Throughout my time as a student at Liberty, I have been able to work on several different graphic design projects, whether in classes or as part of my job. This has been instrumental in growing my understanding of the role that design plays both on its own and within social media.
Graphic Design:
One of my favorite projects was from an intro to graphic design class, where I created both a poster and social media posts.
The prompt for this project was to create a visually engaging poster and three coordinating social media posts to promote a specific event of our choice. I chose to create the concept for an outdoor art workshop called Brush and Bloom. The overall aesthetic of this project was inspired by florals and the colors of springtime, since this is when I planned for the event to take place. The main color I used throughout all four pieces of work was a light green to represent the springtime aspect. I also included other visual elements such as paintbrushes, a palette, and flowers to tie together both the artistic side and the outdoor side of the event.
I was able to really learn how to use colors and visual elements in an appealing way throughout this project. It was also crucial to understanding how to follow a specific prompt while still using my own creativity and personality.
In this same class I also did a project where I was prompted to develop a concept for a friend’s birthday party and then make this into an invitation. I only used Adobe InDesign to create this, as the main focus of this project was the use of typography choices, proximity, and alignment. I used center alignment throughout the invitation to create a visually unified piece. I also used the principle of proximity to group related information together and make it easier to read. The three colors I used were meant to be aesthetically appealing and fun without being overwhelming. I used the pink color only on the title section of the invitation to draw attention to this and make it stand out as the most important information.
This provided me with good practice creating something I could really use. I went through several drafts before settling on this last one. It was incredibly helpful to learn about alignment and text placement throughout this project, making sure the invitation was both readable and visually appealing.
Social Media:
I work remotely for the company Pro Remediation Services and run their Facebook account. I have designed several ads for them and am including several of my favorites. I begin the process of creating an ad by simply doing research on what specific audiences found to be most appealing in terms of visuals, language, and other strategies. I then use platforms such as Canva and Adobe InDesign to create a design. I finish these off with captions and then post them.
This has provided me with great experience in both social media and graphic design. I have to ensure with each ad that I create that I am presenting a unified message, color scheme, and overall branding on the company’s Facebook page, something that will serve me well in any job I may have in the future.
Each of these projects have helped me develop my own unique process when it comes to design. My favorite part of each of these was getting to walk through a project all the way from start to finish and ultimately learn what works best for me as a designer.
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