Document Design
*Assignments Completed for ENGL 6618: Document Design
Assignment 1: Found Document Analysis/Design Glossary
Minor Assignment 1 served as an introduction to the principles of design and identifying those elements at work. This assignment, completed in Microsoft Word, is a visual analysis essay of a found document. The analysis includes a working definition of design, a description of the found document, and an analysis based on the principles of design utilized in its presentation.
My background research included developing a definition of design through close study of design scholarship, incorporating readings from James Elkins, John Heskett, and Robin Williams. An additional source includes a 2012 TED talk by book cover designer Chip Kidd.
The found document is the book jacket for David Sedaris’s 2018 release of Calypso. The book jacket designer is Peter Mendelsund. In this analysis, a strong emphasis is placed on the design working in tandem with the content of the book, a position voiced by Kidd in his TED talk. This approach also allowed my examination of each of the principles of design as they relate to the book and its author as a whole. The analysis includes a discussion of contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity as they are used in the Mendelsund design.
Although this was a text-heavy assignment, visuals were included for example purposes to convey the usage of the principles of design described in the analysis. The overall analysis and conclusion is that of Mendelsund’s effective use of design, which I found to be reflective of the author’s personality and the book.
The background knowledge I gained from the Found Document Analysis was an excellent foundation for Major Assignment 1, a design glossary focusing on five principles of design. This was the first assignment completed in Adobe InDesign and was not only a vehicle for demonstrating understanding of the definitions of the principles, but also an opportunity to put them into practice.
I researched information for this assignment online and employed the use of visual examples ranging from iconic brand logos to website design. Integrating the visual examples with the researched material was an exercise in applying principles of design to the overall layout of the document. The five principles explored were contrast, alignment, hierarchy, color, and proximity.
The definition of each principle was the basis upon which each section was built. Searching for appropriate examples from different settings was the next step, and expanding the written content of the entries to include definitions within each principle. Drawing on scholarship again from Robin Williams and others, such as Ellen Lupton and Kimball and Hawkins, the entries are example-driven and detailed. The layout is in portrait mode, and I applied master pages and guides to the document. Establishing principles such as hierarchy and contrast was achieved through the use of italics, bold print, and the larger headings.
Found Document Essay:
Design Glossary:
Assignment 2: Brand Analysis Essay/Branding Guide
Minor Assignment 2 was comprised of a brand analysis essay. The topic of this essay was the revamping of the Google logo in 2015. I explored the topic by researching the history of the brand, company, and design while building on the course knowledge I had gained. The assignment was completed in Adobe InDesign and is another text-heavy document with limited but pertinent visual examples.
The analysis further explores typography in more detail than in previous assignments, as the basis for the Google logo is rooted in its typeface and color scheme. Google Logo designer Ruth Kedar is cited along with designers and columnists such as Gerard Huerta and Steven Heller in a discussion of the implications of branding changes and resulting media coverage.
The layout and design of the essay itself includes visual examples of the Google logo and its icons throughout their development and after the redesign, as well as related branding images, such as an example of a Google Doodle. One challenge of this assignment was choosing examples that best display the brand evolution while fitting into the portrait layout of a traditional essay.
Following Minor Assignment 2 was Major Assignment 2, a group project consisting of creating a branding guide for the Cossitt Library Branch Friends of the Library program in the Memphis Public Libraries system. Branding guides for different companies and organizations were provided in the course materials as examples. The client provided a design brief detailing the types of outcomes they were looking to achieve.
The Cossitt Library was scheduled to reopen after a major renovation, and the library was looking to rebrand the Friends program while retaining some of the existing branding elements within the larger library system. Researching the history of the branch revealed that it was the oldest library in the Memphis Public Libraries system, and our group was able to take this information and develop a new logo based on the architecture style of previous renovations.
One group member was skilled in logo design in Adobe Illustrator, and she took on the task of designing it and the associated social media/app icons. My primary role included writing the background, typography, and citation sections and creating the overall layout while applying editing suggestions provided by the group. The layout of the Adobe InDesign document was in landscape mode, and visuals were predominant throughout. The visuals included historical photos of the library, current branding iterations, the proposed branding changes, and examples of the proposed branding in use. Additionally, the guide includes a mission statement, tagline, color swatches, typography, and earlier iterations of the logo throughout its development.
Brand Analysis Essay:
Branding Guide:
Assignment 3: Digital Engagement Guide
The minor portion of Assignment 3 was a discussion board topic proposal for a community digital engagement guide. The guide was intended for use among a specific audience to encourage action on an issue within the community. My proposal for this assignment was to promote the improvement of vaccination and masking rates in the Mid-South as measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. The hashtags #VaxUpMidSouth and #MaskUpMidSouth were chosen as part of the campaign and accompanied by a one-page press release.
I began the background research by looking into medical information from reliable and credible scientific sources. A significant intention of the campaign was to create opportunities to saturate social media with accurate, fact-based information related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included research papers referenced by the CDC and information provided online by the health departments of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Further references, which are detailed in the press release, include the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Vaccinate Your Family, and Johns Hopkins. Documents and websites are linked throughout the guide. The UNICEF source provided information about how to speak to family and friends about vaccination, which also served as a solid reference for the inclusive language and tone of the proposed campaign.
The audience for the guide itself was determined to be the medical and scientific community and concerned citizens in the Mid-South who are interested in finding ways to keep their communities safe during the ongoing pandemic. I defined the counties that comprise the Mid-South in the press release. The concept is that those trusted individuals within Mid-South communities will use the information provided in the digital engagement guide to promote masking and vaccination on their social media platforms in a fact-based, inviting manner.
I completed this assignment in Canva by using a free account to create the layout and infographics. While a template served as the starting point, it was altered and expanded upon to include elements and icons that best represented the intended message. The principles of hierarchy and contrast are particularly noteworthy on the “Facts” page, where a slight deviation from the color palette in the document draws attention and hopefully action to the linked vaccine appointment information pages.
*The information presented was current in November 2021.
Digital Engagement Guide: