Introduction to Design (Covid-19 Version) The following projects were all made six feet apart, with masks on, and of course sanitized tools. In addition, the projects were also made with tears, anxiety, and a lot of encouragement. Designed by: Carsen Gatz
Introduction Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read my book. I made this book for my Intro to Design class and let me tell you, it was one crazy ride. I am very new to a lot of this stuff so this book is pretty much the beginning of a new journey!
One of my favorite quotes that my dad uses is about failure. He always told me that in order for a person to approach success they must “fail first, fail often, then fail forward.” One of my greatest failures in life was when I took teamwork for granted. I am an athlete and my sport is
I started becoming interested in Art and Graphic Design towards the end of my junior year so I didn’t have much experience under my belt. I took one of my first
had more success when I began to understand the value of teamcross country. When work. Not only did I I first started running make progress but my with a team in high whole team did. This school I went into it thinking it was all about was a very valuable experience and lesson me and my goals. I for me because now I failed to realize that it approach many things wasn’t just about me, it was about my whole with the mindset of teamwork. team. And on top of that, my goals were their goals as well. I
art classes my senior year and I think one of my proudest moments was when I created a variety of sunsets using different materials such as paint, yarn, and colored pencils. This was a
proud moment for me because this was how I began to engage in art and actually become interested in what art had to offer.
D-School The first project of the semester was a creative way to get to know our classmates. We were partnered with the person sitting across from us and we followed a packet full of different questions and engaging activities. After completing the packet we were given a small time slot to complete a project out of limited materials. The project was something that resembles our partner and at the end of the time we gave our partners our finalized project.
When engaging with a real person during this project, it really changed the direction of how I wanted to design it. With this experience I was able to learn more about Gia and understand that she is a person who craves comfort. One of her biggest comforts is coffee so I decided to construct an iced coffee made out of cardboard.
Of course I hated the final outcome but this quick project reminded me that this is not my last project ever and on top of it, we were working with limited materials. I also really liked that this project didn’t give you time to think because when I think too hard I can’t be creative sometimes. Next time, I want to ask deeper questions because I feel as if I was only scratching the surface of who Gia was. Finalized Composition
Dot-Line
Gestalt, a theory of art, is about the whole picture then the identification of the pieces it takes to make up that picture. It is normally what you initially see before you explore what else the picture contains.
This was my first run of thumbnails for the word Longing.
This was my second run of thumbnails for the word Longing.
At first, I found it extremely difficult to construct a “well-crafted object” because I tend to stress over getting something done perfectly on the first shot. This previous project taught me that mistakes are going to happen and either you can take the fall for those mistakes or you can go back and try again until you get it right. One struggle for me in this project was gluing the pieces to my white background. I got glue everywhere and I had to keep re-cutting items because I didn’t want to present a messy composition.
This was my first run of thumbnails for the word Stability.
This was my second run of thumbnails for the word Stability.
As stated before, I like to get things done quickly and correct on the first shot. However, with this project I really didn’t feel comfortable with showing a crappy composition to the class. This project taught me that sometimes you are going to mess up and if you want it done right you are going to have to go back and make the small details right.
This was my first run of thumbnails for the word Chaotic.
This was my second run of thumbnails for the word Chaotic.
This project really tested me with my idea of abstraction. The whole time I struggled with producing a composition that showed exactly what I was going for. I tended to try and produce an ex act image of what I was thinking but once I let go of this end goal, I started to have a better approach to the project. This project changed my approach to abstraction because it helped me understand that ideas can be more out of the box and you can actually get really creative when working with abstraction.
It was very difficult for me to represent ideas without illustrating them because I am a very visual person so sometimes I feel like I can’t get my point or idea across without showing the audience exactly what I am thinking. This project helped me with this and helped me broaden that horizon and it helped me be more creative without illustrating all of my ideas.
This exercise can be used in more things than just art. This exercise helped me understand that you can show different emotions or feelings without exactly saying them outright.
Finalized Compositions
Letterforms
When working with letterforms, I learned that even the smallest variation can make a really big difference. For example, just by shifting one letter, you can get a whole new interpretation or idea. This project also taught me to be patient because the first print is not always going to be the best and sometimes you have to keep re-printing to just get one piece right. I also loved learning how to piece together ideas with the words and showing how I interpreted my word. Kick starting the thought process by figuring out my word choice.
Next time I would want to try a bigger word. I think trying a larger word would of course be more challenging but it also would be a lot of fun. I also want to try working with the printer more next time. I think messing around with the printer helped expand some of my creativity and I really want to see what I can do.
In process approaches...
Finalized compositions
Object Iterations I learned a lot about the New Holstein Cow, or better known as the Dairy Cow. The biggest thing I learned was how important the different angles of the cow are. With different perspectives I was able to produce a lot of different iterations. Furthermore, I got to learn a lot of fun facts throughout this project, like how much milk a New Holstein produces in one year/lactation period, 2,674 gallons to be precise! Collage with Photoshop edits...
I think the collage was the most difficult. I struggled to formulate an idea in my head of what I wanted to do and then having to find the right pieces was even harder, and I also think gluing is difficult. But, my favorite media was the master artist, specifically my Keith Haring. I loved this approach because I got to have fun with my iteration and make it silly because that is kind of who Keith Haring was.
Malika Favre (Master Artist)
Keith Haring (Master Artist)
I learned a lot from this unit! Mainly the solid basics of Photoshop like the magic wand, layers, and a lot of other useful things. This is going to help a lot when moving forward with Photoshop because in the beginning of this project I didn’t really know anything.
Next time, I might try using different objects that embody the New Holstein Cow. For example, maybe paint a gallon of milk and paint a cow on it or focus on their environment such as a farm or pasture.
Finalized Composition
PSA Posters
I thought this project was pretty difficult with type only. I say this because I struggled to put together ideas without showing them really. However, after learning about InDesign, I felt more confident in my compositions. I felt like I could be artistic through the words instead of images. I tried to be careful about my use of negative space in my poster. I feel like I used a good amount and the sections of negative space help make the poster flow. I also think my hierarchy is effective because
of my title and how “Reach Out To Stop Suicide� has a black background, making it prominent on the poster. I also tried to make sure the contact information was large enough to read. I learned a lot about hierarchy and InDesign. I think hierarchy will be very effective in future projects because it helps your project flow and it helps the important pieces stand out. I also think InDesign will be very helpful in the future. In process sketching...
Semi-final Compositions...
Reach Out To Friends Parents Siblings Teachers Counselors
Stop Suicide
Let’s Talk
For more information check out https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Text TALK to 741741 to text with a trained crisis counselor for free, 24/7.
Reach Out To Siblings
Counselors
Parents
Friends
Stop Suicide
Let’s Talk
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255 Text TALK to 741741 to text with a trained crisis counselor for free, 24/7.
For more information: https://afsp.org/im-havingthoughts-of-suicide https://wmich.edu/ suicideprevention/basics/facts
Do you feel alone? Are you feeling suicidal? Do you need someone to talk to?
You may think you are alone on this journey but we are here to help
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
Teachers
Silence Is Suicidal
Did You Know
18 percent of undergraduate and 15 percent of graduate students have seriously considered attempting suicide in their lifetimes.
Between 40 and 50 percent of these same students report multiple episodes of serious suicidal thoughts. 80 percent of students who die by suicide never contact mental health services.
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
For more information: https://afsp.org/im-having-thoughts-of-suicide
Finalized Composition
Presentations
What drew me to Corita Kent was that she was passionate about her work and the impact it had on the people around her. I also loved that she had a strong foundation in religion and education. She truly had a full plate of work being a teacher, nun, and an artist. Her work was displayed on billboards, company product, and it is found in many art centers to this day. Her work also embodied so many meaningful things such as social justice.
The screen print depicted, the lord is with thee, won Corita first prize in both the Los Angeles County print competition and the California State Fair. However, Corita did receive negative feedback from her sisterhood about her prints depicting the Holy Family. This pushed her to work more towards pop art.
After the groundbreaking appropriation of the Campbell’s soup cans, by Andy Warhol, Corita decided to dig into pop culture and start looking at everyday life. She used many things to inspire her, including billboard signs, bread wrappers, and pop song lyrics. From here she started to develop a majority of her pop art through screen printing.
In this piece she portrays Wonder Bread in which she correlates it with the Eucharist the christian ceremony commemorating the last supper.
This piece depicts the “Enjoy” logo from a Coca Cola ad paired with a poem written by another nun, Sister Claude.
Although Corita is mainly known for her artistic pieces, she was also a great teacher and she was just as passionate about teaching as she was about creating art.
A staple of her curriculum was teaching students how to look at things in different ways. In the picture you can see the student looking through a small square hole that was cut into cardboard. This helped students pick certain pieces out of the context and really focus on it.
I did not mind presenting to my classmates. Of course I used Loom due to my circumstances however I felt completely comfortable talking to my peers about my designer and their importance. I think if I had the chance to present in person I would have been more nervous but I still would have enjoyed talking about who Corita Kent was and how important she was.
In 1983 Corita received a commission from Physicians for Social Responsibility. Corita’s artwork was presented on billboards, containing the message that “we can create life without war.” According to Corita, the billboards are the most religious thing she has ever done.
In the image you can see Corita standing in front of the Boston Gas Company. She had received a commission from the Boston Gas Company and the design on the tank became one of the largest copyrighted artworks in the world.
I think one artist I was on the dollar bill stuck out to me a lot because of drawn to and I would the message behind it but I was also very moved love to learn more by her “Is It You� cover. about was Debbie Millman. Debbie’s work was very interesting to me and I think it conveyed a very powerful message. I think the 79
This book was made as a part of the Introduction to Design course at St. Norbert College in the Fall of 2020. The fonts used included Chalkduster, Arial Black, and Avenir. It was digitally printed and saddle stapled at St. Norbert’s print center.