Project: Invitation Design

Terminology: Thinking Creatively Exercises by Robin Landa
Resources:
Graphic Design Solutions by Robin Landa
Thinking Creatively by Robin Landa

Exercises:
Questions to the Client
Research Exercise

Instructions: Select a score for each outcome below based on the following scale:

Performance Objectives: (Things you will be able to learn...) and Criteria (This is how well it has to be done...)

1. Research the target audience, demographics, and budget by...
a) asking the client specific questions during meetings
b) submiting a creative brief

0 1 2 3 4

2. Research and collect examples of...
a) well designed invitations or advertisments
b ) professional designs that clearly show the graphic design principles in action
c) research color, line, shape, texture, value and typography

0 1 2 3 4

3. Create a design that expresses the mood, personality, spirit and / or theme of the event through creative concept, imagery, and typography.

0 1 2 3 4

4. Create a design that either...
a) invites interactivity (ie: is not immediately thrown in the trash).
b) makes the receiver of the invite "think"
c) makes the person laugh
d) shows "intelligence" in the creative approach
e) shows artistic, graphical, or typographical control in the design through the use of materials and design elements
e) shows "wit" (ie: good sense; the ability to make clever remarks in a sharp, amusing way.)

0 1 2 3 4

5. Submit a styleboard for each of your rough designs that...
a) show thinking as it relates to the design principles
b) state the objective and your creative strategy
c) clearly shows an industry example
d) clearly shows creative usage of typography
e) clearly shows usage of a minimum of 3 design elements
(ie: color, line, shape, texture, value, spatial depth)
f) is linked to the roster page with your rough design

6. Create a concept for the invitation that is the foundation of the advertising message; it answers the question, "What's in it for me?" and promotes the benefit through the creative solution or headline.

0 1 2 3 4

7. Communicate concept / composition using thumbnail sketches that ...

a) Are fast and not detailed

b) Uses ideation techniques such as the "Creative Techniques Listing" or the "Thinking Creatively" text

c) Allows yourself to brainstorm and record every whim, even the bad, dumb, overused,
inappropriate or impractical ideas in order to get to a unique idea

d) Drawn in proportion to the dimensions of the finished piece

e) Conveys an entirely separate or different creative concept

f) Shows emphasis, balance, rhythm, unity

g) Shows use of Gestalt principles: similarity, proximity, continuation, closure, figure/ground

h) Conveys composition, sizing and position

i) Exhibits flexible visual thinking

j) Shows the relationship between graphic elements

k) Shows general shapes of graphic elements

l) Indicates various design approaches. Ex: Graphic, Illustrative, Photograhic or Typographic

0 1 2 3 4

8. Develop creative design solutions that demonstrate effective use of the formal elements of design
by incorporating the following into your rough designs...

• line
• shape
• color
• value
• texture
  
  0 1 2 3 4

a) Determining the relative importance of every section of the client's text

b) You will have chosen a method of emphasis using size, boldness, italics, font choice, spacing, alignment, kerning, etc.

c) You will have indicated the visual weight of elements by careful rendering or varying the stroke weight of lines.

0 1 2 3 4

10. Devise and apply grid systems to visually organize and communicate information by using graph paper, software rulers, column guides, and margins

0 1 2 3 4

11. Identify and utilize the principles of design...

• balance
• emphasis
• rhythm
• unity
  
  0 1 2 3 4

12. Create the illusion of depth by...

• overlapping imagery
• varying the size of shape, type or imagery
• using color to have elements recede or come to the foreground 
  
  0 1 2 3 4

12. Communicate refined concept, detailed composition and typographic formatting using tight roughs that...

a) Work off of one of the previous thumbnail sketches
b) Are drawn in proportion or actual size
c) Convey type choice
d) Convey type size, spacing and leading
e) Indicate usage of color
f ) Convey photographic or illustrative imagery
g) Create each rough as an entirely different creative concept
h) Are computer generated

0 1 2 3 4

• using image manipulation or illustrative software to create original artwork
• researching copyright free photographic imagery
• researching copyright free illustrative imagery

0 1 2 3 4

14. Assess your work and make appropriate revisions by...

a) gaining peer feedback at the rough stage
b) gaining peer feedback at the digital comp stage

0 1 2 3 4

Suggestions for improvement: