10.3

You the Designer This is a graphic design blog that features tips and tutorials for those beginning their journey into the world of graphic design. There are jobs as well as contests displayed on the site which are great for students looking for direction into the field. The site's gallery features everything from t-shirt design to business cards.

9.3

Outlaw Design BlogThis blog belongs to a group called the Outlaw Group who specialize in Wordpress design. The portfolio section of this blog is impressive and worth viewing. There are also helpful hints for freelancers in regard to a wide variety of topics from customer service to client selection.

8.3

Randa Clay Design Randa Clay is a graphic designer who specializes in many different creative outlets. She does web, print, word press and brand/logo design. She has a well-rounded portfolio and her site is easy to navigate. She also manages several other sites which are listed in her blog.

7.3

Creative Review This site intends to review advertising, design and visual culture. It is based out of the UK and it is interesting to see what people are creating globally. This site features everything from package design to television ads. Creative Review has "subscribers in over 80 countries and readers online in over 120."

6.3

Core 77This site is a design magazine as well as a resource. I like the fact that there is student work posted on the site as it helps me to gauge myself against peers. There are also general design discussion groups and job related design forums. This is a great one stop shop for experienced designers as well as those just beginning their careers.

5.3

Smashing Magazine This is a website dedicated to web design. I have just begun to delve into the world of web design via my Web Design one course that I am currently enrolled in. I found this site to be easy to navigate as well as informative even for a novice like myself.

4.3

David Airey This site provides a list of the top fifty graphic design blogs. David Airey is a brand identity designer who works with clients all over the world. With his level of experience and eye for design, I think there are probably many blogs on this list worth viewing.

3.3

The Dieline This site is the self-proclaimed world's number one packaging design website. I found it to be an interesting compilation of student and professional work. Much of the design work featured on this site is very unique and thought provoking.

2.3

Design Muse This blog is belongs to a packaging/graphic designer who also has a passion for typography. Most of the work that is posted on this site is done by others but is intended to create inspiration for other graphic artists.

1.3

I love typography I found this site to be extremely useful in the selection process of deciding on which typeface to use for different designs. Additionally, the site provides a history on a wide range of fonts which I found to be interesting as well as informative.

10.2

This is another flyer for the Industrial Arts Exhibition, however this design uses only a two color process. I find this piece to be successful as well in terms of fulfilling the requirements of the assignment. I overlapped text and chose a color that I thought would stand out to emphasize the words Antiques, Collectibles, and Classics. This design was also created in Indesign and the experience of creating the three different flyer designs has added to my proficiency with the program.

10.1

This is a flyer I created last quarter for an Industrial Arts exhibition. All of the copy was provided for us and we were instructed to use a three color process to create a design using text in a different and interesting manner. I enjoyed the process of creating this flyer and find the colors to be complementary. This design was created using Adobe Indesign and I am satisfied with the final result.

9.2

This design was created last quarter for an environmental design project involving South University. We were asked to photograph our campus and then find way to alter/improve the aesthetics of either the building or landscape. I decided to enhance the university's signage. I created this design with a combination of the programs Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. The images of the school were taken with my IPhone so they are a little raw. Eventually I would like to retake these photographs using a better camera as I feel that this would add to the overall detail of my design.

9.1

The design pictured on the left was created in Adobe Indesign. It is a three piece spread using grids. This project was one of my first attempts using Indesign. Although I prefer Quark to the aforementioned program, I was able to create the desired effects for this assignment. The aspect of this design I find to be most successful is the use of colors. I think the shade of green provides a nice complement to the bright pinks and purples.

8.2

The image on the left was an assignment from a previous quarter in which we were instructed to create a flyer for the state of South Carolina. This design was created with the program Adobe Illustrator. I used different transparency masks to give the design a light airy feel and to aid to the legibility of the text. Although, this piece is one of my more amateur works, I do like the vibrant colors of the different images which I think work well together.

8.1

This is a project for my Corporate ID and Branding course which I am currently enrolled in. The assignment was to create corporate stationary for the resort in Costa Rica that I have developed branding concepts and a logo for. Pictured on the left is a sample business card, letterhead and business envelope. The wave created above the name of the resort was done in Photoshop with the pen tool as well as the waves on the bottom of the business card. Otherwise, all of the images were created in Adobe Illustrator.

7.2

This design was created in Photoshop and is a multi-layered compilation. I believe that I used three core images in order to build this design. Additionally, I used several different masks to create this piece. I wanted to give the impression of the leaves floating in the water. Much of the details of this image were created using the pen tool to define the leaves. I spent a good deal of time working on this project and am overall pleased with the result.

7.1

The image on the left is entitled "Tulip" and was one of the first images I created using Photoshop. It was derived from an assignment in my Graphic Design Studio course a few quarters ago. As I was most assuredly a novice at the time, the work is a little raw but overall I think aesthetically pleasing as a whole. I altered the hue and saturation of the original image and used the pen tool to add the green detail. Also, I used different filters to create the background effects.

6.2

This is an image of a folder design I completed in last quarters concept design class. The design was created in Photoshop originally using images of different things found in nature. There are several different masking techniques used in this design as well. After creating the original design, I then placed it into InDesign to complete.

6.1

This is a logo design I have just completed for my corporate id and branding class this semester. Our assignment was to create a logo for a fictional resort in Costa Rica. I decided on the name Playa Azul for my resort which means Blue Beach.

The image of the wave was a sketch I did on paper and then traced on the drawing pad into Photoshop. I used the pen tool to color the image and then once it was completed I placed my graphic into Adobe Illustrator. My last step was to add the words Playa Azul to my design. This logo will be used for my letterheads, business cards, and envelopes for the resort.

5.2

This is a part of an aforementioned word/image project done in last quarter's concept design course. It is actually the first of the three series assignment and I think that the following two show the progression of my design process.

I created this piece originally in Photoshop using an image I found online of fish scales by Chris Porter. I used several filters, layers and color adjustments in order to create a glowing effect to the design. I then imported the image into Illustrator to add and place the text into my design. Overall, I found this to be an interesting assignment that I feel I was able to learn from.

5.1

Upon the suggestion of my professor, I have cropped this image of "Emily Cat" to bring the focus to the details of the face which is actually a combination of my own face and cat face. After I cropped this image, I went back into Photoshop and used the paintbrush tool to paint over the image to give it more definition. I enjoyed revisiting my earlier work and hopefully improving upon it. This project has inspired me to review other past works to see if they could also be improved upon. I think that this practice will aid in the building of my portfolio.

4.2

"Emily Cat" was the inspiration for "Piano Hands" and was one of my first attempts using Photoshop. We were asked to incorporate ourselves into our design so I decided to combine my face with the image of a cat. I also made the decision to place the cat in an an asylum, (this was not intended to be a commentary about myself). I had fun with this project despite the fact that reflecting back on the design I consider it to be pretty amateur work. I chose to post this design as a reminder that we all have to start somewhere.

4.1

The image on the left was created in my GRA 1160 class a few quarters ago. The creative process for this project began through inspiration derived from my experience with a previous photo composite assignment, specifically the inclusion of “ourselves” in the project. Whenever creating an image with no formal guidelines, I feel as though the artist handles the project in a more personal manner and is therefore more able to put their “touch” on their work. I decided to take a literal interpretation of this by including my own hands in the composite. Additionally, I wanted to create an image with bold colors and bright contrast, so I incorporated two strong complementary hues to stand out against the black and white keys of the piano. While I would consider “Piano Hands” to be an image for my creative portfolio that would be appropriate for more design-oriented jobs, I also realize that there are others for which it would not be. Overall, I enjoyed the process and am generally pleased with my final product.

3.2

I honestly do not remember which class I created this design for but I do remember the assignment. We were to create a flyer for the "10th Annual Arts Exhibition." The copy was provided for us and our objective was to use text in an "interesting" manner. We were also limited to a duotone color palette. I wanted my flyer to be legible yet different so I used both black and white lettering in an overlapping format. I enjoyed working on this assignment and I think it showed as my design was praised by my professor.

3.1

This design is another example of the word/image association assignment in last quarter's concept design class. I remember I googled "disturbing images" and the face on the right was one of these images. Finding the face inspired the rest of the design. I knew that I wanted it to have an eerie feel so I felt that the barbed wire image on the left was a natural choice. I also feet that the color palette I chose for this project further adds to the overall unsettling feel of the piece.

2.2

This image is was created in response to an assignment in last quarter's concept design class at South University. We were asked to find a quote, poem, haiku, or song and to illustrate it with an image. My "quote" is actually one of Aesop's fables entitled "The Old Woman and the Wine Jar." I thought that the image of the bottle of wine was the most appropriate way to illustrate this fable. While working on this project, I had a difficult time deciding whether or not I wanted to include the image of the wine bottle or not. I thought that the placement of the words would convey the shape of the bottle on their own. Ultimately I did include the bottle because I thought that it actually did add to the aesthetic of the piece.

2.1

This design is the inspiration for my cd mailer. We were instructed to make a list of nouns and verbs and pair them together randomly. I chose a muted palette for this project in my ad design class. Using mostly shades of black and white, I feel that the words beak and bleed stand out due to their red. I spent much of my time while working on this assignment deciding where to place the words. In the end I was satisfied with their placement between the droplets and at the tip of the nose.

1.2

The image on the left is a CD mailer design that was done last quarter in my print production class. This piece was actually inspired by a project in my ad design class in which we used word association and images to create a design.

The title of the band I created is "The Beak Bleeds" therefore I wanted to incorporate avian inspired graphics into the mailer. I selected the image of the microscopic view of red blood cells because it just seemed to "fit." I also decided to have a mostly black and white palette with red as a highlight color.

I found this assignment to be an interesting challenge and I think that the skills I acquired in the creation of the cd mailer will be employed again.

1.1

My name is Emily Hughes and I am a student of Graphic Design at South University. Currently, I am of junior standing and should attain my B.S. in the field in about a year. Before entering the graphics program at South I had zero experience using any of the Creative Suite software and was forced to learn by trial and error. With the guidance of my professors and some aid from my peers, I feel like a have accomplished much in a relatively short period of time.

In addition to the degree that I am presently in pursuit of, I also have a B.A. of Studio Art. Having a fine arts background has helped me immensely in my current program. I have employed my knowledge of complementary colors and perspective as well as general creativity in my design work.

The piece displayed on the left is a self-promo that was an assignment in my ad design class last quarter. The original photograph was a full body shot that I have cropped considerably in a manner that I found interesting. I wanted to create a stylized image of myself to illustrated the skills I have acquired thusfar. The letters Mle printed in large font come from a "nick name" I gave myself in middle school. At the time I thought it was very clever and I guess I still do as evidenced by this piece.