This is a rough sketch of my logo. However, I tend to use simple and dynamic shapes in the background, my initials at the forefront, a “bitmoji” of myself to the right, and banners for context of my blog.
Logo Sketch
Blog Posts
Illustrator Tutorials
Final Graphic Collage
From the draft of my collage to the final product, I am very pleased with how it turned out! My blog is about living life happily and to the fullest– also not wasting a moment of it. I conveyed this aspect quite literally through the medium of words infused in my collage. This is seen in the “HAPPINESS” and “TRAVEL” designs. I incorporated pictures I took while traveling and pictures of my friends, and girlfriend. Having great people surrounding you is an easy way to be happy in life. This is why I chose to represent that in my project.
In my initial post, I also compare life to a roller coaster. This can also be seen in my project (the “V” in “TRAVEL” contains an image of me on a roller coaster, actually– I know, clever). The actual roller coaster graphic used in the top, right corner of my collage was sourced from MGN: a site I have a subscription to that allows me to download and use images, free of copyright infringement.
My initial draft began with my background. I took five or so photos from places I have traveled. These include London, Venice, and Florence. I created a pattern of these images to use. I believe they make an otherwise dull background quite dynamic. Next, I used the polygonal lasso tool and outlined a picture I had of the Basilica of Santa Croce. I made this selection a layer of its own and dragged it into my background. That was the extent of my rough draft.
Now for the exciting part! After doing peer evaluations, I gained inspiration from one of my peer’s draft collages. She used images in the shape of flowers in place of letters of words she had in her collage. I took this initial idea and built off of it to get to my final product. First, I used the Horizontal Type Tool and wrote out “Life is a…” and “ROLLERCOASTER”. I then adjusted the size, and font. In addition, I added a stroke effect to the text layers to help it stand out. I then proceeded to add a sky background behind the words so they were a bit more visible in lieu of scattered smaller images. Next, I inserted the roller coaster graphic behind the wording. To do this, I moved the graphic’s layer in front of the wording. After adding the words at the bottom, I then took the inspiration I gained and implemented it. I took four separate images, and used the lasso tool to cut them in the shape of the letters they correspond to. For most of them, I used the Content-Aware Scale so the actual images wouldn’t lose shape. I added stroke effects of different colors to the images to give them an extra pop. The words at the bottom also had this, but in black. This was a very tedious process, but I believe it turned out amazing. Lastly, to add more distinction and organization, I used the Rectangle tool to add a bright read border and divide to the words at the bottom.
The last revision I added was cropping the lasso selection of the Basilica. The border overlapped with the border of the pictures in the background, so I edited this to line it up. The last step– I added a stroke effect to the Basilica to, again, make it pop!
Graphic Collage Rough Draft
Admittedly, I am struggling a bit with my graphic design project. I am a journalism major, so when it comes to video, I’m you’re guy; Adobe Premier is an app I am quite comfortable with. Photoshop is not so easy for me.
I wanted to highlight the things that mean the most to me and bring me happiness in my collage. However I was not too sure how to create a blended image of these plethora of ideas. I wouldn’t hesitate to say this draft if 100% a work on progress. It is by no means finished.
I decided to make the basis of my photo a picture of the Basilica of Santa Croce. This is a historical building in Florence, Italy. I took this photo when I went on the best trip of my life this past fall. It was one of my best photos and traveling (especially to Florence) is something that brings my life happiness. I threw in smaller images of other pictures I’ve taken on trips in the background to bring it texture and give viewers something interesting.
Most of my work was done using the Lasso tool in Photoshop. I used the magnetic Lasso tool to outline the Basilica of Santa Croce, making it it’s own layer. This made it easy for me to import smaller images into the background giving the collage a smooth look. I utilized the layers function quite a bit for my collage as well.
My blog is about happiness so I plan on adding some quotes throughout to bring my collage more texture. I also want to incorporate my friends and family into this project more fluidly. I also plan on incorporating a roller coaster somehow– because again, life is a roller coaster. Lastly, while the background had quite a bit of texture, I do hope to bring more variety to my photos in the final version of this (as opposed to a pattern of the same photos).
Photo Collection
Venice, Italy 
Cedar Point 2019 
Basillica of Santa Croche 
British Parliament 
Delta Chi Chartering Banquet 
Venice, Italy
Photoshop Tutorials
Why wait to be happy? You aren’t getting any younger.
When people speak of life they often compare it to a roller coaster. It has many ups and downs. Its twists, turns, spins are infinite. Some believe roller coasters to be fun and enjoyable. Others tend to dread them. Some even fear them.
I love roller coasters. I try to make it up to Cedar Point at least once every season. Riding roller coasters is exciting. It gets my adrenaline pumping, and I love sharing the experience alongside my family and friends. However when the ride is over, I feel a sense of dissapointment. Waiting in long lines annoys me as well. Not to mention, I HATE when the weather affects my riding experiences– it’s something out of my control, but sometimes it can be such an obstacle to me enjoying the roller coasters.
Do you see what I’m getting at here? Life, more specifically just merely existing, is exhilarating to me. I was not lying, I LOVE roller coasters. However, my point is through the really good, the pretty okay, the bad, the ugly, the really ugly, the so terribly ugly and so on (you get it), I never lost site of how much I love roller coasters. By roller coasters, I obviously mean life– living.
I just cannot help but feel a need to share the positivity with you all. Who knows how much it could help someone. But if nothing more, at least my words can have some meaning behind them.
– Anonymous
I found this quote from a blog I came across. I could not have said this better myself (blog hyperlinked in the quote if you want to check it out).
I mentioned in my “About Me” page that this blog’s purpose is to show readers no matter what adversity you face, keeping in good spirits is always the best option. I intend to speak candidly on this blog of past experiences, the present, and whatever the future holds– all while giving insight as to how living happily and thankfully is the best way. Why not make this blog something I can get behind? Optimism for the win.
Being happy is a choice. You cannot fake it. If you truly wish to be happy and have the right mindset, it’ll happen for you.
I tend to ramble. I am definitely a talker, but I must remain on task and share some of my ideas for the semester.
This Unit 1 final project picture collage will be a great way for me to take the abundance of photos I have from visiting two countries and almost ten cities in less than two weeks (whew… a mouth full) and fuse them together in some creative fashion.
Another plan I have is to take you all along with me for my spring break trip this year. I plan to use this experience and showcase it in my video project for unit 4. Whether it’s stress over money, the sheer excitement of a vacation, or the sixteen hour carride my friends and I are all dreading… it’ll all be caught on tape and I can’t wait to make it something special.
For now, let me leave you with some examples of how to actively better your spirits. This is from Josh Becker of <becomingminimalist.com >
Connor Steffen's Blog 