M. Genevieve Hitchings | COMD3505 - D071 | SPRING 2022

Discussion: Introductions

Add a comment to this post introducing yourself to the class. Please include your academic interests as it relates to Communication Design.

  1. What is you area of concentration? And why you chose your major?
  2. What has been your favorite class to date?
  3. What was your favorite assignment?
  4. Where do you feel your strengths lie within Communication Design?
  5. What would you like to get better at?
  6. What do you enjoy reading, listening to, watching, and doing in your spare time? Or anything else you want to share!

Please add your introduction by this Friday 2/04 It should be between [250-300 words].

Before next class, read the comments and get to know your classmates! 

For extra credit, reply to one of your classmates’ comments. Do you have something in common? Did you learn something?

10 Comments

  1. Ariana Dejesus

    I’m Ariana, and I’m majoring in communication design and like to study advertising/marketing. I have a lot fun designing logos, campaigns, etc. I chose this major because it’s something I’ve been studying since early high school. I had experience with photography, filming, advertising, running a campaign, web design, etc. Because of this, it just felt natural to continue on with it. My favorite class would most likely be graphic design principles ll. I designed posters and a booklet based on Shigeo Fukuda’s work in that class, which I am still very proud of. I think I love those projects I made because I developed a big interest in Fukuda’s history and the meaning behind his work. I felt that his messages were still very relevant to today, so I put 100% of my effort into trying to get my work up to his standard while also learning new techniques for designing. I think my strength lies in thinking up ways to communicate an idea. I sometimes struggle trying to execute those same ideas, which is something I want to work on. I’ve been told that I’m talented at what I do, but I have yet to make myself see that in all honesty, so I’m hoping these classes continue to help strengthen the skills I have. Lately, I’ve been playing Valorant, reading/watching Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Demon Slayer, and practicing my instruments in my spare time. I can play the acoustic guitar, bass, and ukulele.

    • Kayla Williams

      Hi Ariana! That’s awesome, I’ve designed a few logos for a few people who know I do it too! I really wish I had known how much more interested I was in graphic design when I was in high school that way I could’ve been better than I am especially because I feel like the younger you pick up on something, the better you become as the years pass. Thats awesome youre good at communicating an idea, because usually when Im given idea I’m actually okay with executing it, my weak spot is thinking of an idea D: SO cool youre able to play those string instruments, I’ve always wanted to be able to have a talent with music because I think its so cool how people can pick up an instrument and just make music, I would’ve loved to do the piano, but I think my hands are too small lol. Looking forward to see yours and our other classmates work this semester !

  2. David Goldstein

    Hello classmates, my name is David Goldstein, and I’m a senior at City Tech. This semester, Spring 2021, is my final before graduation. I have always been interested in graphic design and would manually manipulate graphics with copy machines before learning the Adobe programs. The ability to create, think about the user experience, and change perspectives on issues are thrilling and something I thrive to achieve.

    Over my career as a student, I’ve met many talented professionals who only wanted the best for their students. I’ve learned a lot from each class and strengthened my skills. One of my favorite classes is Publication Design. The final for the course was to design a 28-page magazine. This project is one of my strongest and showcases my ability in publication/editorial design, a field I’m interested in.

    I have many strengths as a designer, and a few include my ability to pair fonts, use color theory when selecting a pallet, and my attention to detail. Typography is an element of design I value, and the fonts I choose make sense for the design and express the right feel/attitude. Color theory is necessary because, if done right invites the viewer to connect deeper with the work.

    I also strive to advance my skills as a student, no matter how confident I feel. I value feedback and critiques because it allows me to think more critically and understand why elements may not work (or work well). Yet, motion design is an area that I have little experience in and somehow neglected to learn even the basics.

    I value culture, diversity, and the arts, enjoy NPR, podcasts, autobiographies, and museums. I appreciate traveling and experiencing other cultures. I’m a cinephile and enjoy movies (new, old and classic) and try to watch a movie or two each week. Lastly, I’m a fan of Broadway and attend live performances as often as possible.

  3. Kayla Williams

    Hello, my name is Kayla and my area of concentration is graphic design. I chose this major because it has a lot to do with creating things by coming up with ideas through drawing. Drawing is one of my favorite things to do and graphic design was something that most suited me.
    My favorite class to date was foundation drawing and figure drawing because it helped me touch up better and learn new skills for drawing. I enjoyed those classes the most for all the practice I was able to get to improve the way I would draw.
    My favorite assignment was being able to do a self portrait of myself. When I was younger the only self portrait I did before was when I was in 5th grade, and it was pretty terrible. But when I did it for my figure drawing class, I was amazed what being taught how to drawing proportions of a face and shading could help really bring a drawing to actually look like a real human and not just a cartoon sketch.
    I feel my strengths that lie within communication design comes from drawing, mainly in digital art, or maybe even coming up with taglines for making an advertisement.
    I would like to get better at my typography, although I’ve taken the typography courses here at city tech I feel like sometimes I can improve it much better than what I was newly taught.
    In my spare time, I enjoy watching any new shows on streaming services. I enjoy listening to music like hip-hop, pop, rap, dance, and r&b. I love drawing on my iPad digital art, and painting things from references.
    I’ve been able to sell a few logos to people who have seen my art or know I’ve done it before and that was also pretty fun for me to do. Of course I work better when people are very specific about what they want the logo for or even how they may want it to look.
    Above all, I’m a friendly person and I enjoy learning new skills to help improve my inner graphic designer.

    • David Goldstein

      Hello Kayla, I enjoyed reading your introduction and I’m happy to hear that you’ve improved your drawing techniques over the years and while at City Tech. I am about to graduate and I’m amazed at the skills I have improved during my time as a student. I enjoy working with typography and I’m more than happy to help you choose fonts if you want any insights as we begin to work on our projects. Good luck this semester!

  4. Edwin Fernandez

    Hello there everyone. My name is Edwin. I’m a senior in studying graphic design. I especially like identity design and advertising design as well, and working along with a client to create something that many people will see is something that I like to do.

    A class that I have really enjoyed was an Identity Design class where we were paired up with a student from the hospitality program to create a restaurant visual identity, where they would act as our client and we had to come up with branding for them, including logos, menu designs, merchandise, signage and stationary for them. It was a great experience where we learned how to communicate with our clients to deliver what they wanted, and it even showed us how we have to go with what the client wants, as some of the students we worked with would choose designs that we weren’t too happy with as the final design, something that was a little eye opening since we can’t always have the clients choose the design we want.

    My favorite assignment was in the same class, we had to create a whole bunch of things for our clients and going through the process of showing sketches and moving through the process was very interesting and a great way to show how it’s done. Once the final deliverables were finished it felt great to see how far we got and how it all came together to create a visual identity for somebody and their business.

    My strengths I believe lie in typography, color theory, and attention to detail. I have always liked Typography and the challenge of pairing type to create a visually pleasing work, and if its done well it can really bring a whole design concept together. As for color theory, knowing how to combine colors is an art thats tough to get a handle on but once I did it all makes sense and can affect the mood of what we create.

    I am always welcome to feedback and suggestions, and I feel like we are constantly learning and growing as designers. That being said I would like to learn web design more in depth as I think that going forward there is a huge demand for digital content, and learning how to create a great website can be very beneficial for us, since we can place our portfolios online and a good website design can even get us hired.

    During my free time I like to listen to music and watch movies. I also like to hang out with my friends and work on personal projects when I have the time.

  5. Megan

    My name is Megan, and my major is communication design in advertising and marketing. I’ve always been a creative person and the one people would go to when they needed something creative done. So, when choosing a major it was easy picking communication design. Out of all the classes I had to take I would say Design Team was my absolute favorite. It was a lot of really cool projects and tested my design skills the most. One of the projects was choosing a book prompt, creating a book cover and Instagram ad campaign. I’ve never done one before, so it was extremely challenging but in the end, I ended up with a great portfolio piece. I feel as though my skills lie more in the designing aspect of the projects. Sometimes for me the research and coming up with an idea Is the hardest part for me. Once I do have it down, the design part comes naturally and I’m able to get the work done quickly. I would like to not second guess myself so much and allow the ideas to flow. I’m always in my head which tends to get in the way of the full design process. I would also like to get better at my illustration skills; getting to see so many amazing drawings not only by classmates but people from all over the outside world is very inspiring. It makes me want to continue practicing in hopes to get to their level. In my spare time I’m a huge movie and television buff. As of right now my favorite shows to watch are Euphoria, Cobra Kai, and Yellowjackets. I also tend to watch a lot of YouTube tutorials on apps I use for designing.

  6. Xavier laws

    Hi my name is Xavier laws my major is commutation design specifically in the area of advertising. I chose my major for a couple of reasons it was because I have a love for anime and video games and wanted to try my had and designing. As well as I saw this as a career that had more freedom in it then others My favorite class so far is identity design because during the course of the class I learned how to craft for a brand. What goes into a logo making a logo such as keep in mind what the company stand for and what they are trying to promote. My favorite was making an identity process book get to show off and enhance the work I made for a brand as well as explaining the process how I made my logo and the other design choices I made such my brochure design, merch design and web design. I feel my strength lie in logo design at times I come up with great ideas for logo and sometimes I can to get them on paper. And as for what I would like to get better is making logo there are still other topics and skills in logo making I still don’t have and I want to be able to use them in the future to make better logos. In my spare time I like watching anime and playing video games as well trying to brush up my skills in adobe illustrator.

  7. Ruimel Graham

    Hello, My name is Ruimel Graham and I am majoring in communication design. My area of concentration is photography, videography, and advertisement. I reason why I chose this major because I want to learn the fundamentals of advertisement and get in depth with a camera. My favorite class so far was Studio photography 1 and 2. I wanted to take advanced photography but the class was canceled. One of my favorite assignment Ive done in my previous classes was a Halloween poster I did for typography 2 and studio photography I did for photo 1. My photography work was placed on the Grace Gallery. I fell in love with photography ever since. Seeing my work on a big screen where a lot of strangers could see motivated me to keep going. My goal is to have my work-to be shown in a big named fashion magazine like Vogue. I feel like my strengths lie within Communication Design in communicating with people and how to work with people. When I learn the fundamentals of advertisement and photography. I made myself as a freelancer where people can hire. I use my communicating skills to get clients and work on their needs of a project. I like to get better at reaching more people for my brand and also get better at my camera skills. During my spare time, I like to watch videos and look photos to inspire me for my next project. Listen to get music to bring out my creativeness.

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