Topic Site Reflection

What was this assignment and what was the process? What did I learn?

          In my web design class, for our final, we were asked to create our own website about a topic of our choice. My topic was the Olathe Northwest Soccer program. I used the html coding and css styles that I learned from previous projects, I was able to get a good starting layout for my site. I had 5 tabs/pages, Home, Boys Teams, Girls Teams, Coaches, and Records. I was unable to fill in all the content due to timing and trouble with the layout. I was trying to center the links but I had to get help from my instructor. I also had to put a minimum width so that the banner would fit in the div.  I learned new css styles and html tags to help customize my website.

What would I do differently? What would I do the same?

          I would probably change how I large I made the banner because it made it hard to work with div. I also probably would have changed how I did the tabs, I think that it looks ok and I like the style of it, but I did something that made them difficult to work with. I defiantly would not have changed the layout of my site, I like the way it is set up with the links across the top, right under the banner. 

Thoughts?

          Overall, I enjoyed this project. I wish I had more time to work on it. Because making the layout had so many difficulties, I did not have time to put in barely any content. But I did enjoy not having to follow a tutorial and trying to figure out certain things for myself, even though I did have to ask for help on a few things.

Here is one of my pages that has a little bit of content:

Semester 1 Final Reflection

What did I do this semester?

Photoshop:

          My favorite photoshop project was the Nature Man Challenge. It took me a approximately 3 class hours to complete. One of the biggest challenges was the hair because I still wanted all of details of the hair. I learned a lot of new skills in Photoshop doing this project that I previously had no knowledge of, like creating layer masks. A lot of the people that I showed this to, seemed to like it a lot. If I had to change something on this project, it would probably how I went about making the hair. I tired to make the hair look like a wave and I feel like it is hard to tell that that was what I was trying to do. Overall, I am pleased with the outcome of this project. I think that if I had more time to go back and fix the hair, it would look better, but it still looks good.

Illustrator:

          We have done a lot in Illustrator this semester, but my favorite would have to be the Raccoon Postcard.  The raccoon itself took about 3 class hour, the background took about 2. One of the challenges I faced when creating this had to be when I used pathfinder. When we had to follow the tutorials, it was hard to understand what certain directions were. Along the way, I learned how to use the warp tool and got a better understanding of the pathfinder tool. All the feedback I received on this project was very positive. If I could go back and change something, I would redo the whole raccoon now that I understand how to use pathfinder. Overall,  this project was probably my favorite out of all of my work because it was fun to create and i enjoyed making it. 

How did I use my time in class?

          At the beginning of the year, I used my time very well but I also thought that we were not given  enough time to work on certain projects. That improved throughout the semester, though. I felt like I used my time better on the projects I enjoyed, but I would get sidetracked on the projects I didn't necessarily like. If I finished early on the projects, I usually worked on the challenges that our teacher assigned as extra credit, but I rarely finished those because when I started, we were then assigned a new project and then a new extra credit opportunity. Before I would work on the extra credit, I looked at parts of the project that I could improve upon and tried to fix little problems. Outside of class I do not have the the Adobe programs to really work on projects. I try to come in early on some days and work in Illustrator or Photoshop, but mostly I stay after school to do that. I have also downloaded free software but they are a lot harder to understand because I am so used to the Adobe programs.

What are my areas of strength as an employee or graphic designer?

          I pick up on new skills and information pretty quickly. I understand how to use most of the tools in both Illustrator and Photoshop, but I would not say I am an expert. There are many aspects of both Illustrator and Photoshop that I have no clue on how to use. When I am assigned a project, I try my best to personalize it, make it look the best that it can. I use my creativity to help my projects visually appealing.

What are my areas in need of improvement?

          There are many areas where my graphic design skills can improve. Infographics is one of them. I like to make everything look balanced and clean, which can be a good thing, but sometimes it doesn't look good on an infographic. My Photoshop skills could also be improved because there are many thing I do not know about the program. We have spent more time in Illustrator than Photoshop, which doesn't bother me, but I would like to have a better understanding of Photoshop than what I have right now.

Summary

          This semester, in graphic design, I loved creating the raccoon in Illustrator, it was was fun and enjoyable. I like Illustrator a lot. One thing that I would change would be that we didn't work in  Photoshop as much as I would have liked. I learned a lot this semester and I now have a better understanding of graphic design as a whole. One goal that I have next semester is to just improve on my skills overall. I thought I did better than I thought I would've this semester and I am pleased with the outcome.