Portfolio

Adam Jacobs

Contact
Adam Jacobs
347 S 4th W #204
Rexburg, ID 83440
comm.adamjacobs@gmail.com
@comm.Adamjacobs
615.856.5171

Table of Contents
1) Brochure
2) Event Ad
3) Business Card
4) Logo
5) Stationery
6) Web page
7) Montage
8) Photodesign
9) Flier

Brochure
Description: This is a two-fold brochure that is promoting my card game, Babble On.
Programs:

Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign

Date:

December 2014

Course:

Visual Media, Comm 130, Section 2

Instructor:

Cory Kerr

Objectives: Set up and align a two-sided, folded document.

Create an original, new logo and use it in a brochure.

Incorporate quality images. Incorporate at least four quality images, not
including the logo. One should be clipped in Photoshop and text-wrapped in InDesign so
the text follows the cutout shape of the image.
Process:
I created Babble On after my teacher encouraged our class to take upon
ourselves pet projects. This one has grown considerably, and is now a printed product. I
used the brochure project in our class as a method of promoting Babble On. I created the
logo in Adobe Illustrator, using the shape blend tool to cut needless edges off of the card
shapes. I used Photoshop to mask off the background on the image of the family playing
games. I also used Typekit online to find the font for the logo. All of this was assembled
together in Adobe Indesign. I used the rulers as guides in making sure I designed my
brochure along the predetermined folds. I took the speech bubble images from the card
layout to use as text boxes for my body copy. I used the text wrap option to keep my
paragraphs inside the speech bubbles. This also helped me use the design principle of
repetition. I used indented style paragraph alignment as another way of helping contain
the copy within the images. I printed it off at Alphagraphics, cut out my brochure and
folded it along the predetermined lines. I made sure to leave some of the margins there as
to enhance my white space and declutter the inside and outside of my brochure.

Event Ad
Description: This is my event advertisement I created on Microsoft Word for a fictional
model airshow to be held in a fictional park. The sponsor and beneficiary of the airshow is
the Association for the Advancement of Technology Among Youth, which is also fictional.
Programs:

Microsoft Word

Date:

September 2014

Course:

Visual Media, Comm 130, Section 2

Instructor:

Cory Kerr

Objectives: Comprehend image sizing (how pixels and inches work together)

Find, scan and import a high-quality image.

Create a full-bleed design.

Learn to use only Word design features without using any Adobe programs,
including Photoshop.
Process:
In the last project, my enthusiasm was hampered by the lack of color
and pictures we could use. In this project, I tried to take full advantage of the creative
freedom we had. I began by going to Popular Mechanics magazine, and there I found
this awesome image of a drone on fire. Although I really was interested in the image,
I wasnt sure how to make an event advertisement out of it. Originally I was going to
make a post-apocalyptic vintage poster asking citizens to donate materials to fend off
a drone invasion, but I had no clue how to do it from my sketches. I chose instead to do
an airshow, with the entry fee going towards a group that helps encourage the use of
technology in schools. After scanning the image and getting it into Microsoft Word, I used
large red and blue triangle shapes to block in the image. I got rid of parts of the image I
didnt want by copying the image into another Word document, cropping a blank portion
out of it, and repasting the cropped part back into the original image over the parts I
wanted to hide. I went for a monochromatic color scheme because I didnt see much else
that would have worked with the image. I used the triangles to be aligned vertically, but,
using asymmetry, I unaligned them horizontally. The blue lines that parallel the edge of
the image expresses repetition. My typography reflects that vintage feel seen on airline
ads from the 1960s. After doing several critiques with classmates, I decided to eliminate
the red triangles and excess white space. Doing so removed a lot of exciting clutter that
would have pulled my audience away from my message.

Model Airshow

Come
See

Business Card
Description: Business card created from original design
Programs:

Adobe Illustrator

Date:

November 2014

Course:

Visual Media, Comm 130, Section 2

Instructor:

Cory Kerr

Objectives: Use the basic tools in Illustrator & InDesign.

Apply typography rules, keeping small copy.

Keep designs simple with light watermarks and drop shadows and plenty of
white space.
Process:
I began by looking over my designs for Project 5, where I had created three
logos. In this one, I created a different logo for Mega Fun using contrast as my principle
element. I made the business card first, since that was where I was going to pull my
stationery design from. Starting in black and white only, I used Adobe Illustrators polygon
tool and the pen tool to get the angles and lines I wanted. Featured in my design is a
retro-triangle look that will identify with more elderly clients. I felt that yellow was a good
color to use because it drew attention to the card against the black and gray.

MEGA

FUN

Bill Murray
46427 Nuevo Ave
megafun @gsnail .com
808.227. 8708

Logos
Description: I made these three logos in Adobe Illustrator for a fictional company that
specializes in hosting entertainment.
Programs:

Adobe Illustrator

Date:

November 2014

Course:

Visual Media, Comm 130, Section 2

Instructor:

Cory Kerr

Objectives: Create three completely different, original logos to fit a company or

personal image that will appeal to the audience.

Use only the Illustrator tools to create and draw your logos.
Process:
In my Visual Media class, my teacher said he spends the majority of his time
sketching ideas during his logo making process. I took that to heart and spent several
hours coming up with these designs. I wanted to incorporate a balloon in one of them.
While I was coming up with ideas, I wanted to use different FOCUS design principles, such
as asymmetry, white space and contrast. I felt that the more simple of a design it was, the
more positive attention it would bring to Mega Fun Enterprises (which, by the way, is a
fictional business). After coming up with nearly twenty different sketches, I chose three of
them and brought them to life using Adobe Illustrator, especially using the blend shapes
tool. I chose the three seen to the right because I felt they most incorporated that sense of
FUN! that I wanted my audience to see in my logos, yet still have that air of simplicity.
I had an opportunity to have other designers critique my logos, which greatly influenced
the final products color schemes and typefaces.

Stationery
Description: Business stationery using original design
Programs:

Adobe InDesign

Date:

November 2014

Course:

Visual Media, Comm 130, Section 2

Instructor:

Cory Kerr

Objectives: Use the basic tools in Illustrator & InDesign.

Apply typography rules, keeping small copy.

Keep designs simple with light watermarks and drop shadows and plenty of
white space.
Process:
Using Adobe InDesign, I put together my stationery. I made sure to use
the same color scheme from the business cards of yellow and black, which represents
construction (Mega Fun builds entertainment venues). I made a color change in the gray,
however, in that I made the biggest gray features a lighter shade than on the business
card. I did this so any text that might be on the stationery would be perfectly legible.

Web Page
Description: This is a screenshot of a web page I designed to show how I created my
Mega Fun logo.
Programs:

HTML, CSS

Date:

November 2014

Course:

Visual Media, Comm 130, Section 2

Instructor:

Cory Kerr

Objectives: Size and optimize an original logo as a .png for a web page so the long side
is 300 500 pixels.

Write content to describe the process of creating your logo and how it
appeals to a target audience. (Minimum of 200 words. Include rationale for colors, appeal
to target audience, design skills, etc,)

Acquire a working knowledge of HTML. (Include all required tags
Doctype (provided), html, head, title, meta charset (provided), body, h1, h2, p, ol or ul
(with li tags), img, hr, and a link to blog)

Acquire a working knowledge of CSS.

Identify hex colors to match logo, using Photoshop color picker.
Process:
I used an example of CSS and html that my class was given in Visual Media.
Using a simple text document (in this case, Notepad), I edited the html to have several
links to outside sources and reference material. I did this because I didnt want to explain
everything about the FOCUS design principles. I also made sure my use of sans serif font
in my body copy contrasts with the font of the title copy. I had to look up different ways
to input text from CSS into the html document. I constantly went back and forth between
the CSS and the html sheets as I looked for what I wanted to appear in the end result. I
had to make changes one step at a time to avoid losing track of mistakes and errors.

Montage
Description: A spiritual montage made using blending tools to combine several images.
Programs:

Adobe Photoshop

Date:

October 2014

Course:

Visual Media, Comm 130, Section 2

Instructor:

Cory Kerr

Objectives:

Use the FOCUS design process with strong focal point and flow
Unify a layout with a consistent theme and dominant spiritual message
Learn to blend two or more images together gradually, using masks
Demonstrate advanced Photoshop skills for layout with multiple elements
Use a mask to apply a filter to one part of the image
Apply typography principles

Process:
I began by deciding who my audience was. I chose to focus on those who
need direction in their lives. My wife helped me decide what my design should be, based
on sketches I showed her. I feel the quote I used here directly communicates the message
to the audience. Once I had the quote, I found a corresponding image of Dieter F.
Uchtdorf, a prominent spiritual leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
and an image of a compass with a map background. Using Adobe Photoshop, I cropped
the background image to 8.5x11 and used a black and white filter to remove most
of the color. I selected the image of Mr. Uchtdorf and moved him into the background
image and added a mask over his layer. I painted away the hard edges using a black
brush between 20% and 100% Opacity. I blended away the hard edges and found ways
to use masking to bring back the original gold shine of the compass back into the picture.
I had my body copy at another place in the image, but after getting several critiques from
fellow designers I decided to put it in the compass itself. I also duplicated part of the map
background to cover an unappealing part of the map that took the attention away from
the compass and Mr. Uchtdorf. I did this the same way I put Mr. Uchtdorfs image into the
picture. My image wouldnt have looked the same had I not used several FOCUS design
principles and abided by some of my evaluators suggestions.

Photodesign
Description: Incorporate a recently taken photo into a poster layout design.
Programs:

Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator

Date:

October 2014

Course:

Visual Media, Comm 130, Section 2

Instructor:

Cory Kerr

Objectives: Learn basic photography skills.

Choose a color scheme, take a photo to match those colors, then
incorporate the colors into the layout.

Use a digital camera to take a quality image, then download it.

Adjust image levels, saturation, color balance, sharpen tool on separate
layers for NDE (non-destructive editing.)

Size and crop the image, then place on an 8.511 page layout.

Use layers to design text, and repeating graphic elements in Photoshop.
Process:
I struggled with this design because I first chose to find a color scheme. I felt
safe with a monochromatic blue pallet, so I looked for photos that could blend well with
different hues of blue. Using an Olympus SP-600UZ camera, I took a photo of my Lego
bricks on top of my daughters white changing table. I did this to enhance the natural
contrast between the brick and the table. I kept the window clear of obstructions so I
could get a bright, natural light form outside to wash over the changing table top. I took
the photo around 5 p.m. to get the maximum amount of white light. After uploading the
photo to Adobe Photoshop, I used the levels, vibrance, select color, and sharpness tools to
enhance the brick and its shadow, as well as eliminate dark spots that were on the table
top in the photo background. The blues in my columns are different hues derived from
the Lego brick in my photo. I then created a design that would effectively incorporate
the bricks and the idea of an endless space of creativity (the imagination) using the fill,
crop, and text tools. I did not use a gradient tool; its an illusion created by my design.
I used additional contrast and asymmetry in my text by placing the quote in different
columns. The quote is from Willy Wonka. In my original design I had only one brick, but
after consulting with a classmate I decided to put in another brick. I feel that my design is
exactly what I intended it to be.

Flier
Description: This is my flier for the Graduate Leadership Conference.
Programs:

Adobe Photoshop, InDesign

Date:

October 2014

Course:

Visual Media, Comm 130, Section 2

Instructor:

Cory Kerr

Objectives:

Apply the design principles and use appropriate typography.

Incorporate basic InDesign skills to improve basic flier layout.

Process:
To create my flier, I used Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop. This was
the first time I have used InDesign, and it was very difficult. I began my flier by sketching
different designs, most of them having an emphasis on the word Leadership as part
of the focal point. However, I decided on this one after noticing how the circles invite
the audience through the design. Their use of asymmetry was shown in the way they
were different sizes, yet the repetition of the circles throughout the flier helped bring the
message to the audience by remaining consistent. I used a dual expression of alignment
in my design by grouping the text into a right-left-right type of flow, and the circles
and images were in a left-right-left type of flow. I felt this wove my objects and images
together with the body copy. I also used gray as my principal color, since the negativity of
the color wouldnt inhibit the attention of the audience. It contrasted quite nicely with my
white space. My plan for using just one image was to use one image in different ways by
breaking up the original picture into smaller pieces. The image of the two women was the
most difficult part of the design. I didnt know how to edit the image in InDesign, so I used
Photoshop to combine the large circle with the image of the women. I didnt use the head
of the blonde man form the image because I felt he didnt exude any sense of leadership
just from looking at him. During the critique phase, I was guided to change what had
been dashed lines going from circle to circle into dots instead. I also received help from
my evaluators in keeping with my message of emphasising the leadership aspect of the
conference by increasing the font size of the word leadership. I ended up eliminating a
gray bar underlining the title copy that I felt cluttered up my design.

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