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.