Elephant

Introduction

I was given the task to come up with my own project, which incorporated the skills I learned this year, and undergo the process to create my design. I decided to create an animal made up of patterns that could be used for a wildlife magazine cover, protesting elephant hunting signs, or just a poster to be sold at a book store for a child to hang in his room. My guidelines were that the design is 18x11in, the animal's figure must be derived from small detached segments (bringing together my knowledge that I learned from the Gestalt Principles), and each section must contain its own pattern. I decided to create an elephant design where the background of cool colors contrasted with the warm foreground colors of the elephant.

Description

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inspiration

inspiration

With my guidelines already made up from inspiration on Pinterest, I decided to sketch out a few possibilities. While thumbnailing I ended up adding a nice crumpled paper effect to my design.

First I started out by creating both Photoshop, for adding effects, and Illustrator, for designing the elephant, documents. I dragged a nice blue watercolor background and crumpled paper image, leaving the crumpled paper on top to create a blended effect, into Photoshop.



                                                     Next I added an elephant
                                                     into Illustrator to use as

elephant outline

wood design line tutorial

an outline. I outlined sections using the pen tool and colored them different warm colors. As for the body, I followed a wood design line tutorial I found on Pinterest. After pasting these vector drawings into Photoshop, I used the selection tool 
to copy and re-paste them back in my
document, giving 
                                                     me the ability to 
                                                    manipulate my images.



                                                     In Photoshop I dragged

pattern

pattern

patterns I found on Google onto my document. After re-pasting my images, I placed them on top of the different elephant sections, added a blending effect, and erased parts that passed the sections' outlines. I accidentally added an effect to the lines that are acting
as the elephant's body,
                                                         but liked it so much
                                                         that I ended up
                                                         keeping it.

Analysis

I enjoyed my project of creating my elephant, from establishing the guidelines to actually undergoing to process. It was a lot of fun designing each section of the elephant. Although that was the most difficult part, for I had to make sure I was not taking away any key elements of the elephant's outline, it was the most rewarding. I ended up having to ask my peers what they thought my design was. Not all of them said it was an elephant, so I had to tweak my sections a little bit to make sure my design would not be mistaken. The easiest part of this process was overlaying the patterns. From the past couple of projects I have become a pro at blending different images, and through out this process I used several different effects to broaden the differences in my design. The concept I will take away most is transformation, for it was a new tool I used. I learned how to manipulate lines by following the wood design tutorial. In the end, I would say to re-create this project, it is about a 7/10 for difficulty, but my effort would definitely be a 10/10. It was a pleasure creating all these projects through my graphic design class! Good luck to anyone else who decides to go down
this path; it is both enjoyable and rewarding.

Vintage Poster

Introduction:

I designed a vintage poster from the 60s. This poster advertises a band called 30 Seconds to Mars with one of their famous logos, the bird.

Description:

Inspiration

I researched a few different vintage posters. My options included a travel poster, band poster, etc. I choose
a band poster since my life is intertwined with music. I decided to highlight 30 Seconds to Mars since their band culminates several different logos and philosophies that a vintage poster would illuminate. I searched many styles of vintage posters and discovered they include geometric patterns, bright colors, mixed media, and curvy words. I incorporated these designs in my sketches and poster.

first draft

I started by making the basic design of the bird in Illustrator. I image traced a picture of the bird and placed a teal background behind the bird. Then I changed some of the colors and deleted the extra white background. I saved this as an image and imported it into Photoshop. Then I placed a geometric pattern behind the picture of the image and blended them together with the vivid mask to bring out the retro colors of the 60s. I also created a new layer where I painted and blurred bright colors, which can be seen over the black text "30 Seconds to Mars"to incorporate more vintage colors.

final

I noticed many band posters have curvy text, so when I added my text, I found a font that didn't have clean and cut edges. Then I used the warp tool to make the words even curvier. For example, I used the fishbowl warp on the number 30. Then I added some mixed media to the background. I placed a newspaper into Photoshop, then cut out, copied, and pasted little sections of the newspaper. I placed them around the top of the bird's wing and flattened the layers so I could apply the same effects to all of the small pieces of newspaper. I then deleted the original newspaper and used the eraser tool to blend and fade the newspaper pieces into the background.

However, I was not finished yet. I had peer revisions, where I discovered I should improve some aspects of my poster. I decided to move the text away from the edge of the paper and add some more vintage textures.

Reflection:

This project was very fun, for it is practical and I was making something interesting in my life. The hardest part was placing all the little pieces of newspaper around the wing. Although it is the smallest piece of my poster, it was the most time consuming. I had to figure out how to strategically place the clippings and what hardness and opacity I should set for my eraser tool so they would blend but still be visible. I was best at manipulating the bird with shapes and color choices. From this project, I have learned how to use the lasso tool! I have enjoyed my time working on this poster. Difficulty is about an 8/10 but my performance is worth a 10/10!

Google Doodle

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Intro

For this project I created a new design for the Google search tool. I followed the theme "If I could invent something." My invention is binoculars that help people see outside the box and beyond the stars.

Description

I started my project by looking up older winners of the Doodle for Google competition and became inspired by the unique concepts. That's when I decided to use the o's as windows. I sketched a few plans. My first version, which you can see below, has the interior of the o's as a galaxy but the background as a sky to symbolize windows to a world beyond what we typically see. I first image traced, expanded, and ungrouped a picture of the word "Google" in Illustrator. Then I deleted the empty white space of the image and copied each letter into Photoshop. Then I placed a sky background and galaxy image behind the letters. I used the eraser tool to confine the galaxy to the interior of the o's. Then I utilized emboss on the blending option window to create a texture on the word Google. However, after the end of class, I realized I didn't really like my plan.

Instead, I decided to display my idea of a "window" by using the o's as binoculars. I sketched a few more thumbnails for incorporating space and binoculars, which you can see to the right. I decided to make stars in Illustrator. I used the pencil tool to draw a star colored the Google colors: red, green, and blue. Then I used the pencil tool again to draw little marks in the stars to give it character, which I colored a lighter shade than the main base of the star. Afterwards I scattered the stars to retain the silhouette of the letters "g," "l," and "e." I added slanted lines between the stars to emphasize the letter, using Gestalt's principal of grouping smaller shapes to make a whole image. I grouped the lines and stars, then copied pasted them into Photoshop. To create the "G" and "o's" I used the pen, shape, and line tools in Illustrator. I kept the colors the same as those in the word "Google," but I made the "G" yellow since it was resembling the moon, and both "o's" red since they are part of the same binocular. Afterwards I rearranged all the letters in Photoshop, I added an outer glow since they are supposed to be shinning like stars in the night sky. Then I added a navy background with a canvas texture. I used the different blend options to combine the two backgrounds. Then I used the eraser tool to fade the image of the word "Google" into a white background as if it would to be placed on the Google homepage. The last objects I added were stars. I used the main base of the stars I created in Illustrator, but colored them yellow. When I added them in Photoshop, I added a texture in the blending options. Finally, I completed my Google Doodle!

Reflection

This project was a lot of fun! When I was in middle school, I submitted a Doodle for Google, so this project was like a throw back for me. The hardest part was coming up with a unique idea and using the different blending options without my design looking cheesy. However, I enjoyed playing around with the pen tool to create my binoculars. I finally learned how to use the eraser tool. This project is about a 6/10 depending how easy or complicated you make your doodle, but my performance is worth a 10/10!

Thumbnail

Introduction:

What is a thumbnail and why are they important? I addressed these issues in my blog, as well as incorporated my own sketches. However, as a sketch is used to create an final product, I reverse engineered a thumbnail by putting myself in the feet of the original designer. I tried to image what the designers thumbnails would look like for particular posters, and thus, created sketches from end results. On the left is my reversed engineered thumbnail and the original poster is on the right.

Description:

Thumbnails are small sketches. They tie together all a designer's brainstorming and thinking to create a tangible plan. They are suppose to be a mini representation of a final product that designers reference and work from, which makes them very vital in the designing process. They are created at the beginning stages of this process. Once an idea is formed, designers sketch rough plans for their end result. They want the key factors for the design to be evident, but not too detailed, for it is only a small scale of one of their ideas. This can help designers formulate what they want to depict in their end result. At the end of sketching, they can also look back at their many thumbnails to narrow down which thumbnail they want to create, or even which thumbnails they want to combine, for their final result. As you can see, there are many applicable purposes to thumbnails in design fields: tie together brainstorming, create a tangible plan, decide what you're end result will look like, and a sketch that is easy to reference during the creating process. Additionally, sketching helps save time while creating an end result, since designers can easily use pencil to make small revisions instead of redesigning concepts on Illustrator or Photoshop.

I included some of my sketches in this blog. While I was creating my thumbnails, I came across some insights for sketching effectively. The goal is to design several different plans on paper, for it is easy and quick. I would start out by drawing a rectangle to just get the mind flowing instead of being stuck with "sketcher's" block and not draw anything on the paper. Then I would draw some basic shapes and ignore detail; draw the outline for the main object needed to be designed. Later try to vary the lines and locations of these shapes. Maybe even try squinting to see if you can point out the basic layout out your thumbnail. Finally establish a rough location or background to your sketch. 

Reflection:

After completing this activity, I already started to improve my sketching ability. I used some of the tips I found while researching in my own thumbnails, and even started to incorporate those ideas, such as squinting, in my new sketches for my other graphic design projects. When I would squint, I would make sure that I had enough basic lines to figure out my layout. Once I could see my main object, I would move onto another sketch and not waste my time with insignificant details. This saved me a lot of time during the design process, for once I figured out which thumbnail I would work off of, I started drawing in the details instead of using up time to draw details on the thumbnails I was not even going to use. While I was sketching, many people could argue that I could have been left out even more details, but I found them significant enough to keep them since they were distinct features. However, next time I will continue to squint to double check that I am not wasting my time drawing in details. I would say sketching is a 2/10 for challenging, so everyone should definitely do it before starting to work on a project, and I would give my effort a 10/10 for this blog post about thumbnails! I hope my insights have helped clarified some knowledge about sketching!

Gestalt Design Principles

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Introduction

I will be speaking about the Gestalt design principles and how they relate to graphic design. Gestalt means 'unified whole,' a common way to also describe graphic design where elements are arranged in such a way that the end design looks more connected, coherent, and complete. When we look at visual information, our brains cannot take it all in, so we sort out what is most important. For example, our eyes pay attention to color value, meaning our brains focus on brightly colored objects when they are surrounded by a duller background since it makes the objects pop out, letting our brain choose the more important element. For this reason, I have colored important terminology in a higher color value (bright red) than the rest of my text so you will notice and hopefully remember the key words. However, if everything is brightly colored, then our brains cannot sort out what is the most important, making the picture appear to shake and our brains hurt. As a result, good graphic design uses ideas like this to accentuate vital elements without overwhelming the brain. Gestalt principles take advantage of the eye's basic cues to exemplify design, but before we get into his key ideas, let us understand where his principles come from.

History

During the 1920s German Psychologists, such as Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka, hypothesized theories about visual perception: the specific arrangements of elements that let viewers group different objects into a single design. Over the next thirty years, these theories were developed even further, catalyzed by Rudolf Arnheim's book, Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye. In Arnheim's book, he summarizes the six Gestalt principles below.

Principles

Similarity

It is important to incorporate similarities throughout design, for like elements are not seen as individual objects, but rather as a pattern or group. A simple illustration can be created by a series of similar, but separated, elements. In the pictures below, the one to the left is not just a mass of recycling symbols, but also a villainous mask. Using this principle, the graphic design artist was able to portray recycling, evil, and its connection in a nice design. Our mind picks out the important elements, revealing the shape of a mask. However, the middle picture has an anomaly, the shorter girl. She is different since she is surrounded by taller people, grabbing our attention. The album cover to the right uses a combination of similarities, all pictures are of the same person, and anomalies, each picture has the person making a different facial expression. In these designs there are repetitions of similar objects: recycling symbols and people.

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In this example, there are similarities between the Pepsi logo and the smiles, but anomalies between the different expressions. This design uses Gestalt's principle to exemplify that Pepsi brings all different smiles to people.

Continuation

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This is the principle that involves the path your eye follows.  As seen in the
images above,it is natural to follow specific patterns. For example, in the

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picture to the left, your eye naturally follows the light blue path, and in the middle picture, your eye makes up the most obvious path to connect the two dotted paths which is hidden by the black rectangle; the path is a straight line, not a billion loops, under the rectangle. As for the image to the right, when you see two curvy lines of the same color, you naturally assume they are two lines crisscrossing on top of each other, not two separate lines connecting at a point. Graphic design draws your attention by using your natural eye direction. Since you only absorb the important information, continuity makes the job easier by showing viewers what the artist thinks is vital, which will hopefully be remembered after a quick glance. In the picture directly to the right, your eye continues in the direction of the design and you see Waldo. In the picture below, the continuity draws your eye to the soccer ball, making you associate it with the word "UMBRO."

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Closure

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This principle incorporates the technique of using gaps in figures. Your mind will supply the information to connect the pieces and fill in the composition. Since your brain tries to decrease the amount of information it takes in, it groups the pieces and gaps into a unit. Humans have a tendency to see closed shapes, so closure is in affect when an object is incomplete or its interior space is not fully closed. However the viewer perceives the shape by filling in the missing information. In the surrounding pictures, a sphere, dog, fork, bottles, and square are not drawn, but can be seen since they are blocked off, grouped, and cut out by surrounding elements.Some approach this idea by drawing lines to correctly place objects, and later they erase the boundaries to create the illusion of a closed figure.

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Proximity and Alignment

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The relationship of one object to another is important when creating design. When certain objects are close, they are grouped together. This principle was also mentioned under "similarities," referring to the recycling symbols. There not only was a repetition of symbols, but they were also considered a unit, the villainous mask. The birds to the right are perceived as a person because of their proximity whereas the birds to the left are perceived as separate units since their proximity does not

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form any pattern. Similarly, the black blocks in the image below are so far apart that they cannot be considered a unit. However, the images below and to the left contain the same number of circles, but their proximity is different, making their figures different: a square verses lines. Moreover, the images below and to the right are perceived the same, a square, even though they are made up of different elements since they have the same proximity. Also depending on proximity, objects can give the illusion of depth; the triangles in the picture above become smaller and further away, appearing as if they are off in the distance. Many approach this principle as if the objects were placed on a grid, where grouped elements would follow the same lines on the grid and be within only a few blocks on the grid.                                                  

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Figure/Ground

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This concept uses the idea of light and dark shading to make specific images pop, similar to how I color coded the terminology. Objects in the foreground are seen as the figures and the surrounding area is called the ground. There can by ambiguity, where the designer intentionally allows some figures and ground to not fully express their roll as a form, shape, or silhouette. However, there is

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always this tendency to see, focus, and separate the figures and ground. The background can either help accentuate the figure or be another figure entirely. In the above picture, you can perceive the figure to be two turtles or the ground to be the liberty bell. However in the figure to the left, the ground helps exemplify the figure, tree. Although the tree essentially ends when its black branches morph into the surrounding area, you can still see the tree with the help of the ground to create negative space. The background provides the visual cues to see the figure. In the image below, the figures on the left side of the picture are white while the figures on the right side of the picture are black, but in the middle the figures mold into the ground, where it becomes ambiguous. It is uncertain to which color is the ground and figure because they do not stay constant throughout the image, as well as, where the ground and figures change roles for they morph in and out of one another. The appearance of the figure and ground, though they look simple, play a large role in graphic design.

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Symmetry and Order

Symmetry and order are important in a composition in order to avoid a sense of disorder or imbalance. This way, viewers can focus on the design's message and construction rather than trying to locate the missing element or fix the problem. You can apply symmetry and order by using techniques like the windmill (two to the left) where everything follows the same pattern in the shape of a circle, vertical flip (middle), and horizontal mirror (right), providing your viewer with a sense of harmony. Great graphic design uses combinations of these Gestalt design principles.

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Terminology

1) Unified Whole: a design that is connected, coherent, and complete; goal in graphic design;
    separate parts that create the sense of a grouped composition.

2) Color Value: amount of light released from a color; relative value on a grey scale.

3) Anomaly: a different object surrounded by similar elements, making the unique shape stick out.

4) Path: direction the design makes your eye follow.

5) Interior Space: the gap inside of a figure, which, in the principle of closure, is not bound.

6) Grouping: certain objects are so close that they are perceived as a unit.

7) Ambiguity: there is uncertainty if some figures and ground are a form, shape, or silhouette.

8) Windmill: repeating a pattern in the shape of a circle.

9) Vertical flip: flipping an image over the y-axis.

10) Horizontal mirror: reflecting an image over the x-axis.

11) Perception: how we interpret design.

12) Figure: shape that an object or group of objects illustrate.

References

1. Since I did not make the pictures presented in this blog post, a link to where I found each picture is provided as the picture's caption.

2.  http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/designer-s-guide-gestalt-theory-10134960

3. http://www.slideshare.net/thompsonkaren/gestalt-design-principles-and-infographics-15828783

Quote

Introduction

I created a poster with an inspirational quote about a philosophical view of music. During this project I designed a font and used basic shapes.

Description

First I had to choose my quote, so I searched Google
for some inspiration. I decided to narrow

Scamper Matrix

down my choices to ones that pertains to music since music is a big part of my life. A few contenders were "Music is what feelings sound like," and "When pain penetrates, music resonates," but I decided to go with "Music begins where the possibilities of language end" since it smoothly ran together without sounding corny. Next I started brainstorming ideas by organizing possibilities for my poster in a scamper matrix. Then I combined a few of my favorite ideas in a final thumbnail and used this thumbnail for the layout of my poster.

Opening up Illustrator, I started to design my poster. I
first created my cymbal using the pen tool. I copied the
overall shape, re-sized it, and deleted specific anchor
points to make the rings of the cymbal. Then I realized

Final Thumbnail

if I added the french horn and cassette, the pictures would take away from the words. I decided to just leave the cymbal there since I thought it looked nice and I wanted to incorporate my love for percussion in the poster. Next I created staff lines which I will use as the basis for my text and connect a few to the cymbal. I choose to make a few of the cymbal rings and staff lines different stroke thicknesses so the poster did not look boring. Then I used the rectangle tool to make a background. I added a gradient between two colors: magenta and grey. These colors
make the center pop which is where I was going to put
the words.

I started writing the word "possibilities" and decided it
would look neat if I made the center of the word look
squished, so I made the beginning and ending letters
wider. Since I was not using the cassette, I thought I

Final Poster

could combine the word with the staff line by leaving the bottom of letters open and joining the sides with the line. After I finished that word, I decided to make the other words just rest above the line so I could make the word "possibilities" stick out. I used the pen tool to make the other letters and created a font that looked smooth and simple. I by accidentally forgot to line up the letters but thought it looked cool that the letters did not exactly follow the same base line, so I continued this pattern. After I finished the other
letters, I colored them different colors while still
matching the same scheme as my background.

Analysis

This is one of my favorite projects because it is practical; I am very excited to hang this poster in my music room! The most interesting part of this project was figuring out how to make the rings of my cymbal and combine the word "possibilities" with the staff line. However, the most difficult part was deciding on the colors so they look like they belong without fading too much into the background. I overcame my obstacle by trying different combinations of colors by creating new swatches. If I had more time I could have probably made the word "possibilities" look more symmetric. Each aspect (cymbal, lines, and background; the word "possibilities;" and the other words and choosing the colors) took approximately the same time to complete. This project is about a 5/10 for difficulty depending on how complex the poster design is. I am very proud of my final result and believe my effort deserves a 10/10!

Font

Introduction

I created my own font using various applications and tools. I first had to do some brainstorming before I found what style I wanted to use. I also included some pictures to explain some unfamiliar vocabulary related to fonts.

Description

alphabet

Brainstorming
The first step toward creating my own font was to become inspired by other fonts. I typed "interesting fonts" into Google and scrolled through the images. When I came across a style I liked, I drew a little sketch on my tablet to remind me to try and incorporate it into my own font. After I gathered enough inspiration, I started sketching by using the "SCAMPER" method, which stands for substitute, combine, adapt, modify or magnify, put into another use, eliminate, and reverse or rearrange. I opened Microsoft Onenote on my tablet to brain storm since it was easy to sketch and save images without tons of eraser marks. For each letter in my name, I substituted something, combined different elements, etc. For example, I decided to magnify the top part of the letter "e" and "i," but I also put those letters into different uses: a summation sign in math and a balloon, respectively. After I completed my scamper sketch, I chose a few of my favorite fonts to finish writing my name. I really like the my "adapted L" font, so I decided to imagine my name written in that style as a background wallpaper. I drew thorns coming out of my name, and then I wanted to draw a bird perched on the thorn branch, so I just wrote the word bird. However, a spark went off in my head when I saw the word "bird," so I decided to write my name in that style and add it to my collect of favorite fonts. Since I would have to finish my project in Adobe Illustrator, I decided to start drawing my favorite font, the "adapted L" font, in Illustrator. Despite my love for that font, it took too long to create; within one class period I was only able to finish the letter "e." I knew this font 
was a little impractical and over complicated. 
Instead, I decided to expand on the "bird font."

Creating the Font
After my experience using Illustrator to create my "adopted L" font, which has smooth lines, I decided to create my alphabet in Onenote on my tablet instead. It was much quicker since I could make precise lines because it was as if I was drawing on a piece of paper instead of using the pen and/or pencil tool with my mouse on a desktop. I first created a few lines, the top, cap, mean, base, and beard lines, to guide my font. Then started drawing my letters, numbers, and symbols. I first start off with a skeleton by quickly drawing the character so 
the line is fluid instead of choppy. Then I go back and make certain lines thicker than others. For example, I quickly drew an "n," but then I went back with my pen and made its shoulder thicker. Besides my repeated 

steps to creating a letter

feature of fluid lines, I also include the contrast between thick and thin curves. Another theme I included is open counters; as you can see from my alphabet, my "o," "a," "g," etc. are not completely closed or connected. Similarly, I did not connect other lines, such as the crossbar to the strokes in my "A" and the bowl to the stem of my "p." Also many of my characters' descenders and ascenders purposefully extend beyond the cap, mean, and base lines.  

After I finished drawing my alphabet, I saved each character as a jpeg using the screenshot button. Then I 
imported the pictures to Illustrator. I used what I learned during last project and converted the images into was workable lines with anchor points and handles by clicking on image trace, expand, and ungroup. Then I deleted the background color, which I set to mint green (as seen in my scamper sketch) so it would be easy to see what I needed to delete, so I could just manipulate the lines. From there I regrouped the lines for each character and arranged them in alphabetical order on the same lines as before, top, cap, mean, base, and beard. When that was done, I magnified my screen so I could see the details of each letter so I could alter what I needed. I enlarged a few letters so they would touch the cap and base lines, and in some cases I used the anchor points and handles to make the curves smoother. However, since I did import pictures, image trace already created fluid lines since it uses the general shape and ignores the little imperfections, which were also not captured using the screenshot button on a zoomed out screen. 


Anatomy of Typography
After I finished my font, I went ahead and figured out the different features of my font, such as the strokes, connectors, terminals, holes, and other aspects, generally colored blue, green, red, orange, and black. Below are some of the different features of my font.

Reflection

I enjoyed this project. Figuring out what method to efficiently use to create my characters was the toughest part of this process. It took me a whole class to draw the intricate "e" from the "adapted L" font, so I knew using the pen and/or pencil tool on Illustrator was not a realistic option for me. However, once I thought of using my tablet to draw letters, then save, drag, and convert the characters in Illustrator, the rest of the project came easily. I worked well with manipulating my lines with anchor points and handles. When I was creating my "Anatomy of Typography" picture, I found it usefully to copy the letter and paste it on top of itself, color it, then delete anchor points to condense the letter to highlight just the feature. I will remember that deleting anchor points may help me accomplish my goal, for it was something I never thought of doing before but is very helpful. I learned so much about fonts, from the vocabulary to how they are formed. I would have never thought twice about how many different strokes there are; it is interesting that there are even several lines to help guide a font. I would rate this project as a 3.5/10 for difficulty, but I believe my performance is worth a 10/10 for all the extra hours I put into making sure my font, as well as its anatomy, were flawless.

Next Step

After completing a font by using a computer, you can try transforming your own handwriting into a font of its own.