Outward Thinking

A successful design for a presentation or documentation may take many forms. Certain attributes of the designs can categorize it into two possibly types. The design may be simplistic, straight forward and professional or, quite oppositely, it may be unique, artful and eye-catching. Not always is the line between the two types so simple or black and white. Most designs utilize a combination of the two types, but maybe not always successful. A balance of the two must be achieved to make the best design possible for a presentation or documentation.
To find insight on how winning designs are attained, I sought resource about those who have already achieved success. After examining the suggested sources, I analyzed what worked in each of the layouts and maybe what did not work so well.

Resource #1

What Works:
-matte black background gives ground for images to pop of off
- image is simple
- the magazine title is given highly saturated colors to be visible
What Doesn't Work:
-the magazine title is slightly constrasting with the desigh, which brings interest to the design but also causes visual confusion

What Works:
- Second of the two from this magazine: the changing of the styling of the D is very interesting. The magazine is holistic between its issues because of the constant in the black background color and the use of the D but they change of the style of the D itself the make each issue individual.
What Doesn't Work:
-The different style of the D and the largeness of it is almost at the point of being too much and overdone.

Resource #2:

What Works:
-the layout of the wording at the top is very well done and unique
-the magazine cover is very creative and eye catching.
What Doesn't Work:
-Too much is going on in the cover and overwhelms the eye.
-There is very little conect to who the magazine is and what is on the cover. Readers may not know just by appearance that it is this particular magazine.

What Works:
-The plain background for the images to pop off of
-The design- it is very creative and interesting to view but no overpowering like the last magazine.
What Doesn't Work:
-Still nothing to tie this issue to the magazine brand.

By analyzing the two magazine and their cover designs, I was able to tell what visually worked and what did not work in each of the designs. By doing this, I believe a more sucessful design will be achieved when creating future presentation and documentations.