I decided to take a unique approach to the assignment Activity #1: Creating your Color Wheel. I created a composition of flowers in an art nouveau style with a faded aesthetic to break away from the traditional color wheel concept. This decision stemmed from a desire to challenge myself and take an advanced approach to the project. I saw this as an opportunity not only to fulfill the assignment’s requirements but also to create a piece that could enhance my portfolio and further solidify my understanding of color theory. In selecting the colors for the flowers, I carefully considered the meanings and values commonly associated with each hue. For instance, I chose a soft and muted palette of pastel blues and purples. These colors are often linked to tranquility, serenity, and a sense of balance. While I initially entertained the idea of using bolder and more contrasting colors, such as vibrant reds and oranges, I eventually discarded them because they could have overwhelmed the composition and distracted me from the overall aesthetic. By focusing on hues and adjusting their saturation and brightness, I aimed to create a soft and pleasing composition that would complement the art nouveau style and convey a sense of timelessness and elegance. In summary, this project allowed me to deepen my understanding of color theory and apply it in a creative and unique way

Summer 2023 UTFC Logo

Project: UTCF Logo
Notes:

Designing a logo for the UTFC textbook was a transformative experience that deepened my understanding of logo design and its nuanced aspects. The initial stages involved the crucial task of outlining key sections and call-to-actions, which served as a foundation for the logo’s design. The concept of travel, language, speech, and internationality was a multifaceted challenge that required thoughtful exploration. The globe and speech bubble combination emerged as a compelling visual metaphor for an international community and effective communication. The iterations and experimentation with the layout of the Earth and the speech bubble allowed me to strike a balance between subtlety and clarity.

One pivotal moment in the design process was finding a way to represent continents and languages without being overly literal. The idea of rendering continents as speech bubbles and incorporating dots around the Earth to enhance the sense of connectivity added a layer of whimsy that aligned well with the tone of the project. It was a lesson in the power of visual metaphor and how it can communicate complex ideas in a simple yet evocative manner.

 

 

The challenge of demonstrating connections among cultures and people was particularly instructive. The suggestion to have people around the globe touch to symbolize these connections prompted me to think deeply about the logo’s narrative and its ability to convey a sense of unity and harmony. It underscored the importance of storytelling through design and the need to engage the audience on an emotional level.

 

The feedback to focus on Africa, Europe, and North America while making them more recognizable in the design taught me about the importance of balancing symbolism and clarity, especially in a logo intended to be scaled down to small sizes. This fine-tuning process enhanced my attention to detail and my ability to make design decisions that prioritize the core message.

 

The request to change the logo’s color scheme to blue, white, and red to reinforce the link to French culture and to outline all the people in black, with additional adjustments to character colors, emphasized the power of color psychology and cultural references in design. It taught me that color choices can significantly influence the viewer’s perception and understanding of a visual identity.

 

In summary, the process of designing the UTFC textbook logo was a rich learning experience. It sharpened my skills in symbolism, cultural representation, and visual storytelling, making me a more thoughtful and versatile designer capable of creating designs that effectively communicate complex ideas while engaging and resonating with the audience.

Summer 2023 UTFC Print Ads

Project: UTCF Advertisement
Notes: The process of designing an ad for the UTFC textbook has been an educational and enriching journey, one that has profoundly impacted my growth as a designer. The collaborative process of mocking up various logos and textbook ad placements allowed for an in-depth exploration of visual composition and placement, making me more attuned to the iteration processes of graphic design.

A pivotal aspect of this project was the recognition that the provided text was not final. This underscored the indispensable role of well-crafted content in effectively conveying the ad’s message, reinforcing the notion that design and content are linked, and that they should evolve in tandem. This realization sharpened my understanding of the importance of close collaboration with copyediting services, as the quality of content is equally as crucial as the visual design.

 

The request to move away from stereotypical representations of French culture, particularly images of Paris and the Eiffel Tower, presented a captivating creative challenge. It necessitated an exploration of alternative imagery that authentically represents the rich tapestry of the francophone world, pushing me to think outside the box and break free from clichés in design.

 

In summary, this project has been instrumental in enhancing my grasp of the interplay between design and content, reinforcing that successful design emerges from a harmonious relationship between the two. It has also heightened my awareness of the significance of cultural sensitivity and the need to challenge preconceived notions in design, ultimately making me a more versatile and culturally conscious designer.

UTFC Studio Testing

Project: Backdrop Color Testing
Notes: This past summer I had the opportunity to go into the LAITS studio to do some image testing. UTFC had planned on recording their lectures for the summer and spring so I tested 43 images all by myself, for the most part. For the particular modules I worked on, I had some trouble finding copyright-free images that accurately matched the destination. This led to some research on what landmarks were in these cities/countries and how far the location in the description varied from the location I was looking for.

In the studio, I could see the backdrops in real time and edit them to the correct display such as altering contrast and saturation inside Photoshop. I’ve completed testing, exporting, and attributing all of the backdrops for the respective countries!! Yayy!!!

 

Here’s what one of the finalized backdrops looks like against the original photo. This is in Faʻaʻā, Papeʻete.

Hello world! I haven’t updated my blog in a hot minute since I was the only STA working over the summer but I’m going to include above a quick recap of the projects I thought were interesting!

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Week 29

Project: Texas Beyond History

Started on: Sep 21, 2023

Staff Guidance: Stacy

Description: 

In this project, I will need to navigate through a plethora of HTML and CSS files in the directories to figure out where all the files and changes are located. The problem with this project lies in the complexities of the different branches that I need to merge and push. One of the folders in the teacher-pages branch is not found, and it is located on the main page, so I need to figure out how to merge and see the changes reflected. However, I am still waiting for the client to communicate more clearly what branches she wants to merge.

 

 

Training: Building a Full-Stack Application

Started on: Sep 7, 2023

Description: In this training, I will have an imaginary client and help them redesign different web pages including the main page, login/sign-up, dashboard, and project management page.

My imaginary client is a start-up that builds a place for hosting various projects, and users are free to apply to whatever projects they want to be a part of. Therefore, I will start to lay out and design different pages for the project in Figma. After that, I will start to build a full-stack application for this project, initially by setting up React or Vue for the front-end, MySQL for the database, and .NET for the backend.