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Project 2 | Monogram and Stationery

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Introduction
This assignment was to creat an original monogram from the first and last initials of our names with the middle name being optional. After creating sketches, digitalized versions and refinements of the monograms, the next step was to create a stationery system using the monograms that we created. For the stationery we needed a letter, envelope and business card and have our monogram incorporated into each one. We created three drafts of stationery systems and then picked the one with the most potential to move on to the final. After editing and critiquing the drafts we ended up with our final stationery systems and monograms.

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Difficulties This assignment was difficult for me I think because of my initials which are A and W. They tie nicely together because they both have the same slant on their sides, but I wanted to try something more unique and less typical. The capital and lowercase W are both the same which made it difficult for me to get much of a variety although I did use both the capitol and lowercase A. It was interesting to experiment, but I found that the letters were hard for me to connect. The lowercase a often has very curly serifs whereas the W capitol or lowercase almost never has any curves to it, but only has strokes. I was able to find some variety in my sketches, but the letters were difficult for me to work with. Overall experience I think that overall this step in the monogram process was really helpful to me because it was difficult. I found that I had to really step outside the box on this project and think harder about how I can link my initials together to make a good monogram. Working with different typefaces was helpful because sometimes they work better than others. I think that once I am able to work with my sketches digitally that it will be a lot more helpful.

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Challenges Some of the Challenges I had with this project were probably mostly because of my initials. I found that working with A and W were more difficult than I thought. I thought that they would work very nicely side by side because they have the same slant that I thought would work out great. Although it worked nicely for one of my sketches, I knew I had to experiment with other things. I felt like I didnt have much of a variety to work with because the capital W and lowercase w are basically the same so it was hard to mix those up. Also the W has only strokes and no curves which made it difficult to connect to the lowercase a which I liked to try and use because I think its a pretty fun letter. Thoughts I really liked doing this part of the monogram process. I always like taking the sketches to the computer because I feel unlimited and I have different fonts, sized and positions I can put my letters in in seconds rather than have to sketch them out the way I think I want them to look. Also I can get a good visual on what I want my final composition to look like. I really liked to play around with connecting my initials somehow and I even experimented and ended up with a digital sketch that I didnt originally have in my hand drawn sketches. Overall Overall I think this part of the monogram process was very successful and Im started to really be able to visualize how I want my final composition to be and what it should look like for a good monogram that you might see on a business card or letterhead.

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Light-Bold This was the first extreme in my variations and I thought that my monograms look a little more interesting with the bold look, but I think I prefer with the lighter look overall with the font I chose. These variations still need some tweaking as I have some tangents in them still where the tail of the a sticks out from the w. It is interesting though that the tangent helps you identify the letter as an a rather than an o which it could be mistaken for with this font. I might consider even bringing the tail of the a down further so that it is more easily recognizable as the letter a when it is right up against the w. Separated-Combined This variation was more difficult for me to do because I specifically picked this font because the stroke of the a fit with the stroke of the w. Trying to move them apart defeated that purpose so I had to use my imagination a little. I would much prefer that my final monograms letters were merged somehow even if it is only a little, so I dont think Ill be using my ideas for them separated. I do like the one in the middle because although they are touching only slightly it is a simple mark. Playful-Light These variations were really helpful to me because I was able to experiment with different impressions I might want to make when I make my final monogram. I was able to get a good idea of what playful and serious could look like as a monogram. I think for my final mark I would want something that was in between. Professional, yet in a fun way. I also noticed that lowercase letters create more of a playful feel while capital letters more of a serious feel.

Overall Overall this project gave me some ideas, but it was not as helpful as other projects that Ive done. I think the extremes that gave me the most ideas were the playful-serious variations. This was helpful because I was able to think about what kind of an impression I wanted my monogram to give. I think one of the difficulties I found with this project was the fonts. It was difficult with using only one font in the beginning and I felt like my options for variation were limited and also limited only to the extremes I chose.

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Light

Bold

Separated

Combined

Playful

Serious

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Stationery System Draft One This was my third draft for my stationery system and I think it turned out pretty well. Im happy with the design that came out of my experimenting. The design of this stationery draft is fun and professional which is what I was trying to go for. Out of my three drafts this stationery system came across with the most style and originality and I think thats what makes it the most successful of the three. When creating this stationery set and trying to decide a color scheme, I decided to go for blue and brown because I thought that those colors really blended well together. The blue brings out the brightness in the stationery and keeps it light while the brown tones it down as a nice contrast and makes it seem professional. Although my monogram gives a more serious impression, I think this draft of my stationery system helps lighten it up and gives it a sense of creativity. Letter, Business Card and Envelope I added the lines at the top of the letter to make the stationery stand out and give it some dimension. I also added matched lines at the bottom of the page to keep the consistency and give a nice flow of alignment. For the business card I decided to switch the colors up so that it didnt seem exactly the same from the letter and envelope, but when looking at it, it still belongs with the whole group. Overall, the colors and alignment as well as the sense of style are what make this stationery system a successful one.

Letter Monogram Name Address Phone Number Web address Card Monogram Name Title email Address Phone Number Web address Envelope Monogram Name Address

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12 W. 2nd S. #5 Longview WA, 98632 360.430.3342 www.amandawallis.com

Web Designer
wallis.mandalee@hotmail.com 12 W. 2nd S. #5 Longview WA, 98632 360.430.3342 www.amandawallis.com

12 W. 2nd S. #5 Longview WA, 98632

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12 W. 2nd S. #5 Longview WA, 98632 360.430.3342 www.amandawallis.com

Web Designer
wallis.mandalee@hotmail.com 12 W. 2nd S. #5 Longview WA, 98632 360.430.3342 www.amandawallis.com

12 W. 2nd S. #5 Longview WA, 98632

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12 W. 2nd S. #5 Longview WA, 98632 360.430.3342 www.amandawallis.com

Web Designer
wallis.mandalee@hotmail.com 12 W. 2nd S. #5 Longview WA, 98632 360.430.3342 www.amandawallis.com

12 W. 2nd S. #5 Longview WA, 98632

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Amanda Wallis
12 West 2nd South #5 Longview WA, 98632

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Web Designer
12 West 2nd South #5 Longview WA, 98632 360.430.3342 wallis.mandalee@hotmail.com www.amandawallis.com

Amanda Wallis
12 West 2nd South #5 Longview WA, 98632

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First Impressions and Ideas (Paste process blog post here) This project really taught me a lot about sizing, placement and refinement. At first this final stationery system was not my first choice for my favorite draft. I didnt see its potential until it was pointed out to me by my roommates and classmates that gave it a thumbs up for the best stationery draft of the three that we worked on. Knowing this, I focused on it more and made it my own. Honestly I wasnt in love with my monogram at first either and that really made it difficult for me to find good stationery ideas. I finally was able to embrace my monogram mark and work with it to make this stationery system. Design and Overall Look For my stationery I wanted something that looked professional but stood out and that is where I came up with the design and color scheme. The design with my monogram and the lines interweaving through it looked neat and professional to me and I made that the theme with my letter, envelope and business card. To make it stand out and give it some personality I chose dark brown and blue to be the colors. Im happy with my color choice because its not too wild, but its also not boring or dull either. I think that the blue really brings it out and gives it an interesting accent while the dark brown contrasts nicely and keeps it more reserved and professional looking. Changes There were only a few things that I ended up changing from my draft and those things were just some text sizing and placement, I made the lines that go across the monogram a little thinner than they were before and I also fixed the margins that were a little tight before and made some more space and room on the pages. Another thing I changed from class critiquing was the spacing at the bottom. Originally I had two lines that held in the text with my

phone number, email and website address but they looked boxed in and squished with such tight margins so instead I deleted one of the lines so that the information went underneath only one line. This provided me with a lot more space underneath and I think it looks much better. Overall Im happy with the way that my monogram and stationery system turned out.

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Project 2 | Monogram and Stationery

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Conclusion
This entire process has been a great learning experience. I not only learned how to make a monogram with my initials but also how to incorporate it into a stationery system. There were a lot of steps that it took to get me to my final monogram and stationery system and I know that each step was important in the process. One of the things that was difficult for me was coming up with a good monogram. I like the way that my monogram turned out overall but it was a little hard for me to make a lot of variations because of the initials I have. For my monogram I was able to connect the two letters nicely which is what I wanted to happen for my final monogram. As for my stationery system I originally wasnt sure about the draft that I chose out of the three that we created, but I was able to work with it and came up with a stationery system that looks interesting as well as professional and well put together. There were a lot of steps in this project but I know that each one was significant and helped result in a good looking monogram and stationery system.