TASK 5 RESULTS

For this weeks task, our final five were asked to create a blog banner for the legendary blog Haus of X, ensuring to capture the minimalist style and essence of the blog. Not only were we putting the skill of our designers to the test, but also there ability to deliver an entire themed piece, including fonts and a layout too.

Before we begin, I would like to say I am incredibly impressed with all of the entries this week, each of you managed to portray the feel of X whilst staying true to your own personal styles. It has been an incredibly difficult judging as I don't want to see any of you leave! But only one of you can reign in the end, so let's see how you all did...


TOP PHOTO: Beth

Jack: I flipped back and forth, back and forth between all the entries this week, but yours remained my favorite. You have captured the effortless elegance of X, but at the same time, brought a sense of your revitalizing vibe to the graphic. I was just so incredibly impressed by your dramatic improvement. The shading is near flawless on everything. I think a little more attention to face shading would have made this a jaw dropper, but regardless, this is the best graphic you have produced throughout the entire competition - I want to keep seeing this Beth! I knew there was a reason I kept you last week, I am just beaming with pride! Congratulations.

Kirsten: This is such a step up on your previous entries, good job! Each doll looks individual, yet they both look good together, and viewing this image size, it looks like good shading and work on both. When you view the full size image though, you need to just be careful with some of your edges and making sure it's neat, particularly in the hair area. I agree with Jack that a little more in the faces would make them pop out that little bit more, but great job!





RUNNER UP: Rozalia

Jack: Stunning. Just stunning. The power of this graphic is what it makes it so breathtaking. At first glance, this is a flawless entry, but as I dig a little deeper I start to see a few blemishes; the choppy edges on the garments (not to mention the lack of shading), the strange knee/leg on the far right - these details are what counts! The skin shading on tolady is amazing in some parts (clavicle, hands, face) but is not as strong in Sary.Babyface. Overall this was such a strong entry and I think one of your best yet.

Kirsten: This is a great piece of work, maybe one of my favorite from you and it's good to see you step up in the competition, however that left leg, it stands out rather a lot in a negative way - however, the rest of the shading of the skin looks alright. The clothes do need a little something more, but I do think it is a great standout entry!



3rd: Pablo

Jack: My first reaction to this graphic was just "WOW!", but a number of things bother me about it. As a graphic designer, it is your responsibility to manipulate a reference image in a way that makes it more appealing, this includes smoothing out shapes and making them flow well; at times your layers can seem patchy. As amazing as the hair is, parts of it look stiff because you failed to round out the shape - look at hairstyles on Stardoll and study the shapes of the different strands and pieces, they all flow perfectly. Other than that, I can totally see the effort and dedication you put into this piece, and it's definitely a step up from your previous entry. Unfortunately, you can no longer rely on the decline of the others to magnify your strengths, as you all pretty much now sit on the same level.

Kirsten: There's quite a lot happening here, which makes it a little distracting, but you have gone into so many little details. The background, for me, is too distracting with the blurs of the dolls and the words, so I think that makes it slightly less appealing. When you look at the full size, I feel like there are a few integration issues with the flow, the headpieces for example don't quite seem to work right with the rest of the image. You have shown great effort though, and I still hope to see more from you!


BOTTOM TWO

Helen

Jack: Throughout this competition, you have delivered reasonably good graphics - at times you have peaked, but for me you never really went that extra mile. This graphic, as nice as it is, sits a little mediocre for me. While I do love the overall style you went for, I do think a little something is missing. I wish you would have injected a little bit of the flare your graphic for Task 3 had into this. On a positive not, the hair on tolady is to die for! And I love the black boots on Sary.Babyface. You definitely had the potential to reign with this task but I just think you got lost somewhere in the process.

Kirsten: This doesn't really stand out to me, it just doesn't have an appealing vibe to it I'm afraid. It's quite small even in full size, so it really prevents a good look at the shading, but from what I can see it looks very much the same as you've done in the past and doesn't show anything special to make it stand out or make me remember you for your technique.



Filip

Jack: This graphic just lacks the creative edge I was expecting from you. To me it almost feels like you used the text to cover up the weakness of the graphic itself, if you stripped away the text, I don't think this would pop at all. There's little to no shading work as far as I can see and you used the same hairstyle on both models (which is also the hairstyle you used on last weeks graphic). Looking back at your body of work, there are always gaps in your entries, which makes me question if you're capable of delivering a good, all round graphic, concept and all.

Kirsten: There doesn't really seem to be much to this piece - you've not done your own hair, and quite a chunk of the graphic itself is covered by the text. It's also quite small and the faces are very blurred - not really expected from you from where you've been placing throughout the competition so far. Honestly, the small amount of highlighting there is looks rushed and could have been done quite quickly, it's a shame, but it's really a bit of a step back for you I'm afraid.



As said above, this was an incredibly difficult decision to make - I reviewed previous entries + critique from both the designers in the bottom two and sought advice from our other judge, Kirsten. Eventually I came to a decision. The designer leaving this week is...







Both of you.

Helen and Filip, you have both been eliminated. The judges reviewed all 5 of your entries and your progress in the competition; ultimately the decision was mine and I concluded that you are both, in different ways, not delivering to the standards I am expecting. This was one of the most intense and difficult results posts I've ever had to write and I am truly heartbroken to see you both leave. But don't stop here - I have faith that your talents will take you to amazing places!



The results of this weeks task prove how dramatically things can change, so never take your position in the contest for granted! Also, from this point forward, only I will be reviewing and commenting on your tasks - the fate of the final three rests in my hands alone. Which of you will make it all the way to the top?

Task 6 will be posted soon.