e-Communication Reflection

Technology

Throughout my 4 years in the e-Comm program I have learned new technological skills with every single project. Just being in a classroom environment where everyone has different skills and knowledge is super helpful. When I was working on my Special Olympics brochure, I had one of my classmates help me figure out how to cut someone out cleaner in photoshop. I think that I have learned a lot about photoshop, illustrator, and indesign from my teachers and peers over the last 4 years. I know there is still more for me to learn, but I am very comfortable with these programs.

Collaboration

Collaboration is probably the most important guarantee in e-Comm. I use collaboration on every single project that I have done. Without collaboration with my teachers and peers my projects would be nowhere near as good and I wouldn't have learned as much as I did. One of my favorite things is to sit down with the whole class and critique the project I am currently working on. I absolutely love how the class comes together and helps each other improve their projects. One of the projects that I had to do the most collaborating on was working with the Olathe Rotary Club to make event tickets and raffle tickets for their Days of Wine and Rotary. There were a lot of companies and logos involved and we had to get approval from all of them on the design before we could print, then I had to communicate with the printer to make sure they were printed correctly. It was a lot of work, but I think the tickets turned out really well.

Communication

Communication is another very important concept in graphic design and e-Comm. Communication is what graphic design is all about. I learned how to communicate a message to an audience through my work. Typography and graphics influence the way people feel when they are looking at your work. e-Comm has taught me how to use color and typography to really convey the message that the client is trying to portray. When I was working on the posters for homecoming this year we had a tough time figuring out the message that Senior Committee was trying to convey with their dance, so it was kind of difficult to make the poster convey the theme since the theme kept changing. In the end, I think we figured it out and truly captured the feeling of the dance. Another takeaway that I learned from communication was staying on top of emails. Whenever we were working with clients we communicated with them through our email, so it was super important to always check our inboxes and respond to the client as soon as possible. One of the clients that I worked with at ONW was really slow in responding to emails and it was really difficult to get ahold of her. I made posters for the Raven After Hours program, but they never got printed because Mrs. Maring never got around to printing them after I sent them to her. I would've gladly print them for her, but I never heard from her.

Project Management

Project management is an important life skill that I learned a lot about through the various projects that I worked on. I learned how to balance life and my projects in order to get them done by the deadline. At some points we had really quick turn arounds or we were working on multiple projects at one time. I remember having to come in before or after school many times in order to get my projects finished on time. The Rotary Tickets took a lot of out of school time to get done on time. I also learned the importance of prioritizing projects in order to get the client work done first and the class projects done later. I wanted to make sure that the client was getting the best work I could do, and sometimes that meant that my personal project wouldn't get as much attention. I think I became very good at project management throughout my 4 years in this program.

Leadership

As a senior, I have been more of a leader than I ever have in my life. I love working with the juniors and helping them improve their work and teach them new ways to do things. It is super fun to be someone that other people in the class look to for help. I have grown a lot as a leader through e-Comm. We have done several group projects where I have had to step up and take control of the group to make sure everyone gets their part done. Leadership is something that applies to all aspect of life and is a skill that I will take with me. I am very glad that e-Comm gave me the opportunity to strengthen my leadership skills and become a more outgoing person.

Strengths and Weaknesses

In the past I would've said that I have a ton of weaknesses because I was never very confident in my work, but this year I have really recognized how many strengths I have. I would say my strengths outnumber my weaknesses, but there is always room to improve. Throughout these last few years I have really improved on my collaboration and communication skills. I used to be really hesitant to approach Mrs. Burdolski or upperclassmen and ask them to help me with my projects, but now I realize how much their feedback has helped me grow as a designer. Now I have no problem asking people for feedback and I think it really shows in my work. I could still be better at asking a variety of people instead of just asking my go-to people, but I have improved a lot. My weaknesses would definitely be getting frustrated with projects. I often get super stressed out over projects and completely restart. I think they turn out really well in the end, but I just wish I wouldn't get so stressed out during the process. The Pet Bistro project is one of the projects where I deleted everything and completely restarted on the labels about three times. It was a very stressful process, but I am really happy with the way they turned out.

Future

I plan on using all of the skills that I have learned from e-Comm in the future. I am not majoring in graphic design, but I know it will be useful in the future. I also plan on using graphic design to help pay off student debt. Graphic design has taught me a lot of useful skills like communication, collaboration, time management, and leadership that will stick with me through the rest of my life. These skills will help me be more successful in college and other aspects of my life. I have throughly involved my time in e-Comm and I know it has been a huge part of shaping into the person I am today.

Conclusion

I have grown a lot since freshman year and I have e-Comm to thank for a lot of it. I was super shy my freshman year, but e-Comm has really helped me break out of my shell and become who I am today. I have had so much fun in these classes and it is definitely my favorite part of the day. I have made so many life-long friends and have built great friendships with my teachers. It is fun to think back to the first day of sophomore graphic design when I sat next to Jacquelynn and she was a stranger, now we are best friends. I love Mrs. Burdolski and everything that she has done to make me the person I am today. I am sad to leave them all behind, but they will always have a special place in my heart. 

Semester Reflection

Projects

Homecoming Package

I got the opportunity to work with Jacquelynn Turnage on a homecoming Package for the 2016 Homecoming dance. This project took about 3 weeks to complete. We started with sketching and brainstorming ideas that fit the theme. The theme for this dance was very tricky and confusing because we kept hearing different variations of the theme from different people. After we had our ideas we went to the computer to make two poster and ticket options and an infographic layout. We then critiqued and continued fine-tuning our poster and infographic. The hardest part of this project was combining concepts with another group, then deciding that we didn't want to combine and separating again. This complication taught me a lot about learning how to work with people that don't necessarily want to work with you. Jacquelynn and I worked together very well on this project and I think it turned out pretty well, the only problem was that the theme was very confusing and the other group didn't want to incorporate any of our ideas into their poster.

Medical Club Shirts

I was asked to make t-shirts for the medical club at Olathe Northwest by the president of Medical Club. The majority of the time spent on this project was after school. This project probably took about 10 hours total. Medical Club gave me a pretty good idea of what they wanted the design to look like, so I made the ones they requested, but I was not supper pleased by the way they turned out. I made a third concept for them that I was a lot happier with. They let all the Medical Club members vote on all three designs, and the third one that I made ended up winning. Through this project I learned that it is okay to throw the client a curve ball that they didn't ask for, because they might end up loving it more than the idea that they had in their heads. I am really pleased with the way they turned out, and I think it is really cool to see people walking around in a shirt that  I designed.

Pet Bistro Rebranding

Branding is my absolute favorite thing about graphic design and I absolutely loved this project. I found a dog treat company that had a really terrible logo and got to re-create their logo and make new packaging for their treats. This project took a while to complete (about 8 weeks) because we had to research our brand, sketch lots of concepts, make six black and white logo concepts, critique them, pick one logo to push, design labels, print the labels, adhere them to the bottles, fill the bottles, and photograph the finished product. This project was a lot of fun to be creative with because we got to take a real company and completely redesign it and give it a new look and feel. Pet Bistro is a really small company that focuses on organic healthy food for their dogs. They only have a few products, but they are very high quality and healthy. I chose to redesign the bark-scotti dog treats. The biggest struggle I had with this project was the label design. I tried a lot of different shapes and concepts before I finally found one that I liked. At one point I deleted everything that I was working on and completely started over. I am supper happy with the way this project turned out, but it would not be nearly as good if I didn't have all the help that I did. We had a lot of critiques and I got  a lot of ideas and suggestions that helped me push myself to make this project the best it could possibly be. I learned a lot about collaboration during this project and really enjoyed helping other people improve their projects. I really loved this project and think it turned out great.

Tutoring Posters

I was approached by Mrs. Maring, an assistant Principal at Olathe Northwest to make a poster to advertise the Raven After Hours Program. This project was a very quick project, it only took me about a week. I didn't really sketch out any designs, but I did a lot of research and came up with a pretty good concept. I am not very good at typography, but I think I did a really good job with laying out the type and establishing hierarchy. I was given a lot of information to put on the poster, but I had completely free range for the design of the poster. The only complication with this poster was the graphics. My creative director was not very happy with the books on the bottom of the poster, but everyone else in the class loved them. I was torn over what to do with them, so I made another concept that was just the typography on a chalkboard background. I sent both concepts to Mrs. Maring to see which one she wanted to go with, but I have not heard back from her yet. I think this project really helped me expand my graphic design skills by working with lots of copy. I am happy with the way they turned out and am eager to hear what Mrs. Maring thinks about them.

Crumbs Bake Shop Menu

We are currently working on a project where we have to redesign a menu for a real restaurant. I chose to do a cupcake shop because I wanted to do something completely different than my Just Yaks project last year. So far my biggest struggle is coming up with a cover for my menu. I don't want it to be too busy, but if I just put the logo on the front it looks to plain and boring. I am also learning a lot about InDesign throughout this project. I have not had very much experience with grids and all of the tools in this program, but it is not too much different from Illustrator, so it hasn't been too much of a problem to figure out how to do things. I am really excited to continue working on this project because I know it will be a long process, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

Time Management 

Class Time

I have been really productive with my class time this year. Last year I found myself struggling to make all the deadlines because I would get distracted in class or just couldn't focus and get a lot done. This year I have been really motivated to work on the projects and I have been getting a lot done in class and have made all of my deadlines. The hardest part about making use of my class time is working on both assigned projects and outside projects at the same time. It is usually pretty easy to fit outside projects in when I get a lot of work done on my assigned project, so I have been pushing myself to get a lot of work done each day. I love the feeling like I got a lot accomplished whenever I leave this class because it makes me feel like I will be productive for the rest of the day.

Extra Time

I have tried really hard this year to use my extra time wisely. If I finish a project early, I either try to get more feedback from my peers to make it even better, or if I am really happy with it and think it is the best project I have ever done, I will work on my bechance. I personally don't think I have ever made a project that is so perfect absolutely nothing could be changed to make it look better, so I think there is always something that I can do to make a project better. When I get to a spot where I think everything looks good I either go to a classmate or my creative director to get more feedback. Mrs. Burdolski always tells us that we need to get our projects in a "really good place," they are never done. The great thing about graphic design is that there is always something to work on, and if you feel like a project is as good as it can get, there is always another project that needs work or things that you can do to expand your portfolio.

Outside of Class

I find myself thinking about my graphic design projects outside of class all the time. I always take my sketchbook home so I can write down my ideas or add sketches even if I have already finished all of the required sketches. I often talk to my sister about my projects even though she has no clue what good design is. I love working on graphic design outside of school because if I get stressed about something in class I can go back an research and think about ways to problem solve while I am at home relaxing with my puppy. I always find my mind wandering back to my projects while I am driving or sitting at home. I have also noticed that when I see other designs I always critique them in my head or notice how great a company's logo is. I spend all day everyday thinking about graphic design.

Strengths

I think some of my strengths are branding, collaboration, and time management. I really enjoy all of the projects that involve branding and I think they always turn out really well. I also love critiquing other people and working with others to make projects even better. I used to be really bad at collaboration, but I think I am a lot better at it this year, but there is still room for improvement! Time management has also been a strength of my this year. I have met all of my deadlines this year and have gotten a lot of outside work done on top of the in class projects.

Areas of Improvement

I really need to work on my typography skills. Typography is always the hardest part of a project for me. I have tried to improve this by starting a project with the typography first, and I think it has really helped me so far. I think the Typography on my tutoring poster is a lot better than it would've been if I started by designing the graphics and then tried to fit the type into the empty space. Another area that could use improvement is sketching. I am horrible at sketching and I never do it unless it is required. I think my projects turn out better and are a lot easier when I go to the computer with some sketched out concepts. I am just a horrible artist and my lack of skill really frustrates me when I sit down to sketch.

Summary

I loved the rebranding project this semester. I love branding and I think it turned out really well even though I had a lot of struggles with it. The only thing I would like to change about this semester is my infographic for homecoming. I am just not very happy with the way it turned out. I like a lot of the elements of it, but I think it could be tied together differently. My biggest takeaway from this semester is the importance of collaboration. It is so very important and you can never get enough feedback and ideas about your projects. A goal I would like to set for net semester is to work on more outside projects and really improve my typography skills. I think I got a lot of work done this semester and I am really proud of mist of my projects.

Homecoming Infographic Review

Scope:
I worked with Jacquelynn Turnage to create a Homecoming Package. This consisted of a poster, tickets, and infographic that conveys the theme of the dance, which is Dark and Stormy Night.  The colors for the dance were gold and purple and it was supposed to be a little bit spooky.

Process:
I started by researching the theme and sketching ideas. Then me and Jacquelynn picked two concepts to push to the computer. Jacquelynn made the posters and I started researching layouts for the infographic. We had a critique with the rest of our class and then we finalized our project.

Process:
I learned a lot about infographics and the importance of layout. There was also a lot of collaboration with the other groups; we used Brett's handwriting on our poster, combined ideas with Katie and Annika, then separated again. If I were to change anything about this project, I would probably make the infographic a little less busy. I would probably try to make the colors a little less crazy while still having hierarchy and contrast. I really liked working with all the other groups to push our ideas and make the best possible outcome that we could.

Semester Reflection

Description

Name Plates

            This semester in Graphic Design we got to apply our skills to a bunch of different projects. I worked on a lot of different projects, such as posters for homecoming, t- shirts for Junior Committee, and t-shirts for Freshman Committee. I also worked on the projects assigned as part of the class. Our assignments were Name Plates, Expressive Typography, Branding, and Personal logos/ branding.  All of my projects are on Behance, my online portfolio.

Reaction

            My biggest issue during this semester was not being motivated by the project, or getting frustrated with the way it was turning out. Some of the projects that I was assigned were really difficult for me because I had a really hard time coming up with concepts that I really liked.  I am kind of a perfectionist and it was really hard for me to commit to a design and keep moving on. I am also really bad a sketching. Sketching a bunch of different concepts usually helped me come up with an idea, but I always struggled with expressing my ideas on paper. Two of the projects that I had a lot of trouble with were the Junior and Freshman Committee shirts. It was really hard for me to come up with concepts for these because they didn't really have a theme except for Ravens. In the end I came up with some pretty good designs, I am happier with the Freshman  Committee shirts though. I think most of my projects turned out really well in the end and I have definitely improved over this semester.

 

Homecoming Poster

Evaluation and Analysis

            The project that I am least happy with is my homecoming poster, I really liked the idea, but it just didn’t turn out the way I wanted it too. This project was really challenging because we could only use black, white, and red. If I had more time on this project I could probably change the way the hot air balloon looks, and then I might like it better. I am really happy with my Just Yaks Branding project, I think it looks really realistic and I had a lot of fun creating my company and branding it. I think this project was easier for me because it was later on in the year and I had more experience with illustrator. I also had a lot more time to work on the branding project and I think the quality of it is a major improvement over the homecoming poster.

Learning and Action Plan

            I learned a lot of new skills this semester, and I really think that this improvement shows in the projects that we have done this semester. I learned to not stress out as much about sketching because they only really have to make sense to me. I also learned a few places to look for inspiration if I am feeling stuck on a project. My favorite places to find inspiration are on Behance and Pinterest. I have also learned haw to do a lot of new things in both Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. When I was working on my Just Yaks Branding project, I looked up a tutorial on how to make my logo look like it as burned into wood for my coasters. After I completed this tutorial I found some wooden coaster and used the warp and clone stamp tools to make it look like my logo was actually branded into the coasters. I learned a lot of technical skills as well as soft skills. I have learned that collaboration and communication is a really important part of the production process. I found that asking my peers for their opinions have really helped my come up with new ideas and push my concepts until they are really great. I also love to see what my peers are working on and give them feedback about their project. Collaboration has really helped me improve my projects this semester. Time Management has also really helped me produce great designs. I have pretty good time management skills and always make sure that my work is finished on time, even if I have to come in before or after school a few days to make sure I will be ready to submit my projects on time. Time management is a really important skill to have during this class and for the rest of our lives. Time management really helps me stay on task and produce really good work.

 Action Plan

            My goal for next semester is to continue to improve. I would like to continue to have better and better designs. I would also like to continue improving my technical skills and soft skills. Next semester I hope to learn ways to avoid getting frustrated with my work and get better at sketching. I really liked the last few projects that I have done and would like to continue being happy with my projects next semester. I also hope that we have a lot of fun projects to work on next semester.

Gestalt Principles Make Designs Unified

Summary

     The purpose of the Gestalt Principles, created by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka, is to make a design feel more complete and connected. The six principles are similarity, continuation, closure, proximity, figure/ground, and symmetry and order.

www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/gestalt-theory-10134960

Six Principles

1. Similarity

     Similarity Article

2. Continuation
     Continuation Article

3. Closure

    Closure Article

4. Proximity

     Proximity Article

5. Figure/Ground

     Figure/Ground Article

6. Symmetry and Order

     Symmetry and Order Article

Author's Argument

     The author of this article argues that Rudolf Arnheim's book, Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye, is the reason the principles became well known, and claimed that the book is a "must-have" and is worth reading.The author does a fantastic job explaining all of the principles and providing examples. However, the author doesn't explain how the principles were created. The author concludes that the principles are very important to design and should be utilized to make designs feel more complete and coherent. 

Critique

      The author's argument only supports the main points a little bit. His main argument is about Arnheim's book, but the main points of the article are the six basic principles and what effects they create in a design. The author uses very strong examples to illustrate the principles and does a good job explaining the purpose and effects of using the principles. These principles are very important for graphic designers to integrate into their projects. These principles create unity and make designs look more complete.

Homecoming Package Project Review

 Scope

     The purpose of this project was to create a poster and tickets that match the Homecoming theme. The Theme for Homecoming is "Trick of the Lights" based on the book The Night Circus. The client wanted something elegant and whimsical. The requested colors were black and white with little accents of red.

Process

     My process for this project started with a meeting with the client. After I got all of the information about the project I sketched 20 thumbnails. I shared my sketches with my group and they helped me pick my best two concepts to push on the computer. My group helped me pick one concept to continue to push and gave me lots of helpful feedback.

Learning

     I learned a lot about typography during this project. I learned how to manipulate the anchor points to create different illusions. I also worked with the pen tool to make the hot air balloon and learned some new tricks about the pen tool. I also learned that it is very important to collaborate with teammates because they can catch things that you wouldn't, and give you ideas that you would't have thought of. Teamwork helps make sure that the final result is the best it can be. I learned that it is very important to ask for more than one opinion to get the best results.

Changes

     If I were to do this project again, I would probably work on the hot air balloon a little bit more to make it more whimsical and elegant. I really like the tent on the bottom of the poster but I would probably try to make it look more like a silhouette and make the ground a little darker. I really like the fonts and typography that I used so I would not change that. I also really like the stars in the background so I would keep those the same. I really like the way the tickets turned out and would probably only change the ballon on the back of the tickets.

For the Future

     I will definitely use the skills I gained from this project on future projects. I will be sure to collaborate with with others and give feedback to everyone. I think teamwork is really important and I will be sure to utilize it as much as possible. I am pretty happy with the way this turned out, and I know my projects will continue to improve as the year goes on.

Video Final

Unexpected Killer

Scope:

This was our final video this year. We were allowed to either pick a short film or a journalism package. I chose to do a short film, the requirements for the project were 3 to 5 minutes in length, had to include a water bottle, a hat, an obvious source of light, and the phrase “lights out.”

I was put into a group with JJ, Sierra, and Stockton. JJ was the director and wrote the whole script. He was kind of controlling and wouldn’t listen to any other ideas about the script. I made the production calendar to keep us on task, and Sierra and I made the storyboard. JJ was in charge of casting, but couldn’t find anyone so we ended up being the actors. Stockton was in charge of all the props and he did a lot of the filming along with Sierra.

Our script was really long so we had to do a lot of filming outside of class time. The biggest issue was that not everybody could stay after school, so we had to get a little creative with our filming. It took us a long time to film, but we still had enough time to edit before the project was due. I missed a lot of class because of swimming, so I had to come in before school a few days to finish my video on time.

Experience Gained:

            I gained a lot of experience from working with JJ.  I learned how to deal with people who don’t really work well with a group, and how to deal with controlling bosses. He was really hard to work with because he was really controlling and wouldn’t listen to anyone else. I think the video would’ve been a lot better if he listed to the group and incorporated some other ideas into the story. I also learned how to improve time management since I was gone so much and had to come in to get stuff done. I didn’t really learn anything new about Final Cut Pro, but every time you work with something you get better at it so I gained some more experience with Final Cut Pro and editing videos.

Reflection:

            I am not very proud of this project because I didn’t really get a say in anything that happened in it, and I really didn’t like the idea or the script very much. I think I did a pretty good job editing the film. It was really hard to go through all the clips and pick the ones that were actually necessary. I would definitely make sure to include the whole group in the next project I do, and to make sure everyone supports the idea and the script that we film.

                If I were to do this project again I would completely change the script and make sure JJ isn’t the director. I really liked the last short film we made, but I really don’t like this one at all. If I was the director of the next project, I would make sure to include the whole group and make sure that all the shots look good and I would cast some actual actors or people outside of this calss.