Postcard: 1   Nicole: 0

This postcard was an essential exercise in many ways. This project allowed the class to be able to use the skills we learned making our flyer in InDesign, editing pictures in Photoshop and creating artwork in Illustrator. Repetition is the key to being successful at any specific thing wither it is a sport, a skill or just an activity.  Having the opportunity to use the skills we’ve learned during the previous weeks gave us the chance to use repetition in our work.

            This assignment made me a lot better with working in layers. I have a better understanding now when it comes to working in layers, both InDesign, and Photoshop. I never used to click on the layer that I was working on before I saved it, which made transferring the image to another template a disaster. After working in layers time and time again, I have begun to automatically click the appropriate layer before saving.

             We were taught how to silhouette an image a few weeks into the semester, but I never had to use it in any other project, so when it came time to do it for the postcard, I was lost. This project made me have to actually look things up by myself on YouTube to be able to complete the project in time. I am grateful for that. I think that sometimes when you teach yourself to do something it really sticks with you.

            My poster was all about my travel experiences. The color of background that I used was a deep yellowish, orange. When I picked this color, I thought about the different sunsets I have watched throughout my travels. Aside from color metaphorically fitting into my poster, it contrasted well with the colors I was wearing in my silhouetted portrait. Lastly, the color was bold and vibrant which I believe is fitting for my personality.

             I also used color in my design of the world. I created a globe in Illustrator to use in my postcard. I used a lighter green and blue for the graphic so that it would not be so harsh on the yellowish, orange background. I also gave it a blended filter so it was easier on the eyes. My hand is extended in the silhouetted portrait of myself, so I thought it would be appropriate to be holding the world in my hand to give the reader and idea of what the postcard is about.

            The font is where I ran into some trouble. Unfortunately, when it came to finding fonts and working between two computers, the fonts did not save properly. Since the postcard project, we went over how to package fonts into a zip file which will come in handy when working on other projects. For the postcard, I wanted to stick with the bold theme as well as giving it the feel of being a travel postcard. The fonts I used for the summited postcard was fonts that had to be changed last minute due to the saving problems. The fonts were Chasing Embers and American Type Writer Light.  I used Chasing Embers for the title of my postcard, where I used a quote instead of my name. I also used Chasing Embers for the font of my name at the bottom. I used American Type Writer Light for the body of my text. I thought it looked clean and legible. Looking back at it now, I would defiantly not choose those fonts again.

            To give my design proper design hierarchy, I used two oversized quotations in the quote that was the title of my postcard. This gave the postcard balance. It extended the title, so it was the largest and boldest sentence on the postcard. From there the body of the text was under the quote, which followed by my name. My name was centered at the bottom of the page under the body so that everything stacked upwards. 

             Overall I think that this project has taught me the most about the Adobe Suite. Even though our poor Professor was about to rip out her hair, it was extremely beneficial. I am a lot more comfortable in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator than I was before. Someone in the library when I was working on my postcard asked me for help to get their background that they had gotten off the Internet onto their InDesign page, and I actually knew how it do it. Although I am not a master of Adobe by any means, it feels good to know that all of this information is being absorbed, even if it may be taking longer than expected.