Ellery Lloyd

This week I did research into new models of macbook pro computers. I decided to look into this particular piece of tech because my current computer is not quite up to the challenge of running all the software that we use for this program. I mostly looked at factors such as processing speed and power. I took screen size into account too mostly because the very small laptop screen that I have now makes it very challenging to view all of the toolbars that I need to use in Adobe creative suite. At the lower end of the price range are 14″ laptops that have the new M3 chip, as well as much better battery life than my current computer. The lower end 14″ models are already an investment at $1,599, while the most high end macbook pros clock in at just under 4K. Although I do think a new computer would be a worthwhile investment, it’s not a purchase I feel comfortable making at the moment. I’m hoping it will be an investment I can make in the future, and I’m sure that when I get there I’ll be grateful that I already did my research.

Disruption in the design industry

Like many designers and creatives I have enjoyed making things since childhood. Often the things that I made were reflective of the world around me. I would spend hours making drawings from observation. In particular I enjoyed observing plants, birds and insects that I found in the park or my mom’s garden. As I’ve grown older the desire to closely observe the world around me has never left me. I make drawings of whatever city I’m currently living in, or whatever tiny apartment I’m calling home. But I see that the desire and skill of observing expands beyond just drawing and can sometimes help me understand how other people interact with the world around them, which I see potentially being a helpful skill in a design career. I also think that the act of observing also allows creative people to reflect the world or society back to itself. I think design and visual media can act as mirrors to view what is important to society, and possibly what needs to change. That’s not to say that I believe that I can speak for others, but merely that I believe in the power of design to reflect back the ideas and concerns that might otherwise be missed.

Blog Assignment: finding a letter in the wild: letter T

For this assignment I knew that I would like to look at graphic design employment opportunities France because it’s a country I would like to live in and I felt that my knowledge of the language would help me to find a job and assimilate. Initially I looked at jobs in multiple French speaking countries, but ultimately I decided to look mostly in France because there were the most opportunities there, and my previous experience there would help me understand the culture better. I looked at both internships and full time jobs across France, and found that many of the internships were paid, but that the full time jobs would be much more realistic to accommodate the cost of living.

Here are some of the listings I found:

This position is a full time graphic design position for a company called Mon Petit Atelier, which creates activity booklets and crafts for children ages 3-6 and 7-12. The company is looking for someone fulfill graphic design requirements, as well as create illustrations for their booklets.

https://g.co/kgs/wBzh9e

This position is a paid graphic design internship with a company called Bergamotte that specializes in delivering cut flowers, as well as houseplants.

https://g.co/kgs/WJmq2f

This position is a graphic design internship with a Castalie, a company that installs drinking water taps in schools and offices, to replace plastic water dispensers.

https://g.co/kgs/dkz4Gh

This position is for a junior designer with a company called Manucurist, which is a nail polish company specializing in clean ingredients and vegan and cruelty free nail polish.

https://g.co/kgs/WQfM3M

Sat am

9:15 woke up

10:45-12:05 illustrator videos

Sat pm

12:30-1:30 Illustrator Graphic Translation project

2:15-3:30 Interactive Site Coding

3:30-6:30 Running errands, chores, laundry

Sun am

8:30 woke up

9:45-10 commute to work

10-12:15 working

Sun pm

12:15-12:30 break

10:30-2:30 working

2:30-2:45 break

2:45-4:10 working

4:10-5 commute and getting groceries

6:15-7 Interactive site coding and making dinner

Mon am

6:45 woke up

8:15-8:50 commute

9-10:15 interactive: presenting websites

10:15-11:30 Interactive: coding lecture

11:30-12 working on coding site

Mon pm

12:30-1:15 getting student Id and Orca card

1:15-2 troubleshooting printer

2-3 user testing for UX/UI module

3-3:40 printing illustrator file

3:40-4:15 commute

4:45-6:15 Interactive site coding

tues am

7 woke up

8:10-8:50 commute

9-9:20 Design History lecture

9:20-10 History research

10-12 research presentations

tues pm

12-1 lunch/intro sketching

1-2 intro sketching

2-2:30 commute

3:30-5:30 illustrator project 1

8-8:30 Illustrator project 2

wed am

7 woke up

7-8:15 getting ready & making & eating food

8:15-8:45 commute

9-10:20 critique on illustrator project 1

10:35-11:30 Illustrator demo

wed pm

12:15-1:40 Illustrator demo

2-3:10 User testing for UI/UX module

3:10-3:40 commute

4:20-4:50 working on UI/UX module user testing presentation

4:50-4:55 saving links from slack

8:30-9 UI/UX wireframing

thurs am

7 woke up

7-8:20 getting ready, making and eating breakfast

8:20-8:50 commute

9-12:30 Intro class, feedback on project

thurs pm

1:15-2 Intro videos and homework assign

2:10-2:50 commute

3:15-4:40 UI/UX high fidelity wireframe

5-5:20 working on UI/UX presentation

5:30-6:30 walking to grocery store & drug store

8-8:30 finishing UI/UX wireframe

For this blog assignment I created a 3D model of a vase of flowers, and then used the AR function of Polycam to put it in an unexpected context. After experimenting with a couple of different possible locations I decided to place the vase of flowers in a park. I then created a video where I pretended to interact with the 3D rendering and take flowers out of the vase. It was interesting to see how well Polycam was able to render the complex shape of the flowers. Additionally, the flowers were in a clear vase, which I thought would not render well, but I was surprised at how well the model turned out. Overall it was fun to experiment with creating 3D models of different objects, and then place them in different situations with the video function.

Capitol Hill Block Party: Sofia Kourtesis

By Ellery Lloyd

In this assignment I created a poster for Peruvian DJ and producer Sofia Kourtesis. I was inspired by the atmospheric quality of the artist’s music which is categorized as dance, electronic and house music. I looked at the artist’s existing visual media, such as album covers and photographs, and used this imagery to guide my color choices, as well as the overall tone of the poster. The color scheme of my poster is dark blue with vermillion accents, which are variations on the colors that I saw in Kourtesis’s existing imagery. Kourtesis’s music has a repetitive four on the floor beat that is easy to dance to, and I wanted to carry this aspect of her music into my poster using the visual repetition of the o’s in the artist’s first and last name. Overall my design is relatively minimalist with key focal points, much like the sparse but expansive production on Kourtesis’s tracks.

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