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.