Wrap Up - Kim

From day one I knew this class was going to be awesome. Greg presented graphic arts in a way I had never thought of before. I had always been very aware of the media-dominant world we live in but this class made me realize just how much of a visual and image-based culture we are. Everything we learned was fresh and exciting to me. Although all of the projects were daunting (especially the interface project), I really enjoyed the process of doing them--they were very hands-on and they really allowed our creativity to flow and take form. Whenever an idea would pop into my head, I would pull out a sheet of paper and just start making sketches. Looking back at them now, I am amazed at how many drafts it took to reach the final product.

The projects were extremely time consuming but without a doubt, they gave me a better understanding of the many steps, complexities and principles behind graphic design. I definitely have a deeper appreciation for all of the work that goes into good design, which requires well-developed concepts, doing and re-doing, and a LOT of time in order to successfully catch the viewer's attention and to visually communicate a message in a clear and effective way. Doing the projects also developed my eye for looking at design. I find myself critiquing and admiring websites, ads, posters and magazines all the time now. I actually examine the typeface of the text before actually reading the text.

I truly appreciated the page-long critique we received for each project. That to me demonstrates what kind of professor Greg is--he shows genuine interest in his students, actually takes the time to thoroughly analyze our hard work and offers great, insightful feedback. He is definitely one of the best professors I have had at SU and I feel so lucky and grateful to have had the chance to learn from him (The students taking graphics in the following years are seriously missing out). Overall, GRA 217 was all I want and expect from a college-level class: challenging, thought provoking and rewarding.