EOY Reflection

EOY Reflection
This semester I learned a lot. For the entire year I stayed focused, hardly was off task and overall, took graphic design much more serious than I did last year. This year was a big success and I feel that I accomplished more than I had planned. This class has really helped me become a more efficient graphic designer and has helped me become prepared for college next year.

Homecoming
Starting with projects our first project this year was the homecoming package. We first had to take notes as student council presented to us of how they wanted the look and feel to be of the dance. The theme was above and beyond being more of a soothing cloudy theme. They wanted light blues and purples, as well as some whites and grays. We then had not only design a poster but also an infographic for the week that included spirit days for the week, when homecoming king and queen nominations were, and other important days and statistics for the week.

Greeting Card - Hand Type
The next project we were assigned was the greeting card. We first started sketching ideas of how we wanted the card to look like whether it was a Christmas, valentines, halloween, birthday, etc, it was an option. The next step was to sketch out what we wanted our card to look like. After this is was a solid week or two of sketching out our cards and perfecting our type as best as humanly possible and to then scan them into the computer and clean them up where need be. Then we added color and textures to top it off I ended up making a card that said "its fall y'all" on the front with leaves to really give it a autumn feel.

Branding
After that, the next project was one of the branding projects that was assigned this year. First, every wrote down a mineral, number, animal, and 2 letters of 4 different pieces of paper. They were all thrown into a hat and were randomly distributed. After this we had to create a company using these four aspects. I drew topaz, 12, an elephant, and the letters C and O. I created a company called "Trunks", a company that sold swimsuits, and made the logo an elephant. The company was based out of Colorado representing the C and O, and their headquarters was located on Topaz Street and 12th avenue. After this we designed 6 logo concepts and then picked one and chose color. We then had a letterhead, envelope, business card, and folder for a stationary. We also mocked-up the store interior and exterior as well as make merchandise.

Magazine Spreads

The next project was magazine spreads. To start this project, we had to go and search people who work in the graphic design industry, interview them, and then make 2 magazines spreads about them. The interview was about an hour and was really interesting. The man I interviewed talked about so interesting things when it comes to working in the design world. He told me how you will most likely have some bad experiences with people starting out but it will benefit you in the long run.

Personal Branding

After that came personal branding. Personal branding was by far the hardest project mainly because not only are you branding which is typically more difficult, but you are doing it for yourself. Everyone was having issues coming up with ideas so we took everyones name and everyone wrote down something that made them think of that person. After that we came up with different logo concepts, added color and determined whether that design was fit for us or not. Overall I was very happy with this project and my business card turned out nicely.


 Strengths and Weaknesses
 This year I have improved on my strengths, and got a lot better when it came to overcoming my weaknesses. First I became a lot more efficient when it came using the software. I learned a lot in illustrator and indesign, and as well as photoshop. I improved greatly on my weaknesses. Last year I would work in this class but would often spend my time working on a different subject. This was because of my sophomore year. My teacher had made it seem that graphic design was a waste of time and that it doesn't matter. That changed at the end of my junior year where I learned that you can't quit doing something because someone else makes it seem like it matters. If it matters to you, then pursuit it.

Summary
Overall, this year helped my become well prepared for college next year and has helped me grow as a designer. I learned a lot of necessary skills that I will need but I still have a lot to learn. This class has been my favorite this year and I will continue to excel in graphic design. My overall big takeaway from this semester has been to continue facing the difficulty if it means growing as a person and possibly messing up. Learning experiences are one of the most important things in life and they are there for a reason. My goal for next semester is to continue doing graphic design and to continue having my passion for it. Overall this was a very successful year and it has been an amazing four years of high school.