GRC 175 Learning and Discussion Forum

These designs are inspired from old newspapers, everything from the color palette, typography, composition and textures were based off of them. I always felt that old newspapers were very charming, and honestly a work of art. The arrangement of small ads, type, and images of people all fitting into tiny boxes on paper feels like an old world that is familiar to me. I also thought that not only it would be an intriguing format for a website, but arranging the required information into tiny boxes like the newspapers would give me more ideas for the overall composition. I've also played with the line strokes in the borders of my website to resemble the fancy borders used to outline the ads in the newspapers. The type I used for said info was Inknut Antiqua and Hepta Slab, as they reminded me of the traditional font used in printing. The serifs on the font also gave me that vintage vibe I was looking for my website. The colors I used were of old newspaper, beige, brown, black, and white. I also used paper texture for the background to really resemble the crinkled look of aged paper.

Inspiration for me personally came from https://victurnbull.com/ and https://artbytesslyncomics.com/. One of the websites belongs to a favorite children's book illustrator of mine, Victoria Turnbull. Her website gave me insight of how to organize my website, how her color palette and font choice communicated the personality of her art. It also made me consider adding other things to my website as well, such as a portfolio, shop, or other social media. The other website is of a comic book artist, ArtbyTesslyn. The color palette varies widely from Turnbull's, but one thing I loved about their website was how they listed the comic book's chapters alongside art panels of the comic. It gives visual interest to what would have been a very boring scroll through chapters. Overall, what I loved both about these websites was how they incorporated their art and personality into them. It made me think more about the personality of my own art, and how to present it to viewers.

Hey Crane,

I belive the design without the color modifications looks really nice as the photo really seems to go along with that faded out color, but I aslo think if you used the layout on the more colorful one and put it on the less colorful it would make your design stand out more.

Hi Crane,

I really liked the old newspaper feel you went for, the fonts really fit the theme and both layouts are easy and fun to understand. I personally like the design with the picture on the right a bit more, though something I noticed is that the dark colors on the darker background make it slightly harder to read.

Hi Crane,
I think your decision to make the background of both of your designs an old vintage paper texture was really cool! I also think it was successful that you decided to add a brown box behind your "all about me" text because it's really easy to read and stands out when you look at it from far away. One suggestion I would make is to possibly consider a bolder type for your project links, because when standing far away from it, it becomes a little blended in with the background. Other than that, I think the layout of both of your designs were really successful! Great job!

Hey Crane!

I absolutely love the esthetic! I would say the 2nd design is personal favorite, I will say the project text font and color is hard to focus on with a black square around, so perhaps tamper around with the font or shorten the word to P1, P2, P3!

Can't Wait to see the final product!

Hi Crane,
I really like both of the layouts that you have created. They both have really strong themes that come through well. I also feel like the typography fits really well with the theme that you are going for. I feel like the first one works better as a cohesive design and desktop and phone layout. Overall I think that you did a really great job!

Oooooh! An old timey newspaper. What a fun concept, Crane. I like your second, more distressed, one a little better. I prefer the layout and the way it uses contrast a little more.

I especially like your distressed paper texture background. It really feels like something I pulled out of a wall or an attic or an old box. I also like your bodycopy. You made it look like and ad for some snake oil cure to diphtheria or something. It certainly pops out of that dark background nicely and is easy to read. You've got good typography choices throughout your composition. It helps the old newspaper feel. The layout feels very newsy. The newspaper theme works even better for your mobile version because newspapers are vertical rectangles, like mobile websites. Your buttons are easy to see and, presumably to use, even if they are not quite as old timey as the rest of the design. I also like the little floursihes and accents as well as the divider lines. Very oldschool newspaper look.

Watch the top and bottom margin around your bodycopy. The type is a little close to the top and bottom edges of the dark box. I think it might be fun if you play around with your photo in Photoshop to make it look like an old-timey daguerrotype or one of those Wall Street Journal hedcut portraits. I think maybe thin out some of your dividers too. Maybe even add in an ornate flourish or two. I'd even get ornate with the buttons, like those borders they wrapped around old ads. Go back to your sources and see what they look like and kick up the onamental design a bit. There's more fun to be mined here. Relly embrace the old timey-ness of it all.

Good work!

I really like the old newspaper feel. I think it’s original and works well. I think you could make your pic to be more old timey with black and white to really tie it together. I think your background could be a little lighter on the vignette as well. It feels just a little dark. The second one, centered and all, is my favorite. It reads more like a paper to me. I think the project boxes could be the same size and less bold but they are kind of cool and old school mismatched. It feels like it was put together on a printing press or something. Regardless, they could be less bold. I think you could also find a super bold “BREAKING NEWS” typeface for the top as well. This is really cool and I can’t wait to see it finished!

Hello Crane! I really love both of your designs, I think your second design gives off that old newspaper vibe much better, its taking me back to 1899! Your type just feels a little cramped in the boxes, maybe try making them a bit more thin and center the 1 so it matches up with how the other project numbers are centered. Amazing work!!

Hello!
The old newspaper idea is a really unique choice and I'm so into it! Both of your designs really show how you've played with this idea. Comparing the two, the one with m ore muted colors works best as it makes everything feel more calm, just how I feel a newspaper works. The way your set up your project buttons could match more with your mobile version in the same way your second rough is! I really enjoy your idea and look forward to how you add onto it!