Were you ever told when you were a kid, “Just wait until you get into the real world”? As I go through my second week of college I have mixed feelings about wether or not I am in the real world. My professors are actually really nice this semester and it seems like I might catch a break and make decent grades. On the other hand, I am starting my new business and it has stressed me out I am pretty shocked I don’t have a full head of gray hairs. 

              As far as my major’s class this semester, PR Publications, I can honestly say it was fairly interesting. Tuesday the Professor went about explaining how cool images are created.  This image, for example, looks like it was created starting with a white background, and then they added some circles that are bleeding off the page. They use color contrast and different types of fonts and font sizes to guide the eye to what they are wanting you to look at.  To be honest, I’ve seen hundreds of business cards and advertisements like this and never once thought there was a reason for the design or how the design was created. 

             Thursday we learning about what types of fonts they are and appropriateness to those fonts. You wouldn’t want to put a circus font on the page of a funeral post. Come to think of it, I probably have used plenty of fonts that were totally inappropriate for the situation. This image is a fantastic example of appropriateness, The left side is super goofy looking and it looks like someone might have forged the certificate. The right side has the font of a more appropriate certificate.  

Anyways, that’s pretty much the highlight of my week! Have a great weekend!

​ I came into PR Publications completely late and totally freaking out because I had no idea if I would be able to join the class or not. We were learning about the thinking process of making movies and categorizing them into different stages. Personally, I still don’t get it but I did take note of a few things so that maybe I’ll be able to understand later and not lose that knowledge. The Professor had us write down on sticky notes the methods of what the people in the video clip we watched about the creation of Inside-Out. Then he had us go put the sticky notes under each category: empathize,  define, ideate, prototype, test. I think that he was trying to establish a thinking process of how to write a publication in the future to aid in it being successful. This method is used also in advertisement. However the difference between advertisement and publications is  advertisement is paid for and not controlled. Publications is paid for but is controlled. I was supposed to post about what we learned on tuesday however I was not there on tuesday. I did, however, learn that school in fact did start on tuesday and that I should double and triple check when school starts next semester.

Here is a link to what we learned. I’m not sure if it’s the exact link we watched but I read the post and it’s essentially what we learned, I think.
 ​http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/making-inside-emotions-didnt-make-848249

    As soon as I was able to drive I wanted a job so I could do the adult thing and do whatever I wanted with the money I earned. It seemed that no matter where I went I needed more experience. But, wait, how is a sixteen year old who has never had a job supposed to get experience if no one will hire them? You open a business and become a good interviewer.
     My mother, being the business making machine that she is, helped me create a small business of my own. It had no name but it was about selling ice cream. In the summer I would go to Crest, buy dry ice (which of course I lied about my age to get it), buy novelty ice cream and put it in a cooler to sell. I made different routes for the car dealerships that I would sell to door to door. I did this for two summers before I actually got my first job. 
       I learned that no matter what your situation is, only you can fix it. I needed/wanted money and the only person that was going to get it was me whether I got hired somewhere or not I was still responsible.

    This week in PR publications, we went through a veritable InDesign boot camp. It turned out to be the best way I could have learned the basics of InDesign, and I was relieved by how familiar so many of the tools felt to those in Photoshop.
   Our first day was a catch-all for fundamentals. We learned everything from drawing shapes to inserting and transforming images as part of our efforts to recreate an annual report. Croom worked quickly, but the people around me were kind enough to explain whatever I missed. The most confusing part was honestly just opening the page. I wasn’t at all familiar with the dimensions in the way they were displayed. Oddly, the way those options look on the Creative Cloud I bought look completely different.

​    I’m glad Croom taught us what most of them mean in the class version of InDesign since I won’t get the chance to experiment with the exact same platform at home.
   Day two was all fonts. We were tasked with recreating a newsletter page using both the final image and a cheat sheet with each font’s details on it (i.e. type, size, leading). It got me thinking about setting up my own computer’s font selection by using one of the font downloading websites Croom promoted during our first week. I’ve frequently used dafont in the past, but it could be time to branch out.

​I love this website. It’s going to be difficult to restrain myself from downloading more than I’ll ever use!

Graphic design is a great thing. It allows us to create unique advertisements, fun signs and everything in between. We see graphic design in almost every aspect of our world today and it is so important. However, unless you have had at least 6 months of experience, it seems impossible. The amount of tools, techniques, and hidden tricks that are used when creating anything graphic design is crazy to say the least.  
My first time working with graphic design gave me slight anxiety and a major headache. During our entire lesson I felt like I was one step behind and constantly trying to catch up. Everything my professor said seemed like a foreign language, and I’m sure I kept a confused look on my face for the entire hour. During my public relation publications class, our assignment was simple; take an image, break it down, and construct a replicate version. This seems like a piece of cake, until you actually try it. Very basic graphic design pieces begin with just plain rectangles and columns. An example of this is placed directly to the right. The rectangles are moved, resized, and colored to make each design unique to fit the client’s expectations. Titles, images, and other information is added to give the design character and create something truly original. There are so many small details that can be added to make each piece perfect. Font sizes and styles are two that can impact the overall quality of the design. When choosing font styles, always be sure that is it readable and that it all matches. When choosing font sizes, make sure the title is the largest piece and the subtitle, or following information, is the second largest. If the design contains any type of quote, putting it in a different size font, with a skinnier or bolder style will allow it to stand out and create some dimension on the page. All of these aspects are some that make graphic design so incredible, as well as difficult. 
I am eager to gain more knowledge and experience in the graphic design world. Clearly I am not a professional, but I can learn. In fact, I’ve only been in class for two days and I have already come so far. Graphic design is important, and it is such an avid tool in public relations. Having the skills to create an idea and design it to become something extravagant is something that I am confident in accomplishing, even though it is challenging.  

More examples of awesome graphic design pieces are in the link below. 
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 toBefore beginning this course I was pretty nervous about what to expect because it had been a long time since I had worked with any design software. Once we got into InDesign on Tuesday it felt kinda like riding bike (not that I would know because I can’t) I just picked up where I left off. I always loved designing things for the couple years that I did and I had really missed it. Recreating the annual report cover was a little challenging at first but once I remembered all the tools and what to do with them it got a little bit easier. Even though this piece was already designed and I just recreated it, the process that goes into designing something is a really fun experience. There’s so many different things that you can do and once it all comes together it feels like magic in a way because in the beginning I never thought that I’d get there.
Copying the candy newsletter on Thursday was a lot of fun for me because I love spacing. Some people hate it and aren’t very good at it but I like to think that I’m pretty good at it. Putting together all the different pieces is cool to see it all come together. I know that I still have a lot to learn but I’m really excited to keep learning and to get better. InDesign is challenging and kind of scary but I’m excited to continue learning and working with it.