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. 

Semester 2 Final Reflection

Guarantees

Technology

This year I have learned so much about the technology that is used to creative graphic design. Through projects, I learned different tools in the software; every project taught me something new. In my first project, name typography, I learned how to manipulate type and convey an image strictly through fonts. In my final project, non-profit advertising, I learned how to use InDesign to set up body text and make large bodies of copy interesting to read and look at. I have learned so many other things about technology as well. Recently, I have learned how to make mockups. Mockups are so important for portfolios because they show how the project would look finished. There was also some difficulties with learning new software. InDesign was foreign to me until this year but by the end I felt comfortable using it to make print media. Overall, I think I have learned the most about software and technology this year than ever before. Having knowledge of all of the tools in the software will help me next year and in my future as a graphic designer.

Collaboration

While there were no partner projects this year, I learned how to collaborate while doing separate work. Throughout every project the class would have critiques in small groups. These critiques provided a time where collaboration was a must. Critiques got a large group together and introduced new ideas to make projects even better. These meeting taught me how to take other people's ideas and suggestion and combine them with your own vision to get out phenomenal work. For example, on the rebranding project there were several things that I changed because of my instructor's and other classmates' suggestions. I got 2nd place at e-Magine for that project and I know that I wouldn't have achieved that without the help of critiques. This year also taught me how to ask for help on my own without being in a set up critique. Often, people around me and I find ourselves asking each other for help in pairing fonts, choosing a color, and other details. I have learned so much from my classmates and the collaboration in our classroom has directly benefitted everybody's projects. Collaboration is definitely a skill that I will use onward in both graphic design and other situations.

Communication

Communication also played a huge roll this year. Every aspect of graphic design must communicate a message. I learned a lot about the communication of messages through design in my rebranding project. The color scheme, fonts, logo, everything had to communicate some message. It is so important that projects communicate something because it catches the audiences eye and makes them think about the project. The other aspect of communication is communicating with clients to fit there needs. While I did some work for friends, I only had one big client project. This project taught me the importance of meeting with clients and fully understanding their wants and needs. This client did a great job showing me examples and some of the decorations for the event I was designing an invitation to. However, she had a very quick deadline and was unclear as to when she needed them done so that caused some minor confusion. Everything ended up going well but this taught me the importance of having clarity in everything for a client. The prom poster design was another project where we had to fit the clients needs. The junior committee presented their ideas for the prom poster and we made some options for them to choose from. Meeting their vision was super important because they voted for the posters that went along with their theme the best. Communication within the design and communication with clients are both very important skills that I have learned this year.

Project Management 

Project management was an important skill to obtain this year. There were several deadline throughout each project that we had to meet to critique, print, or put on our portfolios. While I believe I met every big deadline, I still had some struggles that taught me how to do better in the future. On a few projects I had to work at home to complete them. Doing the projects outside of school is something I want to try more next year. When more time to pay attention to details is taken, the project could end up being 10x better. While some projects were done in a bit of a time crunch, I think that it's alright because attention to detail is what caused them to take longer. Balancing client work and class projects was a new form of project management that I experienced this year. While I was doing client work, I didn't have much time to spend on my class project for about a week. This caused me to have to design some of my brochure at home. The skill of completing projects to the best of my ability on time and balancing client work with class projects were both skills that I have obtained this year and will continue to use.

Leadership

Leadership was reflected this year through critiques. For the first part of the year I think that my leadership skills struggled. During critiques I generally laid low unless there was a direct suggestion I thought would be really helpful. The reason for this is because I did not feel confident in my knowledge of skills to make suggestions often. First semester I was still learning and with a classroom that had experienced seniors, I let them do most of the talking because I trusted their suggestions more than mine. However, by second semester I felt confident in giving my input in critiques because I had learned enough to know what to suggest. It's so important to give input because that advice could help fellow designers learn and make their projects better. 

Strengths and Weaknesses

I learned a lot about my self and my abilities this year - including my strengths and weaknesses. I think that branding is a great strength of mine. I really enjoy using my creativity to make a brand and a theme for that brand. I also think that overall I'm pretty creative in my projects and I am good at finding new ways to convey messages. Collaboration is also a strength of mine. I have always asked other for help and suggestions on small details like choosing between two different shades of green to more obvious things like picking between title fonts. While I have some strengths, I also have weaknesses. I struggled a lot with packaging my logo for my rebranding. I had the vision but I just couldn't get the logo packaged right. With the help of classmates I came to a solution. I think this year I have learned how to be creative in solving problems. Given the challenge of making that logo now, I think I could have found a solution easier. However, I still do need to work on leadership. Next year, I will be a senior and I will need to be a great leader to help junior learn just as much as I have learned this year. That is definitely a skillI want to improve next year. 

Changes

Given the opportunity, there are few things I would change. Everything that has happened this year has shaped me into the place that I am at right now. Every process was a learning experience and I'm happy that I needed help at times because it taught me so much. The only thing I would change is my outside of class work. I really want to become endorsed but I only had about 35 hours this year. The goal was 50 so I am slightly disappointed. This summer I want to try to find some projects to do so that I can possibly get to 50 hours before the school year begins. Next year I want to actively ask classmates if they need help with designs and ask my instructor if there are any projects if I feel that I am not getting enough hours. Other than that, I wouldn't change anything.

Future

Next year I'm going to use everything that I have learned this year. All of the technological skills will help me greatly when I can combine them all next year. I'll continue to communicate and manage my projects well. I also will be a better leader since I will be a senior. I am planning on being a graphic design and going into the marketing industry so everything that I am learning now will help me in college and eventually in my career. 

Conclusion

This year has been a great year full of learning and expressing skills. From my first project to now I have grown so much. I learned so many new tools and how to keep a great portfolio. I also got to do some real client work which is such an important experience. I can't wait to express all of my new skills and learn more next year. E-comm has been so beneficial to me not only as a designer but as a person because all of these skills can be applied very day. All of my experiences have made me better and I look forward to learning more next year.