smasonarts346

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Final Reflection

Reflecting on this semester, I’m genuinely proud of how everything came together. At the start, I wasn’t entirely sure how all of my ideas would connect—there was even a moment early on when I considered scrapping my original concept altogether. I’m so glad I didn’t. Sticking with my initial idea made the project feel much more personal, and I believe that connection helped me design it more thoughtfully and intentionally.

Looking at the project as a whole, I’m really satisfied with how the design campaign turned out. I wasn’t sure what direction I would take with the artist’s book, and I debated whether creating an entire website would be feasible. But I pushed myself to sit down and really brainstorm, and that process helped me bring everything to life.

Personally, I think the strongest part of my project was the keychains. They felt super practical, and I could genuinely see them being useful in the real world—especially for people like me who often forget or struggle to carry their EpiPens. I loved the concept, the color choices, and how well the final product was executed. It felt like a real solution to a real problem.

On the other hand, I think the artist’s book was the weakest part of the series. I adored the idea behind it, and I thought the pistachio theme was really cute and on-brand, but the interior felt a little underwhelming. While it aligned with my overall message, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing—maybe it could’ve been approached differently from a design perspective. Still, I appreciated the interactive element and how opening it mimicked the experience of cracking open a pistachio.

As for my presentation, I think it went well overall, though I did start to feel a bit anxious toward the end and ended up rambling. I wish I had more time to dive deeper into certain aspects, but the time constraint made me feel a little rushed. One key takeaway from this is learning how to better manage my presentation—knowing what’s most important to say out loud and what can simply be shown visually.

All in all, I truly loved this project and how it turned out. I’m proud of each component, from the posters to the digital campaign, and how well they worked together. Making it personal to me made the process even more meaningful. I think I really stretched myself creatively and made growth as a designer, both for others and for myself. I'm grateful for this class and everything I’ve learned throughout the semester.

[smasonarts346]

ARTS 346 - Blog 8

There were a few key points from the reading that stood out to me. Pilloton mentioned her emphasis on designers applying their skills to “blind spots”—areas where people need life-improving solutions. I found this perspective insightful and inspiring. Also her use of wording was what initially intrigued me. 

Another idea that caught my attention was her approach to design, which starts with “criticism laced with optimism”. I thought that was particularly interesting because it highlights the importance of giving yourself constructive feedback while also maintaining confidence in your skills. This is something I definitely want to incorporate into my own approach to designing mindfully.

This week, I gathered all my materials and began working on my packaging. I brought my sewing machine from home along with various threads so I could start crafting my products. It turned out to be more challenging than I anticipated—not only because I hadn’t used a sewing machine in a while, but also because I had to figure out the best stitching method for the elastic material I purchased.

I ended up hand-sewing one of my keychains, and I absolutely loved the result. My concept and overall vision feel solid; now, I just need to find a more efficient way to execute my ideas. Hand-stitching them was surprisingly simple, so I’m confident that using the sewing machine will make the process even smoother, allowing me to produce a lot with the materials I have.

I plan to continue working on my project over spring break, but I know this will be a work in progress until I finalize my designs

[smasonarts346]

ARTS 346 - Blog Post 7

I thought this week's reading was pretty sightful. I had a lot of good takeaways about protecting free expression and regulating harmful content in design and media. I think what heller wrote is strong because as he explores historical and modern cases of censorship, we see how societal norms, politics, and ethics shape our speech. I agree that we should have free speech but we should use it responsibly, especially in design to educate and protect the public.

This week, I actually really enjoyed the Live quiz we were assigned. I thought it was fun to exercise the brainstorming and design processes in such a short amount of time. I liked my poster but I feel as if I went too literally. After seeing everyone else's creative ideas, I’d love to think more outside the box with the next assignment and see what I can achieve in 75 minutes. 

Going into next week I have a few goals for myself. I want to finish my branding so that way I don't have to worry about it over spring break. I need to order my material and pick up my sewing machine so that way I can craft what I need to. I have some faith that what I want to achieve will come to fruition and the end result will look nice. I haven't sewed in a while but I want to give it another go.

[smasonarts346]

ARTS 346 - Blog post 6

This week’s reading was particularly engaging, and I found it interesting to connect Swanson’s discussion on plagiarism with some of our class conversations. Swanson argues that plagiarism is harmful not only because it is dishonest but also because it stifles critical thinking, creativity, and meaningful learning. By failing to have authentic engagement, plagiarism hinders the development of an individual’s unique voice.

I saw a strong connection between this idea and our discussions on AI. Like plagiarism, I feel that AI can sometimes limit the critical thinking process and creativity. While AI has its advantages, there is something irreplaceable about human creativity and originality. Having creative freedom is essential, as it allows for true innovation—something artificial intelligence simply cannot replicate. I feel that exercising our creativity is crucial for learning and personal growth.

This week felt like a period of exploration for me. I refined my packaging ideas and am really happy with the direction I’m heading in. As I mentioned last week, my main focus has been designing with the user in mind rather than just aiming for aesthetics. One of my favorite aspects of class is hearing everyone’s ideas, brainstorming together, and gaining insight into each other’s projects. I appreciate how open our discussions are—it’s inspiring to bounce ideas off one another and see different perspectives come to life!

[smasonarts346]

ARTS 346 - Blog 5

This week, we submitted the first portion of our project, focusing on digital design. I’ve decided to continue developing my ad campaign, and I feel confident about the direction it’s taking.

In class, we also discussed packaging—its visual aspects, functionality, and execution. Initially, I envisioned a package designed to resemble a nut on the outside, which, when peeled or taken apart, would reveal an EpiPen. While I liked the aesthetic appeal of this concept, our class discussions made me realize the importance of designing with purpose. Instead of focusing solely on visual impact, I need to consider how my design can effectively educate and assist people who may not know how to use an EpiPen in an emergency. This raised a critical question: How can I create a design that is easy to understand and provides clear, immediate instructions for emergency situations? After class, I came up with a couple new ideas that I want to explore further. My goal is to prioritize the user experience, ensuring that my design is both practical and accessible. At the start of this week’s reading, it highlights how designers have the ability to communicate and create tools that respond to our reactions in different situations. With my packaging design, I want to establish a strong connection with the user while also ensuring it resonates with my own experiences—making it something I would personally find valuable and practical.

I enjoyed the section on Sprint’s Reclaim packaging. Even though it discussed older phone models, it was fascinating to see how Sprint balanced sustainability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in their design choices. Moving forward, I plan to refine my packaging concept with these insights in mind, ensuring it is both meaningful and functional.

[smasonarts346]

ARTS 346 - Blog 4

Reflecting on this week's reading, I found this piece interesting. I enjoyed how the short story was narrative-driven and included some dialogue. The message felt similar to other readings this semester, but what stood out to me was the author’s idea of wanting to “opt for irresponsibility” in design—where, in this case, being irresponsible is actually a positive thing. From this, I took away that Garland encourages designers to prioritize honesty and meaningful communication over creating designs solely for commercial gain. 

Now that we’re in week 4, I’ve done a lot of exploration. I initially worked on my animation using After Effects, but I found it difficult to achieve what I envisioned. So, I switched to Procreate Dreams, which has been much easier to navigate. I’m really liking how my animation is turning out. I’ve been intentional with my color palette and illustrative style to keep the concept bright and fun. My animation aims to tell a story of what it’s like to eat something you’re allergic to, feel the panic, and use your EpiPen.

After our class critique, however, I’ve been inspired to pivot towards a new idea. I’m now considering an entire food allergy campaign and how I can use three parts of this project to bring it all together. I’ve been thinking about incorporating digital signage in a doctor’s office or a digital billboard. I’ll continue working on my animation because I really want to finish it and see where it takes me. For now, I am going to continue with my animation before Tuesday and start working on other digital signage to further explore this new idea I have.

[smasonarts346]

ARTS 346 - Blog 3

I really enjoyed this week’s reading—it aligns closely with previous readings in emphasizing how design can foster meaningful connections within communities. One section that stood out to me was about Sue Crolick and her nonprofit, Creatives for Causes, which mentors at-risk children through art. It was inspiring to see how design can have such a powerful social impact.

The text also highlights the role of educators in promoting socially responsible design. Professor Nace and I briefly discussed ensuring that my animation isn't solely focused on my personal experience with allergies but rather captures the universal feelings and urgency that come with an allergic reaction. A key lesson I’ve learned, especially from User Design, is that you have to create with the audience’s needs in mind, not just your own perspective. As I move forward with this project, I want to be mindful of that—while my personal experience informs my work, my goal is to represent a broader range of experiences.

This week in Process and Systems, I started illustrating my concept, which aims to inform people about allergies and depict life with severe ones. During class, I refined my idea by mapping out a storyboard and planning my execution. I intend to use Adobe Animate or After Effects to bring my vision to life. Initially, I wanted to illustrate someone eating—moving food to their mouth, chewing, etc.—but after discussing with Professor Nace, I realized I should focus less on the act of eating and more on the emotions and urgency of an allergic reaction.

Now, I’m considering close-up shots of a person in shock after consuming an allergen, using color to signify an emergency, and incorporating subtle yet impactful visual cues to convey an allergic attack without making it overly literal. My next big steps are to create a project timeline to stay on track and conduct further research on how best to achieve my vision. I have a clear idea of my illustration style and color palette—now it’s time to bring it all to life!

[smasonarts346]

ARTS 346 - Blog 2

Last week after our discussion on what a book is, I wanted to do more research as to what I wanted my topic to be. I was interested in diving into the topic of anxiety because that is something that I struggle with and I thought it would be interesting to explore that in 3 different ways. However, I decided to stick with my idea on food allergies and its effect on my life because that is also very personal and I have many ideas with that as well. I also think it would be a great chance to shed some light on food allergies because many people have severe allergies and it would be great to inform people. One thing that I found interesting from the article was how Hunt argues that we as designers have a responsibility to contribute to our community and beyond academia and address real world challenges. Hunt also suggests that we can foster societal change and inspire others to take actions. And while, I may not be producing the most societal change, I still think this topic would be great to inform people to be more aware on how allergies, especially severe ones, can affect others.  The article serves as a call to action for scholars to balance intellectual growth with meaningful community contributions. One part of the article that I enjoyed reading was the segment on 947 years. I thought their design and concept was a great way to inform citizens about their rights and spread light on those that were falsely imprisoned. This coming week I need to learn a little bit more as to how I want to go about the process of creating an animation. I want to use after effects but I've had minimal practice with it so I want to explore ways as to how I can achieve what I want. I also want to map out more thoroughly. I want my animation to include something other than what I presented in my storyboard; for example how it will be cut from each scene and what the words will say.

[smasonarts346]

ART 346 - Blog 1

After reading Good Citizenship by Katherine McCoy, several key takeaways stood out to me. McCoy emphasizes the ethical responsibility of design, highlighting its power to shape public discourse, influence opinions, and raise awareness on important societal issues. She argues that designers have a duty to use their skills for the greater good rather than solely for market-driven purposes. Reflecting on this, I connected her ideas to our recent lecture on the evolving concept of what a book is and can be.

For my semester project, I initially chose to focus on my life with severe food allergies—an important and personal topic. However, after class discussions, I started considering a shift to exploring my experiences with anxiety. While anxiety may seem like a broad subject, it’s deeply personal to me, as I’ve lived with it since middle school. I’m intrigued by the possibility of conveying the intense, racing thoughts, constant restlessness, and pervasive worry that characterize anxiety. This topic offers rich potential for emotional storytelling through book design, screen, or packaging.

Some initial ideas I had after discussing books and binding, I envisioned a tunnel book or brain-like structure symbolizing a journey into the mind. Additionally, I was inspired by a ball of paper and text we saw. I thought of representing my mom’s description of me as a "ball of stress"—a literal, tangled visualization of anxious thoughts.

McCoy’s argument about leveraging design to contribute to society resonates with my desire to raise awareness about the debilitating impact of anxiety, especially on young adults. I see this project as a chance to educate those who may not fully understand its challenges and to use my creative skills for meaningful impact. Before making a final decision and jumping ship, I’m eager to explore the possibilities further, I have more research to do, and of course talk more about it with Professor Nace! 

[smasonarts346]

246 Reflection

As the semester comes to an end, I have reflected on my growth as a designer and student overall. I would say that my style and knowledge as a designer have changed a lot from freshman year to now, almost being a junior. This year I feel like I did a lot more experimentation in Adobe and pushed myself to become more familiar with the software. I played around with special effects and learned a lot more about tools and tricks that could help me design in the future. My favorite project from this semester was the Logo Development project. I loved branding the company that I constructed and making the stationery for it. I feel that I had a clever idea and I loved building my concept up from the beginning. I learned how important stationery is paired with your logo because it helps with visual identity and consistency. Other concepts I learned more about were hierarchy, intentionally relaying messages through your designs, the importance of the grid, working with constraints, and just more about typography as a whole.  There were times in the semester when I struggled and faced challenges with my designs, but I sat down and gave my designs some more thought and eventually made it to my end goal. Each year in the program, I fall more and more in love with graphic design. I love being able to talk to my peers in critique and show my designs as well. I love the classroom of designers I get to be with every morning and seeing their creativity as well. I love being able to exercise my creativity practicing more freedom as I get into higher-level classes and I am super excited about all the things I may get to design and do next semester in and outside McMaster. I am so thankful for all the input and help I received this semester because, without constructive criticism, I could have never grown as a designer. Overall, I had a lot of fun with 246 and I appreciate all the help along the way. 

[smasonarts346]

Blog Post 12

One project that I found interesting to read and that was visually appealing was the Banknote project given on page 212. I thought the concept for this project was interesting because when do you get the chance to design your currency also, I didn’t know that a paper bill or money was referred to as a banknote. I thought the compositions that were presented in the book were cool and I think I would enjoy doing a project surrounded by this concept. Another project that I had an interest in was the Latin and Non-Latin Typographic Forms project. That was just another project that I felt had a cool concept to it because we’ve combined types before. However, combining types from another language seems like it would be a lot of fun. I feel like that would just entail a lot of experimentation and I like the first piece by Fatima Bukhshaisha that was shown in the book. I can't believe that we're wrapping up our final projects for this semester and it all went by so fast. My goal is to finish strong for this semester. I like where I left off for the TypeHike Poster and I enjoyed making my type specimen. As we come to an end with our process books, I am more focused on working with my grid. I am currently building the chapter covers for my book and everything is pretty structured with the grid I want to incorporate that throughout the book to create a really clean look. Right now I’m just finishing up the pages that introduce each chapter but I’ll be starting to lay out my projects soon. I have everything gathered and written, I just need to place my stuff in the book. I'm excited to see where this takes me because the idea I have for my book right now is completely different from what I designed my freshman year. I think it’s cool to see how my style has sort of changed throughout the year but also what has remained the same.

[smasonarts346]

Blog Post 11

The two case studies that caught my eye first were the title sequence for the film Superman and the title sequence for the film True Lies. Those were just very visually pleasing to me and I had the most interest looking and reading about them. I like how both of the title sequences display contrast with there being a heavy black background and then bright type against it. For the Superman title sequence, I actually watched the 5 minute clip of the entire opening sequence and it was really cool how the type moved through space and it kind of made you feel like you were in space as well. The textbook talks about how the speed and motion of this sequence was accomplished by tracking rear-illuminated typography in front of an open camera lens. Each frame captures a streak of light that starts and stops slightly before the light streak recorded on the next frame. Going into next week and finishing up our TypeHike posters, I am really considering how I want to animate my type specimen and what program I will use. I was thinking a lot about effects because I was to make my type move into the screen almost as it looked in the title sequence of Superman. Since I am nearly done with my poster, my goal for this weekend is to work on my type specimen and postcards so I can go into next week prepared to turn in all my final products!

[smasonarts346]

Blog Post 10

I feel like it was the perfect alignment for this week's chapter to be in motion in typography because I am working on my typehike poster and I want to incorporate the aspect of motion and movement. I'm still in the very beginning stages of designing my poster because I want this to be good and I am also still figuring out which technique is the best to achieve my ideas. Even though this chapter related heavily to motion pictures, there was still information that I could apply to my animation in Artivive and just my poster in general. For my project, I want to either have my chosen type or incorporate a hand-lettered type to immediate lava and I would like for it to move when seen through Artivive. I made a note in the section about hierarchy because if things are moving, and even when it is still, I want to make sure that the reader can see the title of my park even though it will be surrounded by similar shapes of lava. Something else I took note of was that readers rely on both what type looks like and how it moves to help them interpret the message. I want to make sure that whatever I create, will provide a clear message to the audience. Other principles were just definitely ones to think about when I created my poster, like movement and rhythm. I want to make sure that the splatters of lava and the type are congruent and rely on that sense of movement. This chapter mentioned that In a motion sequence, the designer may also animate the type so it comes toward the viewer, increasing in size until it fills the frame. I think moving forward into next week I need to work on perspective and how I can make the lava look like it's coming towards the viewer. I also need to think about how I can get my poster to have movement, even when it is not animated. My goal for this weekend is to finish the rough draft of my poster and establish my design more in Illustrator.

[smasonarts346]

Blog Post 9

The one section in chapter 8 that I found super interesting was the section on structuring web pages. I feel like this section sort of dove into UI/UX design but I thought it was super interesting to read about the structure of the page and spatial organization. Besides HTML, I didn’t know much about JavaScript or CSS, so I was intrigued by the different types of web design technology and how websites can be built to be interactive. In Particular, I liked reading about the different grid systems on the web and how a website grid system can be adaptive, fixed, or responsive. On the topic of responsive systems and interactivity, I am excited to see how Artivive will trigger a view for our digital-type specimen posters. I’ve been thinking about the artistic aspect of this project and how I want my poster to turn into an animation. For my design, I want to incorporate metallics so I can achieve the luminance of the lava. I chose the typeface Museo Moderno because I felt like it embodied the feel of lava. I want to play off of the idea of splattering lava in some way and work with perspective. For my animation, I want the splatters of lava to move whether that may look like lava spewing in the viewer's face or lava dripping and flowing through the poster. I want to establish more of my ideas this weekend and think about how I can incorporate movement through all of this. I think establishing movement throughout the poster will be a really good idea. Another goal I have for myself is to think about animation and how I want my poster to come to life while also incorporating my type. Additionally, I need to work on figuring out the composition of my type specimen and how I want it to be displayed. 

[smasonarts346]

Blog Post 8

This chapter was a good read because I learned a lot about the industrial history of type programs and how web typography has made it this far today. The segment of Desktop Publishing was interesting, because it’s weird to think, in a different perspective, that the computer is programming my designs to make them work on my screen. This section talked about how we have made it far in typographic technology and we as designers can make changes to our designs, make mockups, and print different files in different formats. Within that same paragraph it also mentioned how we have the freedom to experiment and manipulate the leading, tracking, and kerning of our type. On that note, there is still a lot of experimentation that I need to do for my zine. While I am still gathering my information about Saul Bass, I know there is a lot to figure out with the composition of my information and how I want to place everything on my zine. I know that I want to do text wraps, however I need to make sure the text is wrapped in a way that my images are clearly recognizable. As we talked about in class, I think rather than doing different movie posters on each page, I want to move forward with taking the body parts from Bass’s Anatomy of Murder poster and placing them all on the zine. I feel that would be really interesting, and if one were to open up the zine, it would create that full image. I also want to keep the positive and negative space idea, and make every other page black or white. My goals over spring break are to finish gathering all my information, reworking the layout of my zine, incorporating graphic elements, and getting it printed and made! 

[smasonarts346]

Blog Post 7

This chapter was perfect for our upcoming zine project, especially since our zines are supposed to be heavy in text rather than images. I enjoyed reading this chapter because I can directly relate all that was discussed to this project and use some of the typographic practices that were mentioned. For my zine, I chose Saul Bass as my graphic designer. I want to incorporate all the movie posters he did because they are very geometric and solid. I think I can work with the positive and negative space and create the image through text outlines in Illustrator. I know this chapter mentioned a lot about visual exaggeration, transformation, and substitution. I think it would be great to play around and try to apply one of those typographic elements as I start to design my zine. Even if I don’t use them, I think it would be great practice! This chapter talked about how the associations formed between verbal and visual attributes are found in a variety of configurations which is what I am striving for. As I start to build my zine in Illustrator, I want to place my text in a linear fashion that makes a notable image of the graphic designs he has done for the movies he has worked with. Going into this weekend, I want to do a lot more research on the movie posters he has worked on, his influence, and his style when it comes to his work. I also want to work in Illustrator and see how I can work with the positive and negative space I mentioned before and maybe see what kind of configurations I can create out of that.

[smasonarts346]

Blog Post 6

As we are wrapping up this logo project, I had a lot to reflect on while reading chapter 5 in our textbook. One segment that caught my eye was the section on typographic lines. I found it interesting how it broke down the relationship between individual lines of type and the surrounding space. Furthermore, the paragraph mentioned how the smallest change in point size, weight, or line length controls the overall emphasis given to a line of type. Now, while I may not have had multiple lines of type, I did have a group of type that I created from my logo Greedy Gadgets. I feel that it was easy to come up with many ideas for this project however, when it came to the type for my logo mark, It took a lot of drafts to get to my final. I played around with the weights and point size of my type. I also practiced where the circular dots at the end of my ascenders and descenders would go. Plus, I worked around the leading so that my type wasn’t too close to one another. I had to determine when the overall effect was balanced and good enough to be my final wordmark. It is important as designers to consider typeface selection, spacing, and alignment, especially when making a logo and wanting it to have that harmony and balance. As far as my progress, I am just finalizing my project in Illustrator. I have to get the materials for my envelope and letterhead but I know what material I am looking for. I also am going home this weekend but I have a printer and plenty of paper supply stores near me. The biggest thing I plan to tackle is working with the metallic lining I plan to use. other than that, I am feeling good about finishing this!