Week 2 & 3 – 4/8 – 4/18: Time to Start Training!

 

Intro Training: Style A&B Course Graphics

After completing my STA orientation, it was time to start my basic training. The first training course was a walkthrough on how to customize online course graphics based on two basic styles: A and B. Professors can choose from either of these depending on their preference and they will receive a simple and cohesive asset packet for their course. For the training, I chose to make graphics for my favorite class this semester: Social Psychology in Film.

Here is style A:

 

And style B:

This was pretty simple to complete because there are easy-to-alter templates already in place. It mainly consisted of changing color overlays to make a cohesive design and adjusting opacity to make the photo in style B subtle but still visible. I also learned how to properly organize and name files.

 

Intro Training: Custom/Studio Course Graphics

For the next training, I got to choose between two courses to make a custom set of graphics based on the professor’s request. I chose EAS1030: Earth’s Dynamic Environment II. The client notes said he liked orange, but was open to other designs. In my first attempt I tried to incorporate orange by adding a sepia filter over a collage of photos:

Draft 1

 

After working on this for a bit, I decided I didn’t really like the color scheme because it didn’t properly represent what the course was about. I thought the sepia color made it hard to see what the course was really about, which is the ocean and atmosphere. That lead me to my second attempt in which I stuck to blues and created movement by cutting and collaging images of the ocean and clouds. Here is a design menu of my second attempt:

Draft 2

 

I really like the depth and movement created by the cutout images of water layered on top of each other to look like waves. I also think using blue better represents the course topic. I posted this design to Basecamp and received feedback from the STA trainer. She liked the concept and suggested adjusting the blues for the in-studio assets because they can show up different on camera. I also lightened the blue of the buttons and other Canvas graphics because they were appearing black on screen. Here is  close up of one of the studio graphics, a mockup of the designs in-studio, and a design menu with the suggested changes:

Draft 3

At first I was a little overwhelmed by the design freedom of this training, but after a few attempts and valuable feedback, I came up with something that I really like.

Summer Marketing Continues!

Orientation/Fall A-frame Redesign:

The Summer Marketing Committee wanted to see if we could update/redesign the A-frames that will be displayed during summer orientation. These A-frames are likely to be seen by incoming freshmen, hence the “Welcome new Longhorns” and “Use NEXT Summer to take core courses at UT”. The updates that have been made thus far are the drink and t-shirt (thinking about adding sunglasses)

 

   

STA Presentation Website

Start: April 8, 2024

To be Completed by: April 17, 2024

Staff Guidance: Thang, De’sha, & Mike

Client: LAITS

Description: With the LAITS Presentation coming up, the LAITS department wanted to update the website where the live feed will be broadcasted. Along with some changes to the information, the client also wanted a new design that aligned with current assets.

 

I started out by looking at the previous year’s design along with other websites they provided and making low fidelity sketches of the structure.

Then, I created the first iteration with the edits the client wanted to add to the informational paragraphs. I also tried out different title designs and modes of organizing the different pieces of information.

However, after talking with Thang about the level of freedom and creativity I was given, I decided to incorporate elements from other assets for the 2024 STA Presentation. I wanted the design to look cohesive overall so I decided to use the ticket images that are included in the photo underneath the information and goes along with the STA Presentation theme.

 

Though I liked the idea of using the tickets for the subheadings, I wanted to incorporate them in a different manner. So, I sketched out different ways to incorporate them leading me to the next design with one ticket per subheading and the information stacked instead of it being a two column arrangement. I added a line to create some sort of separation between the agenda and the rest of the information.

I then focused on the title to incorporate the same design style where the title would garner attention but still kept and overall simple design. I tried using two different objects, the tickets and the wristbands, all previously used in another deliverable STA Presentation asset.

I decide to go with the wristbands and with the new iteration I added notes around it.

After a quick feedback session, I made all the information be left aligned and the wristbands a higher vibrancy to maintain a cohesive design.

Once I submitted the first official draft, I made the following edits to create the last iteration:

• Changed the subheading’s font color to a darker corresponding ticket color
• Increased the text size for the “AGENDA” ticket
• Resized all the tickets so they all had the same dimensions and fixed the alignment

Week 39: STA Presentation

Documentation:

Currently, I am testing how to apply the design into the virtual website. My main challenge is to incorporate the text on top of the image so that it can scale appropriately.

 

 

 

Week 1 – 4/1 – 4/4: STA Orientation

Day 1 – Introductions and STA Handbook

My first day as a Design STA consisted of learning about the day to day procedures and how to navigate the different websites and tools. I finished the day off with creating a few presentation slides documenting what I learned from the STA Handbook:

I came in with a nervous-excited energy that I always have when starting anything new. De’sha and Leilani made the experience feel very welcoming, and I know overtime I’ll grow comfortable and confident in this new position.

 

Day 2-4 – Orientation Projects

During the next few days of orientation I created an STA bio, a caricature of myself, and a banner for this blog:

So far, I’ve had fun getting to meet everyone and stretching my graphic design and illustration skills. I look forward to working on future projects on my STA journey!

 

UTFC – 12.3B Politics

Start: April 1, 2024

To be Completed by: April 17, 2024

Staff Guidance: Leilani & Yazz

Client: UTFC

Description: Image search for photos/images/illustration for the provided vocabulary list using the Pexels, Unsplash, and Pixabay. Fill our the Google sheet for approval and then image track all the approved images while dropping them into a UT Box folder which will be then be used to create a powerpoint.