Graphic Design Final

Graphic Design Final Exam Blog

An Quick Overview

This semester in graphic design my knowledge of the programs have improved. I now have a better understanding of how to use the pen tool, and I know little shortcuts like C (cut), O (reflect), and I (eyedropper tool). Also, I know how to use some of the more "hidden" tools like the anchor point tool and the reflection tool. I use the reflection tool very often! This 2018 has been pretty successful for me and I am excited to see myself improve!

My Portfolio: https://www.behance.net/sfallis77702f0

The Panorama Project

The panorama project was a photoshop project we completed first quarter. We had to find 10 images that we had taken ourselves and combine them all into one panoramic image. The goal was to make all of the images look like they seamlessly fit together. First we had to convert all of our images into their best contrasting black and white, and then we started combining all of our images using the eraser tool, masking options and blank. This project took about 2 weeks total, and then afterword we wrote about our panorama. A challenge I faced during this project was trying to figure out ways to fit every imagine in as seamlessly as I could. I am I learned how to use clipping masks correctly and it really familiarized me with all of the photoshop tools. I don't think I did make any changes during this project because I kind of worked as I went. I am very happy with how my panorama turned out, though!

Autumn Icons Projects

The autumn icons project was an Adobe Illustrator tutorial our class completed. The purpose was to get us used to some of the more "hidden" or complicated tools within Illustrator. We had to make a 9 icons using shapes and other tools. I personally really enjoyed this project, but it also did stress me out because I tend to work slowly. I am a perfectionist and it takes a while for me to finish my projects. I worked on this project before and after school multiple days and worked a couple days after school. This is the project that helped me get to know some of my most favorite tools in illustrator! As I mentioned before, my biggest struggle is always time. Off of the top of my head I can't think of any feedback I got on my project. Some changes I made compared to the original project (not my original idea, I didn't really have one) was, I saw that everyone had the yellow background, and I wanted to be different so I made mine blue. Yay! I am happy with how this project turned out! It was stressful, but I personally thought that it was a fun one.

Infographic Project

I haven't quite finished my infographic yet, but the photo below is my current draft. For this project, we had to research a topic that we find interesting, and then design an image displaying all of that information. I actually did change my topic. I was first going to do, "3-Toed Pygmy Sloths," but I had a hard time drawing out 10 different layout sketches. I also thought it would be difficult to draw a sloth on illustrator with the level of skill that I have so far. I wanted to switch my topic to something revolving around the thing I love most. Disney. The only problem after that was deciding what about Disney I wanted to do. Disney has so many characters- darn, I should have done Winnie the Pooh- and movies. I decided on Pixar! So I drew my 10 layouts and began my illustrator journey. As I mentioned before, I am still working on this project, but each graphic took a long time to complete because I wanted each to look their very best! I am still working on Nemo, Cars, Ratatouille and Coco. I completed each graphic in around 25 minutes at quickest. I have gotten mostly positive feedback which makes me happy because Disney Pixar was a risky topic for this project. A specific piece of advice I was given was to get rid of the strokes around some of the little details within each icons. For example, the balloons in the up design. Originally I had a black stroke around each balloon, and I am glad I decided to get rid of them because the icon looks better, now! I am kind of nervous about how my infographic will turn out, but I am keeping positive!

Time Management

I use my time as well as I can. I never have free time because I never finish early! I use every single minute I can to finish my projects. I always try to make my work look it's best, so I use all of the time I have into adding detail and making sure everything is how I want it within the design. I come in outside of class by staying after school and sometimes coming in during Raven 50 to make my designs look their best and to make sure that they are finished. A few projects that took a lot of out-of-class-time were my Raccoon and the Autumn Icons.

Strengths and Areas for Improvement 

My strengths as a graphic designer are making sure my designs are as good as they can be by taking my time and asking for help and for feedback from others. Another strength I have is communicating to the others in my class. An improvement I can make for the future is planning out everything I am going to do before I begin on illustrator. I am a very organized person, but when I do projects I oftentimes end up straying from my original plan. If I came up with a checklist of what to do every day, maybe my projects would come along faster. Taking my time is a strength because oftentimes it means I end up with a good quality result, but I can have good quality results while speeding up my process a little bit, so I can work on time management as well. I think that I am a good leader for our class because I can help others and give them feedback. 

Wrapping It Up

Something I loved about this semester was the way that class was set up; we mostly had independent work time while still having time to chat quietly and collaborate with others. For some, the talking gets out of hand, but I can handle it. The class is relaxing and enjoyable. I look forward to walking in every day! Next semester I will try and express more creativity. Sometimes I feel weird presenting my ideas, but I feel like this class can help me with that. Also like I have been saying throughout the blog, I will work on my time management. I can't wait for next semester!! :)