Technology
This past year, I have had the opportunity to work not only in Illustrator, but also in Photoshop and Indesign. Before my menu redesign project, I had never felt comfortable working in Indesign and always thought of it as a chore I was forced to do. After spending months designing, formatting, and editing my menu in it, however, I feel much more comfortable in it and can now enjoy the precise columns, grids, and character/paragraph styles that the program allows me to build. Being familiar with Indesign allowed me to design an appealing brochure and newsletter for BBYO, my chosen nonprofit organization, and will help me in the future with other projects requiring column and grid design.
This year was also the first time I have ever done mock ups of my work in Photoshop. I learned that they are fairly easy to do, but sometimes require a lot of searching and editing in order to display my work in the best way possible. It is a fun way to make my work look more professional and realistic.
Collaboration
Looking around the room at the varying styles of the students in my class, I realize how lucky I am to be able to design in an environment where we can share our opinions in order to strengthen each other's style and work. I have learned through critiques, both formal and informal, that it is important to consider everyone's feedback, even if I may not agree with them or understand their suggestion at first. At times it's been beneficial to try something completely different from what I was originally thinking, because that's how the best ideas are formed. I have not had the opportunity to work on a project with someone else from my class yet, but looking at what I have accomplished simply from listening to their opinions and adopting them I can not wait to see where a collaborative project would lead me.
Communication
I've learned this year that when working in an environment where you are responsible for something, the most important thing you can do is communicate. It is incredibly important to show up to class as much as possible to have the opportunity to modify and get feedback on work, but I am not always able to be at school 100% of the time, and I think that is okay. However, I've learned that when I have to miss school I need to always communicate when and why I am gone, and moe importantly communicate when I get back what I have missed and the best way to make it up. Sometimes, this means I need to come in after school to work on a project, or even just have a talk with my teacher about why I am out of school and how to make the most of my class time when I am here. Next year, I am looking forward to only missing class when necessary and putting in the time and effort to bridge the gaps of my absences with extra effort, communication, and time management.
Project Management
The most important lesson I've learned in junior graphic design is that project management is not just about meeting deadlines, it's about working to always feel on top of my work enough to make as many modifications and additions to my projects as I am able to. For instance, at the beginning of the semester I began to lag behind in this class. I had to miss a lot of class, and I was not always focused when I was here. Having ample time to work on my menu redesign for the restaurant RA caused me to be unmotivated to finish it, which I now know is a really bad mindset to have while working creatively. Next time I have a project like that, I will use my time more effectively to work, and then use the extra time given to go back and make it better. I could see my improvement in this area later in the semester with my brochure project, when I stayed on top of work enough that I even had time to complete projects for clients, including the posters I made for the Cyber Patriots club at my school. I'm excited to apply my new time management skills to my responsibilities outside of graphic design and to this class next year.
Leadership
I feel the importance of leadership in this class every time I have the opportunity to help someone else in my class shape an idea of theirs, or provide a critique for them that they take and makes their project better. Next year, I'm excited to further explore what leadership looks like in this classroom when I have more experience as a designer and am able to help the incoming juniors with all the projects and opportunities that this class brings.
Strengths & Weaknesses
My greatest strengths in this class are my attention to detail and my work ethic. Although I sometimes fall behind in my time management, I think it is evident in my current portfolio that I have been putting in the time and effort to make my projects the best they can be. Next year, I'm excited to apply my skills to new projects and overcome the difficulties I've had this year.
Summary/Conclusion
I have grown so much as a designer this year, and I am really looking forward to using my knowledge in the future, whether this be in college, a job, or just something I'm able to do in my free time. No matter what, the skills I've learned in this class go far beyond the scope of graphic design. If I could, I would change the way I viewed myself as a graphic designer earlier in the year. I didn't have much confidence in my skills, and because of that I began to compare myself to others and lost a lot of motivation to do my work. I think that I have really grown out of that this year and proven to myself that I capable of success in graphic design if I put in the time, effort, and passion. I am so proud of everything I have accomplished this year in graphic design, and I'm looking forward to apply and enhance the confidence and skill set I've gained in this class during my senior year and into my future.
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