For my first assignment I had to create at least three postcards introducing myself, they could be about anything as long as they were clear and self-explanatory. When I first read the brief, I was instantly writing notes as to what I would include in each postcard and started to create a mind map including topics such as; information about myself, interests and cultural influences.
This was my first time using photoshop so I was very nervous to begin with as there were so many different tools when I first opened up a new document. After watching several videos on YouTube I was slowly beginning to get used to the basic tools so thought it would be a good time to put my learning into practice and start my first postcard.
Postcard 1
My first postcard was about me and my long road to recovery as I suffered an injury in 2016 which changed my life forever as I was left disabled. I enjoyed creating this postcard as it represents who I am and how I continuously think positively and always push myself to the end of the road for a bright future. Taking this graphic design course is the first positive step towards the future as I have always aspired to have a career in graphic design as I enjoyed it during school but lost all confidence in myself and tried business however I didn’t enjoy it.
I really like how this turned out as the bright colours help illustrate how difficult situations will always be worth the struggle as you overcome the challenge. I can relate to this due to my health issues, after my injury I continued to push myself to help improve my mental and physical health. Although I will never be completely recovered I know that if I can continue to push myself it will be worth all the hard work and determination.
Postcard 2
After spending a couple of hours researching different styles of graphic design, I discovered polyscape. The designs looked simple however, a lot of work goes into making them as I found out when I tried. I started drawing some sketches of the design that I wanted whilst making notes of what sort of photos I was looking for to include in my final piece, after I was happy with the sketch, I began to search for stock photos on unsplash.com. I was mainly looking for two separate landscapes, one that included mountains whilst the other had include a city landscape. After looking I finally found the two images that best matched the description I was after.
I finally created the design however I realised that using stock images didn’t have meaning behind it as they weren’t pictures taken by me. After looking through my camera for pictures I had taken I had chosen a couple and wanted to use the same design that I had created using the stock images.
I was very happy with how it turned out as the tranquil forest is the complete antithesis of the modern city. The colours of the forest are also toned down and peaceful so makes the city stand out even more and makes you take a closer look at the photo.
After getting feedback from some students that are also doing the course, I decided to create a different polyscape whilst using photos that I had taken myself so began looking through photos that I had captured. I decided on the two pictures I would use, the first picture was captured when I was on holiday in Malta last year with my family and the other photo was taken when I went to winter wonderland in Hyde park last December.
After creating a polyscape with these two photos I started to familiarise myself with the editing options to help brighten certain colours and also soften others to make certain parts of the photo stand out.
I was happy with how the photo turned out as it had meaning behind it as they were personal photos belonging to me however, I still felt as if the edit using stock photos still looked better. I really liked how the bright lights contrasted between the subtle blues and greys of the cliffs and see and believe this helped make the lights stand out even more.
Postcard 3
This was my final postcard that I created, it took me a while to find the effect I was after as I had never created clipping masks before so had to watch some tutorials to fully understand how to make the desired image I was after.
Overall, I believe the assignment went well as I was able to understand the basics of photoshop whilst working on the postcards and I feel it also helps people understand me a little bit more as I have created postcards that are about me and my interests.
Reece Payne 