Journal #9

Another week with Ressler Importers and Standard Media Index. I’ve been updating Ressler’s new site when needed. Last week they had a hard-coded image that was incorrectly spelled. I replaced this. They also had a couple of new items that they wanted added to the site. I added these. And I’m still doing the weekly email blasts, too.

This week, I started a new project with them. It’s a catalog, they have the items already layout via Word docs and wanted a front cover, back cover, and two inside pages as well. They wanted all of the pages to look like the home page of the website. I gave them 2 options, really wanting them to go with the option that had a thin border around the edge of the pages, verses the option that looked most like their homepage in terms of having a pink to white gradient taking over the entire page. Unfortunately they choose the latter. I compromised with them by telling this okay, we’ll do this gradient, but not on the inside pages…outside pages only. The reason why is because the gradient to me, makes things incredibly difficult to see on the page itself and I think this gradient really takes away from what they’re trying to show- which is the chair(s) itself.

I had a similar conversation with SMI, in which I presented them two final homepage ideas and they unfortunately chose the page I did not want them to choose. It’s funny, with these two examples all I can think about are the 2 professors that have stated, ‘never show ideas that you don’t want to be chosen.’ This is very true, because these are always the ideas that are chosen. I suppose I’ve gone against this advice thus far because one- I don’t feel like I’m a strong enough designer, 2-I feel like the one idea I throw them that I don’t want them to choose is really the idea that they want (through talking to them…), unfortunately for me- this is never the risk-taking, bold, incredible design I want them to choose. But this is a negative review of myself, I should be more assertive and really only present ideas I want to be approved.