"How To" Reflection

1. I think the strongest component of my poster is the visual sequence because the sequence is very clear and easy to understand. The sequence is also logical. 
2. One thing I would do differently is to find a better picture to make the pile of folded clothes. Compared to the light weights of the other pictures on the poster, the outline of the folded shirts is too bold and stand out too much. Next time, I would probably hand draw the pile of clothes to make the whole poster constant and cohesive. 

Book Cover

The idea for the book cover comes from an important scene in the story. This is the place where the main character learns a valuable theory from her mom. The main focus of the design is the swing because the main character is on the swing when her mom tells her about the theory. I was able to create this using gimp with help from the online images for inspiration and creation of this autumn scenario. The font type of the title reflects how elegant the theory is, and the script font type shows how personal the story is. The cover is an extension of the front cover. Basically, the front and back cover are combined, and together they create one whole image. This cover should attract viewers who can sympathize with this autumn scenario either because they have experiences that are similar to this or this scenario just reminds them of their childhood in general.

Book Cover Designs

I like this cover because of how much this cover fits the title. The smoke from the match goes with the word "pale," and the match represents the fire. Also the smoke gives the book a mysterious feeling that draws out my interest and desire to read the book.

This cover is definitely spooky. The two mirrors look like a pair of eyes when they are put side by side like this. Also it makes me thought of ghost stories that are related to mirrors. Scary. (I am already having goosebumps.)

This cover is really colorful. The colorful words stand out against the white outline of a female in pain on a black background. The bright colors match the idea of "splashes of colour." The only thing I don't like about the design is the bar of color on the top of the cover. Those color looks out of place. 

At first glance, I thought this was a box full of little earrings. Then I realize that it is a book cover. When I look closely at the little objects, they do seem to give off a feeling that they are transparent, but they are really not. The cover brings out my curiosity to find out how the little objects relate to the story. 

A fork that looks like a hand or a claw. Creepy, but at the same time interesting. This makes me wonder what kind of book this is. After reading the title, I can see that the fork relates to the table and bent part of the fork relate to the wolf. However, I am uncertain about the color of the fork. The red either represents blood or something else.

Overall:

The common characteristic of my five chosen book cover is that all the cover designs relate back to the title of each book in some ways. Also most of the designs seem to be a photograph or realistic enough to think of as a photograph.

Book Cover: The Kite Runner

The cover with the two boys and a kite in the sky fits the story because the book is mostly about the lives of two boys in Afghanistan. The theme of the book is father and son, but it is through the semi-tragic lives of the two boys. Even though this cover shows the main characters of the book, the cover with a single boy flying a kite fits the title of the book. This is hard to choose, but overall I like the cover with the one boy because the color is not as bright as the cover with the two boys. The cover with the two boys hurts my eyes when I look at it for too long. 

Competition Design

At first, I was thinking of drawing a section of the school that used the central stairs as the focus, but the design got so complicated. Then I thought of the school as a whole and how there were always students  entering (as freshmen) and leaving (as graduates). The school was never complete because of the entering and leaving, and this reminded me of an incomplete puzzle. So I had the white missing puzzle pieces to show the incompleteness that I associated with the school. The words that were on the design was a requirement (and so I had no choice but to include them). The phoenix came from the new school logo on the school site. I included the people of different kind and doing different actions to show the different people in MHS. The different people were also the ultimate image that you would see after the puzzle is complete, which is never going to happen. There were some alignment and repetition in the design. I created the design using gimp. 

Best of 2013

• The Cloister - I got to go see The Cloisters for the first time ever over the summer. I had actually never heard of The Cloister until my summer professor told the class that we were taking a field trip there. Although I didn't get to explore the whole museum, I did learn a lot about the square garden from making lots of drawings of the garden.
• Fragments (Renzo Piano Building Workshop exhibition) - This was my first time going to see an exhibition full of models of an architect's works throughout his life. Each model was so detailed and neat that it didn't seem to be put together by a human hand. Also each of Piano's design was very unique and different from each other. It was a very interesting exhibit.
• Junior/Senior Officer - I never thought that I would turn out to be a Senior Officer now. A year or two ago, I would have never image myself taking on something that required leadership skill and/or participation in discussions. At the time, I only knew that I wanted to plan my own senior year and so I signed up for the position. Truly, I never thought that I would get the position; and so this whole officer thing still seemed somewhat of a dream to me.
• Going to school two weekends in a row - I never thought that I would have the experience of going to school for 14 straight days. Over summer, I had to go back to school during the weekend to finish my projects as the deadlines were coming up. It was a horrible/great experience. It was horrible because I didn't to relax over the weekend. It was great because I sort of got to know my classmates better during those times.
• Highline - I walked the Highline over summer with my dad and brother, starting from the half way point. It was a nice experience because I hardly ever got to go anywhere with my family. It was a nice family bonding time, discussing about the construction and structure of the Highline. 
• College Interview - It was not as scary as I thought it would probably because my interviewer was nice and friendly. We talked about everything, ranging from school to Hurricane Sandy to personal experience. The whole interview seemed like a chit-chat between friends. Hope that future interviews will also be as comfortable.
• Hadar Foundation 20th Anniversary Celebration - It was the first formal event that I had ever been. I didn't know what to expect, but I tried my best to dress nice. That day was very cold and I was wearing a dress, but it was worth it that I was able to hear professionals doing some wonderful playing, acting, and singing. 
• Submitting my first college application - It was a nerve-wrecking experience. I checked over my application again and again to make sure that everything was where it was supposed to be. At the end, I felt lightening up after the submission because I had one less thing to worry about. 
• Working until the last minute - At the end of my summer class, I had a final group project where my group mates and I worked until the last few seconds of the deadline. That day, I had less than 5 hours of sleep but was still able to do a decent presentation of the project to a group of audience. Guess what? My group was also the first group to go. 
• Chelsea Music Festival - I was supposedly to present a project to the guests that were coming to hear the shows, but that day, I couldn't present the project to anyone because the table was set up outdoor, where there were no outlets. Instead I got to hear the show for free along with the paid guests. The singers were amazing and their voices were all in harmony with each other. 
• Gates of Paradise - This was the last book of series that I loved. I waited one year for this book to come out and I finished the whole book in one day. I was disappointed that the series had ended, but I loved the happy ending. 
• Bus - On my way back from The Cloister, I took the bus and got off at the wrong stop. I got off at the west side of the central park, when I was supposed to get off at the east of central park. Since I didn't know when the next bus was coming, I walked all the way home, which was around 10 avenues and 5 streets from where I got off the bus.  
• Watching movie - My brother and I hardly got to spend quality times hanging out with each other because of all the school works. So I had the greatest time ever, when we got to re-watch a funny movie from our childhood together while eating a late lunch one Saturday. 

Green Team Logo

1. How does your logo design represent the after school club or activity?
My logo design represents the after school club through the symbol, which is an image of a sprout. The color green also reinforces the purpose of the club or what the club is about (which is being green).
2. Which process was most helpful in creating your design?
The concept board and the digital draft on Gimp were the most helpful processes in creating my design.
3. What was the most challenging aspect about the logo design?
The most challenging aspect about the logo design was coming up with different and unique ideas for the logo design. There were too little symbols that represented all aspects of the club. I had to pick one aspect of the club to work with. Using Gimp to create the design was challenging as well.
4. Are you satisfied with your final design? Why is your logo successful? If you are not satisfied with your design, what would you like to change?
I am satisfied with my final design because I have put in a lot of efforts and overcome many problems to create the design. My logo is successful because my logo represents an important aspect of the club, which I think is the urban farm. Also the logo promotes the idea of being green by protecting the plants.