Graphic Design Final

Favorite Projects:

Dinosaur Infograph

The assignment was to create an infographic, presenting information about a topic of our choice. I chose dinosaurs because I’ve always found them incredibly interesting. It took me quite a while but I’m not sure how many days exactly. I do know I took forever because I wanted it to be perfect. The color pallete was one of the hardest parts. I really wanted to use the unsaturated green so I paired it with super vibrant colors for the parts of the graphs. I got much better at using the pen tool. In fact, the dinosaur I started with looks pretty rough compared to the last one I made. People in my class suggested some alternate colors and I would try them and decide if I liked it or not. My original idea actually had a brown background instead of green. I also had some extra space in the bottom left corner that wasn’t on my final layout sketch. So I had to fill that with something. It doesn’t look horrible but I didn’t plan for that. I think that it turned out alright. I was so proud that I entered it into eMagine. It didn’t win anything but I’m still happy with how it looks. I read the judges feedback though and learned from it. The green text is kind of hard to read so I wish I did something else with that, like a different color. Some of my classmates even commented on my light text and I should have taken that into consideration. But in all, I think that it is a strong piece of design.

Cece Vector Portrait

This project was a vector portrait of a family member. I chose one of my cats, Cece. I knew I wanted use a photo of her because she’s so pretty. I spent such a long time on this project, just trying to make it as accurate and detailed as possible. I had some issues with colors. Her markings are actually a bit lighter and more dull on this than in real life. So they aren’t quite what I wanted. I also was torn between making everything super detailed or going more simple. But I got a lot better at using the pen tool through this. I feel like a pen tool master now! I didn’t receive very many suggestions while I was working, but my peers thought that it looked good. Since it is basically just making art on top of a photo, my idea of how it would turn out is pretty accurate to what it ended up like. This was definitely one of my favorite projects. I enjoyed working on the small details, even though it was quite meticulous. I think it turned out awesome, I’m proud of it. Cece is so precious and I think that I captured that perfectly.

Wayne Thiebaud Exhibit Poster

The assignment was to create a poster, postcards, and tickets for an event. We chose between a concert at the Sprint Center or an art exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. I chose the art exhibit and decided to do Wayne Thiebaud. The project didn’t take me as long as the other two I mentioned. I had to do research of course and that took a while. I also forgot about the ticket until I was done with my latest assignment, my logos, so that was a bit of a problem. I faced challenges with style on this one. I wanted my work to reflect his simple, colorful style. This was difficult for me to achieve because our styles are very different. I like doing more complex things. I learned a lot about how to work with proximity. I had to adjust how close everything was multiple times. I also tried to fill some of my empty spaces, which was challenging but I still grew as a designer. After this, I can now fill text with an image on Adobe Photoshop so that’s cool. I asked for a lot of feedback and I tried everything that people suggested because I was so stuck. I didn’t change very much from my original design. I love how this series turned out, I am very happy with them.

Time Management:

I almost never finished early. I made sure everything looked the way I wanted so it took me forever to complete my projects. And if I did finish early, I designed some other things or maybe watched tutorials. I enjoyed learning new things through YouTube videos and read helpful guides with tips on how to make your art better. I always look over my projects before turning them in.

Strengths in eComm:

I think that my strengths have further developed in my second year of eComm. I am more persistent, helpful, deliberate, detail-oriented, and organized than I was last year. I keep my head up through difficulties because I am a hard worker. My dedication to this program is unmistakable, in my opinion. I would never want to leave a project unfinished. In addition to being industrious, I am also helpful. If someone in either of my classes has a question, I try to answer it as best as I can. During Exploring Graphic Design, I would often try to give people constructive criticism if they asked for help. I just want to see my peers grow, and if I can assist with that, I will. Equally important, I always think things through before I do them. Things that I do are for a reason. My deliberate attitude plays a role in my detail-oriented processes. I try to make sure everything looks how I want. I am conscious about how things will appear in another’s eye. Furthermore, I have become more organized in both of my classes. I always have a to-do list for when we film, it helps us all know what needs to happen. In graphics, I am aware of what exactly needs to get done. I also keep my desktops very neat so I can find everything easily. I would say I’m team-oriented but that is mostly in my Exploring Video class. Since we work in groups when we are making a film, there is a lot of collaboration. I recognize the different skills people have to bring to the table and what they can do best. We all have to work together to produce something amazing and that’s something I love about video and  eComm in general.

Areas in Need of Improvement:

I think that there is room for improvement in everything honestly. But the ones that stick out to me, the ones that I need to work on the most, are leadership. These are two of the five guarantees of eComm. I could use some help in communication, collaboration, and project management, but those should just come with time. When I was director for the movie trailer remake and short film projects, I noticed that my leadership tactics weren’t very good. I need to work on saying things in a way that won’t make everyone in my group sick of me. Compromises and understanding each other is key to a good team. The leader is who everybody looks up to and takes orders from so they need to know what to do when there is a problem. But sometimes, the “boss” needs to get off their high horse and listen to other people’s suggestions. I have work to do on that. My technical skills are another thing I need to spend more time making an effort on. There are so many features that I haven’t used with any of the Adobe programs. I’m most familiar with Illustrator, I have basic knowledge of Photoshop and Premiere Pro, I just got introduced to InDesign, and have used Dreamweaver briefly. I’ve never used any of the other applications and I’m sure there are ones I’ve never even heard of. I know that I am going into Graphic Design next year, but I would love to be able to use all of the programs I listed efficiently. I also want to know more about file sizes, types, and resolution so I don’t overload my workspace and know what is best. Lastly, I would like to watch more tutorials and ask more questions. Learning new skills is my favorite part, there are so many possibilities when it comes to design.

Conclusion:

What I loved…

These were definitely my two favorite classes of the day. My classmates were the best and I loved my teachers. Mr. Cooper was always open to listen to our questions and our complaints, and trust me, we had a lot of them. He made video super fun. I am actually really proud of how well Mrs. Beaudoin did for her first year teaching at ONW. She did a good job answering all of my questions and if we couldn’t find a solution to a problem, she would help me look it up and execute it. My peers were pretty supportive and helpful. We had a blast this year, there were many times were I was crying because I was laughing so hard. I’m going to miss these classes, they were the best. In addition to the relationship aspects, I really enjoyed the projects we did. Mrs. Beaudoin had us do wide range of types of assignments. We worked on Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign in her class this year. She also showed us how to find different fonts and color palettes with www.dafont.com and coolors.co respectively. In Mr. Cooper’s class, we mostly used Premiere Pro but he showed a script writing site (www.celtx.com) when we made our short film. We studied journalism and entertainment video during each semester. I loved the experience of trying both types, even though I am not doing anything with video next year.

What I would change…

I didn’t really like the print project that we did in Graphic Design, sorry Mrs. Beaudoin! It just didn’t seem very relevant and I would’ve rather spent more time in Photoshop. In Mr. Cooper’s class, the projects were really close together. Our short film project had an awfully short production time. This may have been the effect of extensions to deadlines, but I’m not sure it was enough time. I also felt like we should’ve done the music video second, instead of having it as the first entertainment project. It was pretty difficult for me. The movie trailer should have been the first one because it was much easier for all of us.

Goal…

Next year, I want to break out of my shell a little more and go out of my comfort zone. However, I would still love to express myself through my design. I’d also like to get my name out there and start working with clients on projects. I am so excited for what the future holds for me, I can’t wait.

Thoughts...

I am really going to miss video. Not just the teachers, although Mr. Cooper is a legend. I’m going to miss planning, organizing, filming, editing, producing, and sharing the things that I create. The entertainment video part of eComm is kind of the whole reason I joined and I’m pretty sad about leaving it. I remember making videos on apps like Video Star or iMovie when I was younger. I used my little siblings and my neighbors as actors. I’d find costumes for them and tell them what they needed to do. Then I yelled at them because they weren’t doing it right. Granted, these were just fun little things to do but I loved creating videos. I was so proud of everything I made. That is why the eCommunication program caught my eye, it was like it was built around things that I loved. But I realized how amazing, important, and unrestrictive graphic design can be. Choosing between the two paths was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. Graphic design is just so much more practical and less stressful, so far. I feel like I will have a better career in design than I would in journalism or entertainment. This Tuesday was the last day I would have with my video class and Monday was the last time I would film. Even though I was constantly complaining about how much work it was, I already miss video. It is always going to be a part of me. But I am going down a new path, one that will help me grow.