An End to Graphics & Illustration course...

The end of the semester is coming around and that means the end of my Graphic Design course.  This class has been a great course that I feel has allowed me to develop new skills that will be useful to my career.  Through the use of Adobe Creative Suite software, I have found new avenues of designing various elements in a space for clients and have learned to enrich my hand skills with computer skills.  Over the semester, I feel I have grown a better understanding of how to simplify not only images, but layout designs for projects through this course.  I feel my proudest project that I completed during this course was our first logo design project because with outside advice and my own knowledge behind the subject matter.  I feel I really pushed this limit to a simplistic logo that expressed everything I wanted to say in an image!  Our second project (my name expressed through photographs) was my favorite to work on because I got to spend this project with friends and seeing how my direction could lead them to produce the visions that I had for each letter!  Ultimately, I feel this course was not only an enjoyable class, but one my clients and I will benefit from in the future!

"Zine" Topic

Our next and final project we are working on for Graphics class is a how to zine.  I have chosen to make my zine on 'how to select the right pair of shoes for an outfit'.  I've always had a fascination with shoes as I've been getting older and I thought this was a great time to explore shoes a little more!  Plus, a go to guide for someone when they are shopping for shoes could come in handy some day when they are in a dilemna between what look to go for.

For my research, I'm looking at various fashion magazines, fashion books, and how to guides.  I found a book titled, "The Girls' Book of Glamour-A Guide to Being a Goddess" which has many how to examples in it.  This book is a good reference of how to word the text in the zine that will be created.  Another book I've fallen in love with is a book on Manolo Blahnik by Colin McDowel which has a fabulous selection of various shoe images.  Other images I've found were in a "Fashion Sketchbook" book and I believe I will learn how to sketch shoes from here and render a few of my own for the zine!

The images below are from these various sources.. So enjoy them as much as I have so far!

Final Infographics Update

I recently updated my Infographic to include conclusion statements from my research.  In addition, I repositioned a few elements within the piece for a faster understanding of the piece.  Enjoy!

Project 4: Infographics!

This is my final representation of how to present data in a graphic form.  The project was challenging to visualize how to take information that is normally presented as numbers and graphs into something that is graphically as easy to understand.  The information covered in this poster demonstrates an average of how I spend my time when I'm not in class or at work.  The comparisons of major vs. minor, time spent working on homework from a book vs. the computer, and activities vs. sleep were interesting discoveries I found after collecting data for 22 days.

The project below was my first representation of this information and is not quite as graphic as the final project.  However, one can see how the final project above evolved into a clearer representation.

Project 4: A Map of Information

This project requires the use of information that we gather and then present with the various programs we have learned so far in this semester.  Infographics, information design, and mapping are three reference words that are used to explain this projects concept.  

I realized for my research, I wanted to observe my own habits of what I do in the time I have "free" or I am not in class or at work.  Also, my classes this semester are divided between core classes for my major and my minor. So I am looking at how much time I spend on each of these areas versus the other. Currently, there seems to be a difference between whether I'm on a computer working or studying from a book.  

Below are some research images I have found that might inspire this project and how my information will be presented graphically.  All images were found from the web during various searches.

 The image on the left shows how I am hoping to represent the various icons  with textures.





 I enjoy how the colors relate to one another in this image for the various graphs and charts.

For both of these images, I like the idea of a space that relates to the topic and has the information represented within it.

Final PSA Poster Design

This poster is designed for us to display a message of something that we feel strongly about.  While the design process of understanding Photoshop and the tools that the program offers took some time to understand how they all work together.  The final image shows a good mix of the various skills that I learned from this project.  The main image showing a sustainable house is really complex, so the need for a simple design on the rest of the poster helps to attract ones attention to this main image.  Remember to, "Choose wisely for our future.  Choose Sustainability."

PSA Poster

Here is an update on my third project I'm working on.  At this point I have come to discover some very useful tips on Photoshop and am learning that sometimes less is more for the viewer, especially with a complex idea.  Below are some images that I've used for this project and the first one was my design inspiration for the poster.   Only a few more days and a new post will come with the final product, so stay tuned!

found online at: Poster link

my image of the main doors at the Notre Dame in Paris

Sustainability image from the book:  Building Green by Tim Callahan and Clark Snell

Illustration by Neil Webb