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.