Category: aad610_14

Marketing, Media, Communications learning reflection

1. Gain knowledge about fundamental graphic design theory so that I can articulate what it is about a certain design or layout that does or doesn’t work.

The design books and Eric and John’s guidance in class were all really helpful for learning more about this. I definitely feel like I have much more vocabulary and fundamental ideas to approach this. 

2. Become familiar with design software like Illustrator, Photoshop, and Indesign to be able to create collateral when need be.

This has definitely been fulfilled. The hands on instruction that we received through the variety of projects was instrumental in my understanding. There’s a lot to be said about “learning on the job,” and I feel that I have a much deeper understanding of these software. 

3. Gain comfort in standard sizes and expectations for things like logos, business cards, brochures, and posters.

I definitely got this as well not only through what we talked about in class but also through the graphic standards projects. Actually doing was a really helpful application that provided deeper knowledge than just hearing about it. 

4. Widen my knowledge of type faces and type-related terms to increase the efficacy not only of my designs, but also my reports and papers.

I would have liked to receive more guidance on fonts and some general rules on why to choose which specific types of fonts for which specific purposes, though I do feel like I know more now than I did before. I’ve always been interested in fonts, but I still feel like I choose fonts based on how I feel about them rather than based on any rules. 

5. Try to get a little bit better at visual arts. I’m such a performing arts kind of guy and I really want to push my boundaries.

I definitely feel like I’ve accomplished this. With the graphic design knowledge that I’ve gained, I feel like I have been able to produce some visual arts that I’m proud of.

Poster and Display Ad

Here are the poster and the display ad for Prince Pückler’s. Because they’re both rather minimal, I didn’t have the need to change the design elements when I resized the poster down to display ad size. The size I chose for the display ad was the Eugene Weekly 1/4 page square (4.75″ x 6.667″).

Poster

Display Ad

PLE

Here is my personal learning environment based on one of my favorite leisure activities: baking!

PLE

When thinking about how to characterize my learning environment, a recipe was one of the first things to come to mind not only because I love baking and using/manipulating recipes but also because it actually was a good representation of how I best learn. Like a recipe, my learning environment consists of a variety of different aspects that must be combined in different proportions to optimize my learning and the enjoyment thereof. From there I analyzed what the different ingredients in a simple recipe – classic chocolate chip cookies – accomplish and how those roles correlate with the various “ingredients” of my learning.

Flour: The substance – Flour is the base of a huge amount of dessert recipes. It’s rather flavorless but totally crucial. In my PLE, this represents that tools that I use to gain a lot of my base knowledge: books, google, wikipedia and the like. Not always the most glamorous or interesting, but totally essential for gaining foundational knowledge.

Sugar: The sweetness – What is dessert without sugar? The represents what I would call “leisure learning,” or things that I really enjoy learning about and consider learning about them a hobby. Two of the big ones in this category include Duolingo and Lang-8, both of which are language learning sites. I am really passionate about learning languages. One of my undergrad degrees was in Spanish, and I grew up in a multi-lingual family (though English was the main language spoken at home). Because classical and choral singing is one of my passions (and will appear in a later category) I was exposed to a huge breadth of different languages from old Latin to Swahili, and learning about the words that I was singing about always interested me. These days, I use these sites to gain deeper understanding of languages that I only have cursory knowledge of. The Oxford English Dictionary is in this category (though many would probably put it in the flour category) because English was my other undergrad degree and studying the English language brings me a lot of joy. Finally, Khan Academy is on there because I’m using it to start learning very basic coding, which is essentially like learning another language.

Butter and eggs: The texture – Butter and eggs, either in combination or separately depending on the recipe are big determinants of the texture of a dessert: whether something is cakey, doughy, gooey etc. I defined texture in my learning as things that influence my learning from the outside world; how does gaining broader information texture my  understanding of my own world? Most of the members of this category are my favorite news sites: New York Times, NPR, and BBC. I also put the classical music station in Eugene, KWAX, in because I feel like it textures my learning in its own way. Instead of giving me glimpses all over the world now, it gives me a glimpse to a specific part of the world farther in the past. Plus, it’s great study music!

Baking soda: The form – Baking soda is so important because it helps to make some desserts rise and shape into the form that we know and love. Thinking about form, I thought about where much of my learning takes form. Right now, the main place it does is here in AAD. As a student, my learning takes form in all of my classes and doing all of my work, and as a GTF for the department it takes form in professional applications of past experiences and skill development. I also put the design software in here because design really does fall under the categories of professional development and skill building.

Salt and Vanilla: The brightness – If you miss adding the little bit of salt and/or vanilla that a recipe calls for, you’ll probably still have a pretty good dessert, but it will taste somewhat one-dimensional. For me, these are the things that enrich my life and learning so much that I don’t feel complete without them: aerial dance, reading, and singing. Circus arts are probably my biggest passion and what keep me sane throughout the year. There’s something about the combination of strength, flexibility, and balance with a touch of adrenaline that helps to clear my head, train my body, and focus my spirit. Reading is a wonderful way to escape from the realities of life and visit, for a short time, a completely different world and live a completely different life. I’ve been a singer my whole life and singing always makes me feel centered. Creating music is such a soulful act that, like the others in this category, fill me with light.

Chocolate chips: The fun – If there are any chocolate chips left by the time you have to add them to the batter, they make a great addition. “Fun” might not be the best word for this, because most of the other ingredients in this PLE are fun in their own way. These are my procrastination, slacking, and all-important break tools. Sometimes, you just can’t read another chapter or another article or do anymore research and you need to veg on the internet, stalk some high school friends on Facebook, play a round or two of Mario Kart, or shoot fireballs into the horizon in Skyrim. I think playing hard is just as important to learning as studying hard is. Besides, can you imagine chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips?

Collateral

Here’s the logo, business card, envelope, letterhead, and fourth piece of collateral for Prince Pückler’s:

Logo:

Logo v4-1

 

Business Card:

Business Cards

 

Envelope (front and back):

Envelope

 

Letterhead:

Letterhead

 

And the fourth piece of collateral (ice cream cups):

4th piece

Learning objectives

Somehow, I missed the boat on the learning objectives for Marketing, Media, and Communication. Luckily, I still remember what I was hoping to learn around the time that I started the class, so recreating this list wasn’t too difficult.

My goals are to try to:

1. Gain knowledge about fundamental graphic design theory so that I can articulate what it is about a certain design or layout that does or doesn’t work.

2. Become familiar with design software like Illustrator, Photoshop, and Indesdign to be able to create collateral when need be.

3. Gain comfort in standard sizes and expectations for things like logos, business cards, brochures, and posters.

4. Widen my knowledge of type faces and type-related terms to increase the efficacy not only of my designs, but also my reports and papers.

5. Try to get a little bit better at visual arts. I’m such a performing arts kind of guy and I really want to push my boundaries.

Prince Pückler’s Media Inventory

This post is going to be a bit short because I cannot find all that many media channels that Eugene’s favorite ice cream shop participates in.

1) The Website: http://princepucklers.com/
This site has most everything that one would want to know about the company: its hours, weekly specials, menu and prices, a few photos, locations where Prince Pückler’s ice cream is sold, and a few (out of date) news stories. Ice cream is a pretty simple product to sell, and their website really gives an adequate amount of information: nothing too frilly.

2) The Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/princepucklersicecream?fref=ts
The facebook page is similar to the website, though it features less regular information such as the comings and goings of various specialty or seasonal flavors (egg nog is in, fresh strawberry is out). As well as some photos (many repeats from the website), general hours, contact info, site URL and other such information. Again, a simple product with a simple facebook page. It is nice that this does give pretty regular updates about the special flavors that one might be able to find at the shop.

3) The Twitter page: https://twitter.com/PrincePucklers
I was actually surprised at how lively the twitter page is. Like the Facebook page, it lists updates on seasonal flavors as well as pictures of nice-looking cakes and sundaes. The really nice thing about their twitter page is that all sorts of people post on it from UO Students all the way up to Senator Ron Wyden. It would seem that we all scream for ice cream.

4) T-shirts
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As it seems that Prince Pückler’s has little to no advertising presence, these t-shirts are probably doing the heavy lifting as far as printed collateral is concerned. The logo and tagline leave a bit to be desired, but the visibility that these provide is pretty great. Nothing like a bunch a walking billboards to advertise your ice cream!

First logo draft

Here’s a first go at a logo. I like the graphic but the location of the text is still in question. I’m questioning where it’s going to end up on the collateral. The extreme different sizes of the words “prince” and “pückler’s” is very problematic. A design conundrum indeed…

For a good color version click here

Here’s the mysteriously neon colored one:

Logo v3