Colony Termite

The task I was presented with was to create a logo design for a termite company entitled 'Colony Termite', in which the colors of red, white, and blue were ever present in the original logo used by the company. Upon researching the clients competition, I decided to come up with a design that not only displayed termites, but also demonstrated the fact that the company's job was to eliminate the insects from homes.

Beginning with sketches, I came up with three different concepts, all of which portrayed the idea previously discussed. The goal was to create a design that exemplified what the company was all about in a simple, compact logo.

I eventually moved to illustrator, where I came up with a few more ideas. I realized that most of these designs had to many elements for it to sit comfortably as a logo. With this thought in mind, I created a blend of all my designs. The final design turned out to be a large boot stomping over a termite. This, I believe, demonstrates both ends of the spectrum and easily identifies the company for what it is - a business that gets rid of termites.

Once I was set on the final design, I began adding color to it using illustrator. This design differed from my original intent due to the fact that this is the only design created that does not revolve around  the concept of the circle. I instead blended the name of the company into the design in a way that I believe truly pops out to those who see it. The colors were chosen for several reasons. For one, the company's original colors were red, white, and blue- a symbol for the colors of the united states dawning back to the first rebellions of the American colonies.With this in mind, I applied such colors to my design accordingly, eventually choosing red for the title as it tends to pop out the most.

In addition the the logo, I implemented the actual design into the form of a business card to demonstrate the real world usage of the product. The simplicity of the design combined with the chosen colors allows for one to easily grasp the intent of the company in a matter that is both accurate and noteworthy.

Water Conservation

Why its of concern: Community
- California is experiencing a serious drought due to three consecutive dry years.
- The state population is growing, and it is believed that California will be the home to 60 million people by the year 2050.
- Even during years of no drought, it is often difficult for areas of California to keel all demands for needs for water.

What the Community Should do:
- Reduce the amount of water wasted by sprinklers.
- Do not leave water running through hose for excessive period of time.
- Place restrictions as to the amount of water waste allowed per individual.



Why its of concern: Family Households
- Overloading sewer systems can cause untreated sewage to flow to lakes and rivers.
- Water is an essential part of a lot of the technology found in households.
- Wasting water increases the amount of ones utility bill.

Solutions:
- Installing water conserving equipment such as water saving shower heads.
- Using technology to its fullest advantage - Ex: Use washing machine for full loads only.
- Check for leaks in any household equipment.



Why you should care:
- No water means bad hygiene and decline in health.

- Reducing water waste will save you money and ensure the ability to afford future generations.

- Lack of water results in stricter government laws that will force it upon you to conserve more than you would like should the problem become more prominent.

Solutions:

- Waste less water and time in the shower.

- Don't use the toilet as a trash can.

- Don't overwater plants/grass.

Web Links:

http://www.saveourh2o.org/content/conservation-why-and-how

http://eartheasy.com/live_water_saving.htm

http://www.seametrics.com/blog/why-care-about-water-conservation/

This is a poster design intended to persuade people to conserve water. It uses several methods to achieve this and does so in way that not only shows how, but also informs individuals as to why the drought in California can affect them personally. The newspaper states that California water levels are extremely low, which is then aided by a dry desert in apparent through the window. The painting on the side if a symbol of how life use to be - filled with greens and life. Where as if we choose to continue down the same path, life will be filled with death and dryness. The spilled water represents the last of the water, and the water that could have been conserved, but was instead wasted. It is this connection and deep meaning, while at the same time providing understanding and interpretation with a quick glance that I chose this as my final concept when creating the design.

My original idea was to make a design in which the image portrayed a man stranded on what appeared to be a desert; no fresh water in sight and dead fish as a result of such conditions. However, I eventually morphed the idea to what the final design is now. The reason being is that I chose a path that would allow the message to hit closer to home. Still taking the influence and overall idea from my original plans, I was able to come up with an effective design that easily conveyed the importance of conserving water while at the same time providing an effective wake up call as to how loss of water can greatly affect every person as an individual.

Pictograph - People and Technology

My progression through this project was driven with more changes than I normally found myself making. The original idea upon creating my pictographs was to make unique designs based solely on items relating to technology and display them with a hexagonal background. I began my drawing units by hand with the idea that I would eventually transfer those exact same concepts to the a digital form with illustrator.

However, after a discussion, I deemed it best to change my initial topic and fuse both technology and people- that is, how people and technology interact. With my idea set, I created a blocky character I would use to interact with the technology (the character symbolized a human being). I then began making the items from my original ideas and blended them with an interaction made by the character. Later on, I advanced my idea by deciding to make the background canvas resemble that of a typical smartphone. Once that was said and done, i had to come up with three different colors to bring life to my creation.

As seen on the left, I chose white, gray, and light brown. I felt that these colors complimented each other in a favorable way. In addition, the gray and white are typical colors found in many forms of electronics. I originally included black, however i decided that i needed a lighter color for the inside of the background canvas, I therefore had to sacrifice black and substitute it with the light brown. It was from that I began filling in my drawings.

My final results are shown here. I chose the best twelve of my initial hand drawings, fused them with the character, and completed a pictograph for each of them. To reiterate, the idea was demonstrate the interaction a human being has with the technology he/she may use- a sharp contrast from the original thought of simply having the technology itself. All in all, the design turned out better than I believed it would. I feel as though the canvas promotes the notion of technology, as it is an easily identifiable sketch of a smartphone.

Toon Character

The type of cartoons that I'm interested in,  love and admire are those from the late 90s or early 2000s. The reason being is that they are the cartoons I group with as a child and therefore the ones I have the fondest memories of. For instance, I recall watching spongebob, Invader Zim, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and things of the like. Each had their own respective plots and genres, nonetheless I enjoyed watching them all. They were not however, limited to television shows. I also enjoyed a substantial amount of Disney's films that came out around the time period; including but not limited to 'A Goofy Movie". All of these animated forms of entertainment make up the entirety of the types of cartoons that I'm interested in.

Many thoughts filled my mind before attempting to start this assignment. However, after several minutes of deep thought, my character of choice was that of Super Pencil. The assignment required us to create a toon character that would appeal to students between the grades of first through fifth grade. I chose the design of a pencil because of the vital role that education plays on everyones lives in modern society. This is said due to the simple notion that a pencil is a necessity for a student to achieve the required curriculum for any given grade. With this in mind, I made a superhero in the form of a pencil. The pencil is intended to be scaled with a regular life size pencil, as he has an owner that used his in classes. My logic was that, throughout this characters adventures, he would fight crime with what he's learned from school and at the end still have time to get back to his owner so that he too can succeed in school. This idea kills two birds with one stone; not only does it bring the joy and excitement provided by a superhero that children love, but also shows the importance of school. 

My initial development of the physical character itself faced many revisions. As shown in my concept art above, I had several different ideas in terms of forms and appearances for Super Pencil, I however settled on the design seen at the very top. The preceding step was then to begin making  a full 360 degree profile of my character.

What is seen above is a full 360 degree profile of my character. This was down by first deciding on the final design and then scanning my hand drawing onto Adobe Illustrator. Once that step was completed, I began visualizing a full rotation of my character, this eventually became the Turn Around seen here. 

 Once a full visual profile was in place, the next step was to create typical movements and expression that Ben (the name of the character) would normally find himself doing (This is known as a model sheet). In order to accomplish this feat, I had to look at myself making the expressions visualized in my head. This was done by looking through a mirror and then replicating the expression on my face in regards to my character via Illustrator. As for the full body shots, they were simply forms I deemed typical of my character when fighting crime.

The last step of the assignment was to create stickers for the toon character I thought up. It is in this phase that I transferred the three poses from the Model Sheet and added the best background I could come up with to each one. I then had to apply a clipping mask over a circular template to create the basis for the actual sticker.

In summation, the process of creating and designing a toon character is more difficult than it seems. One must first create a hand drawing, transfer it to a computer, and open it in Illustrator in order to begin the digital process. Afterwards, one must use the foundation provided by the hand drawings in order to create a final version of the character. Once this is completed, one must then proceed to creating a full visual of the character easily understandable by those viewing it. Afterwards, a model sheet must be created to give people an idea as to how your character will react in situations. To reiterate, the process is much more than a simple stroke on the keyboard.