Semester 1 FINAL

Semester Reflection

What did I do this semester?

Homecoming Infographic

This project was to design the poster, infographic, tickets, and breakfast invite for homecoming. Courtney and I were partners in this projects and I did the infographic. This project took a total of about three weeks. Some challenges I faced in this project was infographic design and communication with senior committee  I do not have much experience with infographics aside from yearbook, but most of those were predesigned for me. I had to look at a lot of inspiration and sketch many layout ideas before I came to the one I decided on. Senior committee came in to give a presentation on the theme of the dance but it was slightly confusing on the color schemes and exact theme. In this project, I learned infographic design, working with a partner for projects, and how to work through some confusing communication. Some feedback was that it was too feminine; Courtney and I were suspecting that they may think that it was too feminine but we wanted to give them the option of a more "girly" poster so that they had more variety. We also struggled to find a good secondary font and we changed that after critiques. In the end, I loved our completed project. I was really proud of my infographic because it was unique from the others. I also think that the process went really well because both Courtney and I are great communicators so we had no issues asking each other for feedback when needed but also letting each other do their own thing. 

Sticker Design

This project was just a little side project I did during some down time I had. It only took a few days of work in class and at home. My biggest struggle was finding a font for the type. I probably spent 2-3 hours looking at and trying out different fonts. Doing this project taught me that I could make so extra money making stickers and selling them on RedBubble. The most feedback I got was just me asking Courtney for her opinion on placement, fonts, and colors. After getting feedback, I went to look at more fonts/changed the font and I changed the placement of the daisies. Overall I like this project. It is fairly simple so it isn't a huge achievement but I still think it's cute.

Greeting Card

This project was to design a handwritten greeting card. It took about a month to complete. Some challenges I faced was that I am not good at calligraphy and I wasn't sure of what to do for the card. While sketching, I came up with many ideas for the saying on the front but I struggled finding one I actually liked. I ended up doing a lot more sketches than what was mandatory to find a card I actually liked. Once I decided on a saying I really struggled with handwriting it. With a lot of failed attempts at calligraphy I decided to copy a font but change it some to make it my own. I learned that I should definitely practice more on calligraphy because it is actually pretty difficult. Some feedback I was given was to clean up the written design more and to change colors. I changed the colors and redid the handwritten design before scanning it in. In the end, I was able to meet all of the deadlines even though I felt rushed because I had spent so much extra time sketching. I wish I had spent less time being picky on the quote and more time working on my handwritten type, but I am still happy with the end product.

Mission Bowl Branding

This project was to do all of the branding (logo, business card, stationary, etc.) for Mission Bowl. This project took about 7-8 weeks. I faced many challenges in this project. When first doing this project, I felt like I needed to rush to get her the logo but after coming up with a concept that I thought was good enough my advisor talked to me and told me to push for more concepts and I am so happy that I did. I also was going to do this project on top of a fake branding project but that was stressful and my advisor let me use this company for the branding project which I am very thankful for because it allowed me to pour all of my time into making this project perfect. This project definitely taught me the most out of all of the other projects. It was my first project working with a real client other than a friend or family member who needed a design done. It taught me all about communication with you client and giving them what they want. I also learned how to work with a company that may not be one that can have a "pretty" logo. At first I really struggled with ideas for a bowling logo because there were very few good examples online. With pushing a lot of sketches I landed on a few solid concepts. This project definitely taught me the importance of sketching. Feedback I was given included feedback on my original logo, feedback on color scheme ideas, and on the stationary. I redid the original logo I designed and wiped that idea out completely. I asked Courtney and Blaise for their opinions on color schemes and used those opinions to help decide on a color scheme. At critiques I got feedback on my stationary and I changed some of the designs to include black so that the stationary all went together. Overall, I loved doing this project and it helped me grow so much as a designer. I can't wait until my logo is used more their sign and all around their bowling alley so that I can see it in use.
  

Time Management

I feel that I have done really well staying on task in class this semester. I used my class time looking at ideas, fonts, choosing colors, and playing with other solutions. In times where I felt that I was finished I worked on additional mockups, making my Behance better, and bettering the project by making sure that there was nothing left to change. I worked a lot outside of class for all of my projects. For the infographic, I spent so much time coming up with layout ideas that I majority of the design was done at home. I did a lot of sketching outside of school for the greeting card and my final sketch with the marker outline was done at home, as well. About half of my time spent on the sticker was done at home, since it was an extra project. For Mission Bowl, I completed all of my sketches, mockups, and any refining at home, along with working on designing the logo concepts both at home and during class. Compared to last year, I have done so much better with time management and I feel like I have spent very little time being unproductive in class. 

Strengths 

My strengths include skills in communication, project management, time management, and collaboration. I use communication by being able to express my entire thought process behind a project and being about to communicate well with clients. Project management and time management both go together in the way that I can manage doing outside work along with class assignments fairly well and I know where to prioritize. Time management is also a skill because I have met all deadlines and even if I am stressed on time, I will work on a project at home so that I can meet the deadline. Collaboration is another strength of mine because I enjoy getting and giving feedback because it makes everybody's projects better. I feel comfortable giving constructive criticism and ask for feedback when I need it.

Weaknesses

Coming into the semester, project and time management were weaknesses. Last year, I did not do much outside work so I did not know about project management and while I met all deadlines, I definitely spent more time being unproductive than I have this year. To improve these weaknesses I spent more time working at home and I almost always stayed on task in class. Two skills that I still would like to improve are technical and communication skills. I would like to learn more about all that you can do with Adobe programs be doing more tutorials. I also am just a more quite person so while I can communicate well, I am typically not the one to take charge in critiques unless needed. These are both areas I aim to improve next semester. 

Summary

This semester, I loved doing client work in the Mission Bowl project. It was by far my favorite project. If I could change anything it would just be to do more outside work. I just find it difficult to find any. My overall lesson from this semester is project management as I have done more outside work than ever. Next semester I would like to be more of a leader in class since I am a senior. This semester went really well for me and I am proud of how I have grown as a creative.