There are four main principles of design that we’ll look at this year, Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. That’s right, we’re aiming for CRAP in our work!

Contrast is probably the easiest and most obvious one. I mention contrast all the time when looking at your designs, and there’s good reason for that – it’s essential.

The most obvious type of contrast is colour/lightness, white and black. You put those two things next to each other, or one on top of the other, and things are going to appear opposite. It doesn’t get any more opposite than that. White is basically all of the colours of light, and black is none.

But that’s too easy. You don’t get to take credit for that one in this assignment. It doesn’t count.

Instead, you’ll focus on:

• colours (other than black/white)
• size
• shape
• scale
• layout
• type
• alignment
• and more!

Assignment: You’ll design a poster for an upcoming event. You can use a real event or make one up. You can make it for a sporting event, concert, meeting, bake sale, art showcase, whatever! You need to use AT LEAST THREE types of CONTRAST (again, white/black doesn’t count.) Pick 3 off of the list above to utilize, but you’ll need to EXPLAIN the types of contrast you used. If you think you can fit in more than three, even better.

You’ll put your poster together using InDesign, but you can incorporate Photoshop or Illustrator files. Make it 11 inches by 17 inches (either portrait or landscape orientation, up to you) with a .25 inch bleed. Resolution should be 300 dpi.

You need to incorporate images (high quality), some kind of shape(s), and text that is different levels of importance (such as a headline and details.)

Once you’re done, your reflection will consist of explaining the types of contrast that you used and how they drew attention toward or away from elements in your poster. Explain that clearly in a document and hand it in for your reflection mark.

More about contrast:

How to use InDesign:

Open the program (DUH!)

Click “New file”

Give your file a name (NO UNTITLED FILES WILL BE OPENED)

Change the Units to Inches

Make it 11 inches by 17 inches. You can make it Portrait or Landscape orientation (your choice!)

InDesign is often used for multi-page documents, but you only need one

Make sure you have a .25 inch bleed

Click Create

The first thing you should do is Save. Open the File menu and choose Save, or press Ctrl + S

Save it in OneDrive! (and make sure that you OPEN THE PROGRAM)

Like Illustrator, there are different Workspaces you can use. The program usually opens on Essentials, but I’m a big fan of Essentials Classic. Up at the top right of your screen, you can choose a different workspace (and I recommend that you do.)

Any other panels can be opened from the Window menu. I HIGHLY recommend opening the Properties panel:

Many of the tools on the left hand side will look familiar to the ones in Illustrator and Photoshop. Perhaps the most important one here (other than the Selection tool, of course) is the Frame tool. Every element you add MUST BE IN A FRAME. This tool looks like a rectangle with an X through it. You can also press F to activate the tool:

With that tool active, you need to draw out a frame:

You can use frames for images, text, or just use it as a shape by changing the Fill and Stroke.

If you want to put a picture or Photoshop or Illustrator file in a frame, you NEED TO go to the File menu and choose Place (or Ctrl + D)

IMPORTANT: images and files Placed in InDesign are not automatically embedded. By default, they are linked to wherever the file is on your computer. When you create something in Illustrator or Photoshop, or when you download a photo (preferably from Unsplash or The Noun Project), PUT THEM IN A FOLDER IN ONEDRIVE!

If you need more help getting started with InDesign, I recommend visiting THIS PAGE and checking out some of the InDesign Get Started course tutorials.

When you are done, MAKE SURE YOU PACKAGE your file to drop it off! If you don’t package, I won’t open it!

There are so many cool programs and projects that we could do in the time we have remaining before the end of the year, but we just don’t have time to spend time on them all! With the time remaining, you will have the opportunity to focus your energy in an area that interests you most.

You will be responsible for keeping track of how you spend your time and reporting back to me to explain what you’ve worked on, what you’ve learned, and what you’ve created.

You will have to fill out a LEARNING LOG explaining how you used your time each day. You need to submit a filled in learning log for marks before the end of the semester. DOWNLOAD IT HERE

These are just some of the tutorials/applications/ideas that I recommend. You should investigate whatever area of design/creativity interests you most! Make sure you DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONS & CHOICES WITH MR. ROBSON!

Adobe Animate (animation)
https://helpx.adobe.com/animate/tutorials.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVQzNpX_L5g&list=PLYeXZOOCIwCuzJTgzS1ODTe-T8FrmPty9

3D Modelling
I highly recommend starting out with Tinkercad. You will need to create an account: https://www.tinkercad.com/learn

You will also need to join our class.
PERIOD 2: https://www.tinkercad.com/joinclass/T4VMFQLKY
PERIOD 3: https://www.tinkercad.com/joinclass/VFBBT93K6

Photoshop
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/tutorials.html

Video Editing (Premiere Pro)
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/tutorials.html

Web Building (WordPress)
https://wordpress.com/learn/

Illustrator
https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/tutorials.html

InDesign
https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/tutorials.html

 

For excellent, in-depth training on a wide variety of applications & subjects, I highly recommend checking out LinkedIn Learning through the Winnipeg Public Library. In order to access these tutorials, you will need a Winnipeg Public Library membership number. If you don’t yet have a Winnipeg Public Library Card, go HERE: Library Membership sign up

You’ll need that card number again, so copy and paste it into a Word document or an email to yourself or whatever! Don’t lose it!

Once you do have a card, sign in HERE: LinkedIn Learning

For this project, you’ll take 9 of the photos that you’ve taken and show me some of the places and people that you’ve photographed over the past few days. You’ll take those photos and fill in the letters that spell Westwood.

Start off by creating a new blank file. I’m making mine the size of a standard piece of paper,  8.5 x 11 inches, but I’m putting it in Landscape orientation, so my measurements will be 11 wide and 8.5 tall. If you want to make yours 11 x 17 or 8 x 10, that would be fine.

Don’t forget to immediately save your work with the proper name in your OneDrive folder:

This is actually pretty simple. First, find a typeface that’s pretty big and blocky. You need a nice, thick, bold letter. Start off by making the letter W in the top left corner:

PUT EACH LETTER ON ITS OWN LAYER!

You can copy layers (Ctrl + J) or alt + click/drag to copy out the letters until you have something like this:

Again, make sure that each letter is on its own layer!!!

Start by selecting whichever layer/letter you want to start with. Select the letter/layer.

Go into the File menu and choose Place Embedded…

Find your first photo and put it on top of the letter. Rename the layer.

You can move or resize the photo so that the most interesting part is right over top of the letter or move/resize later!

Right click on the letter and choose Create Clipping Mask

‘

Or… use the Layer menu and choose Create Clipping Mask’

You’ll notice that there’s a little downward arrow next to the layer icon:

And the photo now takes the shape of whatever is below!

You can move or resize the photo layer to get the most interesting part right inside of the letter:

Keep doing that until you fill all of the letters

Your layers panel will be staggered, with each photo “clipped” on top of a letter

Place another photo in the background and adjust that

You’ll notice that the really colourful letters don’t contrast with the colourful background, so use those Layer styles/effects. Select a letter layer and click the little fx button on the bottom of the Layers panel

Play around and find the right layer style for you. A Stroke makes a lot of sense to me:

Putting a fairly thick, dark stroke around a letter makes the shape stand out. Make sure the Preview box is turned on and move the panel so you can see what you’re doing. Play with the settings until you get a look that you like:

Once you find a Style/Effect you like, you’ll notice a little fx on the layers panel

If you want that same look on other layers, you can hold the Alt key and drag it onto another layer!

Have fun and be creative with this one!

Once you’re done your Westwood letters, feel free to take more photos or find photos on Unsplash to create different Photo Letters/words!

 

 

 

Here are a few basic tips to get you started taking “good” photos.

• Choose an INTERESTING subject – something that has unusual features, interesting patterns, is really beautiful or unusual, etc. Taking a picture of the wall or the floor will probably be boring.
• That subject should probably be the biggest, brightest, or most prominent thing. If you’re taking a picture of a cool car and I can see other cars, unless the cool car really stands out, you need to get closer and crop out some of the distractions.
• MOVE. Choose an interesting angle. Get close enough or far enough away.
• LIGHT. Photography is all about light. Without proper light, you won’t have a good photo. Make sure you choose or create suitable light for your image.
• FOCUS
  • FOCUS
    • FOCUS
      • FOCUS
        • FOCUS
          • FOCUS! Nothing ruins a good shot more than being out of focus, and while we can fix a lot of other things after the photo is taken, there’s not really much you can do if the photo is out of focus in the first place. Many a good shot has been ruined when it was taken slightly out of focus. Trust me. Check your focus!

If you can’t see the fancy form below, click HERE

If the form doesn’t show below, you can submit files by clicking HERE

Now that you know a thing or two about different types of contrast (not just colour, but size, shape, style, typefaces, etc) (review if you have forgotten) and you know how to put together a logo (review if you missed it), it’s time for you to put together your own logo that uses Contrast effectively.

You will design a logo for Westwood Graphic Tech. (you could choose a different topic if you wish.) Your logo will contain at least TWO types of contrast. You’ll have to explain your use of contrast after you’re done.

A lot of logos are pretty simple, but a lot contain a bunch of different elements. As we’ve discussed previously, the more that’s included in the logo, the more contrast you’re likely to find.

I’d recommend using more than one line of text. Westwood could be one. Graphic Tech could be another. You could even add a little slogan/motto/phrase to describe Graphic Tech. It also helps to include multiple shapes or images. You could design elements yourself and/or include icons from The Noun Project or a similar source.

Here’s an example:

The bright yellowish colour contrasts nicely with the dark maroon.
The dark outlines contrast with the bright coloured text
The silver/grey circle contrasts with the maroon circle
The two lines of text contrast in size AND typeface/style
The round background image contrasts with the straight, sharp lines of the GT icon

Use Illustrator to come up with your logo. Take the time to come up with a good idea/concept before you start! Ask for help/feedback/suggestions as you go.

Make sure you draw all elements or PLACE in vector files (like the .svg files you can download from The Noun Project.) DO NOT place .jpg or .png files unless you know how to Image Trace them properly!

Be creative and come up with something fun! Who knows, if you come up with something good, you may see it on stickers, mouse pads, mugs, or t-shirts around the school!

As a review and practice for creating your own logo, I’d like you to complete THIS TUTORIAL to complete the Side Slice Pizza logo. You will go over some tools that you should know already, and learn a few new ones along the way.

You will use THESE FILES to create your logo. Download them BEFORE you begin! FILES

TUTORIAL