Graphic Design Spring 2019 Final

Spring 2019 Final

Favorite Projects

First

This project was outlining a subject to turn them into vectors. This project took multiple weeks, most of the time being spent on the outline. Some challenges included knowing how many details you needed in the final project and also have the color values match and look natural. New skills I learned while creating this project are how to look critically at an image and how to constantly be editing an image when you add a new part to it. Some feedback I took into consideration include adding more highlights and shadows. The changes from my original idea were mostly making it more detailed with what I stated above, as my original piece was going to be very simplistic. Overall, I liked doing the 2 kinds of vectors, but it wasn't really my style.

Second

The infographic project was picking a topic, researching it, then putting it in a, you guessed it, infographic. It took us around 2 months to complete. Some challenges I faced were turning my complex sketches into simple graphics. New skills include improving with the pen tool (which really helped out with the next project, Vectors) and also being able to condense down information. Feedbacks that I took into consideration was the layout of the overall piece, and making it flow better. Changes from my original piece are mostly just how the sketches looked and their layout in each section. I really liked this one because we got to communicate a topic we love and teach others through art.

Third

My final favorite project was creating a greeting card. This project was the quickest out of the three if you don't include the printing of it. Some challenges included what colors to use and what font(s) to use. My font here is a collection of 3 different styles, so I have that personal touch. The main skills I learned came from using InDesign for the first time and figuring how to lay out cards. I didn't get much feedback except for the text used. With this one, I only changed the colors so that you can still see the text and graphics separately. Like the one above, we got to have a strong say in what we created and wrote, so I liked the freedom of being able to make something for our friends.

Time Used

Throughout this semester, I was able to use my time in class efficiently by staying focused and keeping an eye on deadlines. If I finished early, I either went ahead or worked on my own projects. If I didn't know a technical skill, I mostly looked things up, asked friends, or just kept working on it until something clicked. I critiqued my projects by constantly asking friends how I could improve on it or asking what I could add before it was turned in. Outside of class, I often came in to work on projects or help friends with theirs, and by doing that I could see what I wanted from my self and could turn what they did to an enhancement for myself since I got to see a different perspective.

eComm Strengths

Now that I have been in eComm for 2 years, I know that my best strengths lie in perseverance and time management. With life beginning to pick up with high school workloads, I've adapted with it so that I get everything done and turned in on time. And when things get tough, I've kept at it, even when being frustrated when something didn't turn out like I thought it would. This strengths are especially great to have in eComm since the classes revolve around projects and going beyond what you know.

eComm Improvements

However, despite my strengths, there are also weaknesses I have within the 5 guarantees of eComm. I can always improve on communication with others. Given that a lot of projects are independently done, you need to know when to collaborate when necessary. Though I talk to my friends, I have to be ready to talk on a professional level to get clients. Beginning now, I plan to reach out to more people to build myself a brand, and hopefully create useful connections for when I get out of college.

Conclusion

What I loved most about my graphic design experience was using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and also being in a chill environment. Though, I would like the class to have more hands-on training instead of following directions for most projects. I feel like there needs to be an even mix on being taught something and having to follow instructions. One goal I would like to set for myself is getting 100 endorsement hours, and then for senior year I would like to graduate with the highest honors we can get. I'm really gonna miss graphic design, but I know that having this class has, and will continue to, helped me with animation. So, thank you, Mrs. Beaudoin, I know next year's class for you will be great.

Vector Illustrated Portrait

Organic Vector

Pre-Production

Image with Posterization

To begin with, we had to choose a subject (family or pet) to do the project on. I chose a photo of my sister, since it had the best lighting, then moved it into Photoshop. In this program, we cropped (8x10in.) and posterized the image so that there were simpler color values to trace. Once adjusting this to make it look natural, we moved the image into Adobe Illustrator to begin the tracing, which would only use the pen tool.

Production

In Illustrator, we had to decide whether to do Organic or Low Poly Geometric. I choose Organic, so after I set up 2 artboards (the first one had a lowered opacity, the other was locked) and set up layers for different sections (eyes, mouth, shirt, etc.). Then came the tracing. This would become the longest part to the project, and often it was difficult to decide what details to include and which weren't worth it. I focused on having a wide range of values, from the brightest lights to the darkest shadows. After a while, I realized that I hadn't closed off all of my shapes, so I went back to correct this and made sure that every future outline was complete. Sometimes, it was difficult to have the pen tool follow what you wanted, but I learned how to edit the anchor points at the end by changing both handles independently.

Post-Production and Final Project

This is the original image along with the finished product. Looking at it now, the face highlight without posterization is softer, though I feel like the exaggerated lighting fits well with vector pieces. In my design, I wished I could have made the hair less "tame" but it would have taken too long to capture every stray piece and I think that would have interrupted the organic-ness of the whole piece. It was difficult to capture the coloring, and I feel as though next time I would've made more shadows. However, without them, the final product has a simplistic aesthetic that I worked hard for, so I believe my balance of details was suitable for this. All and all, I'm proud to see that so many different parts came to make this piece and I will definitely be doing this again some other time.

Typography With Quotes

Typography

Pre-Production

For this project, we had to begin with finding 10 quotes, which would later be narrowed down to 4. I found my quotes by looking at a folder I have on my phone, and then by searching up Bob Ross since I look up to him. For fonts, I wanted to have a mix of Serif/Script and Sans Serif to create contrast within the type itself. I practiced sketching ideas of my 10 to see how they could possibly be set up and this also helped me to find similar quotes to match. 

Production

Once we decided on 4 quotes, we moved into Adobe Illustrator. The file was set up as 5x5 with 4 artboards, and this beginning set would only be in black and white. I tried to arrange my text by importance and weight to draw the eye in order of how you would read it. I learned how to better work with Type during this process, including how to change the kerning and space between separate lines. At this point, we saved and made a copy to begin working with color. On two of mine, I felt that it wasn't necessary to add a lot of color, so I used gray to focus on the value aspect. I prefer working with black and white because though it is simplistic at times, you can carry a message easily.

Post-Production

I feel like the Bob Ross quote turned out the best out of my four. I also like the "Heed the words of" because of the gradient and simple graphics, though next I would make the clouds more cartoonish. I feel like the connotation you get with the words "A Friend" and "An Enemy" really work with the font choices. With more time I would have found more colors for the quote by Yabsira, and the Voids one feels as though it is missing something important, but I liked how I reflected the moons to work with the warping of text. To add onto my favorite quote, next time I would add highlights to the color splotches for dimension and work to make their forms more organic and curving around the text, though I really approve of my choice of font with this one. Overall, this was a good experience to see the other side of graphic design and was needed practice for making items work together.