portfolio

Megan Graham

Contact
Photo
Design
Megan Graham
Date: October 16, 2015
33 S. 150 E.
Course/Instructor:
Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins
Burley, ID 83318
Programs/Tools:
Adobe Photoshop
208.670.2752
megangraham72@gmail.com
Objectives:

Description: Use my photography skills to create a poster layout with an appealing color scheme.

-Learn basic photography skills.

-Choose a color scheme, take a photo to match those colors, then incorporate the colors into the layout.
-Use a digital camera to take a quality image, then download it.
-Adjust image levels, saturation, color balance, sharpen tool on separate layers for NDE (non-destructive
editing.)
-Size and crop the image, then place on an 8.511 page layout.
-Use layers to design text, and repeating graphic elements in Photoshop.
-Print with full-bleed margins. Trim only 1/8 (0.125) from all four sides.
Process: From the FOCUS book, I decided that Id do a monochromatic poster and then chose an object
(peach soda) that I thought would work well. I placed the bottle in front of a black garbage can and on top
of a black plastic plate to create the reflection. I used a canon T4i and placed a flash diagonally behind the
bottle in order to make the soda glow. Using the rule of thirds, I composed the picture in a way that would
give me plenty of white space to work with and to insert text. When I brought the photo into Photoshop, I
used levels, sharpness, saturation, and color balance. The sharpness was important in order to make the
label stand out. Later on, I also used the spot healing tool in order to clean up the soda bottle.
I originally began using some wavy lines and shapes in the background, but it looked too messy. I started over, the second time with straight lines. I liked those a lot better, but they needed some texture so I
added that in using an overlay blending mode. I tried several different text options, but ended up choosing one similar to the word peach on the soda label. When it was time to add in my color swatches, I
decided to use a peach to add more unity.
I moved the swatches around several times and ended up placing them in the upper corner, allowing the
flow to continue throughout the design.

table of contents
Photo Design
Brochure
Logos
Gift Certificate
Business Card
Letterhead
Web Page
Event Ad
Montage
Flier

Photo Design

Description: Use
Use my
my photography
photography skills
skills to
to create
create aa poster
poster layout
layout with
with an
an appealing
appealing color
color scheme.
scheme.
Description:
Date: October
October 16,
16, 2015
2015
Date:
Course/Instructor: Comm
Comm 130
130 Section
Section 05,
05, Joel
Joel Judkins
Judkins
Course/Instructor:
Programs/Tools: Adobe
Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop
Programs/Tools:
Objectives:
Objectives:
-Learn basic
basic photography
photography skills.
skills.
-Learn
-Choose aa color
color scheme,
scheme, take
take aa photo
photo to
to match
match those
those colors,
colors, then
then incorporate
incorporate the
the colors
colors into
into the
the layout.
layout.
-Choose
-Use aa digital
digital camera
camera to
to take
take aa quality
quality image,
image, then
then download
download it.
it.
-Use
-Adjust image
image levels,
levels, saturation,
saturation, color
color balance,
balance, sharpen
sharpen tool
tool on
on separate
separate layers
layers for
for NDE
NDE (non-destructive
(non-destructive
-Adjust
editing.)
editing.)
-Size and
and crop
crop the
the image,
image, then
then place
place on
on an
an 8.511
8.511 page
page layout.
layout.
-Size
-Use layers
layers to
to design
design text,
text, and
and repeating
repeating graphic
graphic elements
elements in
in Photoshop.
Photoshop.
-Use
-Print with
with full-bleed
full-bleed margins.
margins. Trim
Trim only
only 1/8
1/8 (0.125)
(0.125) from
from all
all four
four sides.
sides.
-Print
Process: From
From the
the FOCUS
FOCUS book,
book, II decided
decided that
that Id
Id do
do aa monochromatic
monochromatic poster
poster and
and then
then chose
chose an
an object
object
Process:
(peach soda)
soda) that
that II thought
thought would
would work
work well.
well. II placed
placed the
the bottle
bottle in
in front
front of
of aa black
black garbage
garbage can
can and
and on
on top
top
(peach
of aa black
black plastic
plastic plate
plate to
to create
create the
the reflection.
reflection. II used
used aa canon
canon T4i
T4i and
and placed
placed aa flash
flash diagonally
diagonally behind
behind the
the
of
bottle in
in order
order to
to make
make the
the soda
soda glow.
glow. Using
Using the
the rule
rule of
of thirds,
thirds, II composed
composed the
the picture
picture in
in aa way
way that
that would
would
bottle
give me
me plenty
plenty of
of white
white space
space to
to work
work with
with and
and to
to insert
insert text.
text. When
When II brought
brought the
the photo
photo into
into Photoshop,
Photoshop, II
give
used levels,
levels, sharpness,
sharpness, saturation,
saturation, and
and color
color balance.
balance. The
The sharpness
sharpness was
was important
important in
in order
order to
to make
make the
the
used
label stand
stand out.
out. Later
Later on,
on, II also
also used
used the
the spot
spot healing
healing tool
tool in
in order
order to
to clean
clean up
up the
the soda
soda bottle.
bottle.
label
originally began
began using
using some
some wavy
wavy lines
lines and
and shapes
shapes in
in the
the background,
background, but
but it
it looked
looked too
too messy.
messy. II startII originally
started
the second
straight
I liked
lot better,
but they
needed
texture
ed
over,over,
the second
time time
with with
straight
lines.lines.
I liked
thosethose
a lot abetter,
but they
needed
somesome
texture
so I
so I added
in using
an overlay
blending
mode.
I tried
several
different
text options,
but ended
added
that that
in using
an overlay
blending
mode.
I tried
several
different
text options,
but ended
up choosup choosing
onetosimilar
to the
wordon
peach
on label.
the soda
label.
When
it was
time
in my
color I
ing
one similar
the word
peach
the soda
When
it was
time
to add
in to
myadd
color
swatches,
swatches,
decided
to use
a peach
add more unity.
decided
toIuse
a peach
to add
moreto
unity.
moved the
the swatches
swatches around
around several
several times
times and
and ended
ended up
up placing
placing them
them in
in the
the upper
upper corner,
corner, allowing
allowing the
the
II moved
flow to
to continue
continue throughout
throughout the
the design.
design.
flow

Contact
Brochure
Description:

Description: A duplex offset folding brochure

Date: December 5, 2015

Date:

Course/Instructor: Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins

Programs/Tools: Adobe InDesign/Adobe Illustrator/Adobe Photoshop

Course/Instructor:

Objectives:
-Set up and align a two-sided, folded document.
-Create an original, new logo and use it in a brochure.
-Incorporate quality images. Incorporate at least four quality images, not including the logo. One should
be clipped in Photoshop and text-wrapped in InDesign so the text follows the cutout shape of the image.
-Write at least 250 words of original copy in at least three paragraphs, headers, and subheaders.
-Trim for a full bleed and print in duplex (two-sided) colo

Programs/Tools:
Objectives:

Process: The first thing I did was sketch out what I wanted my brochure to look like. Because I am
showcasing photography, I wanted a layout that would give me plenty of space to put pictures. Once I got
the measurements figured out I used the guides in Adobe InDesign to match exactly what I had measured
out on my sketch.

Process:

The next step for me was getting all my text put together. I knew that I wanted my pictures on the side
bar to match some of the descriptions on the inside of the packet so I spend quite a bit of time searching
through some of the wedding photos I have take to decide which photos would work.

Front

Back

On the inside of the brochure, I used a large picture of a bride and groom standing by each other. The
text was really hard to read over it so I brought it into Adobe Photoshop and added an offset exposureblending mode in order to make it a lot lighter. This helped a lot to be able to read.
For the back cover, I wanted to make the logo work with the picture. In Adobe Photoshop, I placed the
logo on the image (Designed in Illustrator), and then masked it out where the ring is in the photo. This
added a lot more depth.

Inside

Contact
logos
Description:

Description: Logo for a fine arts artist

Date: October 29, 2015

Date:

Course/Instructor: Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins

Programs/Tools: Adobe Illustrator

Course/Instructor:

Objectives:
-Create three completely different, original logos to fit a company or personal image that will appeal to
the audience. Do not imitate existing logos or use previous designs.
-Market research: gather opinions from at least ten people about which logo appeals most to them.
-Use only the Illustrator tools to create and draw your logos. (No Illustrator pre-fabricated flares,
symbols, etc.. No photos or live-tracing. You may use an image or drawing as a guide to trace it with the
pen/pencil, but delete the image before submitting.)
-Refine one logo with variations for color

Programs/Tools:
Objectives:

Process: I spent a lot of time sketching out ideas on paper before getting on a computer. Using Adobe
Illustrator I put together several different drafts using different fonts, different color schemes, and
different design principles. For my final logo I used the shape builder tool to combine the initials and
made the overlap effect. I used the pen tool to create the leaf and the duplicated and resized it in order
to create repetition

Process:

Contact
Gift
Certificate
Description:

Description: Use design skills to create a photography gift certficate

Date: December 12, 2015

Date:

Course/Instructor: Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins

Programs/Tools: Adobe Photoshop

Course/Instructor:

Objectives:
-Create a gift certicate that will fit in a standard sized envelope
-Make three different time frame options
-Incorporate a personally created logo

Programs/Tools:

Process: To start this project, I looked at several different ideas for inspiration. I really liked one and
began creating something similar. As I progressed in the design, I decided that it was way too cluttered
and not as professional as I hope. I deleted a lot of the graphics and made the colors more neutral. Not
only did this make it look more professional, it made it so this gift certificate could be given at any time of
the year, and not just Christmas.

Objectives:
Process:

I lowered the opacity of the white bar to make the contrast more subtle. I then made a clipping mask with
the logo so the texture background that I created could show through.
When I was finished I created two other certificates offering different time frames of photo sessions.

Contact Card
Business
Description:

Description: Business card that includes a personally created logo

personally created logo.
Date: November 5, 2015

Date:

Course/Instructor: Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins

Course/Instructor:

Programs/Tools: Adobe Illustrator & InDesign

Objectives:
-Use the basic tools in Illustrator & InDesign.
-Create a new logo to fit a company or personal image. Do not imitate existing logos or use previous
designs. Dont use photos or live trace.
-Use the new logo to design a layout for a business card. Photos are okay on business card and letterhead
as additional design elements. Business card should be 3.5 x 2 and printed above center on a vertical
page.
-Apply typography rules, keeping small copy.
-Keep designs simple with light watermarks and drop shadows and plenty of white space.
-Include contact information: name, address, phone, website, and email on each piece. Use periods,
bullets, or spaces in phone number; no parentheses/ hyphens.

Programs/Tools:
Objectives:
Process:

Process: Creating the logo was the most time-consuming part for me. I played around with several
different texts until I could find a type that allowed me to merge the two together. Using the shape builder
tool in Adobe Illustrator, I was able to combine what I needed as well as delete what I didnt to create my
initials. After I figured that out, I used more shapes to create the camera logo. Once I completed my logo,
I was able to start on my letterhead.
When designing the business card, I wanted to keep it clean and simple. I brought over my logo, placed
it where I wanted it, and then tried several different things with the information. To help my name stand
out I used a white text.

Contact
letterhead
Description:

Description: Stationary that includes a personally created logo.

Date: November 5, 2015

Date:

Course/Instructor: Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins

Programs/Tools: Adobe Illustrator & InDesign

Course/Instructor:

Objectives:
-Use the basic tools in Illustrator & InDesign.
-Create a new logo to fit a company or personal image. Do not imitate existing logos or use previous
designs. Dont use photos or live trace.
-Use the new logo to design a letterhead. Photos are okay on business card and letterhead as additional
design elements. Letterhead should be 8.5 x 11, full-bleed optional, but trim only .125.
-Apply typography rules, keeping small copy.
-Keep designs simple with light watermarks and drop shadows and plenty of white space.
-Include contact information: name, address, phone, website, and email on each piece. Use periods,
bullets, or spaces in phone number; no parentheses/ hyphens.

Programs/Tools:
Objectives:
Process:

Process: Creating the logo was the most time-consuming part for me. I played around with several
different texts until I could find a type that allowed me to merge the two together. Using the shape builder
tool in Adobe Illustrator, I was able to combine what I needed as well as delete what I didnt to create my
initials. After I figured that out, I used more shapes to create the camera logo. Once I completed my logo,
I was able to start on my letterhead.
I placed my main logo in the top, left-hand corner, and then balanced it out with two smaller cameras
in the bottom, right-hand corner. I did this by simply duplicating the camera that I already created
and filling in the letters. In order to create unity, I used the same font from my logo for my personal
information.

Contact
web
page
Description:

Description: A web page designed to showcase the logo that I created for my business.
Date: November 20, 2015

Date:

Course/Instructor: Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins

Programs/Tools: TextWrangler & Photoshop

Course/Instructor:

Objectives:
-Size and optimize an original logo as a .png for a web page so the long side is 300 500 pixels.
-Write content to describe the process of creating your logo and how it appeals to a target audience.
(Minimum of 200 words. Include rationale for colors, appeal to target audience, design skills, etc,)
-Acquire a working knowledge of HTML. (Include all required tags Doctype (provided), html, head,
title, meta charset (provided), body, h1, h2, p, ol or ul (with li tags), img, br, and a link to blog)
-Acquire a working knowledge of CSS. (Customize the provided CSS provided to format the HTML to
complement the logo design. Change at least the following: The h1 text color & h1 background color,
font colors for the paragraphs & list items, the background color, font families and add at least one css
comment.)
-Identify hex colors to match logo, using Photoshop color picker.
-Open the HTML page in a web browser and capture a quality screen shot with .5 inch margins for
printing.

Programs/Tools:
Objectives:
Process:

Process: This was my first time every using HTML and CSS. With the help of some class tutorials I was
able to use a simple text editor, TextWrangler to enter in the proper codes to create the site. When I was
finished I was able to use an HTML validator to double check that there were not any errors.
Once I got my html correct, I linked a CSS document to the HTML that served as a template. From there I
was able to select the colors I had previously chosen for my logo using the eyedropper tool in Photoshop.
From there I incorporated them into the design. I decided to use the same text from my logo on the site to
create more unity.
I adjusted the padding and the margins to center-align the logo. I also placed a wedding photo that I
recently took as the background to make it unique.

Contact
Event
Ad
Description:

Description: A color full-bleed promotional event flyer made using only Microsoft Word and a scanner.
Date: October 8, 2015

Date:

Course/Instructor: Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins

Programs/Tools: Microsoft Word, Epson Scanner, PDF2JPG.net (PDF converter).

Course/Instructor:

Objectives:
-Learn basic photography skills.
-Choose a color scheme, take a photo to match those colors, then incorporate the colors into the layout.
-Use a digital camera to take a quality image, then download it.
-Adjust image levels, saturation, color balance, sharpen tool on separate layers for NDE (non-destructive
editing.)
-Size and crop the image, then place on an 8.511 page layout.
-Use layers to design text, and repeating graphic elements in Photoshop.
-Print with full-bleed margins. Trim only 1/8 (0.125) from all four sides.

Programs/Tools:
Objectives:
Process:

Process: I scanned a printed photo, and then used Word to decrease the saturation slightly. I knew from
the beginning that I wanted to use white text and thought that it would stand out a little better over a
less-saturated image. I learned how to apply the different shape effects and thought it would be neat to
put a faded rectangle over my title to separate it and make it stand out as the focal point.

Contact
montage
Description:

Description: A montage blending two images to help visualize a spiritual message demonstrating good
use of typography.
Date: October 23, 2015

Date:

Course/Instructor: Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins

Course/Instructor:

Programs/Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Canon 6D, Speedlight

Objectives:
-Use the FOCUS design process with strong focal point and flow
-Unify a layout with a consistent theme and dominant spiritual message
-Learn to blend two or more images together gradually, using masks
-Demonstrate more advanced Photoshop skills for layout with multiple elements
-Use a mask to apply a filter to one part of the image
-Apply typography principles (titles, quotes, events or scripturesyour choice)
-Format type: Legibility; Small copy & Title with varying text size. Theme word(s)
-Select good quality images

Programs/Tools:
Objectives:
Process:

Process: I recently learned how to take pictures of water droplets and captured this picture this past
week. I brought it into Photoshop, along with a picture of an alarm clock.
I knew that I wanted the clock to mainly show on the word, TIME, and so I selected the letters and
created a mask over the clock using that selection. Using a lower opacity brush, I brushed away near the
edges of the letter so it had a burned effect.
Once I got the overlay look on my text, I duplicated the same clock picture, and resized it exactly the size I
used over the text, but this time used a blending mode over the actual water droplet picture. I once again
used a lower opacity to fade it into the colors of the water.
After I added in my text, I used a white drop shadow in order to make the letters more readable. I also
decided to add a black stroke to the title to make it a little more crisp.

Contact
Flier
Description:

Description: Black & White advertisement to promote a leadership conference for graduates.
Date: October 2, 2015

Date:

Course/Instructor: Comm 130 Section 05, Joel Judkins

Programs/Tools: Adobe InDesign

Course/Instructor:

Objectives:
-Apply the design principles and use appropriate typography.
-Incorporate basic InDesign skills to improve basic flier layout.
-Retrieve image and logo from links on this page.
-Create a project folder with image, logo and InDesign document to keep links in InDesign intact.

Programs/Tools:

Process: After creating some sketches I started working on a layout in Adobe InDesign. I chose a large
image with a students eyes directing the focal point to the title. By duplicating the black rectangle under
the title, the flow is directed to the passage of information. I left white space in order to make the date,
time, and place easy to find.

Objectives:
Process: