This book is a look into my very first college art class, which also happens to be the class that helped me decide my major. Coming into Intro to Design, I had no idea what to expect. I knew that I loved studio art, but I didn’t know much about the world of design; therefore, I didn’t know what I could do with an art major. Through this class, I learned a variety of techniques that design entails, while also exploring the basics of what designers do. It was all extremely different from what I was used to - and it proved to be challenging - but overall, the projects pushed me to create my best work and helped me really understand my passion for art. So, these are the projects that convinced me to be an art major.
- Lindsey Neu -
The goal of this project was to introduce us to the world of design. We were paired up with a partner, given a problem, and given a limited amount of time to think of a solution. We went through the process that a professional designer would, while also getting to know our classmates.
This project proved to be a very challenging first project. It was incredibly fast-paced, and while I am usually a fast worker, I like to have enough time to come up with a solid idea; for this project, I didn’t have that time. Working with another classmate was interesting and forced me to think about the project from an actual designer’s perspective, which is not what I am used to. Overall, it was a good learning experience and gave me a taste of what being a designer means
For this project, the goal was to create four square compositions using only dots and lines. Each composition needed to represent a chosen word without being too literal, while also demonstrating concepts of value, scale, line, and visual hierarchy.
Gestalt refers to something that we perceive as a whole before identifying the individual parts. So, in this project many of the compositions involved lines that did not touch, but they were perceived as being connected. This is called continuation, and it is a principle of gestalt - so even though the lines are not the same or connected, we perceive them as a whole object or composition before recognizing the individual structures. I usually have been pretty decent at making “well-crafted objects,” but for some reason this one was a bit harder for me. I’m used to drawing and painting more often, rather than cutting paper, so it was an adjustment. The matte board in particular
caused problems for me because I’m not used to cutting it by hand. In general, I would rather spend more time on a project to get the details right - as I am a very detail-oriented person. Rarely do I ever speed through a project just to get it done, unless it is part of the assignment. I always like to make sure every aspect is just how I like it before calling it a finished piece. This project helped me appreciate abstract work more. I find it challenging - as I changed my word a few times. However, I really enjoyed trying to convey different words simply with dots and lines.
Chaos
Scarcity
Stability
This project allowed me to experiment with different types of hand lettering. The goal was to create a variety of iterations before narrowing the final project down to four well-crafted compositions. Each composition conveyed the word in a different way, while using different media.
Through this project, I learned a lot about the anatomy of lettering. I never knew there was a name for every single aspect of a letter, like an overhang or a spine; I also had no idea there was a name for serifs either. The practice exercises that we did beforehand caused me to really look at the size and proportions of each letter in my iterations. In the future, I’d love to spend more time on calligraphy. I used the calligraphy pen a little bit, and I loved it. Going forward, I’d like to try experimenting a little more and perfecting cursive with a calligraphy pen. I’d also love to try lettering on photoshop.
I’ve seen projects done with lettering on Illustrator, and they are turn out so beautifully; so, I’d absolutely love to learn how to do that. Overall, I think the form of my pieces where stronger than the content. I am very into drawing, and I’m very technical, so it wasn’t too difficult to create a strong form; however, limiting my piece to only letters made it challenging to have strong content.
Through this project, I was encouraged to experiment with new types of media to create a variety of different iterations of the same object. One objective was to create depictions of this object in an unexpected way, while also making it recognizable. The final project included at least six different, refined iterations of a single object.
Before this project, I really only knew how the head of a koala looked. Now, I am more familiar with how to draw the general shape of the body, as well. I also didn’t know that koalas eat only eucalyptus leaves, which are technically poisonous, so I attempted to incorporate these leaves into a few interations. The geometric iterations were the most challenging for me, just because I’m not too familiar with that style. I tried making them out of cut paper, but it was difficult to get it to look like a koala without having all of my iterations in one position. My favorite was working with ink, like the continuous line drawings. I just really like how they look when they’re
done, and it is easy to do many of them in a short period of time. If I had to do more iterations, I think I would make more paintings and pencil drawings, as well. Most of what I was doing wasn’t very detailed, so I would try to create more detailed iterations. I might also try to create some that are more abstract than what I did.
The goal of this project was to use the principles of design to accurately represent data in an interesting way. I needed to make a single graphic using both type and images to tell a story. This project also introduced how color can be used to support the main ideas.
This project introduced color into our class and forced us to think like actual designers. I never realized how much goes into creating an effective infographic before. Even just the smallest details can make the biggest difference. Our practice projects included an infographic displaying facts about our family. This may have been my favorite part because it allowed me to actually draw. It also made me realize that sometimes ideas for prpjects come quick, but other times it can be difficult to come up with a good idea. In order to create visual hierarchy, in my infographic I made the more important information bigger than the other
information; the goal was to have it stand out more. Through this project, I learned an effective way to display information, and overall just what design work is like. I also better understand how to use InDesign and Photoshop. It was nice to finally use color, but I also discovered how difficult it can be to pick an effective color palette.
of aid does not need to be repaid
of students recieve financial aid
of students receive SNC scholarships and grants 30% of students even graduate with no loan debt!
This design class was quite the challenge, but I ended up learning more than I realized I could in such a short period of time. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me this semester and put up with my constant art questions and frustrated comments. You are much appreciated!