Twosies: A Design Journal

twosies a design journal

rachelsuding

108 | Twosies: A Design Journal

preface Welcome, reader, to my first ever design journal!

The pages in this publication reflect my first two years of college. I have included all of my class-specific projects as well as a few from outside of the realm of the Hite Art Institute. I’m going to warn you now; there are a few rough patches here and there. But hey, that’s just part of the process, and as I’ve looked back at my past work while putting this journal together, I’ve come to accept that as a fact. I realize that not all of my work is going to be absolutely perfect. And that’s where the beauty in this process rests—there are always more possibilities with each piece. I can wait a few weeks, months, or even years before going back to a project and finding a way to make it better. Design is ever-changing, and the possibilities are truly infinite.

Each and every day, I fall in love with graphic design a little more. Though I have bad days (we all do), it never stops me from continuing to pursue this passion. Joining this program at UofL has truly transformed my life by giving me new perspectives of the world we live in and adding some high-quality people to my life (re: my fabulous professors/mentors and classmates).

My goal with this journal is to tell you a story through my creations and personal reflections. It is a story of growth that never stops, and a story that will certainly continue in the future.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

With infinite love,

Preface | 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

easyfinds

aboutme . . art205 . . . . art371 . . . . . art571 . . . . . art576 . . . . . extrawork .

. . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . 20 . . . . . . . 40 . . . . . . . 66 . . . . . . . 82 Preface | 3

A TIME CAPSULE OF SORTS

aboutme

2016 COLLEGE RACHEL

Favorite snack?

White Cheddar Cheeto Puffs Favorite music to listen to while designing?

Foster the People, Walk the Moon, Young the Giant Favorite designer?

Saul Bass Favorite font?

Futura Favorite design application?

Adobe Illustrator Greatest career aspiration?

Join Adidas’ design team Greatest life aspiration?

Have a happy family with two kids and many dogs Greatest muse?

Music What does your signature look like right now?

2026 CAREER RACHEL

Favorite snack?

Favorite music to listen to while designing?

Favorite designer?

Favorite font?

Favorite design application?

Greatest career aspiration?

Greatest life aspiration?

Greatest muse?

What does your signature look like right now?

Preface | 5

FOUNDATION DESIGN METHODS

art205

This is where the journey officially began.

It was a class with over 45 other students, all competing for the same thing: a highly coveted spot in the Communication Art & Design program. And it was by far the most stressful—but most rewarding—experience I have had in college thus far. In high school, I had taken a couple of graphic design courses, but they were nothing like what I would go on to do in 205. When I first read about the program, it sounded absolutely terrifying. What if I didn’t get into the program? Then what would I do? Sure, I could try again, but what if I didn’t make it in the second time? I’d have to pick a different major, probably, and there was nothing else that I wanted to do.

I don’t go down without a fight, though. I wasn’t about to let my personal fears stand in the way of my dreams. So I took my work ethic to the next level and devoted the majority of my free time to this class. It wasn’t easy— there were a lot of times when I felt that my work wasn’t good enough to make the cut. But I kept pushing through, and eventually it felt like I’d hit my stride with each project. My work got better as I kept going.

If going through this design program were to be compared to the process of learning to swim, I would say that this class was our first toe-dip into the water.

project1 Our first assignment, titled “Does It Fly?”, was to make a paper airplane.

Yeah. You can’t make this stuff up, people.

Here I am, a second-semester freshman, thinking to myself, “What in the world does making a paper airplane have to do with graphic design?” Well, as it turns out, a lot, actually.

As we would come to learn, this project was an assessment of problem solving. We were given specific parameters for our airplanes. The sheet of paper we used could be any weight; the size could not exceed 8.5” x 8.5”; the airplane had to unfold to be a fully intact square of paper (no cutting away, etc.); it could not be taped, stapled, or paper-clipped; and its launch method had to be a nose-down drop with no thrust. We also had to complete a writeup of the method behind our madness; i.e. the reasoning behind our design choices. Finally, we were measured on whether the airplane would actually fly as well as how far it flew.

This was so stressful to me. I literally thought that it would make or break my opportunity to become part of the design program. In the end, though, it taught me how valuable the design process is, and it really helped me as I progressed through the class with other projects.

When all was said and done, I was ready to move to working digitally...

ART 205 | 7

project2 This was the first project that we did digitally. It was a two-part assignment.

For Syntax, part one, we were instructed to find an image of any random object. The two key objectives were as follows: “Crop the image in such a way that it makes a very interesting ‘charged space’ in which the negative space and the image are both important and ‘active;’” and, “the viewer should not be able to easily discern what the object is.” I made two croppings of my image, and from there, I had to experiment with patterns. The first patterns involved repeating the cropped images with no other transformations; for the second patterns, we were allowed to rotate and reflect the tiles. My original image was a plug.

For Semantics, part two, we had to pick either a highly-recognized figure, a food or drink, or a consumer product to use for our image. Beneath the image, we had to use one word to label it in either a humorous, ironic, or otherwise insightful and provocative way. There were three variations to this. The first was supposed to be labeled with the actual name of what the image represented, and the second and third needed to have more depth.

My thoughts behind this were that a smartphone can link its user to the world in multiple ways, but it can also disconnect the user from things around them, such as family or nature.

8 | Twosies: A Design Journal

Smartphone

Linked

Disconnected ART 205 | 9

project3 I think that this project was my favorite out of this class. The “Great Ideas” poster was based off of a single quote that we were to choose from a list—I chose one by Will Rogers, “Go out on a limb—that’s where the fruit is.”

I relate heavily to this quote. My own attendance at this university was a result of me going out on a limb, moving 1,700 miles away from home. And I certainly feel like I’ve found the fruit here, or I’ve at least started to. I’ve got two more years here; there’s no doubt in my mind that there is more fruit to be found.

As far as producing the poster went, we had complete freedom of medium as long as the final product came together digitally. I took this as an opportunity to exercise my Illustrator skills that I had started to develop in high school. I created pattern swatches to use as the fill for all of my shapes, and I drew every object with the pen tool. Placing everything was meticulous (re: leaves), but all that work was so worth it in the end.

Looking back at this inspires me. I reminds me what I’m capable of from a design standpoint, but it also pushes me to explore outside of my comfort zone. We could all use a little encouragement like that, I think.

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go out on a

limb

– that’s where

the fruit is.

–

will rogers

Section Name | 11

project4 Ah! This one was fun as well, but took a great deal of problem solving. We had to create two different emblems. Each emblem was to be made from two items in a four-column list, and we had to use one from each column for the two final pieces. The columns were as follows: A) an iconic depiction of a thing: glasses, bird, key, timepiece B) a letter or character: Q , 3, Z, ?

C) a geometric shape: square, circle, equilateral triangle, octagon D) symbolic of: a religious faith, growth, wealth, home We also studied the gestalt principles for this project, which include figure/ ground, proximity, similarity, closure, and continuity. Ultimately, the final product was meant to be memorable and hold a gaze while also communicating the two column selections clearly and being able to work at a much smaller scale.

My first emblem utilized A) key and D) home. It took a lot of minor adjustments for me to get it to look just the way I wanted it to, and I paid very close attention to the relationship between positive and negative space (re: teeth of the key).

For my second emblem, I used B) ? and C) equilateral triangle. And, wow.

It took me so many different variations to find one that I actually liked, and that’s how I ended up with this one. I had to deal with how much of the hollow triangle I needed to cut out in order to make the form more obvious, but I had to balance that with the typical shape of a question mark. It was a pretty big challenge, but I think it turned out well.

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ART 205 | 13

project5 This project focused on creating a logo for a fictional company. Our choices were American Tuna Shippers, Red Snapper Hats, Diner’s Star (online reference for great restaurants), Elements Group (chemical engineering consultants), and Orange Grove Travel Agency. I started out with sketches for a few different companies, but I ultimately decided to go with Elements Group because I felt that I had some really strong ideas.

I knew that molecular diagrams are always drawn with hexagons, so I wanted to incorporate that into my logo somehow. I inserted an E and a G as hexagonal shapes as well to add to the molecular aesthetic, and I used DIN Alternate as the typeface for the logotype. Green is commonly associated with science in my mind, so I felt it was appropriate for the mark.

I’m really fond of logo design, so I found this project enjoyable as well.

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ART 205 | 15

projects6-8 This was our last chance to shine in Foundations; the final project. There were multiple parts to this one.

Project 6 was our first creative brief. We were given a presentation by “Dr. J.F. Simelson” in class, and we took notes on his personal description of his book so that we could write up a full report on his goals for his book tour and the book cover and system he needed us to design.

Project 7 included designing book cover itself. We had to come up with a design that would represent the contents of the book while also drawing in potential readers. With my design, I tried to bring forward the concept of America as a culture of objects. The color palette I used was meant to feel worn and old, but the vectorized objects (which I created piece by piece on my own in Illustrator—that took forever, trust me) helped give it a fresher aesthetic as well. I’m very happy with the way my cover turned out, but it certainly took me awhile to reach that point. I struggled a lot with where to place the title and author information. I think that I had briefly considered placing blueprint-like stars in the blue section of the flag, and the title and author would have been towards the bottom of the cover, overlapping the stripes.

Finishing this was very satisfying, but there was more work to be done...

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the

fashioning of the

modern age How inventors and designers transformed America into a culture of objects

dr. j.f. simelson a a

ART 205 | 17

OBJECTS THAT HAVE

FASHIONED

READING

Project 8 was the system as a whole.

This system included a bookmark, postcard, a promotional event poster, and a website.

I wanted to make the bookmark a little more unique, so the objects that I included on the stripe were ones that are commonly associated with the act of reading.

The poster and postcard were more challenging because of the additional text. I had to choose a secondary typeface for this and ended up going with Helvetica Neue. I also had to deal with the Possibility Productions logo for these pieces. Overall, I think that they would be enticing for potential viewers, which was a high priority for this project.

the

Featuring Author Dr. J.F. Simelson

fashioning of the

Activities include author meet & greet, exclusive bookmarks, a Q & A session, book signings, and much more

modern age book tour

Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 2 PM Barnes & Noble at Hurstborne Parkway Louisville, Kentucky

You are invited to attend an event featuring

the

fashioning of the

modern age Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 2 PM, located at Barnes & Noble at Hurstborne Parkway

18 | Twosies: A Design Journal

Seeing this website again is funny to me. Having taken a web design course at this point in my college career, I realize all of the things that are wrong with this “website.” I can’t really be too critical of it, though; I didn’t know any better back then. It’s a really great demonstration of how much development one can experience in the course of only one year.

I will say, however, that there is a clear division between the navigation section and the actual content of the website, so I’ll give myself a little pat on the back there.

For my skill level at the time, I think that I achieved a lot with this system.

(It’s worth noting that I hated InDesign until this project.)

Home Dr. J.F. Simelson Tour Dates Book Reviews Online Store

Welcome The Fashioning of the Modern Age: How Inventors and Designers Transformed America into a Culture of Objects by Dr. J.F. Simelson is on sale now at a bookstore near you!

News 17.06.2015 - Touring information, including select cities and dates, is now available. Is Dr. Simelson visiting me?

the

fashioning of the

modern age official website

DR. J.F. SIMELSON

10.06.2015 - Buy your hardcover copy of the book in our online store and receive an exclusive t-shirt! This week only!

31.05.2015 - Hear what Dr. Simelson has to say about his inspiration for the book.

Watch the exclusive interview

“Truly eye-opening; read it!”- The New York Times You won’t want to miss out on this one. Dr. Simelson has masterfully crafted a compilation of the very things that compose our daily lives in such a manner that will change your perspectives of the world.

Read more

ART 205 | 19

INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHIC DESIGN

art371

Well, I made it! We made it. Twenty-two of us ascended into the Communication Art & Design program, earning the title of “Twosies.� Thus, the journey continued.

This class focused on design basics. Denotation, connotation, beginner grids, and the works. A lot of the work seemed kind of random at times, and it seemed like we did a lot (coincidentally?) with numbers. Regardless, it was an interesting class. It was good to get a taste of a bunch of these kinds of elements before we actually started to get more concentrated in specific areas of design.

At this point, we had fully entered the swimming pool, and now we were kind of wading around.

ART 371 | 21

project1 For our first project, we had to explore ways of representing the number 3.

It was kind of an abstract project. We could use any medium we wanted to start, but ultimately, it needed to become digital in some way. We also had to create four different variations on our idea.

I started with ripped up bits of paper to show an eventual metamorphosis into the form of a 3. I shaped the paper on a table and took photos of it; then I brought the images into Photoshop and Illustrator to manipulate them into vectors. The final 3 form emerged in full color—and no, that isn’t that a 3 from a typeface; I drew it myself with the pen tool! So proud.

The final form was the one I liked most, so I blew it up for print.

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ART 371 | 23

project2 Stemming from the number 3, the next project focused on how to visually represent the number pi. I wanted to put a fun spin on this, so I brainstormed a few different classic games that used numbers. My favorite idea was to create this piece with dominos, and I drew inspiration from a colorful set that I had when I was younger (I think I still have it somewhere at my parents’ house).

Pi starts in the top left corner and flows down. I took this to the 54th digit.

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project3 This project focused heavily on denotation. We were to create a postcard for a fictional conference. As for what the postcard looked like, we had complete freedom, just as long as the information about the conference was listed in a legible way. Since the conference was in its 43rd year (supposedly), I wanted to highlight the number itself.

Looking back, I definitely think that I could have explored this project a little more in-depth. In its current state, however, it provides a nice contrast between what I did just a semester ago and what I’m doing now.

Growth is a cool thing.

Numbers 43rd Annual Conference - June 3-8, 2016 - Chicago American Mathematical Theory Group - Hilton Plaza East

ART 371 | 25

project4 For this project, we were each assigned a vice and a virtue, and we had to create webpages for each of them. This was a highly connotative project.

My vice was pride, and my virtue was temperance. My process began with researching symbols of each and figuring out ways to incorporate them in the project.

I learned that the azalea flower actually symbolizes temperance, so I found an image of one and played around with Photoshop filters before layering it as the background of my website. I also handwrote the “temperance” script for my title.

Purple symbolizes vanity, a close relative of pride, so I chose it as the primary color for the webpage. I replaced the I in “PRIDE” with a classic bathroom sign man with a larger head. It was difficult to try to connote this one negatively.

Looking back, it’s funny to me that I considered these to be relatively decent website layouts. But hey, that’s what growing is all about!

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a b o ut

n ew s

vision

profile

contact

PR DE ABOUT

NEWS

VISION

PROFILE

C O N TA C T

PRIDE AND EXCESS BRING DISASTER FOR MAN - XUN ZI

project5 It all started with an online word generator. In an exercise, we had to use the word to express itself in a design. I got “slime,” and I made the text green and appear as if it was melting (re: Slime Time back in the day on Nickelodeon). This was just a warmup for the real project, though.

We had to use the word generator again, but this time, we were asked to find a generic headshot and use it in conjunction with the word to create a composition. Luckily, they didn’t have to relate to one another because my word for this project was “rocket.” In addition to the image and word combination, we were given some body copy to work into the composition; from there, we had to come up with a subtitle for our random word.

I really enjoyed working on this project. Working with large-scale text is really fun to me.

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Rocket THE EXPERIENCE OF HER LIFETIME

Here’s a magic story: In the middle ages, the Vikings navigated all over – even to Vinland –

with the assistance of a sunstone. A sunstone was a magic crystal rock that could be held

in the air and would always indicate the direction of the sun, even when the sun was behind overcast clouds or had already set below the horizon line. When a sunstone was recently discovered amid the wreckage of an ancient sailing vessel at the bottom of the English Channel, one of the researchers explained why it was so well adapted to the 9th century: “You don’t have to understand how it works – using it is basically easy.”

And so it is for us in graphic design. Graphic designers are visual Vikings clutching sunstones. Upon sailing out of the graphic harbor, we are shown how other people trim their sails and how they hold pieces of crystal in the air to navigate. We imitate these practices formulating compositional systems and manipulating graphic elements on screen and paper. What we can’t do is explain, in even the scantest detail, how any of this works.

ART 371 | 29

project6 Grids, grids, grids! That’s what this project was all about. We had to create a grid system for another “event” flyer; this time, it was a lecture series. I thought that my solution was visually interesting. Each flyer in the series had a different box colored to add more variation.

Below is the specific grid that I used, and to the right are the other four pieces of the project.

(All of the names are characters from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Good show.)

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ART 371 | 31

project7 This project was designed to be a take on one of two styles; modern and vernacular. It was a poster for—you guessed it—another “lecture.” I have a greater fascination with modern design. I think I’m just really into minimalism. So, that was what I went with here. I’m really fond of the overlapping AD, and getting all of the text to line up with it was really satisfying. This poster borrowed from the last project in that we needed to make up a grid as well.

I had a lot of fun with this one. I think that I’m going to explore more projects like this for fun in the future.

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The Sublime and Mundane in Literature

Manfred Union Building Saturday, April 23, 2017, 7PM Free to faculty and students, $5 to the public Special Guest Speaker: Anita Delatore, Donald Young Distinguished Professor of Humanities, Yale University Professor Delatore is Donald Young Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Yale University. Her latest book, Pulp and Gold: Aspects of the Sublime has recently been published by Oxford University Press.

Professor Delatore has studied the aspects of literature that lead to the experience of the sublime and how those features change for different cultures at different times. The capacity for writing to lead the reader from the mundane to the sublime hinges on a selct few traits, but these traits are rare in literature. The rere sults of her research have led many university writing programs to stress the notion of “elite experience� in aesthetics and rhetorical strategies.

ART 371 | 33

project8 The goal with this project was to create a poster that evoked a feeling of either excitement or fearfulness. We had to come up with a tagline for our header and write some body copy to go with our imagery. And what is one of the most exciting aspects of my college life? Marching band!

I took a photo of my friend Whittney celebrating after we had scored a touchdown. As you can see, she was absolutely thrilled. And no, I did not ask her to act that way on purpose.

This is a project that I would definitely like to refine and explore even more possibilities.

34 | Twosies: A Design Journal

E K I L S L T L I E R I SM P S M A E T Okay, picture this: You’re surrounded in ev-

ery direction. There’s a buzz, a hum, a ringing in your ears. It’s electric. You’re confined to this seat, this small space, but somehow, you’re free. Everyone around you is yelling. Not at you, so you decide to join in. Chanting, scream-

ing, cheering, all in unison. Jumping up and down in this crammed arrangement, shoulder to shoulder. Dancing, singing, clapping, snapping, bouncing to the beat. Hands are frantically waving all around you; the buzz intensifies. Forty...fifty...forty...thirty...twenty...seventeen. Roars erupt from all angles. And you thought it was electric before. The roaring becomes gentle hushing; we must let them focus. We want this to happen for us.And suddenly, there’s a burst of cheers, and it’s crazier than ever, loud and proud. One pair of hands is waving quickly, but now it’s to a steady rhythm with one purpose. We’re playing the fight song. And of course, you know what that means. T O U C H D OWN .

project9 Ah, the final project of Intro. It was time to combine everything that we had learned this semester into one cohesive system. We were given another book project akin to the one we had in Foundation Design Methods. It was much, much different, however.

We had to do some research on Coney Island to get a feel for its overall aesthetic. Then, we needed to create a system that included a book cover, a promotional poster, and a website. The catch was that the design needed to be postmodern.

The ferris wheel at Coney Island is extremely iconic, so I wanted to make that a strong piece in my design. I kept it pretty flat overall for a more modern touch, but I felt that the layout of the cover in addition to the bunting graphic and typefaces gave it the vernacular feel that it needed. The wheel, bunting, and marquee were all created in Illustrator.

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jane anne morgan

ART 371 | 37

home June 20, 2016 October 28, 2016 Frazier History Museum Owsley Brown Frazier Wing, 2nd Floor Frazier History Museum 829 West Main Street Louisville, KY 40202 (502) 753-5663 Hours: M-Sat 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Sundays noon - 5 p.m.

about

sponsors Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008 is organized by Robin Jaffee Frank, Chief Curator, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. The Louisville presentation is organized

by Jane Anne Morgan and DeAngelo Smith and Connie H. Choi, Assistant Curator of American Art, Brooklyn Museum Assistant Curator of American Art, Brooklyn Museum.

store Generous support for this exhibition is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Owsley Brown Frazier Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, and The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Inc, and Humana.

Here I am again with yet another strange web layout. Figuring the grid out was a challenge. I’m shaking my head at this one; it was really difficult to solve this part, and I know that I can make it more functional if I revisit it.

I thought the poster was pretty successful, though.

I’m really in love with the ferris wheel. It was so much fun to make.

38 | Twosies: A Design Journal

June 20, 2016 October 28, 2016 Frazier History Museum Owsley Brown Frazier Wing, 2nd Floor Frazier History Museum 829 West Main Street Louisville, KY 40202 (502) 753-5663 Hours: M-Sat 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Sundays noon - 5 p.m.

Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861– 2008 is organized by Robin Jaffee Frank, Chief Curator, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. The Louisville presentation is organized by Jane Anne Morgan and DeAngelo Smith and Connie H. Choi, Assistant Curator of American Art, Brooklyn Museum Assistant Curator of American Art, Brooklyn Museum.

Generous support for this exhibition is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Owsley Brown Frazier Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, and The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Inc, and Humana.

ART 371 | 39

LETTERFORMS

art571

By Spring 2016, we had emerged successfully from introduction work and got more concentrated with different aspects of design. Letterforms was one of two classes that we took this semester, focusing primarily on type.

We studied how typefaces pair together, how they are used in the long form, and specific terminology related to typography. A lot of the following work explores layout as well. In addition to our classwork, we had a visit from designer Barry Moser and took a field trip to Welch Printing.

I think that this class gave me a new appreciation for typography. I gained a much better understanding of how to pair typefaces most effectively to achieve a certain mood or theme with a piece. A lot of these projects ended up becoming really enjoyable for me, this journal itself being one of them.

As for keeping up with my swimming analogies thus far, we’ll call this class the first big jump off of the diving board into the waters of more concentrated design.

Before we dive in (sorry) to the actual projects, it’s important to note the typefaces chosen for the creation of this journal, as seen on the right.

gotham xlight gotham black gotham xlight gotham black GOTHAM BOLD Baskerville Regular, 10/13 Gotham Light, 9/13

ART 571 | 41

project1 Initials are a bigger deal than they seem. Sure, we use them on a daily basis, from marking legal documents to labeling class projects in instances where putting our full name on the project would take away from its appearance. But when you think critically about them, they take on a whole new persona. You start to think about the way they’re shaped, which probably hadn’t crossed your mind before.

Our first official project in Letterforms was to do some initial explorations.

This could include mixing and matching typefaces, rotating the characters, overlapping them, scaling them to different sizes...whatever our hearts desired. Our only restrictions were that we could not flip or reflect them, skew them in a particular direction, or make them any color besides black or white.

My initials are RKS. When you take the K out, you get two letters that are consecutive in the alphabet. The R and K, however, share visual similarities with their tails. So, I played around with these quite a bit, ending up with around 100 different variations of my initials. Some were more legible than others, and some made really interesting forms. I had to choose one to use for the cover of my Letterforms I process binder. The ones to the right were some honorable mentions...

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ART 571 | 43

...but ultimately, this one (above) was the winner! I loved the monogram feel that came out of this design. As for my binder cover, I wanted it to reflect me somehow. I’m not entirely sure why, but part of me just resonates with splatter paint. Maybe it has something to do with my thought process.

Maybe it’s just visually appealing to me. Regardless, I like the watercolorsplashiness that resulted from this, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s also in my favorite color.

The typeface used for all text on the binder cover, monogram included, is Didot.

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rachel kathleen suding letterforms i process binder | spring 2016 ART 571 | 45

project2 After playing around with our initials, it was time to get serious with typeface choices. We had to pair them up for use in a longform setting. For the first part of this assignment, we had to come up with as many pairings as possible, and we could change the fonts, the sizes, and the leading. For the second part, we had to refine our choices. Some factors to consider in this were x-height of the fonts, serif versus sans serif, weight of the text, and size for the sake of readability. Afterward, I ended up with a hefty selection of decent pairings to use for future projects (which might become more obvious as we continue to look at my projects for this class). My favorite pairings are to the right.

I have a heavy fondness for Futura and Didot, which you’ll realize once you get to Project 5.

Not that I’m foreshadowing, or anything.

46 | Twosies: A Design Journal

Clarendon Extra Bold Avenir Next Regular

Clarendon Light Avenir Next Regular

Futura PT Heavy Didot Regular

Futura PT Heavy Didot Italic

Avenir Next Demi Bold Garamond Regular

Didot Bold Futura PT Book

ART 571 | 47

project3 You can’t be a true professional unless you have a rockin’ résumé, right?

And by rockin’, I mean beautiful, practically flawless, the works. Before this project, I had a very generic résumé that I had made in Microsoft Word.

For GEN 101. As a 10-point assignment.

(Barf.)

So these are obviously a huge step up from that. Now, that being said, just because they are better, it does not mean that they are good. This first one here (right) is pretty rough. I tried to use the tables feature in InDesign with minimal success, and I was unsure of how the hierarchy of information should be ordered. That’s okay, though; I figured it out eventually. I slowly added in color—teal, of course, because that’s my favorite, and people also tend to identify me with it—so I started to like it more and more. My first finished version was good, but it still needed some work to make it more beautiful. So, I made some revisions by scaling back the size of my headers and adding more of a break in between the columns to let the page flow more naturally. I also moved the margins in a little more.

My actual final version was a lot better, but I’m still going to keep revisiting it. I want it to be as beautiful as possible.

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RACHEL SUDING 406.581.7584 | suding.rachel@gmail.com

SKILLS

EXPERIENCE

Mac OSX Illustrator CC Photoshop CC InDesign CC Microsoft Office

Ad Designer/Checker The Louisville Cardinal ― Louisville, Kentucky August 2015-present Front End Employee: Cashier Marsh Supermarket ― Eaton, Ohio July 2015-August 2015 Front End Employee: Courtesy Clerk/Cashier Rosauers Supermarket ― Bozeman, Montana June 2013-June 2015

HONORS

EDUCATION

National Scholars Award University of Louisville 2014-present

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Art & Design - Anticipated May 2018 University of Louisville - Louisville, Kentucky

Dean’s List University of Louisville Fall 2014-Fall 2015

Relevant Coursework Foundation Design Methods Intro to Graphic Design Letterforms I Website Design

VOLUNTEER WORK

CAMPUS INVOLVEMENT

Designed t-shirts for two University of Louisville School of Music organizations, including the Cardinal Music Therapy Organization and National Association for Music Education–UofL

Student Leadership Equipment Crew Member ― Cardinal Marching Band University of Louisville August 2014-present

Created event posters and social media banners for the Cardinal Marching Band

Member ― Cardinal Pride Pep Band University of Louisville August 2014-present Member ― Fellowship of Christian Musicians University of Louisville January 2016-present

ART 571 | 49

RACHEL SUDING 406.581.7584 | 1515 Shelburne Circle | Louisville, KY 40208 | suding.rachel@gmail.com

EDUCATION

HONORS

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Art & Design Anticipated Graduation ― May 2018 University of Louisville ― Louisville, Kentucky

National Scholars Award University of Louisville 2014-present

Relevant Coursework Foundation Design Methods Intro to Graphic Design Letterforms I Website Design

Dean’s List University of Louisville Fall 2014 Spring 2015 Fall 2015

EXPERIENCE

VOLUNTEER WORK

Ad Designer/Checker The Louisville Cardinal ― Louisville, Kentucky August 2015-present

University of Louisville School of Music Designed t-shirts for two student organizations, including the Cardinal Music Therapy Organization and National Association for Music Education–UofL

Front End Employee: Cashier Marsh Supermarket ― Eaton, Ohio July 2015-August 2015 Front End Employee: Courtesy Clerk/Cashier Rosauers Supermarket ― Bozeman, Montana June 2013-June 2015

University of Louisville Bands Created event posters and gameday-related social media banners for the Cardinal Marching Band, and designed concert flyers for both major and minor ensembles

CAMPUS INVOLVEMENT

SKILLS

Student Leadership Equipment Crew Member ― Cardinal Marching Band University of Louisville August 2014-present

Technical Illustrator CC Photoshop CC InDesign CC Microsoft Office

Member ― Cardinal Pride Pep Band University of Louisville August 2014-present Member ― Fellowship of Christian Musicians University of Louisville January 2016-present

Art-Related Drawing Painting, acrylic and oil

Above: My first “final” version.

Right: My real final version.

50 | Twosies: A Design Journal

RACHEL SUDING 406.581.7584 | Louisville, KY | suding.rachel@gmail.com

EDUCATION

HONORS

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Art & Design Anticipated Graduation ― May 2018 University of Louisville ― Louisville, Kentucky

National Scholars Award University of Louisville 2014-present

Relevant Coursework Foundation Design Methods Introduction to Graphic Design Letterforms I Website Design

Athletic Director’s Honor Roll University of Louisville Fall 2014 Spring 2015 Fall 2015

EXPERIENCE

Dean’s List University of Louisville Fall 2014 Spring 2015 Fall 2015

Ad Designer/Checker The Louisville Cardinal ― Louisville, Kentucky August 2015-present Front End Employee: Cashier Marsh Supermarket ― Eaton, Ohio July 2015-August 2015 Front End Employee: Courtesy Clerk/Cashier Rosauers Supermarket ― Bozeman, Montana June 2013-June 2015

INVOLVEMENT Cardinal Marching Band ― Student Leadership Equipment Crew Member University of Louisville August 2014-present Cardinal Pride Pep Band ― Member University of Louisville August 2014-present Fellowship of Christian Musicians ― Member University of Louisville January 2016-present

VOLUNTEER WORK University of Louisville School of Music Designed t-shirts for two student organizations, including the Cardinal Music Therapy Organization and National Association for Music Education–UofL University of Louisville Bands Created event posters and gameday-related social media banners for the Cardinal Marching Band, and designed concert flyers for both major and minor ensembles

SKILLS Technical Illustrator CC Photoshop CC InDesign CC Microsoft Office Art-Related Drawing Painting, acrylic and oil

ART 571 | 51

project4 Alright, I’m not going to lie. This project wasn’t my favorite at first, but I feel like that’s because it was a little bit difficult for me to connect to it. We had to choose one of Aesop’s Fables to work with for both parts of this project, so I chose the Rose and the Amaranth. For the first part, we were to use a Villard diagram to create an illuminated manuscript-style layout that was reminiscent of early typography. We had to choose from three different typeface styles: uncial, gothic, or Humanist. I chose the gothic style for this part because I felt it would match my illustrations well. I’m still not too wild about the first part of this assignment; I really struggled to carry out the visualizations I’d had for it. I can always revisit it, I suppose, but hey, maybe the 15th-century just isn’t my style. And that’s okay. I live in the 21st century, anyway.

The second part (next page) was a lot more enjoyable for me. We studied some magazines from the 1940s to get a sense of the World War II-esque advertising style, and from there, we had to style our fables into something that could relate to the wartime in some way. I had some fun with this, letting my cheeky, sarcastic sense of humor come into play.

(Also, I got to use Futura again since it was a typeface of that era, which made me happy. Lots of love going out to Futura.)

52 | Twosies: A Design Journal

A

Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden, and the Amaranth said to her neighbor, “How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent! No wonder you are such a universal favorite.” But the Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her voice, “Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time: my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die. But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut; for they are everlasting.”

Greatness carries its own penalties.

ART 571 | 53

Rachel Suding THE THINKING BEHIND THE MAKING

Even the most powerful will fade eventually...

A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden, and the Amaranth said to her neighbor, “How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent! No wonder you are such a universal favorite.” But the Rose replied

What visual references did you look at?

[Show inventory of images you collected/viewe.]

I looked through some of the magazines during class and took photos of some of the layouts I found to be more visually interesting. I also browsed Pinterest for some more war-related ads; i.e., soldiers in combat.

with a shade of sadness in her voice, “Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time: my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die. But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut; for they are everlasting.”

AESOP

What stylistic treatments did you discover?

Image, type, voice, other elements…

In general, it seemed like a lot of these advertisements used large imagery that took up most of the page, and the body text they contained was usually in a smaller paragraph form with lots of white space. They are very much like advertorials in some cases. I noticed that there would almost always be some sort of lengthy description arranged with the imagery, and the logo was very prominent.

What typefaces did you use? When were they designed?

Gloucester Extra Condensed Bold: designed in 1896 Futura Book: designed in 1927 What elements did you use to evoke WWII vernacular in your design?

I wanted to emulate the style of some of the advertisement layouts in the magazines, so I played around with using a lot of white space. I put together the Aesop logo in Illustrator to bring out a more “America!” feel, which I feel also enhanced my imagery. While browsing Pinterest, I saw a lot of playful ads poking fun at Nazi Germany. I really liked the humor behind those, so I wanted to put my own spin on it and bring out more American pride (like, “Go America, BOO Nazis!”).

54 | Twosies: A Design Journal

Even the most powerful will fade eventually...

A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden, and the Amaranth said to her neighbor, “How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent! No wonder you are such a universal favorite.” But the Rose replied

with a shade of sadness in her voice, “Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time: my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die. But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut; for they are everlasting.”

AESOP ART 571 | 55

project5 In a more advanced take on Project 2, we had to explore visual hierarchy with regards to headers and long form body copy. We were given some nice text to dress up: advice for young designers. The goal here was to learn how to navigate subheaders in a tight space, such as within column structures, as shown here. This included dealing with the main header, the subheaders within the body copy, and the body copy itself. I had to organize the number of columns and choose a typeface for the body that would be consistent throughout the entire piece. Then, I got to explore different header styles, as seen on the right. The world was basically my oyster; I had an arsenal of typefaces, colors, glyphs, and alignment styles to choose from. So I had a little fun with it.

Ultimately, I had to refine it and make a consistent layout using only one of my many header explorations. You’ll find that on the next page, along with some great design tips that I’m sure I’ll revisit over and over again...

(Futura strikes again. Didot, too. I have a problem...but it’s not a bad problem to have, is it?...)

56 | Twosies: A Design Journal

After School Special: Advice for Emerging Designers Building a career is not something that happens overnight. It requires patience and tenacity, and it involves more than raw talent. A career demands an overarching curiosity about the world and how things work, topped off with well-honed people skills. To rise to the top in your profession, you have to have the guts to be self-aware, to know your own strengths while trying to improve upon your weaknesses. And, come to think of it, raw talent doesn’t hurt.

The great thing about a career in design is that you can define success in a number of ways. You can strive to be a renowned creative director at a big firm, to create a small boutique studio, or to savor both your profession and parenthood by working out of your home while raising children. This industry isn’t just about savvy insight and fresh aesthetic perspectives; it’s also largely built from flexibility and potential.

In the beginning of a career, the transition from school to work is difficult, to put it mildly. The first thing you learn is that there is more to learn. A lot more.

1.

Respect the Difference Between Theory and Practice

Don’t get me wrong, school is great, and by all means revel in your trek through academia, because nothing will ever be the same. Appreciate the time you have been given to learn about yourself, and get an education that you can apply to your whole life, not only your job.

In school, your instructors push you to express yourself, they insist on your developing the essence of your design perspective.

They want you to be able to articulate why you believe in your work. Every day you try to find a unique way to express your ideas, so, in that way, school is creative nirvana.

A teacher’s objective is to develop students’

skills and to nurture creativity before you set out on your own upon graduation.

Once you’re out in the real world, however, it’s a whole new game; in a professional environment everything changes, and there’s no room for being an isolationist, or demonstrating that you alone are terminally unique. You are now expected to understand your clients and their objectives. In order to do so, you may work in a team, and the emphasis is on how you—collectively, not singularly—are going to meet the aims of the client and the client’s business.

Suddenly you are one of many, and no one might even care what you think.

Design firms are businesses. They are not created to teach and nurture, although both sometimes happen along the way if you find a great mentor. A design firm’s objective is to be a successful company. You walk into a firm and acquire the processes, culture and the various stylistic methods of the firm. You are a part of a group, and you begin to realize that you thought you knew a lot six months ago, but now you only know a fraction of what everyone else seems to know. The learning curve changes.

2. Develop Really Great Habits A great deal of success is about fostering good habits early. This is the time to start; it’s harder to break a habit than it is to practice a new one. Also, as you get older, your daily obligations are greater, and you will have less time and energy to make new actions routine. Get those mental muscles toned now and it will become easy to maintain them.

3. Be Positive Ü Having a can-do attitude makes people

want to work with you. There’s an old adage that says, “People work with people they like to work with.” Believe me, it’s true.

Who wants to be around someone who is negative or complains about everything?

4. Learn << >> to Write

Writing is hard. Really hard. Personally, I struggle with constructing and perfecting sentence after sentence, even though I can write a nice headline. Among my daily duties, I have to write proposals, letters and all sorts of text related to press and correspondence. I don’t feel particularly good at it, I simply slog through. In retrospect, I wish I had focused on honing the technical elements of my writing earlier because I think it would make things easier now.

The ability to write gives you power. A designer who can structure content can communicate visual ideas more effectively.

Clients tend to be word oriented, and when designers can communicate on their level, they gain trust. That trust is what leads to getting more work approved.

5. Work Harder Than Anyone Else I hate to say this, but if you really want to be successful, you have to rethink the concept of the so-called work/life balance.

The most successful creative people I know do not segregate their “work” and their “play”—it’s all the same. They love what they do, and do it all the time. If you look at design as a job that you do between 9 and 5 every day, you will earn a paycheck... and that’s all.

Talent will take you far, but determination will take you further. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard moan about how they could have started a business, gotten

After School Special: Advice for Emerging Designers

Building a career is not something that happens overnight. It requires patience and tenacity, and it involves more than raw talent. A career demands an overarching curiosity about the world and how things work, topped off with well-honed people skills. To rise to the top in your profession, you have to have the guts to be self-aware, to know your own strengths while trying to improve upon your weaknesses. And, come to think of it, raw talent doesn’t hurt.

The great thing about a career in design is that you can define success in a number of ways. You can strive to be a renowned creative director at a big firm, to create a small boutique studio, or to savor both your profession and parenthood by working out of your home while raising children.

This industry isn’t just about savvy insight and fresh aesthetic perspectives; it’s also largely built from flexibility and potential.

In the beginning of a career, the transition from school to work is difficult, to put it mildly. The first thing you learn is that there is more to learn. A lot more.

RESPECT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE Don’t get me wrong, school is great, and by all means revel in your trek through academia, because nothing will ever be the same. Appreciate the time you have been given to learn about yourself, and get an education that you can apply to your whole life, not only your job.

In school, your instructors push you to express yourself, they insist on your developing the essence of your design perspective. They want you to be able to articulate why you believe in your work. Every day you try to find a unique way to express your ideas, so, in that way, school is creative nirvana. A teacher’s objective is to develop students’ skills and to nurture creativity before you set out on your own upon graduation.

Once you’re out in the real world, however, it’s a whole new game; in a professional environment everything changes, and there’s no room for being an isolationist, or demonstrating

001

that you alone are terminally unique.

You are now expected to understand your clients and their objectives. In order to do so, you may work in a team, and the emphasis is on how you—collectively, not singularly—are going to meet the aims of the client and the client’s business. Suddenly you are one of many, and no one might even care what you think.

Design firms are businesses. They are not created to teach and nurture, although both sometimes happen along the way if you find a great mentor. A design firm’s objective is to be a successful company. You walk into a firm and acquire the processes, culture and the various stylistic methods of the firm. You are a part of a group, and you begin to realize that you thought you knew a lot six months ago, but now you only know a fraction of what everyone else seems to know. The learning curve changes.

02.

Develop Really Great Habits

A great deal of success is about fostering good habits early. This is the time to start; it’s harder to break a habit than it is to practice a new one. Also, as you get older, your daily obligations are greater, and you will have less time and energy to make new actions routine. Get those mental muscles toned now and it will become easy to maintain them.

3. Be Positive

Having a can-do attitude makes people want to work with you. There’s an old adage that says, “People work with people they like to work with.”

Believe me, it’s true. Who wants to be around someone who is negative or complains about everything?

4.

Learn to Write

Writing is hard. Really hard. Personally, I struggle with constructing and perfecting sentence after sentence, even though I can write a nice headline. Among my daily duties, I have to write proposals, letters and all sorts of text related to press and correspondence. I don’t feel particularly good at it, I simply slog through.

In retrospect, I wish I had focused

on honing the technical elements of my writing earlier because I think it would make things easier now.

The ability to write gives you power.

A designer who can structure content can communicate visual ideas more effectively. Clients tend to be word oriented, and when designers can communicate on their level, they gain trust. That trust is what leads to getting more work approved.

05

Work Harder Than Anyone Else

I hate to say this, but if you really want to be successful, you have to rethink the concept of the so-called work/life balance. The most successful creative people I know do not segregate their “work” and their “play”—it’s all the same. They love what they do, and do it all the time. If you look at design as a job that you do between 9 and 5 every day, you will earn a paycheck...and that’s all.

Talent will take you far, but determination will take you further. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard moan about how they could have started a business, gotten the great assignment, scored a better position or whatever. The truth is, most people aren’t willing to put the time and effort into accomplishing their goals.

It’s easier to just live their dreams inside of their heads instead of putting in the sweat equity.

I look at successful people and I see the same patterns. I know a photographer who, when starting his career, worked literally around the clock, and even spent his own money to make shots memorable. He never looked at an assignment as a job, but as an opportunity to do something outstanding. He is still pushing himself today and branching out into new areas. His renowned career is nothing if not enviable.

When I started my business, I had no clients and very little money. The first year I worked until midnight most nights, almost seven days a week.

Not only did I work past the point of endurance on my design, I learned how to do basic billing. I wired my own network. I wrote copy. I steeled myself and made cold calls. All of the

the great assignment, scored a better position or whatever. The truth is, most people aren’t willing to put the time and effort into accomplishing their goals. It’s easier to just live their dreams inside of their heads instead of putting in the sweat equity.

I look at successful people and I see the same patterns. I know a photographer who, when starting his career, worked literally around the clock, and even spent his own money to make shots memorable.

He never looked at an assignment as a job, but as an opportunity to do something outstanding. He is still pushing himself today and branching out into new areas. His renowned career is nothing if not enviable.

When I started my business, I had no clients and very little money. The first year I worked until midnight most nights, almost seven days a week. Not only did I work past the point of endurance on my design, I learned how to do basic billing. I wired my own network. I wrote copy. I steeled myself and made cold calls. All of the long nights paid off, I built a client base, and now, years later, I have a thriving practice. You can achieve great things, if you’re willing to put in the effort.

SIX. IGNORE TH E N AYS AY E R S If you craft a good game plan, stay focused and work incredibly hard, you can accomplish just about anything. As a friend of mine says, “It’s all about the follow through.” Remember that the most important person to believe in your work is you—then you’ll prove any who doubt you wrong.

7. Try to Make Every Assignment Better Than the Last When you finish a project, look at it, hard.

Scrutinize. Nitpick. Be critical. Do more. Do better. Don’t become complacent.

Ever.

Complacency is death.

8. GET INVOLVED This is a great way to continue your education at the beginning of your career.

Reach out. Cultivate relationships with your

long nights paid off, I built a client base, and now, years later, I have a thriving practice. You can achieve great things, if you’re willing to put in the effort.

the naysayers 006.ignore

If you craft a good game plan, stay focused and work incredibly hard, you can accomplish just about anything. As a friend of mine says, “It’s all about the follow through.”

Remember that the most important person to believe in your work is you—then you’ll prove any who doubt you wrong.

TRY TO MAKE EVERY ASSIGNMENT BETTER THAN THE LAST When you finish a project, look at it, hard. Scrutinize. Nitpick. Be critical.

Do more. Do better. Don’t become complacent.

Ever.

Complacency is death.

7.

 8. GET INVOLVED 

This is a great way to continue your education at the beginning of your career. Reach out. Cultivate relationships with your peers and contacts in the field. Learn from what you see and what you’re told. As you mature, you will have the opportunity to give back to the profession. If you’re lucky enough and work hard enough to make it to the highest levels, you may even be given the ability to affect policy. There is strength in numbers.

Every accomplished professional that you encounter has an immeasurably large volume of knowledge that you can learn from, free of tuition.

9. Be Kind

Non-designers often feel that designers are arrogant, that they don’t listen, and that they are intent on loudly bullying them on issues of taste and intellect. A wise man once told me to observe people that I thought were really smart. He then said, “The ones who don’t feel a need to put anyone down are the ones who are most secure in their own ability. They don’t feel they have to prove anything.” It’s true.

Your clients, your colleagues and your vendors will all have their separate points of view. And, hey, that’s

peers and contacts in the field. Learn from what you see and what you’re told. As you mature, you will have the opportunity to give back to the profession. If you’re lucky enough and work hard enough to make it to the highest levels, you may even be given the ability to affect policy. There is strength in numbers. Every accomplished professional that you encounter has an immeasurably large volume of knowledge that you can learn from, free of tuition.

9. Be Kind

11.

DON’T LIE.

Tell the truth if you make a mistake. Don’t lie to clients, vendors or bosses, and, most importantly, don’t lie to yourself. Taking credit for someone else’s work—that’s called stealing. And misrepresenting your qualifications is called cheating. The funny thing about dishonesty is that people always find out, and you will lose something invaluable: trust.

If you mess up, ’fess up.

Non-designers often feel that designers are arrogant, that they don’t listen, and that they are intent on loudly bullying them on issues of taste and intellect. A wise man once told me to observe people that I thought were really smart. He then said, “The ones who don’t feel a need to put anyone down are the ones who are most secure in their own ability. They don’t feel they have to prove anything.” It’s true.

Your clients, your colleagues and your vendors will all have their separate points of view. And, hey, that’s great, because you are so hardworking, smart and talented, you will use all of your finesse to convert them to your way of thinking. In the end, if they still disagree, you might realize a) the other guy might actually have a point or b) that you can find a happy middle ground.

10. Have Passion Have passion.

It seems like the inscription on a greeting card, but it’s true, everything is meaningless unless you love what you do, both in the sanctuary of school and out in the real world. Life is too short to spend years acquiring skills for a career you aren’t completely passionate about. So if you woke up this morning and didn’t feel excited about what you are striving towards, then change something. Change your attitude, change your environment, change your profession, or change your direction. You deserve to wake up every day with enthusiasm.

That’s it. Oh, wait. One more thing...

great, because you are so hardworking, smart and talented, you will use all of your finesse to convert them to your way of thinking. In the end, if they still disagree, you might realize a) the other guy might actually have a point or b) that you can find a happy middle ground.

10. Have Passion

Have passion.

It seems like the inscription on a greeting card, but it’s true, everything is meaningless unless you love what you do, both in the sanctuary of school and out in the real world. Life is too short to spend years acquiring skills for a career you aren’t completely passionate about. So if you woke up this morning and didn’t feel excited about what you are striving towards, then change something.

Change your attitude, change your environment, change your profession, or change your direction. You deserve to wake up every day with enthusiasm.

That’s it. Oh, wait. One more thing...

11

Don’t Lie

Tell the truth if you make a mistake.

Don’t lie to clients, vendors or bosses, and, most importantly, don’t lie to yourself. Taking credit for someone else’s work—that’s called stealing.

And misrepresenting your qualifications is called cheating. The funny thing about dishonesty is that people always find out, and you will lose something invaluable: trust.

If you mess up, ’fess up.

ART 571 | 57

after school special:

advice for emerging designers

Building a career is not something that happens overnight. It requires patience and tenacity, and it involves more than raw talent. A career demands an overarching curiosity about the world and how things work, topped off with well-honed people skills. To rise to the top in your profession, you have to have the guts to be self-aware, to know your own strengths while trying to improve upon your weaknesses. And, come to think of it, raw talent doesn’t hurt.

The great thing about a career in design is that you can define success in a number of ways. You can strive to be a renowned creative director at a big firm, to create a small boutique studio, or to savor both your profession and parenthood by working out of your home while raising children. This industry isn’t just about savvy insight and fresh aesthetic perspectives; it’s also largely built from flexibility and potential.

In the beginning of a career, the transition from school to work is difficult, to put it mildly. The first thing you learn is that there is more to learn.

A lot more.

001.

respect the difference between theory and practice Don’t get me wrong, school

is great, and by all means revel in your trek through academia, because nothing will ever be the same. Appreciate the time you have been given to learn about yourself, and get an education that you can apply to your whole life, not only your job.

In school, your instructors push you to express yourself, they insist on your developing the essence of your design perspective.

They want you to be able to articulate why you believe in your work. Every day you try to find a unique way to express your ideas, so, in that way, school is creative nirvana.

A teacher’s objective is to develop students’ skills and to nurture creativity before you set out on your own upon graduation.

Once you’re out in the real world, however, it’s a whole new game; in a professional environment everything changes, and there’s no room for being an isolationist, or demonstrating that you alone are terminally unique. You are now expected to understand your clients and their objectives. In order to do so, you may work in a team, and the emphasis is on how you—collectively, not singularly—are going to meet the aims of the client and the client’s business.

Suddenly you are one of many, and no one 58 | Twosies: A Design Journal

might even care what you think.

Design firms are businesses. They are not created to teach and nurture, although both sometimes happen along the way if you find a great mentor. A design firm’s objective is to be a successful company. You walk into a firm and acquire the processes, culture and the various stylistic methods of the firm.

You are a part of a group, and you begin to realize that you thought you knew a lot six months ago, but now you only know a fraction of what everyone else seems to know.

The learning curve changes.

002.

develop really great habits A great deal of

004.

learn to write Writing

is hard. Really hard. Personally, I struggle with constructing and perfecting sentence after sentence, even though I can write a nice headline. Among my daily duties, I have to write proposals, letters and all sorts of text related to press and correspondence.

I don’t feel particularly good at it, I simply slog through. In retrospect, I wish I had focused on honing the technical elements of my writing earlier because I think it would make things easier now.

The ability to write gives you power. A designer who can structure content can communicate visual ideas more effectively.

Clients tend to be word oriented, and when designers can communicate on their level, they gain trust. That trust is what leads to getting more work approved.

success is about fostering good habits early.

This is the time to start; it’s harder to break a habit than it is to practice a new one. Also, as you get older, your daily obligations are greater, and you will have less time and energy to make new actions routine. Get those mental muscles toned now and it will become easy to maintain them.

005.

a can-do attitude makes people want to work with you. There’s an old adage that says, “People work with people they like to work with.” Believe me, it’s true. Who wants to be around someone who is negative or complains about everything?

but if you really want to be successful, you have to rethink the concept of the so-called work/life balance. The most successful creative people I know do not segregate their “work” and their “play”—it’s all the same.

They love what they do, and do it all the time. If you look at design as a job that you do between 9 and 5 every day, you will

003.

be positive Having

work harder than anyone else I hate to say this,

earn a paycheck...and that’s all.

Talent will take you far, but determination will take you further. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard moan about how they could have started a business, gotten the great assignment, scored a better position or whatever. The truth is, most people aren’t willing to put the time and effort into accomplishing their goals. It’s easier to just live their dreams inside of their heads instead of putting in the sweat equity.

I look at successful people and I see the same patterns. I know a photographer who, when starting his career, worked literally around the clock, and even spent his own money to make shots memorable.

He never looked at an assignment as a job, but as an opportunity to do something outstanding. He is still pushing himself today and branching out into new areas. His renowned career is nothing if not enviable.

When I started my business, I had no clients and very little money. The first year I worked until midnight most nights, almost seven days a week. Not only did I work past the point of endurance on my design, I learned how to do basic billing. I wired my own network. I wrote copy. I steeled myself and made cold calls. All of the long nights paid off, I built a client base, and now, years later, I have a thriving practice. You can achieve great things, if you’re willing to put in the effort.

006.

ignore the naysayers

If you craft a good game plan, stay focused and work incredibly hard, you can accomplish just about anything. As a friend of mine says, “It’s all about the follow through.” Remember that the most important person to believe in your work is you—then you’ll prove any who doubt you wrong.

007.

try to make every assignment better than the last When

you finish a project, look at it, hard.

Scrutinize. Nitpick. Be critical. Do more.

Do better. Don’t become complacent. Ever.

Complacency is death.

008.

get involved This is

a great way to continue your education at the beginning of your career. Reach out.

Cultivate relationships with your peers and contacts in the field. Learn from what you see and what you’re told. As you mature, you will have the opportunity to give back to the profession. If you’re lucky enough and work hard enough to make it to the highest levels, you may even be given the ability to affect policy. There is strength in numbers. Every accomplished professional that you encounter has an immeasurably large volume of knowledge that you can learn from, free of tuition.

009.

be kind Non-de-

signers often feel that designers are arrogant, that they don’t listen, and that they are intent on loudly bullying them on issues of taste and intellect. A wise man once told me to observe people that I thought were really smart. He then said, “The ones who don’t feel a need to put anyone down are the ones who are most secure in their own ability. They don’t feel they have to prove anything.” It’s true.

Your clients, your colleagues and your vendors will all have their separate points of view. And, hey, that’s great, because you are so hardworking, smart and

talented, you will use all of your finesse to convert them to your way of thinking. In the end, if they still disagree, you might realize a) the other guy might actually have a point or b) that you can find a happy middle ground.

010.

have passion

Have passion. It seems like the inscription on a greeting card, but it’s true, everything is meaningless unless you love what you do, both in the sanctuary of school and out in the real world. Life is too short to spend years acquiring skills for a career you aren’t completely passionate about.

So if you woke up this morning and didn’t feel excited about what you are striving towards, then change something. Change your attitude, change your environment, change your profession, or change your direction. You deserve to wake up every day with enthusiasm.

That’s it. Oh, wait. One more thing...

011.

don’t lie Tell the

truth if you make a mistake. Don’t lie to clients, vendors or bosses, and, most importantly, don’t lie to yourself. Taking credit for someone else’s work—that’s called stealing. And misrepresenting your qualifications is called cheating. The funny thing about dishonesty is that people always find out, and you will lose something invaluable: trust.

If you mess up, ’fess up.

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project6 For this project, we had to find a publication of some sort—magazine, book, etc.—and analyze its layout. This included figuring out the typical grid structure of the pages; the typeface, size, and leading of the body copy, headings and captions; and noting locations of elements on the page, such as how far down the page a paragraph would typically begin. I searched Google for PDFs to analyze and stumbled upon a portfolio-building guide by some students in DAAP at the University of Cincinnati. Rather than providing my example of that analysis here, I’m going to break down the structure of this journal...

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Project title boxes start at 8p9 down. Text is Gotham XLight/Black at 75 pt, and it is set at 10p0 down.

Body text is Baskerville Regular 10/13 and typically starts 27p0 down. It usually stretches across four columns, though this varies depending on space.

This is some pretty nifty body copy if I do say so myself. It’s in a nice location on the page that leaves enough white space to be engaging while also not feeling too empty. And aren’t the patterns that I’ve been using throughout this journal pretty cool? I made them myself. Getting them all to align correctly was challenging, but I made it work. Each section gets a new pattern and color going analogously through the color wheel. It isn’t going to go to a full rainbow, though.

Columns are 7 across and approximately 5p7 wide with 1p0 gutters. Margins are 3p0 on all sides.

Images almost always align with columns and sometimes bleed off the edge of the page.

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project7 This one wasn’t an official project; it was more of a sprint/flash assignment.

We spent thirty minutes wandering campus to take photos of anything that piqued our interest. Afterward, we came back inside to the lab and put together compositions using one word or phrase in conjunction with our photos. It didn’t have to be anything specific.

I love the outside of Schneider Hall. The fountain is beautiful—even when it’s lacking water. And the Minerva is gorgeous. I took a lot of photos this day, but I connected with these two the most (perhaps because I spent at least 18 hours in Schneider each week that semester). They felt light and airy to me, so I emphasized that with some gradient feathering.

“Breathe.”

Stuff like this inspires me in a unique way.

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BREATH E

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barrymoser On March 31, 2016, Barry Moser came to visit with our Letterforms class and let us ask him questions about his work and being a graphic designer in general. What a genuine man he was! It was such a great experience for us to get to sit down and chat with a highly successful designer.

He had some really great words for us, part of which I illustrated to the right. A lot of what he said really resonated with me, but when he told us to follow our dreams and never give up on them, it made me a little emotional. On top of that, he told us â&#x20AC;&#x153;find someone you love, deeply.â&#x20AC;? Those were his two most important pieces of advice.

Really, really inspiring stuff.

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WEB SITE DESIGN

art576

Our second class in Spring 2016 was Web Site Design. It was honestly nothing like I had expected it to be—but I think that was a good thing. Before our first class, my preconceived notions were that it would be primarily coding, and therefore, not a lot of fun. But we ended up doing some pretty interesting things. Brian was really awesome at teaching us, whether it was helping us navigate some of the finer tools in Photoshop or giving us life advice for our careers. And he was highly proficient in memes, which is always a plus, in my opinion.

Our projects were broad enough to allow us to explore the depths of multiple platforms but finely-tuned so that we could really analyze the userspecific needs of our creations. With each design, we had to pay attention to the call-to-action, visual hierarchy, and a number of other important elements.

I was sort of right about coding, though—we did have to begin learning it through Codecademy. That was totally fine with me; it’s definitely a skill I hope to build upon in the ongoing process of maturing as a designer.

I enjoyed this class a lot more than I had initially expected. The memes were just the cherry on top. To the right is a wonderful memery masterpiece that Emily Johnson and I collaborated on during a thrilling round of Layer Tennis.

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project1 My first dive into the wide world of web was a promotional microsite.

Microsites are often temporary; thus, they do not have a lot of content and are more simple to design. I could choose anything I wanted to promote, be it an electronic device, an event of some sort, or a bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest album. My love of music took over this project, and I did a promotion for Blurryface, the latest album from Twenty One Pilots. Their music is really inspiring to me, and I listened to this album quite a bit during the entire 2015-16 school year. Needless to say, I love it, and I loved this project as well.

(Hi, Futura.)

I’m definitely going to make some adjustments to this. While I’m happy with how it turned out overall, there are a few little tweaks that it could use to become even better. I’ll probably reduce the size of the social media icons, and since the call to action is to actually purchase the album, I need to make “Purchase Now” a lot stronger.

It’s the little things, but I’m not going to get too “Stressed Out” over it.

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project2 Our second project was a mobile app redesign. Okay, I have to be perfectly honest hereâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I did not like this project at all. Maybe it was just the fact that the app was Yelp, which I had very little previous knowledge and understanding of, but this project just rubbed me the wrong way. I feel that maybe I would have done better with an app that I actually use, but I do recognize that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to work with things we are unfamiliar with as a method of stepping out of our comfort zone.

This is most definitely a project that I will revisit and refine in the future.

There are a lot of improvements to be made, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s okay.

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project3 Projects that are most exciting for me are ones that I feel that I can connect to, and that was the case with this one. We had to redesign UofLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website on two platforms, desktop and mobile. For the desktop website, we had to recreate the homepage, admissions page, and a third page of our choice; and for the mobile website, we had to make the homepage and a second page of our choice. The free page I chose was campus life as I felt it targeted the appropriate audience.

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These are the mobile and desktop homepages, respectively. My goal was to make UofL seem vibrant and energetic while also maintaining a sense of strong academia. For these pages, I felt that it was most important to try and appeal to all of UofLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential audiences.

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The admissions page is obviously geared toward prospective students, so I provided some major points of quick information and created a deck for further navigation.

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Campus life is a huge factor when selecting a school, so I figured that this would be an appropriate choice for my free pages. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something that I feel would be highly useful to current students as well. Having it in a mobile setting makes it easier for students to find somewhere to eat or an activity while theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on the go.

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project4 What’s displayed here isn’t more than a work-in-progress, but our final project was to create an e-commerce site for a small, local business. We were given three choices of fictional companies that would serve as our client. I chose Paws & Claws, a pet boutique located in the Broad Ripple district of Indianapolis.

The aesthetic of Paws & Claws is supposed to be funky but refined—not silly. I’m using a geometric pattern that I created in Illustrator to give off a fun vibe, but I’m employing the warmer color scheme to tone it down.

It’s been a fun project so far (and it’s a really good excuse for me to look at pictures of puppies and kittens).

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CREATED OUTSIDE OF CLASS PROJECTS

extrawork

I love making things. Whether it’s for class, for friends, or purely for fun, I can’t get enough of it. I’ve done quite a bit of work outside of the four classes we’ve had thus far, and I love being able to show it off to people.

A lot of people slowly started to discover my talents, so I’ve been continually asked to do some really cool projects for people. I always take every opportunity I get to make things because it’s great practice.

To the right is a poster that I made for my roommate Jacqueline. She’s a music education major and wanted a musical world map for her room.

The following work reflects a huge part of my personality in a way, I think.

You’ll see that as you turn the pages...

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marchingcards I love my school. And one of the greatest ways that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been able to get involved in the campus community has been participating in marching band. My freshman year was so exciting and opened up a lot of opportunities for me. I loved my experiences so much that I auditioned for a leadership role, and let me tell youâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. I made even more friends than the year before, and it really felt like I was a part of something bigger than me. It was really special. But how exactly does that tie into my major?

Well, my band directors discovered my major when we were on the road to Atlanta for the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game in September 2015. I had made the graphic to the right out of sheer excitement for our trip and football season in general, and it ended up basically going viral on social media. After that, the directors gave me a slew of projects to tackle to help promote our marching band program. I was more than happy to oblige.

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It had originally started out as making banners for our bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Twitter account. These are a few from the beginning of the seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;before I really started to hit my stride.

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All Hail (left) is one of my favorites from this season. I drew all of the hands with my iPad and refined them more in Illustrator.

As the season went on, we had some extra events that needed promotion as well: our first ever Mr. CMB pageant and CMB Spectular, a concert to showcase all of our music from the year. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find the promotional flyers for those on the next two pages...

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THE CARDINAL MARCHING BAND AND TAU BETA SIGMA PRESENT

NOVEMBER 4 • 7:30 PM • UofL SCHOOL OF MUSIC, ROOM 267

THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE CARDINAL MARCHING BAND PRESENTS ITS FIRST EVER

Friday, November 6, 7 PM University of Louisville School of Music Comstock Concert Hall ALUMNI are invited to join us on stage at the end to sing the Alma Mater!

Finally, we had our bowl game! It was a wonderful trip to Nashville for a few days of football, friends, and fan activities. I was so, so, so excited for this trip and ended up making two graphics instead of just one.

Credit is owed to Morgan Smallwood, one of my best friends since joining marching band, for the catchy â&#x20AC;&#x153;make the Aggies pack their baggies.â&#x20AC;?

Go Cards.

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sweettees I guess that you could say that I did a lot for the School of Music in general. I was asked to make some t-shirts for a few different groups. Designing shirts is so much fun for me. I eventually want to go into creating graphics for sports apparel (re: Adidas), so I feel like all of this outside work that I’ve been doing is really good practice for me.

The best part of designing t-shirts, though, is seeing other people out and about, casually wearing your creation. It’s such a cool thing to be able to point to something and say, “Hey, I made that!”

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One of the most fun parts of marching band is bonding with the people in your section. A great way to show unity? Section t-shirts.

My roommate (and our fearless section leader) Jacqueline came up with the concept, and I brought it to life. Flutes Take Flight is loosely based on the 2015-2016 Louisville Athletics tagline, “Fight Takes Flight.” I hid some flutes in the feathers of the cardinal bird’s wings and gave him a menacing look for good measure.

The directors said they were the best section shirts they’ve ever seen, and that makes my heart happy.

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NAfME is an organization for music educators, and UofL has a branch.

They wanted some t-shirts to sell as a fundraiser.

The Cardinal Music Therapy Organization used their shirts for the same purpose.

The Singing Cardsmen are an all-menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choir at UofL, and they asked me to make them some casual performance shirts.

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gocards I got a little bit Twitter famous after people started seeing my designs over and over again. After a pep band trip to Greensboro for the 2016 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, I was approached by River City Cards, an independent UofL sports blog, and they asked me if I would like to be their graphic designer. Of course, I accepted—this kind of stuff is what I like to do the most.

I created a new logo for them that features the Louisville skyline, and they asked me to make them a special thank-you message to this year’s basketball seniors.

All of this really sparked after they saw what I made on the next pages...

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These guys were such a joy to watch this season, and I wanted to make them a few thank-yous to post on Twitter with the hopes that they would eventually see them.

Trey Lewis actually liked my tweet with his thank-you, which was really, really cool.

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thanks for the memories Over the past two years, I learned a lot of new tips, tricks, and tools of the trade. I made a lot of work that I like, but I’m mostly proud of how much I’ve grown as a designer. It’s nice to be able to flip through these pages and see just how much progression has taken place.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to continue to move forward in this program, and I’m glad I get to do it with such an awesome cohort.

And for an extra-special added bonus, here is the other half of my Layer Tennis work with Emily. Cheers!

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A special shoutout to this girl right here. » She’s my art sister.

Not sure how I would have survived without her.

Love you, Kylar!

LESLIE’S

FAVO R I T E S “I Wish My Other Classes Were Like You All”

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