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The vehicle wrap has finally been finalized! With Adobe Stock, I added some rips, tears, and an image of paper being pulled back to make it look like an unfinished vehicle wrap. I really like my design and so did everyone else! They chose my design over the other graphic designer’s, which was really good! I am so proud of my work! Soon, it will actually be wrapped on the box truck and my design will be driving around town! It is super exciting and makes me feel like a “big-girl” designer! I cannot wait to see it finished!

My sister-in-law is getting married in August. My mother-in-law have been working hard on throwing her a bridal shower in her hometown. She wanted a farmer’s market theme so that’s what we went with! She is “Fresh Off the Market”! She also thought it would be fun to have everyone make their own flower bouquets so we included that as well. It was really fun to plan it, especially since I came up with a lot of the ideas and my mother-in-law paid. We have mason jars for flowers, checkered tableclothes, tin bins for a popcorn bar (specifically requested), croisant sandwiches, fresh fruit/veggies, and the cutest sugar cookies. There is a business in Beresford called Wake and Bake and they make super cute and delicious desserts! We requested some decorated cookies and they will be so cute! I don’t just love designing graphics, I also love designing parties (especially when I don’t have to pay)!

For one of my classes, we needed to present on random topics we pulled from a bowl. The topic I pulled was “Helpful Apps for Media Professionals”. At first, I was a little overwhelmed because there are so many apps that could be helpful for media professionals. Overall this is what I found and presented on:

Category – Inspiration:

Behance:

• Search for inspiration
• Build moodboards
• Connect with other creators
• Search for projects in many different fields
• Hire and get hired for freelancing

Pinterest:

• Search for inspiration
• Build boards for organization
• Share your ideas with others
• Use filters to find exactly what you are looking for
• Follow links to learn more

Content Creation

Adobe Capture

• Allows you to use your mobile device to “capture” images and transform them into vector shapes, match colors, create palettes, identify fonts, create 3D textures, remove backgrounds, and make patterns

Adobe Express

• Customizable video templates
• Generate images with AI
• Remove image and video backgrounds
• Prompt to text
• Brand kits
• Content scheduling
• Quick action tools (resize, convert files, QR codes, and video captions)

Canva

• Quick and easy templates and content to make designs fast
• Editing tools
• Free templates
• Free content
• Print your work from the app

Capcut

• All-in-one video editing tool
• Effects and music
• Keyframe animation
• Smooth slow-motion
• Smart stabilization
• Multi-member editing

Lightroom

• Advanced featrues to edit photos and videos
• Pro camera controls
• Adaptive presents
• AI powered tools

Procreate

• High resolution canvas
• Hundreds of customized brushes
• Layering
• Prescision design tools
• Time-lapse replay

Social Media

Facebook

• Connect with people you know
• Promote businesses
• Join groups with similar interests
• Share life experiences
• Shop for goods

Instagram

• Post your moments
• Keep in touch with others
• Explore your interests
• Cusomize posts with templates, music, filters, etc.

TikTok

• Short form videos
• Personalized algorithm
• Global community of creators
• TikTok Shop
• Editing tools for videos
• Monetize views

X

• Post content
• Stay up to date on news
• Create exclusive content for subscribers
• Join communities

YouTube

• Create your own channel to post your content
• Subscribe to other channels
• Live streaming
• Explore different topics

Social Media Management

Buffer

• Manage posts
• Engage with. audience
• Review analtyics
• Save ideas for later

Hootsuite

• Manage all social media accounts in one place
• Analyze performance
• Schedule posts and create content
• Respond to messages and comments
• Track mentions, keywords, and trends

Communication and Collaboration

Google Drive

• Store and access files
• Filter files
• Scan and upload documents
• Share and set permissions

LinkedIn

• Online resume and CV
• Job search
• Professional and social networking
• Business news

Microsoft Teams

• Connect and manage access as a team through communities, events, calandars, meetings, storage, tasks, and chats

monday.com

• Visual workplace
• Manage, track, and organize
• Analyze data
• Daily/weekly tasks
• Filter information
• Assign task owners

Productivity and Note-Taking

Goodnotes

• Work on the same document
• Sync all notes
• Share links to notebooks
• Customizable pen and notebook options
• Download templates
• Import and export notes

Grammarly

• Correct spelling and grammar
• Writing scores
• Add to your everyday keyboard
• View writing suggestions

Milanote

• Notes and to-do lists
• Drag and drop interface
• Instant syncing on all devices
• Save text, images, and links on the web
• Upload photos

WordPress

• Website builder
• Blog publisher
• Analyze and track stats
• Save ideas and drafts
• Add and search for tags and categories
• Automated sharing

Aduio and Podcasting

Otter.ai

• AI Chat to write emails and get answers
• AI meeting note taker and real-time transcription
• Audio recorder
• Summarizer
• Provide live captioning

Spotify for Creators

• Helps creators grow
• Manage podcasts
• Host and distribute for free
• Get paid for content

Voice Memos

• Portable audio recorder
• Editing tools
• Create layers
• Speech to text feature

News and Research

Citizen

• Real-time safety alerts
• Broadcasting of live events
• Listen to emergency radios
• Monitor locations
• See information about registered offenders in your area
• Missing person alerts

Newsbreak

• Local news
• Breaking news
• Local weather reports
• Personalized feed to follow or block certain news
• Support small news publishers

Security and Privacy

Keeper

• Store unlimited number of passwords
• Access them from nay device
• Autofill across apps
• Encryption from data breaches and cyber attacks

Signal

• Encrypted voice and video calls for up to 40 people
• Group chats up to 1000 people
• Avoid SMS and MMS fees
• Admin permission settings
• Non-profit

Staying up-to-date on the current design trends is important in the world of design. Even though you should create designs that are timeless, it is also important to keep in mind what is currently/going to be popular in design to grab attention and resonate with audiences. After doing some research, these are trends I think will be popular in 2025:

• Conceptual and Abstract Design
• Storytelling Animation
• Emotion-Powered Characters
• New Naturalism
• Retro
• Personalization Design
• Minimal Aesthetics
• Data Visualization
• Creative AI Design
• Creative Letter Typography
• Maximalism
• Contemporary
• Cropped Photos in Custom Shapes
• Bold Minimalism
• Metallics
• Pixels
• Textured Grains

That may seem like a long list but it is good to know when to use specific designs to stand out and relate to audiences. Being a designer means you need to wear many different hats and match designs to content/products.

Since I am in the design field, I like to follow others who work in design. An account I really like is @ollies_doodles on Instagram. He makes posts and videos about different design techniques and tutorials on how to achieve them. I really like his tutorials on how he makes different textures and grains, which gives illustration more depth. I have seen Lemonly use textures in their designs but was not sure on how to achieve the effect until I learned from tutorials. He also makes 3D shapes like cans, LEGO heads, and wrist bands. For one of our classes, we have to make a 10 piece campaign and for one of my pieces I need a wrist band, so his tutorial will come in handy when I am making that. I really appreciate how he takes the time to explain every step so others can follow along. His tutorials are super helpful and inspiring!

Someone else who inspires me is @arynlei on Instagram. She makes tutorials too, but I really love her designs. She made a card deck called “At the Table” and each card is a different table layout from food to ping-pong. I love the concept! I started following when she first started making the card deck, and now it is finished! Of course, I had to buy a deck because I have been following the project so long (and I just love cards).

I made a new vehicle wrap with a panther and person wrapping the vehicle. I showed it to my supervisor and the director, but they did not love the person wrapping the vehicle. Sometimes you just have to actually see it made to know if it will work or not. One of the graphic designers met with me to go over some ideas to try instead. She showed me their Adobe Stock account, so now I have a lot more to work with! She will also be making a wrap to play with some ideas. I have not been looking at the situation as that I am not doing a good job, but that the designs just have not been what they are envisioning. I always take their feedback and critiques back into my next design to make sure it has everything they ask for. Overall, it is a good experience to help me when working with future clients.

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.