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Sunday, July 17, 2011

Dial 911 for Designer !

Hi Peoples! How're we doing today? I really wanna know. 
For me, I'm doing awesome! Cleaned up the blog a bit (more like a LOT), added a New 'Portfolio' tab (gosh! That thing can take years if you don't know what you are doing), and added a 3-D tag cloud (on the right). Looks good, don't it? A pat on the back for me! I'd have to reach over and pat myself though - and that can be uncomfortable. 

Quick story: about a year ago, a friend of mine had come up with this great idea to make an android app for our school community in which students who needed books could contact other students who had the books directly, and could buy the books from them. And we needed it - the bookstore was committing daylight robbery everyday! The dude is a genius. So he had written all the codes and done everything necessary, and the app was running! Cool stuff, right? The next step was advertising the app. 

What do you think?
Now, most engineers I know have this god-complex - they think they can do everything, and the world cannot run without them. #NotJudging - I have no problem with it. My friend happened to be among the class of engineers described above (I did say he was a genius, didn't I?), and naturally, he designed this flyer to advertise his app on facebook as well as all over campus:

Well, it wasn't a bad attempt. Let's not fool ourselves though - you wouldn't read this even if you were bored! Now, the deadline for the ads was 6pm. Time now is 4:58pm. 

Phone Rings...loudly
Me: [groggily] Hellurr...
Friend: Hey man. I'd like your opinion on something.
[Oh He got my attention good...Who doesn't want to feel like they're an expert on something?]
Me: Cool. 
Friend: Sending it to your skype now.

10 minutes later...

Me: Wait, what is this for again?
Friend explains again in a hurry.
Me: Dude, I can't even see the text - are you kidding me? Who designed this?
Friend: Me. I just pulled together on MS publisher - we needed something really fast.
Me: Wow. My opinion? The text is non-visible. background is not catchy. The picture is OK, but the whole thing is...I don't know mehn.
Friend: Give it to me straight.
Me: Its NOT good. Emphasis on the 'NOT'
Friend:  What can you do?
Me: Nothing! Its due @ 6, and its 5:28 now. I'd have to change the whole concept, start from scratch. Can't do anything.
Friend: Come on - you gotta help me out man! I need this!
Me: I can do something, but its gonna be late...
Friend: Anything you do is fine - just make it look pretty - PLEASE!
Me:     Ok... Gimme 20-25 minutes.
So, I'm there, looking at this picture above, wondering what to do, and as I open the file (it was a .pub file), the idea just dropped in my spirit #GBAM! Ain't the HolySpirit beautiful?

Personally, I wanted to take out the whole Middle row of text.
In my Opinion, Less is more when designing.
He wasn't grateful...NOT! He was super grateful! I was glad to be of help. And it was on time - he beat the deadline!
Well, what do you think? I managed to retain as many of the original elements as I could, while revamping the theme. Could it have been better? I think so. Under 25 minutes? Well...what do you think? What could I have done to make it better? Your opinion is highly valued!

Till next time, have a kolor-full life!

Yours truly.

P.S:     @KingObi, I'm talking about you
P.P.S: Also, I told the story as I remembered it. In reality, he may not have begged as much....lol.

4 comments:

  1. Love this post too :). Yeah your flyer is great! It catches the eye with the title as its boldly enlarged, you use a few dominant colours and you've highlighted the important words in different colours so you can catch the key words straight away. I agree with the less is more.. it pretty straight forward.. "Want to sell or buy .. download the app". You did a great job given the time frame :). Kudos amigo :)

    Ps: Could it be possible for you to make images that we click on open in a new window. I appreciate the fact that you're just learning etc so no hurry ;).


    Much Love and keep it going .. Think im already a Nr.1 fan of this !! x. Emmanuela

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  2. Thanks a Lot, Emmanuela! It was a short time frame, wasn't it? Much appreciated dear!
    I checked the images as you requested. It opened in another tab (I use google chrome). I also tried it on a friend's phone to be sure, and it opened in another window. However, if it doesn't work for you, I'll find another way to get the images out there. My learning curve for the blogosphere has been very steep...thanks a lot for understanding!
    I sincerely appreciate the encouragement. Means a whole lot! Thank You!

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  3. @Yinka: Thanks a lot Sir! More to come!

    From Obi: "Yeah, I remember this vividly.You did a remarkable job on that flyer, and in record time I must say. I didn't exactly write "All" the code for the android program, and the "used books idea app" was more of a collective idea. PES is forever indebted to you (as we never paid you for the design)...Awesome job though; your best days are ahead of you!"

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