The wild ride of DESIGN Introduction to Design St. Norbert College
Ashley Ebben
Fall 2023 Art 130
Introduction This book will take you on the wild ride of my experiences in my first ever design class, Art 130 - Introduction to Design. This book reflects on the ups and downs, the progress I made, the challenges I encountered, the failures I created, the new techniques I learned, and the accomplishments I’ve made. There were moments in this class when I wanted to give up and never open Adobe again. There were moments were I was so grateful that I persevered because I finally felt like I was understanding the secret tricks. I created monstrosities, I created masterpieces, and I created everything in between. After taking this class I hope to continue to grow and expand my knowledge in the design world.
This book is dedicated to my Art 130 classmates whom I’ve grown quite fond of.
Crash Course For this project we had to find a partner, interview each other twice, figure out each other’s goals and needs, sketch at least 5 different ideas to meet their needs, share our solutions, get feedback, regroup, and design a final prototype all on a time crunch with limted supplies.
SKETCH
AND
SHARE! Engaging with a real person during this crash course project changed the direction my prototype took in many ways. It forced me to consider the feelings and wants of another person other than just myself. It also added someone else’s real emotion to my work and I had to be more thoughtful as to how my work would be perceived.
REFLECT AND RETHINK!
The pace of the project felt highly rushed. My brain struggled to focus on the project at hand and not on the little time I had. I personally prefer to work at a much slower pace that I set for myself. I usually tend to spend lots of time on the little details. The time limit was a major distractor.
FINAL product
Based on what I learned about thinking and design, I would go back and ask more initial questions and empathize a little more with the interviewee during the interview session. I would redo my five differing idea sketches and add more creativity to them. I would stick to a more simplistic idea so that my prototype is more straightforward and less chaotic.
Showing unfinished work to another person was not as scary as I thought it would be. After interviewing them and talking with them throughout class, the setting felt judgment-free which made it the perfect setting to show unfinished work.
Dot Line For this project we could only use hand cut dots and lines to abractly illustrate three words. This project had strict specs to follow. Gestalt is the concept of how we as different human beings visualize objects to represent specific ideas through the use of other concepts like parallelism, similarities/anomalies, figure/ground, etc.
Thumbnails ROUND ONE
OPRESSION
SCARCITY
LONGING
ROUND TWO
OPRESSION
SCARCITY
LONGING It was difficult at first to represent ideas without illustrating them. I was overwhelmed not knowing which words to pursue and what shapes and sizes to lay out in front of me. After having numerous thumbnails that lacked a wow factor, I began to think more creatively and gained more confidence in my ideas. Trying to abstractly represent something is a process that for me can’t be rushed. I spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas. It’s difficult to not simply illustrate ideas because our minds immediately go there. It is also difficult to know if people will see what you see in abstract work without feedback. I greatly appreciated the in-process critique because it allowed me to look at my own work and others through different perspectives and lenses.
It is decently difficult for me to make a “well-crafted object”. I personally would rather spend extra time to get the small details right than to rush a project leading to errors and imperfections. My mind does not work quickly in the creative aspect and it takes me time and effort to come up with solid ideas to pursue.
OPRESSION Work in progress
I definitely could use the idea of gestalt and abstraction in the future. When making a poster or something that I want people to be drawn to, utilizing a combination of gestalt and abstraction would aid in the visual appeal of my work. By acknowledging the principles of gestalt and understanding how a human brain views certain things, a person could create something really bizarre and eye-catching. I personally could see myself using this exercise in a more large scale way to create a beautiful art piece for my future home. The idea of people walking in and digesting what the piece means to them and allowing a piece of artwork to make them feel some sort of way would be a great conversation starter. It could also set the mood for a party if I chose a positive word to represent abstractly.
SCARCITY Work in progress
The dot/line project changed my idea of abstraction by really allowing me to embrace abstraction in a way that I never have before. I used to think that abstraction was impossible for my brain to comprehend. When looking at famous artists’ work I generally would struggle to sense any deeper meaning. After learning about gestalt and all the elements involved, I gained knowledge on how to represent certain ideas based on how people’s minds work; For example, filling in the missing pieces of a word. Abstraction is art that allows the mind to wander leading to endless possibilities. It shouldn’t tie a viewer down to one single idea.
OPPRESSION (uh - preh - shn) FINAL
SCARCITY
(skehr - suh - tee) FINAL
LONGING (laang - uhng) FINAL
Letterforms For this project we were tasked with representing one word in four different ways: a straight print, a typographic variation, a modification, and one more of our choosing. The goal was to have the word and letters themselves represent the meaning behind the word.
MIND MAP
ANATOMY LABELING
If I were to continue working with these letters, I would practice carving more letters out of linoleum because I feel like that is a skill that would benefit me down the line in many different ways. I would also play around more with different ways to portray the word “ooze.” I feel like I achieved some really good final products but I would be interested in diving deeper and using more outside resources to achieve a more articulate representation of my word. I really enjoyed working with modifications over typographic variations. So I feel that if I worked more with typographic variations that I could grow to appreciate them on a deeper level.
By doing the letterforms project, I learned that letterforms are complex and purposeful. Different letterforms are made to portray different messages and content. There is serif font, which is used for more classical and intellectual works. There is also san serif font, which is more modern and cleaner in appearance. We worked with san serif font for this project. When having to sketch five full pages of different letterforms, I learned different ways to present words by using different techniques. Throughout this project, I enjoyed messing around with scale, kerning, different base lines (curved, straight, etc), and attempting to use different pieces of anatomy to my advantage. By simply lowering a letter below the baseline, or having thinner/thicker kerning, a word’s portrayal changes.
The Final S T R A I G H T
T Y P O G R A P H I C
P R I N T
four!!!! M O D I F I C A T I O N
M O D I F I C A T I O N #2
Iterative Illustrations For this project we had to choose an animal and make various iterations: a continuous line, a collage, a typographic collage, a geometric, and two different master artists. I chose Banksy and Malika Farve as my master artists.
I chose an African lion as my animal. I was intrigued by the majestic look of the lion and thought I could successfully play around with the mane through different designs. I learned that lions are very sculpted and muscular. I learned that their manes flow in the wind. I also learned that they typically
live in savannas, plains, grasslands, and dense bush and open areas. They like to stalk their prey before attacking. They have both a peaceful and majestic side to them while also being aggressive when needed. They also have a highly intimidating roar. I did my best to portray all of this through my work.
CONTINUOUS LINE
Fine point Sharpie
Ultra fine point Sharpie
COLLAGES
GEOMETRIC
I learned that you can magnetically lasso something to remove it from a background. I will definitely be using this function in the future as it makes the process so much easier. I can recall numerous times where I wanted to make something separate from the background but couldn’t because I didn’t know how. This skill will be highly beneficial moving forward. The three designs below are prime example of removed backgrounds.
Master artists BANKSY
STEP BY STEP PROCESS...
MALIKA FARVE
Malika’s original
The most challenging medium for me was my Banksy master artist composition. I struggled to successfully cut out the lion in the shape I wanted from the cardstock. I also found it highly challenging to spray paint the image without it spraying underneath the cutout where it was unwanted. It was a messy and frustrating experience but I am quite pleased with the final product.
The most enjoyable medium for me was painting my Malika Farve composition. I don’t get to paint that often and I find it quite relaxing. It was quite time consuming but in a good way. I looked at images of Malika Farve, found one I loved, created an image in my mind, and then just started painting.
My version
In process attempts If I had to continue with the lion for a year, I would look into other master artists and mimic their creative styles. I would also think about different stances that lions are known for doing and attempt to use them in other compositions.
First Attempt
second Attempt
If I did more research on a lion’s habitat I could create a more detailed version of their surroundings. I can see myself creating a lion completely digitally after learning more about Adobe and all it has to offer.
FINAL PRoduct
PSA poster
For this project we were paired up in clientdesigner duos. We were tasked with creating a poster idea and then designing someone elses. Specific words were given to us and our job was to make it visually appealing and strong.
I learned how to effectively portray a message through text alone by focusing on hieracrhy, layout, bleed printing, and so much more. Leading and kerning can majorly change the appearance of your final poster. My skills using InDesign have improved greatly and I feel I am more confident using the software than I was before. No matter what career path I take in life I can definitely use this knowledge for future personal and professional use. I am excited to expand my knowledge through future classes.
I personally found it to be manageable to be limited to type only for my PSA poster. Having all of the information I needed to put onto the poster laid out for me by my client simplified the process of using only type. I do personally believe that utilizing illustrations may have enhanced the quality of my poster; However, with the 8 ½” by 11” paper specification I think that Illustrations would have overcrowded my PSA poster.
FINAL PRoduct
DO YOU DRINK ALCOHOL? KNOW WHAT MEDICINES YOU CAN SAFELY TAKE! Do not take acetaminophen with alcohol – it can cause liver damage!
Be cautious with ASPIRIN CANNABIS CAFFEINE IBUPROFEN & MELATONIN Ask your doctor about prescription medications you may be taking– serious complications may arise if you do not heed medication warnings I put an immense amount of focus on the scale and size of my typographic choices when attempting to create a visual hierarchy. I made sure that the poster read in the order I wanted it to by enlarging the font size of the heading and subheading. I even bolded certain words and discussed with my client whether or not certain words could be in all caps. I used knockout
VISIT DRUGS.COM
FOR MORE INFORMATION
text for my title to draw more attention to the heading alone from a substantial distance. I used a more opaque knockout color for major words that could draw attention from a distance in order to assure that they were read after the main heading. I also utilized negative space in a positive way to ensure that the PSA poster wasn’t overcrowded with text.
Vocation Questions I personally feel called to creative work because I tend to think outside of the box. I have recognized this calling because rather than viewing things scientifically and mathematically, I find myself looking for ways to enhance the visual appeal of it. My mind is always wandering down a never ending tunnel of endless possibilities. Not all of my ideas are good, but when a good one comes it is worth the time and effort to perfect it.
If I was guaranteed it would support me financially, I would want to be an interior designer. I would love to use my creative mind to design a house layout and decorate it accordingly. I am highly intrigued by textures, colors, and shapes and all three of these elements of art are highly important when it comes to creating an ideal space for a client. In a perfect world my own personal artwork would be used as additional decor.
This book was made as part of introduction to design at st. norbert college in the fall of 2023. the fonts used include Gill Sans and Showcard Gothic. it was digitally printed and saddle stapled at the college’s print center.