• First Day of Class.
The first day of class was like most other first day of class, we went over the course’s syllabus. Though we first got a change of room from G204 to N 1120 which caused some confusion and late arrivals. For those who were in the classroom on time the professor, Marianna Trofimova, asked us to think of a question: What we want to learn?
After the slow start we read through the syllabus and learned about what we are going to be graded on and how much each costs. From the course description we learned that the class will mostly be based off assignments and research. The professor explained the attendance policy and the book or reading we will be using doing the semester. She also explained how and where homework and assignments will be posted. Although we are responsible for posting the homework weekly, we also need to print them for class.
We went over the week by week class schedule to see when and what we might be doing each week of the semester. Afterwards fun began. It all started with the question: What is Graphic Design? Every student if not most of us answered the question, each different but none were wrong. We were asked what do designers do. Then we went over some of the history of Graphic design which would be someone we will be using for Topics in Graphic Design. We talked about where and where it all began. We discussed each movement and their styles. Also what each style consist of.
We then talked about some of the brilliant designers and then we all shared our answer about what we want to learn. All answers were great, I myself found some interesting questions such as; how to brand yourself? Also getting started and what to expect from large/small companies. After we took a break we came back and watched a video of Chip Kidd; an American Graphic Designer. I wasn’t familiar with him, a real character; the video was very fun but more importantly it shared important information such as what to go with—Clarity or Mystery? Also what is needed for any design to work. After watching the video I can assume he is known best for his cover book designs.
All in all the first class was just about learning about the course, the professor, and ourselves. The professor kept everyone interested, explained the homework which at first I thought would be impossible but here I am on my fifth paragraph and out of words so I’ll call it quits here and this was what happened in class one.
• Strongest Suit.
What I consider to be my strongest suit is image editing. It all started with me teaching myself how to use Photoshop, then practice a lot here and there to improve myself. Some people learn about it in High School, however that wasn’t my case. College helped with shortcuts, commands to make my work more smooth and organize. Also started to use other Adobe programs like: Illustrator, InDesign and Premier. I incorporate photography for most of my designs, I like to put things together and balance concepts out so that they are not overwhelming yet still visually interesting.
