"Assignment #1: Icons" Objective: Given words, I had to create three or more icons. I was only able to use black and white instead of color and no words to the icons could appear to all audience without any barriers. I had to be creative and come up with icons that have not already been made, so it was hard to make each of them unique, but it being my first assignment, I think I did pretty well. Icons were mostly lines and shapes.
"Assignment #3: Color Wheel" Objective: In this assignment, I had to choose two objects or things that pair together and put them in a color wheel. I had to make my own color swatches utilizing all the colors in the color wheel. First there are the primary colors which are red, yellow, and blue. Then from the there i had to make secondary colors which are green, purple, and orange. Lastly there are the tertiary colors, yellow-green, blue-green, red orange, and red-violet.
"Assignment #5: Photomosaic" Objective: In the design, I had to take 10-15 of any picture I like and create a photomosaic. In my opinion this assignment was the most fun because we could use anything we like for the first time in graphics as our background. I first had to line up all of my picture on the first row at the top. Then I combined and straightened out the layers. Next I took that layer and kept copy and aligning it differently on each row until I reached the bottom.
"Assignment #8: See What I'm Saying" Objective: In this assignment, I had to choose one word that goes with one picture. Illustrator was used and I liked it, because we have not used it in a while. With my word "peace", I created paths to outline the hand itself and also some parts around it. Also, I made used different strokes and made some parts darker and some parts lighter than others. The rotate tool was probably used the most out of all tools. Overall, this was a fun assignment to complete.
"Assignment # 9: Design with Type" Objective: Using only black and white again, I had to create a design with one capital letter, one lowercase letter, and a number. There were specific fonts that I had to make the design out of. The first ones on each row are fonts with serifs. I used a tool in Illustrator that made some parts of the characters black and some black. I think the middle two are just regular modern fonts; the third one on the top is some type of script, and the bottom one is black letter. I liked this assignment because it was easy and fun to finish off the first semester in graphics.
"Assignment # 11: Photo and Text Manipulation" Objective: In Photoshop, I had to make manipulate a photo that I took. First, I went on the Internet and chose a textured papery background; then I changed the size and resolution of both photos. Next, I layered my picture and background together. Then, I changed the way my picture and background meshed together. Here, I think I used soft light and overlayed the layers. Finally I copied and paste my a song over the layers and made it mesh in as well. I liked this assignment. It wasn't so complicated and did not take a lot of time at all.
"Assignment #12: Alphabet Poster" Objective: Letters are everywhere and we don't even notice; they are inside, outside, and even underneath are feet. In this assignment, I had to open my eyes more and look for objects that form the letters of the alphabet. Next, I created a poster in Photoshop with the letters. I used grayscale instead of CMYK mode because I felt like it made the letters stick out more. I really enjoyed this assignment. My mind opened more and now I look at things more intently than I did before.
"Assignment #13: Exquisite Corpse" Objective: In Photoshop, my group and I had to create a body part: the head, body, or legs. For the assignment, we had to set up a background and then place the body part in it. The parts had to mesh and go together to flow into one whole body. I liked this assignment, because were working with people for the first time on an assignment; you didn't get to see how the whole design went together until the end in InDesign. I liked seeing different ideas and style being put together.
"Assignment #14: Career Poster" Objective: Given the career the we chose, mine being the NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals), I had to create a career poster and present it infront of the class. First, I had to do some research on the organization, which I have never heard of. Next, I did some poster sketches and planned out colors and fonts. Then, in Photoshop, I created the poster; the "Z" pattern and emphasis needed to be incorporated in the poster. Finally, I presented and explained the career; like, the salary, if college was required, what the people of NAPP do, and more. I liked exploring an learning more about the branches off of graphic design and photography.
"Assignment #15: Illuminated Manuscript" Objective: With the information that we had on illuminated manuscripts, I had to create one of my own. First, I had to make my own paper design. I used an old paper brush to make the manuscript seem ancient and worn down. Next, I used brushes that contributed to all the little designs. I was very easy just to pick a brush and the size you want and just put the design on the background. Finally, I found a song of my choice and make text boxes to put the lyrics in. This assignment was fun and did not take long at all. It was very similar to assignment 11.
"Assignment #16: History Timeline" Objective: Using some of the key information from the history podcasts, I had to create a timeline. First in Photoshop, I made a background. I did a wall and then tried to make hard wood floors and crown molding. Next, I copied some pictures from Google and used a brush tool to get rid of any excess background areas. So after my background design was done, I placed it in Indesign and put my text on it. I tried to make my timeline look like an electrical chord. The assignment was not complicated, but it did involve some creativity and was a little bit time consuming.
"Assignment #17: Combination Mark" Objective: In Illustrator, I had to create a logo for a certain company logo/mark. I liked this assignment a lot because we got to use an Adobe program, Illustrator, that we have not used in a while; it refreshed my memory. I could only two spot colors and visual hierarchy; that was the only hard part of the assignment, because you could only be simple and not so colorful because it is a logo. I also like this assignment because I got to do some company research and see what they like to create to get an audience's attention.
"Assignment #19: Stationary Package" Objective: In Adobe Illustrator and Indesign, I had to create a logo design and stationary package (letterhead and envelope) for a company. I chose Azul Salon and Spa; when I think of a spa and salon, I picture relaxing, cool, calming colors, so I think shade of blue would be perfect. I liked this assignment; there were some times in Illustrator when things got time consuming, but I liked designing a project that all the pieces had to go with each other.
"Assignment #20: Social Issue Poster" Objective: In this assignment, I had to use both Illustrator and Indesign. I chose the social issue of global warming and conserving Earth. First, I created a logo in Illustrator. I just used to pen tool and traced a picture, but created the earth part on my own. Next, in Illustrator, I traced a picture of Gaylord Nelson and used four spot colors and their percentages to make the portrait. Finally, I placed everything in Indesign and chose a font for my poster. I like this assignment and in my opinion the amount of time to complete it was good.
