Design Draft 3

This design is better I think, a little more dynamic and interesting. I think the important thing will be taking pictures that can relate well with each other. Ultimately I might like the pictures to be a little tilted or take up more space. I have to keep in mind I'm doing at least 32 pages so I shouldn't get too caught up in having lots of information on one page.

Layout Draft 2

Second draft of layout ideas, I definitely like the horizontal layout better and think it will be more effective with a black background. Right now I'm working on trying to find a way to make the layout still photo intense without being too boring, this one is so simple. Again I'm waiting to do my first photoshoot this weekend so that will effect how I lay it out, right now I'm just using old pictures.

First page layout draft

This was kind of a first draft of what I'm thinking... this looks really stiff though I want it to be a lot more visually striking. Once I have some of my actual pictures I think I'll start getting more into the design layouts, but I do like the map in the background. I also think I want it to be horizontal and more photo based, a lot of text here. Thought I'd post this one anyway.

Idea Brainstorming

Places to Explore:

North West:
23rd - Where the trendy people go to feel trendy
Coffee Time, Anna Banana's - Independent coffee hang outs
The Gypsy - Dive bar karaoke with super bro fishbowl nights
Melt - Restaurant, interview with the owners about their experiences
Ground Kontrol - Beer + video games
China Town
The Pearl - Expensive, yuppy, full of good food

South west/downtown:
Portland state - Explore culture, commuter school, activism
PGE Park - Timbers, MAX line, etc
'Portlandia' - the statue no one cares about
Park blocks - homeless population, security
Pioneer Courthouse Square culture
Night life - near Burnside

The Bridges
Broadway, Burnside, Morrison, Hawthorne, Ross Island. The bridges in Portland are really important, have their own 'personalities'.

North East/NoPo
Alberta district - hipster central
Gentrification of once poor areas
Super poverty on the outskirts and further north
Mississipi district, thriving art culture
Lloyd district
Rose Garden and Blazers

South East
Hipster culture, alternative ideas
Dive bars
Food carts (also in downtown)
Music scene
Cyclist culture, elitism

Suburbs -
Beaverton, Hillsboro, Aloha, Tigard, Lake O
Tech industry, soccer moms, middle class

Other ideas to explore: Foodies, beer culture, cyclists/drivers, hiking and surrounding natural areas

Research Part 1

One of the books that inspired me to do this was Chuck Palahniuk's memoir/travel guide about the intricacies of Portland. While his is a written account mine will be more visual.

I've also been looking for other 'guide book' type things that are photography based, this site has some amazing photographs for touring

http://www.travelsignposts.com/

Project Proposal

Katie Acheff
Adv Design
Project Proposal

Concept:
The city of Portland, Oregon has become more popular and desirable than ever in the past 10 years. As many young, culturally savvy people move into Portland for it’s progressive nature and thriving art scene, the city is now on the map as one of the most captivating places on the West Coast. As a native Portlander it has been interesting to watch the city I know so well become this new status symbol, and I wanted to explore the different areas of Portland from a perspective that only someone who grew up in the middle of it could share. My idea is to create a photography based visual infographic map laid out in book format, displaying a breakdown of each of the main sectors of Portland, North East, South East, North West, South West, Downtown and perhaps a look at the suburbs. I wanted to explore the vast difference in culture, scene, socioeconomic status, race and more that co-exist in such a small physical area.

Objective:
To create a dynamic visual guide to Portland that contains a critical look at some statistical information as well as a commentary on culture, represented through a series focused on photographs but complemented with maps and text. It could be considered the non-tourist’s guide to Portland.

Content:
Photography, maps, illustrations, text, interviews, all assembled in book format.

Timeline:
Week 2:
Research, idea development.

Week 3:
Begin book layout, structure the content of different sectors.

Week 4:
Spending the weekend in Portland taking first set of photographs. Tentatively scheduled to stay on the East side, look into NE/SE, post pictures to blog.

Week 5:
Second Portland trip looking at the West side. Interview local business owners, continue creating layout.

Week 6:
Possible last trip to Portland, focusing on downtown, PSU, public transportation, bar/club scene, the more ‘tourist’ aspects of Portland. Also checking out the suburbs. Again will post pictures to blog.

Week 7:
Assemble all the information I have gathered. Will need a long time spent post-processing photos in Photoshop, organizing them and writing the commentary to go with it.

Week 8:
Book should be finished, go over final for any editing, blog updated to reflect progress of the book. Send in finished book template to lulu.com for publishing beginning of the week.

Week 9:
Finish blog updating for final project, await book arrival.

Week 10:
Print out pages of book to display for installation and project presentation, along with final book.