Graphic Design - End of Year Reflection

Technology

From a technical standpoint, I've become not only competent, but proficient (at least, I'd like to think so) in the industry-standard software. With the skills I've learned, I now have the ability to create a semi-professional online portfolio (here) and I could potentially even do small freelancing projects. This process wasn't instantaneous, and I'm still not perfect- Photoshop is a formidable adversary- but I can still use the tools of graphic design effectively.

Collaboration

Due to a mistake in my class schedule, I switched classes halfway through the year. I view this positively, because it allowed me to experience two different ways of collaborating on projects. In my first semester, our work was reviewed as a class; in my second semester, we did smaller critiques. My own personal learning style tends to be one that works in more personal groups, as I find larger ones difficult to manage. This change was certainly welcome, and even influenced my decision to continue in the graphic design branch of e-Communications in the future.

 Communication

If you had asked me last August what I thought of this particular image, I would have said it was a billboard for a makeup company. Now, I could tell you that the sans serif font and that particular tint of pink combine to form a minimalistic yet feminine look, and that it isn't even a real billboard, but rather a mockup. Oh, and that I made it. One of the most valuable skills I have acquired this year is my ability to verbalize what makes something attractive or ugly. Our critiques often involved only my peers and I, so we had to learn to describe what we liked about the work we were reviewing. Simply saying a font is unattractive doesn't work; we had to be able to apply the rules we used. Once we did that, it was more along the lines of "this font is ineffective because it's a serif combined with another serif; try using a sans serif instead".

Project Management

my project, "Rose", without the background

I like to think of myself as a good student. I can't recall ever having late assignments. However, when it comes to graphic design, I spend so much time on everything that eventually I have to make myself stop, admit that I'm being a perfectionist, and put it up on Behance already. It's not a bad thing, but further down the road, I'll have to keep it up when doing client work. There's a big difference between an assignment deadline and actually working for real people and companies. I will say, one time I remember being particularly rushed to finish something was when I submitted work to eMagine, our school's media festival. Originally, I wanted to make a short film; that definitely didn't pan out. In fact, I had planned on doing that, and when I realized it wasn't working, it was too late to really start something else. Or, at least, it would've been, to any logical person. Not being that person, I decided to start a vectoring project within a couple of days from the deadline. In the end, I actually won third place, which was surprising, given the amount of work I put into it. This is what I have to say about that: If I won third place for a project I threw together last-minute, I can't wait for the next two years when I have time to plan.

Leadership

I've always been strong-willed. Independent. You know, all those adjectives that people use when they're too polite to say something like "control freak". But. I had to learn to apply that to projects and even when working on my own. If I made something and didn't like it, I had to organize my thoughts on it and solve the problem. I think a part of being a leader is eliminating traits like procrastination, and actually making your team (or yourself) get the job done. During critiques, when there wasn't a teacher or a more experienced graphic design student guiding the discussion, we each had to step up and give our constructive criticism. At first, especially since I was in a new class, this was a daunting task; however, I quickly found that as a graphic designer and as someone who is learning, I appreciated feedback, and so did others.

Strengths and Weaknesses

practicing with a waterbrush

The thing I'm most proud of is my handwritten typography. I've been interested in it for a while, but after actively looking at the way other people write, I've developed my own style. Sometimes I even catch myself staring at a certain letter in someone else's handwriting because I like the way they made it. I've made cards for many people with my lettering, and it even got me a potential job offer to design wedding invitations.

I'm still improving my technical skills, of course, but that's going to be a constant theme throughout my experience. The thing I look forward to most is expanding my creativity, especially when it comes to things like logo design.

a quote from American Beauty
(dir. Sam Mendes, 1999)
illustrated by me

The Past and the Future

One of my mantras (brought to you by the film American Beauty) is "everything that's meant to happen does". I wouldn't change anything about my experience, because I think what I've learned and how I've grown is so valuable the way it is. Looking ahead, I plan on continuing in graphic design, and hopefully becoming even more skilled.

Conclusion

This year in e-Comm has been wonderful, in all its challenging ways. At the start of the year, I thought I knew exactly what I was going to do: go onto entertainment video and make films with my friends. Of course, that didn't happen. I realized around spring break, when I 1.) couldn't make a decent video from my plan for eMagine and won third place with a vector that took me three days, and 2.) turned in a video for class that was so bad, I spent all of spring break rethinking my entire plan. I'm not trying to be self-deprecating; it's just a fact. I'm not upset about it, though. I think it was just something that I had to realize in time, and I'm glad it worked out the way it did. I've created a solid bond with my peers in both classes regardless, and I'm excited to be able to work with them as we progress.

Overall, e-Comm has been about passion and actively doing things. I was one of six presenters at eMagine, which was absolutely wild, and I even won an award. I enjoy creating media, whether it's in Illustrator or Premiere (although there's a difference in quality there; I'll say it). I hope to continue creating and loving what I do in these next two years. I wouldn't trade my experience for anything else.