This project was one of my very first times diverging into the world of photoshop with total creativity on what I could do. It let my creative mind come out, and let me figure out through trial and error how I could overcome a software I often struggle with. I am happy to have part take in this assignment.
What Did You Learn?
Coming in with little to no experience, almost every piece of work in the final card is something I learned. From removing backgrounds, blending images, finding new fonts, bending texts, and even printing in color at Canisius. This project taught me a wide array of skills I can use in this class, and even outside of this class in the future.
What Was Easy?
I feel like the easy part of this project was navigating all the fonts Adobe offered to put in my card. There’s so many great options, that really let me bring my card to life. But even with this I did have to change fonts as my WIP was very busy with fonts against the background. (shown below)
What Was Challenging?
The most challenging, and definitely most time consuming part was removing the background images from the pictures I wanted to use. You have to use such a fine hand with it, and a slight error forces you to restart. Although it was challenging, I feel like I did a strong job in removing the backgrounds, and letting the image fit in.
How Could Your Submission Be Improved?
One way I could have improved my submission would be to fine tune the fonts, and make them look more apart of the background image they’re on. Especially on the opening page, the Merry Christmas on the stocking looks like it is not apart of the stocking itself (as shown below). I feel like I would need a bit more time learning the software to be able to do that well.
How Could The Professor Improve The Assignment?
I feel like we could walk through individual questions instead of doing critiques as long. I felt like we took a majority of the class time to talk about everyone’s work, and it wasn’t taken that seriously. I feel like 1 on 1 time with you may have been more beneficial.
How Might You Apply Your Knowledge In Future Assignments Or Work Scenarios?
As an IMC major, my lead professor often talks about the importance of being able to make things look good and professional. A lot of the major players in the marketing world jump to social media, where you have to make a good looking piece to put on display so people take your product seriously. This experience may help me one day in building one of these product displays.
How Did A Specific Reading Or Video Found Outside Of Class Inspire Or Help You?
I read the article attached as a beginner, the title applied to me. The two main points I took from it were to spell check, and make sure fonts work. I applied those from my WIP to my final drafts, as fonts and spelling were two problems I faced.
Final Card Images
Front
Back
Inside
Overall the project went well, and I am very happy with my results!