Today's class was another fun one. Working in groups yesterday really helped the class get a little more dynamic so the critique of our homework today was really fun. Some symbols were harder to express (and interpret) than others but it was a great exercise which further emphasized how something so simple can be so challenging to communicate. The teacher had to laugh at symbol I came up with for "keep plastic away from children". I thought drawing a plastic bag on a baby's head with a cross through the picture might have been a bit crude but it seemed to get the message across so I was happy about that.
Later we discussed composition in page layouts, comparing the different ways you can balance a page; by size, shape, colour, symmetry, or asymmetry, and looked at some really interesting examples.
We then put this to work on an in-class assignment placing black boxes on a piece of paper to describe a given verb, then critiqued each one. It's interesting how different people interpret or describe the same verb. Like our teacher says, if you give 10 designers the same design project, you'll get 10 different results.
That's the beauty of design; there is no right answer.
More to come...
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
DAY 1 : The Basics
It almost felt rebellious to wake up this morning and not go to work. *snicker*
It was a really nice change though, especially since I've waited so long to find an appropriate course (and school) to attend. I had also forgot how much fun it was to go to art school. If only I could get paid to do that :)
I left myself lots of time for travel, to find my classroom, and a nearby coffee shop to grab a warm drink. I was surprised that Granville Island had such an energy so early in the morning!
After wandering the island for a bit and taking in the sights, it was off to class.
We begin with introductions, a class overview, and quickly dive right into the good stuff, discussing effective communication design. Many examples of past and current advertising campaigns were used to really drive the message home.
Later in the morning, the process of conceptualizing, research, and technique were also points focused on and the afternoon was spent discussing symbols and communicating a message through icons and images only.
For our assignment we were paired in 3's and given 3 different symbols to design as a group. After we finished conceptualizing them, each of us had to finalize and mount one design each, for presentation and critique in class tomorrow. As simple as it sounds, it was definitely a challenge to make our symbols communicate the way we wanted.
I guess we'll see how well we did tomorrow when we have an actual audience to interpret them.
More to come...
It was a really nice change though, especially since I've waited so long to find an appropriate course (and school) to attend. I had also forgot how much fun it was to go to art school. If only I could get paid to do that :)
I left myself lots of time for travel, to find my classroom, and a nearby coffee shop to grab a warm drink. I was surprised that Granville Island had such an energy so early in the morning!
After wandering the island for a bit and taking in the sights, it was off to class.
We begin with introductions, a class overview, and quickly dive right into the good stuff, discussing effective communication design. Many examples of past and current advertising campaigns were used to really drive the message home.
Later in the morning, the process of conceptualizing, research, and technique were also points focused on and the afternoon was spent discussing symbols and communicating a message through icons and images only.
For our assignment we were paired in 3's and given 3 different symbols to design as a group. After we finished conceptualizing them, each of us had to finalize and mount one design each, for presentation and critique in class tomorrow. As simple as it sounds, it was definitely a challenge to make our symbols communicate the way we wanted.
I guess we'll see how well we did tomorrow when we have an actual audience to interpret them.
More to come...
Sunday, July 5, 2009
One More Sleep
Sketchbook...check
Pencils...check
Creativity...check
Looks like I'm all ready to start my class tomorrow.
I'm a little nervous but I think more excited than anything. I'm really looking forward to learning, meeting new people, and going to a school I've always wanted to attend. Hopefully I can sleep tonight!
Stay tuned because I'll be blogging every day until the end of the week to give you the inside scoop.
Pencils...check
Creativity...check
Looks like I'm all ready to start my class tomorrow.
I'm a little nervous but I think more excited than anything. I'm really looking forward to learning, meeting new people, and going to a school I've always wanted to attend. Hopefully I can sleep tonight!
Stay tuned because I'll be blogging every day until the end of the week to give you the inside scoop.
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