Business Card Project 4 Additional Information

For viewers from the CTE EXPO Reflection Journal curious for more more although convoluted information* 

Business Cards of Distinguished Figure

2/12/2018

Visual Design

Task

Planning Phase

Fun Facts

Explain Process

Conclusion and Materials

References

Procedure

I used Adobe Illustrator CC 2017 to design the logos. I used Adobe InDesign to develop my business cards. I got my poster board from a local retailer. I got the business card final copies from the CTE printer. All creative processes were designed by me, Wei Jian.

First up on designing my business cards, I opened up Adobe InDesign. From the program, I clicked on the “New” button to create a new document. Secondly, a new window appeared that allowed me to adjust the settings of the document. I had zero margins for all business card documents and named them appropriately according to the selected business card which I clicked OK to confirm it. For the first business card, I first clicked on the Lines tool to create a horizontal V shape that splits the middle of the document.  I clicked and dragged the mouse from one point across to another to make the two lines that create the horizontal V. Next, I clicked on the shapes tool. I clicked, held, and dragged the mouse across the document while holding shift. I clicked on the Direct Selection tool to form the shape created by the Shapes tool. I clicked on the points of the shape created and dragged the points until it matched the left side of the horizontal V. I clicked on the color panel to have the shape green. After that, I clicked on the shapes tool again to create a new shape that mirrors the right side of the horizontal V.  I clicked on the Direct Selection tool again to drag the points of the shape to fit with the right side of the horizontal V. I clicked on the Adobe InDesign bar to click on File and click on Place to have the Adobe Illustrator logo on the InDesign document. I clicked and dragged the mouse over diagonally downwards and released to confirm the placing of the logo on the left side of the business card, the iconic logo. I did the same step again with a different logo, the text logo and placed it on the right side of the business card.  I clicked on the type logo and made textboxes on the business card. I typed in fake address, telephone number, and name. I saved the first draft and layout. I clicked on “New” again to create a new document. I clicked on the Lines tool. I clicked and dragged a line separating the logo and the information. Next, I clicked on the Rectangular tool from the Shapes tool. I clicked and dragged the mouse from the top left hand corner to the bottom right hand corner to create three rectangles separating the information and logos. I made the rectangles blue, orange, and green. I placed my iconic and text logos in the same place as before. I placed my information like the previous business card. For the third layout, I opened up a new InDesign document. I clicked on the Lines tool. I clicked and dragged a lot to make the zig-zag pattern that divides the middle of the business card.  I clicked on the shapes tool to create a shape that stretches past the zig-zag line. I turned the shape to violet. I arranged the shape behind the zig-zag line by right clicking on the shape and clicking arrange to send to back. I created four new shapes again which I turned into blue, green, light green, and yellow. I clicked on the Direct Selection tool. I clicked and dragged the points of the shapes to match the left side of the business card. I placed down the logos and information just like the last two layouts. I saved my work. I did all three layouts until I had 3 different logos on those three sets of layouts. Finally I printed them for the project.

The assignment was about designing business cards to put on a poster board. There had to be 9 business cards that had to be displayed on the poster board. Same three layouts but different logos. On the poster board, there needed to be the details about the business card. The project board was required to be decorated too.

Now when I started thinking about creating my business cards, I fancied for something that I personally would like to see and create. So I started off with my logos which I wanted the viewer to see at first glance. Since I designed my logos in Adobe Illustrator CC 2017, all I had to do was copy and paste them on to Adobe InDesign to get started on the other parts of the business card. The logos themselves were a pacmanesque-monster with game controllers attached to it and text saying the word “Welegames” for the logo.  I wanted the business card to be about games because I have a strong connection with games. I was thinking of having some information in the business card like address and telephone number to make the business card have more depth. I thought about the layout of my business card and thought about all the possible ways I could design it that came to mind. Complex, simple, colorful, black and white, bland, peculiar, or wacky. I ended up choosing a simplistic design with only a few colors. In the end, complexity is not always better.

1.    You can import designs or projects from Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator into Adobe InDesign so that your work can be more efficient.

2.    This project took more than 3 days to complete

3.    Business cards are lightweight and hand-sized!

4.    The colors you see are a wavelength being reflected off the board and into your eyes.

5.    Not everything you see on this board is exactly to the atomic level symmetrical and/or straight.

First off, I opened up Adobe InDesign from the computer. Adobe InDesign was the program used for designing the business cards. I placed in my iconic logos, textual, and combination logos for my business cards. I placed the same fake address and telephone number on the business card for the information to my fabricated company that I created. Below the fake information, I included my name so that people will know who the designer of the business cards is. I designed the layout of the business cards using Adobe InDesign tools which I copied and pasted the three layouts across my business cards. Finally, I printed the business cards for pasting on the poster board. The typography and type style that I used was Times New Roman because it was the font that I like the most. There were little adjustments to the texts except centering the words and changing the size to size 20 or so. I used the Shapes Tool, the Direct Selection Tool, the Selection Tool, the color panel, and the Line tool to create my business card. The first draft of my layout of my business card was a green and orange background that curved between the middle of the two colors. This showed the varying contrasting themes of the business card. The second draft of my layout of my business card was a blue, orange, and green background that was divided into three sections. This was meant to show the contrasting elements and create harmony in the business card. The third layout of my business card was a violet, blue, green, light green, and yellow layout that looks slightly wavy pressed against each other. This was meant to be stylized in a fun way so that viewers stay looking at the business card longer and enjoy it.

I do not think I did the best that I could during this project. I think that I could have done better in a multitude of aspects. Well for one, I think that I could have structured the layouts better so that the business card layouts are more symmetrical and straight. Another reason is that I could have used better colors for the business card that attracted the eye better.  The current colors are slightly stale and bland to look at. Furthermore, I could have fixed my logos so that the logos harmonized with the layout instead of having white spots where there should not have been. I used scissors, copy paper, printer, computer, glue/tape, InDesign, and Illustrator. I think that draft three layout 2 is the best because the colors contrast well with the logo and each other and has all the necessary elements of a business card.