søndag den 1. september 2013

Follow your dreams...

Took this picture of a bored Monkey at the Zoo of Copenhagen

Hello people of the internet,

Two days ago, i stopped studying graphic design. Now you may think why i did that, when
i could get a big career out of this.
Well, there are a lot of factors why one quit school. You don't just out of the blue think 'Oh hey
i should quit school!'. There are tons of reasons, and i spent a very long time thinking about the 
consequences. 

So lets got the biggest reason why i didn't stay. My passion for graphic design got lost, from all of the
theory lessons and the time in school. Before i began studying graphic design, i had a lot of expectations
for what the teachers would be teaching us, and what we would be doing at the school. Because from
what i read online, i thought graphic design school would be like a kind of art school. Where the
would be no to very little text and tons of art lessons. But i don't even remember one lesson where we
they thought us purely ART. We were thought where to click, when we needed the different tools, what
printers to print on, and to search on Google if we needed help.
I am not blaming the teacher for my decision for quitting school, but i can't say they weren't part of it.

But i have never really liked the idea of going to school. Ever since i was a little child all i wanted to do
is to make art and help animals. I didn't want to sit on my bum all day, reading and writing. I wanted to
be active. I would always dream of a school where the students could learn what they wanted to learn,
and for the teachers to only guide us. I now know there are such schools, they are called unschooling.
One example of and unschoolong school is called Sudbury Valley school, where all the kids may do whatever they may want. You could even just come to school and sleep all day. The kids at the school
become extremely talented when they get older since, they could do their passions. And there are NO
bullies at the school, since everyone excepts everyone. And there is no stress for finishing the homework,
because there is NO homework!
Read about the brilliant school here: http://www.sudburyvalley.org/ 

I have never really understood the purpose of education, especially if you don't like studying. Because
if you don't like it, you won't learn it, or you will forget about it in a few years. So why don't focus
on the things you love to do. And too many people go to collage just because they have to, then when they are done they won't end up getting the job they studied for..Or they'll get depressed because they wasted all those years doing somethings they didn't love.

We are all very different, and i think we should all accept that. When i used to think about people who
didn't have an education i would think, either they are poor or just rebellious. But now i now, that
they may want other things in life. Maybe they wanted to become a rockstar or a photographer, without
having people teaching them how to do it. 

If anyone ever tells you that if you don't go to collage you'll end up stupid and homeless, tell them about
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. They are both collage dropouts, but they still became successful.

Anyways, i just wanted to say goodbye for now, maybe i'll come back in the future.
But i will work on fulfilling my dreams to help the animals in this world and make art.

Thanks for reading.
And follow your dreams!



I will leave you all with this quote....
Got the image from: http://pinterest.com/pin/563018673151110/
Hope you all follow your dreams, no matter what other people say.
Good luck.
//Maria

mandag den 24. juni 2013

Label design: Tea, Pizza, and Ketchup!


Tea packaging design made in Illustrator (Flat version)


Hello people of the internet!

Except from being busy with my new little bunny, i have also been really busy with a school
project.

Our new project is all about packaging designs. We were given a company to base our designs on.
The designs have to be for organic products that they sell. I choose tea, pizza and ketchup.
Since i already knew the company before we even started this project, i didn't really have to
research a lot.

I began by sketching all the ideas i had. And choose to start with the tea design. The tea packaging,
i choose is a little bit different. It is a triangle shape, instead of a rectangle box. I just
think different packaging is going to sell more, because it's unique.
But i must admit., it took really long for me to finish the tea packaging design. I'm just not
that used to making designs for a triangle box.haha
But i made it, after 3 days of work.
Pizza packaging design made in Illustrator

















Now i have started on my Pizza design. The three packaging have to look like they are all from the same
brand, so i had to copy some of the design from the tea. Which i did by adding the dotted background, and using the same fonts. I wanted the box to show the actual pizza, but also that some of the parts are in
cartoon.

Our due date is on Thursday. And i have to finish my pizza and ketchup in 1 day (On wednesday)...
Ohh...Ohh.. Hope i will make it!

"Night is for dreaming, Day is for achieving"

//Maria






fredag den 14. juni 2013

projects, projects, projects

Clock project
Hello people of the internet!

School has been pretty hectic, and it's probably because of the non stop projects that we make, and
because we have started searching for internships ( which will start January 2014 ). 

Since i last wrote we have been through about two mini projects, and just a few days ago we started
on a big project that will last until the last day before summer vacation.

One of those two projects were, the "Clock design" project for Tiger ( look above for the clock
i designed). We only had a few days to finish the clock, but i did enjoy this little project, especially
since we weren't going to get any grades on our designs.
I decided to make a positive Smileys theme clock. I wanted to make a design that would make people
smile and be happy, and not stress about how little time there is left of the day to finish work, but to enjoy
life and be happy. 

wine label

Another one of our mini projects were wine label designing. I have to admit, i was super
nervous about this project, since i don't drink wine, and i know nothing about it. But i tried to
focus on what i knew about wine, and i guess it turned out fine. 
I wanted it to look like the glass in the middle had wine in it, by making a wavy line above it
using grape wines, and by adding grapes in the middle.
The swirls are supposed to represent the wine pouring into a glass. But i got a few people from my class saying that i should of reduced the doodles. They are probably right, since 
labels should be simple and easy to read. I just have a tendency of trying to
put as many details as i possibly can, even though it might not look so good.


Not done logo
So the wine label design, was a little introduction to the BIG project, which we started on
yesterday and have about 8 school days to finish. This project is called the "Organic label design project". We are going to make 3-6 label designs for the company Biogan ( which the teachers changed to Funky Organic ), and a logo. The moment we got this project,
i  got an idea right away. I have already made all of my sketches of what i want to be making. I will be making Ketchup, tea and pizza  labels. All of them are going to be in very
different kinds of packaging. The pizza packaging is going to be a big triangle, the pizza is going to be in a octagon shape and the ketchup label is going to be in a mango and tomato shape.
This way ( if our products were in the real world) they would get noticed by costumers,
very quickly, since they are in strange shapes.
I am also going to make them all in very bright and colorful colors.

I have already started making my logo in illustrator ( as you can see above ), but i'm not sure what colors i want it to be in yet...

So we are going to be pretty busy these last 2 weeks, but after that, it's summer vacation!!!

Thanks for reading.

"Night is for dreaming, Day is for achieving"

//Maria

søndag den 12. maj 2013

Pop art Project!

Made in Illustrator, by me

Hello people of the internet!

So since i last posted, we have started on a new project, which we almost have completed. 
The project is about the different kinds of art, like pop art, avant garde, and modernism. 
Our task is to make a poster for the design museum in Copenhagen. Which has to be inspired by a subject that could be in the museum. 

I choose to make my poster inspired by POP ART! And my subject is the Kodak camera from
the 60's. And since the actual camera isn't pop art, my teacher thought that i should make a poster
about the process from the camera to pop art. 
Because it's the outcome from the camera that one can make into pop art, just the the Marylin  Monroe 
painting. 

We had to write an 8 pages long report about our subject as well, which i had a really hard time doing.
I actually just sent my report to my teacher a few hours ago. I felt like it was super hard to write about 
pop art and it's history. Because i don't really like writing that much.
I know, strange right? Since i have 2 blogs and all. I think it's because i only like to write if i get to decide when i'm doing it, how i'm doing it and for how long i'm doing it. Basically i don't really like being forced into doing things i don't like. haha... But that doesn't really work in the real world, so i had to suck it up
and just write those pages. 
Anyways, at least i finished in time...

"Night is for dreaming, day is for achieving" 

//Maria




lørdag den 13. april 2013

Potato stamping!!



Hello people of the internet!

So for the last 2 days we have been potato stamping! Which was really fun, and
i'm definitely trying it again...
We started by making the whole alphabet which you can see in the picture on the left.
Then we had to think of a quote to stamp on our posters. I chose the quote "Night is for dreaming, day is for achieving", which i made myself. I even carved a moon, a star and small stars for my poster (picture in the middle).
I made a ombre effect on the background to represent the day and night.
To my surprise making potato stamps is actually hard, since you have to make sure everything you carve is reversed!
But it was super fun! And it was nice to get away from the computer.

We have a 5 day break today - wednesday next week. YAY!

"Night is for dreaming, day is for achieving"
Go and make your dreams come true!!

//Aria

tirsdag den 2. april 2013

Back to school!

Made by ME in Illustrator


Hello people of the internet!

So we all went back to school today, after a much needed spring break. I think
we all got pretty exhausted  after our magazine project. Speaking about our
magazine project, we are all still anxiously waiting for our grade... Hope we get
our grades soon... 

Today was a pretty chill day, we did some theory about colors, specifically contrasts.
And we also got some seat works about the different types of contrasts ( Contrast of saturation, light and dark, proportion, complements, hue, warm and cool, and simultaneous contrast ). Which was very interesting, to my surprise. I mean, i have always loved 
colors, but never have i ever thought of them in the ways i did today.
Above, you can see a seat work i did today, about the contrasts. 

We also got some pretty cool news. We are all invited to come to the DR1 studios next 
Monday! I don't know that much about it, since i don't watch that much danish tv, but i 
know they are a TV channel and that a lot of people know about them. I am mostly 
excited to see the big cameras. We were told that we are going to see them film
for 1 hour. Which i feel is like a mini dream come true. I have never been in a real filming
studio. I am so excited, I don't think i will be able to take photos there, but i will try and then
post them here.

"The night is for dreaming, and the day is for achieving"

// Maria





søndag den 17. marts 2013

Done with interactive magazine!

Made this on quebles.com

Hello people of the internet!

So last week our class just finished making our interactive magazine! It
was so exciting to see the finished product. 
We made our interactive magazine in InDesign, which didn't use to be
a program i liked. But after this project i have grown to like it, a lot!
We added some Easter details to our magazine, which was fun. But i had
to remove one of my favorite designs, the jumping bunny... I added
a bunny who was jumping non stop on the Index page, but it wasn't
serious enough for our fashionable magazine. 

I have learned a lot about the "killing my darlings" method on this project.
Meaning i have had to remove some designs that i loved, but didn't fit
in with our magazine. 

Next week we are focusing on finishing our printed version of our magazine, which
is almost done. We just need to make some more commercials and print it out!

Even though i think our group did an amazing job on our magazine, i'm still nervous
on what grade we will get. I hope we get a 12 (equivalent to an A+), but who
knows...

I researched a lot on interactive magazines before starting on our project since
i didn't know much about them.
If you are making an project like ours or want to check out some awesome
interactive magazines, take a look at this website!

Until next time... DREAM BIG!

// Maria

p.s. Happy early Easter!

onsdag den 6. marts 2013

Trip to Aller!

Goodies from Aller
Taken by: Me
Edited on Picmonkey.com


hello people of the internet!

So today was a very fun day at school. We went on a little field trip to this place that prints magazines, the place is called "Aller". Aller is one of the biggest printing  places ( in Denmark ) and they print all kinds of magazines, from fashion to kids magazines.

When we went inside the first thing i noticed was how modern everything looked. The sofa looked so expensive, and i didn't expect it to look very nice in a printing bounding ( since ink is very sticky and hard to get off furniture ). 
A very nice man guided us around the whole building showing us the different printers they use and we even got to meet some of the people working there. The coolest part for me was seeing the whole process of making of magazines. I had no idea it was that complicated.

I tried my best to enjoy this moment since it was my first time seeing what some Graphic designers end up becoming. The only bad thing was it stunk like fish and ink in some of the areas, phew...
I don't think i will end up as a "printing person" ( sorry i have no clue what you call the people who print out the magazines ), since i like being in front of the computer more than the ink. But it was very nice to see what happens after the graphic designers have made the magazines in InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.

We all got 3 magazines as our goodies. But they are not just any magazines, those have not even come out yet! That's right, we all have exclusive magazines that first come out tomorrow! 
*feeling special*

Thanks for reading!

Until next time... Dream BIG!



tirsdag den 19. februar 2013

Winter Break!

Taken by: Me
Edited in: Picmonkey.com

Hello people of the internet!

It's finally vacation time! We have no school this whole week, which means more time for the internet!

Last week we started a new project in school, a magazine project. We have about 5 weeks to finish a 20 page magazine ( in groups ). We have to write our own articles, make our own commercials and pick our own pictures. My group have to make a continuation of a magazine called "Cover Kids". I am so excited to see the finished product.
I have been researching a lot, even though it's our break. =) I even went to the library, which is very rare for me. And i found to magazines that were similar to "Cover Kids". I have a list of possible commercials and articles to use.
I also found tons of pictures that we could use.

We are going to be working in InDesign and Photoshop a lot in the next few weeks, and i can' wait!

But my vacation is not going to be consisting of ONLY school work, i am going to enjoy my free time (on the internet!).


Until next time...Dream BIG!

// Maria





PicMonkey site (online editing program for those who don't own Photoshop, like moi!):  http://www.picmonkey.com/



mandag den 11. februar 2013

Illustrator mania!


 Hello people of the internet!

The whole last week we had Illustrator lessons, which i enjoyed a lot!
Illustrator is a program a lot of graphic designers use to make logos, posters, and more!
I learned about so many things like how to trace images and make them into vector. 

Here's some of the things i made last week...

until next time..Dream big!

torsdag den 24. januar 2013

Photoshop 101

Color wheel made by: Me
Program: Photoshop
Translation
gul: yellow
rød: red
magenta: magenta
blå: blue
cyan: cyan
grøn:green







Made by: me
Program: Illustrator
Translation: Medium rare please...





























Hello people of the internet!

So after only a week in graphic design school, i have already learned so much. I am
so happy i made the choice to leave Web design and pursue graphic design instead! 

The past 4 days we have learned about colors ( RGB & CMYK ) and how to outline objects with the Pen tool. I love that there's some theory lessons as well, since i have not really had that much theory before, revolving editing programs.
We learned how to make a color wheel ( shown above), which was really fun! Even though it looks easy to make, i had no idea how to make one before. But now i know!

Tomorrow will be fun since we are going to go on a little trip with the different classes ( one of them is the digital media class). And it takes 3 hours to get to our destination. I will definitely take my DSLR with me. 

Until next time... Dream big!

// Maria



fredag den 18. januar 2013

Graphic design school has begun!

Taken by: Me
Location: Ny Carlbergs glypotek
Edited in : Picmonkey 

Hello people of the internet!

So if you have read my last blog post, then you know i just started graphic design school yesterday. And i just have to say that i am extremely happy to have started there.
I remember yesterday i was the 1st one in class, which is always a bit awkward. So what i did is i just waited for my friend to come before i entered the class room, haha...

We started off the day with our teacher talking about the things we are going to be doing and about the different rules. Just the general stuff. 

"2 truths 1 lie"
Then we moved on to a really funny game called "2 truths & 1 lie".
The game is a really good game to get to know your class mates. 
How you play is that each individual is going to write on a piece of paper 2 truths and 1 lie about their selves.
Then shuffle all of the paper together and give random ones around the class. Then one by one is going to read what's on the paper they got. And the whole class are going to guess who the paper belongs to.
This is a really fun game, especially since most of us didn't know each other. But it was a great way to bond.
We had to use the "poker face technique"

"Speed dating-class mates styles"
The 2nd game we played is called "Speed dating". THIS WAS SO AWKWARD! But it helped me ( and probably the others too) to feel less uncomfortable to be around each other and talk to my new class mates.
So i highly suggest this game for any teachers to use!
This is how the game works...
 Line up chairs in 2 lines. Everyone takes a seat. Everyone should have 1 person sitting in front of her/him.
In 2 minutes you are going to tell the person in front of you a little about yourself. ( whole class can do this at the same time, WARNING: it will get noisy). Then when the 2 minutes are over, switch partner.
It was so much fun, even though it was super awkward at first.

We haven't really started on a project yet, but as soon as we do, i imagine all of us getting really busy!
It's going to be some amazing 4 years. I am really looking forward to our trip ( 5 days with the class in a foreign country).

Wish our class good luck!

Until next time... DREAM BIG!

// Maria

onsdag den 16. januar 2013

Last project...

"Candy Land"
Made by: Me
Program: Illustrator
Hello people of the internet!

So today was a very sad, but also exciting day at our class. It's the last day for all of the ones who completed their year in Web + 3D class, and for those like me who are moving on to another class.
Tomorrow will be my 1st day in graphic design school. I am incredibly excited, but also very nervous,
because it's a new class, new teachers and we are going to be in a different building!

I finished my last project in our class ( see picture above). Our assignment was to make a tutorial on any of the programs that they have taught us. To name just a few, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash and Maya.
I choose to make a tutorial on how to make...*drum roll* printed paper! Since i'm obsessed with the printed paper in Panduro, i thought; why not make one myself!?.

I will post the tutorial here on this blog soon, =)

During my time at the Web + 3D class, i have learned a lot. If it weren't for this class i wouldn't even be going to graphic design school. Because while i was there, i realized that coding is not my thing, and that i wanted to do something more on the creative side.
My ultimate dream is to become a professional photographer, and to travel around the world taking tons of pictures. But until i reach that dream i will do my very best on making graphic designs. Illustrator is my favorite program, by far. 

So i guess if i should give an advice to anyone out there with a crazy dream like mine, just  fight for what you want. Even if nobody is giving you any good criticism on your work, just continue and do what you love. Because in the end it doesn't matter who got the "best work award", what matters is you, and your passion in life. And being HAPPY.
JUST DO IT! 
=)

Until next time... DREAM BIG!

// Maria