What was easy? Thinking of which metaphor to use was easy. I tried to use one that was personal to me. I ended up using the “laughter is the best medicine” metaphor because I believe it to be true, as I do like to watch stuff that makes me laugh when I am sad or not feeling well. The pattern was also easy to make using Figma, I just had to adjust the designs a couple of times but there are multiple ways to easily create patterns.

What was challenging? Deciding how to get the message of “laughter is the best medicine” across was challenging. I struggled for a while to come up with creative ideas and I even restarted a few times in Photoshop completely. Also, understanding layer masking is also difficult since I have not used it too often in the past.

How could I improve the assignment for the next class? Although I am happy with my design, I think I could have combined “laughter” & “medicine” a bit better. Depending on how one looks at it, it may be difficult to tell which metaphor the art is supposed to resemble. Also, I noticed that I did not cut out the guy’s body or the smiley face pills the best, I could have taken my time a bit more so the quality would be better.

How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?  I am happy each time I can use Photoshop for a project since I have gotten so much practice with it the past couple of years, so I will definitely continue to improve in all areas. Making patterns is something new I learned and I was surprised by how easily someone can create one, so I will definitely do that again in the future. Also, my use of symbols in Figma and the Noun Project websites will be valuable since I now know how to import simple symbols that are free to use and will save me a lot of work.

What was easy? Once I got my color schemes figured out, constructing the designs overall was pretty easy. I had a clear picture of what I wanted to create in my head and I am satisfied with the results. I did not struggle too much with the use of color, as in how I applied it into each piece in the art. Also, creating basic shapes and turning them into complex-looking ones got easier as I advanced through the project through the use of tutorials and playing around with Figma.

What was challenging? Creating a sense of depth using colors and determining which colors to use in each color scheme was most difficult. It took me a while to fully understand how to pick colors using the color wheel. I did not fully understand the color wheel at the start but my understanding has since improved. While I created the art fine, creating depth was harder. I mainly used layering and color gradients to do the trick. The pieces in the foreground are darker and less saturated while I played with lighter tints and more saturation for the background elements. I had to go back and make the foreground elements larger than the background elements.

How could I improve the assignment for the next class? My use of depth could probably be better, as it took me a while to fix and understand. I think my colors are nicely applied overall, but the outer space design and seascape designs could maybe be improved. Also, some of my shapes are pretty basic but I tried to not overthink it so I could spend more time working with color, which was more important in this assignment than the actual shapes used.

How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios? Although this project mainly dealt with color, I learned that gradients can make flat shapes look like 3D ones. For example, the planets in the Outer Space design started as flat circles, but became spheres once I applied a couple of radial gradients. This was extremely useful and I will definitely apply it to future designs. Plus, I see now how complementary color schemes make a design pop. This too can be useful, especially for designs that convey an important message.

How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you? Although I did not really use a separate reading, I must admit that I used previous class examples as inspiration. I looked through older blog posts plus older student examples that were provided in the directions document by the professor to gather ideas. This inspired my Seascape and Arid Desert designs the most. Also, looking back at the class videos greatly helped me remember how to create certain shapes and helped me better understand the color wheel.

What was easy? Manipulating the size and position of the shapes was easy since Figma is not a very complex program. I was easily able to move the shapes anywhere I wanted inside the frames. Also, the use of black and white instead of other colors made the process easier since arranging them into patterns that tell a story was the main focus.

What was challenging? Deciding on which nursery rhyme to use was difficult since it took me a while to come up with design ideas in my head that could go along with each Gestalt principle. Also, although some of my frames look simple, it was difficult to ensure each frame dealt with a specific principle. Frames 3 and 4 were probably the most difficult since it took me a while to fully understand how to use negative space to my advantage. Frame 4 I ended up redoing completely which took a while. Also, it was difficult at times to figure out which frame went with each principal since some of them are similar.

How could I improve the assignment for the next class? While I am happy with my designs, some of them are more complex than others. Perhaps I could have done a better job at making sure each frame is more closely equal in terms of how much detail it contains. However, the Jack Horner rhyme is simple and it is easier to communicate stories in certain frames than others. I probably could have experimented with scale a bit more and done a better job at improving issues relating to symmetry since that was a issue I dealt with.

How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios? I will definitely continue to use Figma as it is much easier to use than Photoshop or Illustrator. I will use it for future projects for sure. Also I can now use my knowledge of Gestalt principles to manipulate the eye to follow a specific direction. This project proved to me that it is possible to create art that is complex despite shapes being so simple, so that will play a role in my ability to create designs.

How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you? Before I began designing in Figma, I watched many nursery rhyme videos so I can get a visual look at what each line looks like and use it to inspire my designs. I also found some old Gestalt Nursery Rhyme examples that better enhanced my understanding of the project. The slides on Gestalt principles that served as the introduction to Project 1 introduced me to Gestalt principles and I looked back on those slides many times to ensure I understood each principle.