Semester Reflection

During Second Semester...



Personal Branding
Our first project was to create our own personal brand. This took a couple of weeks for us to create. Some initial challenges straight off from the beginning of the project was just the brand. I wasn't sure how I wanted my brand to look and how I was going to make it look like me. I learned in order to brand yourself you have to make it clear and concise who you are and what you do. My feedback that was given was to make my resume, cover letter and business card blend together more because I didn't want them to all have a different style and not look well together. I ended up changing the layout of my cover letter so that it was more simple and went all my other branding materials. I overall enjoyed the outcome of this project and feel like my branding was representative of me.

Confetti & Company Branding

Our Second project of the Semester was to pick some of kind of activity that we could create advertising for and be able to sell. It took from a little after the beginning of the semester until the end because we initially started out with creating a logo, then magazine, poster, and web ads. We also created a brochure and infographic to go along with it. Some of the challenges I faced was trying to figure how I wanted my brand to look because I had many options to take in considering it was a party planning business and I could use color to my advantage. I tried to take my own pictures for the advertising materials but ended feeling that it was not how I wanted the brand to look. So I definitely changed it a couple of times trying to find the right color theme and overall look I wanted for the brand. Some people helped me along the way by letting me know that food did not really scream that I was a party planning business and was misdirecting them. I am happy with the overall theme and the only thing I wish I could have worked on is the first couple of advertising materials.

Time In Class

At the beginning of the semester I felt that I did do well with my projects until we came to our activity branding project. This initially started out good until I got to the advertising materials of the project and I became more collaborative with friends. This would become more distracting then helpful at some points. I would always take advantage and use my time outside of class as well to make for time lost in class. 

Strengths and Weakness

I feel as though one of my weaknesses is trying to make everything perfect and exactly how I see it in my head. It's hard for me to not overthink something and just do it. I also get in ruts where I feel as though it is too late to change what I do not like and I get stuck with a design that I do not like. One of my strengths is that I am good at collaborating with people, which can actually be a weakness for me sometimes as well.

Summary

Something I really enjoyed about this semester was that I felt that I could really see my progress that I have made in the three years I have been in e-Communication. I would have changed the fact that when I was collaborative with I friends, I let myself get distracted to easily. Which is why a big take away from this semester is that I have learned that I can not always be collaborating all the time and I have to take on my own design. One goal I have is to be even more familiar with the adobe creative cloud going into college so that I can do more projects on my own. I am glad that I was able to take this class and discover how much I really enjoy graphic design and being able to try and pursue a career from this.

Semester Reflection

Over This Semester..

We did a variety of projects in order to learn multiple sets of skills that would help us in the graphic design industry.


Homecoming Infographic
Our first project of the year was to design the homecoming poster for our school and the other materials that came along with it . It was a pretty quick timeframe because we had to get them in the first couple weeks of September in order to prepare for the actual dance on the 23rd. For this project we had to team up and make a cohesive poster and the materials together which I found challenging at times because I felt as though my ideas were not translated into the final product which also had to with timeframe as well. I had to design the infographic showing all the events happening during homecoming week and some of the challenges I faced were that I found it difficult to fit all of the events in a nice and organized way without it looking too unevenly spread out.  I learned how to incorporate little details that made the information easier to see and read on something that has a lot of information on it. Some of the feedback I was given along the way was to change the color scheme because we had originally chosen a blue tone that did not create enough contrast for the words on the page so we decided to try and more purple tint that still gave the illusion of the sky. I was satisfied with outcome because it had come a long way from the original poster, the only thing I wish we could have had time for was to manipulate the fonts.

Hand Typography Greeting Card

Then, our next project was all about manipulating type. We had to design a greeting card that would be in stores like hallmark using a font that we had manipulated and we made in the span of a month. One of the things that I feel I struggle the most on is learning how to manipulate the type which was the whole basis of this project which made all of it seem challenging. Once I had finally gotten my text to the way I wanted it and decided to lay it out on the card I started to think about color scheme  I wanted, since mine was a birthday card I wanted to incorporate more of a rainbow theme to it but felt it ended up kind of distracting so I decided to settle with a bright blue with colorful balloons for the details. Like I said, this project was extremely based on manipulating the type so I was not completely satisfied with outcome and wish I could have done more with it.

Company Branding

The last project we finished this semester was our company branding where we had to use four random materials-an animal, number, mineral, and two initials- in order to create and brand a made up business. We had to initially start with creating the logos, then moving onto the stationary and other merchandise for the store which took about two months. In this project I found it challenging to make everything blend together in a cohesive way and I ended up realizing that not every single item that went with it had to be designed do intricately. I was given the feedback of changing the color of the logo to a more relaxing color because I originally had to started with warm orange color because my business was suppose to be located in Hawaii. I feel as though my final product was very simple but it fit with the theme that I was going for my spa.

Time In Class

At the beginning of the school year I felt I did not do well at coming back into a productive environment, I was easily distracted and had a hard time not getting lost in conversation. As it came more apparent that this was impacting the end product of my projects I started to try to become more focused on the project at hand. If I ever had free time when I was finished on a project I used that time in order to get outside projects that I was currently working on finished. More recently I have started to work on my project for e-magine this year whenever I have had some free time aside from work and school. I tend to find myself looking up several tutorials and different little detailed videos on youtube to see what tips and tricks I can use towards my next project and I have also decided to work my handwritten lettering when I have the time.

Strengths and Weakness

I feel as though one of my strengths is that I try my best to plan out the concept of what I want my design to look like but I also feel like my weakness is trying to be a perfectionist and not willing to bend the idea that I already have in order to make it look better. 

Summary

Something I really enjoyed about this semester was that I really was able to get out of my comfort zone and find out skills that I need to work on if I want to have a career in graphic design. If  I could do anything differently it would be to stretch myself more and find out what I can really do because I felt though this semester there was some things that I struggled on but did not do enough to help have the best outcome that I could have. The goal that I want to set for next semester is that I want to do what I did not do in this first semester and expand my skills as well as push myself further in the ones I already have.

Graphic Design Reflection

       

Technology

I feel as though this year I have really come to be familiar with the settings and tools in Adobe Indesign. When we had initially started using Indesign it was super unfamiliar and I really had no idea how to even start my project. It was tough to navigate through all the options after being so use to what I was able to do in Illustrator. From asking others about the tools to looking up some tutorials I was able to finally figure out my way around which is a great thing because now I'll be able to use this and it will be so much easier with future projects that need to have a lot of type on them.

Communication

This year I also feel that I have reached out more instead of staying private and secluded. I was able to just jump out of my comfort shell to ask what they thought I might be able to do with my project. It was extremely nerve wracking at first because I felt that I really did not know that much about Graphic Design at the time and I might appear clueless. As the year went on I became comfortable with my ability and finally was able to branch out and ask for their critiques on my designs. This really impacted my designs because my designs would not look the same as they are today if it were not for the people I had asked. 

Collaboration

I have also learned to collaborate through our critiques that we have held for each project and I am able to come out of them with a better vision of how I want my project to look like. This was always something that helped me out because if I was trying to manage how to make something on my project look better I was able to get feedback from other people and gain a new perspective. It was also helpful because sometimes after days and days of looking at it on the computer I was able to see little details that I may have not noticed previously. 

Project Management

I had to learn the hard way that project management is supremely important. If you spend more time on one thing and then push off something else to the side it is dangerous because you do not know how you will be able to handle it. It's always best to try something out and not completely ignore anything. For me I know I constantly would really try to find the perfect way to do something and I was not able to let myself ask for help so I pushed it off and was not satisfied with my project by the end. If you are not able to manage your time necessarily you will not be able to have the best outcome you could for your project and you are most likely to not be happy with the final presentation of it.

Leadership

Leadership. Now if I am being completely honest this is not my strongpoint, like at all. I find it really hard for me to take charge. I have found myself being able to speak out more in critiques but definitely less than I would like to. As I've grown more comfortable and familiar with people around me, it has allowed me to be more able to assert my opinion. 

       Something this year that I feel I have handled rather well is being able to try to express myself, although I may not have been the most forthcoming at the very beginning I have grown since then. Something that I wish I would've worked on more was Project Management and I know I tried to really change this for awhile but I let myself fall back. I find myself frequently letting myself get distracted by other people or not admitting that I need help on something, leading me to make no progress on the task at hand. 

      Project Management would definitely be something I would have wanted to change this year and not only that but learning to be able to just try something and figure it out. To look at tutorials and become more invested in what I am capable of doing. I would change this because if I had done this throughout this past year I would be more happy with the position I am in.

    There are numerous things that I have gained from my experience since first entering 

E-communications. I have learned an incredible amount from these last two years, especially this year and I hope to continue learning how I can grow even more. The relationships I have been made this year are ones that have been able to help me improve. It may have been hard to push my designs further and to keep working on them to make them feel more complete but I have definitely made progress since my first year in E-communications. 

  

    

Semester Overview & Reflection

This semester we did several different types of projects that helped me learn so much more about graphic design which I felt I had learned very little last year.

So what were the projects we did this semester?

Name Typography

This project was solely based on making you feel the characteristics of the type so that you were able to tell what it was suppose to be just from looking at it. It took quite a few a weeks to do just because of the long process of sketching and then transferring your ideas to the computer into something that actually gave you the sense of what you were trying to make it look like. One of the challenges I faced was not being able to use color to help make it feel a certain way, I also struggled to add details to the letters without making it all about the details and not the type. Some feedback I was given was that I needed to make some things larger to make sure you would be able to tell what it was suppose to be from far away and then some details I had were not needed to have the impact I wanted, that the stuff I already had was enough. After I was critiqued I went back and I edited the type so that the little details I had actually went along with my type and I went back and edited it so that you could tell what my type was trying to convey from farther away. I enjoyed designing the name typography, it was definitely very difficult for me in the beginning but I feel like in the end I was pretty happy with how it ended. I feel for the most part that I got it to a point where the type actually showed what I was trying to. I learned that how to edit typography in order to distinguish it from any other type.

Rebranding 

For this project we had to take a brand, mostly one that we felt needed a new design and totally rebrand it so that it gave it a new style. This project took about two months because we had to

sketch, create the logos in black and white, and then we began adding color in order to help give you the sense of what you were drinking whether it was blue for the feeling of something cool or another color. Then we headed towards making the label of the bottle and we took pictures of our final product. I was given the feedback that I should try to separate what I had in my bottle by adding a ribbon around the top which is what I ended up doing! I also had my bottles as a different color than my color scheme so I was told that I should try and photoshop my colors so that they much which is something I also did that really helps with the look of the bottles. I felt like this project was kind of challenging for me because I felt that I was not doing a good job of communicating the style of my brand very well and it took me a while to do it without making it based off of type. In the end I enjoyed how it ended up, although I now  know in the future if I were to ever recreate this project I would do a few things differently. I learned to draw characteristics from a product in order to pull them into designing the logo.

Banner For Youtube

I recently took on a project for a friend because they needed a banner for their youtube channel. It took about a week to work on this because they really just wanted a simple banner and not a very intricate one. A challenge that I faced was trying to incorporate the pictures they wanted without them looking out of place with each other. The feedback that I was given was to try and put a little detail that still kept it a simple banner but to also make it pop. In turn I added some color in the middle to make the username of the channel to make it stand out more. I especially liked this project because I was able to help a friend out and I was satisfied with my end product.

Since we had plenty of time to work on all these the projects the next question to ask is how did I use my time in class?

For the most part I have used my time in class but I have definitely struggled with focusing in class sometimes whether I was just talking to a friend or working on homework that I didn't manage to do the night before for another class. I tried to stay productive when I was done early by getting some critiques from a few people and trying to make sure there wasn't anything else I could work on. I have tried to come in during seminars to work on outside projects or any work that I feel I may have needed to edit and tweak a bit more.

What are my strengths as a graphic designer?

I feel like my strengths as a designer are taking my sketches and transferring to the computer to make ideas out of them and trying to exercise my creativity out on the page.

What are areas in need of improvement?

As I mentioned earlier sometimes it is hard for me to focus on work, I feel that I definitely get easily distracted sometimes. I also find it difficult asking for help on some things that I struggle with some of the time.

Overall I enjoyed everything in this class and if I had to say what I loved most about this semester was that I figured out how to really try to incorporate the sense or feeling of something into my designs. I also learned techniques and tips so that my measurements and colors can turn out the correct way I want them to when I send them off to print. Something I would change would be how I used my time because I felt like sometimes I used it poorly which leads me into goal for next semester, to stay more on track with my work and really try to push my designs. 

Individual Project - Making Gifs in Photoshop

For my Individual Project I wanted to doing something along the lines of Motion Design because that is something that really intrigues me. I ended up making a gif in photoshop using timeline. I wanted to make some kind of pattern to start with.

Motion Design

What is Motion Design?

Motion Design is a subset of graphic design that uses graphic design 

principles in film making or video production context through film 

technique. It uses Motion Graphics which are digital footage and/or 

animation technology to create the illusion of motion or rotation. 

Some people wonder and you may be wondering right now, what the 

difference between animated film and motion design is. Animated Film

features a story in which characters express themselves, where on the 

other hand, Motion Design can portray characters but they however do

not directly express themselves.

Some examples of Motion Design are: 

►Graphics used for opening sequences on television or in film

►Spinning, three-dimensional logos of some television logos

►Kinetic Typography (Read below to see what this is)

►Film Credits

► Some TV Advertisements 

And Last but not Least, Kinetic Typography!

Kinetic Typography is simply mixing motion

with text. Probably most commonly seen on

lyric videos for different songs.

Here's a couple links to examples:

Counting Stars - One Republic 

Maroon 5 - Maps

Phillip Phillips - Gone, Gone, Gone

Designing My Logo

For my logo, I started by sketching some ideas out. I had a hard time coming up with something just because my initials do not go together very well and so it's not as easy to combine them.

 I finally got some down though and I started attempting to make some of them in adobe illustrator. So I tried out some of them and ended up not being very happy with them so I branched off of them and played with some other ideas and ended up with the logos below.













For the first logo I used the line segment tool to create the four triangles, which I then filled in with a lavender color and ended up taking the stroke off of them. I put each of my initials in each of the triangles, then obviously there was one triangle left bare so I used the star tool to make a symbol that looked like a sun
because I really like how it looked.



Here is my progression:

For the second logo I had based it off one of my sketches where it had my first initials larger than the rest of the letters in the name. I found that to look way to basic and simple so I ended up editing the effects on the bigger letters and I kind of messed with it until I got something I liked.