Microagression

I've had a couple of experiences with microagression, some where I have been the microagressor and some where I was the victim. I think most would rationalize their own microagression towards others as jokes. Like I've had friends who I called an oreo as a joke but not realizing the power of the comment. One that I've been the victim of was when a friend asked me what my heritage was. I started to list the places that my ancestry is from, then they proceded to say "Oh, so you're just white".

book covers

I think this book cover for the Great Gatsby really captures the essence of this book. The cover has a lot of symbolism which one may not understand until they have read the book. From first glance it does show the vibrance in the book. I think since this book is already known as a classic this cover was commissioned for people to look into the deeper meaning.

I like this cover because it incorporates type into an optical illusion. The shades of red are very distinct against the white background. The negative space created by the shape in the middle is the focal point of the work.

This cover drew my attention because I recognized  the character immediately. It has such a dark tone which represents the title which is the dark knight. I think the background makes this book appear very violent and gory which it is. The blood also creates a very interesting texture which adds to the gore.

This cover is unique because it used text within a shape. Even though I have no idea what the book is I can assume what genre it will be. I think the creator used quotes from the book in the thumb which could also replace a blurb.

The title on this cover was very effective at drawing my attention. The way that the designer incorporated the idea of the book into the typeface was interesting. It looks like oil but in bubbly cartoon characters. The simplicity of this cover almost gives an exclusive look. Especially the beige background which looks like sand.

The name of this book is subtraction which could be implied from the coloring of the shape. The background is also black which mixes well with the grey and white. This cover has no title which evokes a lot off curiosity. So much that you would have to read part of the book to understand the title and the cover.

I think this cover has some foreshadowing with the pattern. The stranger is about an ostracized citizen going through a weird judicial system. The pattern is incorporated everywhere except where the title is which gives a feeling of being ostracized.

I think that these covers all had an eye catching illusion. Some also had patterns which created textures within the cover. Some also provoked ideas about what the book entails. The shapes within the covers were also placed nicely with the focal point in mind. I liked the backgrounds of each book cover because they were never too bright unless it was white, which contrasted with the rest of the details.

Before and after poster

Before 

After

Break post

During mid winter break I spent most of my time upstate at my country house in Shekomeko. I had my friends Raku and Dimitri come with me. For the most part we just played around in the foot of snow there was. My friends made an igloo, and we all sledded a bunch. We also went skiing for one of the days we were there. We made a lot of hot cocoa while we were there. My aunt is also a veterinarian so we occasionally visited to play with animals. She let us hold a snake which was boarding with her. When I got back to NYC I went with Raku and Anika to a Korean Barbecue place called Cho Dang Gol which was very fun.

Logo Reflection 2/26/15

1.What was the most challenging aspect of creating your Logo design?
The most challenging aspect of creating my logo design was tracing the eagle from the dollar bill. This was very tedious and took several class periods to finish

2.  How did you overcome the challenge?
I spent time mastering the pen tool in illustrator by playing the training game on the adobe website. Then I carefully followed the edges of the eagle on the dollar bill.

3.What was the most successful aspect of your Logo design?
I think the symbolism and attention to detail was the most successful part of my design. This included the arrows and olive branch for war and peace along with the libra. These represent war, peace, and judgement. 

Gallery assignment

A. This artwork was located on the floor of a gallery in the Lower East Side called Brennan and Griffin. The artwork around this piece was very unique, modern, and abstract.

B. This piece drew my attention because it was very simple yet inspiring. The fact that it is just a rag and canvas atop a wooden structure makes it seem almost as if someone was moving something into the gallery and forgot some materials. This reminded me of a mess in my room or the invisible artwork gallery.

C. I know that this artwork was made intentionally to appear this way. I also know that the artist tends to make extremely unique pieces like this. His name is Mateo Tannatt and he is from Los Angeles. One of his pieces was dropping a piano 80 feet to make an audio composition.

Finding type homework

This label uses a script font. The label was for a food product and the script font enhances the look. It illustrates the brand title

This is a bottle of madeira which  uses a stenciled slab serif font.  It was used as the label for the liquor. I feel it is appropriate as it makes the bottle look very manly and dangerous. 

This logo is a combination mark which uses a san serif in italics along with an old style with serifs and italics. It was on a capital one bank atm and is the logo of the bank. It is appropriate because it is strong and bold.

This card includes an old style font, a modern font, and a decorative font. This was on a card from a bakery and it was used to make people feel invited. Yes I feel that they variety of fonts was appropriate because it illustrates a vintage card.

What font represents me

I think that the font Avenir represents me because it is simple and nice. It's also very easy to read. It has many variations which can give a more decorative look or a very informative look. It is also very modern and geometric. This font has many different benefits and variations like me because my personality is dynamic and constantly adapting. This font was made in 1988 which was the year my brother was born by Adrien Frutiger, a famous typeface designer.

In debate club, which I participate in, we discuss solutions to hypothetical and real world problems. Some examples are government surveillance, ISIS military action, and police brutality. We usually have an initial bill which we make amends to. This helps to teach valuable skills on debating and the american legislative system.

What are the debates usually about?

What are examples of debate questions?

What is the benefit from this club?

This is the Nike logo, I find this enjoyable because it is very iconic and simple. It is also very symbolic because it represents victory, and Nike is the greek godess of victory. It's almost like someone and they checked something off the list. Now everyone recognizes the symbol because its on 9/10 shoes you see on the street.

I think this Logo is very clever, it shows a play on words along with a very fitting graphic. the mug is a bar code and the mug would usually be at a bar. Most would assume the function of the logo just from seeing this, maybe it allows u to buy liquor on a credit card.

Portrait Transformation

Before

After

My concept for this transformation was my combination of city and rural life. I have a country house upstate where I took the snowy background photo. This became my best candidate for a combination of city and country life because most identify the city with its buildings. Also trees and hills are representative of country life. The picture I took of myself is of me wearing my city clothing which is different from the stuff I wear upstate. I think this all came together well to exhibit the contrast between city and country life.

Gif design project

1. While using photoshop, what was the most frustrating aspect of the program and/or project?
For me there was a tie between tweening and the organization of layers because redrawing 25 of the exact same thing was extremely annoying and tweening only one layer as opposed to all of the preceding layers was impossible.

2.  After completing the project, which tools do you feel most confident in using?
The eraser.

3. Which tool do you wish you were better at using?
The animation function, I was totally unaware that photoshop even had this. It could be easier to use than flash if you are trying to manipulate photos. Perhaps making more realistic looking animations.

4. What would you like to create next with photoshop?
As I said before I think it would be challenging but fun for me to make an animation using photos. This could be achieved by using the animation function in photoshop.

5. What is the final symbol's concept?
My final concept reflects the attitude of most during the recent ebola epidemic. The media has practically manipulated everyone into completely freaking out and fearing that this disease may be a precursor to an apocalypse, thus including the skull. I also found the symbol for a quarantine. Quarantines have been a big subject of controversy during this outbreak of ebola. In West Africa certain airports are closed and parts of towns are completely sectioned off. In America politicians are instituting very strict quarantines for all people coming from West Africa.

This is my gif of me using nunchuks. I used a canon 5d on continuous shooting, it is shot in front of one of my dads art pieces.

Paul Rand graphic design concept board

Inspirational logo

My Letter Project Reflection:

1. When I created the original draft of my idea I started with two basic 3d cylinders. I made these into logs by changing the texture with a brown colored pencil. For the flames I looked online at many photos of burning logs because fire is hard to imitate. I then added the color of the flames with several layers of colored pencils making a gradient. When creating the final I used the center as a reference point from there I proportionally sketched the logs. In the original I had the flames overlapping the upright log near the bottom, in the final I excluded them for a more realistic feel. When making the flames on the final Ms Lee advised that I use my colored pencil to the full extent by pressing harder thus creating much more vibrant colors. I also used this technique on the top of the logs to create a darker brown because this part should look more burnt. I think our process would develop better if we had more time and drafts created before we made the final.

2. When creating our concept for the letter we used a thought web to brainstorm ideas. I used the letter L which is the first letter in my first name. This naturally lead me to elaborate on my personality and traits. Words such as live, litt, likable, and warm lead me to think about Logs which are burning. My actual concept became the fact that the letter is on fire creating a feeling of hostility and this can also be looked upon as being warm. 

3. For me the most challenging part of this project was choosing between the different ideas I had at first. One of my ideas was the shadow of a streetlight casting an L shadow but this was deemed impossible or hard to conceive. Although that one would have been better conceptually the aesthetic part would have been bad. This made me choose the fire one, although I was originally leaning towards the first idea.

4. I'd say I'm pretty satisfied with my project although there is still room for improvement on my flames. I would like to learn more about how to imitate flames especially since they are dynamic so it's hard to draw them at a static point. 

5. If I were to change anything about my project I think it would be the one shade of brown I have to color my logs. I would make it a gradient to show which areas are more severely burnt. I may even use black to simulate already burnt parts. I could also draw thin black lines in the logs to better imitate the texture.

First Post!!!!!

First Post!!!!!

I know Ms Lee wants this first post to be about myself but...
WHAT ABOUT SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENCE?

This is HUGE!! How is it that everyone in the world is not intensely following this election that will decide if the UK will disintegrate?!?

This is Great Britain's famous union jack the flag that once represented a union where the sun would never set, Do you notice anything that is similar to Scotland's Saint Andrew's cross?

One third of the union jack is made up by Scotland's flag!! Along with the flags of Saint George and Saint Patrick. This means that Scotland's independence could jeopardize the UK's flag.

The vote is set to arrive early on friday September 19th which is tomorrow. This could either grant Scotland complete independence and dissolve a 4 century old union, or Britain's government would grant many of the ordinances in which the Scottish deserved. If there is independence tomorrow this could result in controversy surrounding Britain's nuclear submarines held in the region and the natural oil coming from Scotland being used for a slush fund.