Week 4

My Designs - "Take 1"


















































In my opinion, the most interesting thing I have done with the layout so far is the Table of Contents page, where I used an actual dinner table in the design. (table in the table - get it? ) I hope it's not too much of a stretch - possibly too creative for this publication, but I'm going for it!

Week 3

My Covers - "Take 1"

Now is when things get tricky...I wonder what Michel Richard is looking for in this design? I know that chefs tend to like white palettes to feature their food. But, since Michel is an artist, I'm sure he will apprecite color done right. I will chose a color palette inspired by yummy food - I have decided on the colors chocolate, buttercream, pumpkin and lima bean. These colors should compliment most any photographs of food we may work with in the future. Additionally, I have decided to use fonts Century Gothic, and French Script. Century Gothic was chosen for it's round, robust shape, and because I know both Michel and Joyce are fond of it. I chose Fench Script thinking Michel will appreciate it.
For my cover redesign, I will use a combination of colors and fonts in the masthead, as well as a colorful food photo on the cover, resembling an abstract painting. My goal is to replace the existing cover design with something intriguing - I want the audience to say " what is that ? " and " I need to find out .." I can accmplish this by using Michel's "Mosaic", which is a beautiful example of food as art.

WEEK 2

How shall I begin to tackle this project? A good start would be to identify some of the major design shortcomings of the previous editions of DC Chefs. Doing this evaluation will give me a better grasp on the major points I need to address with this redesign.
Starting with the cover, I see a lack of drama. I personally do not feel like the image of silverware wrapped in a ribbon captures the drama and passion of the food being presented by the DC chefs. It would be nice to see food on the cover - although I'm not sure how this idea will be received. Joyce and Michel both like the DC Chefs masthead - they like the sans serif Century Gothic font, but, I think the maroon color is depressing, and not very appetizing.
Flipping through the magazine, I encounter many opportunities for improvement, such as - line length, lack of margins, the entire table of contents needs to be reworked (pt size, font, lack of design) - the addition of another contrasting typeface/color would add interest to the pages. COLOR! It would be nice to see a soft background color used in some of the spreads to break up the monotony. I see a lot of room for improvement in the typography department - especially pt size, emboldened type (On the Side), folios (positioning, lack of interest). I would like to brand each chef with his corresponding restaurant logo in an interesting way.

WEEK 1

The prospect of redesigning the entire DC Chefs Magazine is both exciting and daunting. After spending some time reviewing DC Chefs 2006-07 edition and discussing it's design with Publisher Joyce Lavery, Mr Julien and the design team, it is obvious that there is much room for improvement. The ten students in this Honors class will compete with one another to develop the best possible concept - a process that will culminate with a presentation to the AiW faculty, Joyce Lavery, Citronelle's world-renowned Chef Michel Richard (founder of DC Chefs) and a panel of featured local chefs from the publication. Each student will propose a 16-page layout to be reviewed and voted upon. Once a design has been chosen, the team will work together to produce the entire 90-page publication. The pressure is on! Some of the best designers at AiW are working on this project, so if I want to win, I better get to work!