Ahoy there!
With Graphic Design coming to a close, I have to write a little reflection about the class as part of my final exam. I've got a lot of things to talk about, so let's get started.
What are your areas of strength in the content areas that you learned this semester?
In Graphic Design, there was one simple skill we needed in order to complete pretty much everything- Drawing! Since I draw so much, Graphic Design was not just a relatively simple class, but also a really fun one. I tried to put as much detail as I could into every piece I made for the class- whether it was on paper or in Adobe Illustrator. And you know what? I enjoyed every minute of it.
What are your areas in need of improvement?
In terms of improvement, I'm a little impartial to shape tools. I find it hard to create an attractive and appealing piece with just a handful of basic shapes. I found it overly simple, and a little boring. Quite often, I would omit the use of shape tools entirely and freehand the entire picture with a mouse. I could also have been a little more patient when creating my work, so that everything looked neat and clean with no errors or colors outside the lines. Backgrounds are also fairly difficult to create, due to the lack of a fill tool.
What did you love most about this semester?
Not only did I enjoy the plethora of creative projects for us to complete, I loved doing the projects in a way that I feel was unique to me, and having a general sense of creative freedom. Given an assignment where I have to draw a bird? Why not a bird Pokemon? Or maybe if I have to make a logo using the rectangle tool to create my name- why not slip my personal logo of the horned skull in there? Wouldn't hurt, right?
What would you change or do differently?
I wouldn't change anything. This is the class that I had the most fun in during second quarter.
Overall take-away or learning from this semester?
I mainly learned the basics of Adobe Illustrator, which could provide a head start if I use it again in the future, or if I use a program that's similar.
One goal you would like to set for the next semester?
My next semester is animation, which is what I'm looking forward to the most- it was the main reason I decided to take e9. In that class, I want to learn the basics of animation, and maintain a good grade throughout the quarter.
Final thoughts?
Graphic Design was a class where I was free to express my creativity in many ways- through Illustrator projects, sketchbook challenges, creation of my own logo, and even my own webpage. And that's the one thing I love doing the most- being creative. I'm certainly going to miss this class- it taught me so much, and I had so much fun learning everything that Graphic Design had to offer.
And as I step out of Graphic Design and begin my journey through animation, I only have one thing left to say-
Thank you so much for reading,
Tate
Friday, December 16, 2016
e9 Final Exam- Web Design Reflection
Ahoy there!
Process
The process of designing my own webpage seemed simple enough. First, we had to copy a zip file and put it into our personal file, rename the files inside and then get to work. An issue actually occurred during this part when someone straight-up didn't copy the file and just renamed the file right then and there, pretty much claiming the file we were all supposed to use as our own. It was eventually fixed later, allowing everyone to download the file and proceed.
The work that I did in Dreamweaver was easy enough, thanks to the tutorial videos and template provided in the zip file. All I really had to do at first was put in a picture of myself I had taken the day before, Paste in my Elevator Pitch, set up some links in the sidebar, and I was good to go on my homepage. Then I worked on my Projects Page. The first project I put in was my personal logo, with text straight from the blog post I made about it. Very simple. Next, I put in my Chase Scene video from Video, more commonly known as the Great Chip Chase. It was slightly more difficult than copy-pasting a link and being done with it- I had to embed the link and put it into the page's source code. But after that, the video was in and ready to watch on the page itself, without hopping over to a new tab and opening YouTube.
Last was the fun part- Decorating! I loved picking a nice color scheme for my website, and I eventually decided on a blue-gray scheme, with various tints and shades of the color. I also colored the text and changed the font up a bit to make my website pleasing to the eye. Although I did have to dip into the source code a bit in order to change the color of the text when activated, hovered over, or already visited. It was the only part of the project that I messed up on the first time!
After it was all done, I took a couple of screenshots and submitted them to Google Classroom. After that, I decided to sit back and relax for a while. I was finally done.
How long it took/How I used my time
The website took a total of four class periods to complete- doing the math, that's around 220 minutes, or about 3.7 hours total. (I don't know why I needed to clarify that...) It felt a lot longer however, having to frequently pause the tutorial videos in order to complete a given task or rewind to see what exactly I had to do. But through hard work and determination, I was able to complete my website within the 4-day period of work and turn it in just in time.
I tried to work as efficiently as possible, having Dreamweaver open on one side of the screen and the tutorial video on the other side. I tried my best to not goof around- Which I saw a handful of people doing when Photo Booth was involved in the process. Aside from a couple rewinds and pauses, I was able to understand and easily complete what I was told to do.
Challenges
The only real challenge I faced was trying to recolor the text whenever it was clicked on, hovered over with the cursor, and what color it became after someone had already visited it. Doing this required me to dip my toes into the scary world of source code. Having to copy and paste the line of code three times, and having to rename those lines in order for the process to work, was very tricky. I actually messed up the first time and had to redo it, but I persevered and eventually was able to pull it off.
What I learned along the way
I learned a lot about the Dreamweaver program, how to make a simple website, and even a little bit about the intimidating source codes. I learned that making a website is really quite easy, but I was using a template and tutorials the whole time. If I wanted to make another website, I'd most likely have to do it from the ground up, but the skills I learned during this project are sure to give me a little head-start.
My overall opinion on the web design process and my final outcome
Designing a webpage is surely no easy task- it may be a little hard to understand at first, but once you get a grip on the process it feels a lot more simple than it actually is. Source code is certainly something you'll have to get used to if you want to make a more detailed and professional website. I actually found designing my own webpage to be pretty fun, and it certainly payed off in the end. I'm extremely proud of my website- from the sidebar menus to the little bits of source code I modified. If I had the proper software available at this moment, I'd continue making websites for sure- although I don't know what exactly I'd use them for!
Here are a couple screenshots of my website...
Thank you so much for reading. See you soon!
-Tate
Friday, December 9, 2016
The Art Of Presentation
Ahoy there!
Presentation. It's something lots of people fear, but everyone has to face at some point in their lives. You can make or break a presentation based on six specific factors- Professional appearance, facial expression, eye contact, posture, gestures, and movement. Do not- I repeat- DO NOT walk into a presentation wearing something casual or lazy. But don't wear a full-on tuxedo, either! You want to dress formal- but not too formal. Don't have the same, flat facial expression during the presentation either- it's boring and makes the audience feel like they're talking to a piece of wood. Keep eye contact with your audience and don't get distracted. Keep good posture and don't slouch or slump. Make gestures when you speak- if you keep your hands to your side the whole time and don't move them, it makes the presentation feel more forced and static. Don't be afraid to move around just a little bit. If you stand in one place the entire time, your audience will most likely have fallen asleep within the first thirty seconds. Finally, speak loudly and clearly so that your audience can hear you. No one likes a presenter that just mumbles under their breath! Follow these tips, and your presentations are sure to be great.
A few days ago, I watched 3 different TED presentations by 3 different people. The first one was by Bill Gates. He dressed formally, had a good facial expression, kept eye contact, had good posture, made gestures while he spoke, and moved around just a little bit- checking off all the boxes of a good presentation. The next presenter was Bjorn Lomberg. He provided good facial expressions, kept eye contact, had fairly good posture, moved around quite a bit more than Bill, and made gestures while he presented. But, his outfit choice was a lot less formal than what Bill wore. While it wasn't the most casual thing I'd ever seen, it wasn't the fanciest thing I'd ever seen either. The final presenter was Jamie Oliver. While he made plenty of gestures, had a good facial expression and maintained nice posture, he moved around the stage a lot. This also affected his ability to make good eye contact with the audience. And his outfit choice? Flannel shirt and jeans. It's a good outfit choice for something not too formal, such as going to the movies or a restaurant... but fairly bad in a presentation setting. It's so informal compared to what the audience and even other presenters might have worn. People pay a lot of money to see these TED presentations, so it's almost a given that they wear something nice! So be sure to rehearse your presentation, pick a great outfit, and give those people a presentation that's worth every cent they paid.
Finally, I have to talk about my own presentation of my personal logo.
I'll just say this right here and now- I DID ABSOLUTELY AWFUL. I mumbled quite a bit and stumbled over my words, I didn't provide enough information, and the presentation was excruciatingly short and boring compared to everyone else. Instead, I should have spoken up more, kept good eye contact, and provide all necessary information so that my classmates know all that they need to know about my logo. At the end, I had done so badly in my opinion that I just cut my presentation short and did the Walk of Shame™ back to the collaboration tables. I definitely learned something from this abysmal presentation experience- speak up, give more information, and don't even think about being judged! More likely than not, the other presenters are probably just as nervous as you are!
Thanks for reading,
Tate
(Another thing that baffles me is that I was able to present something in my third hour just fine! Maybe it's because less people are in it...)
Presentation. It's something lots of people fear, but everyone has to face at some point in their lives. You can make or break a presentation based on six specific factors- Professional appearance, facial expression, eye contact, posture, gestures, and movement. Do not- I repeat- DO NOT walk into a presentation wearing something casual or lazy. But don't wear a full-on tuxedo, either! You want to dress formal- but not too formal. Don't have the same, flat facial expression during the presentation either- it's boring and makes the audience feel like they're talking to a piece of wood. Keep eye contact with your audience and don't get distracted. Keep good posture and don't slouch or slump. Make gestures when you speak- if you keep your hands to your side the whole time and don't move them, it makes the presentation feel more forced and static. Don't be afraid to move around just a little bit. If you stand in one place the entire time, your audience will most likely have fallen asleep within the first thirty seconds. Finally, speak loudly and clearly so that your audience can hear you. No one likes a presenter that just mumbles under their breath! Follow these tips, and your presentations are sure to be great.
A few days ago, I watched 3 different TED presentations by 3 different people. The first one was by Bill Gates. He dressed formally, had a good facial expression, kept eye contact, had good posture, made gestures while he spoke, and moved around just a little bit- checking off all the boxes of a good presentation. The next presenter was Bjorn Lomberg. He provided good facial expressions, kept eye contact, had fairly good posture, moved around quite a bit more than Bill, and made gestures while he presented. But, his outfit choice was a lot less formal than what Bill wore. While it wasn't the most casual thing I'd ever seen, it wasn't the fanciest thing I'd ever seen either. The final presenter was Jamie Oliver. While he made plenty of gestures, had a good facial expression and maintained nice posture, he moved around the stage a lot. This also affected his ability to make good eye contact with the audience. And his outfit choice? Flannel shirt and jeans. It's a good outfit choice for something not too formal, such as going to the movies or a restaurant... but fairly bad in a presentation setting. It's so informal compared to what the audience and even other presenters might have worn. People pay a lot of money to see these TED presentations, so it's almost a given that they wear something nice! So be sure to rehearse your presentation, pick a great outfit, and give those people a presentation that's worth every cent they paid.
Finally, I have to talk about my own presentation of my personal logo.
I'll just say this right here and now- I DID ABSOLUTELY AWFUL. I mumbled quite a bit and stumbled over my words, I didn't provide enough information, and the presentation was excruciatingly short and boring compared to everyone else. Instead, I should have spoken up more, kept good eye contact, and provide all necessary information so that my classmates know all that they need to know about my logo. At the end, I had done so badly in my opinion that I just cut my presentation short and did the Walk of Shame™ back to the collaboration tables. I definitely learned something from this abysmal presentation experience- speak up, give more information, and don't even think about being judged! More likely than not, the other presenters are probably just as nervous as you are!
Thanks for reading,
Tate
(Another thing that baffles me is that I was able to present something in my third hour just fine! Maybe it's because less people are in it...)
Friday, December 2, 2016
The Logo Process
Ahoy There!
Our most recent task in Graphic Design was to design our own personal logo! Our logos had to be simplistic, flexible, well-colored, easily branded, and have a timeless appeal to them. To start off, we analyzed some famous logos before going off to create our own. We started out by sketching three logos, and after that we would pick one that we like and draw it again- but with a description added.
Here are my first three "Beta" logos...
If you look closely enough, you'll see a sort of trend with these logos- they all have blue horns. I'll get to that later. The first one is a fox, because I love foxes. I didn't go with it because it didn't say enough about who I am and why the logo is so dang important to me. The third one is a winged toaster with demon toast coming out from it, freshly toasted and smiling happily Why toast? Well, mainly because my internet alias is Toast, formerly Toaster, and formerly formerly Toaster Oven. I didn't use it because it isn't all that flexible- it's just a piece of devil toast. The second one, and the one I went with as my final design, is a cartoony skull with horns.
Our most recent task in Graphic Design was to design our own personal logo! Our logos had to be simplistic, flexible, well-colored, easily branded, and have a timeless appeal to them. To start off, we analyzed some famous logos before going off to create our own. We started out by sketching three logos, and after that we would pick one that we like and draw it again- but with a description added.
Here are my first three "Beta" logos...
(I'm so proud of the shading here. I nearly killed my dark blue and blue-gray colored pencils.)
I decided to go with the horned skull because the logo represents two things that are extremely iconic to me- Blue Horns and a cartoonish skull. These things have stuck with me and my drawings for years now, and they're perfect to use in my personal logo. I feel that both of these things represent me in some way, shape, or form.
(Mainly because my little mascot character has blue demon horns and a skull on her shirt.)
Afterwards, we had to recreate our logo in Illustrator. It was no easy task, but I've done so many freehand drawings and the occasional shape tool drawing by now. I'm very proud of how it turned out.
The shading could've been better, but eh. I still think that it looks great!
I'm very happy with my logo, and I plan to use it many times in the future. Possibly as a watermark on a drawing or webcomic *wink wink*, a design on merchandise I can sell, or some other way to show that anything with this logo on it was created by me!
Thank you so much for reading,
Tate
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