This case study is the story of my journey as a graphic designer. It involves a little more reading.
If you're short on time, I recommend you skim the headings and skip to the end for my magnus opus works.
I was an unseasoned designer.
I had a few years of informal graphic design under my belt from creating graphics for high school clubs, church events, or various projects. My skills were primarily based off of what I saw others do and my gut.
The time came when UC Irvine approved my request to change my major to Informatics, and I became serious about pursuing my desire to blend design and development. I knew I needed some foundation of the former at the very least, so I applied for a position at my school's department of Office of Information Technology. Soon after I interviewed, I got the email that began a new chapter.
And so, I began my professional journey.
Right out of the gate, I was ready to apply my amateur understanding and learn from the best. But the adrenaline of excitement started to fade once I settled into the work routine. After reviewing my upcoming graphic assignments, I would begin the brainstorming process, looking at what others had done for similar events. Once the creative juices began flowing, I would open Illustrator.
But reality was far different from my expectations. It felt like I was hit by a wall built with blocks of inexperience and branding guidelines. I was expecting a slow, gradual growth in skills... But not that slow.
Here's where I'll share about a few challenges faced throughout this design season and what came out of them. After all, I'm a strong believer that all trials are good for growth.
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uci_oit This is my first project for OIT. I admit, there's not much to look at.
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uci_oit This is also one of my earlier works.
I felt confined, and my designs showed it.
I began this chapter so excited to flourish creatively, but each piece of feedback felt like a reality check, grounding my ambitions. I went from having total creative liberty to only being allowed a strict palette and two fonts.
In the moment, tasks became burdensome. I dreaded each new assignment for the hours I would spend on Pinterest. Then Illustrator. Then Pinterest again. Then Illustrator. I would go back and forth until I was somewhat satisfied with the finished product, and while this sounds similar to any average designer's conflict, there was something off about my designs that I couldn't put my finger on.
In retrospect, this conflict came from a dilemma of expressing creativity while adhering to OIT's branding rules. When I compare my initial designs and the graphics made by the prior student designer,
I see no difference.
I see no difference.
Lesson 1: Excellent designs maintain brand identity.personal expression within the branding guidelines.
I began letting the numbers talk.
While venturing outside of my comfort zone, I was curious about our account's analytics. I noticed some posts did extremely well. Others, not so much.
I noticed a trend: graphics with illustrations that filled the window had more engagement than those with a more "empty" design.
Lesson 2: Listen to the people.
Enough talk. Let's scroll.
I've selected some pieces that I feel best encapsulate everything I mentioned above: developed eye for design, finding my personality, and more. Enjoy some of the highlights from this career journey.
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uci_oit I started becoming more experimental with illustration. Symmetry, perspective, background elements-all the good stuff.
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uci_oit This is one of the first designs that I was satisfied with. The symmetry, the colors, *chef's kiss*. Most of all, this assignment taught me to explore what currently exists and get influence from already successful designs.
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uci_oit This project challenged me with information hierarchy and organization.
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uci_oit This assignment was the first post of 2024, and along with my personal new year's resolutions, I was determined for a fresh start. I wanted to make my graphics POP, and I spent more time painting a picture to convey the message to the users.
Whew, you made it.
Thanks for sticking with me until the end. You can check out more designs I made outside of OIT on my Learn More page.
