A Glimpse into the World of Design . . .
Launch the media gallery 1 player - media #1This year has gone by so incredibly fast! It is hard to believe we are almost in March…
This year has been gifted with students that are insanely artistic. It has been a lot of fun to watch them grow throughout the year. So far, our first-year students have learned the basics of Photoshop and Illustrator. We are finishing up the Illustrator unit - and moving into Color Theory and Color Psychology / Principles and Elements of Design where they’ll learn how to apply the rules of design into their artwork. As we move into the last months of IVVC, students will learn InDesign and be able to put together all the lessons from design as well as elements from both Photoshop and Illustrator to compile pieces of well balanced art.
Our second-year students have been refining their skills utilizing all the software and bringing the different programs together to create more complex pieces.
Pantone of the Year • Social Media Advertising Series (done in Illustrator & Photoshop) by Hayden G.
In addition to these types of projects, they’ve been managing our work-based learning section, producing quality work for our live clients. From signage to apparel - these kids are doing a lot of live jobs this year! Work-based learning opportunities are vital for student growth. It allows them to communicate with customers and learn how to take feedback and apply it to their work. Our second-year program runs like a typical Graphic Design department - so they are getting that real-life experience.
As we move forward with our school year, all students will engage in a larger cross-curricular project with our Culinary Arts class - Pizza Palooza! This is a student favorite!! Graphics students will be able to work directly with culinary students to create a unique pizza flavor and packaging. Students really enjoy being part of a larger project with an end product in hand. Second year students will continue with live work, as we finish up some larger projects for our clients. We will also be touching a bit on designing for social media a bit more - something that is becoming more and more necessary in our field. Second year students pursuing a career in the graphic design field will be focusing on building a portfolio that they can take with them when they enter the workforce after high school.
I believe most of our first-year students are planning to return next year, so I’d say that’s a pretty good year. 😀With the artistic abilities of this group, I am super excited to see what next year brings already - and this year isn’t even over yet!
Cool Graphics Extras!!
We currently have a team of three first-year students, Abbey, Allen and Matt, who are vigorously preparing for a Graphics Student of the Year competition coming up in March, generously hosted by VALEES. This consists of a project theme and several large pieces that they need to design and assemble to present to a panel of industry professionals. The theme of this year's competition is the Kindness Project. The team will need to market to school aged children from elementary to high school. Good Luck Team IVVC!!! You can learn more about VALEES at valees.org
In addition to the student of the year competition, Graphics has a record number of students who just finished testing for their qualifying events to compete in SkillsUSA, a state-wide competition of skill. Students will get their results at the end of the month to see who will be moving forward to go to Peoria in April. Students are working towards competing in Advertising Design, T-Shirt Design, Pin Design and Creative Photography. Wish these students GOOD LUCK!!! You can learn more about SkillsUSA at www.skillsusaillinois.org.