What's Next?

Now that daunting question looms overhead as the guidelines of class are lifted and you are set free into the unpredictable world. What path will you take? It is a bit scary to step into the unknown all alone. Fortunately, life is not about how many mistakes you make, but how you use those mistakes to your advantage. So you ask, "Will I have the drive to bypass obstacles? Will I be creative enough to turn an unfavorable situation into an asset? Is this really what I want to do with my life?" The decision is tough. Most of the adult American population can testify to that. You just have to believe in yourself, your abilities, and make as many connections as possible. Get hands-on experience while you're young to help you fine-tune exactly what kind of career you want.

It's My Turn

Currently, I am taking the initiative to get as much experience in communication and public relations as possible, because who knows what I'll do after graduation. But in the long run, I wouldn't mind ending up here in Louisiana, using my creative juices for a local orgainzation and enjoying good-old Southern hospitality. As of now, I hope to begin working on a new lifetime goal to help people realize how much this state has to offer through visual communication and public relations, and do my best to make Louisiana even better.

Check out these sites and you'll be well on your way to falling in love with the unique culture and styles of Louisiana!

• Inside Northside Magazine
  
• Louisiana Travel
  
• NOLA:Everything about New Orleans
  
• Louisiana.Gov
  
• Louisiana State University
  

Becoming a Critical Consumer

As I look back at my expectations for this visual communication class, I am quite pleased with how things have turned out. After a bit of stress and many hours spent staring at a computer screen, I understand the world of HTML and web design a lot better than I ever imagined I would. I have fine-tuned my layout-designing skills by creating a newletter, and I even learned a bit about photojournalism. I have developed an eye for good design, and understand why some things work and others just don't. Now that I know most of the rules of visual communication, I can enjoy the help they provide, but also have a bit of extra fun discovering creative ways to bend those rules. Instead of just buying into advertisements and layouts, I am able to look at them more objectively and understand some of the tactics the creaters used in the designing process. Most importantly, I have learned to be a critical consumer, a skill I will use for the rest of my life.

The stress is almost over as the semester comes to a close, but I'd like to highlight a few key points that I have discovered are crutial elements in effective visual communication.

Tips to Live By:
• Be clear and consice - Whether you're designing navigation for a web page, writing copy for a brochure, or creating a catchy ad, clarity is key to get your message across quickly and efficiently.
• Don't lead people off the page - Create leading lines that draw the viewer in. Make sure photographs always lead toward the text.
  
• Perservearance is gold! - Things don't always come out the way you want them to so just keep trying and playing around until you find something that really works. Then the most important part: stick with it!
• Last but not least...SAVE every time you make a change!!! - I just happened to be extremely lucky and was able to salvage my lost material, but unfortunately for most people, they have to learn this lesson the hard way!

P.S. Here are the links to a few websites that I found helpful during this class. You might find them just as valuable!

• HTML Goodies
  
• Digital Storyteller
• New York Institute of Photography
• Ron Reason: Newspaper Designing and Creativity

Print Me a Piece

In print, there are various methods businesses and companies use to communicate their products and services to employees and the general public. Three of the most basic methods are advertisements, brochures, and newsletters.

Ad Enticements

First of all, advertisements are everywhere. This is because they are usually not as expensive to produce as newsletters and brochures and also do not take as much time to produce. Advertisements provide a way for companies to spread word about their product quickly to a wide audience. This is crutial to the success of businesses because if people don't know about their product, they can't buy it! But because there are so many advertisements out there, a good ad must catch people's attention. The average person does not spend much more than a few seconds looking at an advertisement; therefore, ads must be very clean and consice! A good way to make your ads more effective is to make sure they are fresh, bold and innovative.

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Handling Brochures

A brochure is a quick pamphlet that should not bog a viewer down with information. Still, it should explain just enough that the reader is inticed to want to learn more. Brochures are like in-depth advertisements, often double-sided and have a pleasant blend of pictures and words. People spend more time looking at a brochure than an ad, but it is still best to present information consicely. Use bulleted lists to give quick facts or answers to commonly asked questions. Brochures are handed out frequently, but cost a lot of money to make, especially when they are printed in full color. So when designing a brochure, make sure the information it presents will be current for at least a year or two if not longer.

www.riversidemediagroup.com

Mini Newspapers

Finally, newsletters, are used to give much more in-depth information to people. For example, companies distribute newsletters to their employees to let them know what's going on in the company. Newsletters can also help document a company's progress through the years. Unfortunately, because they are not as essential as advertisements or brochures, newsletters sometimes fall into a trap of becoming very boring and dull. Keep your readers awake by designing layouts that are interesting. Also, try to incorporate pictures other than the typical "hold your award and smile for the camera" shot.

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The Gritty and the Glossy

Newspapers vs. Magazines

Newspapers are meant to give people the most current news and information in a format that is quick and simple. Because so many copies are distributed daily, newspapers also seem to be easily dispensable. They are printed on very thin paper and only cost $0.50-$1.00. Newspapers are meant for a very general audience, but many incorporate special sections to attract readers who aren't interested in hard news stories.

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Magazines, on the other hand, take much longer to design, and are generally read for leisure. They are printed on higher-quality paper with a glossy finish. Also, magazines are printed monthly or quarterly instead of daily. They range in price from $2.50-$5.00. Magazines contain feature-oriented stories. Unlike newspapers, who set aside sections for special topics, magazines cater entirely to a certain audience. For example, Car and Driver is geared toward males interested in automotives. Teen Magazine is marketed toward young teenage girls. Southern Living is produced for home and garden-lovers.

Advertisements

Both newspapers and magazines use advertisements as a way to make money, but they have two different approaches when it comes to placing ads in layouts. Ads in newspapers can sometimes take up an entire page, but more often, they are small and are placed right next to stories. Contrarily, magazine ads usually take up an entire page or even a double page spread. Also, magazines often have a section for smaller ads in the back.

Within a Layout - In the image below, notice how advertisements for the Grand Cherokee Golf Course and Attorney Greg Williams are incorporated into the layout of the newspaper page.

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A Page of Its Own - This magazine ad for Walnut Hill dance academy takes up an entire page, is printed in full color, and is more design-oriented.

www.flickr.com

Color and Size

Yet another difference between newspapers and magazines involves color and size. Magazines are printed in full color, can have hundreds of pages, and rely heavily on their creative layouts to attract readers. On the other hand, newspapers only print special pages in color. They also have fewer pages, but those pages are triple the size of a magazine's. Besides front page spreads, newspaper layouts are generally filled with a lot of copy in the form of several stories. Both mediums are consistent in their use of fonts and headline treatments to make sure that an entire work fits together smoothly. In the end, the most important thing for both newspapers and magazines is that readers can easily understand the content and enjoy the design.