This is my most recent version of the Landscape Tour, hopefully ready to print. There were several fixes to this brochure. First off, I moved all of the numbers to the left of the titles. I added a few pictures and changed the order up. The map was completely re-done with the help of Diana Spangler. I put the map into Photoshop and raised the contrast to get rid of unwanted boxes and turned it completely black and white. (I will add a before and after picture towards the bottom) I also added numbers on the map. I added the website on the right of the brochure and I changed the logo to capture the entire house on the top of the brochure.

Below is the original image of the map I was given. As you can see, there are several boxes surrounding the bushes and edge of the map. I put this in Photoshop to get rid of these and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

After:

I just wanted to upload this sign along with the updated items below. It's nothing special, but just a concept.

Updated Items

Update:
Shown below are updated versions of things I have created for Mr. Starbuck. First is the updated version of the Landscape Tour. For this one, I modified the size of the map so take up two panels rather than one to make it more visible. I made the font smaller to make room for the map. I unfortunately had to take out one of the pictures to make room as well. I also updated the logo on the top with the full house showing. Next is the Kid's brochure. I changed the picture to include kids on the front page. This helps differentiate this brochure from the others. I changed the logo on the top of this one too. I don't have the Lynchburg Civil War Round table brochure up yet, as I am still waiting for a few pictures, although I have added two more to that brochure so I am still working on it. For the stationery, I changed the picture to now include the whole house. The old one was more focused on the top portion of the building, which looked a bit off.

(Mr. Starbuck: If you would like me to change any of these photos/make any changes please let me know.)

Here is my version of the Civil War Round Table brochure. There are a few areas where I need to add pictures, but other than that, I kept all of the original information given to me. I added the Sandusky green around the edges to give the brochure a cleaner look. I increased the size of the logo on the front page, and I decreased the size of the Facebook logo. For categories like "History, Membership, Meetings" etc... I increased the size of them and changed the font to give them more emphasis on the overall design.

Here is my first attempt and the kids brochure. I based this off of a kids' brochure I was given by Mr. Starbuck. I tried to stick with the same theme I used on the other brochure, while using a different font to make it more "kid friendly."

Based on Mr. Starbuck's feedback, I fixed a few things on the brochure. I added the text "Landscape Tour" on the top. I also changed the picture on the front to show more than just the house.

Tour Brochure

The top two photos listed are the original brochure that Mr. Starbuck sent me. The bottom two are the ones I redid. This was originally made in Microsoft Publisher and I was told to redesign the entire brochure. I wanted to use InDesign, because Publisher doesn't have as many design options. I first started off by finding a font online that would best suit the brochure. I then added easy to read font that made each location stand out. In the original brochure, the titles were lacking emphasis. I decided to also put the number corresponding to the place on the map in a circle next to the font to help it stand out as well. I added most of the pictures I was given back into the brochure. I added a bold green outline to them. As for the front of the brochure, I used a picture that I found. I used the new logo that I created on the top of the brochure. The map is slightly blurry, so if Mr. Starbuck does decide to use it, I will ask him if there is a higher resolution map that I could use.

Stationery Design

Here is the stationery design I created. I implemented the new logo I created on everything. The only problem I have with the picture is that it only works with a white background. (I have the image to fade into white and I didn't know how to fade the image into a transparent background.) Also, I met with Mr. Starbuck, and he suggested to move the house slightly down so the main focus is on the door/steps. This way, I would only be chopping off the roof of the house, rather than the bottom part. The images didn't have a boarder to them, so they blend into the background on this blog. Other than that, I am pretty happy with the way they turned out. I went for a minimalist design, while still using Sandusky's dark green color.  

     Welcome to my Historic Sandusky blog. I was given a folder at the beginning of my internship that explained all of the possible graphic design projects I could work on. These include, logo, sign, pathfinder signs, visitor center sign, exhibit panels & labels, newsletter design, event flyers, a gift shop flyer, a brochure, a student & teacher packet, website design, a banner, and letterhead. I wanted to start off with the basics. First, I started working on the logo design. There were a few things that caught my attention when redesigning the logo. The biggest thing that stood out to me is that their logo is inconsistent. The "S" in Sandusky isn't the same font as the rest of the word (which isn't a problem, although the "S" is placed in different locations on different things. I'll further explain.) For example, on the folder I was given, the "S" in Sandusky is much lower than the baseline of the text. In the picture below, the "S" looks perfectly aligned with the rest of the word which looks much cleaner than design on the folder. I wanted to fix this issue by creating a logo that is consistent throughout all designs that Historic Sandusky uses. Below are optional fonts for redesign.

     Of the fonts I chose above (which are all 100% free fonts for public use), the two that I thought were the best fitting were "Optimus Princeps" and "Exmouth." Their current logo is very simple, so I wanted to add a picture to spice it up. I went on Historic Sandusky's website and pulled an image of the building and changed it to gray-scale. I then added a white vignetting effect on the outside of the photo to help it fit in with the logo. 

     I am currently working on a stationery design similar to what we have done in our graphic design classes in the past. I'm working on a letterhead, business card, and envelope as well. I will add that to the blog in my next post.