When looking at the prompts, I immediately noticed a theme of the outdoors, but was really excited about the abstract theme and what I could do with that. It was fun being able to walk around and take all of your surroundings in when you’re looking for something specific. It helped me to see everything and think of nature and where I’m walking in a manner different than I usually would.
This week felt much slower compared to last, and I kept feeling like I was forgetting something. I even reread the assignment four times to make sure I didn’t miss anything…haha. I really enjoyed watching the TED Talk, the video about movie posters, and the Stranger Things video. I learned a lot of cool things about design from these videos and from this week in general, as I mentioned in my reflection.
Doing the Photoblitz was a cool experience, but I’m not sure if I did it correctly. I ended up completing more tasks than required and finished in about seven minutes, which left me confused. Was it really supposed to be that fast? Maybe the goal was to complete as many as possible within 20 minutes…I’m not exactly sure. Either way, it was fun! I enjoy visual assignments, especially when the prompts are provided.
Here are the assignments I completed this week. Finn’s Walk Home is related to my character.
Here are the Daily Creates I did this week. Although I didn’t participate in them, I still checked them daily out of curiosity and wanted to complete them, but time got away from me!
My participation this week was low because I was really busy with other classes, but I still read through almost every post. Here are some of the posts I interacted with.
See you next week!!!
Shadows are very interesting because of how they can change perception of how close or far something is, or even how big an object is. In this case, I saw two poles that were around 20 feet away from each other but their shadows were so close. That really inspired me because it shows the closeness and connection people can have even if they physically aren’t close. All it takes is some light to shine down on you so you don’t forget how close you really are to someone, and to be grateful for that. Because without any light you wouldn’t be able to tell.
I decided to further characterize Bethany (and indulge myself) by looking for a house for her on Zillow. Since she is based in Chicago, that’s where I opted to search. She really doesn’t need a lot of space, especially since its just her. I could see her eventually getting a pet, so a pet-friendly establishment was a plus. While Bethany is only a receptionist for a funeral home, she does have the extra cash flow from Smithy, so the price wasn’t anything I was too worried about.
I found this stunning apartment that I know Bethany would LOVE. Located in downtown Chicago, the one-bed/one-bath setup is just enough for her. The brick and hardwood fixtures are breathtaking, and the balcony would be perfect for her morning reading. There is enough space in the living area for a small office, which Bethany will use for all of her after hours work.
While the bedroom is a pretty stark white, Bethany would fill the room with life through a huge rug and lots of wall art. There is still some personality in this room, though! A wooden beam runs through the ceiling, bringing some much needed warmth to this part of the house.
As one of the assignments for this week, I created two ID cards for my course character, Bethany Smith.
For this card, I used an ID making website and then saved the PDF. It was a little hard to use as the website was quite laggy, but I think it turned out nice!
For the library card, I just searched for the Chicago Public Library card and erased the example name and signature on Photoshop. After that, I added back in Bethany’s name and signature using the text and paint tools, respectivley.
I chose the movie The Princess Bride because it’s a classic movie that was a comfort movie for my sister. This in turn resulted in me being stuck watching it many times (the younger brother never wins the battle for the TV remote). There was one scene that stuck with me during the times I involuntarily watched the movie and it was the Battle of the Wits scene. I wanted to do this as a connection to my sister because it is because of her that I will watch this movie every once in a while.
If I hadn’t advertised it already, I am a huge Bills fan. My whole entire family is from Buffalo, New York, so naturally this comes with being a Bills fan, as well as having bleu cheese with your wings (although I also do like ranch with my wings but do not tell them I said that). So, when I saw the sports poster assignment, I thought I would try my best to do my favorite team of all time. I wanted to recreate a graphic you could see on Instagram or social media when it is time for game day. One that captures the essence of the team, as well as the sport itself. I used the colors of the team, blue, red and white, as well as highlighting the current major players that make the team what it is, such as Josh Allen, James Cook, and Khalil Shakir. I then found symbols that are associated with football and play-making. Overall, I had a lot of fun creating a graphic for a team I truly love (although I am still grieving them losing in the playoffs but it is okay, there is always next year)!
I do not have a purse or a bag that I usually carry around (other than my book bag of course), so I decided to do a “What’s in my bag” for my course character, Veronica Malone. I go more in depth about her in my post, Meet Veronica Malone, but I will still give a quick rundown. She is a part of the hard-boiled detective archetype, who was raised in Boston, Massachusetts, and has a no-nonsense, quick-witted, fiery personality.
For the bag itself, I feel like she would treat herself to a high-quality, good looking bag, so I went with this black leather bag. Then, she would have a note pad and pen in case she needs to note anything that she sees when she is out and about, or maybe just to doodle in. Next, she would have a flip phone, as she believes she doesn’t need the new, updated technology as the flip phone functions just fine for her. Then, she would have all of her makeup products, in her favorite color red of course, in case she needs to touch it up throughout her hard work days. She would also have her sunglasses, which are a stylish, tiny pair, enough to keep the sun out of her eyes. Lastly, she loves gum, specifically the cinnamon flavored gum (which is very controversial I guess), so she always makes sure to have a pack with her.
This was probably my favorite assignment so far, as I was able to build on Veronica as a character, as well as get a bit creative with what she would like/carry with her at all times. I can’t wait to build on her character even more in future assignments.
I saw a lot of people doing this assignment, so I thought I would give it a try! I always loved coloring, because it has always been a relaxing activity I can turn to if I need to distract myself or need something to do. Especially in this specific design, the mandala, which are known to have therapeutic effects when coloring them, such as decreasing tension and anxiety and encouraging creativity. According to an article by Pine Rest Mental Health Services, the shapes and the colors chosen for the mandala can symbolize whatever the artist wants it to be. When thinking about this specific drawing, I liked the colors, since some of my favorite colors are in it, such as pink and blue. Also, the almost floral-leafy design of it was appealing since I love nature in art. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment and it was a great way to destress from my work from other classes!
After a very long and stressful day I had minimal motivation to do work of any kind. I was tired and groggy but knew I had to relax and get something done, but I didn’t know my assignment would consist of both. I was browsing through design assignments and the Destress & Color assignment caught my eye. It seemed fun and a good fit as it would give me a much needed mental reset. Downloaded the app and boom, there’s all of these choices and I don’t know what to choose. After a bit of browsing I went for lots of landscapes involving nature to fit with the calmness I was aiming to achieve while doing this assignment. It worked swimmingly, as I immediately got into a groove and zoned out until I was done and realized how pretty all of the pieces I had chosen were. I had a lot of fun with this assignment and was glad I could share the theme I had in my mind while selecting what to color.
