Home Page & Navigation System - Final Project

Alongside my focal area of Criminal Justice, this semester I decided to pursue my passion for the arts by taking a course in Photojournalism and this course in Digital Art & Design.  When reviewing the Module: 6 assignment, I assumed to take on a non-profit organization. It wasn't until the discussion where my research began, and I saw artists take great pride in their personal portfolio work. Which lead me to where I finished off tonight. 

All of the above photographs were shot by me during this semester for my photojournalism course. The portfolios I came across that I enjoyed the most, were the ones that were minimal and simplistic. I wanted to create a website that highlighted some of my favorite pieces in an organized manner, while being easy to navigate. I plan to put to use in the near future my newly acquired skill set in Photojournalism and photoshop to hopefully bring this website to life!

A few issues I ran into during this project was keeping the many layers as organized as possible. I started to create folders to help me with this. Also the font placement, color, size, and choice took very long to get where it is now.  

Hope you enjoy!

-Michael

E-Card Design - Watt Makes More Sense?

The intention of my E-Card design is to bring awareness to the cost effectiveness of switching to a modern LED light bulb. It is said that an incandescent light bulb will last up to 1,000 hours, while an L.E.D. has a minimum of 10,000. 

For my E-Card I used a total of 4 images. The two light bulbs, the grass, and the light bulb/recycle logo. It took me quite a while to get where I have finished up. After my initial concept deign was established I started to web search for images. With the two light bulbs, I opened them up in Photoshop and with a combination of the magic wand tool and quick selection I deleted their white backgrounds. I also did the same for the grass, but played around with the opacity and then using the paint brush tool to soften and darken the hue of the grass. I also painted the sky with the paint brush tool. 

Lastly, I wanted a logo to pull my design together. During my research, I found this fantastic Eco friendly light bulb logo design. I was not interested in using their exact design, nor did I like the heaviness, hue, and color. With the magic wand tool, I selected the white portion of the bulb, copying then pasting onto a new layer. I then flattened this layer with the film grain filter. With each project, I am feeling more comfortable using photoshop and navigating around this program. 

Charlie Parker - Updated Spine Rotation

Above is my final Charlie Parker Book Cover Design. Jon- Thank you for pointing out that the text in the spine needed to be rotated. Hope this is correct! 

Charlie Parker - Book Cover Design Update

I first want to thank Jon and my classmates for the great feedback as without your help, I would not have pushed my design to the stage it is now at. Above is my updated book cover design. I took the time to think about the design as a whole and making the front, back and spine more cohesive. With every assignment, I am growing more and more comfortable with photoshop and overall, I am very happy with the results. 

Thank you!
Michael

Charlie Parker - Book Cover Design

For my book cover design I decided to select Jazz musician Charlie Parker, a.k.a. "BIRD". I've always admired Charlie Parker for his distinct smokey American style Jazz. When developing my book cover, I wanted to incorporate this smokey feel into my designs. 

I learned and grew more comfortable using the magic wand tool, brush dodge and burn tools, eraser, and filters. After applying a filter to my photograph, I used the magic wand tool to select to erase speckles from the layer. I then created an additional layer, placed underneath the filtered photograph to apply subtle color to my design.

During my research, I came across Charlie Parker's tombstone, which had a saxophone and a bird. I was inspired by these symbols strong symbols represented and wanted to incorporate something similar. 

Final Awareness Poster - Pet Adoption

Here is my final draft of my awareness poster on pet adoption. This is a picture of my dog Jack. I wanted to incorporate the soft side of my pit bull Jack to capture the audience. As the breed tends to get a bad rep from the media. I wanted to keep my design simplistic

M03 CP - Awareness Poster (Part 1)

The main focus of my awareness poster, is to bring awareness to the issue of Pet Adoption. I plan to use an adorable photograph of an animal and a bold font, such as helvetica. I want the text to either state a statistic and be informal, or to be humorous and have the dog "talking". The imagery will be large and the text bright in color or at least white; a clean design. This poster would fit perfectly with the ASPCA, Animal League or AdoptAPet agencies. Please see the below images I am deciding between:

A photograph I took of my Shih zu Cookie.

My other Shih Tzu Coco.

My pitbull Jack, trying to fit in the Shih Tzu's bed.