areidarts102-005

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Blog Post 7: End on the Year

It is almost the end of the semester and in ARTS 102 we are finishing up our Process Book going over all of the projects we have completed in the semester. This process book is also used as a submission to ARTS 145 which allows you into the Graphic design and illustration concentration at USC. I wasn’t going to apply because I am still unsure of my major but I decided last minute to apply to the program and create a statement of intent explaining why I want to join. This year in ARTS 102 I learned a lot about graphic design especially while creating the process book. The projects that led up to the process book taught us about different aspects of design but the process book itself allowed us to completely design something on our own. I found this very challenging but rewarding at the same time. At first I really didn’t like the layout and design that I chose for the book but while working on it for a bit longer, I started to like where it was going which also influenced me to apply for the GD+I program. This class has taught me more about digital art and how practical art can be. I have always been focused on more traditional art forms such as painting and drawing but ARTS 102 showed me that art can be a feasible career. My favorite project was the logo design project which was focused on creating logos for movie characters. This project allowed us the most creative freedom and while that can be stressful, it is also fun. Professor Smith has been amazing and made me feel motivated and inspired to create. 

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Blog Post 6: Process Book

Our last Project in ARTS102 is to create a process book in InDesign of all of the work we have created throughout this class and even some extra work if you have it. Since I am new at graphic design, I don’t have any of my own personal works to add so I am just adding the process of every project we have done. This includes pictures of your finished work and process including mood boards, word maps, rough drafts, sketches, etc. Then you write a bit about that project and what you changed and why you made the choices you did. Some of this could be taken from our blog posts here on tumblr but some of it had to be rewritten. This process book serves as a great introduction into graphic design and can be used to apply for the graphic design and illustration program at USC. I am not sure if I will be applying or not yet but this is still great to have for if I do decide to apply in the future. Above are two pictures of some spreads I am currently working on. For Project two and its process I decided to add some of the typographic compositions that I didn’t use for the final project to show why they didn’t work out. I added blue bubbles behind each composition because my theme is centered around bubbly textures and blue colors. I played with adding a frame as well and went with pink to contrast the blue throughout the book. I am not close to being done with my theme and I still want to play around with colors and shapes to make the process book unique. Another part of this project is the fact that we print each spread (or most of them) before we are done with the book to see how everything looks in person and on a bigger scale. The text may seem small here but on paper it is much bigger which is something that I had to adjust. This project feels like the close to the semester and shows me how much I learned in this class. ARTS102 is really fun and taught me about graphic design and the programs associated with it. I can use this knowledge of photoshop and composition in the future no matter what I decide to do. 

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Blog Post 5: Project 5

Project 5 in ARTS102 was on syntax and semantics and creating a grid displaying four types of the same item. For this project I decided to use dolls as my example because there are many different types of dolls that market to different audiences which this project examined. After finding four images of different dolls with a white background (Bratz, Monster High, Barbie, & American Girl) I started to describe them in a few different terms. The first was syntax or the visual elements of each doll which just describes what you can easily see with you eye. Then there are three types of semantics which we examined. The first is denotation which are the specifics of the item. What type of item is it or this case what type of doll? The second type is connotations or what this item is associated with. For Monster High dolls they are associated with more edgy kids or teenagers who like creepier dolls whereas barbie is associated with the dream female body and is targeted to more girly and feminine kids. The third type of semantics we examined was expression or what type of feeling the product invokes. Lastly we described the presence of each doll in different communities which has to do with context. For example, a barbie doll has a lot of presence in a boy’s bedroom because it is more feminine and stands out there whereas it would have little presence in a girl’s bedroom because girl’s stereotypically like barbie dolls more than boys. The goal was to layout each image and the text in a clean manner that shows your understanding of the product and the marketing behind that product.

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Blog post 4: Finished Project 4

Like I mentioned in my last blog post, for Project 4 we created two logos representing two characters from the same movie and I chose “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” I first did thumbnail sketches for both characters and decided to go with designs of the characters face’s that were simplistic. This way the characters are easily recognizable from their logos but also have my own creative touch. I originally was going to use the film from 1971 but ended up going for the 2005 version because I felt that it had more unique and identifiable characteristics. For Violet I included her short blonde hair with bangs, her bubblegum, and made her skin blue because of the scene where she turns into a blueberry. For Willy Wonka I included his short brown hair, googles, and top hat because these elements are a key part of his character design. This way, just from looking at the logo you can tell which character is which. We also had to create a style guide for our logos which you can see above. In the style guide you present your logos in black and white and color and create a concept statement for each character. The concept statement explains why you made the creative choices you did such as style, color, and typeface. I explain that I chose a more sophisticated typeface for Violet because she is quite rich and spoiled and chose a weird curly font for Willy Wonka because of his uniqueness. 

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Blog post 3: Projects 3+4

Recently in ARTS102 we finished our third project which I talked about in the last blog post. I ended up going for an image of a girl in black and white and drew on half of a theatrical mask to cover half of her face. I also ended up drawing in fingers to hold up the mask because it looked like it was just floating in the air and not a part of her face. Because the whole image was in grayscale I added a pop of color with blue in the girl's eye and on the words “It does” in the quote. I added a white ring around the quote to resemble a spotlight in the theater and showing that people are always watching what you do, especially when it comes to politics. I uploaded an image of the mockup of this poster that is supposed to be covered in glass on a brick wall. We just started Project 4 where we have to create two different logos for two characters from the same film. I chose the film “Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory” from 1971 and the characters Willy Wonka and Violet Beauregarde. I have only done the word maps and mood boards so far for these characters which I have posted above.

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Blog post 2: Project 3

The current project in ARTS102 is to create an unbiased poster encouraging people to vote. There were various political and inspirational quotes by influential public figures such as Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. that we could base our poster’s on. I chose a few quotes to begin with and made word maps to start brainstorming what images my poster should consist of. I ended up choosing the quote “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” by William James, an American philosopher and historian. I chose this quote because I have often felt like my vote could not make much of a difference, especially as a democrat in South Carolina. But I realize that the only way to make a change in our country is to believe that you can make a difference. This quote essentially says from a voting standpoint that “your vote matters.” I then drew thumbnails according to my word map and decided to mainly focus on the idea of a theatrical mask covering someone's face. To me when I think of acting, I think of the theater and even if it is hard to play the part of someone who believes in themselves, it is what is necessary to make a difference. The current textbook reading discusses type and letters in graphic design. It asserts “You can call yourself a designer only when you understand the rules of type and how to break them.” (Heller & Vienne, Pg. 97). I want to focus on this for this project and incorporate interesting typefaces that push the narrative to vote. Do you think you can make a difference when it comes to political change? 

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Our first project for design technology and concepts was to create two six-word stories and merge images and words together in photoshop to bring these stories to life. My process for this project was to first write down a list of six-word stories that popped into my head. I wrote down quite a few ideas and narrowed it down from there to choose two I really liked. I then made a word map for both stories similar to the one we practiced on the first day of class. Though instead of creating my stories from a word map I branched off of my already created stories and the individual words that make them up to brainstorm what images to use in photoshop. For example, in the second image above I branched off of the word “hell” with words that I associate with that term such as fire and punishment. I then in my final image above used flames and fire to portray this. On page 21 of the textbook, Michael Bierut says that “Writing is like designing in that you need a structure, you need an idea, you need the technical skill to execute that idea...” (Heller & Vienne, pg.21). This shows how word maps are a beneficial tool in graphic design because design is about executing an idea that is first portrayed through text and writing. Getting the ideas in your head onto a page is the first and most important step in turning those ideas into designs. Can you create a meaningful piece of design without planning ahead first?