Final Project Portfolio

     Our last project for VD was about making a portfolio including all the work we've done from September onwards. This was a relatively simple project to do. The first thing we did was organize all our files into two folders, labs and projects. The PDFs and JPEGs for labs we did went into the lab folder and the same files for projects we did went into the projects folder, obviously. Next, every reflection journal we did about a lab and project were saved as PDFs and placed in the folder the reflection corresponded to. Finally, we made a read me file explaining what we learned throughout the year and the contents of the portfolio. The labs folder, projects folder, and read me were all put in one large folder, the VD Portfolio folder. The VD Portfolio folder was compressed as a zip file and submitted.
     That wasn't the only thing we did, however. We also made a PDF portfolio in Adobe Acrobat Pro. We used Acrobat previously to combine PDF files into one large file. This time we used Acrobat to make a PDF Portfolio, where files aren't necessarily combined into a single file but are integrated into a single unit. In Acrobat the integrated file names are displayed in a column on the side and when clicked on you can see said file. To create a PDF Portfolio the first thing we did in Acrobat was click create PDF under tools. We them selected multiple files and PDF portfolio. Then I added my files and organized my files into labs and projects, since PDF portfolios allow for folders unlike large files. Once all files were in I saved and submitted my PDF portfolio.

Project Newspaper

     Our 6th project made us work in groups to make newspapers/magazines. These newspapers followed the layout out regular newspapers, including things such as bylines, deckers, mailing panels, and more. We also chose a topic for our newspaper. My group chose to write about politics. Next, we assigned roles and planned like in the previous project. This time we were more definitive about roles  and we had a rigid plan, so there was no role switching or time wasted. After the assignment of roles we each wrote an article about our topic. I chose to write about gerrymandering. We then had our peers review our article and revised them accordingly. The final article was transferred to InDesign with pull quotes and pictures. Our individual files were combined into one entire newspaper to be the skeleton of the newspaper.
     My role in my group was manager and head editor. As the manager of my group I made sure that my group members were on task as well as myself. If they got stuck my job was to help figure out their problem and find a solution. I oversaw the designer’s work and would point out if something didn’t work, something was missing, or what things worked that the designer should repeat. As head editor I revised my group’s article a second time and edited parts of their article for them to make them enjoyable to read. I also fixed grammar issues and spelling errors.
     Overall, this was a great way to apply what I learned from the last project in a new project in terms of working with teams. In the last project lack of good planning and undefined roles led to setbacks and delays, making it difficult to meet the deadline. In this project I feel I was able to correct that mistake and get work done efficiently. I also feel that I was able to use my organizational and management skills well. I was able to monitor the progress of my team as well as know when my teammates were having trouble. I was able to make sure my team stuck to the plan and got everything done on time.

Project Yearbook

     Yearbooks are publications that are meant to give information or highlight the current/previous year. Our 5th project for VD dealt with making mini yearbooks. This yearbook was meant to display our experience in our first year of Web Design (aka the entire year of VD). This was the first project done in teams and the first thing we did after meeting with our teams was assign roles. There was to be a leader, designer, researcher, and photographer. I was the researcher, which meant I gather information about yearbook structure, student info, school info, etc. However, later on I took on the roles of researcher, designer, and co-leader.
     After getting roles assigned we researched parts of a yearbook and took a look a various designs and ideas. Then we set a theme for our yearbook. Since we couldn't agree on one we choose the theme mosaic since we would try and combine multiple themes and styles into one. Planning time frames was next. We set small deadlines for completing specific parts of the yearbook which would eventually become the ultimate goal, completion of the yearbook itself.
     As the researcher I went online and found multiple sample yearbooks to follow as a guide structure wise and design inspiration. If there was a technical skill dealing with Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign my teammates didn't know as researcher I looked up videos abut the skill and showed it to my team. Additionally, I looked up pictures online if the photographer wasn't able to take a picture of something and I looked up information about the staff of our school to include in our yearbook. As the designer I was experimenting with different ideas on how to present something. I would take ideas from my teammates or go online for backgrounds of pages, presentation of pictures, and fonts. I also made sure the sections of the yearbook followed a logical order chronologically.
     This project was a great learning for me as a web designer in terms of working in a team. Our team faced a major challenge of getting work done on time which is due to the poor lack of planning and management in the team. People in our team would always switch role and wouldn't know what they're doing. If our team was more thorough when planning this wouldn't have happened and we could've met our deadline less stressful. So I learned having a plan, that is thorough but flexible, is key to group projects. I plan on using what I learned in this project in the future if I get a job dealing with working in teams. Since in the workplace getting a task done on time matters with quality matters it will be important that there is a well defined plan with roles that fit the skills of the teammates. That way we can ensure that the job gets done right and it will show our employer professionalism.