Fall Portfolio: Computer Graphic Design 1 Gemma Foley

This piece is a postcard design for the small city of Nikko, Japan. Being the first design that I had ever made in Adobe Photoshop, this project helped me to learn the basics of the program, such as layer styles. My goal for this project was to create a design that looked like it would belong on a real postcard at a souvenir shop. I believe I was fairly successful in achieving the look of an actual postcard, and I hope that this design accurately captures some of this city's beauty.

This piece, titled "Imposters," is a realistic photo collage. My goal for this project was to communicate this sentence without using words: "It is estimated that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050." The collage depicts a clownfish being cornered by plastic fish to visually represent the severity and scope of plastic pollution. I think that the "realism" aspect of this piece could use a lot of improvement, but this project still helped me learn new Photoshop techniques, like using layer masks and adjusting the lighting, shadow, or color of photos. I hope that those who see this collage are able to understand its overall message without reading the sentence first.

This is a poster design for a nonexistent murder mystery movie. The goal was to create a movie poster design, with no more than five colors, that was convincing enough to be for a real movie. I hope that my design has that affect on the people that see it. In this project, I got to learn how to create and apply a seamless pattern, which is present in the wallpaper. I personally feel that improving certain elements, like perspective, could help to make the design more professional-looking.

This project is an alternate design for the cover of the novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Watercolor images were the only media I used to make this cover. My goal was to create a professional-quality design that would do the book justice. In this project, I learned how to put together a mockup to display all three components of the cover in a single image. I hope that other people like the design and find it realistic enough to go on an actual book.