During our Graphic Design History Essay assignment, I came across this piece by Herbert Bayer. This piece caught my attention because of its dimensionality and its simplicity. This influenced my aesthetic, because I had realized how much I admire simple designs and compositions.

The main reason that I registered for this class was that I needed three more units to meet my emphasis requirements and this section fit my schedule perfectly. Coming in, I knew that some of the material would be challenging, as I don’t consider myself the most technologically savvy person. After we began the course, I knew that learning how to use programs like Illustrator and InDesign would be tough, but I also saw the benefit to gaining the skills it takes to use those programs. Looking back on the class, I’m glad that I was able to experience and learn about not only those programs, but also the nature of the creative process that designers have to implement in their work each and every day. The challenges that this class presented only helped me grow as a student and I hope that they will even serve me as a professional in the future.

Although simple, this was a fun assignment for the fact that it gave me a chance to roam around Fashion Island looking for unique design elements that I normally may not pay attention to. I tried to capture a diverse set of pictures, but the things that recurred the most in my photos were texture, line and geometric shape.

The identity design project was definitely one of my favorite assignments. Again, I was able to use my sketching skills to help create some of the designs that we came up with. Miranda and I were able to collaborate easily and effectively, and I thought the final designs we came up with were strong. Going through the process of documenting our design process, illustrating our image concepts, and then putting together a presentation for a real client was a great experience and extremely beneficial.

Honestly I was fairly nervous going into the magazine layout project, knowing that it was going to be done strictly on InDesign. I was able to work through problems I encountered and come out with a finished product, even though I knew it had some major flaws. Receiving feedback on the assignment is what helped me the most, as during the process I was struggling to come up with creative ideas for how to align the text and images from my article. Even though the final product was adequate, I am happy I went through this process, as this assignment proved to be a learning experience more than anything else.

The book cover recreation was probably my favorite of the major assignments we did. As an artist, my best skill is probably my ability to draw, so I knew I was going to approach this project from an illustrative perspective, rather than a strictly digital one, which I was excited about. Being that the book I chose is particularly old, I was aiming to create a cover that looked a little dated but also sarcastic, given the satirical nature of the story.

For the movie poster recreation, my biggest inspiration was the Super Bowl, as the game happened to be the day before the assignment was due. I mainly focused on replacing images of the 127 Hours poster with other things that fit the shapes appropriately. I used Doritos and other snack items to create the final product, which I felt was satisfactory and at least silly enough to make the average person laugh.

Through the process of this class I learned that, like many things, good work takes time. I learned that graphic design is not as simple as a few clicks and some photoshop effects but that it is hours of thinking and designing. The process of design I learned in this class has helped me with time management when it comes to my creative process. I am thankful for the projects, the deadlines, and the tools that this class came with. I am excited to step more into design and creativity.

One of my favorite assignments was the book cover redesign project. Like I said in a pervious post it pushed me to design something more creative and really was a challenge. It was not until I saw it come to life in the picture below that I realized how much my, what seemed like, endless work payed off. 

This graphic design class pushed me to my design limits and also opened me up to the new possibilities of design. I learned how to use different programs and use different colors while also learning how to professional create design concepts. Projects like the logo design presnetation all the way to the journal assignments opened my mind (and eyes) to the possibility of design. This class will help me through the rest of my career and beyond.