Reflection

1) You were required to create a structure/layout, original title/type, and a visual sequence for your "How To" Poster.  Select ONE component you feel your poster is strongest in. Explain why you feel your poster is particularly strong in that category describing at least ONE specific part of your poster.

I think the component my poster is strongest in is my visual sequence. All my steps are clearly posted out, step by step and is not difficult to follow - it goes from the top left to right to bottom left to right. Although there is no text throughout the poster, the images clearly show what the ingredients are and what is being done in each step. A person who wants to learn how to make the pancakes will be capable of doing so after seeing the poster on how to make it.    

2) What is ONE thing you would do differently if you had the chance to start this project over from the beginning? Explain what you do differently and how that would strengthen your poster.

If I had to start this project over, I would clearly think about how I would I have liked to have set up my layout/structure. Even though I said that my visual sequence is my strongest component, I feel that the overall poster is a bit blank and there is a large amount of negative space. Next time, I would think of different ways to layout my steps to make it more creative and try to use as much room as possible on it.      

Final Book Cover Design

This is my final book cover design for the short story I Know What You Mean by Christian Duran.

Book Covers

"Looking for Alaska" is one of my favorite books, although I read this 5 or 6 years ago, I remember the cover and my first impression where I thought it was going to be a boring book. However, when I look at the cover now, I think it's pretty interesting that the cover is very simple yet mysterious. There is a smoke, which doesn't necessarily take up the entire book, coming from a purple candle with a black background. I enjoy how there is a purple candle at the bottom of the cover, uniting the purple and the black creating this nice color math.

 

I first heard about this book when I took my graphic design class last summer. The other students in my class were praising the cover and saying how amazing it was. What I find nice about this cover is how there are two clouds on it, both different colors displaying the title of the book and the author. However, what I do not like about this is how there are texts above and below the clouds. I find them to be rather distracting, especially because it is all in upper - case, if it were in lower - case, maybe it would less distracting. Overall, I find this cover to be pretty attracting and is able to draw viewers in.

 

What I like about this cover is how it is so simple, yet interesting and very different from other covers I have seen. This cover is mostly white, except for the two pills in the cup which are blue and white. I find this to be so simple and makes the viewer interested with what the book is about. What I also like about this cover the title found at the bottom. I noticed that the letters are all in lower - case, which is not something I always see. I find this to be different and interesting on the designer's choice to make the title in all lower - case letters as well as flipping the 'e' in the word and having it in a different color. 

 

What stands out to me in this cover is how the person, Ross Matthews, is on the cover, leaning on pink balloons on a cloud in the sky. This caught my attention as the colors were blue and pink, my favorite, and the book appeared to be very bight and positive, making me feel happy. What I also enjoy is how the two balloons seen at the bottom have words written in it. Overall, I really enjoy this cover and looking at it makes me happy and eager to read about it. 

Although I haven't read this book, I am well aware what it is about. But, when I first saw this cover and was unaware of what the book is about, I found the cover to be interesting. I like how there is one color used, with different shades of 'grey' which really fit the title. However, the find the typeface used for this was a bit too simple and rather boring. I also feel that the cover is a bit bland, and could have used perhaps a bigger text size or more design on this cover as it there is a bit negative space. This is unlike "Looking for Alaska" and "Cracked" which are both simple, but is still has interesting components to it.

MHS Handbook Design

To create this design, I used the current student handbook to get an idea of how I should create my design. I also used designs from previous so I have more ideas. Before beginning my design, I created thumbnail sketches of a phoenix, played around with the wording, and drew some buildings as MHS is in New York. After creating these sketches, I moved on to a draft and a new idea came into my mind. So, I drew books of different subjects and stacked them on top of each other. Next, I wrote the words on the top and bottom of the book, so that the design wouldn't be that plain and boring to the viewer. I colored in the design, using mostly red as that is the color of our school. After creating this design, I felt it was bit too simple and boring and nothing really stood out from it. I decided to create a new design, but with some of the same elements in it. This time, I drew a book that was open to two pages and on the left side of the page I drew a phoenix, the school mascot, and on the right side I wrote in the information. I colored both sides of the pages using red, orange, and yellow trying to create this fire effect that the phoenix was rising out of.

The sketches I started with before creating my design

The first design I created, but I thought was a little to simple and boring, so I decided to change my design.

My second design, where I tried to be a bit more creative with my design, creating a new idea that hasn't been used yet and  adding this fire effect in the background to make the phoenix rise from the fire.

Logo Reflection

1. My logo design was created for the Diverse Dance Team. Even though simple in design and color, my design represents what the team is as a whole. The final design which is rather simple, can instantly show its audience what the design is primarily for, a dance team. The Diverse Dance Team already had it's own design, and I wanted to create a new one that was similar to it, yet different. Originally, I wanted the font to be in script, but after trying different fonts, I realized that this particular font was better as it is easier to read compared to script. At first I also wanted to add more color into it, but after trying different backgrounds and colors in the figure, I found that the black and white was the best choice. The other colors didn't really seem to have a really good flow and was rather distracting when looking at the design.

2. Personally, I didn't really have a good idea of what I wanted to design when I started this project. I had all these images in my mind, but I felt as though I couldn't top the design the team already had nor could I put my designs out on paper. I found myself spending too much time sketching what I had in my mind, which caused me to be a bit lost during this project. Eventually, I created a simple sketch and decided to recreate it with an image on Gimp. When I used Gimp at first, I wasn't sure how to draw out the sketch I had, but I decided to search up images of a person dancing and traced over it, creating the figure. After creating the figure, I finally knew what I wanted to have my design look like. Although I thought creating a design on Gimp would be difficult, it actually allowed me to decide what my design should be.

3. Honestly, I thought the most difficult part of this project was to top the design which the team already had. I didn't want to create a completely new design only to have the members of the club dislike it. I felt as though there were standards for me to reach and I was afraid I couldn't reach those standards. Even though I was afraid of whether or not they would enjoy my design, I showed one of the founders the design and she really enjoyed it. This made me more relieved that I didn't do a horrible job on the design.Another difficult task was to get the exact design I had in my mind. Putting it out on paper was difficult for me, but eventually I had a final product. Although my final result wasn't what I initially wanted, I still am happy that I created something which I like. 

4. I am happy with my final design as I have put a lot of effort into this. I constantly changed the figure I used and it took me a while to find the image I wanted to use for this design. I eventually came to my final result, after playing around with the placement of the words and the figure. What I really like about this design is that it's simple and doesn't have too much detail which can be distracting to people. Logos should be simple and sends its viewers the message of what it should be for, and I believe my design shows that.

Final Design on a sweater

Final Design

2013 Memories

Here are 13 memorable moments from 2013:

1) I got my license in June
2) I went to the Jingle Ball in December
3) I went to a Wanted concert in August
4) I took a college course at Fordham over the summer
5) Went to the beach with my friends
6) Had an amazing birthday dinner
7) Went to Atlantic City for shopping and the Wanted Concert
8) Baked brownies with my friends on my birthday
9) Watched scary movies with friends
10) Attempted the smoothie challenge
11) Met up with an old friend and watches This is the End
12) Watched a sea lion show over the summer
13) Bought a lot of shoes :)

Summary of My Logo Design

Diverse Dance Team

The Diverse Dance Team is a unique dance team in our school which focuses on different styles of dance ranging from hip hop to kpop. The goal of this team is to have members express themselves freely, gain confidence, and develop better team working skills. The team requires no previous experience as its founders teach the members the dance moves and wants the members to feel more comfortable with the dances. The dance team is also special as it is so diverse in its members and the dances which they learn. Anyone who is looking to join the team is more than welcomed to become a part of it.