Social Issue Poster

The topic for my poster was that of racism towards Asians during the coronavirus outbreak, due to the cause being from China.

I found my research by going through google and finding articles from trusted websites who documented several occurrences of racism towards Asians and the reason as to why it is happening besides the virus.

The font I used was " TitlingGothicFB". The reason I chose it was due to it's serious and professional looking type. The topic was very serious and I did not want to discredit it by using overly friendly or aggressive fonts. I wanted it plain and simple. The plan was to let the image and words themselves make the most impact and the font I chose proved to be a great ally in establishing the previously said goal.

I applied all the principles of design that I could use in such an instance. I wanted it more plain and simple to add to the power of the poster.m I would say the greatest challenge was also the main focus and strength of my poster and choosing how to deal with that, simplicity. Although I got what I wanted the poster does, to me, look a little simplistic but I hoped to aid that by adding the powerful image. Also, I'm not comfortable with social issues at all so this will definitely be the last time, whether it's for school or not, I will be addressing such topics due to the fact that my end goal is not to deal with such issues whatsoever and so the conflict of those thoughts also plagued me during the design.

The one on the left was the first design and with revisions, the one on the right is the final version.

 

Elements and Principles Of Design

The Elements and Principles of design are extremely important. They make up the basis for essentially every piece of art work. Artist wether professional or not do best to always keep them in mind in order to create something actually good. They are the rules of the art world and reign true to this day. Thankfully I was really able to get a good grasp of what they are and you can see that be "personified" through my poster down below.

By always keep these elements and principles I too can create great pieces of art/design. Keeping them in mind will always guide me in the right direction and allow me to make the best pieces I can make. They will also allow for my pieces to be professional looking and objectively interesting.

Font Poster

Apparently creating a font poster is like a right of passage into the world of design. Every graphic designer has created one, and so that it why I have made my own today. It's the one you seen on screen. A little while ago it looks very different but that was due to it being a rough draft/outline of what I wanted the poster to look like. With some colleague critic and hard work I was able to adjust what was needed, things such as balance and concept consistency were brought up not only from my peers but even I was able to notice the problems as I was reviewing my work. Thankfully, though, I was able to easily fix the problems and create the new or final version (The one you see on the bottom of the text). I used the Adobe InDesign application to do so.

The Text I used for the poster was Tekton Pro. I found it while searching fonts on the adobe website and just randomly scrolled by it and also discovered an interest in it and so it became the focal point of my Font Poster. Through my research of said font I found that it's actually a very popular font known for It's distinct factor of being extremely legible. It was made by David Siegel which based said font on the hand lettering of author and architect Francis D.K. Ching. It was at first frequently used by architects but later made it's ay into the mainstream as the vast majority of people found out about it.

When I was generating the piece I tried my best to keep all the principles of design in mind but the most prominent ones were most definitely balance and in a sense repetition. Another idea I wanted to keep was that of a building type design since it was not only used by but also based on an architect writing. I felt I portrayed that feeling well making good use of box shape letters and implementing it into my design.

Welcome To My Blog!

Heyo! It has come to my attention that I have never really introduced myself until now. So let's just start all from the beginning. The names Aiden Avila and this is my blog. I'm a current student at Los Angeles Trade technical Collage under the visual communications program. The program aims to help their students learn and turn into a profession different forms of communication through visual means. They Cover things like tradition/digital art, graphic design and advertising. My passions had always aligned within those subjects and so I decided to pursue learning to the best of my abilities under that program.

Ever since I was a child it has been my dream to create and sell my own art and I'm on my way to achieving that dream. This blog is a part of that journey. Here you will see my progress as I learn and make mistakes but most importantly continue to improve. Prior to this blog I had never started a blog. This blog I had created when I first started my collage classes and I don't intent on ever deleting it. Not only are blogs an interesting concept to begin with and equally interesting to run they can also be very effective for business purposes and I intent to make proper use of that aspect of my blogs.

I actually have some other platforms that I "blog" on such as an Instagram and twitter. My Instagram is where I am most active and I post art that I am really proud of. I will make sure to make better use of my twitter as soon as possible. In addition to those platforms I also have an art station and portfolium account. I'm doing my best to put myself out there and run straight towards my goals without stopping!

I hope to utilize this blog and my other "blogs" to the best of my power and to start a community of my own and have fun with everything! I hope people will see my ambition/passion and follow me, my progress and journey to share in the ups and down and celebrate the grind together!

Links to my accounts:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/red_avila_art/
Art station: https://www.artstation.com/cringe_sama
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cringe_sama
Portfolium: https://portfolium.com/RedAvila/portfolio

Here is some art I have done!

Portfolium Next Steps

I am very happy with the final projects I have uploaded. It was really fun to do all of them and I can't wait to see how I continue to improve since this is just the beginning for me. I was only able to fully upload 1 project the website "Portfolium" but I did leave the rest of my pieces under draft, I just need to add descriptions and tags to them and finally click publish.

In order to make my portfolio look more professional I personally think I need a couple more edits/final projects. My main end goal isn't really to become a fully fledged graphic designer but I would love to show how versatile as an artist I can be. To do so I need a couple more projects because to a certain degree I have only focused on really one things, my own company materials. I want to display and develop my skills in other directions not just for personal business which can be basically anything. I haven't really be able to create something, in my opinion, really professional.

I really am proud of the work I have done and of the skills I have acquired In this graphic design class but I know I can do even better. I really do love my works but I know that they are very amateur looking, being very simple and to me they give me a feeling like they're missing something. One way I know I can really develop my portfolio or my skills in general in through practice and trail and error and thats what graphic design is all about. Professional graphic design artist usually go through many drafts until they settle on one final project to finalize and I was really able to learn that with the projects I had. I will continue to do my best! 

Portfolium Blog Post

I have learned that ePortfolios are extremely important especially in the current times we are living in. People and especially prospective companies are now able to easily see your work. One can even insert their process behind a piece and therefore people are able to read and consider it. This allows for those seeking to hire you to peek into the way you think, your mindset, and decide wether or not you are the one they are looking for. You can also be offered and accept jobs easier with an ePortfolio through doing everything online, keeping the job thought is up to the person. If you have a physical portfolio you could show that at an interview and thats not necessarily bad but having an ePortfolio show how updated a person is and how willing they are to adapt to new formats and the current condition of the world, older companies go crazy for that these days.

After seeing my ePortfolio in Portfolium I learned that I still have a lot to learn! my pieces to me look look really nice but I realize now how much better I can make them with the skills I have acquired. Its nice to see how I have improved, gives me that feeling of, "Oh! how cute, thats how I started". 

Nothing really surprised me once I finished uploading my ePortfolio with Portfolium. What I did find was something very funny and that was how many things you could count as skills. For me, many of the things you could include such as "hard worker" or "good at following instructions and directions" were already ingrained in me as a child and so it's funny how companies can hire those who aren't hard working or good at following directions since thats what having a job should already include, It should be an immediate requirement! It's also kind funny to see my work all in one place for the world to see, I put a profile picture that I thought was nice but i'll probably change it later. I just hope people look at my works and like it. Not only that but I hope that they go beyond that and also see the hard work that went into making them. 

I have actually already made connections through the website! It's with my fellow class and seat-mates, Jimmy Chavez and Darik McGhee. 

Honestly I really do feel as if I need my own website even after my experience with designing my own ePortfolio. My ePortfolio serves a certain purpose and so does having my own website. I would use my ePortfolio to go displaying my work in a professional manner but my own website would be used as a way of adding a more personal touch to how I "put myself out there". In my own website I have the freedom to put whatever I like, such as links to my social media and to payment methods, I even have the ability to input my rates on their own rather then it being grouped with the other things which just confuses things. I don't have that freedom with Portfolium's ePortfolio and thats great in it's own way, it is for professional matters and I would like to keep it that way. 

https://portfolium.com/RedAvila

What, Why and Who to designing

I did my best to keep to my target audience. I'm limited by the knowledge and current capabilities but I have ideas of where I want to go. The audience I was seeking to target was from teens to midlife adults. People today are looking for something more different, something that stands out and with my logo thats what I tried to do. I don't have a company I know that can get the specifics I wanted on my items because I'm just starting but as i get more known I will be able to further my brand and evolve it.

I think targeting an audience is extremely important! If you don't have one it's like shooting an arrow with no bullseye to hit. Having a target audience means having an achievable goal, you want to provide or fulfill what that audience is seeking. If you spread out too far you'll get lost. An example of a company that does very well at going for their target audience would be hot topic. They aim for those interested in the major pop culture topics, things such as anime or K-pop are extremely popular in this era we live in and what do you see they sell on their website. Mostly Anime and K-pop related things, its because they have an audience they want to reach and they reach it. Having one store for a specific topic also makes things a whole lot easier. You know where to go for exactly what you want. If you don't act on a target audience and what they want then thats like having a clothing store with a grocery market in one store. It would make you confused as to what they are trying to do as a company. Likewise my goal is to do my best to hone in on my target audience and "strike".

After I have seen my products become physical i have come up with a lot of ideas in order my marketing designs to my target audience. My Logo itself to me does not need a rework its what I put it on and how I use it that needs a rework. I don't wan to make it too simple where it looks plain but i can't it too complicated because that may drive out my target audience. For instance, If wanted to make a tie-die shirt with my logo on it I couldn't, the websites and shops I know of can't do those so when I officially start my brand I will seek those who can do those kinds of clothing and accessories and much more. I'll do my best to be more creative with my logo and gain a great following.