Having to sum up everything I learned in this class is a bit difficult. When first entering this class I thought what the hell is this class going to be about its so random. In fact I think I learned so many important random facts in this class that put everything I learned in all my design classes together.  One thing I liked is going over all the history we learned about previous graphic designers from where it all started to all the movements (Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, etc.) to famous designers such as Massimo Vignelli and Paul Rand. In the past as well as now we as people are able to communicate with type and symbols. As a commercial artist, you communicate IDEAS and from those ideas you sell products, services, brands even a lifestyle. It’s also known as a propaganda they sell your ideas and people buy the idea and things that fit into that idea. Another thing I learned that was really helpful was being able to know where I would want to fit in and how much I will make in the real world.

One thing I enjoyed the most was watching the Tedd talk videos, they were very informative as well as funny and relatable. Chipp Kidd uses concepts and information for everything to work you need emotional impact, which is when someone can relate to your work. There was also, Marian Bantjes who explains to us how she built her career through her individually into her projects. She made the “humble attempt of making a living doing something she loves”, which really inspired me because honestly I’m still hesitant of being in this field and getting to where I want to be. Another designer was, Stefan Sagmeister who is a New York based graphic designer, story teller and typographer originally from Austria. In these videos he talks about the relationship of design and happiness.

We also learned about the 7 depths of meaning in visual communication. There’s perception (visual hierarchy, contrast, color and imagery), Sensation (causes viewers to experience gut reactions), Emotion (positive and negative emotions like love and fear),Intellect (images that require audience participation as well as comprehension), Identification (creating deep and personal connections with an audience), Reverberation (referencing history and tradition) and Spiritually (deliver a message using moral and artistic qualities).

To some people, when going on the field trips they thought great we don’t have class were going on a trip. But for me these trips were honestly really helpful. Even though I can’t picture myself working yet in those kind of environments, it was really great to see how people in our creative field who are all good at different things are able to collaborate with one another. Going to visit Dropbox and Anomaly were two completely different feels. One was mostly ideas and programming (looking at how people use their software and how they can make it even better than it is) while the other felt more like branding and coming up with fun ideas that are relatable to their target audience for each of their brands.

We learned much more that has stuck to me and I probably won’t forget anything we learned in this class. It was a great learning experience as well as a visual insight to the real world. It was nice to also hear about the teacher’s experience in the real world and how you have to work to get where you want to be and push yourself to learn all these new programs and stuff to keep up as well as make your work stronger in all elements.