Amazing Inside

My first submission- Poster

The Amazing Inside poster had to portray how amazing Lakeshore Collegiate Institute is, through the amazing programs, teachers and students. I decided to originally approach this concept with an abstract style. I created a pattern of swirls, circles and horizontal lines in Illustrator as a test, and I liked the pattern so much that I brought it into Photoshop and started with my poster. A simple experiment with swirls, circles and lines got me thinking, how can such an uncommon combination work so well? The array of patterns represents all of the students at L.C.I, such a diverse group and yet we function like a well-oiled machine.

My first submission- Back of flyer

My first submission had a very simple colour palette, various blues white and black. I wanted to keep it simple, to keep the attention on the event and information not on my design, that is the most import element of design; to not distract from the information. After the committee voted, they liked my background patterns but they liked the layout of Lizzie’s better. So Lizzie and I collaborated to create a mash-up of our two designs. Her blank white square really became the focal point when placed on my complex background.

My first submission- Front of flyer

The font was the most difficult choice we had to make, had to pick a font that worked with the rest of the design and was legible from a distance. After some time and many different fonts tried, we reverted back to the font used in the Lakeshore CI logo, Rockwell. Rockwell worked the best, because it is a clean bold font that is legible from a distance, which was our biggest problem.

FINAL Lizzie's and my edit- Front of flyer

FINAL Lizzie's and my edit- back of flyer

The final product looked very professional, and Lizzie and I created an even stronger piece with ours combined. I learned through this project that collaborating with someone could lead to a stronger design in the end. I feel like my strength is design and appeal, while Lizzie was more precise and would focus on the formatting. I wouldn’t mind working with someone like Lizzie again, after each project I learn more of my talents and myself.

Infographic write up

To create a strong infographic, it must have the following qualities; clear formatting, easily read with effective information and visually pleasing. I believe I accomplished all of those characteristics within my infographic.

At first, I had no idea how to create a professional looking, informative infographic; but after looking around online at various layouts and the occasional tutorial, I had a plan. Most infographics I saw were in landscape view like a timeline, but I wanted to show the effort or climb I have to take to get to my goal, hence the elongated portrait format. I decided to use a silhouette of a tripod in the background; it leads the viewer’s eye to the title, the most important descriptor of the piece, without it the views wouldn’t know what I was talking about.

One difficulty I had with this piece was fitting all of my information onto my infographic without making it look crowded. I originally was going to not include the legend at the bottom of the page and have all of the information scattered on the tripod. I tried this and was not pleased, it didn’t look appealing anymore. So I decided to go with a simple black box at the bottom portion of my page and place all of the information there in a yellow font. Since I used the box, I was able to incorporate information that is more beneficial it, essentially making it a stronger piece.

To create unity within my piece I chose a consistent colour scheme, blue, yellow, black and white. I chose blue because a photographer must always keep calm and serine during a photo shoot or when speaking with a client. I chose yellow, to represent two things; first, a photographer must always have a burning passion for what they do because it is shown through their work, no passion no profit. Secondly, yellow also represents gold, as in money, photography can be a difficult profession to get into but once you are known, your salary can be of great quantity. Wedding photographers can charge $4,500 to $15,000 per wedding!

My favourite portion of this piece would have to be the title. It took me longest, I had difficulties keeping it legible yet still looking like a camera. I think I managed to make the word ‘Photographer’ look like a simplistic camera. I also enjoyed adding the simplistic details to the piece, from the pattern of the apertures in the background to giving the camera a “flash” I think really completed the entire piece and I am proud of this digital creation.

Artist Introduction Letter

I am a year 4 CyberARTS students with a passion for the digital arts but still thoroughly enjoys the traditional arts. I hope to pursue a career either in advertising as an art director or as a high school digital arts teacher.

            I really enjoyed doing my proposed works; it allowed me to create something that would be a good use of techniques that I learned over the past four years. It also allowed me to create pieces of work that would be an asset for my various portfolios. My confidence with my Photoshop skills and techniques has vastly grown since grade 9. I have also expanded my skills with Illustrator, Flash and Aftereffects. My visual arts skills have also grown an unimaginable amount since I applied for CyberARTS in grade 8. I look back at artwork and I am astonished and proud of my progress. I will work on developing my skills after I leave the CyberARTS program and I will apply my skill in my everyday life and hopefully in the workplace.

I wish I had focused more time on learning AfterEffects, my first try I got frustrated with the program and the feeling stuck with me and I didn’t try using it again. I realize this is a mistake, and I should of tried a different technique of learning the program, and I can now do that at a later date, if I decide to continue in the digital arts field. If I choose to continue in the digital arts field, CyberARTS has given me the passion and techniques that I will need to succeed in the work place.

These past 4 years in CyberARTS has allowed me to create a portfolio of work that I am proud to show to my choice of colleges and plenty of techniques that will be very beneficial at a later date in the work place. 

-Megan K Diercks

(side note- Ms Silverman, I do not feel comfortable putting the letterhead on this document, it has all of my contact information--- If you need it I can bring it in)