Autism Speaks: Potomac 5K July 4, 2016
For our final project in Visual Literacy we had to help design different components for our client Autism Speaks to use for their running event. Our client Autism Speaks is hosting a 5K run on July 4, 2016 and they asked for us to help promote the face to the public. Our class focused on showcasing their events by making a radio station, video, social media, and t-shirts. My group focused on making new t-shirts designs that they can sell for people to wear for both the race in Potomac, Maryland and for the virtual race they set up for those that live in other parts of the world. The t-shirt color we were given were red and we had to make a t-shirt that entices people to come out and support the cause.
What I found that worked well was that we all made our own designs to present. This worked because it gave creative freedom and kept us from possibly arguing over different designs. What also worked was having different examples from past designs to have inspiration. Personally, I know I have a hard time creating my own original design from scratch but, having examples made me come up with ideas that they may be interested in considering. What also worked was having the knowledge of the things we focused on in class such as: proximity, color, fonts, contrast, etc. because it allowed me know what designs could work for the color of the shirt and how to place them. There were not many things that did not work. The only problem that I encountered with this project was the color change of the shirts. This did not work for me because once I made design I was confident that the client may like, the color would change and that would change the whole design of the shirt. For example, the design I made for the gray shirt did not transfer well onto the red shirt, so I had make a new design from scratch. What I learned from working with an outside client was that I always have to be prepared for plans to change and I have to be patient and change with the plans. When the shirt colors kept changing, I could not just make the shirt I wanted, I had to follow through with the client wanted and present what they wanted.
From the start of Visual Literacy until the client project, I can say my presentation skills have changed, but only slightly. I feel that I still have much to work on such as: my stage presence and the tone of my voice but I think what did improve some is the clarity of my speech. I feel that I now know how to speak more smoothly and clearly without blanking out and/or tripping over my words so much that I confuse my audience. I also feel that I have gotten better at making eye contact with the audience. I know I had a habit of just reading the screen or looking down at my notes, but now I feel that I am more confident when looking at my audience and making a connection.