DIGITAL DESIGN PROJECTS
At Middle School of the Kennebunks, I am teaching Digital Design classes that focus on design skills and Adobe Creative Suite platforms.
Hybrid Animals
Using selection tools, layer masks, and retouching tools, seventh graders realistically combined two animals to appear as a single creature. Their Photoshop skills make us question whether these beasts really exists!
“I loved this assignment because we could choose what we wanted to make.”
”So much fun!”
Cereal Brands + Boxes
In this real-world digital design project, students created cereal boxes with brands they invented. This fun Photoshop assignment tapped into students’ senses of humor and creativity, and provided an understanding of marketing and package design.
“I liked that I had a ton of freedom with this assignment.”
”It was cool that we got to be funny.”
POP OUT IMAGES
Students combined two images to make it appear that a person or object is popping out from the background. This effect is achieved through various techniques including selections, layer masks, and layer duplication.
“This was one of my favorite project this year.”
”I really loved this project, and thought it was really fun to do.”
CARTOON CHARACTERS
After mastering Shape tools, Pathfinder tools, and Pen tools in Adobe Illustrator, the advanced tech students created characters from their imaginations. Each one was fully developed with a backstory.
GRAPHIC T-SHIRTS
Art + Tech students created their own t-shirt graphics. The designs could be representational or abstract, but had to celebrate something meaningful to them. This project helped them to master masks and adjustment tools.
“I am proud of how I edited the different parts of the design to work together.
”This has been my favorite project this year.”
ALTER EGOS
Students created agamographs, a type of artwork that changes depending on the viewer's position. These multi-dimensional pieces create an optical illusion of shifting images, engaging the viewer in an interactive experience. This process required the students to use advanced Photoshop tools and to use precision in breaking down the images into equal columns.
“This was the project I was the most excited to come back to.”
BOOK COVERS
The Art + Tech students redesigned the book covers of some of their favorite stories. Students needed to consider hierarchy, how to convey a story in a single image, and how to entice an audience. Student-created works are on the left side and original covers are on the right.
“I felt excited because you could experiment and be creative at the same time.”
”My design is completely different and I think it is better [than the original].”