F I R ST T I M E R
Reegan Haines ART 130 - Fall 2018 St. Norbert College
Introduction Coming into Saint Norbert College as a first-year student who is majoring in Business Administration, I have to admit I was extremely nervous to be taking Introduction to Design. In the summer, when registering for class, I talked to my advisor about adding a minor in graphic design, which got me into this class. I remember getting my first email from Professor Ries, explaining all the materials I would need. I looked at it and I had no clue what more than half of it was. I was overwhelmed, to say the least. Coming into this class with absolutely no art experience, besides my elementary school coloring projects and odd crafts that I did occasionally, I was extremely nervous, in fact, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
However, I have to admit, after the feelings of confusion and unpreparedness consumed me, I realized that I was going to be okay in this sophisticated design environment. Through this class, I had the experience to experiment with new mediums and programs that I will continue to use in the future. Throughout this book, you will gain insight into my challenges and triumphs throughout my first semester as a graphic design minor. I can’t say it was easy, but I can say that it was well worth the time, laughs, effort, tears, smiles, and late nights that I went through this fall.
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D-SCHOOL
Through the D-School crash course, I was to redefine the gift giving experience for one of my classmates.
This rough sketch translated to this final build
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Through D-School we had to work with an individual in our class to redefine their gift giving experience. After talking with my partner, I thought that he could benefit from an object that would help him write thank you cards and be more organized in general. I thought working with another person that I wasn’t familiar with made this task a lot more difficult than I am used to it being. Especially when we ran out of time and had to show this person a very unfinished piece. This was very difficult for me because it made it difficult for my classmate to see my vision I had for the piece. However, after a lengthy explanation, my partner was able to give me constructive ideas and good feedback for me. I previously mentioned that we ran out of time, that’s because this was a quick paced, timed process. I found this element of D-School very challenging because it was a very short time to, not only get to know someone, but be able to create something they would find useful in their gift giving experience. If I went through the D-School process again, I would make sure to ask about colors. I found out after I made my prototype that I chose the wrong color to incorporate in my craft. I do think my idea was creative and well thought out, but when considering the opportunities of gift related crafts, I don’t think I would choose to go the same route.
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D OT - L I N E
As part of the dot line piece, an abstract piece of art using only dots and lines was to be produced. This final piece, that was to be well crafted, was to demonstrate the concepts of scale, value, line, and visual hierarchy. To achieve a final iteration, a surplus of thumbnail sketches was to be drawn.
I made more iterations from the starred iterations
Dot - Line allowed us to explore the concepts of gestalt, which is the understanding of the whole picture or composition based on the sum of its parts. This worked into Dot - Line because in order to understand a dot - line composition, one needs to look at each of the dots and lines and put together an understanding of the composition as a whole. This made for a very challenging piece. Not only did I have to take into account the concept of gestalt but working with tiny pieces of paper was also very difficult. It took a while to make a well-crafted object because I personally like to spend time making the small details as close to perfect as possible. I found this to be frustrating because I had to recut paper multiple times in order to achieve this. Along with this, when it came to gluing, it was very difficult to keep my hands clean while applying the paper pieces to my final composition. I had to redo at least one composition because of this. However, through all the frustration I was able to have a deeper understanding of abstraction. I now realize how hard it is to create a visually pleasing piece that everyone understands. Overall, my compositions were well-crafted, but not everyone interpreted the same as I did and that’s what makes abstractions so difficult. Now that I have a better understanding of gestalt and abstraction, I will look at everything deeper to try and find the meaning of it. I know now that not everything seems the way it looks. This assignment taught me to stop and reflect on pieces of different artwork because it may give a deeper meaning. five
and all of these iterations ultimately led to my final products
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Chaos
Stability
Joy
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TY P O G RA P HY
Through hand lettering, an understanding of the impact that letter’s form and content was to be developed. Through that understanding, four iterations that were made creatively, expanding, amplifying, contrasting and playing off the content of the words they make, were to be produced.
I started by making a mind map and experimenting with different fonts
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This exploration of ideas, led me to compose the following iterations...
... which then led to my final drafts
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Typography was my favorite project throughout the semester. I loved being able to experiment with different mediums and fonts. On top of it being enjoyable, it taught me that there is more to words than just the word itself. For instance, the different curvatures, angles and fonts that words can be written in, give different meaning to the word. The different letterforms can either enhance the meaning or draw away from it. If I was to continue to refine my hand lettering abilities, I would like to spend time refining my ink work. I now know some of the techniques that you can use with ink. One of these techniques being a gradient effect. Overall, the most challenging part of this assignment was executing the form and content of the words equally as well. I think these two concepts were split between my four words. For example, the cards and flip flops did not have the greatest form, but the thought behind them was strong. On the other hand, my other two pieces had strong form.
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O B J E CT IT E RAT I O N S
Through our several object iterations, a wide range of creativity and curiosity, was to be shown through different display and media. While embracing the process as one of discovery, creating an unexpected depiction with integrity to the subject was to be made possible. I was to acknowledge different clichĂŠs to work around them. Finally, this piece was to be refined within square parameters. Taking all of this into consideration, the project was made to challenge myself as a designer, pushing me out of my comfort zone.
From these iterations, I selected and edited the images that were then part of my final print
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Going into this project, I thought umbrellas were very simple objects. However, throughout my object iteration work process, I quickly realized that there are many parts and angles of umbrellas and they can be depicted in many different ways. I really enjoyed being able to explore Photoshop and InDesign throughout this work process. Although they were very frustrating at times, I did learn a lot of things that I will continue to use in the future. One of the main take-aways from Photoshop is the eraser tool. This may be helpful in the future if I find a photo with something not pleasing to the eye or not necessary to include in the photo. Out of all the media we worked with, collage, type collage, continuous line drawing, and master artists, I found collage the most challenging for me. I really struggled finding materials that would show the umbrella in the best way. On the other hand, I really enjoyed doing both of my master artist iterations because it allowed me to explore the work of Rene Margritte and Paul Klee. I found that researching their work allowed me to portray it in my own style. If I continued to work with my umbrella, I would experiment with the different angles in which an umbrella can be shown. Not only are there different angles that an umbrella can be shown in, (top, underneath, profile view, etc.) the wind and other forces of nature can force the umbrella into new positions; I believe that these forces of nature can make for some new and interesting iterations.
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DATA V I S UA L I ZAT I O N The infographic produced was to show evidence of principles of design that worked to bright light upon accurately represented Saint Norbert College fast facts. While working with a limited color palette, a single paged infographic, based on the data using text and image was to be produced, telling an accurate story of my own choosing.
Most of my work was done digitally, but you can see these sketches in the final print
One of the most important elements of my data visualization is visual hierarchy. I created this by including images to depict the information that I thought was most important. I really enjoyed making this infographic and I know there are many skills I will take from it. One of these skills include how little details, like fonts, spacing and color can affect the overall makeup of an infographic. This project also helped me further my skills in InDesign, and slightly in Photoshop, which I will also find useful in the future. This was the first assignment in the class where we got to use color, which I thought was very exciting. It was really nice to be able to express our work in other way, and it also made our work more visually pleasing. However, it was very challenging to choose colors that worked within the infographic, making it eye-popping but not too bright. fifteen
Our students come from...
Saint Norbert College is home to 2,165 students
28 STATES
&
26 COUNTRIES
Of those students, 2,067 are undergraduate students
• • • • 85% of students are on campus residents...
57%
43%
We have 94 students organizations 50% of students join one of our organizations 28% of students are varsity athletes 24% of students play intramural sports
...and 80% of those who live on campus stay here over the weekends
The Students of
“Norb’s Nation”
Religious Breakdown Roman Catholic Protestant Jewish Muslim Hindu Buddhist Unknown Other No Preference
41% 21% <1% <1% <1% <1% 24% <1% 10%
Ethnic Breakdown African American Asian American Hispanic American Native American Multicultural Caucasian
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1% 2% 4% 1% 1% 87%
DESIGNER P R E S E NTAT I O N
The designer presentation was to show an understanding of a contemporary artist of my choosing. While researching, I was to evaluate and be able to determine if sources were reliable, or not. Through the presentation, experiences in presenting images, relating the designer to a historical context, persuasive public speaking, and submitting work digitally following specific guidelines, were to all be learned.
I chose Viktor Hertz to research because I loved how humorous his work is. I really got a good laugh the first time I saw his work, so I was very interested to see and learn more about him and his work. I also found that the colors he uses in his work are very fun and pleasing to the eye. Although I loved researching Viktor Hertz, when it came to present on him in front of my classmates, I got super nervous. I think what was worse this time, compared to other times Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve presented things, is the fact that I was toward the end of the presentations. It was hard watching other people give their presentations because I then start to second guess my own. Overall, it ended up being okay, and I learned that I need to be more confident in myself and my research. After listening to my classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; presentations, I found that Marian Bantjes might also be someone worth researching. Her work is very intriguing because of how puzzle-like and colorful her work is. What really draws me to her, though, is the meaning behind her work. It seems like she does it all for other people, which I find to be very admirable. seventeen
This is a short glimpse at my Pecha Kucha presentation on Swedish graphic designer, Viktor Hertz
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V O CAT I O NA L Q U E ST I O N S What is the difference between a good life and a significant life? I think the difference between having a good life and a significant life is determined by how people feel about you after you pass. If your life is good, you may have been close to a few people, maybe had money and a family, but people won’t remember you in the long run. Having a significant life, on the other hand, is something you will be remembered by. You will have changed a tiny piece of the world, and people are going to feel strongly about you, even after you’re gone.
If you were guaranteed it would support you financially, what would you want to design or make for a living? If I were to make a living out of any career, knowing that it would support me financially, I would choose to design clothing. I’ve always found clothing very intriguing just because that’s how we express ourselves, and often times people get their first impressions simply by what others are wearing. I would want to live in New York City, work out of a super modern loft office building and design clothing to fit my style, in hopes that others would like it, too!
I need to thank all of my classmates, Ally, Amanda, Annabelle, Cora, Emma, Katherine, Lindsey, Mac, Marybeth, Nicole, Noah, Trevor and Zack, for all of their constructive criticism in critique throughout the semester. They have all helped me develop into the designer I am growing to be, and I am grateful for all they have done. I also need to thank Professor Ries for helping me through my first art class. She has taught me very valuable lessons that I will take with me through the rest of my life. She has shown patience and support to all of her students, and it is truly magnificent to experience how much she cares about all of her students. Finally, I need to thank my friends and family for listening to me complain and helping me through the struggle of Introduction to Design. I need to thank my roommate Kendall especially for putting up with me throughout this process and helping me out when she could. Thank you all. This book was made as part of Introduction to Design at St. Norbert College in the fall of 2018. The fonts used include, Avenir New, Rockwell, and Didot. It was digitally printed, and saddle stapled at the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s print center.
https://filmfreeway.com/viktorhertz http://viktorhertz.com
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