nicolejolink

Above this writing you will see the Boston Celtics Logo that I got off of google. Underneath of this writing you will see the Boston Celtics Logo that I recreated and had to hand into my teacher as my final project. The hardest part about remaking this design would have to be making the clovers. Each time that I would try to make a clover they would end up looking lop-sided and unappealing so it took me about an hour just to complete all of the clovers on this design. Everything else on the design was fairly straight forward. I really enjoyed doing this project because using the pen tool to recreate designs interests me and I have fun as I do it. This design was a lot more complex than the monkey since every time I zoomed into this design to see if I was recreating it spot on the image would become pixelated which made it hard to completely copy the design line by line. Overall this was a really fun project and I’m looking forward to creating more designs using the pen tool in my upcoming semester this summer.

For my project in one of my classes we had to use the pen tool on Illustrator and outline a picture of a monkey holding a paint gun and then add color to the image as well. This is the image that my teacher gave me(on the left) and then from it i managed to create the image (on the right). 

After I had created the image and added color I had to add shadows to it as well. The image (above) is the final version of the monkey that I will be handing in.

The website I choose to redesign was Digital Dreams! So far some complications I have had are deciding what information to put on the redesign and what information to leave behind. I decided to keep the design simple, going to add more information about the event and a link to get the photos. The only complication I have had so far is finding the logo online with a transparent background. Since I was unable to find that for the Digital Dreams logo I am going to need to use the lasso tool and the magic wand in order to remove the white behind the words for when I put in the background. I am trying my hardest to keep the design simple but I feel that might be difficult since there is so much information to try to fit into such a small section.

An issue I am continuing to have is the layout and design of the website, I keep on forgetting that space is limited so I need to choose carefully what makes it into my final version of the website redesign. Every time I add an image to the layout I have to choose their size and make it as similar to the other images I’m adding as possible. The social media pictures took some time to realign and again I was unable to find images of you tube and also soundcloud without a transparent background. So yet again before I put the final background on I need to lasso these images to remove the white so it doesn’t look fake, and gives the website more authenticity.  Choosing to put the “Presented by:” and “Powered By:” In the bottom corner seemed to be the best idea in order to assure that both sides of the website were even and did not draw your eye fully to one side without at least a glimpse at the other side. I was trying to balance the website and add balance by having all social media and funders in alignment. Placing the ruler helped a lot with this since it helped me to know how much space I should use when placing the images and text. I am continuously forgetting to rename each layer. Let alone remembering to put things that should be grouped together into a folder. This project is beginning to come together and hopefully soon the final image will be designed.

I have now decided that the simplest background that does not draw your eye away from the information would be a purple background that slowly turns into white. Now that I have done this I need to lasso the digital dreams title, Sound Cloud and Youtube in order to make the background look as if it belongs within the pictures instead of just placed behind everything. A big challenge would be decided how much more information to add to the design. Since the layout is almost finished I do not want to begin cluttering the website design and making it look as if the information was just thrown around in order to fit as much as possible. I will most likely just add a search engine to give your email for updates, as well as a panel in the top corner to let you get to different pages such as map, directions/location, hotels, etc. Other than that I do not want to add the gallery or official after math video to the front page for I feel it will make you miss the important information such as, when the event is and how much it will cost you to attend. Putting the company’s funding the event on the front page would help the funders feel included and not be as inclined to stop funding the event.

SUCCESS!! I have completed my website. One thing that was bothering me for a while as I began finishing the website was the search engine to get to other pages. It kept bothering me that I could not find a more complex design so I ended up just drawing in the box and colouring it blue to match the Bud Light logo and since blue is a nice accent to the purple. Overall I feel the project was a huge success, after many hours of finding a website, choosing how to design it, and actually designing the website it came out just as I had hoped. The project was a lot more fun than I had originally anticipated. After spending most of my time reorganizing the name of the files I managed to name them all something that suited what they were. The folders were easy to decide what went in them once I got started and the lassoing of images to get rid of the white was simpler than I had expected it to be. I had to solve one major issue near the end but with the help from a friend we realized that the bar to get to other pages of the site belonged at the top and not under the title otherwise the site became to confusing. Hopefully I designed the website to my teachers likings and not just to a way that I would enjoy seeing. Another issue I had was with the background, at first I had wanted it to be of outer space but I quickly realized that I drew too much attention away from the actual information so I went for something simple and subtle. Overall the layout of the website seems to catch my eye far more than the old website. The new design would also cause the viewer to go to other pages for information with a simple click of a button instead of not being able to get to other pages of the website and having everything on one page.

One of my main hobbies would be dancing. I danced from a young age until grade 11 when I realized I needed to focus more on school and less on a fun activity. Even now dancing is one of my favourite past times. I will often go to edm venues such as Digital Dreams and Veld to escape reality and dance all day. I’ll admit its tiring but its well worth it, to be able to move to the music and not have anyone judge me for dancing funnily. Majority of the time when I really get into the music would be in a tented room commonly called the Boom Tent or House of Boom. In these sections of the festival the beats are incredibly loud and everyone usually dances more spaced out. This is usually where I get to dance around like a maniac. I feel  free when I get to dance and move to the beat. It would have to be my favourite past time just because people will have dance offs or even copy one another’s moves to really get into the groove of the song. As long as I am laughing and having a good time anything is good with me. Even though my favourite past time is dancing many other things interest me. Another hobby would have to be just hanging out with my friends or playing video games. I especially like watching someone play a video game involving a ps3 or xbox. I am not very skilled at moving my hands around that big of a console so me and my best friend usually stick to playing Rayman on her Wii. Overall my interest go all over the place from things I like to do, from reading, to working out, to just hanging out. As long as I am having fun or the people I am with are having fun anything goes with me. I am pretty easy going when it comes to making plans as long as we just enjoy one another’s company.

Through my lifetime I have only had two types of pets. One would be my cat named Chips who just recently passed away. My other pet would be a Siamese fighting fish who didn’t live very long because me and my sister over fed it. My cat had a sister named Roo, but when I was no older than 7 she got hit by a car on our street and passed away. We later took in my uncles Siamese cat names Kate who was very old. My mom loved her so much and each night Kate would sleep under the covers with my mom and always brush against her. But Kate never liked me too much because Chips was more important to me than her. Chips was a long haired tabby whom we got when I was one and was apart of the family until just after I turned 19. She had a long cat life filled with many dead mice and treats. She loved to be near people but never cuddled, and for some reason she loved getting baths. Not a full bath under the water, but if my hands had water on them and I rubbed them on her she would purr away. I don’t think I’ll every be able to love another pet as much as I loved chips. She slept on my bed every night and would always let me play with her when I was bored even if it meant waking her up from a nap. She was the most beloved cat I have ever met and I hope she is enjoying kitty heaven.  I know we always fed you a few too many snacks throughout the day but that was only because you were too cute to say no to. I loved how you would sit on my lap as I ate or in the chair next to me because you knew I would always throw you a few nibbles here or there. I would give anything to hear you meow or purr one more time. You were the best cat in the world and no other pet will ever replace you. You were the prettiest cat in the world with those glowing green eyes and your soft, soft fur. I love you chippers, I hope you are getting all the treats in the world in kitty heaven.

The most important thing to me is family. They are with you from the moment you are born until either you pass away or they do. They see you take your first steps, and they help you learn life lessons. Your family, whether immediate or second cousin are always going to be there for you. They are not like friends. You are unable to pick and choose who you want to talk to. With family you are born into being apart of them. They love you, and cherish you and spend all their free time trying to help you have the best life possible. I love my family more than I could every explain. My mom is always willing to help me, learn how to cook, clean, understand a life issue, or to just be there for me. She would always let me talk to her about anything and I never felt as if I was being judged when I would tell her something that happened to me or my friends. My dad is just as caring as my mom, he was always there as a kid when I couldn’t fall asleep and I would go downstairs to see him playing a video game or just watching tv. He would let me stay up then he would carry me upstairs. From a young age my dad and I have always gotten along, we have very similar interests and it made us spend a lot of time together. My sister is just 16 months older than me and is fairly different that me. She is into fashion and she has had a serious boyfriend for a while. But that never stopped us from spending time together and we have always gotten along. Sure we fight about who gets to shower first or why she can stay out later than me but we have never had a serious fight that made us stop talking. When we were younger we used to have sleepovers and fall asleep hugging each other hoping that we would wake up still hugging. I love my family more than the world and no one would ever be able to replace them. They are there when I need them, and I am there when they need me. We are more than family. We are friends. I love them each so much.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post before I came to Seneca for Interactive Media Design I was taking Journalism-Broadcasting at Fanshawe College. Being on air for 106.9 was so much fun! If there were more jobs in that field I would have loved staying in that program. But since the job industry is heading in a more electronic based industry I figured it was best to switch while I was ahead. So far in Interactive Media Design we have been falling around with adobe applications as well as learning how to take proper pictures, edit sound clips, and also create websites. The only similarity between this course and my last would be the sound class as well as photography. With Journalism I learned a lot about sound boards and what they have to offer. My favourite part of that program would have to be the on air portion of it. It was basically a job, where I would have an assigned shift for the week and then I would go and create news casts about whats happening around school and in the London region. I liked being on air the most out of every other part of the program because it allowed me to just be natural and not feel as if other people were hovering over my shoulder waiting to hear what I say. I mean, people were listening to what I was saying. But not where I could see them.  They would be listening through the website, or in their car, even walking down the halls. Knowing that people were listening often made me nervous but it also gave me confidence. Knowing that people were tuning in to hear what I had to say and report on. Overall the program was a lot of fun. But I can already tell from these three weeks in my new program that I am going to enjoy it a lot more. Just because it is easier to understand and interests me far more.

Don’t get me wrong, I like my program… a lot more than I thought I would. But this hunger, its unbearable!!! All I keep thinking about is when I’m going to get the chance to eat dinner. The more I think about it the hungrier I become. Curse this forever growling stomach of mine. Focus Nicole! Quit thinking about your tummy and get your head in the game. These long school days are crucial for learning, but sometimes my stomach gets the best of me and won’t stop growling from the small snacks I get to eat. Thank goodness I am able to eat in majority of my classes.

It is weird to think that over the course of our lifetime we won’t get the chance to see all of the world and what it has to offer. We live in a society that relys on technology to survive. Imagine if we had to go and live in say Africa for a year. At first we would be looking for wifi reception for a few weeks or months, then as time goes on we would begin learning how to survive without the constant need to communicate with our peers. Now imagine when we were sent back to our civilization, do you believe we would still be able to survive without our phones? or would we go right back to texting and tweeting. I could only hope that if i was sent somewhere that technology wasn’t as necessary that I would be able to survive without it, and when I returned back home i would not become the same technology drone that I am now. I could only image how much technology would have changed and evolved in the year that I was away and how much more fascinated my friends would be in knowing who just uploaded a picture as suppose to knowing what is happening right in front of them.