Typography

1.

1. I believe this is modern typeface, since there is a vertical stress in the letter "O", and also a drastic thick/thin transition of the strokes.
2. This is found on my phone case.
3. I find the typeface really appropriate for its purpose here because it makes the logo neat and legible.

2.

1. I believe this is sans serif, since the letters do not have the small projecting features at the end of each stroke.
2. This is found on my sweater.
3. I believe it is a really good idea to use sans serif here because sans serif makes the logo really simple and noticeable. The elongated "serif-less" letters really stand out against the plain background and easily draws the customers' attention to them.

3.

1. This is decorative typeface, since the letters are more elaborate and have designs on them.
2. This is found on my friend's hoodie.
3. I think it is really creative to use decorative typeface here because by incorporating text within the letters, the goal/purpose of the organization can be expressed just from the logo alone. The decorative font also adds to the playfulness to the logo, making it appealing.

4.

1. I believe this is script typeface.

2. This is found in Bloomingdale's.

3. I believe it's really creative to use script here because it really brings out the elegant feel of the accessories section. 

5. 

                      

1. I believe this is slab serif, since there is little to no transition between strokes and also the serifs on the lowercase letters are very thick.

2. This is found on Cindy's sweater. 

3. I think it's a really good idea to use slab serif here because it's straightforward and not too elaborate.

6. 

                     

1. I believe this is oldstyle typeface, since the serifs on lowercase letters are slanted.
2. This is found on the Merriam Webster's dictionary.
3. I think it's appropriate to use oldstyle here just because I can't picture a dictionary using decorative or script as its logo...

Questions & Summary: 

1. What color do you think represents the club?

2. What is the origin of the club?

3. What 5 words or symbols describe the club?

4. Were there any hardships or difficulties that you guys have encountered?

5. What are the main tools/resources?

The Cooking Club was first established in 2012, with Ms. Erlij being the club founder. Its main goal is to teach students how to cook using quick and simple recipes. The club members meet weekly, and each week a new recipe is given to the students with the ingredients as well as step by step instructions to guide them. The members do not need to be skilled in cooking to enter the club and they learn along the way. The club works with a variety of tools and resources, and the main ones include: sink, online recipes, ingredients, knives, spoons and forks. Seemingly simple, incidents do occur, such as cuts, if students do not handle the tools properly. However, the club has always managed to overcome these difficulties and was able to produce successful and delicious products. The color that best represents the club is rainbow.

Good Logo Designs

Prompt: Name one brand/logo that you own and enjoy and explain why you think the logo is well designed. Then choose one logo that you are not familiar with from the best logo design links. Choose one you think is well designed and explain why.

One of my favorite logos is from Versace. Its logo is a combination mark consisted of a picture of Medusa's head and the brand name. I think this logo is really well designed because first of all, its elaborate design really makes it unique and stand out. Secondly, I think the Medusa head really portrays the company's image for being glamorous, attractive, and extraordinary.

One logo I found using the website is a bee. I believe it is really well designed because you can tell immediately what the company is just by looking at its logo, since it is shaped like an actual bee. The way the designer manipulated with letters and font makes the logo really memorable and recognizable.

Portrait Transformation _(:з」∠)_

Original photos:

                                

After:

Process: I manipulated my model by cropping him out of the original photo and cloning him multiple times before placing him in the White House.
Concept: Hide and Seek
I believe the transformation is pretty successful..(?) because I carried out my concept and the image looks kind of realistic...I mean tried to make the figures as realistic as possible by blurring the edges and drawing shadows beneath his feet.

Symbol reflection _(:з」∠)_

1. While using Photoshop, what was the most frustrating aspect of the program and/ of the project?
For me, the most frustrating aspect of this project was making the transitional frames. When first creating the different layers, my transition was not smooth at all since I tried to add in the details all at once. For example, I drew the facial features all in one frame, and that made my transition to the next frame very abrupt. As a result, I had to go back and create additional frames to show the gradual change in the person's mood.

2. After completing the project, which tool do you feel most confident in using?
The tools I feel most confident in using are the paintbrush tool, the Elliptical Marquee tool, as well as the eyedropper tool. Since the paintbrush tool and the eyedropper tool exist in many computers' paint program, I was pretty familiar with them even before I was introduced to Photoshop. The Elliptical Marquee, however, was something new. But I soon grew accustomed to using it as well because my whole gif basically revolves around it, like the making of the head, the eyes, and the doughnut.

3. Which tool do you wish you were better at using? Why?
I wish I was better at using the different transformation tools (distort, warp, perspective & skew). They were just something new to me, and also really interesting to manipulate with when I tried to apply them. Though I tried to experiment with all four tools, I only applied the warp tool onto my gif, since I was still a bit unsure exactly how they work.

4. What would you like to create next in Photoshop?
For the next Photoshop project, I anticipate editing photographs we take and apply different techniques to them. For example, I once seen someone apply the water reflection effect to their photo, and the whole water ripple effect was just really cool. The perspective warp tool was also really interesting, since it allows you to change the perceived vintage point the photo was taken from.

gif _(:з」∠)_

Concept Board

The Ukiyo-e influence:

Ukiyo-e, meaning “pictures of a floating world”, was an art movement that flourished during the Japan Tokugawa movement (1603-1867). Its artworks were very native due to the seclusion policy Japan had adopted to prevent the potential influence of the European expansion. Ukiyo-e is distinct in that it blended many traditional elements of its culture such as the use of picture scroll (emaki) with decorative art. Its earlier works were characterized by screen paintings depicting entertainment districts of Edo, actors from plays, scenes from history and folktales as well as courtesans and well known prostitutes. However, the Ukiyo-e artists quickly transitioned to woodblock print. Besides illustrating entertainers, the artworks also began to depict ordinary people and urban life.

It is influential to the graphic design world because it was the first time other countries, especially countries in the West had a chance to learn about and admire the artworks in Japan. Due to its policy of isolationism, Japan has been developing a style of their own, in which it incorporated many traditional indigenous elements such as emaki. Therefore, as its borders were forced to open up, it introduced the Western artists such as Degas, Van Gogh as well as Henrl Toulouse with many different ideas since the Ukiyo-e style was so distinct and native. It introduced the graphic design world with a new and unprecedented style, and also influenced many European artists into incorporating black contour outlines, flat bright colors as well as flat figures into their own artworks, which are elements of modernism. 

References

https://www.inkling.com/read/history-of-graphic-design-philip-meggs-5th/chapter-11/the-influence-of-ukiyo-e

http://www.designhistory.org//Poster_pages/LaBelleEpoque.html

Good Graphic Design

Good Graphic Design

 New York University brochure

Inspirations in life ☆

Of all the motivations/inspirations I have in life, I would say one of my biggest ones was my neighborhood in Chicago. I especially loved the park, since it contained the majority of my childhood memories. I can still clearly recall spending my summer nights near the pond, hanging out or simply relaxing with my friends. I learned how to fish there also :P The tranquil environment would distract us temporarily from our burdens by forcing us to realize and appreciate how marvelous nature can be (When we lay on the grass and stare into the night sky). I enjoyed those moments of peace as they allow me to think rationally and sometimes even ponder on life.

The park is approximately 37.42 acres and has a baseball court, two retention ponds and three softball diamonds as its amenities.

http://www.vhparkdistrict.org/parks/grosse-pointe 

Letter Project Reflection _(:з」∠)_

• Describe your process when creating your letter project. How was the process helpful or not so helpful to you?

Despite all the troubles I had gone through with the drafting process, I have to admit that it was pretty helpful in coming up with my final design. Since I had to change my design multiple times due to reasons like lack of concept, too hard to create etc, I found the thumbnail sketches really helpful because they gave me a variety of options/backups to choose from. The gallery walk activity we did was also pretty beneficial to me as it provided me with feedback from my classmates. I got to see what other people thought of my project and was able to improve from their suggestions.

• How did you arrive with your concept/idea for your letter? How did you represent this concept visually in your design? (Give 2 examples)

Trying to come up with my concept/idea was actually the hardest part for me. I had come up with many different ideas throughout the course of the drafting process but had to abandon almost all of them. I originally thought of using a paper clip and bending it into the shape of J, however, the idea was abandoned along all the other ones due to the lack of concept. Luckily, my dog inspired me one day as I was staring into space trying to come up with a new design. From the way he was sitting, I was able to vaguely make out the letter "J" and that was how I settled on my current design. In order to make the letter more obvious, I had to alter some parts of the dog such as elongating the tail as well as the body (it kind of looks like a fox now..but I guess it's okay..) Since the dog is portrayed sitting, his body then represents the vertical chunk of the letter "J". Not only that, I also elongated and curved the tail to make it look more like "J" and not just a vertical line.

• What was the most challenging aspect of the project for you? Why?

Aside from coming up with the concept, I would say the most challenging part was probably drawing the fur. It took me 3 class periods and I still had to take it home. Since I didn't want the dog to look cartoonish, I watched a few tutorials on how to draw fur (but they didn't really help..) So the body of the dog ended up looking like a tree trunk for at least 3 days, until I consulted with Ms.Lee and was able to make it more realistic by adding in&shading with different colors.

• Are you satisfied with the project? Explain your answer.

Overall I am pretty satisfied with my project. Though the dog didn't turn out as realistic as I expected it to be, I guess it did succeed in representing my concept as well as the letter. Also, I was able to improve my drawing skills through this project, especially my ability to shade.

• If you can change anything about your design, what would you change or do differently?

If I could change anything about my design, I guess I would force my dog into that sitting position again and take a picture of him. That way I would have something to reference to when I'm drawing, especially the shadows created by the lighting and the texture of his fur to make my drawing more realistic, because right now it still looks a bit cartoonish.

                                               in progress

                                            final product