1. What did you learn?

I learned that creating a collage is a form of design that is difficult for my brain to grasp. It is a unique and formless process that I never have had to do in my life. I also learned more about how powerful of a photo editing software Photoshop is and how diverse it can be. 

2. What was easy?

I found the basic editing concepts shown in class fairly easy. Creating shapes, masking objects and creating gradients all came natural to me.

3. What was challenging?

Creating the idea of how to mash up all my pictures was very complicated for my brain. This type of creativity is very novel to me. I used this as an opportunity to fully expand my skills by choosing an unfamiliar theme of the 80’s. This project definity helped me grow as an artist. 

4. How could your submission be improved?

If I had more time to bounce ideas off Ben Dunkle and even my classmates my project could be better. Having more people’s opinions can help me form a better concept art and inturn help me make a more put together project. 

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

It could be useful for a class or group discussion about each person’s individual project where we look at all their pictures and throw some ideas for what they could potentially make. 

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

Having a better understanding of how to make different photos look connected is a priceless skill. In future projects, I will be able to have a better understanding of how to make unique art from already existing concepts. 

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

What really inspired me was just googling images in the theme that I wanted. I became very interested in making an 80’s themed project so I used google to help inspire my ideas. 

I learned more about Figma. Variants made the design much easier. Also, overflow made the app move a lot smoother. I used stack overflow to get the scrolling effect which is very important for a few sections of the app. I also learned more about the usefulness of animations within an app. It helps with smooth transitions and it is useful in giving the app more life. 

What was easy?

I found the login section to be one of the easiest. It was similar to the last app so it felt very straightforward. I knew exactly what I needed to make a component of and I had a pretty good understanding of how it should look. 

What was challenging?

I found the animation prototyping a bit more difficult. It was a bit confusing to know how the actions would look like in the prototype. I did not always know which option would look best and help with usability. 

How could your submission be improved?

I could always improve the design. However, since the idea is pretty simple, I would start making a coded prototype. If I started to code the app so that it randomly generated a task from a list of different tasks, that would really help improve my submission. 

How could I improve the assignment for the next class?

I would add more sections to the menu section. There are only the notifications and “how it works” section. I would add frames for all the rest of the tabs that come off of the menu. 

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

I would utilize auto-layout in my future assignments. After learning about it in class, I realized how much easier it would be when prototyping an app. It would also help with consistency through the app which can give it a more professional look. 

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

When trying to think of an app concept I kept in mind that I wanted to make something I could use for myself. I was most motivated by my own experiences during the past spring quarantine. I felt so unmotivated. I tried many different apps but most of them asked for a list that I type in and that always led me to not even try the app in the first place.

What did you learn?

I learned to really notice color. I learned so much more about color. Interestingly, I notice color a lot more in life too. Recently I was looking at the night sky and I noticed different gradients and the contrasting colors of the world around us. I used to think I had some form of understanding when it came to colors: what looked nice and how to make things interesting. I realized that I had no clue. It feels really good to have a fundamental understanding on color since color is all around us. It makes me appreciate colors and the theory underneath it all.

What was easy?

Choosing which colors for the specific color scheme was pretty easy because there was already a specific method on choosing what color to choose. Since we had a color wheel, I was already able to choose the colors needed. Analogous was just three colors right next to each other,  complementary had to be opposite each other, and triadic and split complementary had specific locations on the color wheel. Understanding the color wheel was one of the easier parts of the project.

What was challenging?

Designing a landscape was pretty tough. The only other thing I have ever graphically designed was the heading for my website. So actually making a landscape was pretty interesting but also challenging. I never really thought of myself as artistic or creative, however this projected tested my idea of myself, really showing me was I am capable of creating.

How could your submission be improved?

More time just to learn more about figma and about different landscapes would help improve my submission. Also, I feel like my submission could have more depth. Lots of things are only one tone or they have a gradient. However, I think it would have been more interesting if I used more shades to give more depth perceptions into the different structures and geological landmarks but I do not have enough skills and information on how to do it properly.

How can the professor improve the assignment in the future?

Hoently, this project was really good for teaching us about basic color theory and more complex figma usages. We used a specific color schemes for each and by physically working in each scheme, it allowed for a much better understanding of the color theories than just a presentation.

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

I will use this as often as using color will be needed! When designing a game I will keep a specific color scheme in mind to only enhance the experience of the game. If I want to have a specific point I would want to be highlighted I can use contrast so that the viewers eyes go straight to that point. If I was to make an interesting background that’s not too noisy I could use an analogous color scheme.

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

Cameron Chapman’s article “Color Theory for Designers: How to Create Your Own Color Schemes” really help me to better understand how to choose the different colors that would look nice for each landscape. It gave me more context which ultimately helped me understand the color wheel and the schemes better since she explains the different schemes and gives many examples.