Design assignment take 2

Now that we talked about Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity and you have a bit more experience with good design, let's try reworking the Peer Resources flyer one more time.

Information to use

The document needs to be an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. You have all of the copy. Go crazy.

Week 14 -- Welcome December!

1. A interesting read from the NYT magazine this weekend. Why Women Can't Let Sarah Palin Go touches on why women struggle to support her and eagerly hate her. What do you think of the opinion presented in this piece? There are some excellent similes used to describe Palin. The author is also quite honest in her own feelings about the subject. Does that skew the overall impression of the piece?

2. This is a RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME READ!!! from Andrew Miller. It is long, but so worth the read. It's about a man who tried to hide from the internet for one month. As Andrew noted, the point of view is not consistent. Why do you think that approach was taken? Seriously READ THIS ARTICLE!! IT'S THAT GOOD!!

Week 13

1. This is from Sara Morgan: A great article about the UC budget cuts and rising tuition costs. This is a great piece news-wise as the cost of a UC education is going up. But, something to consider is the cost of the UCs is still considerably less than other equivalent schools. Is the rising cost of in-state tuition a problem? Will that drive more people to private schools? Will that force the UCs to go the route of U of Oregon -- take more out of state students to balance the cost cuts?

2. Gifts are useful; give me cash: Jamie actually brought this article to my attention for the catchy lead. The subject is interesting, but it's the lead that really makes this piece stand out. What are your thoughts on this style of lead? Catchy? Misleading? Makes you want to read on? What kinds of Voice pieces could we use this for?

3. Precious & The Blind Side: This is a fabulous compare and contrast piece by NYT reviewer A.O. Scott. He looks at both films, their coinciding release dates, and the social commentary they make on African-American life. How does A.O. Scott establish his credibility? Does he succeed in making comparisons between to the two films? What topics might Voice writers be able to take on using this format?

4. A late edition after I went through Saturday's Times: Far Away From Field, N.F.L. Blog is a Player. This is a great piece on how a blogger got himself on the football map. He's done some great things -- trying to become a 24/7 football source -- but has also made some mistakes along the way. Is this the future of sporting news, die-hard fans getting enough attention to make national news? Will this eventually compete with the more standard idea of news?

Share you awesomeness!

Week 12

Two articles I suggest more for their content than their amazing style. Just made me think .... always good.

1. Teachers selling lesson plans to make money. Public school has mixed feelings about teachers making some extra cash. What do you think?

2. Lobbyists influence lawmakers and this time it's on official record. Eek. You would think in a time when all public record is reviewed and inspected, lawmakers would be a bit more original. Not so. What's your take on this situation? Especially since this involves the health care reform.

One more design project

Information to use

The document needs to be an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. You have all of the copy. Go crazy.

Edition 4 Article Ideas

Please post your ideas for the second edition of the year. Be sure to read the other ideas BEFORE you post your own. You can elaborate on another person's post (with a citation, of course). Be specific and try to format each idea as such:

Article Idea:
Must interviews:
Why will people want to read this:

Article will come out January 7. We will close this edition BEFORE December break, but will hand it out the first day AFTER break.

Week 11

1. A fantastic piece on Nelson Mandela. What's compelling about this? The subject. A great read about a great man.

2. Ask a Fourth Grader. That's what ESPN magazine did in a Pittsburgh town. This is a cute fluff piece with a good angle. What do you think of this video? Is there a fun issue like this we could cover at MA? Are you smarter than a freshman? Smarter than a SF dweller? Smarter than Travis?

Edition 3 — Friday's in-class work

Typography powerpoint — please watch carefully as you will have to utilize this information in your own design project.

Typography assignment — due at the end of class

How to make an InDesign document

Some other hot tips about InDesign: palette 1, palette 2, palette 3

Edition 3 Editor Goals

Please post 3 goals you have for your section. Reflect on the last edition, areas where you have the most to improve and areas where you're doing great work. These goals can be design related, deadline related, or anything else. BUT, make sure these are measurable, outcome goals.

Headlines, please

Please post your article headlines here. Make it clear what your article is & what section it belongs in. Please post 3-4 options ranging from 30-50 characters in length. Remember, spaces count as characters.

Week 10 — Welcome November

1. Here's an interesting piece from the Wall Street Journal about alimony (payments one spouse makes to another after a divorce). This may seem like a somewhat adult article, but I was struck by the tone created by the interviews or lack thereof. hhhhmmm. I've talked about editorializing, but can you skew an article with a selective usage of quotes? Is there a bias present in this piece? If so, to what side oes it bend? If not, how does the writer maintain objectivity with such a heated topic?

2. An interesting read from Slate Magazine. It's about the Northwestern pilots that missed the airport, among other things, and about distracted driving. Where are we headed in an autopilot world? What do you think of the format of the argument? It draws heavily on news from other sources. Does that work well? Is there a smooth flow to the piece?

Share your insights, brilliance and wisdom.