Travel is my Life

I have always wanted to travel and see the world. I am curious about other people and places. I want to experience new food and discuss different ideas. I want to see things from the past and learn about the future. One of my favorite quotes is by Mark Twain, he says, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Traveling the world has been a dream that I had been able to fulfill in my previous forty-three years on this Earth. I had traveled around the United States a little bit, and I had been over the border in Canada and Mexico (before passports were required). But, last May I finally got my passport and panned a trip for my oldest daughter and I to go to Europe. She was graduating high school and leaving for college, so this was a great opportunity to have some girl time before she left home to start her adult life. I want to remember all the great times we had so the next few posts will detail some of the things we saw and did.

We ended up planning a fourteen day trip that started in Washington DC. Our first flight took us to Toronto, Canada where we had a twelve-hour layover. Most people would hate that, but we loved the idea of leaving the airport and getting to see the sights in Toronto. A couple of highlights include:

CN Tower, it takes just under a minute to ride the elevator up to the observation area which is 1,136 feet in the air.
St. Lawrence Market, this is where we got some delicious food for lunch.
Distillery District, they had a lot of really cool art to look at as well as shopping.

After a fun day in Toronto we headed back to the airport and boarded our flight to Glasgow, Scotland. It was an evening flight so we slept most of the way. We arrived in Scotland very early in the morning and couldn’t check into out hotel room yet, but they let us leave our bags so we could go exploring. It was decided that since Edinburgh was just a short train trip away we would go there for the day. Some of our favorite things were:

Having high tea in Edinburgh Castle
Scott Monument (Sir Walter Scott)
St Giles’ Cathedral
Tried haggis, which is described by Wikipedia as a savoury pudding containing sheep’s pluck (heart, liver, and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach though now often in an artificial casing instead.

That night we went to bed early to help us adjust to the time difference that our bodies were feeling. After catching up on our sleep, we got up bright and early the next morning so we could hit the streets of Glasgow. We spent the whole day wandering all over the city, seeing everything we could. Here are some of the high points from our day:

Glasgow University
Glasgow Cathedral
The Necropolis
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Sadly, we had only planned on staying in Scotland for one night, so after a long and crazy day we packed our bags and headed back to the airport to catch a flight to London, England.

Learning with an explosion of color

Creative ad for Sharpie

I have been taken a visual design class this semester at BYU-Idaho and the most recent project we have been asked to create is an advertisment for a randomly generated household product, I chose Sharpie markers. My target audience is either male or female, in a relationship, between the ages of 25-34. They would have a Masters or Doctorate degree earning between 40,000 and $59,000.

My design, even though you don’t see it, is rainbow firework explosion with the Sharpie markers off to one side. I didn’t post a picture of the actual project because I never heard back from the artist who took the picture of the firework. The headline was, “An EXPLOSION of color.” I believe my design would appeal to this audience because it is colorful and fun. It encouraged the reader to spark their creativity by using the product.

Design Analysis

The project specifications asked us to come up with an ad that used symbolic visual communication, avoiding literal visuals. We would do this by blending two or more pictures in Adobe Photoshop, and come up with an original headline, a sentence or two of body copy, and a call to action. We were asked to come up with three ideas that we could possibly create. As I started brainstorming ideas, I thought about what makes Sharpies special.

The first thought that came to mind was the extra fine Sharpies that I love to write with. So with that idea in mind, I came up with the concept of a package of sewing needles, but instead of needles it would be Sharpies. I loved the idea of this, but it didn’t really appeal to my target audience.

My second idea was inspired by the Thanksgiving holiday and it was going to be a turkey hand tracing with Sharpies as the feathers. This one would have been fun too, but once again, not quite right for my target audience.

My last idea, and obviously the one I chose, was the firework explosion and the perception that these Sharpie markers having a ton of color inside them just wating to explode. I really liked the idea of being creative, and the colors make it playful, young, and exciting.

I took this class so that I could learn the principles of design, typography, color and photography. With this design, even though it’s been rough learning how to use the programs, the ideas are there and I just need to practice them. I used the principle of contrast by keeping the background dark and the firework colors bright. For the firework explosion, I tried to match it to the colors of the Sharpie markers. I aligned all of the typography to the left and used only two fonts to keep it simple and easy to read.

Conclusion

As a final thought, I would say that this project has given me a better understanding of how Adobe Photoshop can be used to enhance photos and create new designs. It has helped me gain a new skill that with time and practice can give me better job opportunities with my current employer. Lastly, it has helped me to learn how to be patient with myself while learning new things. My new motto is going to be, “I can do hard things!”

Cute Bugs Icon Set

This weeks assignment was to make a set of icons using Adobe Illustrator. I chose to make some cute bugs that could be made into stickers or used in a children’s publication.

My target audience would be between the ages of 2 to 10 years old. The icons were made with bright colors that really stand out and make them look fun. I also chose to use circles as the dominant shape because of the simplicity. I did add a couple of design details to the snail, ladybug , and butterfly. All of the bugs have been given big eyes that really make them appealing.

I had a really good time creating these designs and learning how to use a color generator and play with the software. I hope you enjoy these cute bugs!