The Art Institute Culinary School opened a restaurant called Eleven at the Pyramids. As a result, we were asked to create 3 logos capturing their essence. I don’t have much to say about this project. However, the final logo had not been chosen by the end of the quarter and 3 of my favorite students were in the running for that honor! Can’t wait to see who gets it!
Create a story without using words and only 60 seconds.
Driving home the night we were assigned this video project I was thinking of how they are ripping out the beautiful tree line I had been driving through for over 15 years in the name of widening and “beautifying” the street.
The line “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot” came to mind and gave me the idea for a commentary on The Human Footprint. Alex was cool with it and here is the result:
Corporate Identity is the class I learned the most in. It is probably my favorite of the quarter also, but don’t rate that too highly… I did not like my other 3 classes at all.
Our next set of logos came about when we drew a topic out of a “hat” (Beth loves doing this to us… the anticipation of which dire topic you are going to receive can nearly cause a stroke, and since I mouthed off about it, she made me wait until LAST!)
My topic was Health, which was not nearly as bad as the quarter I pulled a clippy out of the hat, or worse, the Greek diety, Eros! <Note: some things will never be forgotten.>
I was still struggling with the software and wanting to play with my wacom, so I got dinged for thin lines. Another B… I am not “A” quality, but if I have learned anything in these design courses it is to “accept the situation”.
My fellow students are always so sweet and supportive, which I appreciate, because their work looks so slick. They also keep encouraging me with the software struggles.
Web Scripting… thought it would be easy. Suprise!
While I was using Dreamweaver every day for my work with Harrison College, I was not designing in it or really using the software for much more than a place to hold my code. This class seemed to be more about Dreamweaver than learning what the code was meant to do, etc. It messed with my head for the whole quarter until I decided to quit using the software and just code!
Midterm project was an e-card. Since I like to apply classwork to my life, I designed a reminder for my family reunion which was scheduled for the Sat. after quarter end. We had to meet specific criteria, which drives some of the design choices such as number of photos, number of links, and the grid.
This project was about learning how to create a wordmark and a lettermark using a fellow student’s name. We had to find out what type of company the student would like to have and then use their name / initials to create the business logos.
The most pleasurable portion of this project was pairing up with Alex, who is fairly new to the Indy AI campus. You will see Alex’s name show up on my video class work, since we also partnered in that class. Alex’s business choice was a specialty ice cream shop, so I turned his lettermark into a stylized ice cream scoop.
Lettermark (A and an O)
Wordmark
Beth is teaching us to design first in black and white and then change it to a two color logo. Only the black and white are included here since they give you a good idea.
I used my wacom to hand render the lettering and was still struggling with the software (Adobe Illustrator) since I had not used it over 4 months. That was a real hinderance to the creative flow. I am still learning this whole online creativity “thing”. Computers and drawing is such a new concept for me!
Programming… 25 years ago I took a class in Basic and Pascal and said “never!” Here I am … living my “never”. The thing is, I still don’t like it and that is that, pure and simple. However, it is a “need-to-know thing” for a technical writer / web designer.
We spent 5 weeks in a program called Scratch culminating in a midterm game that we created ourselves. Mine is a simple child’s matching game.
Scratch doesn’t work smoothly or respond quickly and the graphics stink, so I am not exactly crazy about the program. What we are to “learn” on this project is the basic concepts of how programming language works and fits together.
Corporate ID is all about branding via logos. I am not amused. In fact, I have been dreading this course almost as much as the video class for 2 reasons: I feel very inept with the software, and I am intimidated with branding concepts.
My request to the teacher, Beth Remsburg, is that she help me get over this intimidation and then I would view the class as a success. [Retrospective comment: Beth did this beautifully but it took nearly all quarter! She has got to be the best teacher at AI with the patience of a saint!]
Our first logo was around the concept of using an assigned animal as the basis for a logo. I received an orangutan. I did a little rework since Beth couldn’t guess what it was (and she assigned the confounded animal!), but I refuse to be embarrassed. My focus at this school is web apps and I am not a graphic designer for a reason! It scares me!
One really cool thing was that many of my very favorite people were in the class with me. Granted, they are fantastic graphic artists, which can add to the nerve-wracking aspects of taking a class with them, but that is ok… I am there to soak up their greatness and I love them dearly! I just laugh at my struggles (when I am not crying!)
Voila… an orangutan logo in black and white and 2 color. It is what it is, and I am not apologizing!
Alex Overbeck and I teamed up for this project in which we were to create a tv commercial.
I had the film (thanks to our Toby who can look pretty pitiful and Merry Farms Labrador Rescue) and Alex pulled the overwhelming amount of shots together into what I consider is a really nice tv commercial for the Indianapolis Humane Shelter! He also found appropriate music.
Yeah for teamwork!!! My nerves calmed tremendously after this project was completed! I won’t say I am having fun yet, but we are working our way that direction!
What is neat is how Alex can see a shot I would consider a flop, place it in the right spot, slow it down a bit, and it works!!! That is evidenced in how he slowed Tag down and put writing over the top (the pup was running around like a ping pong ball, so I thought that was a lost shot.)
I almost feel I need to apologize for 6 weeks of silence! Homework this quarter has been a killer; in addition, my job at Harrison college has been extended, so I have been busier than I expected. So as a first post of the quarter, I will do my introduction video.
My Intro to Video class was met with much trepidation. I had heard “stories”! On top of that, while still photography is an absolute thrill to me, taking video shots has never sparked the slightest interest.
One plus on my side is that Lainey uses video cameras at work and always owns the newest, latest, and greatest. She happily let me borrow her brand new JVC that uploads directly to the computer and uses SD cards (as opposed to cumbersome tapes). That is making this new experience much more pleasant than it would have been if I had needed to borrow the school’s cameras.
These shots were taken on Mom’s farm and the pile of kids are a few of my beloved nieces and nephews.
First video – take some specific shots (long shot, close up, zoom, etc.) at 10 seconds each, put the clips in iMovie (software), manipulate, and save it for viewing. It was nerve wracking as a first project, but I got it done with only 1 point off for some shaky camera work on the zoom.
Note: I have also learned how to use YouTube for more than just viewing other people’s videos! This video is uploaded on YouTube and then linked into my blog. I am moving into the IMD (interactive media) side of my degree this quarter.
Flexing My Wings 
