Graphic Design Semester Reflection

Takeaways

Throughout the year in graphic design I have learned many useful skills that will help me in the real world and in the design world. I learned multiple things in every area of guarantee. I learned technology tips, collaboration tips, communication tips, project management, and leadership skills.

Technology

I learned many things with technology. I have gotten much more comfortable with the softwares that I use for graphic design. I am much more fluent in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop than I was in the beginning of the year. I know the purposes of the tools, how to use them, and when to use them. These new skills are very important because I can take what I learned and use it in future designing and i can also help other people use the softwares if they need help. Along the way I faced many obstacles including forgetfulness. After learning the tool I was very good at using it but when I didn't use it for a while then I forgot how to use it. I was still able to overcome that issue because i was able to go back and look at tutorials that would help me. 

Collaboration

I have worked with people since I was little but I still learned very useful tips this year in graphic design about collaboration. I was able to learn how to give constructive criticism when I was in a critique. This is very helpful because now I know how to make helpful tips during a critique. Along with giving tips I also learned how to accept criticism that I receive from others. I was able to receive criticism from people in my class, my teacher, and upperclassmen who are also in graphic design. Along the way I faced the challenge of giving criticism. Before I didn't know how to suggest helpful tips and it took a lot of practice to tell someone how they could improve their project. 

Communication

Throughout the last semester and year I have learned how to work with others and talk to them. I have learned how to ask people for help when I need help or if I want an opinion on my project. These skills are important because with them I have the ability to go to someone and ask for help of ask for something if I need something. Along the way I had to face my fear of asking people I don't know well for something. 

Project Management

With project management I have been able to learn how to successfully meet a deadline. I have been able to use my time wisely and balance different things in order to get everything done. I was able to stay after schools when my project wasn't done so I could get it done and turned in on time. These skills are very important because if I chose to pursue this as a career I will need to be able to get things done in time for the clients. It is very essential that I stay with the schedule so everything is done on time and it is done to the best of my ability. I struggled a lot with project management because I am a perfectionist and I want everything to be as close to perfect as possible. Because I am a perfectionist I had to stay after school a lot to get it all done. The only problem with staying after is that I was a nanny after school so I couldn't stay after everyday so I had to manage my time better in class. 

Leadership

I learned many necessary leadership skills. I am able to help people with a project that they don't understand. These skills are important because I am able to apply them in my career later in life. I will be able to help others and ask for help if I need it. 

Strengths and Weaknesses

Some of my strengths is that I am hard working. I want to get everything done to the best of my abilities even if I don't like the project. Another strength that I have is that I am very good at collaborating with others. I am good a working by myself or working with others. I am also good with project management. I want to get every project done and turned in on time and make sure that it is done with my best effort. While I have some strengths I also have a few weaknesses. One of my major weaknesses is that I am a perfectionist. I want everything to be perfect and if I don't like it then I will change it until I do. The main issue with this is that I would work for a long time on certain projects and I had to stay after a lot. I have improved greatly this year because while I want everything to look nice and be done to the best of my abilities I am not staying after as much to redo it again. I still need to work on communication skills because I don't like presenting any projects in front of the class. I don't enjoy public speaking and when we had to present our graphic designer history project I really struggled. 

Why This is Useful

All the skills that I learned are all equally important. I will be able to apply those in all areas of my life not just in class. I will be able to use all this information throughout my life. I will be able to fluently use the softwares that I have learned this year. I will also be able to work with others and give constructive criticism. I will also use what I learned about communication in future jobs. I will be able to use project management skills later in life because I will be aware of my deadlines and how much time I need to spend working. I will be able to use my leadership skills also in future jobs and areas of my life. 

Changes?

If i could change anything I would go back and change all my early projects. Projects like the raccoon were not done very well and I would use all the information that I learned and I would apply it to those projects. I want to change that project because when I completed it I didn't know much about the softwares but now that I'm much more comfortable with them I could make the projects ten times better. 

Summary

Overall I learned more this year than I thought I would and I also enjoyed graphic design more than I thought I would. When I started the class I didn't know anything about the design softwares and I didn't know how to use them. But now I am much more fluent in the skills that I learned. I also felt very lost in the beginning of the year because I was behind on everything and i didn't understand but now I understand much more and i am not falling behind.