Megan Graham Portfolio

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Photo Design Description: Use my photography skills to create a poster layout with an appealing color scheme.

Date: October 16, 2015

Course/Instructor: Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins

Programs/Tools: Adobe Photoshop

Objectives: -Learn basic photography skills.-Choose a color scheme, take a photo to match those colors, then incorporate the colors into the layout.-Use a digital camera to take a quality image, then download it.-Adjust image levels, saturation, color balance, sharpen tool on separate layers for NDE (non-destructive editing.)-Size and crop the image, then place on an 8.5×11 page layout.-Use layers to design text, and repeating graphic elements in Photoshop.-Print with full-bleed margins. Trim only 1/8″ (0.125) from all four sides.

Process: From the FOCUS book, I decided that I’d do a monochromatic poster and then chose an object (peach soda) that I thought would work well. I placed the bottle in front of a black garbage can and on top of a black plastic plate to create the reflection. I used a canon T4i and placed a flash diagonally behind the bottle in order to make the soda glow. Using the rule of thirds, I composed the picture in a way that would give me plenty of white space to work with and to insert text. When I brought the photo into Photoshop, I used levels, sharpness, saturation, and color balance. The sharpness was important in order to make the label stand out. Later on, I also used the spot healing tool in order to “clean up” the soda bottle.

I originally began using some wavy lines and shapes in the background, but it looked too messy. I start-ed over, the second time with straight lines. I liked those a lot better, but they needed some texture so I added that in using an overlay blending mode. I tried several different text options, but ended up choos-ing one similar to the word “peach” on the soda label. When it was time to add in my color swatches, I decided to use a peach to add more unity.

I moved the swatches around several times and ended up placing them in the upper corner, allowing the flow to continue throughout the design.

Contact table of contentsMegan Graham33 S. 150 E.Burley, ID [email protected]

Photo DesignBrochureLogosGift CertificateBusiness CardLetterheadWeb PageEvent AdMontage Flier







I originally began using some wavy lines and shapes in the background, but it looked too messy. I start-ed over, the second time with straight lines. I liked those a lot better, but they needed some texture so I added that in using an overlay blending mode. I tried several different text options, but ended up choos-ing one similar to the word “peach” on the soda label. When it was time to add in my color swatches, I decided to use a peach to add more unity.








I originally began using some wavy lines and shapes in the background, but it looked too messy. I started over, the second time with straight lines. I liked those a lot better, but they needed some texture so I added that in using an overlay blending mode. I tried several different text options, but ended up choosing one similar to the word “peach” on the soda label. When it was time to add in my color swatches, I decided to use a peach to add more unity.


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Brochure Description: A duplex offset folding brochure

Date: December 5, 2015


Programs/Tools: Adobe InDesign/Adobe Illustrator/Adobe Photoshop

Objectives: -Set up and align a two-sided, folded document.-Create an original, new logo and use it in a brochure.-Incorporate quality images. Incorporate at least four quality images, not including the logo. One should be clipped in Photoshop and text-wrapped in InDesign so the text follows the cutout shape of the image.-Write at least 250 words of original copy in at least three paragraphs, headers, and subheaders.-Trim for a full bleed and print in duplex (two-sided) colo

Process: The first thing I did was sketch out what I wanted my brochure to look like. Because I am showcasing photography, I wanted a layout that would give me plenty of space to put pictures. Once I got the measurements figured out I used the guides in Adobe InDesign to match exactly what I had measured out on my sketch.

The next step for me was getting all my text put together. I knew that I wanted my pictures on the side bar to match some of the descriptions on the inside of the packet so I spend quite a bit of time searching through some of the wedding photos I have take to decide which photos would work.

On the inside of the brochure, I used a large picture of a bride and groom standing by each other. The text was really hard to read over it so I brought it into Adobe Photoshop and added an offset exposure-blending mode in order to make it a lot lighter. This helped a lot to be able to read.

For the back cover, I wanted to make the logo work with the picture. In Adobe Photoshop, I placed the logo on the image (Designed in Illustrator), and then masked it out where the ring is in the photo. This added a lot more depth.

Front

Inside

Back

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logos Description: Logo for a fine arts artist



Programs/Tools: Adobe Illustrator

Objectives: -Create three completely different, original logos to fit a company or personal image that will appeal to the audience. Do not imitate existing logos or use previous designs.-Market research: gather opinions from at least ten people about which logo appeals most to them.-Use only the Illustrator tools to create and draw your logos. (No Illustrator pre-fabricated flares, symbols, etc.. No photos or live-tracing. You may use an image or drawing as a guide to trace it with the pen/pencil, but delete the image before submitting.)-Refine one logo with variations for color

Process: I spent a lot of time sketching out ideas on paper before getting on a computer. Using Adobe Illustrator I put together several different drafts using different fonts, different color schemes, and different design principles. For my final logo I used the shape builder tool to combine the initials and made the “overlap” effect. I used the pen tool to create the leaf and the duplicated and resized it in order to create repetition

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Gift Certificate Description: Use design skills to create a photography gift certficate

Date: December 12, 2015



Objectives: -Create a gift certicate that will fit in a standard sized envelope-Make three different time frame options-Incorporate a personally created logo

Process: To start this project, I looked at several different ideas for inspiration. I really liked one and began creating something similar. As I progressed in the design, I decided that it was way too cluttered and not as professional as I hope. I deleted a lot of the graphics and made the colors more neutral. Not only did this make it look more professional, it made it so this gift certificate could be given at any time of the year, and not just Christmas.

I lowered the opacity of the white bar to make the contrast more subtle. I then made a clipping mask with the logo so the texture background that I created could show through.

When I was finished I created two other certificates offering different time frames of photo sessions.

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Business Card Description: Business card that includes a personally created logo personally created logo.

Date: November 5, 2015


Programs/Tools: Adobe Illustrator & InDesign

Objectives: -Use the basic tools in Illustrator & InDesign.-Create a new logo to fit a company or personal image. Do not imitate existing logos or use previous designs. Don’t use photos or live trace.-Use the new logo to design a layout for a business card. Photos are okay on business card and letterhead as additional design elements. Business card should be 3.5 x 2 and printed above center on a vertical page.-Apply typography rules, keeping small copy.-Keep designs simple with light watermarks and drop shadows and plenty of white space.-Include contact information: name, address, phone, website, and email on each piece. Use periods, bullets, or spaces in phone number; no parentheses/ hyphens.

Process: Creating the logo was the most time-consuming part for me. I played around with several different texts until I could find a type that allowed me to merge the two together. Using the shape builder tool in Adobe Illustrator, I was able to combine what I needed as well as delete what I didn’t to create my initials. After I figured that out, I used more shapes to create the camera logo. Once I completed my logo, I was able to start on my letterhead.

When designing the business card, I wanted to keep it clean and simple. I brought over my logo, placed it where I wanted it, and then tried several different things with the information. To help my name stand out I used a white text.

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letterhead Description: Stationary that includes a personally created logo.



Programs/Tools: Adobe Illustrator & InDesign

Objectives: -Use the basic tools in Illustrator & InDesign.-Create a new logo to fit a company or personal image. Do not imitate existing logos or use previous designs. Don’t use photos or live trace.-Use the new logo to design a letterhead. Photos are okay on business card and letterhead as additional design elements. Letterhead should be 8.5 x 11, full-bleed optional, but trim only .125. -Apply typography rules, keeping small copy.-Keep designs simple with light watermarks and drop shadows and plenty of white space.-Include contact information: name, address, phone, website, and email on each piece. Use periods, bullets, or spaces in phone number; no parentheses/ hyphens.

Process: Creating the logo was the most time-consuming part for me. I played around with several different texts until I could find a type that allowed me to merge the two together. Using the shape builder tool in Adobe Illustrator, I was able to combine what I needed as well as delete what I didn’t to create my initials. After I figured that out, I used more shapes to create the camera logo. Once I completed my logo, I was able to start on my letterhead.

I placed my main logo in the top, left-hand corner, and then balanced it out with two smaller cameras in the bottom, right-hand corner. I did this by simply duplicating the camera that I already created and filling in the letters. In order to create unity, I used the same font from my logo for my personal information.

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web page Description: A web page designed to showcase the logo that I created for my business.



Programs/Tools: TextWrangler & Photoshop

Objectives: -Size and optimize an original logo as a .png for a web page so the long side is 300 – 500 pixels.-Write content to describe the process of creating your logo and how it appeals to a target audience. (Minimum of 200 words. Include rationale for colors, appeal to target audience, design skills, etc,)-Acquire a working knowledge of HTML. (Include all required tags – Doctype (provided), html, head, title, meta charset (provided), body, h1, h2, p, ol or ul (with li tags), img, br, and a link to blog)-Acquire a working knowledge of CSS. (Customize the provided CSS provided to format the HTML to complement the logo design. Change at least the following: The h1 text color & h1 background color, font colors for the paragraphs & list items, the background color, font families and add at least one css comment.)-Identify hex colors to match logo, using Photoshop color picker.-Open the HTML page in a web browser and capture a quality screen shot with .5 inch margins for printing.

Process: This was my first time every using HTML and CSS. With the help of some class tutorials I was able to use a simple text editor, TextWrangler to enter in the proper codes to create the site. When I was finished I was able to use an HTML validator to double check that there were not any errors.

Once I got my html correct, I linked a CSS document to the HTML that served as a template. From there I was able to select the colors I had previously chosen for my logo using the eyedropper tool in Photoshop. From there I incorporated them into the design. I decided to use the same text from my logo on the site to create more unity.

I adjusted the padding and the margins to center-align the logo. I also placed a wedding photo that I recently took as the background to make it unique.

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Event Ad Description: A color full-bleed promotional event flyer made using only Microsoft Word and a scanner.



Programs/Tools: Microsoft Word, Epson Scanner, PDF2JPG.net (PDF converter).


Process: I scanned a printed photo, and then used Word to decrease the saturation slightly. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to use white text and thought that it would stand out a little better over a less-saturated image. I learned how to apply the different shape effects and thought it would be neat to put a faded rectangle over my title to separate it and make it stand out as the focal point.

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montage Description: A montage blending two images to help visualize a spiritual message demonstrating good use of typography.



Programs/Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Canon 6D, Speedlight

Objectives: -Use the FOCUS design process with strong focal point and flow-Unify a layout with a consistent theme and dominant spiritual message-Learn to blend two or more images together gradually, using masks-Demonstrate more advanced Photoshop skills for layout with multiple elements-Use a mask to apply a filter to one part of the image-Apply typography principles (titles, quotes, events or scriptures…your choice)-Format type: Legibility; Small copy & Title with varying text size. Theme word(s)-Select good quality images

Process: I recently learned how to take pictures of water droplets and captured this picture this past week. I brought it into Photoshop, along with a picture of an alarm clock.I knew that I wanted the clock to mainly show on the word, “TIME,” and so I selected the letters and created a mask over the clock using that selection. Using a lower opacity brush, I brushed away near the edges of the letter so it had a burned effect.Once I got the overlay look on my text, I duplicated the same clock picture, and resized it exactly the size I used over the text, but this time used a blending mode over the actual water droplet picture. I once again used a lower opacity to fade it into the colors of the water.After I added in my text, I used a white drop shadow in order to make the letters more readable. I also decided to add a black stroke to the title to make it a little more “crisp.”

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Flier Description: Black & White advertisement to promote a leadership conference for graduates.



Programs/Tools: Adobe InDesign

Objectives: -Apply the design principles and use appropriate typography.-Incorporate basic InDesign skills to improve basic flier layout.-Retrieve image and logo from links on this page.-Create a project folder with image, logo and InDesign document to keep links in InDesign intact.

Process: After creating some sketches I started working on a layout in Adobe InDesign. I chose a large image with a student’s eyes directing the focal point to the title. By duplicating the black rectangle under the title, the flow is directed to the passage of information. I left white space in order to make the date, time, and place easy to find.

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Megan Graham Portfolio