film trailer

It's been a while since I've posted any videos because the past few projects we were experimenting/practicing with lighting. And I'm not a huge fan of lighting since it's quite a difficult craft, so therefore will not show my assignments that dealt with it :)

So anyhoo, the video in this post was for an assignment to edit a film trailer. However, we were not allowed to use special effects or VO...just basic editing. So I just browsed through my roomate's (Mike) DVD collection and picked a movie I was really familiar with. A childhood classic for any '80s baby.

The Sandlot Trailer from leslie canoy on Vimeo.

logo design

Fun with Adobe Illustrator

Assignment #1: Redesign an existing brand's logo. We each wrote a brand that has a logo that we thought was bad/could use work on a piece of paper, threw 'em all in a bag, and randomly grabbed one. I ended up with CCM (hockey equipment).

Original:

I didn't necessarily think this was a bad logo, but I did find a few things that could be improved. I don't like how the right side of the "M"is oddly shaped, which is shaped like the semi-swoosh thingy. I also felt that the flow of the letters with the accents were contrasting.


My redesign:

I fixed that oddly-shaped corner and then I connected the accent to the "M" to make it look a little more fluid. The direction of the accents also go with the triangular tips of the letters, enhancing the flow. The company is Canadian so I designed it in a way that resembles the flag.

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Assignment #2: Create a personal logo that could be used for our Facebook profile picture. (As Brian told us, creating an 8x8in logo works perfectly for the thumbnails FB creates)

My logo represents who I am as a current New York inhabitant but also as a native Californian, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. The bridge in the SF skyline is not the well-known Golden Gate, but rather the Bay Bridge since I'm from the East Bay and that is our connection into SF. The colors of my name correspond to each city. Leslie/NYC = me, the individual and where I currently am. Canoy/SF = my roots, where my family is. I chose yellow for SF because California is the Golden State and then the blue is a nice complementary color. These colors against the black background make it pop.

type with images

The assignment was to design 3 posters/postcards/brochures/etc using the same text for each, but each layout had to be completely different from the other; different fonts, different images. An additional challenge, but not required, was to create a design spec, meaning all of the layouts would be the same dimensions. I decided to take that extra challenge and design a poster meant for an 11x17 print. The text could be anything we wanted...a quote, an event, etc. The inspiration for my designs came from the fact that I live in Brooklyn and that running is (or at least was...considering I haven't run since ankle-sprain-#5/left-foot-injury-#6 last July...but I digress) one of my hobbies. So I created posters for a faux running club. And here are my designs:


Layout #1:

My original concept for this design did not include a runner. I originally planned on just using an image of the Brooklyn Bridge. So my first drafts of this layout are pretty different. And then I googled images of "brooklyn bridge runners" or variations of that and initially didn't really find anything that was both good in compsition and high in resolution. A few days later, I stumbled upon the source image for this design. I must have skipped over it before because the original image is actually landscape so I had to select the runner and move her to fit within the dimensions of the layout.





















Layout #2:

For this I used part of an ad for the movie Run Fat Boy, Run. And the background is actually a photo I found of Prospect Park, which happened to fit perfectly.


































Layout #3:

This one is my least favorite. I'll admit it's pretty boring. I think I used all of my creative energy on the first two. I tried a few things to jazz it up, but that just made it look cheap so I just kept it pretty simple. My design may be meh, but the image is simply gorgeous! Special thanks to Andrew's shiny new camera and photography skills (and shoes) ;)

I really had fun with this assignment. I think I'm liking design more than video now....hmmm uh-oh. Well, it sorta makes sense because I originally started my undergrad thinking I wanted to do graphic design, but then switched to video. Well, I guess there's no harm in enjoying both and who says I have to pick one over the other?

Like what you see? Would you hire me to design something for you? haha