This class has been a whirlwind of assignments, design programs and stretching my creativity. I can honestly say, after reviewing my blog posts and reflecting on my time in the course, I have grown in my ability to brainstorm and work through creative blocks with the help of some handy tools, learning how to narrow down ideas and then executing them.
One of the biggest things I have learned in this class is how to properly search for inspiration. Early on, one of the assignments was to create Pinterest boards in order to help us along on our business card designs. As someone who does not frequently use Pinterest (shocking, right?) I was not really on board. However, beyond that particular assignment, Pinterest, and other google searchers, have become my main source for finding inspiration and ideas.
Another big thing I have learned from this class is how to narrow down ideas by working, re-working and sometimes even completely trashing a project. In other words, design takes time. You will never sit down and create a masterpiece in 15 minutes. You have to work on something, walk away, and come back with a fresh mind. Sometimes, you will end up with something completely different than what you started with. A great example of this can be seen in my most recent project. My dummy newsletter layout is very different than the final project in color and layout.
The early days of this class were frustrating, because I had not yet learned what I mentioned above. Looking back on my business card and letter head design, I feel like they would like very different if I worked on them today. This just confirms that practice makes perfect. Of course, I am nowhere near perfect, but I believe that I have improved a lot since day one.
