides that, there are also pictures of all the greeting card designs we had for sale… not QUITE as popular, but definitely still worth the effort. As well the popcorn machine we rented. Even at 50 cents a bag, we made a killing with it.
Speaking of which,
All in all, we made about 133$, and raised a fair amount of interest in our services— which is FANTASTIC for our first showing.
I think many of us were expecting to be absolutely bored out of our collective minds, but I actually had a lot of fun. A lot of that is due mainly to the people that comprise our humble club, I’d say. There was much laughing, and smiling, which I’m positive was good for business. Chris and I had the foresight to bring sunscreen and bug spray for everyone, which I’m sure also made a big difference. :p I can’t remember another time in which I spent a good 3 to 4 hours in the beating sun and not coming away like a blackened lobster.
Aside from all that...
Some of the performances were definitely notable, and one act had most of us ROLLING for about an hour. PuppetPeople sent over a Pirate to entertain us, and he was hysterical. He ran around giving people lessons on how to speak like a swashbuckler, putting his massive hat on people, and making them say “Yar” and “Yo-ho!”
Even here, pictures are sometimes stronger than words, so check him out:
There he is, running up and down the aisles, making idle buccaneer banter with most of us. In the pictures, you see Mrs. Horne, a fellow member as much as she is our advisor and mentor; and Raphyel getting shown the finer points of the pirate’s life.
It’s not the best video, but it still makes me titter— at one point, music was playing for one of the other kids’ performances, and the pirate busted out into some KILLER moves.
Yes, that’s me giggling like a little girl in the back.
I honestly couldn’t contain myself, but anyone who knows me is aware that inability to control my laughter is a bulletpoint that defines the entirety of my character.
Aside from that, Chris went out for a break, and came back with a totally sweet moustache. I guess when you can’t do it yourself…
That other thing on his cheek is “Optimus Prime with a bowler hat on.” What an imagination on that guy. Everyone knows Optimus only wears feather caps. Silly.
