My project is called Detroit Girl. It is a digital image that was created using Adobe Illustrator. It was finished on November 2, 2013.

The project is meant to be a printed poster, about the size of a movie poster. The subject of the poster is identity. More specifically it expresses how large a part the city of Detroit plays in my identity. Each different element is something about the city that is meaningful to me. The poster in deconstructive in that it has many layers with no clear hierarchy or movement. All of the little pieces come together to make the whole. 

In the project I tried to convey my love for the city and what a large part it plays in my life. All of the photos in the background were taken in the city. The map outlines the areas of town where I spend most of my time. The road signs are of the streets that I use most frequently. 

My piece seems to be quite different from some of my classmates in that it doesn't show me, or an interpretation of me. I think this may be because I think about myself as more of a sum of all of the things around me than as an individual. I wouldn't know how to describe my identity without talking about my home. It is also different from my classmates' work in that I decided to spend a lot of time on one piece instead of making a spread or other format. I thought that the one large piece would be something interesting that I would like to have at home. 

I think seeing a street art exhibit at the Chicago Cultural center may have influenced my choice to follow the deconstructive paradigm. I saw a lot of overlapping and layered elements there that I really enjoyed. 

My purpose is to show people how important my home is to me. That I am really nothing without or outside of my home. I intend to make the viewer interested in Detroit and think about the positive things that go on there instead of the negative stereotype everyone seems to have. 

P. Brown Identity Project Final

My project consists of three posters, from three points in my life where I identified with a particular group. Each of these three areas are areas I currently still identify with, whether it be strictly or loosely. Nonetheless, I found wisdom in each of these areas, and I decided to create three posters as visual representations of these moments in my life. I also wrote short passages in each poster to give the viewer just a bit more about who I am. This project is called "The Journey" as it aims to highlight the journey that has molded me as a person. I used a monochromatic color scheme with five colors, all shades of grey except for bright orange, which underscores my hair color, and my identification with "gingers" as a community.

hall Identity crit 2

Randall McNair: Identity: Final

Identity: Final Critique (Hadiya R.)

Hall Identity Final + Reflection Essay

      For this project we had to create something that expressed our identity.  For me my identity can be expressed by a number of things like through my art, the music I listen to, or the clothes I wear. In my life I have always been led around by my family following an unspoken saying that family is first and you do what you're told even if you don't like it. I have had to struggle with my identity, always, for the simple fact that everything I do has to be, for the most part, approved by my family or by my mother.

    My original concept was to create a series of photos in which I grew up listening to what my parents told me to wear instead of me being able to choose what I wanted to wear. I was going to have me as a child and then with each new panel I would have aged until I came to the age I am now. I wanted to have quotes from my family on how disapproving they were when they saw my sense of style begin to veer away from what they had tried to guide me to and how radically different it was from what my peers were wearing. 

    In trying to bring the above concept to life, I realized that it wasn't exactly an accurate portrayal of how me and my family clashed on the subject. So I revised it as my younger self representing what I had to do since I was too young to have a choice. The child is spewing quotes and sayings from what my mom and various family members have said to me over the years. The words are directed at an image of an older woman which represents me now. I am reacting to the quotes and fighting back to what they try to get me to do as I'm not a child anymore and can make my own decisions. My words end up having more reach to suppress what my family has said to me representing that, though they say these things to me, I am not going to let them suppress who I am and will dress as I please. The type face though not very confrontational is to be understood that my family didn't actually mean me any harm by trying to change my style of dress. It was more of a way to say that people who dress differently get looked at differently but living the life I have, I learned to not care what people say and to fight for what I believe is right for me- which is why my typeface is bolder, stronger, and has a longer reach than what the little girl is saying to me.

    I didn't actually add any clothes to the photos because this isn't really about what I wear, it's about my family interactions over my identity and who I chose to be in spite of them trying to make me something I'm not. I think I accomplished this task by giving viewers a chance to see how we clash at times and how even though your family means well, what they say isn't always right.

Laudenslager-Identity Final Critique/essay

This design, Going Outside of Comfort was created by myself in the fall of 2013. I used Photoshop and Illustrator to create these images.
The assignment, Us vs. Them: Racial, Ethnic and Cultural Roots, was to create a project that demonstrated our identity through a series or a detailed poster. The structure of the design is seen in spreads, which could be printed to tie in together. Here they are seen in a digital form.
The subject of my design is my identity journey through my personality, and the changes I've had through years. I am the specific subject, my personality and how it has changed based on my interactions with travel, dance and art. Secondary subjects would be my interests that are shown in the pages: travel, photography and dance.
Compositional elements within the piece would be the line and flow of the airplane in all spreads. This theme ties them together as an overall piece. The individual pieces would be seen as geometric, while the piece overall could be seen as integrative by comparing my personality traits to one another beginning to end.
This particular piece is pretty personal, it involves my direct experiences and how it has changed me.This brings an emotional feeling to the piece, that normally isn't seen in other works I have done. With this piece being specifically about identity it was hard not to incorporate emotions.
I don't exactly have inspiration from other designers here, they are my own experiences and thoughts about my personality. However I did want the pieces to be illustrated to relate back to emotion and not distance the viewer with the designs.
The events that shaped this design are things that have happened in the past. I am using integrative approaches to relate the designs to one another. The idea is that the designs work off one another.
My intent with this project was to create a personal design that reflected my identity and change. I wanted the pieces to flow well together, and have an emotional relateable feeling. I want the audience to look at the spreads, understand how they relate, and how my identity has changed because of the specific events and illustrations included.
I think these final designs were successful. Comparing to previous projects I haven't done something like this before, or something so personal. With the critiques the project grew stronger to relate back to each one before it. I enjoy the way they turned out, visually and conceptually. Weaknesses could be that I could do more with the project. The type is a bit weak, and I could consider including a side story to enhance the overall effect.