Raymond Vasquez

  In this last blog post, reflect on the final project. 1. What was the project about? Detail the different parts of the project. 2. Were you able to apply the Gestalt Principles of Design and use them to guide your creative decisions? 3. What was the most challenging part of the project?   4. Drop in a final screenshot of the Poster here? 1. This project was about creating a style guide for The International Print Museum. That means I had to develop a gathering of sources to organize in a package that represented the company. These sources included the logo, logo variations, logo icon variations, fonts, and color swatches for CMYK, RGB, and Pantone, and finally creative possibilities for the logo to be used on shirts or on posters. I had to use a pre-stylized package in order to sort my sources with precision. Anytime I found a mistake it was due to the pre-flight feature in InDesign to point out any break in the style, for either text, characters, or their color.  ...

I have learned that working with Pantone colors can be a lot of fun. To be clear, Pantone colors are print ready pure colors. They are best saved as an EPS. or Pdf. I used Photoshop in order to darken the shades with a cool blue, and approach the highlights with a unique orange. At the end of adjusting my image, I decided to covert my color my from duotone to CMYK. 

In order to retouch a poor low resolution logo, I had to improve the quality the best I could before i could prepare it for vector. I used Photoshop to manipulate the image resolution and then I altered the levels of the altered image to be close to black. When I exported my work as a png to Illustrator, I made sure to use image trace in the windows tab to vectorize the image. At this point, I created several artboards to manipulate several copies with color or without color. I lastly made sure that my product was exported as a png.

When I approach designs, I make sure to sketch out the layout so I have a rough idea of approach before I use the computer. This allows me to construct space for my elements and strategize how they plan to interact through principles.  Here are a couple of drawings I made for WORD magazine and the final layout:

The new year has helped me realize I am further along my graphic design career than where I started. Initially the software was elusive. Now I am at a point where I can problem solve using the software myself. As an artist, I am learning to create a variety of art to find my strengths. I know I want to work in book publishing with an emphasis on book exterior and interior layout. I think blogging is a great way to express where I am. I know that I am further along than where I started because I have reference points. My instagram is @polymath81 😄 Here are a couple art pieces!

1. Pantone colors cover a lot of the image. They change the darks and the highlights, so it makes sense to choose wisely colors that can contrast each other well. Pantones are crucial to know about, but because it is more expensive in practice, CYMK is going to be preferred for print. CYMK allows a variety of print colors for less, while Pantones are best to choose from one to two colors. 2. The process of working with Pantones over CMYK is restricting. Understandably, there are fewer options available. CYMK colors must be translated to convert into Pantone for more diversity. The printing process is easier to use with fewer Pantone colors. The printed final product is deeply rich with those fewer colors. With CMYK, a viewer can look into the mixes between Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black to see the different colors.  3. The most difficult part of this project was trying to create a mood using two colors. I did not want to create a piece with random colors so I chose blue and green...

  How did you meet the objectives of this project? Do you feel you were successful? Write about your creative process in manipulating the image? This assignment was difficult in that there were many steps. The benefit of following directions is that it leads to a fuller understanding of a narrow process. I did my best to follow the steps. I practiced using the clone stamp tool and the patch to get rid of the tears and bends within the photo. I could not spend all my time too focused on each step. I had to keep moving fast or risk my perfectionism taking control. I got frustrated a few times but I rested in between. For that reason, I feel confident.  The creative process is one where mistakes are allowed to happen. I have to learn how to work around them. I realize that not every viewer is able to tell what else needs work on. For me, the paintbrush was upsetting to use. Each time I used it, if I let go of my click, I would have to click again for the targeted selection. Howev...