2018 term 2: week 8: Photo Manipulation & Portfolios

Graphic design students are finishing up with their environmental designs.  We have created some work that we will Photoshop into various locations that have been photographed.  We will expand on these techniques as we make creative photo manipulations.  I always look forward to seeing the ideas that students come up with when they do these projects.

Advanced graphic design is finishing up working on their term projects.  This week, they should finish up with the main project itself.  They will then put together their portfolios.  The portfolios include each of the elements from their project, along with detailed reflections of their work.  Students can use these portfolios as they apply to schools or for scholarships that require evidence of large projects they have worked on.

It has been great having the opportunity getting to know the students in these classes this term, and I wish the time hasn't gone so quickly!

2018 term 2: week 5 & 6: Typography, infographics, and Projects

Happy Thanksgiving!  Here is what we have going on in graphic design 1 & 2 the next few weeks.  Graphic design 1 students will be finishing up learning about typography.  We will complete everything by making our own typeface on the computers.  We will then start learning about infographics, and putting one together over a topic of our choice.

Advanced graphic design students will be working on their term projects and having weekly conferences.

2018 term 2: week 4: Branding Guides and Projects

Graphic design 1 students are finishing up their business stationery layouts and posting them to their portfolios.  They will then be learning about branding guides and identity standards.  The class will put together a guide for their own imaginary business.

Graphic design 2 students have turned in their project boards, and are now getting to work on their projects!  There are some great ideas and great work being done in class right now!!

2018 term 2: week 3: Identity Design, Branding, & Projects

Here is where we are at for graphic design 1 and 2 this third week of the term.

Graphic Design 1:  Students have finished up demonstrating their ability to use the design process.  Students created the digital version of their logos, then posted them to their online portfolios along with their reflections on what they have learned.  Students will next learn about branding and using consistent identities.  We will create some business stationery/promotional materials for our imaginary companies using our logos as the focus.  We will then put together a branding guide or identity standard.

Graphic Design 2:  Students are finished with their proposals and timelines.  Many students have turned in their project boards.  We will be sure all of our project boards are in by the end of this week, and will start working on our projects.  Students will also meet with me individually explaining to me their progress and letting me know their thoughts on how things are going.

2018 term 2: week 2: Photoshop and Project Planning

We are already through 1 week in our design classes, here is what we have going on this week:

Graphic Design 1:  Students have finished their research of careers and topics in graphic design.  I was really impressed with the work the students turned in so far!  We then discussed the design process that we will be using in our class this term with all of our projects.  The first project we will work on is an identity design with our initials.  We looked at examples of logos while playing a logo game, then came up with a list of rules to keep in mind when creating an effective identity design.  Students then sketched out ideas for logos they want to make for their next project.  We got class feedback, then drew a draft down on paper.  Before we create our logo on the computer, we are spending a week or so getting to know the digital tools we will be using in the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite.  One tutorial this week will involve turning a picture of a pumpkin into a glowing jack-o-lantern.

Graphic Design 2:  Students are finishing up their project proposals and time-lines.  This week, we will be starting to assemble our mood boards/project boards.  These will be sources of inspiration and focus for our projects this term.  Students will be collecting assets of similar work and putting it onto a collage along with the sources of where they found their information.  Once they get this finished, we will start the long process of working on our term projects!

2018 term 2: week 1: Getting Started

We are already into term 2!  Here is what is happening at NPHS in Graphic Design and Advanced Graphic Design:

Graphic Design students will be getting signed in to their computer accounts and familiarized with classroom expectations and procedures.  We will then start researching various career fields in graphic design.  Students will create a paper that covers their findings and will turn this in by the end of class on Friday.

Advanced Graphic Design students will also be getting familiarized with expectations and procedures.  Students will be creating a term-long project of their choice.  This first week will be used for brainstorming ideas, and writing their project proposal for what they will be working on for the next 9 weeks.  The project proposal will be due to me on Friday.

I'm looking forward to getting to know everybody in class and can't wait to see all the great things you create!

2018 term 1: week 9: advanced designs

The term is already about over!  Students have their environmental designs turned in.  This week, we will be working on a variety of advanced designs.  Some of these designs include Photoshop photo manipulations, animated cinemagraphs, and 3D model designs.  Students will be finishing this course with an understanding of graphic design, the design process, and with a digital portfolio with reflections and their projects.

2018 term 1: week 8: environmental design

Graphic design students are learning about the elements of photography, then are doing a variety of environmental designs with photographs that demonstrate different elements.  These activities will really allow students to start using the full potential of Photoshop.

2018 term 1: week 7: layout design

Students in graphic design turned in their infographics last week and we will be starting layout designs.  We will look at magazine advertisements, then will create a magazine cover.  Once finished with this, we will make a minimalist design or a Saul Bass style inspired movie poster of our favorite movies.  We are getting very close to the end of the term, so it will be important to stay working hard on these last few projects and finish the term with all quality work in our portfolios.  Have a great week!

2018 term 1: week 6: Infographics

Graphic design class is just about done with their typography.  We will create our own typeface using https://www.calligraphr.com/en/ as a resource.  We will then take our best work, write our reflections, and upload it to our online portfolios.  Next we are going to work towards a standard that deals with understanding copyright laws and free use guidelines.  We will tie this in with infographics.  Students will create an infographic using free use images (we will evaluate the user licences to determine if we can use the graphics or not), and students will also include a sources section of where they find their information for their infographics.

2018 Term 1: Week 4: Branding

Hard to believe we are already at mid-terms and have parent-teacher conferences this Thursday evening!!  Students have turned in their assessment on the design process and the identity design.  This week we will be working on our business stationery, then will turn in our branding guides to finish up the week.  Projects have been good so far, and I'm looking forward to visiting with you all at conferences this Thursday!!

2018 Term 1: Week 3: Logos and Designs

Last week graphic design courses learned some basics about identity design, and applied a project to the design process that we will be using this term.  Students will create their logos on the computer this week, then will use those digital designs with a variety of stationery projects.  I've seen a lot of creativity in class, and also am pleased with students displaying a strong desire to learn.  I hope everybody has a great 3 day weekend, and I'll see you Tuesday!

2018 Term 1 Week 2: Design Process

We have made it to week 2 of the term!  Now that we should have everyones' schedule finalized and no more transferring in and out of classes, we are ready to get serious about graphic design.  All students should have their paper turned in that covers careers and studies of graphic design.  This week we will be learning about the design process, and will start applying it to our first design of the term, which will be an identity design.

Students will be creating a logo using their initials, which they will be using for a variety of projects these next few weeks.  We have a full class, with no open seats, so I'm excited to see all the great work we are able to turn in!!  Have a great week!

2018 Term 1 Week 1

Welcome back to another great school year at NPHS!  I can't wait to get started with graphic design courses!  We will spend the first week of class getting to know each other and researching career field and educational opportunities in digital design.  We will also get our login and passwords so we can access the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite which we will be using for our projects throughout the term.  I'm looking forward to seeing you all and your creativity in class!!

NPHS TERM 4: GRAPHIC DESIGN

We are already in term 4!  Crazy!  Graphic Design students will become familiar with classroom expectations and procedures.  We will then start doing some research about careers and education in graphic design.  This is a short week, so we will work hard to get this done by the end of class on Friday, then next week will start our first designs!

Advanced graphic design will look at the schedule for this term, then will start brainstorming ideas they want to use for their term-long projects.  Possibly by the end of the week, we will start working on our project idea proposals and having conversations about the realistic and challenging expectations for what we all want to accomplish.

I hope everybody had a great break, and is ready to come back and get to work!!

NPHS graphic design 1: term 3: week 3: stationery

Graphic design students have finished their first projects, which was to make a logo using their initials.  This was to meet our standard CIS.HS.1.11: Identify project's message and mission.  The students did a very nice job, especially for it being their first project, and being new to the design process.  Here are a few samples of some logos they put together that I really liked.

The next step we are going to work towards is creating an identity for this logo.  We will be paying attention to styles, colors, type-face, etc.  Students will be using the identity they create to design a set of business stationery.  They will make an 8.5 x 11 in. letterhead, a 9.5 x 4.125 in. envelope, and a business card (sizes on this one may vary, but a popular size is 2 x 3.5 in).  Students have researched ideas that they like, then will start sketching ideas and will get into groups to collaborate and critique ideas that they have come up with.    I can't wait to see how they turn out!

graphic design: term 3: week 2: Design Process

We've made it through our first week of graphic design!  Students have turned in their papers where they researched careers and fields of graphic design.  We are now working on our design process which includes the following steps:
1. Purpose
2. Research
3. Planning(outlines, sketches, draft, feedback)
4. Production

Your students should be able to explain what each of these steps mean, and what we do at each stage.  We have been going through this process for the first time with our first design, which is an identity design.  We are creating logos using our initials.  Students played some logo identification games for their research, then we discussed what rules we feel we need to follow to create effective logos.  We then sketched ideas on paper.  We did a gallery walk to give everybody feedback, then went into small groups to have conversations about our work and what direction we want to go with our projects.  The next step is to create our designs on the computer.  We are learning to use our digital tools at the same time as this, so we have a lot of new things going on at once here.  Below is a brief tutorial of a logo design we will do together as a class.

Once we are finished with our digital design, we will create portfolios on crevado.com, then will upload our design with a reflection to be graded.  Students have been doing a great job so far, and I'm excited to see how these first designs turn out!