Personal Review of COM 322

For my final blog post, I wanted to write my own personal review of the course and what I gained from the last fifteen weeks. This was my last semester of undergrad, so I really wanted to take everything I could from the courses I was enrolled in. I was truly excited about taking a course that revolved around graphic design because it is such a massive part of almost every career field. I, for one, am hoping to continue working within graphic design and maybe even do some freelance work if permitted.

I feel that I learned so many different techniques throughout the semester. I have much more confidence when it comes to design pieces. I feel that I have gained the knowledge of what images work, what fonts should be used in certain areas, and what colors are the best choice. Every project we were assigned allowed us try our hand at something new. If someone asked me to name my absolute favorite assignment of the semester, I would struggle to pick just one.

The initials project was a great way to get our feet wet. We could try different things without worrying about a grade and just have some fun before really getting into the complicated art of design. The magazine layout forced us to work with a designated theme and find a way to make the story interesting and attractive. The instant book could be anything we wanted. We could make it personal, comical, emotional, simple, abstract, and complicated—as long as it was in black and white. A small limitation that pushed us to use things besides color to tell a story. The poster pushed us to stand up for a social issue that we believe in fighting for. Words, images, color, there was no limit, so long as it had a concrete meaning. And lastly, the brochure brought in the marketing side of design. We were creating a piece that was meant to sell and educate our viewers on a specific person, location, organization, and so on.

I am truly grateful for this course and what it has taught me. It opened up a new door for me, and I really hope that I can continue to progress within the art of graphic design. I developed a real passion for it and will be forever proud of the work I produced. Thanks for a great semester, Professor Greenan!