TABLE OF CONTENTSOrganization Mission 4

Strategy 5

Logo 6

Logo Variations 8

Color Palette 10

Typography 12

Graphic Elements 14

Writing Element 1: SOCIAL 16

Writing Element 2: IMPROVED QUALITY OF WORK 18

Writing Element 3: PROFESSIONAL JOBS 20

Outcome 1: WEBSITE 24

Outcome 2: MOBILE APP 26

Outcome 3: FACEBOOK FAN PAGE 28

Outcome 4: CRITIQUE TIP CARD 30

Outcome 5: STICKER 32

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GD-it.com is a website made by graphic design students for graphic design students. The focus is on making a comfortable atmosphere using a forum which allows for students to get feedback on school projects or personal projects from a lot of different students coming from a lot of different backgrounds. There would also be competitions in place so that people could have a fun, stress-free project to work on throughout the week/month to take their minds off of stressful school projects. Furthermore, there would be the option for potential employers to see their work and how the evolve, allowing for the possibility of employers offering internships or even full-time jobs to students that use the website and forum. This will be an opportunity for graphic design students still in college to try to make a name for themselves before they graduate.

GD-it.com will be entirely online, so the website will be really important. The website’s primary goals will be to: • connect graphic design students from across the country • allow students to get a variety of critiques on their work • have an online portfolio system • have competitions to produce quality work for portfolios • allow students to make a name for themselves before graduating school

OVERVIEW

WEBSITE GOALS

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Since the website will be used by graphic designers, and the subject matter is always dealing with graphic design, it is incredibly important that the website be incredibly well-designed. Everything from aesthetics to navigability must be well thought out in order to be credibly within the design community

When a visitor comes to the site there will be a home page that shows news involving the graphic design community in general, interesting articles,and anything new that is happening on the site such as a new competition. The site will also have pages concerning the forum, competitions, tutorials, and account information.

There will be a need for separate user profi les that are able to be customized for the individual user, with an option to display portfolio pieces; this way, potential employers can casually browse student potential.

There will be the ability to sign up as a student, employer, or general user. Users will be prompted to introduce themselves on the public forum immediately upon joining to encourage a sense of community.

DESIGN STRATEGY

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GD

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LOGO EXPLORATIONSI started off with a black, grey, white, purple color palette, because that is what I thought would appeal to the target audience the most. After some more exploration, I discovered the orange portrayed a more youthful nature. I also played around with a lot of different iconography and imagery. I thought that the boxes around the ‘G’ and the ‘D’ were sophisticated, but I realized that the speech bubble better portrayed the idea of communication.

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LOGOThis logo appeals to the youthful nature of the intended audience. Orange is a vibrant, energetic color that attracts attention easily. The design is simple. It is meant to be seen but not to detract from the main focus of the company; to showcase graphic design student’s work. The main shape is a speech bubble, which emphasizes the communication between graphic design schools and students across the country.

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Black and White Logo

Inversed Black and White

White Speech Bubble

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LOGO VARIATIONSThere are three different variations for the GDit logo. The fi rst alternative is with a white speech bubble. This allows for a more conservative approach and application. The speech bubble is not as dominant in this variation. The next variation is a black and white logo which allows for embroidery and other applications that need less detail. The fi nal variation is an inverse black and white logo used for the same purposes as the black and white logo, but on a darker background.

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C 61 M 63 Y 59 K 51R 58 G 58 B 60#3A3A3C

C 0 M 100 Y 50 K 0R 247 G 148 B 30#F7941E

C 0 M 0 Y 0 K 5R 241 G 242 B 242#F1F2F2

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COLOR PALETTEThe color palette is simple and vibrant. It is limited to three colors to enhance the simplicity and make the orange become more energetic. The dark gray was chosen specifi cally to serve as a background on which to showcase the artwork of the users. The off-white color was chosen for text and other highlight colors, and to be easy on the eyes.

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TYPOGRAPHYThese typefaces were chosen to go well with the logo. Impact was chosen to show emphasis and have a strong, bold appearance that can still be easily read. The type face for the body copy needs to be easy to read on paper and especially online; Gill Sans accomplishes this and has a lot of typefaces within it’s family. The different variations allow for variour different type hierarchy solutions.

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GRAPHIC ELEMENTSThe speech bubble will be an important graphic element. It conveys the idea of speaking out and getting feedback. The bubbles can be used in a variety of ways in a variet of colors. They can be used on the website when you get a new message, or even for marketing purposes.: different relevant phrases could be put into the bubbles and put up around town.They will follow the given color scheme to further the connection between the company and the colors.

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SOCIALGdit will bring about a standard in social expectancies within the graphic design community. Graphic design students will be able to connect with one another on a day-to-day basis, with people they’ve never even met before. They can form connections before they’ve even gotten through their fi rst year of college. This will make stronger bonds in the future. Graphic design students will also be expected and encouraged to connect on a more personal level and share interests outside of graphic design. Why only connect with students within your school or region when there is a plethora of other students with other perspectives all over the world sharing the same interests as you?

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WHY?This is an obvious impact because of the nature of the organization. A forum, borderline social networking site is bound to have some social impacts. It could potentially be revolutionary for the fi eld. Graphic design is a very social profession and could benefi t from a site that encourages this aspect on a much larger scale.

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IMPROVED QUALITY OF WORKStudents generally wait until the last minute to do their work, especially graphic design students when a specifi ed critique day is when all work is expected to be done. It is sometimes diffi cult to get feedback on work before the actual project is due. Gdit will revolutionize that. Students will be motivated to work on projects sooner because they can post their piece to the forum at any point in time and get instant feedback from a variety of perspectives. This will encourage multiple drafts to be done before the classroom critique day even comes around. It will also get students to be more open to critiques and constructive criticism at an early time. Students will be exposed to it more and less insecure with their work in the classroom if they have already shown their pieces to other people and gotten feedback.

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WHY?There is a lot of graphic design work in the world today that is not up to par. Everyone can push themselves further and strive to be the best. A forum would be a perfect opportunity for people to be able to do this, and would be one of the main goals of the website.

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PROFESSIONAL JOBSThe ability to post your portfolio on the website will make it easier for professionals to see your work and watch your progress. The forums will also allow for professionals to see how you react with others and how well you take and receive critcism. The social aspect of the site will also let you form friendships and connections that can be useful for fi nding a job in the professional graphic design world. The website will also be an introduction to graphic design students wanting to market themselves. It will be a informative to see what kinds of tactics work and which ones do not. Introducing students to this at an earlier stage in college will be critical in fi nding professional jobs at an earlier stage.

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WHY?Students get freaked out about getting a job in the professional world. They feel as though they’re not good enough and haven’t had enough experience. This will help ease those worries and is really important to reduce the stress of design students so they can make their best work possible.

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OUTCOME #1: WEBSITEThe website is the most important part of ‘GD-it.com’. It holds the forum; people can discuss their works and get critiques, as well as give them. It supports the arts, and encourages competition between fellow graphic design students. It also encourages professional designers to look through the members of GD-it.com and fi nd someone who matches their needs for a job.

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OUTCOME #2: MOBILE APPA mobile app is important to the well-being of ‘GD-it.com’ because critiquing is on an ongoing process. People need to be able to access the forum 24/7 no matter where they are. This enables them to get feedback on their phone, and work on their project in their own time. Also, members should be able to upload photos that they take on their phone, and get instant feedback on those as well.

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OUTCOME #3: FACEBOOK FAN PAGE‘GD-it.com’ is incredibly social in nature, and a social network fi ts perfectly into its agenda. It would be good to use a bigger social network to get fans for the site. It is also roots out people who have common interests in graphic design. This also allows for the managers of GD-it to post the newest news and newest tutorials on facebook, and allow for the site to be discovered by new people within facebook.

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OUTCOME #4: CRITIQUE TIP CARDIt’s critique day and you need to remember what makes a good critique. These cards are specifi cally made to help students in critiquing other students. ‘Think before you speak’, ‘Don’t critique the art, critique the art’, ‘Always start by emphasizing the good points’, ‘Know the difference between your personal style and bad art’, ‘Don’t be vague’. These are all good tips in keeping your brain actives, and keeping your peers happy with you while giving good feedback.

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www.GD-it.com

www.GD-it.com

www.GD-it.com

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OUTCOME #5: STICKERSEasy to execute, an easy take-away, and it has value. If it was well-designed, then a sticker will make people want to stick them to their mini-fridges, laptops, snowboards, etc. If someone sees a sticker on a telephone pole or in a bar, then they will be interested about what the project is. Most likely, graphic designers will be attracted by these designers and want to know where they are from. Stickers are a crucial part in gaining members for ‘GD-it/com’.