In this project I learned how to further design and create an app that is functional. It taught me how to create a name and logo. 

2. What was easy?

It was easy to come up with the concept and create components in order to have pre-established connections. 

3. What was challenging?

It was challenging for me to figure out how to further my idea without actually developing an app. My brain works in the way where I can come up with the creativity, but I have a hard time actually executing how to create all the connections to further my idea. 

4. How could your submission be improved?

My submission could be improved by actually understanding how to create the app to be more functional, I had a hard time making it into an actual working app. 

5. How could I improve the assignment for the next class?

I could improve it by trying to find links to artistic videos on youtube to create the other aspects of the app. 

6. How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?

I will use this knowledge in future assignments because it really challenges my figma knowledge, it challenges me to further my experience on figma and create techniques. 

7. How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?

Professor Dunkle demoing the different aspects of the app is what helped me most. 

Link to project

• What did you learn?

In this project I learned how to use typography to match a certain style using figma. 

• What was easy?

It was easy to come up with the concept and find imagery to match the typography in order to create an aesthetically pleasing stamp. 

• What was challenging?

It was challenging to use just typography because in order to make something typography it has to be what you created. It was very time consuming to recreate certain labels or imagery. 

• How could your submission be improved?

My submission could be improved by completing all of the stamps. I had a hard time recreating some of the specific looking logos because I had to keep going back and forth from illustrator, photoshop, and figma. 

• How could I improve the assignment for the next class?

I could improve by learning how to better navigate figma, so it would not take me as long to figure out some of the mechanisms. 

• How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?

I will apply this knowledge by implementing it into all my design work. Learning how to use typography and the rule of thirds is very useful in design work. 

• How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?

Professor Dunkle going over our submissions in class was very helpful because he showed me how to fix my lettering in order to get the curvature I wanted. 

What did you learn?

In this project I learned how to take multiple layers in order to create an image that depicted a metaphor. I learned how to blend images in order to create a “real-life” looking photoshopped image. 

What was easy?

I found it easy to choose a metaphor that would allow me to use my creative freedom in order to depict it. I also found it easy to cut out the images themselves in photoshop because of my past classes.

What was challenging?

I found it challenging to find images that didn’t need much editing. I had to carefully choose each image in order to create a real-life looking image. Each element in the image had to be carefully cut-out and inserted. I also wasted a lot of time in the beginning of the project because I was unsure of how to incorporate my metaphor using whimsical photos, so I had to start from scratch. Next time I could better plan out my idea, so I am able to be more efficient. 

How could your submission be improved?

My submission could be improved by possibly using other images that were not of myself. I also could have used a different pattern in the background of the clouds. 

How could I improve the assignment for the next class?

I could improve my assignment for the next class by practicing more techniques on photoshop to create shadows and learn how to better blend my images. 

How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?

I will use this knowledge in future classes for my creative projects that require photoshop techniques. It will allow me to understand how to blend images into one another in order to create a realistic product. 

How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?

I was inspired by Alice In Wonderland, which allowed me to create a whimsical feel to the “looking glass” metaphor. I was able to leave the other side of the mirror to complete creative freedom because of how outlandish Alice In Wonderland is. 

What did you learn?

I learned how to add depth using different gradients, while maintaining aesthetically pleasing images.  

What was easy?

I found it easy to create the buildings and images themselves. I found it easy to create depth using the different gradients. It was easy to figure out how to change the different gradient colors in order to create the depth. 

What was challenging?

I found it challenging to create super creative images because the pen tool on figma is difficult to use. It was hard to figure out how to create the depth in some aspects because it is not as simple as using a pen and paper. It was hard to work out in my brain how to arrange the objects and images to create an aesthetic work. 

How could your submission be improved?

My submission could be improved by arranging the urban city scene into a street setting rather than having all of the building right up front. It would have added depth to be able to configure them in a street, so it would have been as if you were looking down it, rather than a silhouette looking city. I also could have improved my desert by figuring out how to make the sand hills look more rolling than just layered in front of one another. 

How could I improve the assignment for the next class?

I could improve the assignment by restarting some of the frames to create an image that has many layers of depth. 

How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?

This assignment further developed my understanding of figma. It challenged me to create a color scheme that fit into the name of the scene. It will allow me to better understand the use of gradients in my future assignments. 

How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?

I found it beneficial to see other students’ projects in class because it further challenged me to brainstorm more things that I could add to my project. 

• What did you learn?

I learned how to use shapes to conceptualize words. It made me use deeper thought to create the rhyme using only black and white. 

• What was easy?

It was easy to use figma in order to create forms out of shapes. It was easy to conceptualize the poem using only shapes to create a story. 

• What was challenging?

It was hard to creatively design the rhyme without being literal, while trying to use the gestalt concepts. I found it challenging to add depth while only using black and white. Using only the gestalt concepts was difficult because they are very uniform. 

• How could your submission be improved?

My submission could have been improved by trying to conceptualize the rhyme less literally. I had a hard time thinking of creative ways to convey the story that weren’t using literal shapes stated. 

• How could I improve the assignment for the next class?

The next assignment I will improve my submission by potentially scrapping my design if I am unsatisfied with it. I had spent so much time designing these frames for the story, only to be unsatisfied with the product, leaving me with no time to redo it.

• How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?

I will use the black and white color scheme in future concepts to make the work really stand out. I find this project gave a deeper understanding of how to use figma. 

• How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?

Professor Dunkle going over our projects helped me realize how unsatisfied I was with my project. I realized I had created my frames too centered and uniform which didn’t draw the eye across the work. It inspired me to redo my project although I did not have time, so I tried to rearrange the shapes in my frames which helped slightly. 

What did you learn?

It reintroduced me to figma and remembering how to use it. 

What was easy?

Starting the frame and drawing shapes was easy because figma is very user friendly. 

What was challenging?

Understanding how to combine the shapes to convert it to an image. 

How could your submission be improved?

More practice with learning how to use figma. 

How could I improve the assignment for the next class?

Learning a better understanding of figma. 

How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?

When using figma in this class, rather than adobe programs, it will allow me a new level of expertise on a graphic design program. 

How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?

Drawing during class. 

1. In this project I learned how to make a design in illustrator. It taught me new and useful illustrator skills such as making the banner for the town. 
2. I found it challenging to fit all of the stores and small things into the map, which caused me to leave some things out. 
3. The easiest part of the project was making the roads and choosing the color palette since we had done it in a previous lab. 
4. My submission could definitely be improved by being more particular about the placement of my objects and locations. I definitely could have done it over a longer span of time so I would be able to have it exactly as I would have wanted it. 
5. In future assignments I will have these illustrator skills, which will allow me to have a further understanding of how it works. Since the adobe programs are about practice, i have found myself using the tips and tricks Prof. Dunkle taught us for this project. 
6. The videos explaining the banner process I found very helpful because it gave direct instructions on how to complete each step. 

1. I learned how to use illustrators at a new level. I got to learn new skills on how to make a real packaging design. I really enjoyed learning about this because I would enjoy package design. I feel it has helped me gain a better understanding of what effort goes into making package design. I enjoyed learning how to configure everything properly in order for it to come out correctly. 
2. I found the easiest part of the project was making the pattern. Not only was it a lot of fun, but it also taught me a new skill. I got to play around with illustrators a lot more and figure out what shapes and colors I could use to make an attractive pattern.
3. I found the most challenging part to be figuring out how to make the logo. It took a lot of playing around to get a logo that looked most similar to the Byrne Dairy one. I found it also challenging to arrange the layers properly over the original logo in order to not mess up the layering of the words and illustrations. 
4. My submission could be improved by playing around with the pattern making a bit more. I feel as though I could have come up with a more creative pattern. In projects like this moving forwards, I’d like to work a little bit more on gaining a deeper understanding of the illustrator techniques, so that they will become second nature when using this program. 
5. I do not find that this project could be improved moving forward because Professor Dunkle gives very descriptive instructions. There is always a video or pictures for each step which makes it a lot easier to understand. 
6. In future assignments I will be able to incorporate more creative aspects into every project because of the understanding I gained from the illustrator. These new skills will be useful in future assignments and life. 
7. The video I found most helpful was the construction of the milk carton. I would have had a much harder time constructing the project without the knowledge of scoring the lines prior to constructing it.

1. In this project I learned how I am able to uncover parts of the photo using the brush tool. I also learned how to use the smart object tool on photoshop, then by adding a mask to the smart object it allows you to use the brush to uncover and recover parts of the image. 
2. I found the design aspect of this project easier because it was very creative. It allowed you to experiment with different effects which I enjoyed.
3. I found the pen tool challenging to use because I had trouble getting photoshop to process my selected object as a shape. Whereas in past projects, just by using the object selection tool, I was able to edit a specific thing. I also found the masking challenging because It would only allow me to do certain things to the object if I rasterized it. 
4. My submission could be improved by having a better understanding of how to use the masking tools and what it means for a photo to be a “smart object.” I think if i had a better understanding of some of the tools, I could have better utilized them in my project. 
5. I think with these adobe programs, there are just very many ways of doing things and there is nothing the professor could say “do better.” I find that some of my presets can be different, but by following the step by step videos it is very helpful. The videos make it more similar to an in-class demonstration.
6. I think these skills will add on to my other knowledge of photoshop and allow me to better utilize the tools in future assignments. It will allow me to stylize my future projects more, by having gained a better understanding of the photoshop tools. 
7. The video that helped me very specifically was the render clouds video. In my past project my free-transform wasnt working, but it was because i wasn’t following the proper steps. This time, using Professor Dunkle’s video, I was able to gain a better understanding of the rectangle marquee tool, which in result helped me gain a better understanding of the free-transform tool. I used all of the videos in the powerpoint for a step by step tutorial, I find them very helpful because it is hard to remember everything from class.