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.