Graphic Design Reflection

Learned
Throughout my sophomore year I have learned a lot in graphic design. I learned a lot about the adobe suite and in particular Adobe Illustrator. I furthered my learning of pathfinder and I ended up using it a lot more than I thought I would. Back when I was a freshman, Ms. Lofquist said that we would use pathfinder a lot and that I should pay attention, and at the time I thought that we wouldn't and that she just wanted us to pay attention but looking back, I used it a ton. I am proud to say that I think I have mastered pathfinder and a whole lot of the adobe applications. I think that I can really excel in package design, logo design, and personal branding.

Learning Process
I learned a lot in this class through visual aid which personally I thought was not the best idea, but in life you can't always get what you want, so I pushed through anyways. Ms. Lofquist always ran run-throughs on the board while we watched and took notes but it was always really tough because the board was really blurry. One time she did do a hands-on approach to teaching us and I really caught on. I was able to follow along step for step and that was for package design. Because of this I really do think that I have a firm grasp on package design as a whole.

Importance
A lot of students ask themselves, "when will we use this?" or "when will this be important in our lives?", well I can vouch that everything you use or learn in graphic design will come back around sometime in your life. Whether or not that it with graphic design will depend but it can be just as simple as using a computer and knowing how to. It could even be as complex as creating a logo for a business on the rise. I will use all I've learned on the adobe suite to help me further my learning in e-Comm.

Strengths/Weaknesses
I think that I have improved a lot in this program overall but if their were a couple of aspects that I think I have excelled  in a lot, it would be business card design, package design, and pathfinder. I think that especially in package design I really understand the whole process and the thought of creating something and being able to fold in into a fully functional container makes me super excited. I think that I could also improve a couple of aspects such as my poster designs and also the InDesign Application. I think that for poster design it is tough for me to understand the whole thought process of viewing it from the eyes of the viewer. As far as InDesign goes, I think that it is more inexperience with the software rather than the fact that I am bad at it. Practice makes Perfect!

Further Usage
I am going to use this knowledge as I further my learning in the e-Communications program. I plan on using my newfound knowledge in graphic design to help me in Web Design because when I make websites I have to make headers for websites and that requires a thorough knowledge in Adobe Illustrator which I now have thanks to my graphic design class. I will be able to be a step ahead of the other students in this class because I can use all I've learned to help making websites.

Changes
If I could change anything I would probably change the way I was taught to hands on learning as the screen was always blurry and I couldn't follow along. I would also change some of the stuff I spent my time doing because their were some projects that I loved doing and some project that I hated doing a lot. I would like to do more of what I like and less of I don't like. 

Conclusion
I think that this year was well spent and I wouldn't change a lot. I think that I have learned a lot and I think that all of it would be a large help in later in life. Especially if I turn out to be a Web Designer. I had a fun year and I look forward to next year.