What did I do this semester?
Magazine
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| Behance |
What was the project?
This project was a long process that consisted of setting up an interview with a local graphic designer, and then creating a magazine spread to showcase their work and allow the reader to learn about the artist.
How long did it take?
This took me a very long time. It actually started in mid-December but wasn't completed until early March. This is largely due to technology issues.
What were some challenges that I faced?
A little bit into January, my entire project was deleted from our server, which is the only place I ever saved my work. I had already restarted the project once because I disliked my original. It took me another month to actually build up the motivation to finish the project
What did I learn along the way?
I learned to make copies of my work and to not trust the district's servers. I now save my projects on a flash drive as well as the cloud, and I don't even bother with the server anymore.
What was some feedback I was given?
Once I had revamped the entire look of the project, my peers were very impressed. The original was very busy and not very cohesive.
What did I change?
The whole thing was changed. The original was just kind of slapped together with no thought, while the second version was designed to fit with my artist's work
My overall opinion on the design process and final outcome.
I am so proud of this. It honestly isn't my best work, but I'm proud that I even finished it. My original was horrible, and I'm so happy that I redesigned it, even if I had to do it twice because of server issues.
Prom Branding
What was the project?
This was a small branding project for our schools 2018 prom. It includes posters and tickets.
How long did it take?
This took me about a month. It was started in early February, and finished in early March.
What were some challenges that I faced?
I had some issues with the overall "brand" of our prom. Our Junior Committee, who was organizing Prom, kept changing the name. The theme was supposedly "not Gatsby-themed," though their inspiration all came from Gatsby.
What did I learn along the way?
I learned to do my best with what clients provide. Clients won't always be cooperative, and this was a great learning experience.
What was some feedback I was given?
My peers really liked my phonograph with the pearls draped over it. It gave it a personal touch, as a lot of my peers' posters were just dark backgrounds with text over it.
What did I change?
I messed around with the orientation (landscape or portrait?). I had trouble figuring out where I wanted the text in relation to the graphic, so that took a little bit of messing around.
My overall opinion on the design process and final outcome.
This wasn't really my best project. It was honestly rushed, and it was difficult to make something original since our client's needs were so vague.
Tarot Branding
What was the project?
This was a branding project where we picked a service and created a fictional company based on that.
How long did it take?
This was started in late March and finished in late May, so this took about a month.
What were some challenges that I faced?
I had a hard time with my color scheme. It was very limited palette, so it was a fun challenge to figure out what to do with it.
What did I learn along the way?
I learned to have patience. I originally thought this project was going to be much shorter than it was, so I was frustrated when more and more parts kept being added on.
What was some feedback I was given?
People really liked my logo. I didn't really get much specific feedback other than they liked it, but I guess that's not really a terrible problem to have. It was just kind of hard to figure out ways to improve with no negative feedback.
What did I change?
I changed my color scheme of my logo before I actually began the branding package. The original colors didn't really look great together, and they were kind of dull and muddy.
My overall opinion on the design process and final outcome.
I really love the final outcome of this project. When this project was introduced I immediately knew I wanted to make a tarot company. I love tarot, and creating a little company for it was really fun. I also really love all of my branding, because I feel like its cohesive and matches with itself.
KC Metro College Expo
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| No Behance. So small that it didn't feel necessary |
What was the project?
This was a short side-project to create a new logo for a local convention for high school students to explore their college options.
How long did it take?
This took about a week. I only really did one sketch and kind of slapped it together.
What were some challenges that I faced?
I had problems making the logo recognizable as a graduation cap with a check mark. Once I told people what it was they could see it, but I wanted people to get it right away.
What did I learn along the way?
I learned to balance to projects at once. This project was given when we were working on the branding project, so I had to put that aside for little bits at a time to work on this.
What was some feedback I was given?
Mine was one of five chosen to be sent to the company. I was told that it was visually different from my peers' logos, which helped it stand out and be chosen.
What did I change?
I originally had a whole different font, and there was a tassel on the cap. The font was kind of awkward looking though, so I found a more plain, "safe" font. The tassel kind of awkward, because I couldn't put it at a 45 degree angle or it would blend with the check.
My overall opinion on the design process and final outcome.
This was so lazy, but I actually kind of like this logo. I'm not sure if the company actually chose my logo, but I'm happy it was in the top five. I also like that mine was unique and stood out from others.
How did I use my time in class?
How have I used my time?
I was much more on-task for the majority of the semester. But honestly in the beginning, after my magazine was deleted, I actually spent a lot of time just sitting because my motivation was so low. I was also extremely depressed at this time because of the server issues and thoughts going through my mind that even I can't really explain where they came from or why. Once I actually went to therapy, got a better anti-depressant prescribed, got my motivation back and finished my magazine I was on roll. I was so happy that I finished my magazine that I worked diligently on my last few projects. Admittedly I was really slacking off towards the end because summer was coming, and I had a lot of
down time due to finishing assignments so quickly (I had also been prescribed adderall to help keep me awake and alert, so my energy levels were way up too).
How did I stay productive when I finished early?
I usually worked on assignments for other classes. I usually hate working on schoolwork at home unless it's graphic design, so I would do a lot of math or history here and work on graphic design at home. When I had the KC Metro logo project I would work on that in my free time.
What did I do outside of class to enhance my graphic design work?
I actually bought the Adobe Suite this semester so I could work on stuff at home whenever I wanted. If I thought of something once I got home, instead of hoping I would remember I could apply my thoughts to my work right away, which I feel really helped some of my projects along.
What are my areas of strength as a graphic designer?
I think my work is pretty varied style-wise. There are certain elements that make my work recognizable, such as my work often being line-less and clean, but I don't constantly use the same colors or design elements in my work.
How do I maximize my strengths?
I have a huge range of inspiration from other artists. I really love cute pastel colors as well as creepy macabre aesthetics. This is what helps my work stay so varied.
What do I need to improve on?
I need to learn to deal with obstacles better. The fact that it took me an entire month to actually start my magazine again upsets me. Especially when it only actually took me a week to re-do.
What can I do to improve?
I can't really improve without experience with obstacles such as these. I'll just try to work on graphic design a lot over the summer. I'm not really hoping to encounter problems as major as losing an entire project, but if I do I'll try to make a plan to fix the problem and avoid the problem in the future.
Summary
What did I love most about this semester?
I loved that I overcame my technology and mental issues. I'm so happy that I finished that magazine project, and allowed myself to open up an seek help to make myself happy again.
What would I do differently?
I would probably find more graphic design work to do rather than do work for other classes. I should have just gotten over myself and done my other classwork at home, and used down time to work on personal projects.
Biggest thing I learned?
It's okay to seek help. When my magazine was deleted, I tried to brush it off as nothing and hold in my emotions. Eventually they just built up and got worse to the point where I was crying and failing projects for other classes. When I talked to my teacher about it I was given a deadline to turn the magazine in by the end of the year and take my time. I didn't realize that a solution could be so simple, and that I don't need to worry about everything by myself.
Goal for next semester?
I want to do a whole lot of graphic design work next year. I want to make my portfolio amazing with a variety work from class, clients, and my own personal projects. Next year is my Senior year, so I want to make it really great.
Final Thoughts?
This semester was a huge learning process. I'm actually so happy that it happened the way it did, because if I didn't seek emotional help and finish my magazine, I don't think I would have had the motivation to work so diligently on my last few projects.
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