Refection on Learning Goals

1). I want to become more comfortable working in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

2). I would like to be able to make choices regarding typeface, colors and layout with more confidence.

3). Improve my design skills and learn how to successfully apply brand identity to marketing an arts organization.

4). Learn how to solve design-related problems and how to locate helpful resources.

5). Be proud of my re-branding assignment and other work I post to my ePortfolio.

I feel more comfortable working in Illustrator, but I still have a long way to go until I feel confident in my computer skills. My prior knowledge of Illustrator was very basic, but I learned some new tricks, and I definitely feel more confident in my choices regarding typefaces, colors and layouts. I learned how to download free fonts and import them into Illustrator, which gave me a lot more options as far as layout design. I also feel that I am better at deciding which fonts to use for different applications and how to combine different fonts. Learning the basic design principles of CRAP helped tremendously with layout. I can now look at a design and articulate why it is successful or not, based on contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity.

I am motivated to keep expanding my skills. The more time I spend playing around in Illustrator and InDesign, the more I learn, although this can be quite frustrating an time consuming. InDesign is more finicky than Illustrator, but I feel that I got more used to working in the program by completing my graphic standards assignment. I also benefited from youtube tutorials and the Adobe help site when I got stuck. Also learning from my classmates was helpful and inspiring, as everyone brought different levels of design experience.

I learned the importance of research when creating a brand identity and how an organization’s logo can tell a story through marketing. I am proud of my design for ArtCity, and I’m glad I decided to be part of the group working on this logo. It was valuable to get real life experience working with a client and getting feedback.