Final Deliverable: Amish Print and iPad Magazine Layouts

I can't believe Type 2 is already over. There is still a vast field of knowledge that I still don't know. I already miss Marty and her feedback, but thankfully she has a wonderful open door policy.

This project has been really... fun. I have an inexplicable love for print - especially long form print. (I have done several 30 + page programs in the past) Developing a consistent set of rules for a whole body of work - digital and print - has been a great experience that will be applied time and time again. Luckily, I found a good set of rule early on and enjoyed seeing the rules bend from spread to spread to screen.

For my print layouts, I wanted an open yet structured feel. The decision to make the magazine landscape was to allude to the wideness of farm land. I kept the magazine clean and structured because my audience is older and "more educated". My magazine, after all, is Down Home Science Quarterly. I basically created this magazine with my Grandpa in mind. He lives 30 minutes away from Amish country, lives on a farm himself, but still subscribes to Time and Science magazines (he has a masters in Chemical Engineering or something else ridiculously science-y). Basically - the juxtaposition of the intellectual who appreciates simplicity.

Where I struggled the most with the print was integrating the infographics from Visual Communications. I feel that the information is only vaguely related and the sizes just seem awkward and almost ruin the cohesiveness of the spreads. Perhaps my own views of the infographics limit my ability to see them purely in the magazine layouts.

Mock iPad Magazine - Down Home Science Quarterly from Samantha Kearns on Vimeo.

I am always excited to explore motion and learn new software, so the iPad portion was enjoyable. Because translating my rule set to the screen was fairly simple, I chose to explore more than one iPad interaction. I found some great video footage that I really wanted to use -- so I did.

I'm still frustrated with the opening spread. The footage glitches in the keynote presentation, but not in the exported version. Further, the exported version that is self sufficient has awkward pauses due to how it exported. Those are merely technical issues though. I did find some workarounds, but still... I wanted perfection!

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Overall, this semester has been really amazing. I have had way more successes than failures and I truly feel like I am starting to come into my own as a designer. The style of teaching Marty employs really is starting to click in my head and it is helping me propel forward at an unchartable rate.

I won't lie, I'm ready for a rest, but coming back for Type 3 isn't all that scary.