Beth A. Maxwell 
Website and Graphic Design Portfolio

Design Notes – Student Project

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My “Focus on the Designer: Real Person, Real Passion” magazine section for print and correlating website mock-up layouts were the last set of practicum assessments for my first Hodges University online course – Introduction to Graphic Communication. These projects were my favorites for many reasons.

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The assignments involved writing an original, biographical magazine article to inspire interest in the graphic arts for young, working adults. The artist I chose for my study was Wayne White. I started researching him while he was either preparing for or in the midst of several significant art installations. Reading about his work ethic and motivational being was certainly inspiring for me. I watched and really listened to him in his You Tube videos, and I learned of his passion for his creative work as well as his desire to promote his profession. This resonated with me and was exactly what I needed during the beginning stages of my career change. After almost 28 years in public school education, I was on a new adventure to become a web and graphic designer. Being able to learn from a man about his professional journey and resilience was the perfect assignment.

So much so that I had a hard time stopping at just the article. I decided to create the fictitious “Focus on the Designer” section, which I envisioned becoming a recurring section in art and design media to share "Real Person, Real Passion" journeys with others. Creating this section also gave me a chance to demonstrate my Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator skills.

The “Focus on the Designer: Real Person, Real Passion” magazine section PDF is attached (click on bold PDF link to view the magazine section's layout, articles and graphics). Technical requirements from this practicum assessment are summarized below if you’re interested in comparing the assessed skills for the magazine article with my design.

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Design Challenge Task:
The importance of art and design in our culture is often under appreciated. Your task is to inform and inspire the target market's interest in art and design. Your challenge is to design two versions of a magazine article for an art and design publication. The topic of this article should be on a graphic designer highlighted in the course learning modules. Both versions must consist of at least four pages each and should be done primarily in Adobe InDesign.  [I'm including only one of the two versions in this portfolio.]

Core Target Market:
Working class males and females from ages 24 to 38

Deliverables:
Design and create at least two versions of an article, each article should be at least four pages each, facing pages. Each page should be 8.5" x 11" with a resolution of 300 dpi. For the second version, adjust and rearrange the following elements to create a new composition.

Digital Design Software:

• Adobe InDesign CC 2017

• Adobe Photoshop CC 2017

• Adobe Illustrator CC 2017

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Article Requirements:
Write an original essay in Microsoft Word then import it into Adobe InDesign. The essay must include general biographical and career information of your choice. Also include your views on the significance of the designer’s work as well as any other pertinent information (e.g., quotes, accomplishments, etc.).

Image Requirements:
Include at least four large images of the designer’s work retrieved from the internet.

Font Requirements:
Download, install and use creative fonts of your choice.

InDesign Technique Requirements:

• At least four pages, facing format

• Create a master page to be applied to every page

• Include page numbering and a running header with the designer’s name

• Use a creative font downloaded from the internet for the article’s title line

• Include a sub-heading line (e.g., statement about the designer) and your byline

Must also include –

• At least two vector graphic shapes with effects added (e.g., drop shadow, etc.)

• At least one image with text wrap

• At least one drop cap

• At least one pull quote with text wrap

• Color changes to at least one line of type

• Columns in a text frame

Student Project Disclaimer:

• This student project is the result of one or more practicum assessments while I was a Hodges University UPOWER student in Naples, Florida, from July 2017 to January 2018 (including a several-week Hurricane Irma break). UPOWER is a self-paced, online subscription program. The technical requirements noted above, which can be used to compare the assessed skills with my designs, are from this time period.

• Based on the requirements for these practicum assessments, I developed the "Focus on the Designer" projects for the sole purpose of achieving academic objectives. They are not for commercial use but to showcase my skills.

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Copyright Attributions:

Waiting on response from Wayne White for copyright permission to use his images.

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