Course

Basic Graphic Design 

For the firs week I explored the characteristics of each typeface, for which I elaborated a sheet that included all the upper and lower cases of the typefaces selected by the professor. 

Then, I explored the different themes that I could use for the photos, from furniture, plants, landscape and building.  

After doing a quick test with some photos and letters, I decided to select photos from buildings as the theme for my project. 

For the second week I selected photos from different buildings that I have taken in previous trips around Wisconsin.  One of the main challenges of this project was to have the perfect angle so that the shape of the building will match perfectly with the shape of the letter, because of this, I needed to take additional photos that could work better for the composition. 

The book layout was designed using Adobe Illustrator, which consisted in 28 spreads plus a cover, spine and back.  Also, I used Photoshop to modify the photos that needed improvement, as well as cropping them so that they could fit perfectly with the typeface.    

For the third week, I finished assembling the photos and the typefaces. For each composition I added a description that included information about the typeface selected as well as the photo used. 

I printed the first draft and explained the concept to the professor, who provided feedback based on the design principles applied.  I made the final modifications based on the feedback received from the professor. 

For the final week, I reviewed the book one more time, making sure that all the corrections were made, and that the margins and bleeding were correct before printing the final version.

I printed and assembled the final version of the book, which included performing the tasks of cutting, folding, and gluing by hand each of the images individually.   The big challenge of these steps was to keep all the folded  pages perfectly aligned when gluing them, because any slight misalignment could mean a loose or crooked book. 

My attention to detail and desire for perfection helped me to deliver a well designed and assembled book that I can show with pride.