Unfortunately, I did not successfully meet all the objectives of the course. The professor included this paragraph in his introduction of the course:
"Your learning is
my objective. People say they see the world differently after taking the
course. I have seen the most dramatic results in students who have
applied their new knowledge to their art and graphic design projects.
Their designs are more intelligent, more creative, and more articulate
than prior to taking this course. Your success in the course will depend
on your investment in critical looking and critical thinking. Although
reading will comprise the bulk of your time, looking and thinking are
most important" (Manske, 2013).
One objective I successfully met, was the learning portion. I definitely learned a great deal about the history of graphic design, as Meggs and Purvis's treatment of graphic design history was extensive. Additionally, the blog feedback from both students and the professor was immensely helpful in the developing a journal, particularly in challenging my assumptions. For example, we were already over halfway through the course, before I realized I was still failing to distinguish graphic design and fine art. This was definitely a misconception I had before starting graphic design courses, I sort perceived graphic design as visual art in a commercial context. From the beginning of the textbook, this assumption was challenged repeatedly, especially in chapters that focused on the key role of typography. Yet, I still somewhat carried over this presumption through half of the course. I required feedback regarding the inappropriateness of some field journal topic selections before this confusion was finally brought into focus. This example extols the importance of interaction in order to maximize learning potential. Having taken online courses at other colleges and universities, I can attest that Foothill typically facilitates the most interaction between students.
However, I found it difficult to apply the information to my designs. I am concurrently taking graphic design studio I, and I don't find my designs any "more intelligent," "creative," or "articulate." Disturbingly, I think my designs (I'm referring to the optional assignments) might be worse than they were when I began the course this quarter. So, my reflection the last week has focused on why this issue has happened, despite my effort in the course. I came to the conclusion that I may have taken this course too early in my graphic design coursework. Prior to this term, I had almost no exposure to adobe products, and so I think I focused more trying to figure out the tools, than the quality of the designs. It reminds me of the early 2000s, when I first was exposed to Geocities websites (for those of you who are unaware, Geocities was a Yahoo! webhosting service). The website I created was atrocious, and would make any graphic designer cringe. However, as someone who limited internet exposure, I enamored by all of the elements I could place on the webpage. So, my pages were filled with ridiculous animations. My current designs, while not as ludicrous as my foray into Geocities, are terribly busy and mostly focused on handling the tools of Adobe. Had I taken graphic design after the novelty had worn off, my designs may have improved. I definitely plan to revisit the textbook after I have a few more quarters of classes completed.
Additionally, I regret that I did not continue an element of my field journal that was present in the first few entries. Initially, I had each entry include something that I produced myself, either as an example, or an attempt to apply information I learned. After the initial few chapters, I became absorbed in the research, and tended to forget my own applications of the material. Additionally, some of my topic selections made this more difficult. How would I apply a design to a discussion of disappearing jobs?
Where I have absolutely struggled, is in the area of developing observation skills. This is actually not a new issue for me. My husband frequently states that I have "poor situational awareness skills." During the history of graphic design, I occasionally noticed some elements discussed in the world around me, but not at the conscious level of my classmates. Frequently, classmates would mention something in their blogs, which I was also exposed to in my own experience, but simply failed to notice at the time. In order to come up with journal ideas, I usually needed to spend 1-2 hours on the internet pursuing various avenues, before even coming up with a topic. I did not demonstrate that same ability to just see topics in my world around me. However, I have more frequently found myself noticing principles from the studio class in graphic designs around me, in contrast to information learned in this class. As an older student, I am well acquainted with my learning style, and so this development is not surprising to me. I have always found that project and fieldwork courses to have more of an impact on the way I see the world. This presents another reason I should have continued to keep my own designs in the blog posts. That's not to decry the value of reading and writing based courses, but in terms of learning style these courses are best for developing (and maintaining) the ability to articulate one's thoughts.
A reflective post regarding a graphic design history course would be incomplete without a discussion of history. I was most fascinated by the earlier chapters of the text, because the information was surprising. Prior to opening the textbook, I would not have expected such a text would begin with cave paintings. I would have expected it to begin around the time of the printing press. Meggs and Purvis's (2012) decision to begin the discussion at that point indicative of the fact that nothing develops out of nowhere, every field has it origins in the beginning. Additionally, technology was frequently cited as the catalyst for change, and that is seen frequently in today's society. One only need to compare to rendered images to illustrations, to see that technology changes the look and feel of graphic design.
Overall, I enjoyed the course, and I look forward to looking back at this field journal and the text later in my journey of developing graphic designs skills. Additionally, the rich collection of images will continually provide a source of inspiration. Finally, as a result of this field journal experience, I contemplating continuing this journal (although less extensively) in order to reflect on my learning in other GID classes.
Additionally, I regret that I did not continue an element of my field journal that was present in the first few entries. Initially, I had each entry include something that I produced myself, either as an example, or an attempt to apply information I learned. After the initial few chapters, I became absorbed in the research, and tended to forget my own applications of the material. Additionally, some of my topic selections made this more difficult. How would I apply a design to a discussion of disappearing jobs?
Where I have absolutely struggled, is in the area of developing observation skills. This is actually not a new issue for me. My husband frequently states that I have "poor situational awareness skills." During the history of graphic design, I occasionally noticed some elements discussed in the world around me, but not at the conscious level of my classmates. Frequently, classmates would mention something in their blogs, which I was also exposed to in my own experience, but simply failed to notice at the time. In order to come up with journal ideas, I usually needed to spend 1-2 hours on the internet pursuing various avenues, before even coming up with a topic. I did not demonstrate that same ability to just see topics in my world around me. However, I have more frequently found myself noticing principles from the studio class in graphic designs around me, in contrast to information learned in this class. As an older student, I am well acquainted with my learning style, and so this development is not surprising to me. I have always found that project and fieldwork courses to have more of an impact on the way I see the world. This presents another reason I should have continued to keep my own designs in the blog posts. That's not to decry the value of reading and writing based courses, but in terms of learning style these courses are best for developing (and maintaining) the ability to articulate one's thoughts.
A reflective post regarding a graphic design history course would be incomplete without a discussion of history. I was most fascinated by the earlier chapters of the text, because the information was surprising. Prior to opening the textbook, I would not have expected such a text would begin with cave paintings. I would have expected it to begin around the time of the printing press. Meggs and Purvis's (2012) decision to begin the discussion at that point indicative of the fact that nothing develops out of nowhere, every field has it origins in the beginning. Additionally, technology was frequently cited as the catalyst for change, and that is seen frequently in today's society. One only need to compare to rendered images to illustrations, to see that technology changes the look and feel of graphic design.
Overall, I enjoyed the course, and I look forward to looking back at this field journal and the text later in my journey of developing graphic designs skills. Additionally, the rich collection of images will continually provide a source of inspiration. Finally, as a result of this field journal experience, I contemplating continuing this journal (although less extensively) in order to reflect on my learning in other GID classes.
Works Cited
Manske, K. (2013, September 23). Introduction [Syllabus Document]. Retrieved from Etudes: https://myetudes.org/portal/site/bdf36633-c2b6-4907-80f7-5d8893bb6a6e/page/cfaac9fa-e44d-438e-00c5-263125edcee6
Meggs, P. B., & Purvis, A. W. (2012). Meggs' History of Graphic Design (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Meggs, P. B., & Purvis, A. W. (2012). Meggs' History of Graphic Design (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc
