At first I was a little overwhelmed with all the coursework. The reading seemed like a lot but manageable. The terminology was hard to get over. Even though I read the entire book I still had to read things five times to understand. The quiz was fairly easy although the essay questions killed me sometimes. I think the thing that was most challenging with the essay questions was having to rephrase everything. To try and rewrite history into you own words was a little difficult. I felt like I was plagiarizing with the most simplest things. I feel like I did better when there were options to choose from. Having only one question was a little annoying because it could be on the one thing I didn't understand or like so it was hard to get done. I did end up skipping a couple of essay questions because I ran out of time. I knew I could finish everything else so if I had time I could go back to the essay question but half the time I was brain dead at 2am on Wednesday and just gave up.
The field journals were fairly easy for me and were my favorite part about this class. They took forever because I am a perfectionist but they felt very rewarding. It was simply just an idea or a mini lesson you learned and wanted to expand upon. Towards the end I had difficulties because I didn't get any ideas for inspiration for them. I would read other people's journals to see what they wrote about to get inspired but when it came back to it I was still lost and had no idea what to write about. I enjoyed the field journals because they are a huge part of understanding and putting your knowledge into play. They reconfirmed the reading for me and were a way of letting your curiosity expand a certain subject. I loved the field journals because they were an experience that let you choose what you wanted to learn. Yes, we all had to read the same chapters but we could pick what interested us the most and continue on with it. I also loved reading other field journals and seeing how my classmate's brains worked. It was also nice since they covered things that I was curious about too but never got a chance to explore.
I loved this class for multiple reasons. I loved the fact that I could identify pieces of art or graphic design and understand the beauty to it. I think there is a lot of beauty in art because it has history and has multiple creative ideas behind it. I loved learning about local art and the San Francisco school and how the Bay Area contributed to graphic design. The class reminded me of the importance of graphic design and the impact it has on our daily lives. It's funny because when I first started this class I thought I knew what graphic design was. I had a vague idea of people sitting at computers and creating images all day on them. After this course I now realize that graphic design os everything! Literally. As a consumer I buy everything because of it's design or it's marketing/packaging. Anything neon is fair game. I loved Memphis furniture because it reminded me of the 80s furniture in my aunt's house growing up and some Ikea pieces feel a little bit like modern Memphis ideas.
It's fun to think about graphic design starting as ancient cave drawings with their own language of pictographs and petroglyphs. The earliest forms of communication started with graphic design! How ridiculous does that sound? I also loved learning about women in art and graphic design. I know, how feminist of me...but these women were awesome and deserve to be recognized. This class has opened up my eyes to a whole new world of graphic design. Almost like an enlightenment period but in 2014. I can't look at anything without thinking about the story behind the design and what the inspiration was. I learned that graphic design is a part of our everyday lives whether we notice or not. I can't help but notice everything around me now and think "oh hey that's an awesome design!". Just using Apple technology everyday with my iPhone is a reminder. Apple is another great example of the evolution of graphic design. I would love to see what a graphic designer does at Apple everyday. Just sitting around with other creative geniuses talking design and developing the next big thing.
The field journals were fairly easy for me and were my favorite part about this class. They took forever because I am a perfectionist but they felt very rewarding. It was simply just an idea or a mini lesson you learned and wanted to expand upon. Towards the end I had difficulties because I didn't get any ideas for inspiration for them. I would read other people's journals to see what they wrote about to get inspired but when it came back to it I was still lost and had no idea what to write about. I enjoyed the field journals because they are a huge part of understanding and putting your knowledge into play. They reconfirmed the reading for me and were a way of letting your curiosity expand a certain subject. I loved the field journals because they were an experience that let you choose what you wanted to learn. Yes, we all had to read the same chapters but we could pick what interested us the most and continue on with it. I also loved reading other field journals and seeing how my classmate's brains worked. It was also nice since they covered things that I was curious about too but never got a chance to explore.
I loved this class for multiple reasons. I loved the fact that I could identify pieces of art or graphic design and understand the beauty to it. I think there is a lot of beauty in art because it has history and has multiple creative ideas behind it. I loved learning about local art and the San Francisco school and how the Bay Area contributed to graphic design. The class reminded me of the importance of graphic design and the impact it has on our daily lives. It's funny because when I first started this class I thought I knew what graphic design was. I had a vague idea of people sitting at computers and creating images all day on them. After this course I now realize that graphic design os everything! Literally. As a consumer I buy everything because of it's design or it's marketing/packaging. Anything neon is fair game. I loved Memphis furniture because it reminded me of the 80s furniture in my aunt's house growing up and some Ikea pieces feel a little bit like modern Memphis ideas.
It's fun to think about graphic design starting as ancient cave drawings with their own language of pictographs and petroglyphs. The earliest forms of communication started with graphic design! How ridiculous does that sound? I also loved learning about women in art and graphic design. I know, how feminist of me...but these women were awesome and deserve to be recognized. This class has opened up my eyes to a whole new world of graphic design. Almost like an enlightenment period but in 2014. I can't look at anything without thinking about the story behind the design and what the inspiration was. I learned that graphic design is a part of our everyday lives whether we notice or not. I can't help but notice everything around me now and think "oh hey that's an awesome design!". Just using Apple technology everyday with my iPhone is a reminder. Apple is another great example of the evolution of graphic design. I would love to see what a graphic designer does at Apple everyday. Just sitting around with other creative geniuses talking design and developing the next big thing.
I always knew I wanted to go into the creative arts world. I got my B.A. in Print and Online Journalism so I clearly knew I wasn't heading into the big bucks industry. Of course my parents wanted me to be a dentist, accountant or a lawyer or something practical but I knew I could never be completely happy doing that for the rest of my life. I need excitement. I want to feel like I'm making a difference and that I am changing the world. Although I do plan on going into the sports broadcasting field I would like to think that one day I could design my own graphics for my articles. I need new challenges in my life and I think graphic design could be my outlet of expression. I always thought about graphic design as a major but never gave it much more than a thought. It wasn't until after I graduated that I was looking for more skills to make use of my degree. I want to be a well-rounded journalist who can report, write and design and possibly code. A little ambitious but it's a dream that I have no intention of giving up on.
Overall, I am so happy I took this course. I feel like all this information will be useful in the future if not for just personal enjoyment. I would always talk about my history class like a nerd and bring my book with me so I could read any chance I had some free time. I did manage to educate some coworkers since they were curious of my large white book. The book itself grabs attention since it's solid white. I feel like I now have a graphic designer's eye. My father always encouraged us to be creative whether playing instruments or doing art. Since I am not musically gifted I chose writing as my form of art. I think the future of graphic design will be extraordinary. I can already imagine all the new technological advancements and how design will fit into it. Old designs will be revived and maybe the Arts and Crafts movement will come back since history likes repeating itself. Until then I'll continue taking my online graphic design courses and challenging myself.
Thank you Kent for all your wonderful work! I leave with a great understanding of graphic design and a brain full of ideas :)
