Brief:
The objective of this assignment was to create a poster design that visual captured the viewer by creating an informative poster. Utilizing the grid system, guides, and rules within Adobe Illustrator to create layouts, establish margins, and ensure precise alignment of text and graphical elements.
Challenge:
With the brief in mind, i decided to go with the challenge of creating an engaging infographic about American football. "Gridiron Greatness" gives you a quick run through about the highly popular sport. I wanted my main graphic to be large and have presence, with smaller informational graphic and text around it.
ROLE
Visual Design, Illustrations, Research, Layout Design
TOOLS
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Fresco, Procreate, Adobe Photoshop
CLIENTS
Undergraduate Class Assignment, GRPH321
Brainstorming and Research
My first step in my creative process was research. I started with simple google searches that led to the BIG10 school lists (my original idea was going to just be centered around BIG10 college football), then the college rule book, which was much denser than I originally thought. Lastly, I used a lot of help from an AI application, ChatGBT.
During this process, I was also creating moodboards and using key words such as "infographic", "poster design", "football infographic", to find inspiration for layout ideas and potential graphic designs.
Sketches
I mainly conducted sketches for my layout designs, I orginally had the idea of a close up fieldgoal post graphic. However, after discussing this design with people who didn't know anything about football, I realize a major flaw, that they dont know what a field goal post looks like. With that new realization in mind I changed the sketches and created a football field, which is much more widely known. the layout design itself was a much longer and more strenuous process for me. The layout design took many trial and errors before I settled on the final design.
Process
I began with my original sketch in mind (the blown up field goal) and drew graphics that were heavily based off images pulled from the internet or photographs of family members who play the sport. The graphics themselves didn't take as much time compared to my layout design. Throughout the weeks I would go back and forth between creating graphics, re-sketching my layout, and discovering new inspiration for my poster design.
Final Poster
The final poster is composed of visual hierarchy, and strong graphics. I placed the title and subtitle next to each other (in different sized fronts), as well as the summary about the sport itself. Placing a giant football behind it. To make sure the viewer got an even more clear idea of the topic, I blew up a field goal formation that took up a majority of the poster, placing it in the bottom center. I them placed the smaller graphics towards the top middle with the text interacting throughout the design. The text is organized in a way the leads the viewer up and down or, down and up the poster.
Reflection:
Overall, I had a fun time creating the graphics and overcoming challenges with layout design. I had a nice time experimenting with typography, and learning new ways to create hierarchy within a design. I personally think I experienced personal growth within my designs and found new things to challenge myself with now and in the future. I am content with how my design turned out and happy that its completed.
