Morgan

Deadline 4:
This spread was by far the most difficult of my previous four. The hardest part was finding captions for all of the photos and getting the names right and trying to figure out what was going on in all of the photos. The thing I like best about this spread is the layout. I like the fact that there is no story and that the photos were able to be large with captions, I think the photos say a lot about each of the trips. I also like the large "WWW" behind the captions, I think it makes the captions look more interesting and adds a side-bar effect. I also really like how all of the pages have different titles, it's kind of like a main caption or theme for the page. Doing this spread I learned how to design a page effectively using only photos. I also learned how to identify which photos make good dominant photos and how to arrange the photos on the page so that they look good and so they all fit. That was another challenge of doing the Week Without Walls pages, trying to get all of the photos to fit on the pages. One risk I took on this spread that I originally was not going to, was making the layout of the three pages different. The first and last spreads have the same layout, but the middle spread has a different layout, which I think helps keep the spreads interesting and unique. I was originally going to have all three spreads have the same layout, but I changed my mind and I'm glad I did. Another risk was putting the "WWW" behind the captions, but I like this and feel that it unites the three pages. One thing I would do to improve this spread now, would be to make the layouts of each of the three spreads a little more different and maybe not make the pages so symmetrical and rigid, although I like the way the pages turned out and find them eye-pleasing.



Deadline 3:
This spread was different from the others that I did, as it was about the construction of the new school as opposed to clubs or other student lead activities. This spread isn't my favorite, but I do like the dominant photo and side-bar, as I was able to incorporate students into the spread as well, even though it was mainly about construction. I think the layout could have been more interesting, but I think that the vertical title was a unique touch. While doing this spread I did not learn many new design techniques, but I did learn several things about writing the story for the spread. For example, I learned interviewing skills and how to write a story about something that hasn't actually happened yet. I also learned how to rotate text for the title and for the phrases above two of the photos. With this spread there were more risks that I could have taken to make it look more interesting, but the heading and subhead added a unique look to the pages and the "?" behind the caption for the side-bar was also a risk, but turned out well. I think one of the more interesting things about this spread that makes it different from the others is what is said in the story and what people say in the side-bar. Knowing what I know now about design, I would have either tried to chose more interesting photos (even though they had to be about the plans) or at least arrange the photos on the page in a more interesting and different way.



Deadline 2:
This spread is one of my favorites, I really liked the way it came out. My favorite part of this spread is the photo above the story, with the head and subhead on the photo. I also like the cut-out runners at the bottom of the page, they make it more interesting. I think the reason this spread is my favorite is because of the quality of the photos and because I took more risks when designing the layout. When I was making this spread I was experimenting with and learning how to do the cut-outs of the photos. I also learned how to make only certain parts of a photo appear in color. With these new skills I was able to use them to make this spread more interesting. One of the risks I took on this spread was putting the cut-outs at the bottom of the page, I really liked the way cut-outs looked on other spreads and wanted to add them to mine. The one thing I would change about this spread now, would be the side-bar. In the side-bar I have facts about the NHS and about the current officers. If I could, I would try to make the side-bar look better. Right now, it kind of looks out of place on the spread. However, I am happy with the way this spread turned out and I still think it is one of my favorites.



Deadline 1:
Even though this spread was my first, I think I did a pretty good job on it. And even though the photos had to be in black and white I think that they look better when they are all one color. The only thing I don't like about this spread, and the only thing I would change is the empty space at the bottom of the page. I should have made the dominant photo larger and moved everything down, this would have eliminated the white space and made the dominant photo more eye-catching. Since this spread was my first "real" spread (apart from the Grass Volleyball), I learned a lot of things while making it. I learned how to crop photos and how to create a box for the captions (on the dominant photo). The things I learned on this spread were important because I used them on all of my other spreads. One of the risks I took on this spread was changing the font size in the "you said" for the side-bar. Another risk was embedding the photo of the dominoes, I like it though because it looked like I zoomed in and took the dominoes from the photo above. It also got rid of some of the blank space.