e-Communication Final Project

When I was in the graphic design strand I was in charge of making the website banner. I knew I wanted one specific color, but I needed it to be interesting and dynamic. I began working on a radial gradient to give the banner a central point, after this development I wanted to add some contrast and a little bit of texture. So I browsed the internet and added a simple overlaid chevron. It helped add character to the banner. After adding our our company name, logo, and slogan I put a drop shadow on all of them in order to finish it up.

After completing my web banner, my group needed help on some text for the website. Our sidebar needed a reasonable amount of text and my group had asked me to do it. I wrote up a simple description of our company and website. I listed a few things that can be found on the website to give the customer an idea of what to look for on the site. I then passed the file on for revisions and editing before going on the website.

When I was in the animation strand I was in charge of creating the entire set. I was to give surroundings for our product that not only made sense, but were also aesthetically pleasing. I made a small desk for the product to be placed on and build up the room around it. The small things the trim on the floor made a huge difference in the overall feel of the room. I also added a cup with a couple pens, two stacks of paper, and a book. Colors made a huge difference. I wanted the room to be somewhat dull in order for the product and packaging would be the focal point.
When we were in the video strand, I was the lead actor and a consultant for storyline and framing. We developed the idea for how to have the friends appear and what to have me do. Our group knew we needed me to look shy on camera whenever I was without my friends, this is why I seem boring and somewhat emotionless when doing my interview. I was meant to look shy because I was without my friends.

This project forced us to work together in groups that we were not allowed to choose. This meant that we had to work together professionally and try to problem solve well. This meant our communication skills had to improve because otherwise things wouldn't get done within our group. I learned that it is better to avoid conflict within our group or try to find a solution for it quickly because otherwise group cohesion begins to fall away. Our group was not one for confrontation which meant our presentation ran more smoothly.

The scope of this project was to use all of the things we had learned previously in e9 to create and advertise a product. As a group random ideas were thrown out and eventually we settled on Friends in a Bottle. Then we began storyboarding our video and drawing rough logo ideas on paper. Once we had filmed our video we had a different idea of what we wanted our logo to be. After the animation was put together we decided what our product was all about. I began learning how to communicate better as we went and then we moved on to graphic design. Our logo was simple and beautiful. I learned that having others in a group to suggest things and look over your work helped to improve everything you do, especially when they are more critical.

Next time I would make the group communicate more and collaborate more to combine our ideas. We had trouble combining our ideas into one product, everything came out looking like we were making things individually. I would keep our group conversations about design and things the same, we chose fonts and designs as a group vote making it fair as well as consulting our instructor to make sure our designs and ideas worked well. Next time I hope to use better communication skills to make the group products look like they were made as a group. In the end it was an enjoyable project that built upon my skills as a student.