Is there any graphic design students out there?

[TracyD]

Hi

Just looking to see if there is anyone else doing the art in graphic design course (this part of the forum doesn't seem to be well used), if there is i was wondering how far you are into the course and have you enjoyed it, have you had any problems with any of the assignments etc. I have almost finished the first 2 assignments of this course and am hoping to have them in for marking soon.

I have been (self taught) drawing for many years and am finding some of the methods and tasks quite interesting, as it is making me re-look at what I thought I already knew!!! I have enjoyed completeing the first couple of assignments, although simple they have been challenging. I have always done my drawing in pencil and have not really used any other material, this course is forcing me to move out of my comfort zone and experiment with ink,pencil and paint.

well I best get on with it, hear from you soon

Tracy

[V.Weaver]

Hi Tracy,

Welcome to the forum! Thank you for posting in the graphics area. I'm pleased to hear you are enjoying the course so far and that you are breaking new ground working with new materials. This is what the course is all about, the more you are prepared to experiment, the more you will benefit.

I am looking forward to receiving your first submission of work. In the meantime I hope some Art in Graphic Design students will join the forum so that you can discuss your journey on the course with them.

Regards,

Vanessa (Art in Graphic Design)

[Aurora Perez]

Hi Tracy,

My name is Aurora. I have recently started this course as well but haven't made it as far as you yet. Only going through Unit 1 and 2 at the moment.

This is my first contact with drawing so I'm pretty rusty, it's like my head and my mind are not really connecting so I'm hoping to learn lots from this course. So far what I've started to notice is how hard it is to look at the general shape of objects and try not to get stuck or confused on the details. I've a long way to go but I think I'm already starting to look at things in a different way.

I'm looking forward to seeing some samples of your work. Best of luck with the ink! I haven't tried it yet myself but just got a set of indian ink and some brushes today so I've no excuse!

Chat soon,

Aurora

[V.Weaver]

Hi again to Tracy and Aurora!

It would be great to see the results of your experiments using ink and any drawings you are particularly pleased with. Why not post them on the forum?

Vanessa

[TracyD]

Hi Aurora

Good to hear from another person on this course.

I know exactly what you mean, I had dificulty taking the detail out (I wanted to be sure people knew what it was) the first exercise really helps you do this and one of the things I did was to look at an object or picture of the object, at a different angle eg upsidedown etc, this helped me to start to look at the object as lines and shapes rather than as the object itself (it sounds silly). I am still getting used to using ink and building my confidence with it as a tool.

As Vanessa says in the course notes practice, I have lots of doodle books lying around and I always carry a little note book with me, if I see something or I am inspred by something I doodle it down (this also helps with simplifing an object), and the really cool thing is that I have found myself refering back to these for ideas and insperartion.

I have just read my critique for the first two exersices and have passed so I am on a bit of a high, I am currently working on the third exercise and have tried several different ideas and am not happy with any of them yet.

I am hoping to add some of my course work to the forum soon (once I work out how!)

Keep practicing and enjoy

Tracy

[Michelle]

Hi fellow designers,

I am currently working on the optional units and have just completed the 'Logos' one. I enjoyed working on the unit and have provided some links below. I did not add address details to the letterhead or business card as I wanted to concentrate on the logo.

There was a choice of two colours to be used, one of which had to be black. I incorporated the flower into the ampersand (&) and thought this would give a good impression of a flower pot. I was originally going to draw a basket with flowers in but thought using the '&' would be a great substitute especially since the logo was for 'Baskets & Blooms.'





I hope you all enjoy the rest of the course.

Michelle

[V.Weaver]

Hi to all Graphics students,

It's great to see you all comparing ideas and experiences. Thank you to Michelle for posting her logo design and applications onto the forum. They look terrific and I hope they will inspire other students to follow suit and showcase their work. While assessing Michelle's work I recommended that she looks at the work of Herb Lubalin (1918-1981). He was an award winning and much celebrated graphic designer, font designer and typographer. Some of his font designs include Avant Garde, Lubalin, Ronda and Serif Gothic. He was a founder of ITC (International Typeface Corporation) and editor of U&LC (ITC's type magazine). If you are interested there are many websites out there. The following few might get you started:

http://www.itcfonts.com/Ulc/2511/HerbLubalin.htm

http://new.myfonts.com/person/Herb_Lubalin/

Also the following web page has links to access online archives of Upper & lowercase magazine. There are some interesting articles and examples of typographic work.
http://www.itcfonts.com/Ulc/4211/

I very much admire Herb Lubalin's typographic work, some of my favourites are the 'Mother & Child' and 'Families' logos. His designs in essence are so simple, yet beautifully crafted and eye-catching. See what you think! This post also repeated in the 'Graphic Designers worth knowing about' section where I hope to see some of your favourite designers mentioned.

Vanessa

[Michelle]

Thanks for sharing Vanessa.

The Mother & Child and Families logos are very cleverly done. It just goes to show all it takes is a little imagination!

Michelle

[V.Weaver]

Hi there Michelle!

I'm glad you can see the simplicity of these ideas. It's all about seeing the potential of a letterform or piece of punctuation. Herb Lubalin used exclamation marks, question marks, speech marks and ampersands to good effect. It's all about searching for the right fonts too! Good luck with your typography, I hope his work inspires you.

Vanessa

[TracyD]

Hi Michelle

Good to hear from you, what other modules did you select?

I really like the use of the (&) to create a basket and think that it is really effective yet simple and the colour you have chosen complements the black and doesn't make the overall logo overbearing.


Tracy