It is my redesigned logo.

My final, stylized logo was meant to give Cicero-North Syracuse's existing logo a new look. Of the four I designed in Illustrator I chose to complete this particular logo because it most closely represented what they considered important, the high school initials. I decided to give my design a more concise look by rounding the corners of the stars to emulate the curves of the text. Overall I think the new design is more polished looking than their existing logo, which appears almost too harsh to be representing a high school.

It is logolicious.

I chose my boyfriend's high school as the foundation for my logo project. Cicero-North Syracuse is located in Syracuse, New York and is "Home Of The Northstars." Their school colors are blue and green, even more specifically, cobalt blue and a slight variation of turquoise. The logos found on their website seemed quite outdated and unconventional, which is why I chose this school over any of my own previous schools.

Their existing logos:

My sketched ideas:

Developed ideas created in Illustrator:

It is a metaphor.

Vector image created in Illustrator to metaphorically explain the elements used in composing a graphic.

It is a wine I would drink.

For this week's critique I chose to observe packaging particularly on an item of food/drink. I think it is extremely important to consider the promotion of an item of consumption maybe even more so than other every day objects. I can certainly attest to the notion of being visually attracted to an unknown item that weighs heavily upon my decision to purchase said particular item. Specifically when choosing a bottle of wine, considering I am not well versed in the vast culture of what is considered a "good" wine or even what pairs well with a given meal. The most intriguing aspect I look for when shopping for wine is which bottle has the most appealing label, which I find to be a natural instinct. That is why I have chosen this bottle among the many I came across online, it is certainly one I would pull off the shelf for my own consumption.
This label is set off nicely against a black bottle which I'm sure denotes the night sky, which allows the physical elements of the bottle to be pulled together in this very simple aspect. The white and silver text repeats this element of elegance through a very mature typeface as seen on the wrapper and the silver color is seen again at the top of the bottle and on bottom of the label which acts as a pleasing weight for your eyes to rest on. It separates the label from the bottle and allows the important text (name and type of wine, description) to stand out from the rest. The celestial image reinforces the name of the wine, Celeste, in a very determined manner which is known by the brightest star hanging right above the most pronounced word. The placement of the image carefully envelopes the text which allows an appropriate use of proximity to be present. The silver color scheme acts as a representation of fantasy or stars, it's contrast against the darker colors certainly draw attention to the bottle. Overall I think this label and bottle is very successful in marketing a probably luxurious wine in a fairly simple manner.

It is my revised self portrait.

I took into consideration the ideas given to me during our critique and added more "doodles", rearranged the layout and finely edited a few exisiting elements to complete my final self portrait.

It is my self portrait.

February 11, 2009.
Original.

It is an artist's self portrait.

Julie Heffernan
Self Portrait as Post Script
2007

Julie Heffernan is an American artist currently living in New York City although by looking at her paintings one may certainly think otherwise. Her lavish figurative and still life work echoes the style of a 17th century artist but provide very modern context in the delicate details that her paintings possess. Much of her work symbolizes a combination of contemporary issues such as feminism, gender issues and motherhood. She is probably most well known for her self portrait series, all of which are said not meant to be literal self-portraits but rather “vehicles to examine memory and to tell a story about the life of the mind, imagination and myth.” In an interview with Insight Online Heffernan said, "...but I don't drive or steer the work to any particular outcome. For me, it's about tracking these pictures in my head that I derive out of a process called image streaming." Her work is extracted from a very psychological locality that gives greater meaning to what each painting as a whole represents. "Before I'm actually sleeping, as I relax and get out of the conscious mind, pictures will flood into my head, kind of like a movie," Heffernan also stated in the interview. This approach to her work is clearly depicted in the subject matter, technique and composition of each piece.

Self Portrait as Post Script clearly encompasses Julie Heffernan’s overall achievement as one of today’s truly unique working artists. It defines her uncommon approach to the common subject matter in a style that seems somewhat forgotten in our society. This image in particular is quite enchanting and I must agree with critics that have called her work “downright haunting.” The black background provides an even darker feel for the already obscure subject matter of a large dress fashioned out of dead animals. However, these elements work together in providing continuity for the impression of mortality. As a self-portrait, all of these elements represent something to the artist and although I don’t understand the overall meaning of the animals, I think they add an even greater depth to the artist’s intention. The flowers accommodate the continuity of natural elements found in this scene, they add feminism and also aesthetically act as a good example of repetition. I think the palette of colors used was very appropriate and certainly add to the feel of darkness that I believe she was trying to convey. Unfortunately I was unable to find detailed information about the artist’s life but what little I did discover about her work and approach to her art seems to hold true in this painting. I am very intrigued by her style and can relate to her definition of a self-portrait, that it should encompass elements that make up and define the self, which she has interestingly done here.

It is an unfortunate self portrait.

Perhaps I should revise my 2009 resolution list and add in there "learn how to draw." Yes, I think so.

It is Tim Walker.

I thought it may be appropriate to base this weeks critique on a photograph as we have just finished up our unit on photoshop. In trying to decide what kind of photograph would best be discussed, a few fashion photographers came to mind. I wanted to find an image that spoke graphically and also portrayed the concepts we spoke about in class. Many fashion photographers create images that display all of these design qualities with the added advantage of beautiful people as their subjects. My chosen image comes from London-based fashion photographer Tim Walker which, however, doesn't fit the image of a beautiful model but rather a striking subject of a purple horse. While the majority of his work stems from the fashion industry and does incorporate people/models, all of his work possesses the same high end, detail oriented, romantic feel which I think even this image represents. It is very simple in that is merely a horse standing in front of a wall of flowers, but the use of colors creates an entirely new persona for the subject. The forceful purple horse is toned down by it's complimentary color green which is used as the backdrop. The rule of thirds applies outstandingly to the ground on which the subject is standing, it allows your eye to rest on the subject without denying any sense of space. The flowers present an added element of surrealism and extravagance while still keeping the overall image quite simple. I think this is a very basic example of Walker's work, it still possesses a high grade of quality but works quite well even as a stand alone image. I'm most fond of the overall eccentricness, it's quirkiness speaks loudly to me...but perhaps I'm just naturally drawn to the weird.

Check out more of Tim Walker's work.