Author: edrumrig (page 2 of 7)

5.0 End of Semester Wrap-Up

Mind Mapping Design Decisions

I think I am critical of my ability to produce designs that will fit certain situations and have the appropriate quality/sophistication for the project, as well as my understanding of the development of aesthetics (color schemes and type choice) and consistent, balanced forms/layouts. I am also critical of my knowledge/understanding of the design industry as well as of my experience with different programs.  I think these criticisms/worries affect me in positive and negative ways; I focus on improving these aspects more often because I am critical of them, but a lot of the time I also might ruminate on my perceived deficiencies and feel overwhelmed.

I guess when people look at my design process and design work I am wondering if they are wondering if I am confident in my design’s production and the final product (because I’ve noticed for a lot of my projects I focus on the project itself and have trouble producing something I am fully confident in, which may be because it is a student, learning project). Another thing I am critical of is due to me being socially anxious a lot of the time (something that I’ve been working on) and so I am also critical in how I verbally communicate my ideas to others and how I appear/interact with others (if they think I am comfortable in situation and if people want to work with me). I think this personal issue does affect me professionally (from my perspective/how I act and interact) and I’ve been taking time to work on and be less critical (negatively) about this issue and not let it limit me sharing and acting on ideas.

Advanced Typography: Weather Report

For this project we were to create a weather report for four different cities of our choice. This was a weather report within the distant-but-possibly-near future, where holograms are imagined, as well as flying cars/quicker modes of transportation (possibly even teleportation), allowing the user to fly/transport to each place quickly.

None of the information could leave the frame, and we had to present the information according to the different emphasis of each LATCH of our choice (location, alphabetical, time, category, hierarchy). This project helped with understanding how to organize many elements, use Adobe Illustrator and After Effects to accomplish what we want, present the same information in various ways, and make choices concerning type, scale, color, time and movement.

The project also made us focus on creating a piece of work that exists throughout a time frame, and how the elements change and interact during this time. I have a lot of things that I would tweak and change (concerning the weight of the typeface, colors, the effectiveness/visual aspects of the movement, alignment of the information, and the creation of an outro/audio to go along with it). However, I learned a lot about movement, transitions, type and presenting information throughout time through this experience. I have a lot more to learn about the computer programs (and just with getting more comfortable with them) as well as composition and type choice and interaction.

Graphic Design II: Visual Identity, Mark

The symbol of our identity of our place (my place is the Moon towers) can represent the place iconically or metaphorically. I wanted to combine both of these ideas through the allusion to its structure (hexagon shape at the top) and incorporate the concept of the Moon towers as onlookers, a tower with six eyes that overlooks their certain place wherever they stand. I wanted to maintain a hand-drawn aspect (to provoke an ancientness and hieroglyphic aspect), but I had trouble initially this when scanning in my hand-drawn image and making it digital.

I chose to redo my symbol (see bottom) and incorporate more evocative material (such as the distortion static and the values on the eye) to develop a more sci-fi novel cover identity with the mark. I like the impact of my re-visited image much more because of its dimension and stand-alone nature through its shape.

 

Graphic Design II: Process Work/Research

During the research process of developing our identities, we were to diagram our place, take photos/images, write about our place, take sound clips, create music playlists and develop a color/material palette that evoked the ideas associated with the place.

Palettes reveal the proportions of color and do not have to be literal colors, but can provocative and metaphorical. While creating this mood board, I found that listening to my playlist inspired by the Moonlight towers also helped with the choices and process. I wanted to also begin developing the shapes that would become influential to my design of the Moon towers’ identity. I used static images and velvet material to create the in-town and other-worldly sense of the Moon towers.I would have liked to incorporate actual material to further the dimension of the palette.

Image Methodology: Interface Lesson

In order to present your work for an audience (whether that be a client, a job, or the public) you must keep in mind the user experience aspect of the presentation. Not only is the work featured within the portfolio app the designer’s work, but the motions of the app and the user experience are fundamental components on making an impression to the viewer.

This project was an introduction to Adobe After Effects and animation, as we simulated the motions of the app while featuring our work. I chose to create a file-like design with motions of tapping and swiping, and tried to make everything intuitive for the user.

Image Methodology: Plotter Lesson

This project incorporated the concept of methods of design producing patterns within a pre-developed system. We had to produce 16 different images based within this system. Through the use of different factors (people’ s birthday months and dates assigned to different shapes) I developed a system that would create many unique designs. This project also involved elements of craft and material choice. I chose construction paper and metallic sharpies to produce a rich and unique palette for each variation of the system.

Image Methodology: Zine Lesson

For this project we were to present a truism through the media of a zine (a usually small art-magazine). A truism is simply a statement that is true, and usually provides obvious recognition or advice on a particular subject.

These books became sort of little tokens of communicated thoughts. For my zine, I wanted to communicate a sort of truism that would help one to meditate on memories and re-collect themselves if they were stressed. I developed the phrase “Pause. Recollect in order to re-collect,” and I liked how the two words “recollect” and “re-collect” mirrored each other but supplied different meanings.

My project involved scanning objects (a radio and iPod nano to allude to music) , forming the images in Photoshop,  bringing them into inDesign, choosing a typeface and manipulating it across the page for more dimension. We also learned about the printing process of the Risograph printer and how to format our documents and prepare them for printing.

I could have been more careful with my crafting of the zine and this is something that I’d like to focus on in future material projects.

 

 

Image Methodology: Style Lesson

Style is within the mood and implications of things, and communicates a group of beliefs, histories  and attitudes. Through almost everything that exists, you can trace back an influence of another style that has produced the present thing.

For this project we had to partner-up and My partner and I chose to combine preppy with mid-60s Mod, a style filled with mini-skirts, geometric patterns, and long footwear. Mod style of dress derived from a whole subculture of “modernists,” people who listened to new, emerging jazz, dressed in custom, tailored, working class clothing in the 1950s. This culture notably expanded in the mid-1960s in Great Britain, with live music, pop-art, and bold characteristics in fashion (with doe-eyed, fresh supermodels such as Twiggy).

We began by doing a personal closet inventory and developed a list and sketches of what each outfit would look like. Everything we wore ended up being something from our closet! For the combination photo we chose a brick wall backdrop in order to combine the flatness of the Mod photo and the collegiate infrastructure of the preppy photo.

Image Methodology: Object Lesson (matchbook)

The objects of films, although many times overlooked, can become major components of the film’s narrative, and in some cases may even become representative of things larger than themselves. For this project we had to create a matchbook that could easily slip into the world of our film. I chose the film The Fall (2006), an imaginative adventure set in the 1900s that tells the story of a paralyzed soldier in a hospital and his friendship with a young girl.

A significant portion of the movie takes place in the young girl’s imagination, and I wanted to create a matchbook that suggested the majesty of this other realm but that existed in reality. In the movie the girl has a box of interesting, foreign items, and I wanted this to be an item that would spark her wonder and tie into the whole of the story. I illustrated the monkey and butterfly (two characters in the imagined world). This project involved developing the images in Photoshop, featuring selected typefaces, producing the material product, and documenting the product through photography.

Graphic Design I: Mapping Project, Cognitive Map (decisions, decisions)

I wanted to create a cognitive map that represented the thought process of someone wanting to figure out which type of physical activity would be best for them. I wanted to create cohesion throughout the chart and I began to develop a visual theme of 1980s aerobic fitness videos. I drew out my icons on paper, scanned them in and vectored them, simplifying their forms.

I had the most difficulty with deciding how to layout the contents of the decision-making (the “flow” of the flow chart). I ended up separating the decisions by category and going through a hierarchy of choice (asking myself, which factors would someone think of first in regards to the subject, and what would lead to these choices?). I think the map turned into more of a map for people to use rather than a representation of an individual’s thought process. If I were to make more edits, I would make the factors and decision-making more complex (present more layers of choices) and personalized to my specific point of view.

 

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