Monday, April 16, 2007

Creative Process Final Assignment

This assignment I really enjoyed. However it felt like two assignments in one and although I finished my assignments by the original deadline, I was grateful for the extension as it gave me a safety net. I also really felt like I could work on this assignment on my own because I was able to take all the lessons I learned this term and use them to create these final pieces. I did appreciate my professors input though. When something wouldn't look quite right he would come and give a suggestion that was right on and it would make the layout fit together so much better.

One of my challenges was working with color. I felt that the double page wasn't as hard to add color to but the cover was a real challenge. Overall I really like the way both of my final pieces turned out. I feel that there are many things about design that this class has taught me that I will remember in future assignments and projects. I also have realized now, that when I look at a magazine, the design of the page jumps out at me and I notice the layout and how artistic and time consuming it must have been for the designers to put the pages together. I am happy and excited that school is done and that I am graduating, but I also wish that I would have discovered new media sooner as I really have enjoyed these classes and this type of work.

Cover


Double page


Monday, April 2, 2007

Bohemian Image

Bohemianism is a term used to describe the non-conventional lifestyle of artists, actors, writers and musicians of the nineteenth century. Cafés, Music, drugs and alcohol were key activities associated with the Bohemian lifestyle.
“The term ‘bohemian’ has come to be very commonly accepted in our day as the description of a certain kind of literary gypsy, no matter in what language he speaks, or what city he inhabits .... A bohemian is simply an artist or litterateur who, consciously or unconsciously, secedes from conventionality in life and in art.” (Westminster Review, 1862)
I found several pictures that express Bohemianism, but I feel this picture below really encompasses bohemian culture.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Creative Process for assign. 9

I found this to be one of the most challenging assignments. I really felt the pressure to think of, and complete a creative idea all in one week. I did a lot of research for this assignment but I unfortunately feel it only took up time. I had originally thought about choosing the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Paris as my building. I then thought about one of the trump towers. I then collected pictures of the glass house located in B.C, designed by an individual who once was an undertaker and had built his entire home out of used embalming bottles. However, I found that the images were too small to be able to focus on. I final got started on my design having chosen ‘The Empress Hotel’ in Victoria. Because I didn’t have much to show my professor on Wednesday it made it that much harder on the days that I came to work in the lab on my own. I hadn’t been able to get any feedback on my ideas and therefore I was unsure if my design was what he expected.

I also found that this project really stretched me to move outside of my comfort zone. I really like images to flow and blend nicely together and it was a personal challenge trying to come out of that box and create something that in my opinion looks more ‘cartoon’ looking. I also find that because I am not as familiar with the tools that I used to create this piece, and that I haven’t worked with them enough to move quickly with them, I found that creating shapes alone were very time consuming. I spent several evenings till midnight in the labs and felt that I was getting more and more frustrated with the layout of my poster. I finally decided to use four repeating images. I took this inspiration from the artist Andy Warhol. Even though I didn’t follow the same techniques that he did with his colors I think the layout worked well. I am also very particular about color and for this project I really took a jump and decided to use bright and vibrant colors.

Overall I am pleased and relieved that this project is over. I hope it is what my professor is looking for and I am eager to hear his feedback. My last frustration with this project has been trying to print. The copy center’s color printer is still broken so I went to staples down town only to find out that there color printing needs a part and is also down. I plan to take my poster to printing services on Monday but I feel that like last time, this process might also be frustrating. On a positive note, I feel that I learned a lot about the structure and process of design. Having personally been to the Empress in Victoria and seeing the amazing architecture it is fascinating to learn about the history behind the building!

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Assign. 9

Original Image



Assignment 9



Monday, March 26, 2007

creative process assin. 8

This project I very much enjoyed. I found that it helped me grow and stretched me to try new things. I also really enjoyed learning about the artists that I researched. There were a few challenges that I came across throughout creating this poster. I found it hard to find the balance between creating a piece that reflected me as a "designer" and the artists that I was trying to portray. I felt that I was on the right track but I still felt that I needed the reassurance that I was doing what I had been asked so I was more then grateful for my professor’s feedback. My final frustration came when I tried to print the poster to hand in. The copy center wasn't working and ended up printing my poster in a very orange color. I then went to the printing services to see if I could get them to print it off in better color. After almost an hour of loading images and trying to get the images to print properly I was done. The color isn't perfect but I came up with a variety of choices to hand in. I must also say that the people at the top of the hill at the printing services were very helpful and friendly making this frustrating process that much better! Overall, like I addressed in my paper, I feel that this was a very enjoyable assignment!