Before this class I knew the very basics of typography. I knew a lot about the history of type and I knew about the terminology used for typography. I didn’t really know how to apply what I knew. In Type I we learned the basics but we mostly learned software. Before this project I never had to work with mass amounts of text. I also used baseline grids for the first time besides on class exercises. This class taught me how to design large amounts of information.
I really liked the opportunity we were given to work on a “real” project, the Fulbright program. Also I like the fact that the Fulbright program assignment was given to us in such an unorganized up way. I hated it while I was working with it but I learned a lot about deciphering information. I think that this is an important skill for a designer to have, because in the real world projects don’t come with a syllabus and an outline. I also am really glad I learned how to use After Effects. Once again, I hated it while I was working on it, but when I look back on it I’m glad we did that assignment.
When you asked if I see “it” I assume you mean what design is out in the real world, outside of the bubble we’re in at school. If that’s what you meant then yeah I see it. I see how hectic and disorganized things can be when a client doesn’t know the process. I see how you have to manage time and build up to the final product. I feel like I asked a lot of questions because I was so new to the processes of both projects. I had never made anything any thing on After Effects or with mass amounts of text before.
Towards the end of this semester I put in less practice time than usual. I have definitely received enough feedback from my peers and Tuan. I was not part of the later class crits for Fulbright but besides that I participated in all the other crits. I had desk crits with Tuan as well and they were helpful. I feel like the class crits were better for general opinions while the desk crits were better for fixing technical details.
I had a rough time around the whole month of April, then things got better, then the past two weeks everything kind of fell apart again. None of it is in my control though. The elements of my life that I can control like continuing school, staying motivated, etc. I have maintained pretty well in my opinion.
The only thing I wish I could change about Tuan’s class is I wish we finished the Fulbright programs a little earlier so we could make an extension item of our choice (name badges, tote bags, etc.) Making things like that is always exciting.
I have grown a lot this semester. I learned a new software, I learned about LATCH, I learned about creating hierarchy with type and how to properly sort and display information. I would say that if the design program is a marathon then after this semester I’ve finished two 10ks. I feel like I am where I’m supposed to be as a sophomore, not ahead or behind.

I think I have used my practice time well. I practiced a lot at home because my roommate knows how to use Adobe After Effects and she helped me a lot. Learning After Effects was definitely my biggest struggle. For practice time I would give myself an 8 out of 10 because although I worked a lot outside of class I was still behind on the blue squares project and one of the critique days for the weather report.

I tried to make my work look sophisticated by making a design that I liked but it made making my animation really difficult. I also wasn’t very good at “choreographing” the animations in my head. I think that if I did a project like the weather report again I could make it go a lot smoother now that I understand After Effects. For sophistication of my work I would give myself a 9 out of 10 because although I think my work looked sophisticated I could have pushed it more.

The feedback I received from the class was helpful because it showed me all that I did well. The critical feedback that I got was all from Tuan during work days. I wish I had received more feedback from my peers. This is partly my own fault though because one of the critique days I didn’t turn in my file because I hadn’t finished the latch. The feedback I did receive helped me a lot and I changed a lot of things about my project because of it. For use of feedback I would give myself a 10 out of 10.

I think this class has actually been one of my most challenging classes this semester. I think it’s because of the Adobe After Effects learning curve. I really struggled with After Effects. If I worked on the project too long then I would get overwhelmed, so I started working in small 2 hour spurts throughout the week. If I had the weather report project again I would pay more attention to planning the transitions instead of designing the key frames. I would also like to use the expressions that we learned in class because I think they’re really cool. Overall, for level of challenging myself I would give myself a 9 out of 10 because I still believe I worked really hard to keep up, but I could have worked harder.

I think this semester I have developed socially mostly outside of class. I’ve learned how to work faster at my job so I get a lot more assignments and I get more challenging assignments now. My Gen Ed classes this semester have been easier (besides German) so luckily I have been able to focus more on design. For social emotional development I would give myself a 10 out of 10 because I think for once I’m pretty on top of things in my life.

This semester I contributed to the climate by helping my peers with what little I knew about After Effects. I definitely could have contributed more to the climate than I have. For contribution to the climate I would give myself a 7 out of 10.

As far as other expert experiences I of course have had fun learning how to brand in Jimmy’s class. I have also done a lot of work in Student Life this semester. My favorite so far is a poster that I designed for the “Meet Your Major” event on campus. I also made banners for MLK day, and although they weren’t super challenging to make it was cool to see something I made printed at such a large scale. I have also done some small things for my step-mom’s dental practice. Since winter break I’ve also been designing a book about my childhood with old pictures and short stories. I’m not sure where I’m going with it but it has been a nice excuse to go through boxes of old photos. Also, as predicted in my last written assessment, I made a lot of Christmas gifts over winter break. For other expert experiences I would give myself a 10 out of 10 because I’ve been doing a lot more outside work than I used to

Overall the score I would give myself is a 63 out of 70, which translates to a 90 out of 100.

Meet Your Major poster (hearts were mandatory):

MLK Day poster (1 of 4):

Christmas Zine gift:

Last semester I noted spending approximately 7.5 expert hours a week, not including class time, work time or classwork time. I’d like to have a lot more expert hours in my free time. Over winter break I noticed I was so bored without homework assignments or design projects that I started making my own “assignments” if you will. I also spent a ton of time looking at other designer’s work. My brain has changed since the beginning of last semester and my graphic design mode has been fully engaged. I think I should probably spend about 15 hours a week outside of class/work/classwork. By the middle of the semester I hope I’m at 120 expert hours (assuming our mid-term is around march 15).  I plan to reach this goal by going to Command G workshops, art galleries, spending more time looking at designs online, and doing practice/fun projects. I hope that, like last semester, I’ll increasingly become more aware and more interested in graphic design. By the end of the semester I hope I’m doing more than 15 hours a week without really trying. Maybe I could push for 20-25 hours a week. By the end of the semester I would hopefully have around 500-600 expert hours without counting class/work/classwork time.

My current grand total starting last semester is around 400 not including class/work/classwork time.

I got a fair amount of expert hours this semester. I went to a lot of the Jenn Hassin workshops. I went to at least one workshop for every step of the project (making paper, rolling paper and gluing paper).

I went to Houston Zine Fest with Command G, fellow design student Alexa  and my roommate Mari. Neither of them had been to Houston before so we stayed at my house and toured art museums all weekend.

I also toured Chaotic Moon with Command G about a week later. I went to the Senior Show Presentations at the end of the semester. I was really inspired by all the work there. There was also a lot of diversity in the things that they create there.

 

I wish I could have also gone to the Command G workshops. I was in American Dilemma’s Civic Engagement this semester so I was usually volunteering at the same time as most of the workshops. Next semester I plan on going to more of them.

The sophistication of my work has increased greatly this semester but still had a lot of room to grow. Looking back, I didn’t know how to do anything on illustrator before this class. These new skills have led to me practicing more and more, and subsequently learning more tricks/skills on my own. I wish I could re-do some of my earlier projects with the knowledge I have now. There are still projects that I wish I could make look more professional or just plain better. I’m much better than I was at the start of the semester but I’m not where I want to be yet.

I think I dealt with feedback pretty well. I love feedback and critiques so I constantly ask my friends for more feedback outside of class. I think feedback is essential because after I stare at a design for hours I usually lose my mind a little bit. For example, after a while I’ll start to value elements that took a lot of effort, even if I know deep down that they’re ugly. Feedback from others is always a nice reality check.

I tried to challenge myself with each project but of course I could always try harder. I work a lot outside of class and try to push my ideas as far as possible. The thing I struggle with the most is developing concepts. I don’t really know how to improve that skill. I suppose it will come with time.

For expert experiences, I work as a graphic designer at Student Life so I often make design work outside of class. I also design a lot of small things for family. I helped brand my aunt’s mentee’s business project. I do projects for fun as well. I made some printables for an Etsy shop that I never opened.

I made a lot of birthday gifts because I am a broke student. I plan on doing the same thing for Christmas.

As far as social emotional development I think I’ve grown a lot. I’m just a ball of stress and perpetual anxiety, but I learned how to balance/separate my personal life from my school life.

I think I could have contributed to the classroom climate more. I usually talk to my peers about projects outside of this class, but I don’t really talk/contribute very much in class.

I think I deserve either a B+ or an A- for this class. This was one of my favorite classes so I enjoyed working on all the assignments, but I think I could have pushed some of my projects further. I don’t think my end products were on the same level as some of the other people in class.

 

I think this course was really helpful for me as a sophomore. I can see why it’s good for freshman because it introduces them to all the arts departments, but I think I got a lot more out of the guest speakers than my friends did when we were freshman. My friends last year liked the class but thought it was “pointless”. I thought it was one of my most interesting classes I took this semester. I’m sure if they took it this year they would be more mature and would appreciate it as well. I liked having all the guest speakers. I wish we could have had more days like the day where we watched the Keith Haring video!