Semester One

From day one of the school year, I knew graphic design was going to be different than it had ever been. This would be the first year that Mrs. Burdolski taught junior/senior graphics. Although, I had her last year separately, I knew the year was going to be awesome.

Right off the bat, we got a project that forced us to think differently. We were told to create 12 different thumbnails of different ways to express typography with our name. Not only that, but they had to represent an aspect of our character. This project was extremely interesting to look at and design. It was a great way to get to know each other. Here is my favorite one. It was meant to represent my love for the royals.

Next, it was homecoming week, which meant it was a busy time in the graphic design room. The most important project on our list: Homecoming tickets. The theme was Trick of the Lights, and Mrs. Dawson (the leader of homecoming) wanted the tickets and posters to look very circus and magic like. Our classroom was in a competition to make the best magic poster. While this was going on, the classroom got sectioned off into groups of 4 and was assigned different things such as powderpuff t-shirts and committee t-shirts. My group got assigned senior powderpuff shirts for the annual powderpuff games. Beyond those projects, I was also assigned the spirit day posters for this homecoming's spirit week. It was a busy time! But some of the best work was produced in a short amount of time. Here is my favorite design from that time, the Trick of the Lights poster.

Next we created portfolios on Behance, you should check it out! https://www.behance.net/tessreid

The next project was one of lots of typography. The project was unique to any other project I've ever done because we were to create an image with three different artboards USING ONLY TYPE. It was a very cool project because the possibilities of what you could create were endless. The project was literally to create art...you just had to use all words. It was pretty cool to see what everyone came up with. The quote we needed to use was "Every great design has an even better story behind it." I decided to create an image that represented the quote fairly well. I created a silhouette that's filled with words, to represent that person's story. And coming out of its mouth, was the word design in yellow, the only color used on the board besides black and white. It was a great project, here is my design! 

Next came the largest project of the year (also my favorite). The project started by Mrs. Burdolski telling us one thing and one thing only...get out 4 pieces of paper. One piece, write down a number. On another, write two letters. Another, write a mineral, and on the last, write down an animal. I had it perfect. No matter what project she was about to throw at us, I had to perfect combination.

Number- 1 (not complicated, easy to use 1 of something)

Letters- jy (because they have tails and they'd be easy to incorporate and swirl around things)

Mineral- gold (a beautiful and relatively popular mineral)

Animal- orca (black and white, positive negative, I could do anything with this!)

But the next words out of our teacher's mouth was unexpected. "Okay now I have a bucket for each category. Come put your papers in the correct bucket."

WHAT! We were going to pick out of the buckets randomly and get 4 new random components! We had no control over the elements that were going to be incorporated into whatever design we were about to create. My new elements were:

Number- 18

Letters- jz

Mineral- calcium

Animal- monkey

Next, our project was assigned. We were to create a fake business, and completely brand it. This was exciting for me, because I loved making up stories. My story ended up being something like...Jay-Z and his pet monkey came up with idea to genetically modify bananas and add 18 grams of calcium in them. Jay-Z then created a company out of it with one fancy store in Malibu, California. It was named, "Eighteen Calcium Bananas" or "18 Cal" for shorrt. Then it was time to brand. We had to make a logo, business card, envelope, billboard, letterhead, storefront, iPhone button, and promotional item. Now I won't bombard you with all of the images of this project, but here is my business card and storefront.

Lastly in the semester, we had a personal logo project. This wasn't something that was new to me. Usually if you are in graphic design, you've branded yourself at least once or twice. But I was extremely happy with what I created this year. Here are some final logos.

Throughout the year, I also did little small projects for people around the school. I created a business card for an artist at the school who was going to display her artwork at First Friday's downtown. Also, I did more work for the You Matter campaign I designed last year for Dr. Poss. I created a football poster for Mr. Novacek, and I did a project for a video/animation project recently. I created a DVD cover for football, band, and men's soccer. That project turned out pretty cool. Here's the cover for band.

This semester has been great. I learned a ton, and improved my design abilities. I learned more about implementing dimension rather than just creating flat logos and designs. I added more cutouts, textures, and shadows. I learned A TON about file management and how to save files and upload them online. That is probably the biggest difference in my design work. I am a lot better at making them public, and keeping all of the work organized in my server folder. Some things that did not work was just jumping on the computer and trying to design. I learned to use my sketchbook indefinitely throughout projects and sketch a lot before I even touch a computer. I also learned how to use other people's ideas and thoughts through critique. Standing in front of your class waiting for them to tell you everything wrong with your art is kind of terrifying, but if you learn to open your mind, it is quite helpful.

Next semester, I hope to keep pushing and improving my design. I want my design work to stand out from a crowd, and I want people to stop and notice how unique and different my art is. I want to learn more about photoshop and get better at manipulating images. Also, I'd really like to win first in a category of eMagine this year. Can't wait to see what kind of projects Mrs. Burdolski has for us in my last semester of high school.

The Gestalt Principals

Similarity: In a design, artists often use individual objects to create a larger picture that seems to go together because of the similar lines or shapes.

Within the article, "The Gestalt Principals" the author argues that designers can use similarity to their advantage to create a focal point with anomallies. The author does a great job giving a brief summary of similarity, but could've provided a little bit more information.

The main argument is significant because the author explained the vocabulary and idea of similarity very well. I can use this principal in my future design work to please the audience's eye. For example, in a design with jagged edges, I could implement a jagged shape to go along with the look and feel.

http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm

Continuation: The idea of continuation is to create one flowing image with multiple objects.

In "Good Continuity," the author claims that audiences tend to group curves in the same direction better than the alternative. The author does a really good job explaining the idea of continuation, but could've provided a little bit more evidence and examples. The author concludes that the principal is used in teachings.

The author's argument definitely supports the main point on continuity. The evidence is fairly convincing, but mostly is just common sense. In design, using continuation to create pleasing and flowing images is very important. I don't fully understand how teachers can use the idea of continuation to teach the alphabet, unless they are referring to memorization.

https://explorable.com/gestalt-laws-form-continuation-common-fate

Closure: Closing elements to make it more recognizable for the audience.

The author for "Closure" claims that the principal is all about drawing conclusions with designs. He/She does a good job of using evidence and organizing his/her thoughts. The author then concludes  this article with descriptions of many visible examples.

The author's argument is supported by many main points separated within different paragraphs. The evidence is very convincing because the author seems to know what he/she is talking about. Designers can use closure to create very interesting images that challenge the audience. They can also use closure to create images within images.

http://www.andyrutledge.com/closure.php

Proximity: Often things that are grouped closer together are more likely to seem like they go together, and that is the idea behind proximity.

Andy Rutledge, in his article, "3: Proximity, Uniform" claims that proximity is one of the most important principals of design. The author is very passionate about the topic and provides a lot of examples, but does not present the information in a professional and clear way. Rutledge concludes that with proximity, a designer can create the most interesting designs.

The author does support the main points with images and examples and is very convincing with his passionate tone. Proximity in design can be used to group different objects together creating a more interesting image.

http://www.andyrutledge.com/gestalt-principles-3.php

Figure/Ground: Using positive and negative space to create a dimensional image with one object closer than the other.

The author, Steven Bradley, claims that in Figure/Ground, neither image can be seen without the relation of the other. The author does a great job explaining the concept in a unique and understanding way. He concludes with the three types of relationships within the principal: stable, reversible, and ambiguous.

I think the author did a great job explaining this topic. The argument supported the main points and the evidence was very convincing. Using figure/ground, designers can create illusions and interesting designs that make the audience think about the design.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/05/design-principles-space-figure-ground-relationship/

Symmetry and Order: This principal creates an organized and stable feeling by creating images that reflect each other.

The author claims that symmetry allows us to effectively communicate information quickly. The author does a good job explaining, but once again, could've given more information on the topic. The general conclusions include a strong last statement supporting his argument.

The argument is supported with some detail. The evidence is conniving, but there is very little. This principal implies that designers should keep order within their designs to look professional and easy to understand.

Name Plates

Kicking off the year, we began by writing twenty characteristics about ourselves on a piece of paper. Not knowing the reason behind it, the class wrote. Once we had twenty things, we had to create three sketches per characteristic in which typography portrayed the feeling of that characteristic. Once the sketches were completed, we chose our twelve favorites and pushed them through illustrator.

Hours and hours I spent sketching trying to stretch my brain and be creative with my characteristics. It was challenging, but in the end I realized how pushing further really helped. Creating them on the computer was a whole different game. A lot of the time, I could not find fonts that met my sketches, so I scanned in a lot of my designs. Also through class critique, I learned to push certain designs in a different way. I ended up editing my designs two or three times.

Through this project, I learned that sketching is a really important part of a project. Also I enhanced my scanning and pen tool skills in illustrator and photoshop. I learned to take criticism in a professional way and change things to please the audience rather than what makes sense to me.

I wish I would've spent more time perfecting my worst designs rather than admiring my good ones. Some designs are not visually pleasing, and I wish I could arrange them in a way that would look best.

If I did this project again, I would definitely spend as much time on the sketches as I did. Sketching is the most important part of a project.

For my next project, I will sketch a lot and push my ideas to their limit. Also, I will use the knowledge I gained in file management.

I really enjoyed this project because it was a great way to learn and collaborate with others in the classroom. Also, since it was the first project of the year, I got to learn a lot of the names of people in the new junior/senior class!

-Tess Reid