Semester 2 Final Reflection

What I Did This Semester

Magazine Spread

For this project we were assigned, it was the student's job to interview a local graphic designer about their career and how they got there. We were then told to create a magazine spread all about their accomplishments, projects, and the interview itself. This project took a few months because there were server issues. It was slightly challenging because I'm not as accommodated to working with layout. However, I'm glad I had difficulties in the beginning because I have now learned a lot about how text formatting works. Burdolski told us to step it up on this project because the goal was to make it look like a designer spent time on the spread, not just anyone. Because of this advice, I decided to add cool creative elements to the spread to make it pop while still keeping it minimalistic. At first I thought my design process was weak, but once I got the hang of InDesign it became easier to follow a stronger outline. I'm really proud of my final outcome and it ended up winning second place in print material at eMagine. 

Personal Branding

For this assigned project, we were asked to create a resume, business cards, envelopes, and stationary for our personal brand. This project took less than a month. It was hard to come up with ideas at first because it is very rare as a designer to be asked to come up with something that represents you. I design in many different styles, so I had to choose the best fit when looking through my own sketches. Through this project, I learned how Spot UV works, which is pretty cool. The image shown here is a mockup, but when I actually printed them through Vistaprint, all of the text was shiny and it stood out. While I was still in the design process, I was told to go back and sketch many times because I lacked a symbol. Later I discussed with Burdolski about how my symbol wouldn't necessarily have to be an actual shape. It could be the dashed stroke that I tend to use in other designs (and my circular patterns). Overall, the steps I went through to complete this project went pretty smoothly. I loved seeing the printed business cards. I thought I would give more away at eMagine but that was not the case, I gave out around three. I don't think there were any business professionals there but I didn't mind. I already have an internship so I wasn't looking for anything new just yet.

Bloom Bridal Makeup

This project that was assigned to us had three different parts. First, we were to come up with an imaginary brand that represented an activity or service. Then, we created advertisements for it. Lastly, we created a paired infographic and brochure that would be included with the rest of the material. This project took up most of quarter four. A challenge I faced with this project was the timing of it, this was right around when I also needed to get the Senior Show material made. It was a little bit hard to communicate that Senior Show was my first priority, and it technically was not an outside project. Through working on both the service project and AURA, I learned how to multitask and juggle different assignments just like I would have to do as an actual graphic designer. I chose to focus on a bridal makeup service to do something different than just the typical makeup artist idea. When receiving feedback, I was told to focus a bit more on layout, which I ultimately agreed with. If I would have had more time to create the logo in the beginning (senior show) I think I might have liked it better. However, the logo I went with is still clean, packaged, and it gets the job done.  Overall, I liked my outcome of this project, but I feel that I could have done better in attention to detail and packaging.

AURA Senior Show 

This was a real project that I tackled that focused on the print material for eComm's annual senior show. I came up with the "AURA" concept and the posters. I also teamed up with Chelsea Nicholson, who did the brochure. For this project, multiple seniors on the leadership team met up every week to discuss the concept and get everybody on task. This process was very hard because some of the team members provided no input and some of the adults in charge of printing and planning were not always on top of things. The material I created was ready for print weeks before the show, but the instructors forgot about it and it didn't end up getting sent to the district print shop until a few days before the actual event. I had mini heart attacks along the way because it often felt like the world was against me during this project, but it somewhat worked out in the end. I learned how to take charge when there is chaos and I learned how to plan even when it seemed like someone had thrown a blindfold over my eyes. Overall, I was proud of AURA. The process was a little hellish but it prepared me for further "last minute" projects like this down the road. I was very happy with the poster that was also printed a few days before and it was really cool seeing my designs come to life.

Outside Projects

For these projects I will provide brief descriptions and my opinion of the outcomes.

Choir T-Shirts

I designed the choir showcase t-shirt that all of the choirs at Olathe Northwest would wear at the show. Overall, I liked this design and I feel it reflects my own personal style well.

Foghorn Cassette Tapes

I designed an album/cassette cover for the local band Foghorn. This was their first official album and I enjoyed working with them on the concept. Designing for music is fun because there is a lot of freedom in it.

Time In Class

I used my time well in class this semester (for the most part). If I wasn't working on a project, I was looking for inspiration on Pinterest or Behance. Sometimes it is good to take a break and just look at other people's work to feel inspired again. There were very few times I was ever working on homework during class this semester. Sometimes I was on my phone, but I was usually checking my email for college things. I stayed productive during class by getting other people's eyes on my projects to see what I sometimes could not see. If someone pointed out something I could change, that is how I would keep working on it. This semester, I gained an internship and used my graphic design skills to create a presentational video for a charity event. I learned Premiere Pro over spring break and spent many hours outside of class working on it. This was my first paid project and I was very proud. I also spent time outside of class working on outside projects listed above, as well as Senior Show.

Strengths and Weaknesses

I am very strong when it comes to my creative eye. I am able to find things that look wrong (or right) in a design very quickly, and I am able to see what is effective and what is not. This skill helps when I am giving critiques to others and when I am critiquing myself. When I go into a career in this field, I hope to oversee other designers and possibly be an Art Director so that I can utilize this skill. I am also good at making things look packaged and being able to develop accurate concepts when a client brings an idea to me. I am able to keep on trend while designing more modern projects because I am constantly looking at inspiration. I am confrontational, which keeps other people on task and aids in improving the overall quality of work the class puts out. 

I need to improve on coming up with more diverse sketches and sketching in general. Sometimes I do not put enough time and thought into the beginning processes and want to jump right onto the computer to begin designing. It is also difficult for me to immediately come up with good concepts for InDesign layout because I am not as used to it. Even though I would consider these areas weaknesses, I have still improved tremendously in both of them this semester by spending time researching layout and creating effective sketches as I go on. 

Summary

The thing I loved most about this semester was being able to watch everything I have wanted as a designer come together. I received a hefty scholarship at the college I am going to for my work in eComm and I got a paid internship after a company looked at my Behance portfolio. The only thing I would have changed this semester was my motivation toward the very end of the year after not having Burdolski around. Even though it was hard, I still met deadlines and created good projects. My overall takeaway from this semester was that the amount of time spent on a project equals the approximate amount of payoff you will get. When I really focused in on a project, I was so happy with the result. When I didn't spend as much time on it, I wasn't as proud of it. I am so thankful for my experiences in eComm. They set me up for success and it is so nice to know that I am already prepared for a career in this field thanks to this program.

I will leave you with my scholarship essay! You may find it interesting.

-Courtney

Famous interior designer Elsie de Wolfe once said, “I am going to make everything around me beautiful - that will be my life.” Since hearing this quote for the first time, it has stuck with me, and I believe it fully embodies a designer’s desire to create a world that is both fascinating and stimulating to all. I am profoundly passionate about graphic design, and my love for it arose at a very young age. I had a large interest in both technology and art, and I expressed this by creating brochures and logos for made-up companies using Microsoft software around the age of seven or eight. A friend of my mother’s once installed Adobe Illustrator on my family’s desktop computer after she expressed my desire to create on a program other than Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Paint (that was all we had at the time). In fifth grade, I bought a drawing tablet to hook up to the computer and explored Illustrator for hours, drawing fun characters and making up stories for them using the paintbrush tool. It was in fifth grade that I also began designing for my elementary school’s yearbook. This was a bit abnormal because it was expected that the parents would volunteer to put it together, but I guess word got around about my mother’s techy daughter. I got to see work of mine printed on something official for the first time. It was such a lovely, exciting feeling seeing my work in physical form, and I haven’t stopped chasing that feeling since. I became my middle school’s yearbook editor and then ventured into high school, joining a specialized design program called eCommunications. This program changed the course of my life forever.

As underclassmen in this program, we explored video, web design, animation, and lastly, graphic design, the latter of which I ultimately chose as my focus. The training I received in the Graphic Design eCommunications strand has grown my creative skillset immeasurably. A large focus of my program is on the design process, and my instructor has kindly hammered into us that we must not immediately hop onto Adobe Illustrator or InDesign and start from scratch. We must brainstorm, sketch, critique, create multiple concepts, critique, decide on a concept, critique, and well… there’s just a lot of critiquing. I have learned the skill of giving and receiving constructive criticism with ease, and it has become a strength of mine.

I am a leader in the classroom, and my instructor has often sent me to work with and critique the younger students in our program. Leadership is something I am very passionate about and it is a strong skill of mine. I enjoy reading and studying up on other creative leaders and their methods of guidance. I desire to have a creative, leadership-focused career when I go into the workforce. I always want to be designing, of course, and I think it would be exciting to manage outside work as well as work as a freelancer. I see myself having a full-time career in a design agency however, because I want to surround myself with other creatives while I am designing myself. This is why a career as an art director sounds very appealing to me.

I am very interested in the Graphic Design program at TCU because of its dedication to the business side of graphic design and its personal, intimate class sizes that aid in getting the best possible education and feedback as a designer. After touring the program in October, I was extremely impressed with the dedication of the professors and the quality of work the students produced in the program. TCU Graphic Design also provides many connections to design firms in Texas and talented alumni, which I believe would bring me incredible opportunity as a student in the program. I would benefit TCU Graphic Design as a student because of my unique experience in a high school design program and my drive to lead and learn. I am a very hard worker, and I have already had outside experience designing for companies locally. As a leader in my high school’s specialized program, I could also influence a new wave of eCommunications students to consider studying Graphic Design at TCU. I look forward to my future at TCU and the wonderful things we will create together.

Semester 1 Final Reflection

Projects I Completed This Semester

Choir T-Shirt

The objective of this project was to create a t-shirt for the Olathe Northwest Choir Department. The client wanted the theme to reflect peace, as many of the songs used this school year had something to do with making a change in the world. It took about a week to decide on the final concept and put it into play, as a concept I had brought to the client originally was denied because there was a hand holding a peace sign instead of the symbol itself. It was a little difficult working with a shape so simple but I ended up liking the final product. Along the way I learned to be flexible with my client and to not hold my most favorable work too dearly. Overall I now would have tweaked the design a bit with the skills I have learned recently, but this is all a learning process. The final product is more of a navy shirt than a violet shirt so it has a less feminine feel.

Handwritten Greeting Card

For this assigned project it was my job to handwrite a greeting card message and go through several phases to have it "store ready". Phase one was a rough pencil sketch, phase 2 was an ink sketch, and the final phase was designing, editing, and transferring the design onto a card. It took a few weeks of sketching, tracing, and tweaking to get the card where I wanted it to be. I had never handwritten anything for a project before, so that was a bit challenging. I also accidentally scanned my ink design in as a 300 million dpi file (haha). Like I said, learning process! This project really helped me learn the technical skills needed to take a written design or sketched drawing and make it come to life via Photoshop and Illustrator. A piece of feedback I received from other students while critiquing my card was to make the text a bit smaller and make my doodles on the side a bit larger, which ultimately made the whole card feel more packaged after I changed this. I find it funny that after this project I decided to buy some nicer Tombow markers and learn hand typography online. I'm still very much a beginner, but you will see that I got better at this later in my senior class design.

Senior Committee T-Shirt

First of all, let me start this description out by saying WHO KNEW working with different groups around the school could be so political? I sort of had to fight to design anything for senior committee/STUCO/anything of that sort because some of the people in there do not like people from the outside designing their stuff. I'm glad I ended up getting to design this shirt though. The objective of this project was to make a unisex design for ONW's senior committee. The client wanted a simple design that would convey the idea of school pride. The coordinates of the school itself are located at the bottom of the design. The raven's placement marks where the school is located. I didn't face many challenges besides the client not getting back to me quickly on what text was needed on the shirt. Overall, I really enjoyed making this and the design is easily manipulated, so I'm hoping I can create something cool for cheer with this in mind! 

Homecoming Poster

The objective of this project was to design a poster for Olathe Northwest High School's homecoming dance. It would be hung up around the halls to inform students about when and where it was taking place. My client wanted the theme to include pastels and playful elements. From this I envisioned the idea of a "cotton candy sky" and worked to make it come to life. I got started right away on this project, so while the process for this poster did take a few weeks, the main concept was finished in probably less than a week. Kierstyn and I partnered really well together because we have similar style and ideas, so it wasn't hard to agree on the direction we were going. Some challenges I faced were deciding where to put the informational text on the poster and making the font relate to the bubbly theme I was going for. Along the way, I learned that I should not ask members of senior committee for advice, because they will not end up voting for my concept anyway (haha). But really, this project was difficult because I really went off of the mood board they created, but they ended up changing their minds on the color scheme and look they were going for. I agree that it's pretty feminine, so if I were to change anything I would've made it a little less girly. I'm super competitive, so this was a pretty big let down for me. However, I really enjoyed creating this project overall and I need to learn to not get attached to my work and view one failure as a sign that I'm a failure as a designer. It's a learning process.

Senior Class T-Shirt Design

This is a design that I hand-wrote and then scanned in. I manipulated the type until it was to my liking and then placed the design on a few different packaging projects. This design was to be sold in my school to this year's senior class, however it got pushed back until the people organizing it didn't want to create new shirts anymore. I chose to handwrite the words because it gives the t-shirts a more unique feel. It took me only a few days to put this together. I had recently learned a bit more about hand typography when I executed this design so I actually like this one a bit better than my greeting card. I'm glad I pushed myself to create something a bit more personalized. I used all of the technical skills from the greeting card project to make this design come to life, and I am proud of it. I messed up the year though, but that is an easy fix. Overall, I really enjoyed proving to myself that I was capable of writing like this for this project.

Here is a poster I created that got published! The objective of this project was to create a poster for Olathe Northwest High School's production of "Guys and Dolls". The client wanted to use the colors associated with the show, red and yellow. The marquee lights and brick wall background gave the poster a classic show feel. It took about two weeks to design this poster. I used a lot of different skills and elements for this one, similar to my Homecoming poster. The lights were a freebie off a designer's site that I manipulated to my liking. The brick wall image in the background was darkened so that it was barely there, but it gave the poster some texture. The dice were also image traced and manipulated. A challenge I faced with this project was formatting all of the informational text (just like the other poster). Layout and format is something I'd like to improve on. I changed the text size up top so it would be more visible while still looking clean. Overall, I'm really proud of this project and the way it turned out. The design process was not too difficult.

Dairy Farms Midwest Social Media Campaign 

Dairy Farms is an actual company located in the midwest that promotes nutrition and dairy products. I was contacted to design their upcoming social media campaign. The client wanted a bold, sleek, and feminine design geared toward young female athletes. This was the largest project I have done so far. I created 25 of these graphics without pay, so I think I could use this project alone for all of my endorsement hours this year! This project was done over the span of a few months. I "completed" it in October, but two separate sets of changes were made through November as well. A very big challenge I faced was working with clients who told me "do whatever you like!" and ended up tweaking one million things afterward. It's ok though, I'm thankful that my client was a bit challenging because it taught me a few things about doing work for clients in the real world. 1) Taking on a project this big should be a paying job. Don't be afraid to accept pay. 2) The people you are working with will most likely know nothing about design. Keep this in mind when you are writing back and forth about changes. 3) Make a contract or set a deadline that is firm and final if you have other things going on. Some clients will not understand that you have other priorities besides tweaking the project. I made a lot of changes, some I was not particularly fond of, but that's the way working as a designer is. In the end, you bite your tongue and do what your client says. Overall, I'm really glad I took on this project because I gained real world experience and pushed myself a lot with this one.

Python Branding Project

This was my favorite project I have done in graphic design. It was an original branding project that I was assigned this year. I created a brand from scratch, called "The Python". It is an imaginary tattoo shop in New York City. I wanted this brand to communicate a modern, sleek feeling with some rustic and gothic elements. It was a style I hadn't tried before, and I loved the final product. This project probably took about a month and a half to complete, because there were many aspects to it. You can see the entire concept come to life when all of the elements are grouped together on the full Behance board, https://www.behance.net/gallery/57843111/The-Python. A challenge I am still facing is image size and printing for my matte board. I tend to always struggle printing because I always use some pattern or texture that gives my projects issues (oops). I changed the color scheme a lot on this project to make it look less "cartoonish". I'm really happy with the gold, black, and white. It feels more sophisticated. Overall, this was my favorite project I have done in this class and I hope to use this style on more of my projects in the future.

Time Management

I have used my time in class much better than last year. I am very focused and I enjoy all of the work that I do in here. I stayed productive when I finished early by checking out design tips (I have some sites bookmarked) and creating inspiration boards on Pinterest for future projects. If I thought I was done with a project, I asked for feedback often from my peers. This year I learned that I should have other eyes on a project, not just me. I took on a lot of extra projects this semester, some I have not even included in this because they were from late summer or too small to showcase. I work on lots of projects at home and I spend time sketching/handwriting things in my room. I am always trying to use my time wisely.

Strengths

I am very strong at quickly coming up with concepts and getting a head start on the creative process. Brainstorming and experimenting come naturally to me. I also have a strong eye for design, so it is usually easy for me to look at my own projects and tell that something is a little off. This is also helpful when I am helping out other designers in critiques. I enjoy helping others and being a leader. I am also always trying to improve whatever I do, so I also view this as a strength of mine. 

Areas of Improvement

I need to improve on not getting too attached to my work and accepting changes and critiques from others. Technically, I need to become better at layout and manipulating type. I would also like to improve on my drawing skills as well. I work on improving myself in these areas by pinning sketches of other artists I like and drawing similar ones for the sole purpose of learning. I also learn to accept some things as they are. Sometimes people will not like my work and I need to be okay with that.

Summary

I loved my new drive this semester. Something clicked this year and I realized that 1) graphic design really is my passion and 2) if i want to improve, I really need to work. In my own life, I've become a much more organized, productive person, and this reflected well on my work in this class too. I'm glad I tackled a lot of projects in here, but I would've changed how I interacted with some clients, especially Dairy Farms. I should've made it clear how much time I had to work on a project so I wasn't still juggling it late after the deadline. The overall take-away I had from this semester was that when you really dedicate yourself to something, amazing things can happen. Your passion really shows itself. Next semester I would like to learn some new technical skills and take on bigger outside projects. Burdolski, thank you so much for supporting me in my college search and always giving me helpful hints on how to improve as a designer. I owe everything to you. I can't wait for next semester!

Final Reflection

Guarantees

Technology

The very first thing that I learned about technology this year was that I didn't really know how to use it. Yes, I did a few tutorials here and there sophomore year and I had the Adobe software at home, but that did not mean that I knew what I was doing. I went into this year believing that I didn't need very much help getting familiar with the programs we used because I usually pick up on tech very easily. However, sitting down and really learning the basics of InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop helped me more than a guess and check process ever could have. It was challenging when I could picture an idea for a design I had in my head, but I didn't know how to physically design it on a program. With the help of Mrs. Burdolski, Brett, and Google, I was usually always able to figure it out. That leads me to my next topic.

Collaboration

Oh boy! One of the reasons why I joined graphic design was the individual aspect of it. It was very personal, and I could let my creative ideas be carried out through me and only me. I had no idea how much it would involve me conversing with other designers and getting feedback. Something that surprised me this year was how much I asked for help, as I am typically not one to do so. I realized that my first ideas laid out on Illustrator wouldn't always be the best. I began asking others for their thoughts on how my projects looked and ways they would change it. This made my final products a million times better. I will miss my absolute favorite critic who sat to the left of me because I know that he was always honest. Something that I believe needs to be pushed in this class is giving real criticism. There were many times that I knew someone was just "being nice" when I asked them about my work and saying "It looks great!". I would appreciate if we could all just tell each other the truth in a respectful manner.

Communication

Tying along with collaboration, communication was also something that I really developed in this year. I learned a lot about keeping in touch with people, whether it was my instructor, a client, or a fellow classmate. Client wise, I learned a lot about reading carefully when they send me their requirements, as well as keeping up with them and updating them frequently. For example, the very first poster file that I sent Feed His Lambs was actually missing information that got lost in a word document I was working off of. It felt embarrassing to get an email back detailing everything that I had done wrong, but it was a very important learning process. I knew that from there on I would always double check everything I did, just like an industry professional. If you want to be a graphic designer, you've got to be agreeable and you've got to listen.

Project Management

I am aware that I still have a long way to go with this guarantee. I am a person who always believes that I have everything under control. Even if my computer was set on fire, I would probably still be sitting there saying, "It's all ok!". Even though I wish I wasn't, I am a procrastinator, and the way I prioritize some things in my head is not always correct. I always manage to create a final product that I like with each project, but finishing these projects always causes me a lot more trouble than it really needs to be. For example, I always put my menu project on the back burner when I had other projects to be working on. The amount of copy I had to incorporate into it was overwhelming, and at the time it didn't really feel like design to me, so I put off doing it. I now know that if I would've put a little more time into it, I would've been happy with the results. I will elaborate on this a bit more in my weaknesses.

Leadership

Despite not always having the greatest project management skills this year, I still believe that I was a leader in this class. Even though I didn't have that senior level authority, I still felt that I contributed a lot to critiques and I felt respected as a designer. I really loved helping out the sophomores with their projects on the days that I came in to critique them. There is something so great about giving someone a suggestion and seeing their work come to life. I enjoy helping others and giving them feedback. I also like being in charge and going the extra mile in certain situations. I am very excited for next year because I know that as a senior I will be able to assist the juniors a bit more and set an example of a good designer. 

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

I highlighted these previously, but I believe that my strengths are leadership, having an eye for design, sketching, and noticing trends. I believe that I am talented at giving constructive criticism and noticing small things that can improve projects overall. I am able to also look at my own projects and decide whether I like them or not based on visual appearance. Something that I was particularly proud of was my sketches for this year's prom poster. The sketches were quick, but I drew a variety of ideas and always got my message across for each one. I also am able to design based on what is "in" right now. Scrolling through Pinterest really does pay off! For example, even though I am not sure if it will be chosen, I really liked the Stuco t-shirt design I created that incorporated line art. It was a success to me because I saw many logos like this, and I was able to figure out the process of creating one through videos and searches. 

Weaknesses

To bring up the prom poster again, I consider that a failure. Even though I really liked my final product, I did not listen to some of the suggestions given to me during critiques that may have saved my design. I believed that it looked great the way it was, but there were some things I could have messed with a bit more (like type). I believed that my design was packaged the best out of the rest of the class' designs, so I was shocked when it wasn't chosen. I really do need to listen more. Project management was also a weakness of mine. I am happy with the number of projects I created this year, but I am not happy with the rush I always had finishing them. I still need to work on not always believing that I am right and putting in my full effort into each project I produce (even if I am not particularly fond of it). 

Future

The leadership, project management, and communication skills that I have learned this year will assist me greatly in my upcoming year in graphic design. I am excited to have more professional skills and feel more experienced in my art. I am hoping that I will be able to produce projects at a quicker pace and package them even better. I am also going to make sure that I do a better job at cutting and mounting, now that I've learned that it's not always the easiest process to do. I hope to take on even more projects than I did this year and really see a lot of success in them. I am also looking forward to designing the homecoming poster, as I am determined to get it right this time. 

Changes

Even though I feel that I am repeating myself a bit, I would change my time management skills and sometimes stubborn attitude when it comes to critiques. There were times when I wouldn't consider someone's suggestion for my project because I believed that it looked good the way it was, but then later regretted it. I wish I could've always been putting in my full effort for each product I produced this year, but next year is a new chapter, and I know my effort will always be at its best. My junior year has been a great learning experience.

Conclusion

Coming to first and second hour was by far my favorite part of the school day. I love how much I am able to express myself in this class and I enjoy being surrounded by creatives who have the same passion as me. Even though it can get competitive, I respect every other designer in this room and I m thankful that I have them to assist me in my learning experience as a graphic designer. I have approved greatly this year in the categories of technology, collaboration, communication, project management, and leadership. I believe that this upcoming year will bring lots of opportunity to me as a designer and I am incredibly excited. I can really see myself using all of this experience in my future career. I want to thank Mrs. Burdolski for always supporting me and giving me projects that help me learn and grow as a designer. 

Design Essentials I Semester Review

Projects

Over the course of this semester, I feel that I have really grown as a designer and a communicator. I am extremely proud of all of my projects and feel that I would be happy to showcase any of them to represent myself as a designer. Of course, there are plenty of things in my earlier projects that I could look back on now and tweak slightly, but I count that as a success. I am learning better design technique and and my skills are developing further.

Name Typography

Our very first project of the semester was a fun one that challenged us to get creative and incorporate design elements in places you wouldn't normally think of. We created 12 "name plates" and used words to describe ourselves as inspiration for these text designs. First, we brainstormed words that come to mind when we think of ourselves and our hobbies. Then, we picked 12 of these words and came up with three sketches per describing word, with a total of 36 sketches. Picking my favorites was difficult, but I came up with my favorite twelve and designed them on Illustrator. Most of this project was about manipulating type, so I had a lot of fun figuring out different ways to showcase my describing word with my name. It took a couple of weeks to finish the entire project. I had a bit of difficulty cutting and mounting my text onto a board, but that was expected since it was the first time I'd ever packaged something like that before. It taught me to take my time when finalizing my 

projects, which I still had a bit of difficulty with later. 

Some of my favorite feedback I was given was to stand and look at my project from far away to see if it really communicates a message even when it's not seen up close. I still continue to do that with my projects today to really emphasize the importance of communication through design. In this particular project, I changed some type by inverting it and removing/adding textual elements to certain words. There is such thing as too much when it comes to design, so I had to simplify some words to improve their visual look. I believe that I did very well on this project and I spent a good amount of time making sure that I was taking the correct steps throughout the design process. I am pleased that this was my first project.

Freshman Committee T-Shirts

This was my first "outside" project I did for this class, and I am happy with how I handled my communication with the client and the overall design of the t-shirt itself. It only took about a week and a half to actually sit down and sketch/create the project digitally. I created two separate concepts for a freshman committee's t-shirt at ONW and incorporated different design elements into each t-shirt.

Something I did experimentally was create a slanted line pattern in the fill of the raven design I used. It looked good behind the text and layered over the circles, which provided contrast in the design. My other design was less playful and had more of a "committee" look to it, but the committee itself chose the circular raven design over the rectangular design I created. Some challenges I faced were manipulating the pattern to face the right way and what font to use over it, as it needed to be big and bold to be seen over the lines. 

The process of sending it to the teacher in charge and retrieving information over the project was fairly simple and packing did not require lots of time. I just had to create a t-shirt mockup on illustrator and send the teacher the design files required for printing the design onto the shirt.

Rebranding

This project focused on recreating a logo for a real brand that was lacking in good design/packaging. It took about 8 weeks to complete because we had different phases and focuses, including logo development, typography, color, and packaging. Our first step was to sketch logo design, and I chose a sparkling lemonade company called Effervé. At first, my sketches were more playful and not entirely serious, but as I did more research on my brand, I found that it was very prestigious and required something a bit fancier.

I still incorporated exciting design elements, but I made them a bit fancier and more appropriate for the brand. We reviewed color choice, and something that stood out to me was black representing luxury. I didn't picture a black label looking good on a sparkling lemonade bottle, but after I created my first mock up, I found that it exuded a type of elegance and simplicity that I couldn't have communicated with a different color as the base. My feedback from my peers helped me to size the label on my bottle correctly by not making it too large or too small. I experimented with these sizings by creating multiple mock-ups on the bottle itself and choosing the best looking option.

The entire digital design process did not cause me much trouble, but physically packing my bottles could have gone a bit better. I learned a lot about the correct way to cut with exacto knives, as I was holding my knife at the wrong angle and not pressing down hard enough. Once I learned how to cut the right way, the cutting process went a lot faster. After mounting all of my labels to my bottles, I messed up by filling up the bottle after cutting and gluing my packaging on. Water got into the paper and made it bubble, and the entire project did not looked mediocre. I resent my files to print, re-cut and mounted my packaging, and had another session of photos taken of my project because I wanted my hard work to be showcased correctly. I am extremely proud of how this project turned out and I really felt like I nailed the concept of this project as a whole. The physical final outcome looks fantastic and my Behance for the project includes all of the elements I need. I am very happy with my effort on this rebranding project.

Olathe Schools Program Planning Guide

This project was the second outside project I focused on.

I was very excited to work with my clients because the design they were looking for was going to communicate to the largest audience I've designed for so far. My job was to create a front page of the program planning guide that would be used for the next year to aid kids in choosing their future classes. This was a stressful time for me to be working on the project as it was due the same week as the musical was running, but I did not rush myself or put in a lack of effort. Even though it only took me about four days in class to create the design, I was proud of the concept and how I incorporated a more creative look to the traditional designs that the district used before. 

I learned to be more familiar with formatting on InDesign, since that was the program the district requested that we used on this project. After submitting, they wanted to get rid of the black boxes I placed behind the text, which I understood. There was a little too much going on in the first draft I sent to them. I liked the design overall and am happy that they liked it as well. This design process was quick and easy but I put forth my best effort and came out with something I was proud of.

Menus

Although we have not completed this project, I believe I am on the right track with my menus. Our mission with this project was to choose a somewhat well-known brand that w could recreate a menu for.

I chose Spin pizza because I admire its color palette and the overall design of the restaurant itself. I searched for inspiration on the rustic look of the brand and ways I could incorporate that feeling to the menu I was creating. I was pleased with my sketches and chose a large triangle "pizza shaped" menu and a tri-fold menu that has a napkin-like look to it. Both cut-outs have a unique look to them. Formatting the text itself on the menus has been somewhat difficult because of the diagonal cuts on each side of the triangular menu, but I sketched out some ways to group the text and I believe formatting this on InDesign will not be too difficult. My typography I chose for the plates and their descriptions reflect the brand well. The project is not complete but I believe that the concept I have created so far looks good. I experimented with lots of colors and fonts and I am happy with my choices for this particular project. I plan to work and finish the drafts for my menus over winter break.

Use of Time

I have used my time well in class. Looking over this entire semester, I am proud of how productive I was in this class. I finished all of my projects on time (except for rebranding because of print shop difficulties), and if I was supposedly "all done", I made sure to go back and check and make sure there was nothing else that needed improvement. Once I was done making that final check, I would browse fonts for further (or outside) projects. 

I would also look through Behance to get professional design inspiration. I came in multiple times outside of class, especially pre-musical time. Sometimes it would be to work on outside projects or finish up packing specific projects. As I got busier in the semester I could not come in after school for awhile, but by then it wasn't needed. I was already being  productive enough in class to not come in later. However, I often sent myself files to work on at home because I have the software to do so.

Areas of Strength and Improvement

Without my strengths, I would not accomplish the things I do in this class successfully. I take criticism well and also give well thought out feedback to others who ask. I understand hierarchy and the importance of fonts. I also have a good eye for what looks right and what does not. I always out my best effort into every project I do. If I'm not satisfied with something I've created, I will adjust it until I am proud to put my name on it. I am a strong leader and am not afraid to try new styles of design or learn new tools to make myself a better designer

A weakness I have is getting swallowed into one task for an entire hour and not focusing on the big picture. For example, if a shape I've created for a poster doesn't look like it fits, I will spend my time altering it and adjusting it and forget about working on other things. In order to improve in this area, I've been able to recognize what I am doing and move on to another task before I spend too much time on it. I also sometimes will design things the wrong way, and forget to create outlines in type before I send it to myself to work on at home. I changed my habits and am now aware of the precautions I should take when formatting projects.

Summary

The thing I loved most about this semester was being able to learn and grow as a designer as well as establish great relationships with the people in my class. Something I wish I could've done differently this semester was have more motivation this month. It is easy to become lazier s the semester comes to a close, but I wish I would've put a little more effort into my class time. What I've learned this semester is to not put in any less than my best effort into my projects, as I may be able to use them in the future. I've also learned great software and design skills. A goal I would like to set for next semester is to do more outside projects and put more time into my Behance. I have thoroughly enjoyed this class and I am excited to see my improvements in semester 2. 

Typography Project Review

Scope and Process

The scope of the typography project was to become more familiar with typography styles, manipulating text, and become a better brainstormer. The process was long but not entirely difficult. First, we thought of words that described ourselves as people. While many took a physical approach, like "I like ice cream", I mostly chose descriptions like "I am outgoing" and "I am a go-getter".  This ended up being more of a challenge because it is much easier to say "I love" an object and then image trace it and paste it onto type. We singled out 12 words and drew 3 sketches for each, with a total of 36 sketches in our sketchbooks. After getting them approved and reviewing a few lessons on how to alter our type correctly, we were sent off to look for fonts and start piecing together the rough drafts of our "name plates" on Illustrator. I really enjoyed browsing through fonts on places like Behance, DaFont.com and Pinterest. I ended up with a large variety of fonts to work with and plenty of time to get my names just right! Then, when we felt comfortable with our work, we placed our type into an InDesign template and critiqued each other on how we could make our projects look even better. I got a lot of good information out of our critique day and it helped me a lot! I altered quite a few of my name plates and then cut and mount them onto a matte board.

Learning

I learned many things during this project. Illustrator is an amazing digital workspace and provides an endless amount of tools and features to create your best work possible. If you take the time to learn all of the amazing things it can do and what different icons mean, it will help you tremendously in the long run. The tools I used most were the create outlines and expand options, which allowed me to really be able to manipulate type and do it on different computers as well (without having to re-download a font). I also used many vector images to incorporate a message in my text. It was easy to get inspiration by simply searching a word on a creative space on Bechance and seeing how other creatives interpreted it. Although there was not much collaboration in this project, critique day was key for many of us because it allowed us to give and receive positive, encouraging feedback to each other as peers. I helped many people and showed them how to do certain things on Illustrator when they asked. Working together was an important part of success and always will be.

Changes and Experiences

Although I was happy with my fonts digitally, I wish I would have been better and cutting and mounting them when they were on paper. Even though it was my first time doing so, I was disappointed with the job I did on my matte board and wish I would have kept better track of measurements and been more careful while cutting straight lines and accurate measurements on my project. Something I would do the same is ALWAYS ask for feedback on things I'm uncertain on. Having my talented peers sitting near me helped a lot when it came to asking if something looked right or didn't look right. I was also able to see what other people were doing and able to recognize their individual style as creatives, which was very cool. I will draw from my cutting and mounting experience a VERY big lesson: always pay attention to measurements! My pre-production experience went well and I will continue to finish my sketches in a timely manner. My general thought on this project is that I could have done better on the physical/mounting side. All in all, I had a good time manipulating fonts and learned very valuable lessons on what it takes to go through pre-production, production, and post-production as a graphic designer.

Reflection

Graphic Design

What Did You Learn?

In graphic design, I learned the importance of working with clients, using type/shape/spacing elements, and working as a team. Having important creative visions are important as well. I learned how to properly use Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and other important programs. The knowledge I have gained from this course with carry on with me throughout the rest of the years in this program and will benefit me throughout the rest of my career as a designer.

How did you learn it?

At the beginning of the year and most of first semester, we didn’t have as much creative freedom because we had to do tutorials and all create the same product. However, I ended up putting my own creative twist on every project I did and I learned very valuable skills from every tutorial I used. I learned how to use clipping masks with the scuba project, how to use the magnetic lasso tool with the floating mountain project, how to incorporate text with the henna tutorial, and how to use brushes with the landscape picture and color palette tutorial. The second semester, I was able to do more broad projects and have much more creative freedom. I created my own info graphic outside of school, used teamwork to create two unique products, made album covers, and started using a consistent style on all of my work.

Why is it important?

I will carry on these skills that I have learned throughout the rest of my time in the graphic design strand in eComm. I have become more accustomed to formatting a document correctly and using the correct creative process when creating a project. I feel like a more experienced designer and I can definitely create better project because of it.

What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?

My biggest strength is having big, innovative ideas and leading in group projects. It all comes naturally to me. The weakness I hold is getting bored with projects and-not necessarily giving up on them- but I get annoyed with my work and close out of it. I need to improve on this.

How have you improved?

I have become a better designer overall and strengthened my people and client skills. Viewing my work at the beginning of the year has really shown how incredible it is to work on your skills for a year. I have started creating professional-looking work; something I was not doing in August.

In conclusion, I will continue in the program as a graphic designer and hopefully pursue a career in this field. I would not change a thing about what I did this year besides improving the overall quality of my work.  I’ve had a great year and enjoyed being able to use my creative freedom pretty often in this class.

Individual Focus 2016

My Project

At first, while brainstorming projects to choose from, I picked digital collages that I could format on Photoshop. I made a few of those, but I started getting bored of creating them. I didn't want to continue making the same thing, so I started creating other projects as well. Here are the collages that I created.

Like I said, these were fun to create but I also wanted to make something else too. I created a few random album covers and designs in my free time.

This is a self-made graphic that I layered onto a photo I liked. I eventually used the photo's color scheme to create a product called Re: Dream.

I was inspired by an infographic about social media created by some upperclassmen in my program to create my ow infographic. My design teacher is always telling us we should create design tutorials, so I created an infographic about clipping masks. I learned a lot while creating it.