Senior Final Reflection

What did I do this semester?

This last semester in graphic design I buckled down and tied off all loose ends with my projects. People underestimate how hard it is to go back and finish where you might've hit a roadblock before. That's the curse of the artist, too many new canvases, not enough finishing the piece. This semester I made sure that everything I leave behind is clean, polished, and has my own unique touch to it.

Projects

Mentor Magazine Interview

This project was an excellent exercise in people skills, which is an integral part of every graphic designer's tool kit. Whether you are busting your butt trying to get a position at a graphic design firm and have to do an interview, or you're a freelance designer meeting with clients, you have to be able to talk to people. In class we were tasked with finding a mentor and talking with them about their tricks of the trade/ what got them into the industry. It took a lengthy amount of time to firstly find someone, I found Ruthie Osa. Ruthie Osa is a graphic designer who has been doing freelance work for many many years and has lots of experience dealing with hundreds of different clients all with specific needs. The only challenge I faced was picking together a cohesive selection of different parts of her portfolio. She has done so many different art styles and while they all look impressive on their own, it was very hard to pick some that looked good together. Another thing was, her style is so varied it was hard to pick a color scheme, font, etc for the spread because she has never done the same thing twice. I was frustrated so I reverted back to ways that I describe myself in terms of design. Burdolski told me that it didn't describe Ruthie in terms of design, So I finally sat down and thought about it a bit more and I'm really happy with how it encapsulates her now. Ruthie does a lot of tourist badges for different landmarks all around the U.S. and I decided to use that as my inspiration.

Senior Branding Project

This project we were tasked with creating a new atmosphere for our own portfolios, it was fitting because a lot of us have evolved since we did our last sets of logos. The hardest part of personal branding is that, to make it meaningful, you have to pin point a very narrow view of yourself and run with it. This is hard because we all think of ourselves as multi dimensional characters and as a gemini, I hate being pinned down to one thing. One big question for me personally was, did I want to just be a graphic designer? I think of myself more as a artist ranging from branding and printmaking to complex portraits and new mediums all the time. I eventually settled on the title 'digital artist' because it shows that I can and want to do a very wide range of things. to pin point my visual style I was forced to confront words that describe me. Nostalgic. Vivid. Maximalistic (I hate minimalism. its just a way for companies to trick people into buying ugly gray clothes). The reason I hate minimalism is because I'm a collector at heart and I get bored easily. Anyway, I decided to do a pixel art theme with primary colors. Nostalgic design. Vivid colors.  I'm super happy with the outcome of the design. It does a great job at describing who I am at this moment in my life. One day I'll change and so will my logo.

Company Branding Project

The last project we were assigned to do, we were asked to imagine a service that we could put out into the world for people to enjoy. Luckily, right around this time, I had already started my own little business. This year I'd been developing a cosmetic formula for highlighters/luminizers that change colors in the light. After many people at my job (coworkers and customers alike) kept asking me where I got it/How I made it, I decided to start buying ingredients in bulk and start selling my secret formula. It's not all natural or anything but it's not awful for your skin, the base is mica powder which practically all cosmetics nowadays are made from. I decided to name the company 'Sopping Wet Cosmetics' because people tell me that either I am glowing supernaturally or I look like I just got soaked. That's good, thats what you want a highlighter to do. This was a lucky project because I'm now able to use the promotional materials in the future on my products. I love how this project turned out. It's so me. The logo is inspired by the ghost from ghost busters, 'for the ghoul on the glow' is a fitting tagline I came up with to sell my products. This time I went with a secondary color scheme because I felt like it fit when it was stretched to ultraviolet standards. 

How did I use my time in class

I'm gonna be real here and say that I used my time in class to the best of my ability. This is the last semester of high school and my GPA is important to me. When I had outside projects that happened to be for other classes but were graphic design related I did parts of them in here. I never had a moment that I felt like my other work was being put on top of work for this class. When I'm outside of school, I love working on projects. It gives me time to think with no one staring at me and evaluating me all the time. My personal opinion is that I got all my work done, and did multitudes of outside research and planning. Getting my work done quickly is something that comes easy to me. I got all my work done. I'm proud of the work I did. And now I'm even more happy because to me, graphic design shouldn't feel like work. It doesn't feel like work until I complete it and have to ask everyone around me for their opinion, distracting them from their work so they can try to find little errors that I've already caught and planned on fixing. Because of this dynamic I've decided to follow in the ways of Ruthie Osa and start from scratch as a designer rather than enter a corporate mold that I just don't fit into. Outside of class I am a regular customer at Fedex and I'm always creating new work that I do in a timely manner. I gather inspiration from the world around me and create color schemes for fun. I go thrifting so I can look at old logos on T-shirts for inspiration. 

My Areas of Strength

As a designer, I am fueled off of creative energy I get from all the people around me. When I'm not looking like myself I feel drained and dull. Every day I try to look like a different version of myself. I push myself to learn new makeup techniques and get good deals on a cohesive outfit from the thrift store. I feel like makeup is a lot like vector art. It's all about symmetry and Blocking out colors and adding fine details on top of each other.

Another area of strength for me is coming up with a way to execute exactly what I want. Preplanning is my specialty. I could have never started making cosmetics if I didn't have the drive to do it and the ideas to back it.

Areas of improvement

The only thing I ever struggled with was time management. I am super loud so even if everyone else talks twice as much as I do, I am the one who is noticeably not doing my work even though I don't just decide to be a graphic designer 2 hours of the day. I am a graphic designer all the time. So time management may be a concern but not for me. I decide to enjoy every second of life and maintain a healthy work life balance when I'm alone or at home. 

Summary

I loved seeing all these people that I care about one last time. I loved making a product that I believe in and will continue wearing until I'm dead (when I'm dead I'll already be glowing). I wouldn't change anything that I did. I love how my projects turned out. My goal into the future of my career is to set myself in different aspects of design. I want to learn how to model in 3d and I want to become the epitome of style and customizing my life experience. Thanks dudes! That is all I have to say. Sayonara.

2017 Mid Year Final

My Year So Far in Graphic Design

This semester in graphic design was very rewarding as I felt more connected to the class and everyone in it. It does wonders when your work environment consists of people you've gotten to know the past couple of years.

Homecoming Project

The homecoming project was the first project of the year for seniors and I felt like me and my partner roy really did a great job coming together and making a great poster in the end. I just looked over and saw he wrote some shady stuff about me and I'm gonna make him pay when we go out to dinner tomorrow (we've grown pretty close :) ). Thanks roy. No but seriously we actually turned out the poster and infographic and it should have won. It took around 2 weeks to finish, and I had a good time doing it. I learned that even though we did have "creative differences" that I honestly can say that I've grown to love him in a super special way. 

He made me use this ugly sans serif font he chose but the compromise turned out great in the end.

Greeting Cards Project

The second project was to make a beautiful greeting card for whatever holiday/event we chose. There was a plot twist though that made us break away from our comfortable spaces on the computers. Gosh I don't know exactly how long it took but I remember the sheer amount of times I went to the computer when I should not have. I was using the liquify tool to shape my scans and then printing those out to trace over again. I learned that starting over is okay as long as you have enough time left. I should have started over on that project, I will definitely continue in the future to try and use other mediums in graphic design. I recently met with Ruthie Osa, she showed me a lot of really cool things to try that she had learned back when she was designing before computers were popularized and became the industry standard of graphic design. My (amazing) teacher, (excuse my kissing up) gave me some good advice on how to balance the heavy design elements on the front with the inside of the card which seemed very bare bones. I toned down the cover and included more cohesive elements inside the sleeve. 

Branding Project

This project was actually super fun to do. I really feel like the skills I've learned throughout high school have been showcased really well in this project. I had full creative control and my teacher made it super fun to pick out of a bag of ideas for the type of brand we were assigned to do.

In the beginning I was given feedback because I didn't have any contrast, and I described it as "a look" and yeah sure it was a look, but it wasn't the right look for a serious company. I did face challenges while mounting it because the glue was spraying super unevenly and I didn't notice until afterward that the glue had gathered in the bottom left corner of 2 of my prints and had made them wet and warped. I used my time pretty well and when I had things to finish I stayed after school to do them. Other than that I think it looks good head on when you're not looking at the board from an angle. I learned a lot this project about taking constructive criticism and using it to better my art rather than taking it personally. I do really like the design itself and it looks rather polished now in my opinion. 

Time management 

I think I've spent my time pretty great in class and I've had lots of time to finish outside work and research new techniques I can use to better my projects even more. When I am at home I'm always studying new ways to create and even when I'm at work (I work at Lush), I have become really awesome at selling pre-wrapped gift sets because the graphic design elements in each of them is super important to me. I am very passionate about my trade and I hope that I will continue to be obsessed with it as long as I'm doing graphic design. 

When I finish early on projects, I look for inspiration on bechance of similar projects that I search up to see, "is it on par/ exceeding the standards that other graphic designers are setting for me?" if not, then I go back to the drawing board and see what it is that I can do to make it exemplary. 

My Areas of Strength

My greatest strength as a graphic designer is my total devotion to my craft. You can code a website to spit out graphics for your business but you will never be able to replicate the kind of tender love and care that I put into every single one of my projects. I eat sleep and breathe graphic design every day of my life. Everything I do, everything I interact with on a daily basis, is part of my mission to make every single thing in my life become tailored to me. There is nothing more fulfilling to me than to create an idea and then see it manifest before my eyes.

What I Can Work On Going Forward.

The day that we stop learning is the day we die. To me that sentiment is rooted very deeply and I feel like this next year I'm going to start trying ideas that are way out of the box. I just love learning new ways to express myself and these past couple years I've been going through a creative revolution. I've thrown out (donated) every "neutral colored" basic t shirt that I own, so that I can challenge myself every day to create a story with my outfits. Ive started doing my makeup in complimentary colors the past few months to whatever I'm wearing so I can further push that narrative. I want to improve on this more. in the picture below is one of my favorite looks to do, I see myself as my ultimate canvas and I think that makeup has everything to do with graphic design. It's a way of forcing people to look at your art wherever you go. I want to push myself farther than I have ever gone. I want to inspire others to start expressing themselves the way I try to every day.

Summary of This Semester

I loved when we all received the expectations of the project, to hear everyones thoughts, fears, etc. I just loved diving in and seeing what I could create. I feel like I did just that. I would completely restart the greeting card project. I want to make something that feels more me. I think I will tackle that this summer when I have time. 

The biggest take away from this semester is the work ethic I've acquired while trying every day to please myself and my peers and my creative director. I feel like a race horse. I am always trying to churn out new ideas. Next semester I just want to work more on execution and making sure every single tiny detail is thought of in every project. 

I would really like to thank every single person in my class for challenging me in some way or another. That is all.

End of Year Final

End of the Year in Graphic Design

This year in graphic design I have put forth all my effort into my projects. I am supremely satisfied with how they each turned out respectively. I am excited to keep building my portfolio over the summer. The tools and lessons i've learned in this class have given me great opportunities to improve myself and show off my greatest strengths and assets. 

Technical skills

This year I have acquired a vast and diverse amount of different skills that are all very useful in perfecting my craft of graphic art. I've learned how to use drawing tablets, use different textures when creating my own handwriting typography on certain pieces, i've learned about hierarchy and color theory, i've put more detail into my work than ever before. I know how to make real life mockups now the proper way. I faced many obstacles while learning but in the end I destroyed the tiny shred of self doubt that I still had. I've discovered an art style that I have. I have posted my art to other websites besides Behance, but on Behance i've put the most technical and beautiful piece i've done. It very well may look a little silly, but in reality it (painting of Squidward) was a great and valuable piece for me to learn about painting digitally and shading light and shadows. 

Collaborating with My Peers

Last semester, I was convinced that I couldn't be closer to any of the people in here. But then I started to actually hang out with them and get a feel for the creative ideas they want to pursue. While there are always going to be a couple of sour eggs in the gross, the majority of the people in here are exponentially creative and absolutely nice to the point of debilitation. Kindness is key to working in an industry mostly made up of freelance workers. While everyone is after their own advancement, many are glad to be apart of a team. During the project where we all were in a competition to make this years poster for prom, you'd expect some hostility and bad sportsmanship. This is not the case. The group of graphic designers in here are more than their desires. More than their thirst for recognition. They are genuinely kind people. 

Visual Communication

The industry of graphic art isn't just about the look of a project. It's about the feeling that it evokes in

someone's heart. When we were designing posters for this year's prom, I feel that what i gave to the entirety of the project was a genuine feeling of nostalgia. The theme was 'message in a bottle', I had to decide what that meant to me when I thought of it. I wanted a colorful, rich, and passionate sunset that encompassed all of the young minds who were going to step into that dance with hopeful hearts and open eyes. I feel as though I accomplished what I set out to do. That is what visual communication of a greater idea is all about.

 

Project Management

Deadlines, working with clients, and working for hours on end trying to get the right consistency of what you think looks good and what your client wants. I have gotten hundreds of emails from people telling me that I need to completely redo their whole project before dinner time. This was good for me to experience because it has drastically improved my patience when it comes to working with people. One example of a client I've worked with that was indecisive, was a woman who wanted to publish her short poems for children. At first she just gave me a couple of files without any explanation. Then she told me what I was doing wrong and correcting what she wanted. Unfortunately, almost 3/4 of the year had passed and she was still making up her mind about trivial things. It seemed silly to continue to work for someone who didn't even know what they wanted, but thats the truth about this industry. Our work is so important and it takes time to craft something truly palatable. Now I think nothing of it (because she is STILL making up her mind) and I know what to do in the future when this happens. Currently I am not being paid by her but i am gathering experience. In the future, I know that the solution to indecisive clients, who I know I cannot divide any more of my time for, is to charge hourly. 

Leadership

As I have grown closer and closer to my peers in graphic design, I have also learned a lot about being a project leader. Telling people what to do in a polite manner and making sure there is mutual respect between me and them. This is all very new to me, but I know that if you truly believe in making a great final project, you will succeed in the end. No matter if other people like what you do, but if you can confidently say that you're proud of yourself and you accomplished what you set out to.

In Conclusion

This year in graphic design has been truly noteworthy. One for the books as one might call it. 

I've learned so much, and I can't wait to do projects that i've been planning for this summer. I can't wait to dive deeper into the art mediums I want to explore within the tools I have. I am absolutely ecstatic at the amount of work i've put into my pieces this year. I can't wait to treat every project I work on in the future with the same tender love and care. Thank you so much for this opportunity. It really meant the world.

Semester reflection

What did I do this semester?

This semester in graphic design I really came out of my shell with new mediums and new technical skills. I pushed myself to work harder and I've gotten great results. So far I really enjoy the outcomes of all my projects this year.

Name Typography Project

This was the first project of the year for us juniors, we were given the task of getting to know each eachother's hobbies and interests through typographic design. I showed off my creative and technical skills by showcasing not only aesthetically pleasing type, but also reflections of stuff I really like.

I made sure that the Behance post was elegant and put together, sporting my logo at the bottom and using very minimal fonts so that they did not take away from the type. The project took approximately 3-4 weeks, at first I was shocked at how much time we were spending because I believed I was done. I am glad that not only I had more time to realize how much work I really wanted to do, but also I am glad about the final product. We had also reviewed color theory. I had already had a good knowledge about but just because you can ace a test on a certain subject, doesn't mean you even remotely believe in the science behind it. After realizing how truly important it was I began using more diverse and complimentary color schemes. This shaped the outcome of my type project tremendously. I am so happy with the outcome and I know that I'll be using this in my
portfolio in the future.

Rebranding Project

For the rebranding project I was extra motivated to step up my game in this class. We were given a challenge to take a local or famous brand and redo their logo, and their packaging. I chose goldfish crackers, because I wanted a huge challenge. This project took at least 2 months to complete. Each week before the deadline for each component of the design was reached I had at least a day to work on outside projects thanks to my good time management and ability to work outside of school. I faced a couple of challenges between my creative direction and the critiques of others. Most people I showed my work to at first said that "goldfish should be less like modern art, and more kid friendly". I believe that after taking that critique into consideration, I made it the best of both worlds. The piece was modern, but now the fish on the front cover had a smile, and the colors I chose reflected a very playful and fun piece. With this project I learned that just because you think something looks perfect doesn't mean it's what you should go with. Overall I am exceptionally happy with the polished product that I ended with.

How did I use my time in class?

First quarter, I will be the first to admit that I did not use my time correctly at first. I would get done and use the extra hour I had talking to other about their work. Although collaboration is good in a work environment like this, I should have kept pushing myself that extra 30 minutes each week. 

Near the end of first quarter is where I seriously picked up slack. I started working until the bell rung and after. only once or twice did I start focusing on other things. Even then, I did bring my work to hear others thoughts on what could be done to go the extra mile. On top of that I also began working on numerous outside projects such as posters for parties, children's books, album art for some musically talented peers at school, and painting and pushing my art to greater lengths. 

My areas of strength

I have a great passion and drive to get the things i'm interested in done. I have loads of creativity and work ethic. I know the software that I use, like the back of my hand. I plan to do this when I am older so I put my all into all of my projects.

My area of weakness

I am stubborn and at the beginning of this class I hated taking constructive criticism. I still do but I'm really trying not to take it personally and not just say "oh what do they know? look at how bad their piece was". But i'm taking great strides to better myself and not deflect other's opinions upon them. 

Summary

I absolutely loved getting to know each and every single person in this class. I loved exchanging tips with each other and the camaraderie that came with such a tight knit class. I don't think I would change anything about this semester, or else I wouldn't have learned the lessons I have now.

I had a blast channeling all my creative energy and using it to make really cool stuff this semester. 

I will take away the strength I gained in accepting other peoples comments. 

Other thoughts

I did not mention the menu project that we are working on right now that is not yet complete. So far I believe I have 2 very strong concepts and they both work very well for what i'm trying to achieve but are both very diverse from one another. Another thing I barely talked about was this huge children's book that I was hired to do, its taken me almost 40 hours of outside work but my client is extremely happy with how it turned out. We spent so much time just discussing ideas. That experience added a lot to my learning process this semester.

Name Typography Project

In this project, we were asked to describe ourselves by making 12 different versions of our name in various typefaces. The purpose of this project was to help the junior class become more comfortable manipulating type in illustrator. My process included drawing up sketches, scanning them in, and editing the kerning of the types. I went through many critiques from my peers and I can honestly say that I like the way they turned out. I didn't learn a bunch along the way because I learned this last year and i've been using it over the summer as well. I did learn how to use Behance, which is new to me. I also exercised my skills on trying to meet deadlines by using my time over the weekend to polish it over. I would not do anything different if I did it over again. This shows my hard work very well. With this first project i've met new people in class who i sufficiently like. I'm glad ive met so many nice people. Their opinions I will take into consideration next time just like this time.