A Change In Direction…Slightly.
1 month ago
by mhensler
in Uncategorized
We’re officially 6 weeks from finals, and as such, it’s time for some minor redirection. I’ve been pretty happy with the open ended format our classroom has taken up to this point in the semester. Many of you have turned in work that really shows a marked improvement and progression from where you were throughout the first semester. A select few of you have gone even further and ventured into new territory (infographics, type art, client work, etc.). With that being said, as a class, I feel we’re in a bit of a standstill in terms of topic choices. I’m seeing a lot of minimalist movie posters coming in from many of you. While this can be a very creative avenue to develop work, too many people are taking this approach (I believe partially because of the ease in which one can be created with minimal effort), and as such, for the remainder of the year, there will be no more minimalist posters on the list of optional/potential projects.
As we end the year, this is your time to step out of the box, and develop something unique. Something that is truly yours, and not something merely modified from a tutorial.
This week’s example image (thanks Dan) is exactly what I’m talking about in terms of a creative and unique application of the skills and techniques we’ve been learning.
Good luck.
Where do we go from here?
1 month ago
by mhensler
in Uncategorized
A few of you were inquiring about career paths as you start to make decisions that will impact your future plans. Many people, even some of you, view these classes as “fun” electives that, while providing a break from the traditional classroom environment, offer little possible career choices down the road. A lot of the questions and observations you made got me thinking for a while, and I decided to do a little research on your behalf. While you have to realize not all careers involving Adobe applications, or career paths in the design industry are just “do what you want, design what you want,” you do have plenty of opportunities to take the skills you’re developing in these classes and apply them in a variety of industries (not just photo editing, or generalized graphic design).
It may very well be possible that many of you don’t think you can have fun and make a living at the same time. We’re exposed, at an early age mind you, that often work and play are separate entities that cannot coexist. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. Just like this class, all it takes is a little creativity.
Some interesting information to expand upon this idea a bit. I searched Indeed.com, a major online employment listing service, and here’s what I found:
Searching using a blanket term of “Photoshop” – 14,335 job listings/Over 6800 of which pay $50,000/yr or more.
Searching using a blanket term of “Graphic Design” – 17,782 job listings/Over 8500 of which pay $50,000/yr or more.
Searching using a blanket term of “Adobe” – 23,033 job listings/Over 12,000 of which pay $50,000/yr or more.
Photoshop CS6 Beta Released.
1 month ago
by mhensler
in Uncategorized
As of midnight (12:00AM EST), Adobe has released a Beta version of the soon to be released next generation of Photoshop – Photoshop CS6. This will be a seven week trial period in which anyone can download the software for free to try and test.—>Download available here. From the looks of this release, this will probably be a major renovation and change from previous versions (especially the visual layout and appearance). I’ve included a few preview articles outlining some of the major changes and additions to the new release as well as a few videos worth watching if you’re interested.
Creating a customizable menu using CSS and the unordered list tag.
2 months ago
by mhensler
in Uncategorized
As we progress away from our digital wire frames, the next stage involves adding functional navigation into our sites. The goal of navigation within a site is twofold. For one, the navigation should be functional and organized. Placement of the menu and the wording your choose to label your links play a major role in the usability and organization of your site. You want the navigation to be easy to use, and in place that is noticeable by your users. The second goal revolves around aesthetics, or general appearance. You want the menu to look clean, well spaced, and using a color scheme that matches the colors within the site, but while still maintaining an easy to read appearance (AVOID BRIGHT/NEON COLORS).
To accomplish these goals, we are going to be using the unordered list tag. We will be covering this in class, but for additional resources on the subject (highly recommend reading these while you design and lay yours out), I’ve included a series of links that further expand on customizing an unordered list:
-Basic unordered list tag explained
-Unordered List vs. Ordered List Explained (also includes a completely setup unordered list in html format
)-List Tutorial (Step by step tutorials on creating vertical lists, horizontal lists, and rollover effects).
-Advanced menus created using CSS and the unordered list (Creating rollover effects, stylizing the list, etc.).
Best Practices in Web Design
2 months ago
by mhensler
in News/Updates
As many of you are beginning the initial layout stages of your sites (sketched and digital wire frames), it would be smart to review example sites (remember the question on your planning sheet) that you visit frequently to get some inspiration and to also view the site from a design point of view. What design items stand out to you? What do you like about the site design wise? Colors? Fonts? General layout?
There are certain design guidelines considered “best practices” among the web design community. As you make your design choices, you should be fully aware of these, and more specifically, what you should and should not do from a design standpoint. Take the time, and visit the following sites that cover these concepts pretty thoroughly (look at the examples), and be sure to consider them when beginning your layout work.
New Courses To Be Offered Fall 2012
2 months ago
by mhensler
in News/Updates
2012-2013 scheduling is just around the corner (March 26), and you will all soon be faced with a lot of choices and decisions to make leading up to this date. I thought this would be a great time to inform everyone of two new course offerings next year that will be available as dual enrollment courses in partnership with Pennsylvania College of Technology. These courses provide you with the opportunity to satisfy college course requirements (and earn credits) while attending a normal structured class here at Jersey Shore. Both of these courses will be worth 3 college credits (1 high school credit).
I’ve updated the courses page with information regarding these two offerings: Interactive Media in the Digital Age | Introduction to Gaming and Simulation. I’m looking forward to offering these courses next year, and I hope to see some (or all) of you next year. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. As I receive more information, I will update everyone via the site.
For those of you unfamiliar with the additional requirements the come with dual enrollment courses, please take time to review this excerpt from the 2012 curriculum guide:
A number of our classes are dual enrollment classes in conjunction with Pennsylvania College of Technology (PCT). PCT will create an official transcript of the class(es) in addition to being identified on your high school transcript. The cost is $20 per credit and the price of the textbook which will vary from $0 – $150.
Additional Information:
-Web Design and Multimedia Degree Information (Penn College Informational Brochure)
-Web and Interactive Media Course Catalog Information
-Information Technology Sciences-Gaming and Simulation Course Catalog Information
Advanced Photographic Composition
3 months ago
This is a great article detailing common advanced photographic composition techniques. Many of you demonstrated the basics very well in our first project, and so now we’re going to step it up a notch. Read this article carefully and pay attention to how each technique conveys a mood within the shot. You will need to be able to identify warm, cool, fresh, and calm colors, and what they portray. Part of your next photo assignment will involve demonstrating these techniques, along with following the basic guidelines discussed in our first unit. (more…)
Removing boundaries…almost.
3 months ago
We’re at a point in the year where you are ready for some self-chosen direction. Some of you have stuck with the class format pretty religiously, and some of you haven’t. For some, you’ve watched the videos, asked questions, researched, designed, redesigned, became very specific in your self-critique, etc.., and as such, the quality of your work has improved noticeably. Most of you have probably started to develop a feel for what type of design work you prefer, or more importantly, what type of work you feel allows you the most creativity. I’m going to break the traditional mold of our classroom a bit, and we’re going to expand on this self-directed format a bit more. I’m going to remove specific project topics for the time being, and have each of you CHOOSE a direction you want to go within the class. If you want to focus on specific poster designs (PSA’s, Movie Posters, Advertisements, etc.), go for it. If you would like to focus on illustration work (Portraits, Logos, Vector Illustrations, etc.), you can. There will be SOME resemblance of requirements within this new format (hence the title of this post), but just enough to keep you on task, an no more.
Keeping it Organized…
3 months ago
As most of you are finding out in this class, organization makes life easier. I say life, and not just life in this class, because this rule holds true in every aspect of life. The sooner you realize it, the better off you are.
Why bring up this seemingly random point? I was looking through everyone’s portfolio pages recently, and I noticed some organizational problems. For one, many of you chose a theme that has very restrictive column widths and a cluttered sidebar. Since these are supposed to be portfolio pages first, blogs second, we don’t want to clutter things up and make it look unprofessional. So, I created this video to help you find themes with specific options that will allow for sidebar removal, and even custom headers/colors to be used. Watch it, and for those to whom it applies (if you can’t turn off sidebars with your current theme, this applies to you), install a new theme. You must also design a custom header in PS or Illustrator, and upload it after applying your new theme. Watch this video for further instruction on locating this option.
Secondly, keep the page names consistent and organized. Some of you have uploaded images to your blog posts that should go on a page. When you’re uploading work, IT GETS PLACED ON ITS APPROPRIATE PAGE! Don’t post images to your main page unless I say you need to make a reflection post. If you have images on your main blog that aren’t supposed to be there, remove them.
Finally, the menu titles and structure. As of right now our menus should consist of these major names: Illustrations, Posters, Logos. If you have extra pages in your menu that say “vector portrait, illustration 2, etc…REMOVE THEM! While we’re at it, I’m starting a new format for captions for uploaded work. When you post a new piece, the caption should be in this format:
Project Name:
Software:
Comments:
The “comments” section is for you to briefly describe the project as we are already doing with our captions.
Remember, organization and consistency is key to a professional, well presented portfolio you can be proud of.
Course Introduction Surveys
3 months ago
I would like to welcome all of my new students this semester! For me as an instructor, it’s my goal to get to know everyone a little better (both educationally and personally) as we begin this semester. To help me better understand where you come from, what goals you have, expectations for this course, and even how you best learn, take some time, and complete the appropriate survey below for the class in which you are enrolled. I’m looking forward to a great semester with you all.