Blogs

  • Issues related to style

    What are issues related to style? Well, this is something where the styles involve the type used in the design, and as I said before, type is an important part of the design because it communicates the ad’s message to the viewer. Now, this topic is broken up into three sections: style classifications, choosing the right face, which means choosing the right kind of type to use, and finally, combining type styles. I will review the details of these three topics, explaining how these are used with type and fonts within a design.

    First, we have style classifications, which mean taking different kinds of typefaces and grouping them into categories based on the size and shape of the type, which is grouped into six different categories: old-style, transitional, modern, sans serif, slab serif, and graphic. Creating the groups makes it easier for designers to identify the type being used based on what class it belongs to, which creates better communication with typographic designers. Now, classifying is more challenging than you might think because certain types belong to more than one group so the grouping system could be better. As I said before, the system has created better ways of communication, and that is considered an improvement for most designers.

  • What I am Thankful for

    Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for what we are grateful for, and I wanted to share some of mine with you.
    first, I’m thankful that my sister is home from Iowa state for the week
    As always, I am grateful for my family and that I have a good life
    I’m thankful my aunt is surviving her cancer. She was diagnosed last year, and we are all glad that she is still fighting and doing better
    I am grateful my younger sister’s knee has fully healed after a long year of waiting. She is fully able to play softball again
    I am thankful for all of the nonprofit organizations that help all those in need, and I am glad that I get to volunteer and help do my part
    I always try to think of all the good things in my life and find ways to help those in need. I hope you all have a good holiday. Thank you.

  • Happy ThanksGiving

    Hello thanksgiving is this week so i thought instead of the usual media related topics i thought i would talk about my plans for the holiday. I will be heading up to iowa for a few days to visit an uncle on my moms side of the family we dont get to sse them much other them christmas and when were traveling for my sisters softball tournaments slo that will be nice and great to see them. I hope you all have a good holiday weekend and enjoy spending time with your families.

  • What draws my attention

    What draws my attention can be anything, like in a store. Let’s say I’m looking at the candy, and the first thing that I look at is a Twix because the text is big and red, so it stands out. Then, for other items I look at, I mostly rely on the images and colors used on the packaging to help me decide because colors and pictures stand out and draw more attention to the eye compared to text.

  • What you should know about me

    Something That you might find interesting about me is that I was interviewed for the South Dakota Possibilities magazine in 2022. My story was related to these young adults and the achievements that they have made. I was discovered for this while working for the Union Gospel Mission of Sioux Falls. They saw some of the work I had done for the mission and were interested in me and my story for their article.

  • What I do in my free time

    When I’m not at Southeast Tech, I am at Hope, where I spend time with my family and work on my designs. I also like to volunteer in my free time. I have helped with many great organizations, like the 211 helpline center, Feeding South Dakota, and the Union Gospel mission. I have packed food, sorted through donations, and helped out in the Union Gospel Missions social media team. I volunteer because I enjoy doing something different every time I come, helping those in need and getting others to volunteer with me.

  • Learning about a small business

    As part of a project for my media writing class, we had to interview a small business owner to learn more about what it is like to own your own business. I interviewed Robert Graves, the owner of the Dragons Dens game shop. I chose this business because a lot of my inspiration for designs comes from games, TV, and movies, so it felt like a good choice for the interview, and here is what I learned from it.

    If you asked someone what they wanted to do for a job, you would get different answers, but Robert Graves wanted to open his own business. For the past 20 years, Robert has loved to play card games. He saw that playing games is a way to bring people together through competing and collecting. Then, in 2001, he worked for Larry Kohlman at his store Dragons Den Gaming, and in 2011, he bought the business from Larry and has been working there ever since. The good and the bad Now, some people might think that owning your own business means you don’t have to do much work; however, that is not the case. For Robert, his day goes just like most other people: wake up, get ready, and head to work. Then, all the extra details come with owning your own business. I asked him what were some of the most complex parts of owning your own business, and he told me, “ The hardest things I had to deal with are managing employees, hiring and firing, and making sure that everyone stays on task, even myself.” There are also lots of good things that come with owning your own business. For Robert, it is having the freedom to run the business how he wants and having a place where the community can get together.” Our community has always been supportive and understanding of changes we have had to make for the business over the years, and we can’t thank them enough for that.” Inspiration and advice Finally, I asked him what He would have done if he hadn’t bought his store. He said that he would have gone towards a career in bookkeeping. Then, I asked him where he gets his inspiration from. “My primary motivation is for everyone to have a place to buy and play their games. Along with supporting my family’s future.” Lastly, what is some advice that you would give to someone who wants to open their own business? ” It does take a while to build a brand and secure your customer base. Be prepared to not be profitable for a full year. Then, something that I have grown to appreciate about my business as time goes on is that we are based around our community. Some players have been here since day one, and they remember our older and much smaller locations. We have known some of our players since they were kids, and they’ve brought their children with them to learn to play games. Finally, every day comes with its own challenges, and I have made my share of mistakes. Most recently, the store’s future was uncertain because of COVID-19. As a business that revolves around gathering and community, we had to navigate being able to sell those products without hosting tournaments. Playing that waiting game was nerve-wracking, at the time but we made it!”

  • Elly Heckel Volunteers of America

    For a project this semester we had to find someone in a similar field to media and interview them to learn more about what it’s like in the industry.

    Giving help to those in need 

    As someone who grew up in Seattle, where the city is busy and fast-paced, Elly Heckel grew up with a love of being creative, whether art or music. She was always interested in being creative. Then, when she was 12, she moved to Mitchell, South Dakota. She said, “It was a massive change of pace and culture compared to the city.” Her family moved there to help start the Foursquare Church. She began understanding how to help those in need, even at a young age. I was exposed to serving at food pantries, local missions, and other nonprofits offering shelter, clothing, and meal service. I knew this was something I wanted to continue doing throughout my life.

    Throughout her educational career, she always had teachers who supported her in being creative. She said,” I was also blessed with educators throughout my life in Elementary, Middle, and High School who saw my skill set and helped me grow as a designer and creative.” She entered several competitions, and by her Senior year of high school, she knew she wanted to attend a college where she could get a degree in 

    design. She started at SDSU as a Graphic Design and Double Music Major. She enjoyed attending classes for over the three years she was there before transferring to the University of Nebraska Omaha. She found more learning opportunities in Omaha, Nebraska, and spent the last 13 years in various design jobs and associations to continue building her strengths in design and grow her portfolio. Then, what started as a “Graphic Design” degree became so much more when she began to explore the other fascists of design and combined that with her passion for helping those less fortunate than herself.

    Present Day 

    Now, she is married to her husband Justin and has three boys. She works for the Volunteers of America Dakotias branch, working out of their main office and the Greater Goods warehouse, where they store all their food donations to give to those who need food for their families. Her day consists of several tasks, including checking emails, scheduling events or meetings, identifying and meeting deadlines and 

    prioritizing tasks, meeting with donors & partners and Greater Goods members, and creating materials to accommodate membership needs. Then, there is also creating fliers and social media posts for events and programs, sending out thank you videos to those who donated, and reviewing membership surveys and other media-related materials. One of the essential facts to know about her position is that she works with a team of 10 other people, which was different for her because she was used to working by herself; now she works with them to identify needs and then strategize and creating goals to accomplish there tasks and duties throughout the day so that the designs they make are ready to be shared and inform there target audiences about upcoming events or donations to help those in need. She also volunteers for other organizations to help her community. She has volunteered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Adult & Teen Challenge, Children’s Miracle Network, Campus Crusade for Christ, Young Life, and Habitat for Humanity Omaha. One of my roles was developing educational and internship programs that prepare young people and at-risk youth for a successful transition to adulthood. This passion for working with nonprofits and ministries encouraged me to compete in the Miss South Dakota America pageant, where she attained a platform geared to shift this next generation’s perspective of the growing drug and alcohol addiction pandemic across the South Dakota region. She traveled to various schools, churches, and businesses to promote abstinence and serve locally with government and state organizations for awareness of the campaigns.=

     Elly has always served the community by volunteering and partnering with local churches, ministries, and businesses to help those in need — all ages and demographics, men, women, and children. Many of our youth and adults these days, unfortunately, are choosing the wrong role models in their lives, not just drugs and alcohol, although they are big factors, but also the influx in mental health and its toll on our bodies, minds, and emotions. Overall, in the next five years, I hope to be a leader and advocate to empower, encourage, and equip the local church, nonprofits, and other businesses in our community to go beyond the city limits to mentor youth, young adults, and elderly individuals who are struggling to find their identity and surround them with the support to guide them through life’s challenges.

    Advice for others 

    Finally, I asked her three important questions. First, was there anything she would have done differently in school or her career path? She said that if she could return, she would have tried a different school and only focused on her media major instead of having a double major. She would be more involved in college, trying associations that fit in with her field. I also asked her what she would do if she hadn’t chosen to go into media; she said, “I would have focused more on music; I even competed on American Idol 9 years ago and made it to the 3rd round. I know that singing and music will always play an important role in my life.” The last asked her what advice she would have for another media student. She said,” Learn your strengths and weaknesses and find a way to learn from them and keep your skills sharp by practicing in the software or attending an online seminar to learn new skills. I always look for ways to utilize my strengths both inside and outside of the workplace environment to help myself and others in need.” 

    Getting to meet elly and learn more about her career and family was a great experience I would like to return to volunteer some other time to learn more.

  • Use of Type

    It’s central to every form of design, both print and digital. Typography has two main purposes in graphic design. The first is to promote legibility, and the second is to help communicate the messaging, tone, and sentiment of a design piece. Another function of typography revolves around aesthetics.

    When it comes to the web, the way text is presented is essential because readers want the information they’re looking for as quickly as possible. Tony Haile of Chartbeat notes that websites only have about 15 seconds to capture someone’s attention before they move on to something else.

    Because of this, the aesthetics of a website are key to a great user experience and making a lasting impression. Web designers must use page titles, headings and other such elements in order to set a hierarchy and define relationships between various elements. Not only do headings tell the reader what’s important, but they also allow search engines to find the correct keywords.

    As you can see type as different effect depending weather you see it on paper compared to a computer screen but nevertheless the type still has to be spelled correctly and made legible and clear for the reader to understand.

  • Color and the emotions they create

    Have you ever been walking down the aisle at the store and you think you want a snack well I have been learning that the color of something can affect how you feel about that particular product here are a few examples I was able to think of.

    The first ad I have is a simple ad for a KitKat. It is just an image of the product on a red background with the ketch phrase in white. As for how this works with the psychology of color, red can create both feelings of being hungry and being impulsive. So, if you combine the two that you get from seeing the color of the package, then it is much more interesting, and you are more likely to buy the product.

    Now, here we have an ad for an Oral-B in a blue background. Now, blue creates a feeling of being calm and relaxed because blue is associated with the sky and ocean, which are known for being relaxing. Now, we have an ad for something dentist-related, and no one likes going to the dentist, so using a blue background makes the ad easier to receive compared to if the background of the ad was red, which would not be well received.