Notepad Project
The first December project we did was the notepad project. With this project, we had to work in partners and each of us would design notepads using Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. After each partner has their design, it is transferred into InDesign and a plate of both designs is made to be printed. So, the first step (as always) was to come up with four possible designs in Adobe Illustrator. I did two Dallas Cowboys designs (one with Dak Prescott and one about the Cowboys), a list of bullet points with the heading " Stuff to get done", and series of lines with the heading " From the desk of Gregory R. Moser". Out of these designs, I choose the "From the desk of Gregory R. Moser" one. Choosing my design would probably be the one thing I would change about this project because I could have come up with a better idea if I put more time into it. My partner did a design of a croissant (don't ask why). So, to get both of these designs into InDesign, my partner had to email me his design. Once I got all the information, I was able to transfer it into InDesign. After I put my partners design into InDesign, I did mine too using the same process. At this point, both of our final designs are in InDesign and the plate is ready to be made. To make the plate, I had to email my InDesign document to my teacher so he could print the plate from his computer because the student computers do not have the ability to print the plate. Once the plate was made, it was on to a whole different beast with the offset printing press. You had to put the plate onto a rolling pin inside of the printing press and wipe it down with water. You then put a big stack of paper into the paper tray, turn the press on, and it sucks paper one piece at a time while rolling the inked up plate onto the paper. This may sound like a slow process, but it only took a minute or two to print 120 pieces of paper. Despite the efficiency, this was was least favorite part of the project because I constantly felt that I was going to mess up and destroy the press. At this point, the paper for the notepad is printed with both my design and my partners design (because the plate contained both our designs). The next step is to take the stack of paper, glue one of the 11in edges together, then cut the paper in half. This was my favorite part of the project because it's so rewarding to see the final product of all your hard work. Besides, it's just cool to have a custom made notepad. I received a 94% on this project, which I am very proud of.
Event Poster Project
The last project I did in this class was the event poster project. This was an optional project only for the students who have completed all of their work. So, since I was finished with everything (including this Weebly page) with two weeks of class left, I decided to do the event poster project. The premise of this project is pretty simple; design a poster for an event that you have interest in using Adobe Illustrator. From there, transfer the poster into InDesign to make a plate, then print 50 copies of the event poster using the offset press. The first step, as always, was to come up with four ideas. I came up with an event poster about a Queen concert, a Dallas Cowboys game, a sale at Kohls, and the world premier of Star Wars. Out of these four thumbnails, I chose the Queen one. For me, this was my favorite part of the project because I thought it was fun to design a Queen poster. After you have your design finished, you had to transfer it into InDesign so you can make a plate of it. This was my least favorite part of the project because my plate in InDesign was 8.5in vertical and 11in horizontal. So, I had to make my poster sideways in InDesign. This would be the one thing I would change about the project because it was so annoying and tedious. If I could do it again, I would figure out a way to change the orientation. However, I got it done doing it sideways. The next step would normally be to make the plate and print it using the offset press. But, I never got the chance to do that because some students in my class were still printing their notepads. And, because this was an optional project, it had to take a backseat to them. Overall, I enjoyed the process of designing an event poster, but I wish I had the opportunity to print it.