Original Resume
Here is the original resume with the changes and my thought processes from the initial critique session.
![original_resume_critique_back](https://terencelim1989.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/original_resume_critique_back.jpg?w=529&h=638)
First Draft
Below is my first draft of the Resume and business card final.
From my sketches and feedback in class from Somya, I chose my final layout to use by the process of elimination. I then decided to choose a layout with two columns. Also, because I had a lot of content initially, I had to cut down on my content by a significant amount, by grouping things such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Flash, Adobe Premier Pro, Adobe Freehand, Adobe Illustrator into Adobe Creative Suite.
In my resume, I made use of a color (blue) and scale to create dominance on my first name and last name. I also used font weight and a blue “+” symbol to emphasize on the subheadings. I wanted something to represent myself (also to create some personal identity), and I thought a symbol “+” which looks like “T” would relate to my name “Terence”. I made use of alignment and font weight to create a hierarchy for the content. In general, I wanted a clean simple design to depict professionalism in my compositions.
Somya later sent us a typeface pairing as a guideline. For the body text, I wanted to use something that is similar to Segoe UI, Microsoft’s typeface, because my resume is heavily Microsoft centric, and I am planning to apply for a job in Microsoft. I chose to use Myriad Pro, a font very similar to Segoe UI, because I was very familiar with it after having worked with it during the last Assignment 4. Myriad Pro is also very similar to Frutiger and Univers.
Hence, for the creative treatment of my name, I decided to make a clean-looking logo type typeface of it. I chose a serif font, and eventually one that pairs well with the body text. This is because serif fonts create contrast and draw attention using its irregularity between different letters to improve identification and ensure that it stands out as an important element of the layout. On top of that, I also plan to use color to emphasize on it. According to the handout, Book Antiqua, which is similar to Bodoni and Century, are highly compatible with Univers. Hence, I chose Book Antiqua for my name as the logo type.
![resume_draft1](https://terencelim1989.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/resume_draft1.jpg?w=529&h=684)
For the business card, I made the name similar to that of the resume to create similarity and coherence. I also played around with the placing of the information, and decided to place it at the top left corner to create a sense of balance, as the name is already placed at the bottom left.
![card_draft1](https://terencelim1989.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/card_draft1.png?w=529&h=303)
Second Draft
After seeking opinions from friends, I received feedback that there were too many alignment at the name as well as the contact details, which made it very confusing and messy. Also, I experimented with, and changed the alignment a little for the body text such that it is now partially indented on the next line from the subheadings, rather than flushing it to the end of the subheadings done previously. I made this second draft prior to class on Thursday. I also created sufficient white space around my name, so as to make it more important and to draw the viewer’s eyes to my name and contact information.
![resume2](https://terencelim1989.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/resume2.jpg?w=529&h=684)
CRITIQUES IN CLASS FOR 1ST AND 2ND DRAFT
During desk critique session in class today, here were the feedback I received from Somya, as well as the responses from the questions I asked:
- The names (logo types) in either drafts 1 or 2 works. However, I decided to stick to that in draft 2, as it suits my style better. It also allows better alignment. I could consider removing the spacing between “terence” and “lim”.
- The titles that are in font-weight Black are too heavy and distracting. I plan to reduce them to Bold instead.
- The city & country is in regular font-weight while the rest of the body is in light weight, which is too similar.
- The + signs are too small to capture the attention
- The alignment of the contact details should be left aligned
- Ensure the same distance is maintained between different (or similar) chunks of information
- Not necessary to have bullets (using +) because only one place uses it
![resume_draft1_critique2](https://terencelim1989.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/resume_draft1_critique2.jpg?w=529&h=679)
![resume_draft1_critique](https://terencelim1989.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/resume_draft1_critique.jpg?w=529&h=662)
More critiques for Draft 3
During my design process, I chose a certain shade of blue for both my resume and card. However, in the software, despite choosing the same RGB/CMYK color from the template, I had a little problem with them which made them look different, and I had to learn how to solve that problem.
In this draft, Somya mentioned to align education with top of “lim”. Somya also mentioned that “this color is different in business card (which is nicer)”.
She also mentioned a little about the alignment of the columns and “+”s, which I had a little trouble with.
For the business card, Somya also mentioned that there should be less margin, so I reduced the margin to the minimum requirements of 1/8 inches.
![d3_feedback_card](https://terencelim1989.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/d3_feedback_card.jpg?w=529&h=396)
Final Submission
Once again, for both my resume and business card, I wanted to portray a clean, professional feel to represent my working style and personal identity. I also chose blue, because I wanted to depict tranquility and professionalism.
I made use of many design principles (font weight, size and styles) to convey hierarchy. I mainly used the normal font style because I thought that by introducing an oblique style would make it less professional and more confusing.
Resume
Firstly, I wanted to draw the attention of the eyes to my name. Hence, I used size/scale to ensure that it stands out at the top left corner. I also created sufficient white space around my name, so as to make it more important and to draw the viewer’s eyes to my name and contact information. I used a serif font for my name logotype, because serif fonts are used to bind characters into cohesive “word wholes”, as per my intentions.
Next, I wanted the viewer to see the subheadings (i.e. education, work experience etc). I created this level of hierarchy by using a Regular font weight, coupled with sufficient white space. And for an interesting tinge to generate some visual interest, I also added a blue “+” to them, which is also a symbol of identity to my name “Terence”, as it looks like a “t”.
Subsequently, I used vertical alignment to portray hierarchy. The main text body is aligned left to the right margin of the subheadings. This helps to guide the eye from the subheading to the main body. Within the main body, I used font weight, mainly bold and light, to contrast between the content that is more important (i.e. Title of skills, Title of Job, Name Of University etc). I also made use of white space to separate different distinct chunks of content. (i.e. small white spaces between the work experience and its description compared to large white spaces between each work experience content). There were also sufficient white space for gutters (space between the columns). These styles were repeated consistently between the different sections to create order.
Apart from that, I also made use of horizontal alignment to align the “skills and certification” section with that of “work experience”. I also specially spaced out the content to ensure that the content on both the 2 columns are aligned horizontally at the bottom of the page to create a clean and professional feel, and to create order.
Since the previous draft, I had a little problem with the blue color. Apparently, the color which I sent to Somya looked different on both my resume and the business card. Despite spending a lot of time, I couldn’t figure out why they looked different, even though they had the same RGB and CMYK values. I later found out that it was due to the “Print -> Overprint Preview” which made the colors different.
For the font size and margins, I printed out many different versions to compare, and finally chose the one that I felt fitted the best. I also showed the different variations to different people to get some feedback on its effectiveness before finalizing the design.
I subsequently also figured out a typo where “subsequently” was spelt incorrectly.
Business Card
For the business card, likewise, I designed it to be similar to the resume (for the purpose of isomorphic correspondence, similarity and coherence) so people who have seen my business card can relate to my resume and vice versa. I used similar fonts and colors to create a simple and professional-looking design. I also made the name similar to that of the resume to create similarity. I also played around with the placing/position of the information, and decided to place my contact information at the top left corner to create a sense of balance, as the name is already placed at the bottom left.
Similarly, I wanted to draw the attention of the viewers eyes to my name, achieved by scale and color, and the subsequently to my school, major and contact information. I used font weight to emphasize on my school (after all CMU is an awesome school, and an awesome place to pursue an IT-related degree), and I also used the blue “+” symbol to guide the viewer’s eyes to the content at the top right corner.
Prior to submission, I made a few variations of the font of the name (between 25 – 30 px) and the contact information (between 8 – 10 px). I also played around with the alignment of “terencelim” and “Information Systems”.
Finally, with a little of Somya’s recommendation, I decided to vertical-align the right portion of “terencelim” to the left portion of “Information Systems’, align the email address to “Information Systems” and also chose the ones with the larger font for readability.
![card_final1](https://terencelim1989.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/card_final1.gif?w=529&h=300)
![final](https://terencelim1989.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/final1.jpg?w=529&h=394)