Post #18

Semester Reflection: What did you learn?  What was your favorite and least favorite projects?  Any suggestions for improvement?

What I learned in this class was how to use illustrator and some extra elements of Photoshop. My favorite project would be making the rocket on illustrator. My least favorite project would be the book design project. Something I suggest for improvement would be taking out some of the vocabulary words because some of the words seem like they don't need to be defined (such as uppercase and lowercase)

Post #17

Identify 5 colleges that offer graphic design (or related) majors.  For each, list the school name, location, graphic majors that are offered and requirements for admission.

Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising San Diego, CA

Graphic majors offered: Outdoor Marketing, Environmental Advertising, Video, Web, Motion, Alternative Advertising

Requirements: Portfolio and entrance project for major, test scores, transcript, application, essay, letters of recommendation

Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI

Graphic majors offered: Film, television, publishing, retail, web, interactive media

Requirements: Portfolio, drawings, application, transcript, test scores, writing samples, letters of recommendation

Pratt Institute Brooklyn, NY

Graphic majors offered: Graphic Design/Illustration, Digital Design, Interactive Media

Requirements: Official transcripts, essay, artist portfolio

School of the Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL

Graphic majors offered: Visual communications

Requirements: portfolio, test scores, transcripts, letters of recommendation.

Art Center College of Design Pasadena, CA 
Graphic majors offered: Sequential Design, Motion Design, Font Design, Transmedia, Cinematic Motion, Lettering, Editorial Print, 3D Motion Graphics

Requirements: Portfolio, academic record, test scores, transcripts

Also, answer the following questions in your own words.

What is a portfolio?
A portfolio is a showcase of work to show off your artistic ability.

What is the importance of a portfolio?

It is important to have a portfolio because you want to show people what you can do so you can get in your specific job or specific school.

Post #16

How many points are in an inch? How many points are in a pica?
72, 12

Of the seven classifications, which classification(s) would best work as body type? Why? 
San-serif because as more and more signs, advertisements, and websites are starting to use san-serif text in their advertisements. They are moving on from the old serif. It is also very easy to read.

Identify the lowercase characters that have ascenders?
b, d, f, h, k, l, t

Identify the lowercase characters that have descenders?
g, j, p, q, y

Classify the following typefaces and briefly explain why you believe it should be classified that way:

blackletter; it is very stylized and has many different strokes around it

old style; it has some serifs in some of the letters, mainly consistent letter sizing

script and cursive; its type style is cursive and it can also resemble a person's handwriting

modern; it is simple to read

Post #15

Define typography? the text style

What is the difference between font and a typeface? a typeface is a family of fonts

What is the waist line and what does it indicate? What is a base line and what does it indicate? The waste line is mainly used for lowercase letters. A base line is a line that lines letters together on the same line.

What is counter? the space in inside letters like "o" or "c"

What is cap height? uppercase letter height

What is x height? lowercase letter height

What is an ascender? the top part of letters such as "b"

What is a descender? the bottom part of letters such as "y"

Describe a serif? a font style where there are things sticking out on the top and bottom of a letter

What is leading? space between lines of text

What is tracking? the equal space between letters

What is kerning? the variable space between letters

What is a point? How many points are in an inch? a unit of measurement used for type; 72

What is a pica and how many are in an inch? a unit of measurement used for type that is larger than point; 6

How many points are in a pica? 12

When was Blackletter invented and how was it used? during the Johannes Gutenberg; in print

Describe the characteristics of a Blackletter typeface? thin horizontal/thick vertical lines; based off old style scribes

When was Old Style invented and what was is based on? 18th century; roman fonts

Describe the characteristics of an Old Style typeface? thick serifs

When were formal scripts developed? 17th/18th century

When were casual scripts developed? early 20th century

Describe the characteristics of a Script typeface? formal; handwritten style

When was Modern typefaces developed and why? 18th century; to make text easier to read; more stylized fonts and more contrast

Describe the characteristics of a Modern typeface? little serifs

How early can Sans Serif typefaces be found? What happened? 18th century; Caslon IV removed it

When did they become popular? during the Second Industrial Revolution

What does "sans serif" mean? without serif

Describe the characteristics of a Sans Serif typeface? no serifs attached to typeface; varies in widths and heights 

When was Slab Serif developed and why? during the 1900s because it was a new style that has not been implemented yet 

Describe the characteristics of a Slab Serif typeface? thick and blocky

Describe Decorative typefaces? has different stroke/thickness sizes; varies in different styles such as handwriting styles, serif, and san serif typefaces

Post #14

Who is Stephen Kroninger?
an artist known for his collages

What kind of art/design does he produce?
collages

In what publications/media studios has his work been featured?
children's books, editorials, animations
New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek

Post 2 samples of his art.  Answer the following questions for each piece...
Was this piece published? Where?

What principles of design were utilized within the piece? How? 

What elements of design were utilized?

This piece was published on a Rolling Stone magazine titled "Eminem"
There are many patterns and textures within the piece from his collage.
He uses a comic book design.

It was published in his art studio
He put the collage together to make a face.
Elements of design that were utilized are shape and color.

Post #13

How can you as the designer use principles of design to help compose a page?

What are the principles of design (define each in your own words)?

I can use the four principles of design to help compose a page, which is known as C.R.A.P.
C.R.A.P. stands for contrast(differences between two opposite colors), repetition (a repeated piece of art), alignment (not crooked, straight), and proximity (putting similar things together). 

For each of the 4 principles of C.R.A.P., find an example that utilizes the principle within the design. You should have 4 DIFFERENT sample designs. For each, discuss how the particular principle is used.

Contrast: The dark objects stand out from the light background

Repetition: The tiles repeat to make a design for the wall all connected together

Alignment: All the different colored figures are lined up in the order of the color wheel

Proximity: A shape of white space is left behind to make a graphic of a dog

Also, answer the following questions in your own words.

How do you add a layer mask to a particular layer?
click on the selected layer and click on "add layer mask"

What two colors are used to create the mask?
black and white

Describe the process of using a layer mask?

you change the opacity of the layer

Post #12

Define principles of design? guidelines of design

What do the principles of design affect? contrast, repetition, aignment, proximity

What is the difference between the principles of design and C.R.A.P.? How can contrast help a design? C.R.A.P. are the principles of design. A contrast helps the viewer bring the attention to a specific area.

What is wrong with having too much or too little contrast in a design? The viewer may not get the message that is shown from the picture.

What is the key to working with contrast? pleasing the eye of the viewer

What are some common ways of creating contrast? negative space, color

What is the principle of repetition? images repeated

Describe ways that the principle of repetition helps the composition? It brings attention to the big picture. 

What are ways that you can incorporate repetition into your designs?  Use a repeated design as a background of the photo.

What should you avoid when working with repetition? too much repetition

What is the principle of alignment?  making text and words proper in the same line

What is the principle of proximity?  grouping similar things together

What is the principle of proportion? the scaling of different objects

Define symmetrical balance? when both sides of a piece of art is the same

What is another name for asymmetrical balance? informal balance

Define asymmetrical balance? when both sides of a pice of art is not the same

What is a focal point and how is it created? where the audience is focused on; by making the object stand out, making it look obvious to pay attention to

How many components of a composition can be a focal point? 1

What ways can emphasis be created in a design? contrast, size, color

What is the principle of harmony and how is it different from unity? when a design flows together; not as well uniformed

What is the principle of unity? What three ways can unity be obtained? elements, contrasts, and principles are used 

What is the principle of variety? differences and contrasts

What three ways can a designer add variety to a design? color, size, contrast

Post #11

Who is Andy Warhol?

Andy Warhol is an American artist who started the pop art trend. 

Within what art genre did Warhol work?

Pop Art 

Define the genre?

Pop art is a genre of art that is based on pop culture that started around the 1950s.

During what years was he alive?

1928 - 1987

Post 2 samples of his art. Answer the following questions for each piece.

Title of the piece?

32 Campbell’s Soup Cans

Describe the color that he utilizes.  Does he use any particular color scheme?

The color he uses are the ones that are exactly the same shown on the actual soup cans.

What do you notice about the artwork itself?

He has the cans in a repeated pattern. The colors on the paintings are solid to the point where they don’t look like the painting was painted.

Title of the piece?

Marilyn Diptych

Describe the color that he utilizes.  Does he use any particular color scheme?

The left side of the colors have a violent color scheme to catch the viewer’s attention.

The right side has a faded, black and white color scheme.

What do you notice about the artwork itself?

I noticed that this painting was made after Marilyn Monroe’s death. This painting was probably made in tribute to her death.