Dot: Graphic Design Student

graphic design student of Professor Victoria Martin

Hats off to the incredibly talented graphic design student Dot; who makes everything he does look effortless.

This piece is based on the Synergy Imagery assignment. Cool overlapping and blend options. This design demonstrates you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just have a great concept, use high res images, and experiment with type and color.

Sara T: Photoshop 2

Sara T. student of graphic Design at PBSC Lake Worth

Today it’s all about Sara T. who is a talented graphic design student at Palm Beach State College, Lake Worth Campus. These pieces were created in Photoshop 2 where students were asked to create artwork to go on a card.

It could be a playing card, greeting card, or tarot card based on Astronomy or Astrology. Fun! Great work Sara. You have a very bright artistic future ahead of you if you keep up the good work.

Sara T. student of graphic Design at PBSC Lake Worth

Feature Student: Rachelle

 I would like to share the work of another talented student: Rachelle. Today we had our critique in Photoshop 1. The students had to create a character and side kick/ villian, etc. After they completed the artwork the students had to create a book jacket (which has to be printed and fit onto an actual book). The students measure a book they own and set up their document to fit that individual book.  During crit student pass their books around the room so their classmates can appreciate the craftsmanship.

Next: the book has just gotten a movie deal. So they have to create a movie poster. And of course we know all movies advertise and have big splashy marketing campaigns. So the students also had to create no less than 2 swag pieces and a website mock up.

Rachelle painted her own face with body paint, photographed herself and then edited those photos in Photoshop.

As designers we often have to reshuffle artwork for different applications and media. Well done Rachelle.

professor victoria martin students work
professor victoria martin students work
professor victoria martin students work
professor victoria martin students work
professor victoria martin students work

In Class Demos: Character Design

When students have a reference point to start a project, it makes things easier. Two weeks ago  I started a digital painting in class and last week I demonstrated how to convert that artwork into a book jacket, poster and website. By no means are they polished but each provides my students with a clear example of expectations.

When you are a designer, especially if doing corporate work there is a lot of rearranging content in different ways. It isn’t unreasonable that you create a vertical that needs to be in a square frame or wide screen. Or consider a responsive web design. Desktop view, tablet and a vertical mobile design.

I also demonstrated how the color of a typeface effects how readable it is. We also discussed the differences between serif, sans serif, body type and display type. Different font families all have different purposes and applications.

And most importantly, I demonstrated why type shouldn’t be set in Photoshop. Vector programs (Illustrator and Indesign) are much better suited.