I am particularly excited for this class because during GRA 617, I excelled at the magazine spread project. I heed the last class’s warning when it comes to picking a concept that will grant me enough photographs. My classmates and I really struggled with finding images that were labeled for noncommercial reuse with modifications.
A recurring theme in Lessons Learned was not settling for your first design and not being afraid to experiment. During bootcamp, one of my professor remarks was that she admired that I never let my magazine truly be “done.” I would experiment with my design, take a step back from the computer to look at it from a different point of view. I’d print it out and lay it on the table and stare at it for a few minutes before declaring a part of the design “Canceled!” (You will definitely understand this reference soon enough).
In order to succeed in this class, I’m definitely going to come to office hours, ask questions and refresh some of my Photoshop skills using Lynda.com, as that is what I struggled with most in the summer. I can do basic photo editing but beyond that is still challenging. But, using how-to tools have proven to be useful for me. I enjoyed reading former students advice and can’t wait to get started.
Super glad you’re in the course, Amanda, and I’m happy to read that you are as discriminating as you are insofar as design is concerned. High standards and hard work and self-critique will help you go quite far.