Graphic Design 1Essay

Wilson Sanchez

Graphic Design 1

4/28/15

Essay

When I began this spring 2015 graphic design class I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. All I saw were squares and shapes, of different colors, and angles, from previous student works. At first I wasn’t excited, thinking what’s the point of making squares and shapes with colors inside them. I thought, I would be learning about making awesome posters, just like graphic designers are known for.

As days start to roll, and we begin class projects, I begin to struggle. Realizing that making a perfect square, with perfect tension, and perfect draftsmanship, is not as easy as it looks. With time I started to gain a better eye for tension and perfection of the monochromatic projects. I learned to see a 1/16” and 1/32” error from far away and my draftsmanship improved. Although, the monochromatic projects were difficult for me at first, practice and hard work shows that we can conquer any hard challenge.

After finishing the monochromatic projects, we started the color projects. At first I was using the color wheel with full saturation, but soon realizing that was incorrect. After the teacher critiqued my project, I then learned that color tints, shades and tones all play a major role on how colors function. Colors with tints seem soft, Colors with shade seem like shadows, and colors with tone seem balanced. These color ranges play an important role in everything we feel and see. For example, everything we see in life, its color is affected by their tints, shades, and tones. Without these elements or ranges of color, things can seem lifeless and flat. The color wheel is just an introduction to color theory, but color range creates endless possibilities.

I thought this class wouldn’t be important, but that was just a misconception. This class will play a major role in my career as a major designer. Sometimes we must step back from the egos of life, and learn the basics. As our teacher said in the beginning of this semester, if you don’t get these basic of design right, you will become good designers, but not that best. I agree, everything is build upon a well-structured foundation, without one everything can collapse. Understanding the tensions, colors, and functions of design, we can create long lasting, successful ads.