Project 1: Essay Analysis

The project was a set of three posters in digital media based on deconstructive, integrative and geometric design ideas with the common theme of a personal job one has had. The materials I used for this was photographs and digital media. The project was completed on the seventeenth of October.

The method of the deconstructive and integrative parts of this project use photographic images that were then processed though Photoshop and brought i­nto Illustrator where text was added. The geometric part was done only using Illustrator. All of them were done to be presented in a digital media. The main subject of all three parts is a focus on a job at an industrial print shop. The deconstructive and integrative parts were done with a focus on contrasting my future work as a professional graphic designer and the back industry that I am learning though working at my current job. The geometric part of the set focuses on a phenomenon called “color fatigue” which is where your eyes see the same color but the color actually is different. The integrative part is integrative because it is comparing the shape of the tie with the shape of the hands. The geometric is geometric because of the patterning effect created by an organization of squares on a tilted grid. The deconstructive is deconstructive because of the layering of text elements and distortion of the photographic element.

This work relates to me because I dislike the notion of calling something my “worst job” there may be unpleasant experiences at a job but there is always something to be gained from all experiences. This job in particular means a lot to me not only because it was my first job but also because it is the job my dad has had for over thirty years now. This job is also the backend to what I am currently studying at DePaul. I have the unique opportunity to learn about practices and limitations of the graphic design trade that most designers never really get to see unless they actively search for it. I know the limitations and capabilities of each printing method and know which ones are more cost effective than others to use.

The effect I want this work to have is educational I want people to feel the urge to learn more about where their studies come from to become better at whatever it is they are striving to do, weather it is graphic design or otherwise. In particular though with the geometric piece I wanted to educate people about a little known occurrence called “color fatigue.” Color fatigue is when you are looking at one color and over time your rods in your eyes begin to fatigue, while your brain continues to say it is the same color to compensate from this the color is actually changing. This is why we have Pantone color codes and different meters to check the color of paper instead of going only on what we see.

I feel that for the most part this project came out pretty well, my integrative and deconstructive are a bit weaker than what I wanted then to be, then again they are both styles that I dislike doing. I’m very happy with how the geometric came out. Over all I could use more practice in styles that I am not use to.