The material that was covered throughout this course has been meaningful to me in a variety of different ways. Historically, I have had the opportunity to trace the origins of communication from its earliest forms, such as smoke signals and talking drums, to the more advanced forms that can be seen in radio, television, computer interfaces and smartphone technology. Sociologically, I have examined the social impact that these forms of communication have had on society, and how they have changed the lives of the people who have used them. Theoretically, I have studied both affordance theory and uses and gratifications theory and related these concepts to the many different periods covered throughout the semester. And finally, as a designer, I have had the opportunity to present my findings in a way that has allowed me to express myself visually, grow as an artist, and expand my skill set by using the technology, applications and tools that are prevalent in today’s professional graphic design world.
Throughout the semester, each project has evolved as I became more familiar with the course material and what was needed in order to meet the needs for each module. I had initially planned for a few different areas of focus in this course. My main focus was to create infographic designs using the Adobe Creative Suite, while building my technical and design skills in Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator. In addition to this, I wanted to establish a WordPress blog site that would host all of my work and writings in the course. WordPress is a content management system that I have had some previous experience with, but I have felt a need to learn to use more of the features that it offers and become more comfortable with the interface and blogging aspects of the platform. I first thought of using social media to host my design work, but decided that the artwork was too big, mainly text based and very detailed to be accurately viewed on a social media site such as instagram or twitter. Because of this, a WordPress site was established where a full PDF of each project could be viewed and downloaded by any visitor.
Each project has focused on a different audience, and used a variety of software and design techniques to allow me to grow as both an information designer, and graphic designer. I also wanted each design to be completely different from each other, so that I could expand my design skills and visual style into different areas and for different audiences. The following will discuss each module and the tools and techniques used in order to fulfill the goals that I sent out to achieve in the beginning of the semester.
Module 2 – Pre-telegraphic Infographic & WordPress site
https://cbell.design.blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/cbell-final-mod2-info.pdf
In this first piece that was created for the course, I intended to use two major design programs (Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator) to create an infographic that appealed to a younger, school aged audience. In this design, I began focusing on advanced masking techniques in Photoshop to cut out images from their backgrounds. I also used a Wacom tablet and Adobe Illustrator to create black and white line art around the photography. The final layout was then created by importing each of the Photoshop elements into Adobe Illustrator.
Module 3 – Electronics Infographic & WordPress site
https://cbell.design.blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/final-module3-cbell2.pdf
For the second project, I wanted to focus most of my work in Adobe Illustrator. All of the graphic artwork and text layout was drawn and/or layed out in Illustrator. I had planned to give this design more of a quirky, retro feel, but I feel that did not come across as successfully as I had intended. The use of vintage looking fonts and artwork was beneficial in establishing this retro look. I feel that a new, more muted color scheme and additional filters may help to give this design even more of a weathered, retro feel. This design was a wonderful experience in using Illustrator as a layout platform for the entire design.
Module 4 – Computing Infographic & WordPress site
https://cbell.design.blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/mod-4-cbell.pdf
The third project was designed in a more contemporary and modern fashion, to reflect the subject matter that it is representing. I chose a modern, clean layout that uses san-serif fonts to present the design. The graphics were manipulated in Illustrator, and the layout was constructed by importing the text and graphics into Adobe Indesign. This was especially challenging in covering all the material, yet keeping the poster legible and pleasing to the eye.
Module 5 – 21st Century Information Technology Infographic & WordPress site
https://cbell.design.blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/mod5_cbell_final_12218.pdf
As I became more familiar with the material in the course, some of my earlier design goals did not seem as applicable to what I wanted to convey with the course information. In this project, I had planned to do a more abstract and artistic design, but in the end I felt that would not work well with the subject matter. Instead, I decided to design a modern design with a playful feel, and something that would look professional and not out of place in the current design world. In this design, I exclusively used Photoshop for all of the elements of the layout and design. Masking techniques were used to cutout the small child and smartphone, and layering was used to create shadows and reflections to give the small child on the laptop a more natural and realistic look. The background design was cloned to create a natural looking wall that is blank from just beyond the children from the left to the right.
Summary
www.charliebelldesign.com cbelldesign.blog
Overall, I feel that my skill set has increased greatly. I have accomplished my two major goals by becoming more familiar with the features WordPress, and by exploring the tools and techniques of the Adobe Creative Suite programs. With WordPress, I have established a blog, learned how to use more of the features of these capabilities, and have become more comfortable with the navigation and interface. I have uploaded artwork, screenshots and downloadable PDF files, and I have established a “brand presence” by using my logo design, color scheme and font choices to customize the look of the newly created blog (cbell.design.blog), in order to match with my personal website design (www.charliebelldesign.com). This was an intentional choice, and I feel that these actions have created a more cohesive and consistent look to my online work and digital presence. In addition to this, I have progressed in my technical skills in the Adobe Creative Suite by gaining significant design experience, and becoming more familiar with the many tools and techniques of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Indesign. I feel that the most valuable experience in this course has allowed for me to progress my skills by extensively using Adobe Photoshop for masking techniques and transparency effects in many of my projects this semester.
Throughout this course, the material has consistently focused on both communications and technology. From the earliest forms that used smoke signals or drum sounds to convey a simple message, to the more advanced forms that use the printing press, radio waves or computer code, each medium that has been discussed, no matter how simple or complex, has been fundamentally about communication and conveying a message between two or more people. We can also see that with each shift in technology, the tasks become more efficient, can broadly reach more people, and increasingly feature more options for creativity and self expression.
In addition to this, we can see examples of remediation, where the new tools of technology are continually updating the older forms. Cuneiform became written word and established an alphabet, the printing press took the text based written word and established mass forms of communication in newsprint, books and flyers. The internet now takes these forms further by allowing for open communications, collaboration and widespread sharing of text, pictures and video to all who have access. In our text, Bolter and Grusin discuss the idea of remediation as “a way in which one medium is seen by our culture as reforming or improving upon another”. (Bolter & Grusin, p. 59) Ultimately, I feel that this idea of remediation theory discusses the fact that the content of our communications remains the same, but is wrapped in new “packages” providing us with new ways/mediums to convey the age old content of our communications, (data, words, text, pictures, photography, drawings, film/video, and animations) by re-purposing these communications in exciting and often more efficient ways. Packaged in new technologies that can reach more people, more quickly and more efficiently. We can see these trends in each project, and the many examples that have been provided.
We may be limited by the technology we use, but we also have greater possibilities with each new step that technology has been taken. Affordance theory provides us with the idea that technology is a tool and it affords its users with new opportunities for communication, learning, self expression, business and sharing. These affordances allow us to complete our tasks in new ways, and to complete actions that were not possible before. They have forever changed the lives of their users and will continue to do so into the future.
Sources:
Bolter, J. D., & Grusin, R. (2002). Remediation: Understanding new media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Explorations in Information Design + Technology 