Charcoal Portrait #1

I buckled down and drew my first charcoal portrait the other day. I guess I shouldn't say "buckled down", because that makes it seem like it wasn't fun-which it was, actually. It took me about four hours in all, probably, though it's not quite done yet.

Charcoal is a fun medium to work with; it is very messy, but also much more forgiving than pencil.

I rendered a robot

This past semester I dabbled in 3D modeling in my 3D design class I took as an elective. It was quite fun learning the new software. For our last project we modeled a robot. We each came up with our own unique designs.

I made my website with Adobe Muse...

So we all know that Adobe has a limitless amount of creative programs and software, and one in particular that I've been obsessed about lately is Adobe web design program, Muse.

For my senior portfolio, we were required to create a portfolio website. For a person like me who knows very very little about coding, this assignment was somewhat daunting...the web designers in the class coded theirs, and less concerned used web templates, or we were given the option of turning to Muse to create our designs. I had never used Muse before but here's the kicker...basically, if you are a designer and you've used Indesign, you've essentially used Muse.

Muse creates beautifully responsive sites without the designer having to deal with code in any way, shape or form. It's essentially just a page layout program which is awesome for me, who loves page layout and print design so much more than web. So print designers, don't forget about Muse.

https://www.adobe.com/products/muse.html?promoid=KLYVA

Also, check out my site. Changes coming over the Summer.

http://wikermorgangraphics.com/

Paris Revised

I posted that Paris Poster a while back, and have since revised it for a class project. Still a WIP, but, thoughts?

Something to be proud of, while I wait to make it big

So a couple of years back, I won Best of Drawing at the Cleveland State University annual student show. Cleveland Scene magazine stopped by and wrote an article, featuring my untitled drawing that won the category. Check it out, if you want.

http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/beyond-their-years/Content?oid=3547606

Paris poster

I threw this together this afternoon, trying to keep my design gears from getting rusty over Winter break. Thoughts? (It's not finished, I still need to add text). It's a poster for an event in Cleveland (that I made up). I used Photoshop effects to create the image of the Eiffel Tower and placed it into my InDesign document, where I designed the headline. (I don't speak French. I plugged it into Google translate).

Efficient design turns into good design

Just as a reflection...recently at work, I was given the project of redesigning a short catalog that would be distributed at a 2015 trade show. (I work for a packaging company now). I was quite excited about the project as it was really the first design assignment given to me outside of the college classroom. (I'm a rookie. College teaches many things...but it can never realistically prepare you to take your talents into the business world). But the problem was I had about a week to finish the entire thing, and since I don't work five days a week due to my school schedule, I pumped it out in about three six to seven hour shifts.

Anywho, not to ramble on, but I was very disappointed with the results and that's probably what caused me to reflect on this. Above I posted a design that I spent upwards of a month working and reworking until I finally had it exactly as I wanted it...but the problem is, I was given that time as a student and as an employee, at best that time has to be cut in half in order to prioritize efficiency. This is a learning curve for me. Do you sacrifice good design for time? Or in the real world, do you have to learn to change your idea of what good design is? Or does working under a time crunch become second nature to you? I tend to design by feel. I know that my work isn't right until it "feels" right to me. As a real-world designer, do you have to learn different methods in order to get the job done?