Creative CVs

In today's lesson with Terri, we started off by making a generic CV, what's expected in many job roles. The one I made is below:

 

We then began looking at different creative CVs. We talked about how due to the industry we want to go in it would be beneficial to make a creative Curriculum Vitae. Having a Creative CV represents who you are as a person, and therefore shows you as an originative character. Sometimes, having a black and white CV isn't what a company wants to see, and so by using colour, by using interesting layouts, it makes you seem very refreshing, very unique, which could potentially give you the upper hand when it comes to job opportunity.

This is an example of a normal CV, probably done by someone going into an office job rather than a creative job. It lists all skills and qualifications which is acceptable for the role this person is wanting to go into. It's professional and includes everything needed, yet it does lack colour and creativity because it's just a basic black and white template, no border, no colour, just the text needed by the company. The CV doesn't speak to the employer about their personality which the employer may prefer, however an employer with a more creative background may be disappointed by the CV an interviewee has created. An advantage of this is that the name is the first thing an employer will see due to the continual theory of reading left to right. The reader will automatically read the name first, and so this will therefore be the most important thing on the Curriculum Vitae. Not only this but it does look clean, structured in a tidy way with no clashes. It's not muddled, therefore not taking the employers attention to anything other than the text.







Below are some examples of Creative CVs found on Pinterest;

These CVs are much more aesthetically pleasing for someone looking for a place to work that involves creativity.

The one on the left shows a rate of how good you are at certain things, making this interesting for the employer to have a look at. As for the middle one, using an animated picture is incredibly clever, reflecting how they are as a person. All 3 of these have astutely used colours, for example the 3rd CV is soft, and portrays the person to be friendly and easy going. So instead of using black and white, we've learned how colours can actually show who you are as a person, which, in a creative environment, works excellently.

Terri has taught us how using a creative CV is what some industries want to see. It represents your personality much more than a black and white basic CV. Creative CVs aren't boring, therefore entertaining the employer and making them want to hire you to work with them.

We've used many skills today, involving team work, by finding many different CVs, both normal and creative. Not only this but we've been independent, finding even more creative CVs to include in this blog. We added these to our boards on Pinterest, looking to them for inspiration. It's incredibly enlivening looking to these examples as inspiration, giving us an idea for when we make our own in time to come.

Review of Posters.

1) This poster is a perfect example of triad, using three primary colours (blue, yellow and red) with a black outline. Even though the colours are quite simplistic, the poster is overall very effective, portraying the beauty of Amsterdam just through the colours. Due to this being the Triad colour scheme, it's suggesting that it's 3 different colours spaced around the colour wheel, therefore complimenting each other. These colours are vibrant, well suited. They're also warm colours. Not only this but these colours are extremely popular, so by this poster using these colours they may be trying to show that Amsterdam is a warm, popular choice of somewhere to go. Not only this but the poster is using sans serif font, arguably a decorative style of typography. By doing this it shows Amsterdam is overflowing with fun, a place of enjoyment. It lacks seriousness, which would attract travellers, not only due to it being a poster of place, but because of the creativity of it. Having the traditional image of a bike it shows how Amsterdam is represented by transport such as a bike, which could show calmness because bike rides are for when the weather is calm and peaceful, and so by using the image of the bike it represents Amsterdam as a peaceful place that everybody should go to. Having no dominant colour is also good for this poster because the main attention is on all of the poster, not just one aspect of it.

2) This poster represents complimentary colour scheme. This is due to blue and pink being on opposite sides of the colour wheel. They contrast each other perfectly, and reflect a sense of fun and craziness. Pink is mainly the colour of love, therefore linking to the text due to it talking about the heart. Also, after some research it was found that the deeper the pink the more passion there is, and so by the pink colour being dark it portrays the sense of vibrancy and passion, making the quote inspirational for many. The blue colour in the background reflects a sense of calmness and friendliness, therefore matching to the pink very well. By using sans serif for the text it shows that this poster is predominantly aimed towards the younger generation, because it was found in a study that sans serif attracts a younger eye much more than the older generation. The colours in this poster are incredibly aesthetically pleasing, and because there's no images it allows the reader to only concentrate on the words noted, which therefore enables the reader to absorb what the poster is telling them to do and makes it much more helpful and respectful.

3) This poster represents a monochromatic colour scheme, using only 1 colour, or one colour with multiple shades to create an effective piece of work. This dark looking posters portrays mystery and darkness, as well as it seeming quite ghostly. Even though this poster lacks several colours, it's most arguably the most effective out of all the ones I've chosen. Colours speak a thousand words, and less is more, so by someone only using dark shades speaks louder than many posters. The poster is attractive, using serif font, which can show that the poster is much more mature than sans serif. Sans serif is mainly seen as a formal font, showing how this is a formal advertisement, mainly aimed at those a bit older. Due to the image being quite ghostly its aim may be to scare the readers into buying things out of the catalogue, which is sometimes an incredibly effective way of getting money.









4) Lastly, this festival poster is using symmetry with the way the hands are positioned. Not only this but by using so many different colours it shows how vibrant the festival will be, an enjoyable moment of your life. It therefore also makes the simplistic text readable because it's different to the rest of the poster. By using sans serif font it's suggesting that it's an informal, enjoyable event, perhaps aimed more towards the younger generation. The colours don't clash whatsoever neither, making it a gratifying poster for all to view. The splash of colours is wild and all over the place, therefore implying that the festival will be amazing for all who attend, and it won't be something to miss out on. By the text being in the corner it's the first thing you see. This is known as the continual theory of reading left to right. It represents how once you've read the important stuff you can let loose, go a little mental and enjoy yourself, just like the colours on the picture do. Due to the poster being aesthetically pleasing, it makes people enjoy looking at it, and makes them more intrigued about the whole experience. If a poster portrays a good time then you're bound to enjoy yourself, and so whoever created this poster was successful in making people want to go there.

The Gestalt Theory

Gestalt is a German word meaning shape or form, formed in the 1920s. Gestalt is taking something seen as something whole and breaking it down into individual parts. Individual parts are what allow us to perceive things as complete or meaningful. The term Gestalt is a psychology term which means "unified whole", referring to theories of visual perception.

Similarity

This is where we think that if objects have similarities then they belong together, for example this picture located on the left: although all of these shapes are square so are in fact similar, we're instantly drawn towards either the black ones or the white ones first. The same goes for a poster of all stickmen but two of them coloured red. Our brain is automatically drawn to the shapes in which are similar to one another rather than those different.

Proximity

Proximity is where the brain sees shapes near each other and automatically pictures them together. We see things near to each other to belong together, therefore making us see the full picture, which is shown in the example on the left, because although the shapes aren't all in line, we automatically picture them to be due to them being close together and therefore see them to all be in line rather than in different places.

    Closure

Closure is where the brain sees an image and puts it together. Closure is meaning that an image or a logo is incomplete, yet because we recognise this image we automatically put it together. This well known logo of "WWF" is noticeably a panda, yet it's incomplete, which therefore reinforces how our brain automatically puts it together because we recognise it. Basically, when parts of a whole picture are missing our perception fills in the visual gap.

Continuity

Continuation is where the eye is compelled to move from left to right of the image. This part of Gestalt Theory is something that draws attention. We see from left to right from a curved or straight path, and so by using this image on the left we're able to follow from the left to see the end result of the stickman jumping. In some cases this may not work, for instance those who go from right to left rather than us who go from left to right.

Symmetry

This is where we see symmetrical images to be one whole photo. It's incredibly eye pleasing, aesthetically pleasing. Not only this but it promotes the usage of a communicative tool. The principle of symmetry describes the instance where the whole of a figure is perceived rather than the individual parts which make up the figure.

These are two good examples of Shape Theory. They're both representing closure, because even though they're not fully completed, we can piece them together ourselves. The picture on the right could arguably count as symmetry as well, apart from the animal being different, the tree is quite symmetrical, but it is mainly closure as opposed to symmetry.

Typography

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The key factors of typography are as follows:

-Typefaces.
-Point size.
-Line length.

-Leading

This is a good example of leading. Leading is the distance between each line of text. There's many reasons as to why this is a good example. One reason is due to the ascenders and descenders not overlapping at all and looking tidy rather than muddled. As well as this, it looks much more clear for the reader to see. Leading can also be used to change the aesthetics when dealing with a typographical design. Also, leading is a good way to avoid creating negative space.

This is a bad example of leading. This is because the text is muddled, making it hard to concentrate on the text as a whole and making it time consuming to be able to read because you have to focus on each individual word. This would not be good for a poster because posters are supposed to be organised and attractive for a reader, so if the poster looked cramped it wouldn't be as eye catching.


-Tracking



Tracking is the space between letters. Tracking can affect the overall density of a text. When a text is spaced out, it can seem as though the person didn't have any apathy whatsoever. Tracking affects the overall character density of the copy. Other than the actual affect it could have on readability of type, tracking would be used to make lines of type even.




-Kerning

Kerning is the space between pairs of letters. Most fonts will have specific default kerning for individual character sets so that the spacing in between the letters in words feels more natural. Kerning, like leading, avoids negative space. It allows the text to look very neat and tidy rather than a mess.

Legibility is ensuring every individual character is distinguishable from all other characters in the font.

This would class as a good example of legibility. This is due to you being able to distinguish each individual character from the rest. Even though there's a  lot happening within this poster you're still able to tell what each character is, non are being overlapped by other characters and so therefore makes it easier to tell which each character is.








Readability is a way in which typeface is presented. Good typography encourages a desire to read a copy without having to give extra effort to be able to understand it, the person reading it should be able to understand it effortlessly.








Serif and Sans Serif


Serif is having the strokes on the end of the letters. It has been credited with increasing both the readability and the reading speed of a long text due to them helping the eye travel across a line, especially is the lines are long or have a relatively open word spacing. They can be considered to be a lot more decorative also, however they are mainly attracting the older generation, used in newspapers such as The Times.  It can be considered more mature due to it looking a lot more sophisticated than sans serif.

Sans serif however is without the strokes on the end of the letters. It was found that sans serif is preferred by the younger generation, and Colin Wheildon (1982-1990) discovered in research that sans serif fonts create various difficulties for the readers. Quit a lot of posters use sans serif, such as "Reveal" or "Kerrang" as they use fonts that are much bolder and outgoing rather than sophisticated and rich.

Font Families.

I like these pictures because the fonts they've chosen meet their criteria. They're incredibly aesthetically pleasing and appeal their intended audience. The fonts match into the colours used also, for example using black and white on the first one shows sophistication, and using a simplistic font on a light pink background shows a feminine touch.

Colour Theory

In the visual arts, colour theory is the meaning of colours discovered by prominent research done by Mallock (2003) and Malamed (2011), then further historically researched by Sir Isaac Newton and Johann Wolfgang Van Goerne (poet).

Colour theory creates a logical structure for colour. It's a body of practical guidance to colour mixing and the visual effects of a specific colour combination. Colours can convey emotion, consistency and also help set a mood. Colour theory is mainly used within newspapers, magazines and adverts.

Sir Isaac Newton created the concept of refraction, developed further into the colour wheel, then after Johann Wolfgang Van Goerne added psychological meaning to the colour wheel.

Complimentary: Opposite colours that combined will make black or white. So by looking at the colour wheel across, it shows which colours are opposite to which, including red being opposite to green. Yet these two colours do have something in common as they're both seen as Christmas colours, so as much as they are opposite, they do go well together.

Analogues: Group of 3 colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel, which tends to be a primary OR secondary colour and a tertiary. These colours tend to go together very well, looking great on posters together and being very aesthetically pleasing. Analogous colour schemes are found mainly in nature and are harmonious.









Split complimentary: Variation of the complimentary colour scheme. This colour scheme has the same strong visual contrast as the complimentary colour scheme but has less tension. The split complimentary colour scheme is often a good choice for beginners, because it's very difficult to mess up.









Triad: Uses colours that are evenly spaced out around the colour wheel. Triad colour schemes are quite vibrant. You'd usually have one dominant colour, and use the other two for accent.









Tetradic: Richest, uses four colours arranged into the 2 complimentary pairs. It offers plenty of possibilities for variation. Usually you'd let one colour be dominant, and in the example shown I'd say that red is acting as the dominant colour due to it being a powerful and passionate colour, whereas the other three are much calmer.







Monochromatic: Using or containing only one colour. Sometimes using one colour can portray many more emotions than using quite a few. Using one colour can sometimes be seen as powerful, simplistic yet it works. It's visually appealing and always looks balanced.

Ontology/ontological: Perceived wisdom of what we're taught.

Posters using colour theory:

These posters are amazing to represent colour theory. This is because they showing a perfect blend of 3 colours (teriad), showing blue to be the dominant colour in the poster on the left and red to be the dominant colour in the right poster. They're incredibly aesthetically pleasing, therefore catching anyone's eye and attention. The middle left picture is showing a monochromatic colour scheme. I enjoy this poster due to it being powerful. Even though it's only shades of blue it portrays so many emotions already. The blue colour usually represents sadness, so if anybody hasn't already seen this film they may already know how the film will make you feel by the end of it. The middle right picture is representing the complimentary colour scheme. If you mixed orange and blue together it'd make black therefore showing that this poster is complimentary. Both of these colours are dominant colours therefore making it a powerful poster altogether. It's incredibly eye catching as well as aesthetically pleasing for anyone to see.

Not only is colour represented in posters, it's also represented in clothes, shown in my pictures below:

Celebrities such as Rihanna and Drake express a lot through their clothes, using colours to portray an emotion or a statement. Rihanna is known for her unusual sense of style portraying emotions with the colours she chooses to wear. When in a couple also, they match up with each other and coordinate. For example, Gigi and Zayn coordinate their colours incredibly well, especially when portraying a monochromatic match with one another.

Different colours:

The colour wheel shows all 9 of these main colours, all speaking a different or similar emotions, complimenting each other or even contrasting one another.

Red: To me, red is quite a passionate colour, it's the colour of sexuality and can simulate deeper and more intimate passions between us, such as anger, revenge, love and excitement.

Orange: Orange simulates happiness and warmth within a person, showing a very seasonal tone, mostly relating to Autumn due to Halloween (pumpkins). Orange to me is quite optimistic and positive, unlike other colours such as black.

Yellow: Yellow is an electrifying colour, exciting and bright, bring positivity to anybody's down days. It's the colour of the sun, the colour of warmth and friendliness, therefore complimenting orange when choosing colours suited to one another. The colour is illuminating, bringing cheerfulness and life to everybody.

Green: I see green to be the colour of nature, energy and life. Many believe green to be the colour of rebirth and growth, relating to plants and trees. It restores and renews depleted energy, therefore relating to the picture I chose of trees because it's vibrant and full of life, even if it is only a picture.

Blue: Blue is also the colour of life, the colour of doubt in some situations and most negatively the colour of sadness. Yet blue is a serene colour also, portraying calmness and wholeness. It can also be seen as a colour of royalty and is said to be a sinere colour. It's said to be predictable, a colour that's not at all threatening which can relate to how calm it is.

Purple: Similarly to blue, purple is a colour of royalty, a colour of luxury. Purple is calm also, showing how both these colours are similar and complimentary to one another. Cadburys is a big brand who uses purple as their main colour. By seeing this colour it shows how powerful it is, as well as how luxurious the chocolate is. Not only this but it's the colour of imagination and spirituality.

Pink: This colour is seen to be the colour of unconditional love. It's a sweet, kind colour, which is presented in the picture of make up in the pictures above. Pink is a mixture of both red and white, one being dominant and the other being pure. Some argue that the darker the pink, the more passion there is. Pink includes the need for action of red, helping to accomplish the potential for success and insight offered by white.

Black: Black is the colour of darkness, death, yet also sophistication and fashion. It's a mysterious colour also. It relates to the hidden, the secretive and the unknown, therefore explaining why it's so mysterious.

White: White is the most pure of all colours, representing life and air. It's incredibly calm and friendly, as well as showing cleanliness. Not only this but it represents wholeness and perfection, spiritual and completion.

Production Log

With Terri we firstly discussed what our course includes, what creative media is and what it consists of, including photography, advertising and journalism. By doing this we gained knowledge as to what Interactive Media is when you think more into it, we picked up on the different parts of Interactive Media and Terri introduced us into some of the things we'd be learning over this two year course.

We then moved onto specific job roles that we could go on to do after our 2 year course. So many jobs came up, reaching highs of 1,000+ which was impressive, especially seen as I would love to go into something to do with Interactive Media after college! Many results came up when looking for jobs, some a lot more unexpected than others such as being a librarian!

Afterwards as a group we decided what skills are required for these job roles. I decided after doing this task that I would be best suited to be a photographer or maybe even a PR due to the skills being patience as well as being good under pressure. Not only this, but to be good at being a PR you have to be quite persuasive, in which I'd say I am, therefore suiting this role more than others. For photography I'd say I'm quite patient, which is a good quality because it'll take a lot of time to try and get the perfect shot.

Overall, I enjoyed Terri's lesson. I enjoyed how she taught us, I enjoyed the activities she set and in general I just loved learning about unit 3 and what I could go onto be after this 2 year course. Within our day we managed to get plenty done which was also a bonus, as I've gained so much knowledge about the future for me.

MOOD BOARD

I have created my mood board in order to show the 5 different themes of project connect. I included all 5: consistency, responsibility, respect, purpose, self development. By doing this it's much easier to see what I want to go on my poster in a couple weeks time. Also by adding the titles I don't have to look far to find the image for a certain category.

The mood board is representing parts of Project Connect. My final project is going to be to create a poster all about Project Connect and its features (consistency, respect, purpose, responsibility, self development) and so by creating this mood board it's a starter of  a plan so I'll therefore know how I want my final project to be.

Project Connect

Project connect involves 5 main strands: responsibility, purpose, self development, consistency and respect. To show this we worked in groups of 3, walking around college asking people what they thought these strands were all about. As well as this, we walked around taking photos to represent these attributes in order to put them all in a mood board, ready for our final poster in two weeks time. In my group we decided that everything must be black and white, representing consistency and have also thought about what could represent these five factors of project connect.

Whilst doing this task, we've learnt how people think about the Project Connect strands, and by asking people we've gained many employable skills such as teamwork due to us having to work as a team in order to come up with a final idea, problem solving, motivation and a positive attitude, including punctuality, commitment and honesty.

Interactive Media introduction.

Hi there, I'm Eleanor, studying Level 3 Interactive Media. This blog is going to include my work done for this course, an overview of what I've done in my lessons, all to help me keep up with all of the work I'm going to be doing! I'll be writing about the skills gained on Adobe Photoshop and other softwares available to me.