Blog

In one of our classes we learned how to use a laser! Our teacher gave us leather Christmas tree ornaments that we could create a design for and then laser engrave the design onto. I made a Christmas tree design with my last name on it to hang on my Christmas tree. We created the designs in Illustrator, and then transferred them onto another computer connected to the laser. You have to watch your stroke weight though; a stroke of 0.001 will have the laser cut the material.

When I tried to laser my ornament, the design was super off and not centered. My teacher and I were not sure why since the ornament matched the paper. I redid it and tried again on the back but it still did not laser the design in the center like it should have. My teacher then lasered out the shape of a new ornament into some wood so that my ornament would be perfectly alligned. We tried that and it worked! It was cool to watch the laser work and have an ornament with my design engraved into it.

The President, Vice President, and my supervisor at Panther looked at my designs for the vehicle wrap. They liked them, but wanted to go in a different direction. Sometimes, that is just how it goes and you need to be flexible with designing because it always needs to be what the client wants. They wanted a new design with a photo of a panther and the tagline “Eye-catching vehicle wraps that roar!” They also wanted it to look like a person was actually wrapping the vehicle (which was one of the ideas I first had when designing but then scraped). It can be hard to start all over when you have put work into other designs, but I think it helps you grow.

The website I was shown did not have any pictures of panthers that I thought would work, so I am utilizing Photoshop to create an AI image to work with. It can be difficult working with AI to make it look realistic and exactly how you want. I am also going to try it for the person wrapping the vehicle. I’ll just have mess around with it a little to make it work.

For one of our classes, we had to create our own package design. We took already made packages and broke them down to make them completely laid out. I did not have a package at home that I wanted to use, so I looked up package layouts online. I found one of a treasure chest and thought it would be a cool design to use. I then had to come up with a product to put in the package.

When I travel to the west side of the state, I like to stop in Deadwood at the Chubby Chipmunk. It is a small truffle shop on the side of the road that makes incredibly tasty chocolates! They have a truffle named the “Chipmunk Treasure”, which inspired me for my package’s product. I decided to make “Truffle Treasures”. I made the outside of the box look like a treasure chest with a map of the ingredients and nutrition facts. For the logo, I designed a cartoon truffle with a pirate map of sprinkles on the top. I think it is so cute! Later, we will be able to print and cut out our packages out with a laser! Wish me good luck on folding it!

I finished my designs for Panther’s box truck vehicle wrap! It is nerve-racking and exciting to see what they will think. I really like both designs, but it is always up to the client. I have also heard that Southeast Technical College Media Design students will be designing a vehicle wrap for a non-profit company and Panther will wrap the design on the physical vehicle! I am glad I have been working on vehicle wraps at Panther already so I can get more practice. I am not sure which company it will be for, but it will be introduced later in the semester.

Today was my birthday! I am now 24 years old. Students did not have class today because our teacher had to leave since his daughter was having a baby in Rapid City, SD. I spent the majority of the day just relaxing at home since it was a Thursday and everyone works. My husband will be coming home from work soon and then we will go out to eat sushi! I feel like as you get older, your birthdays don’t seem as important or as big of a deal as when you are a kid. After you turn 21, there really aren’t any more big ones until you are way older.

I changed my designs for the vehicle wrap. At first, I was going to have a hand applying a wrap to the box truck, but I decided against it because it did not translate the best onto the truck. Instead, I am working on a hand with a paintbrush painting on the side. I used a brush texture background to make it seem like the paintbrush was painting the side of the truck’s design. For the other design, it just has to match Panther’s van design. I enjoyed recreating the design and appreciating all the elements that have gone into the design.

Today is the last day of class before Christmas break! I just have to finish working on my website and then I will be done! To be honest, I really struggle with coding. Somehow I can never make it turn out how I want. It is hard because it is like a completely different language. Somehow it will hopefully turn out.

Anyways, during break I will be working at the pharmacy more and continuing to work at Panther. I have to make up the money from buying all our Christmas presents (kind of joking). Christmas is my favorite time of year and I have a lot of planning to do. I have to work on Christmas cards and get those out ASAP. I am also helping to plan a Christmas family reunion which is fun! I hope you all have a Happy Holidays!

This whole semester, we have been working on creating our own magazine. We finally finished it yesterday! It is so weird to look back at the work we did at the beginning of the year and see how far we have come. I probably would have redone some of my advertisements to be honest. It feels good to finally have it done. I am excited to see it printed out next semester! I can’t wait to show my family and friends what I have learned throughout school. I also can’t wait for the portfolio show in the spring!

Now that I have finished the Panther company Christmas card, I am on to my next project! I will be working on a design for Panther’s box truck vehicle wrap. They have a van with a vehicle wrap already and want to show off their vehicle wrap business with the box truck. We worked on vehicle wraps last year in class, which was fun. The director told me to make two designs: one matching the van and one with total artistic freedom. That is a little scary! At first, I did not have an idea for what to do, but slowly it is coming along. I have been working in Photoshop to adjust colors and mask photos. The photos are of someone putting a wrap on the vehicle. I like the use of texture in the photos, but I am scared of how good the quality will be since it is such a large format.

In the beginning of the year, I wrote A LOT about wedding planning and how stressed I was. Luckily for me that is all over with and I have been a lot more relaxed. Even though I am working a lot more with Panther and the pharmacy, it definitely feels like things have slown down. Tucker and I feel like really nothing has changed except my name (and let me tell you that was a whole process on its own). Most of my stuff is changed, minus a few bank things here and there. We ordered Christmas cards to send out as thank-yous so we have been working on those for a little bit. Tucker is on his Christmas break now until January 13th, which is when I go back to school too. It will be nice to have a break from school. Overall, we are really happy and doing good so far!