Graphic Design 2016-2017 Reflection

I've really enjoyed this year of Graphic Design. Although it's always a very interesting and unique class, I learned (Yes! I learned!) more about Illustrator and Photoshop, and I learned the basics of Adobe InDesign and Adobe Bridge. We did a variety of projects throughout the year, most of which are now in my design archive. I'm especially proud of my work with The Aviary, ONW's literary magazine. I'm also very proud of my magazine cover, my ceiling tile motif, and my personal branding, including my logo designs and my business card. I'm also very proud of our creative team toy The Game.

I've learned quite a few new things in the Adobe Suite. In Illustrator, I learned how to create clipping masks, add effects, create symbols, use the pen tool, use the convert anchor point tool, and how to create patterns. In Photoshop, I learned how to create detailed selections from an image, and I specifically used this for my magazine cover. I also utilized Bridge to edit and correct colors. Do I know everything about these programs? Am I a Jedi Master at Illustrator? No, of course not, but I'll gain more and more experience as I continue learning and creating. Mrs. Lofquist would tell us to use Google or Adobe Help if we ever got stuck on a project instead of asking her. Well, I'd still ask her, but if I still wasn't able to get a straightforward answer, I'd use Adobe Help or Bing, because Bing is better than Google search. Please don't beat me up.

I always tried to help others in our class if they needed it. I helped Alayna a lot, and she helped me when I was being particularly stupid during one of my projects, when I was trying to create a clipping mask when I could just fill the object with the pattern I had made [hits head on wall repeatedly].

Although I plan on moving to Convergence next year, I hope to keep Graphic Design in my daily life throughout the rest of high school by working on outside projects along with my Convergence work.

One of the most important things I've learned out of this year is that I thoroughly enjoy Graphic Design. Currently, it's one of the fields I'm considering going in to as an adult. It's a craft full of creativity and allows you to be unique to yourself, something that I strive for and something that I want in a career. Although a lot of people are very "salty" (Cynthia Lofquist, May 2, 2016, 1:25 pm) about e-Comm, I really enjoy it and I'm excited to continue with it my junior and senior years. But e-Comm has not only taught me about the programs we use. I've also learned a lot about communicating and collaborating with my peers. Our team projects require us to communicate with each other in order to create a high-quality final product. I've also learned about communicating with clients, as I created a DVD of Prairie Trail's The Little Mermaid Jr. that took place in late April. It was one of my biggest projects to date, and I was very proud of the final product. Overall, I enjoyed the class this year. It was always a class to look forward to, and although our teacher was sort of "caddy-whompis" and "salty," and her methods were "wonky," my final products were always "exac-alac" and something that I was proud of. Thank you for a great year Mrs. Lofquist! Have a great summer and I'll be back next year!