Mediocrity will be expensive this semester. It will cost you an “A”. Now that you have acquired a good set of foundational skills in regards to the technical aspects of the software, you need to step up your game in regards to designs aesthetics. How are you going to prove to me that you understand the Elements and Principles of Design? That is essentially your final for the year. Building a portfolio that proves to me (with evidence) that you understand and can incorporate the Elements and Principles of Design in your work. Slideshare presentation of the Elements and Principles of Design.

Blog Post

Write a new Blog entry (category “blog”) that explains how you are going to use your creative freedom this semester in the Mac Lab.

Thursday Update

Write a Blog entry responding to the quote at the beginning of this post. What does it mean to you?  Copy the quote into a new post and write a one paragraph response.

You will be writing a Project Reflection for each project during the second semester.

New Students

“Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

That pretty much sums up the goal of your personal logos. You should be designing something simple, yet unique. Your logo is going to represent you, as a brand.

Before you can start on your own logo you must first learn about C.A.R.P. and the Holy Trinity of Typography. Head over to the project page for Logo Design. Read the project introduction, look at some examples under inspiration, and then jump down to the tutorials. Once you have worked through introductory the tutorials, have me check it off and then begin designing a logo for your design company. Remember: Always research to start the design process. The Logo Design page has a ton of links to inspiration for quality logo examples and other valuable resources.

A new semester begins . . .

Most of you did a great job of learning the technical skills required in the class. However, for many of you, your design skills left something to be desired. Our focus for this semester is to expand on the technical skills and to master the design skills. The focus is going to be on how well your portfolio demonstrates a knowledge of the Elements and Principles of Design.

In addition, you will be writing a “Post a Day” (technically a post per class period) documenting your journey. You are going to prove to me, with evidence, the grade you have earned.

Best of the Best First Semester

The following students did an exceptional job throughout the first semester. They created amazing artwork. Will your name be on the list for next semester?

LisetteB

SydneyD

EricaM

EllieM

ShayneS

TaylorS

SharonG

New Students

Welcome to the Mac Lab Experience. You will begin by watching ALL of the videos on the Rules and Expectations page and completing the Digital Agreement. The Rules and Expectations can be found under Students on the main menu.

Thursday Update

Once you have logged in with your user account, you will begin working through the New Media To Do List. What is the Mac Lab Community? How does cmd + tab work? Have you Setup Dropbox? Did you Create Folders? What about the CS5 Settings under CS5 Central . . . Did you Sync Colors, Create a Photoshop Inkjet Document, Setup Illustrator?

If you get through all of the setup, start on Logo Design.

We had twenty five students that came on on Saturday for extra credit. Where you one of them? If not are you happy with your grade? Remember, if you owe time you can not earn an A in this class.

The leaders in extra time for the semester are: James H (660), Michael A (460), Joey C (450), and Randy D (320). Great work.

Final

For the final you are responsible for making sure all of your work is on your Website and organized properly. This is your opportunity to WOW me. Show me what you have learned.

Fall Final Instructions | New Media Example

With design you have to be prepared to take chances. With digital art and design you have the benefit of being able to undo. Your chances of doing anything amazing depends on how many chances you are willing to take, how much you experiment, and how many times you have to undo when an experiment doesn’t work. Are you prepared to be original?

Multimedia Design

We are going to start a series Designing With Photoshop tutorials. The first one on the series is Designing With Color. These tutorials are going to expand on the basics of Photoshop and explore specific concepts of designing with Photoshop. Photoshop is an extremely complex program and creating anything great requires “Thinking Photoshop.”

A large component of “thinking photoshop” is to experiment and to mix concepts together. The concepts you learn in Photoshop do not operate in a vacuum. Just because you “used layer masks” for one project already doesn’t mean you won’t use them again. As you learn more Photoshop skills experiment with combining them together.

Continue working on your three Poster Design projects. How are you going to get people’s interest? How are you going to change their mind?

New Media

Is your The Walking Dead Poster finally done? If not you are a few weeks late . . .

What about your FOUR Desktop Wallpaper Calendars? If not next week is the last week . . .

How are your Genetic Mutations coming? Don’t forget to do all of the steps. You have to cut each mutation out and put it on a new background image.

Information on finalizing your Portfolio Website for the semester will be up next week.

Multimedia Design

Poster design combines the elements and principles of design, composition, and good typography. I am going to be looking for all three when I grade plus a clear message. Remember . . . the purpose to of a poster is to inform, persuade, or a combination of both.

New Media

Finish up your January Desktop Calendar (and your “The Walking Dead” poster if you haven’t already done so). Then begin on your Genetic Mutations. Remember to start with your picture as the base and add any crazy combination of facial features from the class. The goal is to make it look “weird”, but at realistic at the same time. You might not earn higher than a “D” if all the features don’t blend well.

Adventure was the first computer adventure game. Will Crowther was the original programmer and wrote the original version of the game with 700 lines of code in Fortran. It was played on old computer mainframes.

Your task today is to launch Adventure from the Applications folder and play. You are NOT going to work on any other assignments. The high score in each period will earn 60 minutes of extra credit in participation. HINT: Take out a blank piece of paper and draw yourself map as you go along. You may restart the game as many times as you like.

Watch these intro tutorials (courtesy of Mike Skocko) before starting your adventure: 01 | 02. Adventure map.

Thursday/Friday Update

First things first . . . the semester is ending in three weeks. Remember that half of your grade is participation. Have you checked your participation score lately? If your participation is not positive you will not earn an A in the class. Your task today (for 60 points of extra credit) is to come up and WRITE  your PARTICIPATION GRADE in the grade column on the clipboard and write +60 in the extra time column and circle it. I will not help you with this. You should know what the clipboard is by now. If it is unfamiliar to you, watch the How do I earn an “A”? videos on the Rules and Expectations page.

You should now know how much time you need to make up, outside of class, in the next three weeks if you want to bring your grade up. There will be ONE more Saturday Lab.

Dektop Wallpaper Calendars

There are FOUR calendars do for the first semester. Each month has a theme/requirement, check the Desktop Wallpaper Calendar page on the To Do List for specifics.

I highly suggest that you check Smashing Magazine for examples. Most designs I have seen so far (at least for December) are “C” level work at best. The December and January calendars should highlight your Photoshop skills and look professional. They should have great Typography. Remember Contrast and Alignment.

Once you finish learning learning about the Basics of Photoshop and about Blending Modes and Layer Masks, you will be creating a Desktop Wallpaper Calendar for December. I will be looking for you to show off your new found Photoshop skills. Use AT LEAST three high resolution images and composite them so that you have a cohesive design. Since it is December, your calendar should also have a theme to represent winter and/or the holidays. Don’t forget strong typography (leading, kerning, tracking, contrast, alignment, etc.)

New Media

Once you finish your December calendar you will be working on The Walking Dead Poster. Will yours be Wall of Fame worthy? You may also want to look at how to use Photoshop Smart Filters.

Gallery: 2011 – 2012 Logos

Gallery: Illustrations 2011 – 2012

We are going to start with the Basics and then move into Blending Modes and Compositing.

Watch How to Access Stock Photos Using Bridge.

You will be showing off your new found Photoshop skills by designing a Custom Wallpaper Calendar for December. **Remember** - School appropriate background. Or face the consequences.