Interesting idea for incorporating your illustration. A few things I would change; I like the idea behind flowing the text around the plate image, but the pull-quote under it (I believe that's what the orange text is?) is very small and squished into the other text and the image, so you may want to play around a bit more with spacing that out/sizing up the text. I might also make the byline (by Tracie McMillian) in the orange frame around the portrait smaller, so as to better fit into the frame.
Carl – when you squint at this portrait, do you see the heavy thin red lips? I think they are too dark, and possibly too thin. It looks like there is red lipstick on this person. Lighten that significantly and the portrait will be done!
Page 2 – The columns on the left page should be aligned together top and bottom. You can start a paragraph at the bottom of a column… it looks like you are trying to avoid that. Why?
Page 3 – You are indenting paragraphs AND adding extra space between them. Can’t do both… that is too much contrast and it is cutting up your page. So remove the extra space between the paragraphs but keep the indent. Then – pull that plate into the middle of the page, centered between the columns. Add more type wrap around it - especially at the bottom, so there is good amount of white space to hold the quote. Don’t let that quote run out further below the sides of the plate illustration. It should sit in multiple lines right below it… with plenty of negative space between it and the body copy.
Have you looked at magazine page layouts lately? A lot of what I am suggesting to you is common sense, and can be seen in publication design everywhere. Pay attention to what you are seeing and reading Carl, and you will become a better designer.
Interesting idea for incorporating your illustration. A few things I would change; I like the idea behind flowing the text around the plate image, but the pull-quote under it (I believe that's what the orange text is?) is very small and squished into the other text and the image, so you may want to play around a bit more with spacing that out/sizing up the text. I might also make the byline (by Tracie McMillian) in the orange frame around the portrait smaller, so as to better fit into the frame.
ReplyDeleteCarl – when you squint at this portrait, do you see the heavy thin red lips? I think they are too dark, and possibly too thin. It looks like there is red lipstick on this person. Lighten that significantly and the portrait will be done!
ReplyDeletePage 2 – The columns on the left page should be aligned together top and bottom. You can start a paragraph at the bottom of a column… it looks like you are trying to avoid that. Why?
Page 3 – You are indenting paragraphs AND adding extra space between them. Can’t do both… that is too much contrast and it is cutting up your page. So remove the extra space between the paragraphs but keep the indent. Then – pull that plate into the middle of the page, centered between the columns. Add more type wrap around it - especially at the bottom, so there is good amount of white space to hold the quote. Don’t let that quote run out further below the sides of the plate illustration. It should sit in multiple lines right below it… with plenty of negative space between it and the body copy.
Have you looked at magazine page layouts lately? A lot of what I am suggesting to you is common sense, and can be seen in publication design everywhere. Pay attention to what you are seeing and reading Carl, and you will become a better designer.