Graphic Design Semester Reflection

Valuable Takeaways

Technology 

One takeaway I learned was getting better at using technology. I learned how to use many tools over the year and semester. I learned how to create better mockups by using photoshop and the different tools such as the clone tool and direct select tool. Technology is very important and is very important to know how to use because our whole world I becoming consumed by technology. I did however face some challenges over the year. Some times I didn't know how to do certain thing so I had to look online to find a tutorial. For example when creating some of my mockups I didn't know how to make it fit perfect but by looking up a tutorial and learned how to use the direct select tool to drag one edge to where I needed it to go.

Collaboration

Collaboration is a very big part of graphic design because it can really take your project to the next level. I would ask my neighbors and peers to look at my work and have them tell me what I needed to correct or how to make something look better. My class also did critics which meant getting together with a group and well critiquing your work which was very helpful and made your projects in the end much better. Being able to collaborate is a very important skill to have because you have to talk and work with people all the time. Even though I didn't exactly love going in front of the class or even getting in a small group to show my work I know it was very beneficial for my learning and overall helped make my projects even better.

Communication

Communication is everywhere so it was no surprise that we would have to communicate in graphic design. We had to do a presentation over a movement in graphic design and talk about it for a few minutes. This definitely benefited me and my classmates. This was good practice for the real world because we got to practice getting up in front of a group of people and just talking and trying to pitch the movement and why it was important. I was not very excited to go up in front of the group but in the end it wasn't actually that bad. I also communicated with my peers and asked them for help and if something looked okay durning some of my projects.

Project Management

This is very important skill to have because once you get into the real world your going to have things that you have to turn into your boss by a certain day and have to be able to know how to use your time to get it in on time. For each of my projects my teacher would give me a certain day that it would be due and I would have to turn it in on time or points would be deducted. If I wasn't finished and the due date was coming up I would have to stay after and work on my project so then I would be able to turn it in on time. I also had to learn how to manage my class time so I could finish my project in on time.

Leadership

Leadership is definitely one for my weaknesses, I'm a very shy person so I usually let other people take the lead. I feel though I have gotten better at this. In some of our small group critics I would offer my thoughts and actually join in on the conversation. I know that's not what everyone thinks leadership is but for me its very hard to take charge, so being able to actually talk and share my thoughts is a very big step from earlier this year when I would normally say nothing until the teacher would call on me. I still do need to work on this and break out of my shell more.

Strengths

Some of my strengths from this year were defiantly knowing how to use most of the technology. I knew more than most of some of my peer and learned some tricks. I could tell my peers how to do certain things and help them out most of the time. If I didn't know how to something I could always look it up and try and find a tutorial. I still to have a lot to learn about Photoshop and Illustrator

Weaknesses

My biggest weakness is definitely leadership and talking in front of people I don't really know. For example the presentation we did was very hard for me and I really didn't want to do it. I could barely look up but it definitely helped me grow and was very good for me to do. I improved a lot since the beginning of the year. At the beginning I wouldn't talk unless the teacher would call on my to add my thoughts durning cretics but by the end of the year I could contribute on my own and didn't need to be called on. 

What to do With What I've Learned

I will be using all of the things I learned in the future no matter what job I have. For example you will always have to communicate with other people so its a trait you have to get very good at. Also technology is always evolving and is everywhere. Knowing how to use technology is very useful and will most likely always be. Collaboration is also very important because in the real world we have to be able to work with people we don't always want to work with.

What Would I Change?

I would have liked to have more opportunities to collaborate with partners or in groups. For example making more group or partner projects so you have to work with other people and you would be able to put two minds together to create a really cool project. I would also like to add more photoshop projects because I really enjoyed them and think they come very handy when we had to access the skills to create mockups for our projects.

Summary 

Overall I have grown so much this year from being a little more outgoing and breaking out of my shell a little more. I also got to learn so many useful things that I will be able to carry with me for the rest of my life and the rest of the time I'm in e-comm. I have also built so many relationships this year in graphic design and made new friends. I also know I can come to my teacher without hesitation if I every have a question about graphic design. I also thought it would take a lot less time to complete a project than it actually did. I thought it would only take one or two days to complete a project but in reality it takes about one to two weeks to complete. I really enjoyed this year and learned a lot.