Field Guide

Open publication - Free publishing - More design

My field guide showed a list of skate spots in Austin, presented as through it were an iPhone app. Challenges regarding this project included working on such a small scale and designing for a touch screen. I found it difficult to display the click stream only using pdfs.

concept map

For me, the hardest part about this project was handling the jargon associated with the financial crisis, so that anyone could easily understand the concept without overcrowding the poster. I separated terms into categories: 5 biggest terms, secondary terms, key players, negative/loaded terms, and tertiary terms.

website

The assignment for the we were given the option of either redesigning an existing website or create a portfolio website for our work using html and css. We were given a color palette and type choices to apply to our design and also told you keep user interaction in mind. We were taken through the entire process of designing a website beginning with research then sitemaps, wireframes, visual design, and finally coding to create four functioning pages of a website. The difficulties of this project were mostly in the actual coding like the positioning and alignment of all the elements. As a result of this project, I became more proficient in using dreamweaver, html, and css.

Timeline

The purpose of this project was to first get us to think critically about  two historical, designed artifacts through a comparative essay, then to get us to create a book design that would show and enhance the content. I compared Eric Gill's The Four Gospels and Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and argued that despite the large gap in the times of their publications, they had a similar impact on design.

image analysis

The purpose of this project was to utilize all of the design history knowledge attained throughout the semester, through the dissection and identification of a modern image. I took a Fleet Foxes album cover--using it as a base--and layered sheets of vellum on top, with each sheet identifying a different historical art or design movement. I wanted each section and movement to be isolated, but also be seen in context. If I were to redo this project, I would use a more transparent vellum so each layer could be seen, even at the first layer.

history of graphic design presentation

This assignment was to create a presentation over a certain aspect of design history, whether it be important people, typefaces, or movements. My presentation was over three important designers during similar timeframes. This not only helped us individually, but as also as a class listening to our peers presentations and creating a solid timeline of graphic design history.

locating place

The book part of this project was a lesson in interacting with local businesses and book binding, while the animation portion reinforced our knowledge of after effects and/or flash. My book, East Side Story, displayed the Kevin Lynch text we were given in addition to a case study and essay focusing on the gentrification occurring in Austin's east side. I compiled information from the case study to create info-graphics to aid the readers understanding.

 

kitchen of meaning

This project was an exercise in really understanding the meaning of a given word and also the world in which that word lives. We had to illustrate the meaning of the word on a poster, while advertising a theoretical exhibition in the Fine Arts Center.

dada poster

We were first given a specific art or design movement and did research to fully understand it.We were then instructed to create a poster advertising a showcase of that movement at the Blanton museum using buttons. I created a system in which the exhibit was open Wednesday through Sunday for 3 weeks, where members received  buttons on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday and non-members on the other two to play off of the exclusivity of the Dada Movement. Each week, the buttons would showcase a different key aspect of the movement. Aside from learning how to assemble buttons, a challenge was designing on such a small scale.

tasa conference book

Before embarking on the East Side book, this was the largest amount of text/content we had encountered for a project. It acted as the intermediate phase between the simple type specimens and the arduous east side books. The task was to create a program for people at an art conference. 

instructional design

For this project, I envisioned this instructional piece to be apart of a series of flipbooks, sold as novelties or coffee table books. I chose a flipbook so users could have something tangible, with written instructions and visuals, but also be able to see the process of folding and unfolding. I believed this would be both fun and instructive for my college student audience.

personal geography

perceptual map

In creating this version, I wanted to convey both the intensity and duration of each sense. I used opacity to express the intensity of certain events, where the more opaque icons represent more stimulating things or feelings. The rectangles represent the duration of each sense.

cognitive map

My cognitive map was created based on some of the decisions I make on my way to class and their relationship to various factors. As seen in the map, each determinant influences my decisions, and thus produces different outcomes, or events.

artifact map

For this map, I was influenced by my actual drive to campus and the feeling that I was driving in a single direction on the interstate, ignoring its actual shape and direction. So, in creating the map, I opted to eliminate curves and solely use lines.

words in motion

When I thought of the word 'order', I was reminded of communist Soviet Russia. From there, I had the idea of illustrating that notion in the vain of russian constructivism. Furthermore, I illustrated the letters arranging themselves in order though quick, precise movements.



For this piece, I just thought of different things that were playful and incorporated them into the animation. The ideas that influenced this animation were a puppet show, a person playfully surprising another person, and a child playing with toys.

critical mass

For this project, I used the automotive industry as an allegory for genetic modification, where the cars were metaphors for genetically modified crops. Rather than illustrating the entire car manufacturing process, I thought it would be interesting to juxtapose the cars with various images of cells as well as the syringe.

blue squares

Although previous projects forced me to learn after effects and become familiar with motion, this exercise aided in both refining my craft and teaching me new effects.

material studies

For this project, we had to explore various materials through the creation of typefaces. In constructing the various letter forms, we were forced to analyze the materials and notice the nuances that set it apart from others. For example, I took advantage of the malleability of plastic toothbrushes after being boiled. I ended up choosing the keys as my final material because of the fact that they could actually be used once the letters were constructed. Thus, I chose to illustrate that in the form of an animation.

type specimen

Mrs. Eaves reminded me of a type face you might see in a fairy tale, so that notion influenced the color and design of my book. I made a point to use every facet of the Mrs. Eaves font family to ensure an accurate representation of the type face in this type specimen book.