Jordan Cook 's Graphic Design Canvas

Introduction      Have you ever looked at a pencil and wondered how did we come up with this object? It has become a pretty handy invention, I must say.      I found this creative exercise in a blog post called 10 Activities To Generate Better Ideas created by IDEO U . IDEO U has a podcast named Creative Confidence Podcast , and they brought on Brendan Boyle an IDEO U partner and founder of IDEO U Play Lab . Brendan Boyle discussed “how to bring playfulness back into the workplace”. He listed 10 activities that he uses with his team. The link is below for more information and activities. https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/10-activities-to-generate-better-ideas      The activity I chose is called Pencil Questions . First things first, obtain an image of a pencil. The one that I looked at was a sharpened yellow-orange pencil with a pink eraser in a silver piece with a blue strip in the middle of the silver piece. Next, you are supposed to come up with at least ten ques

Introduction      Every city has the top places that people would visit if they happened to stumble into that area or plan a trip. I have chosen the City of Winter Haven for this project. The City of Winter Haven is small, and most people have probably never heard of the name. Even though it is one of the smaller cities in Florida, there are some events, parks, and places that represent this little hidden treasure.      For this project, we are supposed to create five postcards that tell a story and represent a specific audience. I have chosen five beautiful pictures that represent Winter Haven.  When I was assigned this, I had a few of these in mind because I visit them from time to time. City Of Winter Haven Post Cards Postcard 1 Dr. Martin Luther King Park I created two masks for this photo, the subject and the background.      For the subject, I increased the contrast by 21, the highlights by 61, the shadows by 25, the whites by 3, the blacks by 25, the temperature by

Introduction      What generation were you born in? I was born during what we call the “millennial generation”. We had house phones growing up, but there was another way to communicate that some people may not know of. If I remember correctly, there were still a few of these still hanging around. It is crazy to look back and try to remember whether they still existed or not because there was a major shift and advancement in technology as I was growing up. These were used all of the time when people needed to get in contact with someone, and they were traveling around town or in general. You’d pop a quarter in (back when these first came out they cost a dime) and you could dial the number of whomever you needed to contact. It also had shelter covering it so that the technology would not get destroyed, and we wouldn’t get electrocuted. Have you guessed it yet? It is...Superman! I'm just kidding. It is the good ole PAY PHONE BOOTH .      They seem ANCIENT now. I had to think bac

Introduction      As I am coming into my fourth course, Digital Image Editing, Photoshop is becoming the main attraction. We are delving into its depths and revealing how much a designer can make Photoshop work for them, manipulating an image to their style or the style that the client is requesting.      The Photoshop article that I have chosen is called “Animated Special Effects With Photoshop” written by Corey Baker. This article is out of the August 2023 rd Photoshop User Magazine edition.      “Animated Special Effects With Photoshop” talks about motion effects and how they draw the viewers' attention to the design or image. It thoroughly explains how layer effects can create light around the edges. Photoshop’s “Timeline” is also used, further enhancing this “lit up edge” with gradients that create an animated, traced look. This article lists 29 steps on how to implement this technique to an image of a pair of headphones.      In each step, there are links, steps, and

Introduction      ADOBE MAX 2023 was just released at the beginning of this month, and I must say there are quite a few exhilarating features that have been updated across the Adobe Creative Cloud. These new features are included in Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, Premier Pro, and more. This is all thanks to the new Firefly Model. What an exciting time for all creatives. This new release just skims the surface of what Adobe will look like in the future. New Features      Illustrator has a new “Text to Vector Graphic” . This allows the user to create a wide amount of various editable vector graphics. You can manipulate them in any way that you need to get the form and effect that you were aiming for.      Photoshop has two HUGE improvements. AI is slowly creeping into the back door, and it will continue to speed into the future. "Generative Fill" and "Generative Expand" are the new features. They are incredible. Generative Fill allows you to type a

Introduction      For specialty project 2, I decided to choose wildlife photography. I mean, who doesn’t love to take tons and tons of pictures of the beautiful creatures we encounter on our journeys whether it be animals in your local vicinity or animals from your travels abroad? I LOVE it. I love trying to get a photo that is in focus and will show off the detail and personality of the animal being shot. Animals are the most beautiful living beings. Wildlife Photography      With that being said, certain tips and tricks can help you take better shots of wildlife in their natural habitats. It may not be the easiest photo to capture, but if you are PATIENT and a little bit lucky, I bet you could shoot a great one, maybe even better than you thought you would.      Wildlife can be quite difficult to shoot because there are so many factors to consider. It is encouraged to not shoot during direct midday lighting. This could give you harsh shadows, and they will reflect off of the f

Introduction      It is a Sunday afternoon, and I am sitting here wondering what most people do on Sunday afternoons. Right now, 2 of my kids are in their room watching a movie, and the other 2 are outside playing. My partner is scrolling on Facebook, and I am about to begin my creative exercise. This is probably a regular Sunday for us unless we go to the park, the beach, or a festival.      My creative exercise for this week is called “It Keeps Things Hot And Cold!” . This exercise also came out of the book CAFFEINE FOR THE CREATIVE MIND 250 EXERCISES TO WAKE UP YOUR BRAIN by Stefan Mumaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield .      I bet some people remember when their mom or dad packed their lunch for school. There was a container that stored hot and cold food or drinks, and it went inside your lunchbox. Do you remember, the lunchbox thermos? It has been a long time since I have heard this word, and honestly, I don’t think my mother ever bought my brother or me any type of thermos.   

Introduction      Landscaping photography has naturally always been one of my favorite types of photography. Most of the time when I shoot pictures, it is of sunsets, land, the sky, flowers, trees, and more. I find pleasure in the beauty of the universe that we live in. I am the type to snap a photo in my car on the way to my destination.      Each area of photography has specific requirements. For Landscape photography, there is equipment that is recommended such as wide-angle lenses, interchangeable lenses, a tripod, and filters. Most photographers should be shooting at the golden hour for the best lighting. This area of photography takes patience. I am not surprised. Nature cannot be rushed, so this allows us to relax and enjoy our time in the wonders of something that we take for granted each day.      The photo I have chosen for my specialty project is a picture of a body of water with marshland surrounding it. There are trees in the background, and the sky is a beautiful br

Introduction      Different textures surround us at all times. I have been trying to take pictures every time that I see something that catches my eye. I used to take many pictures as I embarked on each of my journeys, but I have taken more pictures for this class daily than I ever have in the past. Because there are so many different textures out there, you could come across something unique at any time.      I took various pictures before I decided which picture would be “the chosen one”. I was trying to create a habit of taking some pictures every day. I took pictures of bamboo, gravel, roads, various plants, mud, metal, stucco, a couch, and more. I could not decide which one I wanted to use, but in the end, I did have to pick something.      The picture that I ended up going with was a mix of rocks, dirt, and gravel that I found surrounding a railroad track. On this particular day, my family and I traveled downtown. Our kids were walking down the bustling street of downtown L

Introduction      I happened to stumble across a renowned photographer who has a very eccentric style of photography. This was a COMPLETE accident. I saw a cover story, written by Arabelle Sicardi in the Allure magazine (link below), on an artist that I enjoy listening to, Billie Eilish . Lo and behold, this particular photographer happened to shoot Eilish’s photos for this story. I was left with no option but to lose myself in both worlds. I relished the beauty, ambition, and talent of the pop star being portrayed in the photographs and every element of design in the photography itself. Billie Eilish Just Wants to Feel Good - Interview | Allure      Eilish just came out with her third fragrance, Eilish No. 3 , but this design post is about the MYSTERIOUS photographer, not Eilish. His name is… Cho Gi-Seok      Cho Gi-Seok was born in Seoul, South Korea, and he is an established professional photographer. He also founded his streetwear brand KUSIKOHC . Gi-Seok began his c

Introduction      What is the most important part of a Happy Meal? Have you ever thought about it? I guarantee that kids could care less about the french fries, apples, burger, nuggets, or drink. The PRIZED possession is the TOY. What kid actually goes for the food first?      The creative exercise I chose this week is called “ I Already Have That One” . It just fell into place. I know I previously stated that I love getting my exercises from Caffeine For The Creative Mind 250 Exercises To Wake Up Your Brain written by Stefan Mumaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield , so this week's exercise is also from this book. I know you’re probably thinking I use the same book over and over again, but it has fantastic ideas. Also, it groups them into categories depending on what you are trying to work on. I am focusing on generating ideas, and that is what “I Already Have That One” was created to do. I Already Have That One I am supposed to come up with 10 ideas for ADULT TOYS for an ADULT Happy

Introduction      This project was pretty interesting, confusing, and very fresh to me. I am a rookie when it comes to photography and especially, the settings. The assignment was to adjust the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO of the camera. There aren’t very many specifics, but that alone was ENOUGH for me. We of course had to edit and crop them properly, as well.      I added 3 masks to every photo but the 4 th and the 5 th . The 4 th was for the obvious, and for the 5 th photo, the sky was a bit overexposed. I thought the background looked fine. I also applied Artistic Profile 5 to every picture so that they had the same effects applied. Photo 1 F - 8.0, Shutter Speed - 1/180, ISO – 200 Mask 1 was the sky. I lowered the whites to -11 and the highlights to -21 because they were overexposed. Mask 2 was the background. I lowered the whites to -13. Mask 3 was the subject. I lowered the whites to -16, and I increased the texture by 25, the clarity by 28, and the sharpne

Introduction      This weekend my partner and I decided to load up our children and take a little trip to downtown Lakeland . I wanted to shoot some photos that had more of a city feel. The trip started off kind of awkward, and everyone was trying to find their place as we stepped out onto the sidewalk. We parked in a parking garage with bright red staircases on the corners and a cool alley to the left. That is where our journey began. BUT it did not end there…      We ended up loading up again to travel back to downtown because I needed to take a few more pictures to satisfy my soul.      It was hard choosing from the plethora of pictures that I took, but the ones I chose capture some interesting moments.      In this project, we were supposed to focus on the 6 Formal Elements of Design . The 6 Formal Elements are: line, format, shape, value, texture, and color. Value      I am going to start with my second favorite shot for photo number 1. This shot happened later in o