Carefully dragging their computer mice and coloring in illustrations on Procreate, the students in Advanced Graphic Design are hard at work bringing their ideas to life while creating long-lasting memories and experiences as they redesign the logos for three clients.
In order to get information and share ideas for a design, the class went through the process of emailing or meeting with three different companies, a boba shop in West Covina called TeaSpots, a Los Angeles-based accounting and tax preparation firm, Tax Mavericks and a instrumental string manufacturer called Century Strings. As they sort things out with these companies, students often help them figure out what design their client is looking for.
Sophomore Reymiel Agojo is currently working alongside Advanced Video Production to create commercials, redesign the menu, the website and logo for TeaSpots. As he works on his design, Agojo has had some positive feelings towards this project.
“It feels great to have the experience and I’m happy to collaborate with friends on something I’m very passionate about,” Agojo said.
Besides Agojo, senior Ariadna Kuniyoshi is redesigning a logo, fixing up the website, and creating business cards for Tax Mavericks.
“For this project we are focusing more on the colors, typography, shapes and spacing because we want to project that relaxing feeling for medical professionals in which is the target market but while doing so still staying professional and implying the formality as it is a tax company,” Kuniyoshi said.
As they work hard on their projects, they do have some obstacles that make redesigning rough. For Agojo, he encountered obstacles such as creative block, miscommunication and time management. But Agojo is not alone in having to overcome design challenges. Senior Yahari Araoz is in her first year in Advanced Graphic Design and is also working with Tax Mavericks.
“It’s pretty difficult. A lot of things the company wants, they don’t really line up with what you would think of when you think of a tax company. Otherwise, she wants a lot of pink and blue and a beach kind of look. We’re kind of figuring out how to troubleshoot that,” Araoz said.
Although they face these difficulties, the students strive through to solve them.
“To overcome the challenge of putting everything the client wants is to propose alternatives. I would create a design that may not be exactly what the client wants but it will help inspire them to look at a different way,” Kuniyoshi said.
The students have access to different resources that help them execute their design visions. For example, they use YouTube, Google, Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Adobe Illustrator is a program used to convert their initial or final drafts to a high quality design. This program provides a wide variety of tools to make print/ready or web/ready works. Along with these tools, there are some necessary skills a student needs that come in handy for graphic design.
“I think you have to be really good at communicating with people. You can’t leave anyone in the dark, because without one person, the whole project will come apart,” Araoz said.
Despite these adversities, this opportunity to work with real-life clients has taught these students many lessons that can help them later on in life.
“I think it’s a good experience, and that I could use it for other things, like if I were to get a different job or a job at an early age,” Agojo said. “Some potential jobs I really want to get into are Video Production and film. I like capturing the emotions and nostalgia of childhood.”
Kuniyoshi has also learned valuable experiences regarding taking constructive criticism for the future and taking action to fix things right away. Just like Agojo and Kuniyoshi, Araoz has taken various skills of collaboration and time management she learned from this project and plans to use them outside of graphic design.
“I feel like I’ve gained skills of teamwork. I think it’s important we all learn how to communicate well with each other and how to align with strict deadlines,” Araoz said. “I think I’ve learned how to organize my time efficiently when it comes to things, not just related to school, but in my own personal life.”
