Jordan Cook 's Graphic Design Canvas

          According to Daniel Victor the author of the article “Citing Accessibility, State Department Ditches Times New Roman for Calibri” written in the New York Times , the United States Department has decided to change the typeface that they use to make it more accessible for those with any sort of disability.      This transition took place on February 6 th , 2023, and the final decision was to adopt Calibri as the new typeface. This will be applied to all of the Department's formal documents and communications.      Victor states that the department's first chief diversity officer said in an interview that this change will make the department’s paperwork “fully inclusive.”      Deciding on a typeface can be a controversial topic because there are many opinions on what typefaces are easier to read, what looks professional, and what message the overall typeface is sending out.      I...

Introduction      Everyone wants to be a millionaire! I have not met a person who would turn down a million dollars if they were to make it, be given it, or win it. Even the richest folks in America would not give up the chance to have a million more bucks in one of their accounts. You know that they have 10+, right?      Anyway, the creative exercise for my fourth week in Digital Illustration is called The “Million Dollar Idea List” , and I came across this exercise in the book CAFFEINE FOR THE CREATIVE MIND: 250 EXERCISES TO WAKE UP YOUR BRAIN written by Stefan Mumaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield .      The writers of this book say they keep a list like this is their studio. Every time they come up with an idea, they write it down. They have been doing this for the past 10 years.      The “Million Dollar Idea” List is a list of ideas of things that would potentially make a million dollars if they were produced. My “Mill...

          Graphic Designer Pablo Delcan has come up with an idea for a revolutionary new tool: the “very first non-A.I. generative art model” says Leslie Katz in of Forbes article titled Watch Out AI: This Guy Turns Text Prompts Into Hand-Drawn Images On Paper . Link:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/lesliekatz/2024/01/23/watch-out-midjourney-this-non-ai-generative-art-model-is-coming-for-you/?sh=217cc086343d      Originally born in Spain, Delcan now resides in New York. He designs books, book covers, and contributes to visual designs in The New York Times.      Delcan posted an Instagram post that said: “Send me a message with a prompt, and I will generate a drawing with black on paper and send it to you.      Delcan has been a busy man. So far, he has produced over 250 text prompt drawings including absurd, poetic, personal, and personal prompts, etc.      He states that this is the m...

Introduction      The second project for this week involved making a brochure. In the book, Against The Clock , a brochure needed to be made for the event The Art Of Science The Spotlight Exhibition Series .      The book walks you through how to do this project, and it provides you with logos, text, and images that the client wants in their brochure. It then tells you where to place them, and it teaches you how to make the template for the brochure. AOS Final Product      The next portion of this project is to create the project at the end of the chapter, and the client is The Painted Turtle. The Painted Turtle needs a fundraising brochure made including images, logos, contact information, information about the fundraiser, background information, and a donation sheet.      They had a fire, and the fire destroyed a large portion of their camp. They are raising money to rebuild it so their campers to return to their ha...

Introduction      Our third week of Digital Illustration has almost come to an end, and I have finished my 21 here at Keiser University. This week’s project is to pick one of the Seven Deadly Sins : Greed, Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony, Pride, Lust, or Envy . The Deadly Sins would all be interesting to depict considering we have the creative freedom to do whatever we want with this project just as long as we put some deep thought and effort into it. The Deadly Sin that I have chosen is GREED .      Greed consumes many people daily, and the need for Greed can also consume you causing you to live a life that you may not be able to afford. It can also have you dreaming of a fantasy life that doesn’t exist neglecting the life that you do presently have.      Then others have so much wealth that they do not know what to do with it, meanwhile, there are so many who struggle on a daily basis.      After doing some research the c...

Introduction      As a class this week, we completed a few creative exercises. We could either work together to complete them, or we could work alone.      We watched a series of little videos that discussed creativity and whether or not it could be taught or if some people are born with it.      So, which one is it?      According to dictionary.com Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing artistic.      The answer is it can be learned and taught. Most people mistake creativity for being artistic. This is a common misconception. They are not the same thing. Creativity involves problem-solving. Every day humans have to problem-solve. It is inevitable. S...

Introduction      The second project for this week was to create an event poster for a real-life event. The only specification for this was to use expressive typography and that the event be real.      The event I chose to complete a poster for was Bonnaroo . Bonnaroo is a famous Music & Arts Festival , and people travel from all over to come and see the bands that perform. Bonnaroo is put on in Manchester, Tennessee .        Bonnaroo is unique because they schedule a plethora of different artists to perform on stage ranging from majorly famous artists listed as the headliners to small, indie, underground artists that most people would not recognize.      For this event, you can get a hotel for lodging, but a majority of attendees sleep in a tent right on the grounds. There are showers and bathrooms provided, and you can come and go as you please (even though it is not recommended.      I have...

Introduction      In the first portion of this project, we had to complete a logo for Cafe Limon. We were to follow along with the book to create 3 different designs for the logo, and the 2 of the designs would go on a letterhead and envelope that we made. Cafe Limon Finals Designs:     For the second portion of the project, our c lient is the Cincinnati Zoo .      This Cincinnati Zoo is rebranding everything in their zoo, and next spring, they are going to have a Grand Reopening.      We must recreate their logo , come up with a series of icons for each of the zoo’s seven main sections: Tropics, Desert, Arctic, Forest, Ocean, Sky, and Kids Kingdom, and create an invitation for the Grand Reopening celebration that includes the new logo.      We are to research the proper size of the invitation that will be sent through the U.S. Postal Service and include the date, time, phone number, and web address. ...

Introd uction           Because this Month’s class is about learning how to use Adobe Illustrator, I am going to talk about an article I found titled 10 Essential Tips & Tools All Adobe Illustrator Beginners Should Learn written by Sharon Archer-Thomas. Tutorial:  https://design.tutsplus.com/articles/10-essential-tips-tools-all-adobe-illustrator-beginners-should-learn--cms-23163      Thomas states that it is hard to talk about what tools a beginner should be using because there are now so many tools to choose from. She is obsessed with vector graphics, and with 10 years of experience in the graphic design industry, she has listed 10 tips that she says she cannot do without when creating her vector graphics. 10 Essential Tips & Tools All Adobe Illustrator Beginners Should Know TIP 1: Pen Tool      The Pen Tool is tough to master, and graphic designers who are just starting sometimes are scared away by the ...

Introduction      Has the drive-thru made America better, or has it stunted us as a nation? What is your perception?      My perception is that it has made things easier and sometimes a bit more efficient. There are times when the Drive-thru is not efficient at all, though. The lines in fast food restaurants get so long that it is more efficient to get out of your car and go inside to order. Other times the line is not that long, and you can swing on in, order, and get your food through the window in no time.      At the same time, I believe that it would be healthier for humans to get out of our car instead of going through the Drive-thru. This would get our bodies up and moving, especially for those who do not really exercise. If we make everything to where we go through the Drive-thru or order delivery, we as a nation are gradually getting less exercise.      I grabbed the book CAFFEINE FOR THE CREATIVE MIND 250 EXER...

Introduction      This week, I chose to do Regatta Artwork which was project 2. For this project, my client is requesting that I make the primary artwork marketing the Long Beach Regatta event which attracts thousands of people.      The main portion of the poster that I created was the sailboat. I used the pen tool to create the shapes and outlines of the sailboat, and I used different colors from the swatch panel to color in the sails, posts, boats, and ropes. In the smaller sail, I was instructed to use the Gradient Free Transform tool with lines and points to create multiple color gradients within the sail.      When I was finished creating the sailboat, I copied and pasted it into the template that was provided. Then I used the Blob Brush to create some water splashing up from the waves. Regatta Artwork Poster      For my creation, I made a Radial Gradient background going from white to black which brought more...

Introduction      Starting this new year, I have begun the course  Digital Illustration . I am excited to see what this class brings. I am beginning with no experience in Adobe Illustrator, and I know that an abundance of knowledge will be headed my way.      One of our first projects is to create a color tattoo. This is no ordinary tattoo. We are to come up with a tattoo that represents us as a person in some way. Who else gets to create tattoos as assignments besides a tattoo artist themselves?      Since I know the bare minimum about Illustrator at this point, this project was a bit of a challenge, but if it isn’t a challenge, are we learning and pushing ourselves to be the best that we can be?      For my tattoo I chose to incorporate an old school microphone, my stage name JAE in graffiti, and some lighting bolts coming out of the bottom of the name and the microphone.      The old-school mic...

Introduction      According to dictionary.com , an Adjective is defined as a word or phrase naming an attribute, added to, or grammatically related to a noun to modify or describe it.      Adjectives bring sentences and connecting words to life. Without our good ole friends, the adjectives, and descriptions of persons, places, or things would be well, rather dull. The idea of language would be rather dull. So, I am certain that English/Language Arts teachers around the are thrilled to know that creative exercises like this exist. I bet they would even like to incorporate these exercises into their curriculum somehow because adjectives are used daily for everything in life.      I am a huge fan of adjectives because I write poetry and rap songs. If you are unaware of these two forms of art, they use a profuse number of adjectives because they are all about wordplay and telling and creating stories.      The title of thi...

Introduction      In the thick of January, I would say Winter has settled in hitting us with those whirling cool breezes that shock your soul. For some of us, that includes the beloved snow that covers the north in a thick white blanket. For others, it is sunny and bright with just a touch of cool air and maybe a few grey skies here and there.      In Photoshop User’s Magazine November 2023 rd edition, Corey Barker has written an article in the Photoshop Down & Dirty Tricks category titled” A QUICK WINTER MAKEOVER USING GENERATIVE AI.      A Quick Winter Makeover Using Generative AI goes through steps to turn a sunny day photo into a bright and sunny snowy day. Barker states that he wanted to utilize this new feature that has been the talk of the previous months. A QUICK WINTER MAKEOVER USING GENERATIVE AI - The Step-by-Step Process: STEP 1: Upload the sunny day picture that you would like to use. In the picture Barker uses, t...