software

Over the past 10 months, I have been very in depth, learning all that there is about multimedia in my education. I have picked up new skills, gained knowledge about modern technology, and learned about all the different software and ways to use them in digital design. My education experience in multimedia has been the best experience, and I will always be grateful for doing it.

I have learned so many different design techniques and tools to use. From color theory, to sound editing, to graphic design, there really was not anything I didn’t get information about. The Joshua tree epiphany was one of the first thing I learned about and still religiously use to this day. I love the hilarious acronym for it (C.R.A.P) and how much the use of it can actually make a design. This was probably my favorite of all the principles and tools I learned to use because of how much it opened my eyes to design. One thing that will remain always in my presence for as long as I am designing (and living) is the Non-designers Design Book. The title of this book should be pretty self explanatory. If you are just starting to get into not only digital design, but really any kind of design, this book will really open your eyes as it has done to me. After getting all the information I could from this book, there is no doubt that I realized that the tools this book gives you also goes beyond a design perspective, but a life perspective. There are so many things we see and do that are all made up of designs of another person and reading this book REALLY made me ponder about how much of that people actually don’t realize (including myself before reading).

Photography in multimedia was one of the most fun areas to experiment with, just because I had known nothing about it and suddenly had all the basic tools I needed to get started with it. This is one area of learning that I am extremely glad to have learned. Without this knowledge, I have no idea how I would have ever gotten into photography despite wanting to for so long. This section in multimedia motivated me to go outside more and appreciate the views in front of us. There is never a time now that I will not want to catch a photo and share it with others. Photography has also opened up my own potential to myself and what I am capable of. I have taken some really awesome photos that I would have never imagined I would have been able to and honestly, it makes you feel proud!

Illustration/Graphic design is probably the most nonchalantly impacting things I got the grasp of throughout my learning experience. I have very much so improved my design skills with the new knowledge of vectors (AMAZING) vs pixels, compared to my years ago designing graphics in INDESIGN… I did not have the right guidance or knowledge of software and how they work when I began learning digital design. I was not provided with industry standard software and was very incorrectly instructed on how to use them. NOW, my “teacher” (he’s not really a teacher he is just someone who will stand behind you and tell you how bad your work is…JOKING) who is actually more so a director or partner to me, has given me more than enough information and realistic criticism for me to connect the dots and use my skills correctly, and this is especially with the graphic/illustration part of design. I have subconsciously grown, as we all do, in terms of my graphic designs and illustrative elements. It’s one of those things where you don’t realize until 10 years later how much better you are now until you smack a literal comparison of your work into your face. With that being said, I am now confident that I can continue to grow in this specific section especially, because of how much I have learned.

My least favorite thing about learning in multimedia design is …animation. Although not difficult if you have the time and tools to want to get good at it, animation was one of the most challenging but rewarding areas of multimedia. I got the most frustrated and the most challenged because of how many elements there actually are to animation, and for personal reasons, not enough time to master what little information I have learned. I don’t hate it, but I do know that it is one of the most rewarding types of design after you’ve completed it.

So, to any students reading this, what you should take from this is it’s not as hard as you think… Generations today are given so many tools to use in their advantage, and it’s really only YOUR choice to either make the most out of it, or don’t. No one can push you and motivate you like YOU can and in the end, the amount of effort you put into something, including educating yourself no matter what way it is, determines the outcome. You really don’t need a four year degree in “graphic design” from a university that is sucking the money out of your life. In my personal opinion, YOU have the tools to get up and take the initiative to learn about things yourself and you really don’y need anyone telling you that your outcome will be being handed a piece of paper that says “congratulations!”. It really is true that your life is what you make it.

I do have to say that my “teacher” whether he thinks it or not, has been very impactful to my education. I would not even know or think about the possibilities I have been taking advantage of if it weren’t for the realism and experience of being around him. Because of my “teacher”, I continue to stay motivated as a self starter and also reflect on how good or bad some things can actually be in terms of design. As I have stated before, I see him more as a director or partner, and not someone who treats you with an obvious higher authority. I was always able to talk to my “teacher” (i’m just gonna keep putting it in quotes) on a personal business and equal partner level, just as though I WERE coming to a job and consulting with other teams, and that is exactly what I needed to experience.

I now analyze the design of things in every day life that I wouldn’t before, I’m now CLEARLY the greatest designer of all time, and I have information that will always be there in my head and continue to grow. There is a company interested in me to train to become a creative director and because of taking time and money myself to learn what I need and want to learn, I am able to do so.

In multimedia, it is important to properly showcase any knowledge of the tools and principles used to design. This includes software, hardware, equipment, etc. Whatever the subject may be, a multimedia designer holds credibility to understanding these things with that title.

Most of the job of someone in this industry is done through software provided just to do so. In this blog, I will be solely focusing on being able to determine and different resolutions, camera RAW files and how they can be used in software, and working with layers in Photoshop. Photoshop mostly utilizes these within it’s software and knowing how it all works is key to being able to use it.

One of the basic things to understand when using Photoshop is resolution. Resolution is almost always applied to monitors and screens, printing, and digital images. To find out exactly how many pixels are in your image, checking the height and width in pixels through the settings, then multiplying them together can tell you. In digital form, an image is made up of numerous pixels. Image resolution measures and dictates the amount of the pixels being used in an image.

Something important to understand is to always start with using a high-resolution and high-quality image. This is important because an image will lose quality if it is stretched out to more clearly see the pixels. Using a larger image can be an advantage because you can always downsize without losing quality.

Resolution can specifically be defined as the amount of pixels in an imaged. This is usually (pretty much always) calculated in width x height. When an image has higher resolution, it has higher quality, and vice versa. When working with resolution, DPI and PPI are important to know. DPI measures dots per inch while PPI measures pixels per inch.

Knowing the different DPI and resolution settings for printing and digital showcase. For printing high quality images, 300dpi, or higher if needed, is the standard measurement. For web and digital display, 72 dpi is standard. This is because monitors and screens do not need a higher resolution in order to display high quality images. If a monitor and an image are the same size, the image will still be displayed smaller than the screen because there is lower resolution. In terms of file size, the higher the resolution, the larger the file size. Below is an example of a high-resolution image take by Timo Vijn.

In Adobe Illustrator, the standard unit of measurement throughout the software and its tools is point increments. Unlike other photo editing and art software, Illustrator does not use pixels when a new image is created. It rather uses vectors and can turn pixel images into vectors. Vectors are created through mathematic equations and geometry. This includes lines, dots, shapes, etc. Another type of file used for creating art in Illustrator is raster. Raster files are lower quality than vectors, are graphic used for focus on one specifically colored graphic. But, vector images are mostly used for proper-looking printing.

With photography, shooting in Camera RAW mode is most preferred by photographers because of its result in much higher quality images. Camera RAW files are the data of an image from the camera sensor and cannot be viewed through all platforms like a JPEG file can. JPEG files are widely used and compatible because it contains the pixels of the image that can be viewed by any screen. However, it is not as high quality as Camera RAW files. In order for RAW files to be further edited or viewed in software, it needs to be converted to a JPEG file first, which can be a disadvantage at times. The main reason for RAW files to be utilized is to have the result of a high quality image with lots of color and higher dynamic range- the big advantage. In order for RAW files to be printed, they cannot be directly printed from the camera. Just as to edit it, to print it, it is a must to first convert it to a JPEG file for the printer to read. Some minor disadvantages of shooting in RAW mode rather than JPEG is that it results in lower contrast and the image is not as sharp looking. The photograph below is a RAW file that has been converted to JPEG for specific viewing, taken by Thomas Curryer.

Photoshop ties all these measurements and files together in its software. Layers can be used in Photoshop to do different specific things in a separate but organized manner. Adding text, adding a new PNG image to a design, or adding a filter/effect can all be done and stacked differently, hence the term “layers” in Photoshop. You can rename and color code certain layers in Photoshop to properly distinguish differences or priority.

For non-destructive editing, meaning editing an image without actually affecting the original copy, adjustment layers and new layers for filters can be used in order to have access to the original image still if any mistakes or changes are made. Video layers can be added in Photoshop to add video to an image by importing a specific clip. Layers like this can be rasterized or converted into a smart object to be directly edited. Overall, layers give designers freedom to further edit an original image and edit specific designs in an organized matter that brings a design altogether. All of the creative cloud software of Adobe utilize the layer set-up, some of which include Illustrator, Lightroom, Animate, etc. On the laptop in the photo below is showcasing an older version of Photoshop. In the bottom right, there is the Layers panel which clearly displays a highlighted layer; photo taken by “Negative Space“.

All of these tools tie into each other and are important to know as a designer. I hope something was well learned, get to designing!

Photo taken by Galymzhan Abdugalimov.

Sources:

Jaimee

My Learning Experience in Multimedia

Working with Resolution, RAWs, and layers in Photoshop