Graphic Design Week 4

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This Friday I went to my first soccer game. Never been before, so much more exciting when you know the players. Some of my students are on the team. I took some video of the game. Plus got some night shots. This shot you see is from practice earlier in the week. They will be using the photos I took to create an advertisement for Adidas. I think they will turn out pretty cool. We start with the mood boards and research on Tuesday. Monday gotta upload photos from the search for objects/shapes that look like letters. Then I think we have to back up files. Monday will be an easier day. The rest of the week learn some new photoshop skills: layer styles, adjustment layers, and color correction.

Canon imageClass Laser Printer

Here is a review I’m writing for a color laser printer. I purchased a Canon imageClass Laser Jet Printer for the computer lab. 41m0fuxq+el

This was a great replacement laser jet color printer for my classroom. The old one was an HP and the colors printed super dark. I’ve been using the Canon and I’d like to get one for myself. I really like how the colors print. They are vibrant and if I could just find some glossy stock that works with a laser printer I think don’t need to worry about using the inkjet printer. If I found a glossy stock for laser jet I will let you all know. If you know of a glossy stock that works with laserjets please comment!

Graphic Design Photo Wk 2 (2019)

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It seemed like a very busy week for students. Lots of events going on. I had decided to just teach them simple basics of using Photoshop CC 2018. May of my students are familiar with it. To explain there was a previous teacher teaching graphic design/photo, so some had take the class. I get some students more familiar with it. Or if they have used free apps like GIMP or Pixlr Photoshop will seem easier to pick up. I have a pretest that I gave a couple to see if they can composite several photos together. If they can they are exempt from this project and they can create an independent project to work on.

Reviewed using Microsoft Teams and then started recreating a piece of artwork. I decided to do Piet Mondrian Broadway Boogie Woogie. In the past I’ve used Van Gogh Starry Night or a Kandinsky. I cut a section of it and provided the file to the students to open in Photoshop.

We go over selecting using the Marquee, brush, eyedropper, shape tool for vectors, and swatches and layers panel. How to navigate with in the document. Change brush sizes.

My new catch phrase is “You can effect it when you select it!”

I also make them use a specific workspace. Currently using the Graphics & Web workspace. I make them restore all of tools in the tool bar.

Youtube How to change Photoshop CC 2018 Workspace
Youtube How to change Photoshop CC 2018 Tools

Graphic Design/Photo week 1

The Black Square Problem Student Examples.

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I did this lesson with my high school students the first full week of graphic design/photo class. Computers were not all working and needed a lesson that students could do off the computers. I think it got them thinking about composition more. I think they made some better photos because of it.

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We also took photos of a pencil. How can you make a pencil look more interesting. Varying the composition and placement of it. That was towards the end of the week with the black square problem. I used Padlet to post the photos. You get 3 boards for free.

I also do the pencil photos because students are learning how to use Microsoft Teams. We are a Microsoft 365 school. It has similar features as Google for Edu. I’m getting used to it. I got the students to login to the student emails accounts. Create an email signature. Then I showed them how to access the Team I added them to. We don’t have cameras for the students they use their cell phones. They had to download the OneDrive App. Then we would upload their photos to the cloud storage. Then they downloaded them to their desktop. I’m disappointed the Microsoft Teams App doesn’t allow student to just attach the photo to their assignment from the phones. At this time you can do that using a desktop and a tablet. Worked on my iPad but not on their phones. Microsoft please change this! It’s practice. We switched to 365 at the beginning of the year. Most of my students didn’t know they had a student email account. That took a day. My classes are 44 min long. I make them do 2 practice turn in so it helps to cut down on questions.

I have a free downloadable PDF from my TPT store you are welcome to try with this lesson. Students sketch out their ideas for playful, order, bold, and tension.

Link to Black Square Problem PDF

Then I had them measure a 10 x 10 in square. The smaller white squares are 4.5 x 4.5 in squares. Then just cut and glue down to match their best sketches.

You could also consider doing this in Photoshop by opening the PDF file or Adobe Illustrator for a digital version and print out.

I can’t take credit for it I got the idea from a university website. I have no recall what school it was from. If you google search black square problem you will see tons of solutions.

Tips for Teaching Graphic Design

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Next week I’m going to start teaching some editorial design to my high school students. I’m pretty excited about that because my design experience is from that area. Especially advertising. I tend to be commercial in the way that I think about things.

I’m going to share with them work from when I was a advertising designer at Scuba Diving Magazine. Fond memories. It was a great place to work at. The original parent company Rodale, Inc. Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Runner’s were some of their titles. Was a family owned business at the time. I believe Hearst purchased it recently. I think publishing had a rough time of it. Some companies have faired better then other, and had a better understanding of how to monetize content. I need to spend more time researching the evolution of it.

I got to work with some wonderful staff and then the clients were super nice and from all over the world in the diving industry. I got to work with amazing world class underwater photographer Stephen Frink. Such a humble guy! One of my favorite bosses of all time was the marketing director, Susan Smith and publisher Dane Farnam. Feels like a lifetime ago.

How did we get to editorial design? I spent the first month and 1/2 on Adobe Photoshop CC 2018. I think that was a good start. Then we moved into using Lightroom for about 2 weeks. I’m not as familiar with it, but ALL my photographer friends use it. I never knew why and then I started teaching it. I have to say the organizational system that is built in to Lightroom is pretty amazing. Then we spent a month on Adobe Illustrator. On to Indesign. I think in 1 semester that might seem like a lot of software to cover, but I feel like if they students come back for another class I need them to be aware of how to use the basics of the software.

MY 5 TEACHING TIPS

1. TRY AND CHUCK THINGS UP
Even if students are in high school or adult education or whatever. There are a lot of steps. I spent 10 yrs in the graphic design industry working over 40 hrs a week using the software. That is over 20,000 hrs experience. I tend to forget what comes second nature to me. Even the little things spell it out. I forget for many of my students this is the first time they have used the software, or they may have taken a similar class but it was a year ago. I tend to do bellringers. I have a short 10 min. activity use the software before we go into really using that software. When students were using Photoshop, I had a bellringer for Lightroom to try and introduce it. Started with Navigation. Then next day continue the overall project with Photoshop and bellringer with Lightroom.

2. REPETITION, REPETITION, REPETITION
Muscle memory is one of the strongest things that we have that allow us to remember how to do things. Even after I moved onto new software, if I feel like we might be forgetting Photoshop I’ll go back and have another activity that is a refresher.

3. KISS. KEEP IT SUPER SIMPLE
I have to remind myself this is an Intro class. I have to tell myself what do they really need to know. Not too much really basic stuff. What student wants to sit there and learn EVERY single tool in Photoshop? It gets boring. DO, DO, and DO. I think students will find thing out on their own as well. I make sure I cover what they need to know to complete the assignment. Example I was going to have students create their own logo for themselves and then use it on business cards. Then I said forget it that is TOO MUCH. Just gang them up and make some sticker stickers instead. They can cut things out and do something hands on.

4. SMALL GROUPS
I got this from my elementary teachers. Small group learning. Can we repeat small group learning. It is the go to in elementary and it works in secondary. I split my room into 2 groups. This works better after you start a project. Then I give instruction to 1 row of students and 2nd group is working independently. Then switch. For larger groups this works well. Then if someone missed something from group 1 they watch it again. Then group anyone needs help I go back and work with them one-to-one. I also provided Youtube videos. I have some students that are independent learners, but we all learn differently. I find most students want some type of direct instruction. I make it a rule that students in the second group must ask each other questions I’m off limits while with the 1st group. That is why tip 5 is really helpful.

5. GAMES/ICEBREAKERS
I used to totally hate these things, because I’m an introvert by nature. If you are reading this you are probably think why did you become a teacher? Save that for another post. Office culture activities like playing a get to know you game helps in any grade level. Even if you feel like people will get to know each other on their own that takes time. Do an icebreaker. Otherwise they will rely on you all the time. Don’t assume they all know each other because they are at a small school or in the same grade level. In work or business it’s a team activity. Get to know your team with an icebreaker. I’ve done people bingo, throw a snowball, THIS or THAT, and scavenger hunts. Here is some simple ones on TINYPULSE.com

My current students really liked THIS or THAT. Coke or Pepsi? Netflix or Youtube? Pie or Cake? I made a game in Nearpod. For the teacher it helps me to get to know the students better. I think I will do one again when we get back from the Thanksgiving break.

That is it for now. Also excited I’m going to be teaching an adult drawing class in April with the local university continuing education program. More to post later!