Happy Loser

So my cover didn’t win the class contest. In fact, it didn’t even finish in the top three! That was a little disappointing, but I’m over it. Design, after all, is a very subjective thing. As I was working on my cover, I told Jose that while I was happy with how it was turning out, I wasn’t sure that it was exactly what the newspaper was looking for (based on looking through their archives). After seeing their top three, and their winner, I am absolutely certain that mine just wasn’t what they were looking for.

The winner was a piece that the designer described as follows: “I just wanted to make something with shock value.” It was two little Southpark-like cartoon characters, a boy and a girl, and the boy had ripped the girl’s heart out and was holding it in his hand.

So. Yeah.

One of the coolest parts was the background, which was a lovely patterned wallpaper. When asked how it was created, the designer said they downloaded the texture from a website.

So. Yeah.

It was actually a very well-done cover, so I don’t want to sound petty. It wasn’t something that I would have created, but it was visually impressive and eye-catching and the designer obviously put a lot of time and effort into creating it. And they also understood what the newspaper was looking for, I suppose, in creating something purely for shock value.

However, she didn’t do all the work herself. The assignment parameters specifically said everything must be original, and I don’t count downloading a texture and using it as “original.” (Not to mention that most free downloads have provisions against commercial use.)

Our professor read the email from the newspaper editor on why it was chosen, and two of the other considerations were that the design left plenty of empty space for headlines and such, and that it would print well on cheap newsprint. That made me a little annoyed with our professor, since I felt that those constraints should have been included in our assignment parameters if they were going to be part of the judging considerations.

Anyway, now it sounds like I’m just whining so I will definitely end it here! I still like my cover a lot, and based on the feedback you guys gave me, I’m going to tweak it a bit, remove the masthead, and keep it as a portfolio piece.

Thanks for all your suggestions!