Semester 2 Reflection of Graphic Design

What is one valuable takeaway you learned from each guarantee?

 

Technology: I can definitely see a growth in my knowledge of the programs used during this course, such as illustrator, indesign, and photoshop. At the beginning of the year I was very timid and uncertain of my skills, partially because I didn't always know the best way to produce my ideas on to the computer. My biggest challenge this year with technology happened during the Brochure section of our most recent project because I had never had to do something so massive in Indesign before , which really scared me. By the end of the project, however, I felt much more comfortable and confident in InDesign. I disliked feeling uncertain of my skills so I decided to push myself by finding tutorials that I thought would help me, such as a cartoon type tutorial that showed me a lot of techniques to manipulate type that I didn't think about before. Learning all of these new techniques helped me create more complex work with less limitations so I could create almost anything that presented itself.

Collaboration: Having split Ecomm hours has definitely helped me with collaboration, because I have had to reach out to my classmates to help fill me in and give me advice that I've missed during the class period that I am not there. learning when to collaborate and ask people for opinions is a very important skill because others opinions can open your eyes to a new perspectives and push your design the next step to make it be the best it can be.

Communication: As a Graphic Designer, communication is very important because you have to communicate to clients about your designs and listen to what they want out of your design. It is also crucial to communicate to coworkers about other projects and their ideas. Split hours has also taught me the importance of communication, because I would often miss the instructional period during first hour and communicating with Mrs. Burdolski about what I didn't understand and what information I needed to do my best. If I had not learned the importance of communication so soon, I would have probably missed key information about projects, which would have led to me getting less out of the program.

Project Management: I definitely learned project management during our first project, because in previous years I had not had hard deadlines for projects, so this year brought new challenges, but also brought new skills. Having a set deadline for the first project snapped me out of my daze and taught me how to space out my work so that way I didn't get stuck trying to rush the creative process. This skill was very beneficial when I started to gain outside projects so I was trying to balance two, or even three projects all at once.

Leadership: I have always prided myself as being a strong leader, but this year I feel like I have learned a new type a leader that someone can be. A leader does not have to be in charge of people or be the head of the class. A leader can be silent, but set a great example for the class, or give great feedback during critiques. I started to learn this when we had our first critiques, because I knew I wanted to act like some of the seniors did when giving critiques. They helped me improve my design, while also improving my confidence as a designer. This skill is very important because leadership is a necessity in the Graphic Design community because we all feed off of each other while designing.

What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? 

I believe my strengths are organization and communication, because I utilize my planner to it's full extent and I am very outgoing and have never had an issue asking for help. However, I believe I can be too quick to ask for someones help, which could be considered a weakness. I have improved on my rapidness to ask for assistance this year through utilizing tutorials and trusting my skills. I would also consider one of my weaknesses to be taking something too literal. This has improved as the year has progressed, but I would still like to improve this area of my designs.  

What are you going to do with what you have learned? 

I am going to work hard over this summer to do as many tutorials and expand my knowledge even further. I also plan to get as many design opportunities as I can over the summer, because I would love to get my name out in the community. With all of my new knowledge I really would like to revamp my behance to fit my personality more than it currently does. Hopefully with this todo list I can strengthen my skills and hopefully add some new ones. 

Is there anything you would change? why?

There is little I would to change about this past year, but one thing I would like to change is my sketching abilities. Sometimes I get a creative block and I never know where to go. I feel like this is an easy fix, but it is just a mental state that I could easily adjust. I would also like to change the priority of behance, because I feel like it is a very useful tool to use and I do not always treat it that way. Other than these two personal changes I really enjoyed all of the projects that we have done. I recognize noticeable changes in my designs and the way I present myself as a designer. 

Conclusion 

It is amazing to see how much I have grown as a person and as a designer since I have entered the E-communication Program. I have always been fascinated with the production of posters and graphics you see all around you. Understanding why we see things the way we do and manipulating designs to favor that without the audience even knowing is mind blowing to me. This program has also given me such strong relationships that I will never forget. My classmates are always able to make me smile and help push me to produce better work then I ever thought possible. Overall this year has blessed me with so much knowledge and so many new friends that I could not Imagine myself in any other department at ONW.     

                                                

Sophomore year packaging project (Yikes)

Junior Year Rebranding Project