Design Woes and Wows

I can't commit! To a template, that is. I have literally changed my template design thirty times and it has only been four days since class started. Since our website is supposed to evolve over the semester, I will let it rest for a while. As Kendra Kopelke fondly says about writing, the same holds true for design: "It is always finished and never finished."

Okay, now on to design wows: I saw the below Ragu ad in a magazine at the doctor's office this week and snapped a picture with my better half--my iPhone. I apologize for the terrible angle, which is why I cropped the bottom of the page. The main star of this ad, though, still shines through--the Type Tomato. I love it when I see a clever use of typography--and hate it that I didn't think of it first. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I plan to try my hand at creating a fruit/vegetable type-shape just for fun. Of course, the circle is a simple shape and since that has been taken, I will have to challenge myself with a more complex one (darn you, Ragu!). Perhaps I'll cheat by taken on a modified circular image like the eggplant. If you are wondering, the other image on this add is a strand of spaghetti. I had to take a second look at it to be sure, as I first thought it was a computer mouse cord--I doubt that was intentional as it would otherwise be attached to the tomato, but it works on a subversive level for me since the ad uses the keyboard smile face so the technical mood is already established.

Here is another food ad that is a good example of food writing and inspiration for our assignment. Spoiler alert--if you plan on writing about radishes, close the page. Just like the fig article I posted, this one places the text on the left side of the page and the image on the right. I like the use of color and fonts, especially the main font in color. Who knew slab serifs* could look so good--have you noticed how slab serifs are everywhere in design lately? I used to strongly dislike them, but have decided to give them a second chance. I like the author's use of consonance and alliteration in this article: "put off by the peppery""crunchy crimson" "sprinkle salt" "simmer on the stovetop" The description is so vivid for me, that I can hear the crunch and simmer described.

*I took this picture in the doctor's office as well (note my thumb at the bottom left), so I cannot say for sure if it is really a slab serif or just a regular, run of the mill serif.