ending on a strong note

We are down to the last week of class!  Graphic Design students will be turning in their photo manipulations and any other projects they wish to be graded before the grading window closes.  Students will also be reading the First Things First Graphic Design Manifesto, then doing a series of reflections with a final design for their final.  This will be the students' last chance to demonstrate their knowledge and learning from class this term.

Photo Manipulations

We are all finished up with our environmental designs, and students had some creative ways for our school to look.  Below is my favorite design and placement from the class.  Good job creating the design, and using Photoshop to make it look like the design is actually there.

Today we looked at some photo manipulation work from Alex Koshelkov and Erik Johansson.  Students are now starting to gather ideas and resources to create some photo manipulations of their own.  This is the project that really allows students to express as much creativity as possible and to unleash everything that Photoshop has to offer.

Environmental Designs

This week we are starting our next section over environmental design.  We looked at some examples in class, then students took the school halls with digital cameras for a scavenger hunt of environmental design examples from our hallways.  When students returned, they put together collages of the examples and explained in their own words what environmental design is, and how their pictures are good representations of their definition.

Students will next take a picture of  a blank area of the school, then will create a design for that area.  To finish up the project, students will Photoshop their design into the picture of the blank area.  We will then upload our projects and reflections to our online portfolios.  I'm very excited to see how these turn out!

Great Poster Examples and Happy Thanksgiving!

We have finished up our project where students created a minimal movie poster, and had some very creative ideas.  Here are the 2 best projects that I had turned in to me.  Great job with these projects, and keep up the great work!

Also, I hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving.  Safe travels to all, and we will see you next week!

Saul Bass Poster Project

We are nearly finished with our infographics which means it's time to introduce our next project.  As we learn about layouts and how to effectively fit design elements into a given space, we will be putting together a movie poster.  Saul Bass was a graphic designer who was also the father of animated/moving credits in films.  He also made iconic famous movie posters with his unique minimal style.  Students will be looking at some of the work of Saul Bass, then will choose a favorite movie of theirs to remake the movie poster for, but in the style of the great Saul Bass.  Projects will be 36 in by 24 in.  This will be a great project to allow kids great creativity to use appropriate space of a layout, appropriate color and type-face, as well as have exposure to a graphic design pioneer.

Infographics

This week we will start our next project which is our infographic.  Students will spend some time researching different kinds, then will gather information for their project.  Next, students will sketch ideas out, then assemble their infographic on Photoshop.  Students will need to include sources of where they got their information.

Below are a few examples of some student work from our typography projects that I thought turned out great.  Keep up the good work!

Good Work and Typography

Students finished up with their business stationery and identity standard/branding guide as we are finished with our identity design unit.  Here are a few good examples from the class.

Our next section is about typography.  Today we watched a TED talk about David Carson, who makes creative designs with typography.  Students then are finding an idiom and creating a design that integrates the words/phrase used to an illustration.  Student work from the past has been very creative with this, and I know that this term will be no different.

Good First Designs

As we are working on our identity design section in our introduction to graphic design course, I wanted to post a few designs I thought turned out well, especially for our first efforts.

We have had a lot of creative ideas, and we are building on our skills every day.  It's exciting to see how this group of students has grown already, and will be fun to see their work change as they progress through the course!

Branding Guide Assignment

Once we are finished with our business stationery, we will be ready to wrap up our identity design unit.  The last part of our identity design unit involves creating an identity standard document for our company.  First, I want you to look at an example of one from Chadron State College (http://www.csc.edu/collegerelations/identity.csc).  

For an example of what your identity standard will look like, check this link http://graphdesportfolio.blogspot.com/2012/10/identity-standard.html Open up Microsoft Word.  You will create an Identity Standard for your business.  Your Business Stationary needs each of the following:

Title Page

Introduction (who you are, why it’s important to have a consistent identity)

Typography (what types of fonts, font colors will your organization be using in various forms)

Colors (what colors are you using for your logo?  Unofficial names, RGB and CMYK values)

Logos (Show logos, include examples and description of inappropriate and appropriate logo usage)

Promotional Material (include business stationery, banners, flyers, etc…)

Web Content (list a web page where your business would be found, list page colors, fonts, content, web banner, etc…

Conclusion (Tell how you find it important to ensure quality with your brand, give a contact where someone can find help when wanting to use your brand and identity standard)

Once the identity standard document is completed, we will print it off, staple it, and turn it in.  The project is worth 20 points.

Photoshop Ninja Training

Now that we have finished our introduction to Photoshop CC, students are now ready to start showing me Photoshop skills for their technology competency grade for class.  Students will have a list of Photoshop skills that I feel are essential for a strong foundation of the program.  Students will demonstrate me these various features throughout the term.  When they have successfully demonstrated a feature to me, they are awarded points.  Finally, after a certain amount of points, they will be recognized with Photoshop Ninja Achievement Badges.

Here are the badges...

Hong-Kong Phooey Badge  (2 points)

Michaelangelo Badge          (6 points)

Steven Seagal Badge         (10 points)

Bruce Lee Badge              (12 points)

Chuck Norris Badge          (16 points)

Yoda Badge                      (20 points)

Stationery

Graphic Design students will be putting together their portfolio this week that we will be using to post our work.  The first post will include last week's logo along with a 5-7 sentence reflection.  Our next project for the portfolio we will be working on is a set of business stationery that is for our imaginary company that we created the logo for.  Students will create the following elements:

letterhead 8.5 x 11 in.
business card 3 x 2.5 in.
envelope 9.5 x 4.124 in.

We will look at some examples, talk about consistent identity, and will sketch some drafts, then will create our product electronically.  When we are finished we will make a presentation spread that will allow students to present their stationery in a professional way, then will post along our reflections.

Identity Design

I cannot believe how fast this first week went!  Graphic Design is off to a good start.  Students started off with a research project learning about the disciplines and history of graphic design.  The students then started learning about identity design.  We practiced through the design process first, then used the process to help up get started with our logo project.

Students are creating a logo for an imaginary graphic design business that uses their initials.  We talked about logo design, looked at many examples, then started sketching ideas on paper.  Students will be finishing their sketches and will have a final drawing that they will turn in Monday after the weekend.

Once we turn in our work we will take some time to become familiar with the software we will be using this term.  Because of the short amount of time, and a majority of our projects will be raster images, we will use primarily Adobe Photoshop CC.  It is not the best for logo use, but it will be better for our projects we are working on down the road.

Once we are comfortable with the software, students will be able to create their logo in digital form, then will post to their online portfolios.

Term 2 Graphic Design

Excited to get this second term of graphic design started!  We are starting with a research project, then will be learning about the design process.  Stay tuned to this blog all term for updates!

Finishing Strong

The last week of the term is here.  We will be finishing up our photo manipulations, then will be reading the Graphic Design First Things First Manifesto, then writing a reflection about the document as well as their learning from the class.  These will be the last two grades entered for the term.  Again, I can't say enough how much I have enjoyed this class, and I hope to see them all again in advanced graphic design!

Great Work, Great Class!

NPHS Graphic Design Students have really been doing a good job all term long.  I have all of our magazine covers graded, and we had a lot of well-done designs.  Below are a few of the designs that I thought turned out really well.

We are about to finish up our environmental design section in the next day or so, then we will be getting down to the photo manipulation and our final reflection for the term.  I'm really going to miss this group of kids and wish I could have them for another 9 weeks, and they have come so far, and still have a lot of potential.  Hopefully I can persuade most of them to sign up for advanced graphic design!

Environmental Design

Students are finishing up their magazine covers, and turned out some very creative and solid looking projects!  Next week we will be learning about environmental design.  Students will look at examples of environmental design, then will go on a digital photograph scavenger hunt around the school.  Next, they will put their pictures together as a collage, and will explain what their definition of environmental design is, and whey their pictures are a good representation of their definition.

Students will then take a photograph of a blank area of the school, and will make a design for that area.  Students will finish their project by photoshopping their design into the photograph that they took.  I'm very excited to see how these projects turn out, and to see what the kids' vision of our school is, and how they can make it come to life.

Layout and Publishing

Next week, we will be learning about layouts and publishing materials.  We will start with a magazine cover design, where students will measure components of a magazine cover, then will use those measurements as a template to create a cover of their choice.

The second project will require students to choose one of their favorite movies, and make a Saul Bass inspired movie poster for the film.

Both projects really allow for students to use their creativity and skills they have developed so far in the term, and continue to build on them.  I'm really excited to see what they come up with!

Infographics

This week we will be starting our next project, creating an information graphic.  an infographic is an area of graphic design that combines art, design, creativity, and information technology.  Students will look at examples of infographics, then will create one over a topic of their choice.  This class has turned in great projects all quarter, and I can't wait to see what else they come up with!

Typography

This next section for graphic design, we will be learning about typography.  We will start off with a TED Talk featuring David Carson, then will do some activities that get students to be thinking about type-face and font usage.  Students will finish up with a creative typography project where they will use typography to illustrate a phrase using words and images.  This class had turned in great work so far, and I am really excited for the next set of projects to come in!

Student of the Week (week 2)

Great job again from all of my graphic design students this week.  A lot of great business stationery was turned in, and the identity standards were also great!

This week's NPHS Graphic Design Student of the Week did a great job of staying with her plan and sketches, then making it into an effective design.  Her business stationery is included below.  Great job, and keep up the great work!

Identity Standard/Branding Guide

Once we are finished with our business stationery, we will be ready to wrap up our identity design unit.  The last part of our identity design unit involves creating an identity standard document for our company.  First, I want you to look at an example of one from Chadron State College (http://www.csc.edu/collegerelations/identity.csc).  

For an example of what your identity standard will look like, check this link http://graphdesportfolio.blogspot.com/2012/10/identity-standard.html Open up Microsoft Word.  You will create an Identity Standard for your business.  Your Business Stationary needs each of the following:

Title Page

Introduction (who you are, why it’s important to have a consistent identity)

Typography (what types of fonts, font colors will your organization be using in various forms)

Colors (what colors are you using for your logo?  Unofficial names, RGB and CMYK values)

Logos (Show logos, include examples and description of inappropriate and appropriate logo usage)

Promotional Material (include business stationery, banners, flyers, etc…)

Web Content (list a web page where your business would be found, list page colors, fonts, content, web banner, etc…

Conclusion (Tell how you find it important to ensure quality with your brand, give a contact where someone can find help when wanting to use your brand and identity standard)

Once the identity standard document is completed, we will print it off, staple it, and turn it in.  The project is worth 20 points.

Student of the Week!

Back to a new school year, and I'm excited about our first NPHS Graphic Design Student of the Week!  A lot of quality work was turned in, especially for our first major project.  This project really stood out to me as he did a great job of using the design process, went back and made changes to improve his work, and turned out a nice looking logo for the start of our identity design unit.  I posted the picture below.  Great job, and keep up the great work!

Business Stationery

This week students are finishing up their logos and are posting them with their reflections to their online portfolios.  The next project is to create a set of business stationery for their graphic design companies.  Students will be creating the following products...

Business card (2 x 3.5)
Letterhead (8.5 x 11)
Envelope (9.5 x 4.125)

The materials should have a similar identity and look like they all belong together.  Think about where to use the logo, what color schemes to use, and what you should put on each product.  When we are finished, we will upload our final work to our portfolios, then post our reflections.

Great Week!

Students have been doing a great job learning Photoshop and demonstrating their skills and techniques to me.  I can't wait until next week when we get back to our business logos and create them on the computer!  Friday we will have a design challenge where students will be a making a bulldog logo that will be used for a fundraiser.  This will be a great opportunity to demonstrate where we are as young graphic designers and will also give some fun competition, which will provide for a real-life design situation.

Photoshop Week!

Yesterday we did a practice run through the design process, and used it to design a logo using our initials. The last step we need to complete for our logo is production. Before we can do that, we will be taking a break as we learn how to use some of our digital tools. This week we will be learning how to use Adobe Photoshop cs5.5. Students throughout the term will use Photoshop to complete their projects, and will also demonstrate skills with the program to earn points towards their Photoshop competency grade. Students will be recognized as they earn various amount amount of points in what I call the Photoshop Ninja Program. Here are the badges that the students will be earning this term:

Hong-Kong Phooey Badge (2 points) Michaelangelo Badge (6 points) Steven Seagal Badge (10 points) Bruce Lee Badge (12 points) Chuck Norris Badge (16 points) Yoda Badge (20 points)

What is Graphic Design?

Graphic design is getting right to work by doing a short research project on what graphic design is. Students will answer the following information on their paper: Students will research and write a paper over the following information: What is your definition of graphic design? A brief history or timeline of graphic design. Where can we see graphic design today? Examples of fields or disciplines of study in graphic design. Careers that involve graphic design. Why did you decide to take a course in graphic design? The assignment listed above is due Monday when they walk in the door. Students will also need to bring their notebooks Monday as we will start our first design in class.

Welcome back!

Welcome back to school, and to graphic design class! I am Mr. Petersen, your graphic design instructor, and am excited for this 2015/2016 school year! Graphic design class has new computers to use this school year (yeah!!), and will also at some point be updating to the new adobe creative cloud. This will give students the opportunity to use cutting-edge, industry driven tools that are used in graphic design and digital design! I will use this blog to communicate important course information, as well as to post student work. I also stay active on twitter, so be sure to follow at @np_techbiz. I will also send home a syllabus with students on Wednesday. Other exciting news is that we now have advanced graphic design as both an independent study and as a full class. This will be perfect for those who are looking to further sharpen their skills, and learn how to apply their knowledge to industry-related projects. I'm looking forward to seeing all the creative work that this new class of young graphic designers will make, and to seeing everyone back to school!

End of the Year, First Things First

Next week is the last week of the term, and of school for the year.  We are finishing up our photo manipulations today.  Monday - Wednesday students will work on their final exam.  I will give the details for it down below.  Thursday we will clean shop, make sure images are all on our google drives and off the computers.  We will also clean out our folders and reset passwords.

Final Exam Details:

The First Things First Manifesto is a document that was created by a group of graphic designers in 1964. The purpose of it was to be a proud proclamation about the intent of graphic design being a way to express creativity and feeling in stead of as only a way to make money through advertisements.

You need to go to the following link http://www.designishistory.com/images/publications/manifesto.jpg and read this document. After you read the statement you will open up a word document and complete each of the following:

1. Make sure your name is at the top in the header section.

2. Type a 5-7 sentence paragraph explaining what the First Things First Manifesto means to you as a young graphic designer.

3. Type a 5-7 sentence paragraph explaining to me how you have grown as a graphic designer this quarter.

4. Type a 5-7 sentence paragraph explaining what grade you feel you have earned this quarter, and why.

5. Copy the picture of the document from the link, paste it into photoshop. You will then create a graphic using only that picture (cutting and moving around letters into a shape would be an example.

6. Shrink the picture to fit on your word document and place it above your paragraphs.

7. Spell check, make sure it all fits to one page, and make sure your name is on it.

8. Print to printer 1537, hand it in to me.

9. Place the paragraphs AND THE PICTURE on your blog.

10. All of this needs to be done in order for it to get any grade at all.

It has been a good term, and a very fast school year.  Each year seems to go quicker than the one before.  It's always tough to see terms end and say good-bye to our seniors, but it's just as exciting to know that we will be welcoming a new batch of students next fall.  Have a great summer!

Recent Student Work

Here are some projects that have been recently turned in that I thought were well-done.
These first two projects are environmental design experiments where students re-designed an area of our school.  I thought both ideas brought creativity to an area of our school in unique ways.

This next project is where students made a Saul Bass or a minimalist movie poster for a movie that they liked.  I thought that this poster turned out really well.

Congratulations to these students for their quality work!  We're nearing the end of the term and it's amazing to see how far some of these students have grown.

Photo Manipulation

I think the best thing about any kind of digital media is how it allows us to create anything we can see in our imagination.  The last major project we will be working on in graphic design class involves creating a photo manipulation.  We will watch a TED talk from Erik Johansson where he explains where he gets his inspiration, and how he creates his work.  We will also watch a few speed-art demonstrations from Alexander Koshelkov who creates very dynamic and detailed work.

Students will then come up with an idea, sketch it out, then use photoshop to make a photo manipulation of their own.  This comes near the end of the term, so students should really show off the extent of their photoshop skills they have learned during this class.

Environmental Design

Today we start learning about environmental design.  Environmental design is one of my favorite disciplines in graphic design because it really allows for designers to make a more creative and fun looking world.

Today we will look at examples of environmental design, and will put together a collage of our examples.  We will then create a meaningful working definition of what we thing environmental design is.

Next we will create a design that we would like to see turned in to an environmental design.  Once we complete this, we will find a photograph of a blank boring area and will photoshop our design into that area.  Here are a few examples of what the final product should look like...

When we are finished with our project, we will upload them to our portfolio and post a reflection.

Saul Bass Movie Posters

Saul Bass is considered by many to be the father of motion picture credits.  Some of his early work was with the movie Vertigo, Psycho, and the original Oceans 11.  His innovation and creative ideas made opening and closing credits be seamless and one with the movie itself.  It's easy to see his influence even today in modern movies.

Saul Bass also designed some great minimalist movie posters.  The next project students will be working on is to create a Saul Bass-inspired movie poster for one of their favorite movies.  We will start off by observing and comparing examples of Saul Bass work.  Students will then decide what movie to make a poster of.  Next, students will create a series of sketches of what their poster will look like.  Finally, students will create their poster (12 in. wide by 18 in. tall) on photoshop, post it to their portfolio, then type a reflection.  Here are some examples of what an effective Saul Bass-inspired poster may look like.

Remember, bold colors, solid recognizable shapes, creative layout, and creative typography all come into play here.  These are things we have been leaning about all term, and here is another way for us to demonstrate our ability to effectively put them together as a tribute to a legend in design.

Creative Designs from Class

Students this past week have really been working on creativity and it is starting to show in their work!  Here are some of my favorite designs that have turned up in class recently.  Keep up the good work!

Collateral Design

Next week we will be working with print and collateral design.  The important terms students will come to know are layout, margins, columns, gutters, horizon lines, and grid.  We will start off by learning how these terms come into play with collateral design.  Students will then take a magazine cover and measure all of the components and make a diagram/sketch of it on paper.  Once this is done, we will double check to make sure everything is measured and labeled on their sketch properly.  Students will then put the magazine cover away and use their sketch to make a magazine over content of their choice, and will fit it to the parameters of the measurements they diagrammed out.  After students sketch their created magazine, they will make it on photoshop.

Infographics

Infographics or information graphics are used as a way to creatively visually communicate data to a group of people.  They are more symbolic and artistic than using regular charts and graphs.  Infographics are really becoming a popular trend in today's business world and it is common to see them posted on web pages, social media posts, and presentations.  NPHS graphic design students' next project will be to create an infographic.

The first step is to look at examples online and from student work.  Next, students will brainstorm a list of ideas to create an infographic about.  After brainstorming, students will research their information online and record it in their notebook, along with the sources of where they found information.  Once the information is gathered, students may start sketching out the layout and how to organize the information.  When they get feedback and critiques for their sketches, they can create their infographic with photoshop, then post it to their crevado portfolios along with a 5-7 sentence reflection.

Typography

We have finally finished our unit over identity design.  Students turned in their identity standards and some of them were very very impressive.  Next topic we will be learning about is typography.  It's amazing how the same letters printed in different ways can pass on entirely different meanings.  We will look at some unique examples of letter and type usage.  We will also watch a TED talk presented by David Carson.  Students will then be creating a typography project using idioms.  The project will involve using the words and images combined together to make the idea visual.  Here is an example...

I'm excited to see the ideas that everyone comes up with, and how well they turn out!

Identity Standard Document

We have completed our logo and created some business stationery while paying attention to common identities.  The last part of our identity design unit involves creating an identity standard document for our company.  First, I want you to look at an example of one from Chadron State College (http://www.csc.edu/collegerelations/identity.csc).  

For an example of what your identity standard will look like, check this link http://graphdesportfolio.blogspot.com/2012/10/identity-standard.html Open up Microsoft Word.  You will create an Identity Standard for your business.  Your Business Stationary needs each of the following:

Title Page

Introduction (who you are, why it’s important to have a consistent identity)

Typography (what types of fonts, font colors will your organization be using in various forms)

Colors (what colors are you using for your logo?  Unofficial names, RGB and CMYK values)

Logos (Show logos, include examples and description of inappropriate and appropriate logo usage)

Promotional Material (include business stationery, banners, flyers, etc…)

Web Content (list a web page where your business would be found, list page colors, fonts, content, web banner, etc…

Conclusion (Tell how you find it important to ensure quality with your brand, give a contact where someone can find help when wanting to use your brand and identity standard)

Once the identity standard document is completed, we will print it off, staple it, and turn it in.  The project is worth 20 points.

Congratulations NPHS Graphic Design Student of the Week #1 (term 4)

This week we created our logos and have started our business stationery.  Our graphic design student of the week really did a great job with all of his sketches, following all directions, and used the design method very effectively.  He also got his homework turned in and is a positive participating member of class every single day.  I really can't say enough good things.  Here is his logo, which turned out great, and I am excited to see what he creates the rest of this term!

Digging into Identity Design

Now that we have a strong foundation of digital tools we can use for class, we are ready to move back into identity design.  Last week we created sketches for our logo project.  Here are some of my favorite sketches from the class so far...

Next, students will be creating their logo on the computer.  We will make our logo on a 3" x 3" canvas, and will talk about use of colors, transparencies, and how that can be affected by the type of file we save it as.

Once we publish our project, we will create an online portfolio at https://crevado.com/ so we can post our work and reflections online for others to see.

Essential Photoshop Skills

This week we will be taking a pause from designing our business logos, and will learn the fundamentals of adobe photoshop.  We will use this week to learn the basics, and to explore by using student-choice tutorials.  This week will give students a basic foundation to build on for using photoshop.  Whenever there is down time or during M/A, I expect students to productively work at learning more about photoshop.  To help with this, students have an assignment that will be due the second to last week of school.  They will demonstrate ten skills from my essential photoshop skills list.  Here are the skills:

create, manipulate canvas

place, cut, copy, & paste

create, manipulate layers

rasterize

move objects

transform

selection tools

use brush, pencil, eraser

utilize filters

change layer properties

image adjustments

save as jpg vs psd vs png

other

When students demonstrate a skill, they receive 2 points (you may only demonstrate 1 skill per day, so plan accordingly), and will be recognized for their achievements along the way with NPHS Graphic Design Photoshop Ninja Badges.  The badges are as follows...

Hong-Kong Phooey 2 points

Michaelangelo 6 points

Steven Seagal 10 points

Bruce Lee 12 points

Chuck Norris 16 points

Yoda 20 points.

Showing me 10 skills gets you the full 20/20 score for your photoshop competence grade.

Identity Design

As we near the end of our introductory activities, we will start moving on to our first design.  We have learned about the steps to the design process (purpose, research, plan, sketch, feedback/critique, publish), and will now jump into identity design.  This will involve look at various branding and logos, then starting to make our own.

One more time!

Graphic Design is starting it's 4th term session this week.  We will be learning classroom rules, expectations, and procedures.  We will spend the rest of the time learning about the history and disciplines of graphic design.

Graphic Design Students of the Week

A few photomanipulations that were turned in at the beginning of this week really stood out to me with their creativity, and especially in quality of the work.  I'm really proud of these two students as they not only did great work with their photomanipulaitons, but have also been great students to have in class all term.  Great job, and thanks for being positive members of our classroom culture!

Final Reflections

Graphic design students will be finishing up their course reflections today.  They read the First Things First Graphic Design Manifesto, then wrote a series of paragraphs explaining what the manifesto, and graphic design means to them.  Students also reflected about their growth and effort during the course.  The reflections that have been turned in early have been well-thought-out.  I'm excited to get them all read.

The End is Near

Friday will be the last day of third term graphic design class.  I have really enjoyed this group, and will be sad to see them move on.  So instead of counting down the days, I will look at as 5 more opportunities I get to spend with this class before they continue their journeys.

We will be finishing up our photomanipulations on Tuesday.  On Wednesday and Thursday we will be working on our final reflections.  The final reflection is a series of essays and one small design that will demonstrate their learning and thoughts of the subject as they conclude the class.  This reflection will be due by the end of the class on Thursday.  On Friday, students will empty their student folders, and move all of their projects, and other files to a thumb drive or their google drive.  Students will be able to leave with an abundance of learning, a variety of resources, and a digital portfolio of their work that they can use later down the road or look back on to see their growth.

Photomanipulation

Today we will be learning to use Photoshop to make dynamic pictures composed of multiple images placed together.  Erik Johanson has a great TED talk where he shows how he creates his amazing art, and we will watch some speed arts made by Alexander Koshelkov.  Students will make some concept sketches of an image they would like to create, then will find elements of that picture they would like to use, and will then use their Photoshop skills to create their art.

If time allows, we will create a second project but only use photographs that they take with digital cameras.

Environmental Design

Next project is over the subject of Environmental Design.  We will be looking at some examples of environmental design in class, then students will go on a scavenger hunt through the building photographic examples that they see.  When they return, they will put together their images into a collage that they will post to their portfolios along with a reflection explaining what their definition of environmental design is, and whey their images are good representatives of that definition.

Next, students will take a photograph of a blank area of the school building.  When they return they will make a design for that area, then we will photoshop the design into the photograph to make it look like their design actually exists in that area.  When we finish, we will hang up pictures in the areas of where they took the photograph so others can see their vision of how they imagine our building.  We will also post the project to our portfolio with a reflection as usual.

Graphic Design Students of the Week

We have had a number of short weeks due to work days, holidays, and a snow day which has limited the number of student of the week awards, so this week I will be giving out two awards.  Congratulations to these two students for completing well-executed projects.  

The magazine cover was a great design, and I really like how well the images mesh together with the background.  I like the border matching the grass in the lion picture and the title.  Also the diagonal cut on the bottom section of pictures looked sharp and added to the overall effectiveness of the cover.

This Saul Bass-inspired poster is for Dr. Who, and I thought the minimalist style was really captured putting together the silhouette and the nice bold thick lettering.

Congratulations to these students for their work, and I thank them for their efforts in class.  Keep up the great work!

Saul Bass Posters

Today in Graphic Design class we will get our magazine covers uploaded and reflections posted to our portfolios, then we are moving on to our next project.  We will learn about Saul Bass the father of movie credits.  We will look at some of his work, compare it to modern work so we can observe his influence, then will look at some of his movie posters.

Students will then be making a Saul Bass-inspired movie poster for their favorite movie.  We will make these 12 in wide by 18 in tall.  Students will make sketches, get them approved, and then will create it with Photoshop.

Collateral Design

Next project we will learning about collateral design.  Students will be able to define collateral design, margins, columns, horizon line, gutter, and grid.  We will look at examples of magazine covers, then students will measure the components of the design and create a sketch of a template of a cover of their choice.  After they finish the template, they will design a cover of their content that will fit into that template.

Graphic Design Student of the Week (Week 4)

Congratulations to this week's NPHS Graphic Design Student of the Week!  This week's winner has really done a good job all term long of using the design process, using class time wisely and having well-done creative projects.  This was by far the best infographic that was turned in this term.  Good use of pictures, good arrangement of data, and also a very well-written reflection when the project was turned in.  Great job, thanks for your hard work, and for being such a great student!

Infographics

Next project we will be making infographics.  Infographics are visual ways to display information in a creative way.  Students will research a topic, record their sources, then arrange it into an information graphic.

Weekly Awards!

Congratulations to this weeks photoshop ninja achievement badge winners!  Bryce earned his Michaelangelo badge.  Will earned his Steven Seagal badge.  Shalee and Will earned their Bruce Lee Badges.  These students really have done a great job at learning essential photoshop skills which will only make them better graphic design students.

Also Congratulations to Vanessa as this week's graphic design student of the week!  Vanessa did a great job with her identity standard and also put together a nice typograph.  Thank you for all your hard work, and great job on all of your projects!

Typography

We are officially done with identity design, and on to typography.  We will be watching a TED talk with David Carson and looking at a lot of cool examples of typography.  We also have done a scavenger hunt to find example of typography in the world around us that we will look at as a class.  We posted our examples via twitter and on our class bulletin board and have some great samples to work with!  Eventually, we will start working on a typography project using a play on words in a picture form.

Graphic Design Student of the Week (Week 2)

Graphic Design Student of the Week isn't only about turning out solid projects.  The end result is obviously very important, but other traits are important to being a good graphic designer.  Attitude, work ethic, and problem solving are all extremely important.  If you lack these traits, you cannot consistently turn out quality work.

This week's graphic design student of the week was gone from school for a week.  When he returned, he not only worked his tail off to get all of his work caught up, he didn't take any short-cuts in the design process.  He tried many different ideas, chose challenging elements for his work, and finished up with a great identity to use for his graphic design company.  I posted some sample work from some promotional materials he created.  What impressed me most was after I was gone from school Friday, the substitute note said that he was very helpful in class.  So not only did he get all his make-up work turned in, and finish with quality work, he was able to help the class and substitute teacher after he was finished.

Great job, and keep up the great work!  Thanks for being a positive necessary part to our classroom culture!

Identity Standard (Identity Design Final)

As we were creating our logo and business stationary, I we were actually creating an identity for our graphic design company.  What we will do next is create an Identity Standard document.  First, I want you to look at an example of one from Chadron State College (http://www.csc.edu/collegerelations/identity.csc).  

For an example of what your identity standard will look like, check this link http://graphdesportfolio.blogspot.com/2012/10/identity-standard.htmlOpen up Microsoft Word.  You will create an Identity Standard for your business.  Your Business Stationary needs each of the following:

·         Title Page

·         Introduction (who you are, why it’s important to have a consistent identity)

·         Typography (what types of fonts, font colors will your organization be using in various             forms)

·         Colors (what colors are you using for your logo?  Unofficial names, RGB and CMYK              values)

·         Logos (Show logos, include examples and description of inappropriate and appropriate logo       usage)

·         Promotional Material (include business stationery, banners, flyers, etc…)

·         Web Content (list a web page where your business would be found, list page colors, fonts,                   content, web banner, etc…)

·        Conclusion (Tell how you find it important to ensure quality with your brand, give a contact       where someone can find help when wanting to use your brand and identity standard)

When finished, save as a .pdf and upload to your capzle.  I also would like you to print this off and turn it in.  You do not need to add a reflection to this project, as the work itself is a reflection of our identity design unit.