NEW MEDIA DESIGN
The progression of this course truly embodied putting your knowledge into action! I learned the "why" behind design. This included the history, the principles, the theories, and the science of design. I learned vital information about typography, color, photography, layout, etc. that I used as a foundation for how to use these elements of design in various projects.
Before learning how to use Adobe's Creative Programs, it was important to first learn these fundamentals of design so that I could exercise them correctly and create work that actually worked! For example, I often found myself meticulously checking my typography rules for typefaces used in projects later in the course, or ensuring that the color palettes in a style guide complimented one another. I enjoyed the hands-on creation element of this course because it proved how important it is to go back to the basics in order build something great. It also allowed me to take creative freedoms and establish my independence, autonomy, and persona as a designer.
In this class, I learned how to use Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Canva, and Figma for professional design projects. These programs are widely used in the design world, making the mastery of skills in them a necessary element on my resume. I was able to train myself how to set up a document, insert visuals, edit text, photoshop, mask objects, animate designs, establish consistent colors, illustrate objects, and so many other skills all in one place. I was already familiar with Adobe Indesign, so I have now experimented in the worlds of many basic creative suites. There is no doubt that I will be better suited to accomplish my goals of being a creative professional in any aspect after I graduate thanks to this course!
Crafting different design projects and presenting them to my peers resembled how the workplace might look one day for me as well. I think it is important to take constructive criticism or receive diverse opinions on your work in order to step out of your own mind and understand how your work is being consumed by an audience. This is another skill learned from this class that will benefit me immensely as I continue to create in the future! Not to mention, we worked in collaboration with a team for the last two projects of the class which strengthened my communication, teamwork, cooperation, time-management, and delegation skills. Teams are how real life works. I appreciated the realness of this aspect of the course.