Final Reflection Essay

Anna Sharp

Graphic Design 1

Tuan 3:00- 4:45

Semester Conclusion Essay

When I was a senior in high school, I began applying to colleges; St. Edward’s (obviously) was one of the schools I was applying to, and with the encouragement of my friend who had attended the university, I applied to the art program in the school for humanities. I met with my academic counselor, (his name was Jason,very sadly he no longer works with the school,) and got excited for my first semester in college, studying something I hadn’t dived into for years, graphic design. It was towards the end of the semester that a couple of professors momentarily frightened me away from graphic design with their hurtful critiques and lack of support. The following semester, I sign up for other subjects, though within 24 hours of being back on campus I swapped a course on my schedule for Foundations of Art and Design, and have decided to minor in the Graphic Design program. Having less projects has really allowed me to focus on my art more and to find the time to channel my creative energy more. This semester, I am in one course for my minor, this class of course, and overall I think it was an extremely necessary and positive learning experience on many levels.

Some things I most enjoyed about this class, besides of course the creative freedom, encouragement, and support from my professor and classmates in and outside the classroom, were the tools, tricks, and methods I picked up using Adobe Illustrator. Believe it or not (jokes! you totally guessed this,) I had seemingly no experience using Adobe Illustrator so learning everything from at first learning how to nicely trace an image to making twenty of my own images, connecting them, learning when to SIMPLIFY my drawings00, how to affectively put them together and on different materials. I even learned how to use a $5,000 printer using the same paper that stickers are on! I admit that as a student in this course, I might keep too much of my own mind and ideas to myself; after all critiques and advice from others is how we learn. But my creative eye does not open in others or when I’m alone some of the time for that matter, but I found myself getting lost in the maps I created the past couple of weeks, and I believe that is what really counts.

1. I believe that the number of hours of practice any person needs to do is entirely up to that person and what they are practicing. Practicing is always good, until of course it is taking up so much of your time that you are losing sleep or overlooking other responsibilities, and at times practicing when you have nothing else to learn. For this course, everything I did, I learned as I practiced, and I will likely continue learning new things about creating art and applying it to the modern technological world forever. I would say in addition to the three and half hours of class per week, about one to two hours of work tonight would be a good amount to practice. Frequently, I would get caught up with work and other courses, so I wouldn’t work on my projects until a few days before they were due and would end up an entire evening swamped in work, which is too much. I would say to make a sophisticated project, for example my decision making map, I needed about 30 hours total to create it.

2. “Sophisticated” work isn’t a fancy ten page essay in this case, it is as simple as something that looks appealing, which is something it took me months to understand. Now, a lot goes into making something that not one person but an entire audience enjoys looking at. A couple keys to I learned to think about, not only when revising a first draft of a design but to throughout the creating process is making sure it is more simple than I think it needs to be; making sure it has balance using white space, weight, and colors; not drilling my brain for hundreds of ideas that might “sound good” to present, but just creating this based on what I know and like; and finally inviting as many external opinions as possible, though not the ones who are out to discourage you and make you feel ashamed and fearful of your art like those teachers did freshmen year. What is sophisticated about my maps is the consistency, the commitment to a certain feel or theme. I was worried about using the color pink at first for my decision making map because I didn’t think all audience would want to look at it; then I realized if my art is directing me to make a “girly” map about wearing pajamas then so be it, I am going to make this a dainty, cute map expressing exactly how I feel when making decisions.

3. As I explained in the previous question, a major skill I learned this semester and through the map making process was learning to simplify my work. I always try to do more and add more or cover up more white space when I am turning in art work for a grade, but I have learned I need to relax my mind and when something comes to me do just that. Nothing more. Then when I have this simple idea out on paper (figuratively, in this case on illustrator) I need to stop what I’m doing, go take a break, and come back and see my design as an entire piece that needs to be cleaned, color coordinated, and condensed.

4. The level of challenge I encountered in my maps was (sadly) the beginning of each: what should I do my map on? By the third map, I was making so many different trees for what I could do and was going on and on and on with each one having like 10 different conclusions, and an (obvious) idea sprang in my head- I asked myself what decision I make every morning. When I began working on it in class, my professor encouraged me to simplify it and focus on the images (make it more visually appealing.) The easiest part of making my maps is kind of hard to describe because it was my mindset that made it easier; when I had a clear idea of what I wanted them to look like, everything was easy, the tracing of images, distorting them and making them my own, creating designs, copying things to a computer, group, cutting, pasting, joining, and knowing when something just isn’t cute.

5. I am usually in and out of art exhibits in Austin; I went to a few fashion shows put on by school clubs, worked with photographers outside of school, and just talking, critiquing, and working on my projects both for this class, for myself, and for others. My friend has a project called “Body Paint” where she basically just paints her body, but it is extraordinary, I will have to show you photos.

6. I answer this question heavily because for the majority of the year it had an overwhelmingly negative impact. The past month I have been pretty sick (common cough/ congestion/ exhaustion though trouble falling asleep cause the cough/ fever) literally constantly, every day in and out for weeks. BUTTTTTT the past couple of days, I have been really finding myself so happy and so easily engulfed in my art work both for these maps and my sketching that its almost like the stress from everything else is allowing me to tap into my creative eye more than it has in months. 

7. Honestly, this course could not have had a better environment. When we have discussions over a new project or a review to see how it is going or the critiques, we are all brought around a table looking at each other, not distracted by computers or the normal seats, with enjoyable discussion. The alone time aspect of class is also nice, how we can plug in music if we want or chat while we work though everyone seems to fall in their zone for an hour and 45 minutes. Being part of a class in the art programs here at St. Edward’s means you always want to and are willing to reach out to your classmates and help them as much as possible, and to trust them when they critique your work. I tried my best be honest about other people’s work, always telling other students when I love what they created. I got many classmates’ numbers to work and ask questions when outside of class. I tried to not be a distraction to others by not coming when I have a terrible cough or leaving class early for appointments.