Last Final Reflection Ever

Finishing up my time in graphic design is bittersweet.  I am so excited for next year, but I'm sad to be done with this amazing program that has taught me so many skills, both in graphic design and in life, and has also been like a home away from home.

Here is a link to my Behance that has all the projects I will be talking about!

Projects

Magazine Layout

This project was such a fun challenge!  Looking back on it, there are so many things that I would change if I were to start over on an all new spread, but that is because I gained so many more technical skills in working with layout and editorial design in InDesign.  A big speed bump for many of my classmates was when a lot of their work was lost from the server and they had to restart, but luckily I had been working off of my own laptop, and my files were saved.  As I said, I learned so much about editorial design, including photo resolution, trapped copy, widows, and readability.  One thing I really I enjoyed about this project was incorporating another graphic designer's, Taylor Morris, artwork into a project of my own. It was super fun working with her colorful, bright pieces and creating a spread that reflects her personality and design style.

Personal Branding

Our personal branding project was our major project of our second semester senior year, as it revolved around taking all elements of our set and our design style and putting that into a brand.  It was tough to look introspectively into who I am as a person and designer, and what kind of look I want to present that.  Sometime, I would like to improve upon my personal brand by updating and simplifying my resume, so that I can use it for jobs both inside and outside of the graphic design industry.  It is nice to know that I now have a personal brand that I can use for so many things!

Figure Eight Branding

As our last project in all of high school, I found it a little difficult to put 100% of my effort into the activity branding project, but overall I like what came out of it.  The assignment was to create an original brand + collateral for a fictional company that provides and activity or service.  I chose to create a company that provides figure skating lessons for people of all ages.  A lot of the challenges I faced were coming up with new, creative ideas to use in my advertising material, and to try to find the time to work on it inside and outside of class amidst my hectic second semester senior year schedule.  

Time Management

My time management has improved a lot since last year, but slacked a little bit due to senioritis.  I still put a lot of time into graphic design inside and outside of class, as I have an internship with the city of Olathe that I go to almost every day after school.  There, I do graphic design work for their social media, as well as a small branding project that I completed for a local school club.

Strengths and Weaknesses

My strengths as a designer are my dedication and attention to detail.  Once I start a project, I am very committed and invested in making it the best it can be.  I could definitely improve on my time management and organization just in general life, but it would also help me with graphic design.

Conclusion

This last semester was a fairly good one!  It was very sad to not end my e-Comm career with my teacher.  Even though we all missed Ms. Burdolski, we were still able to have fun with each other and enjoy our last semester, including putting on a successful senior show.  I am very sad to leave this program and this Pantone room, but I am so grateful for all the lessons and friends it has given me.  Next year, I hope to use the skills and passion I have learned in this room to pursue graphic design in some capacity.