Beach Motel Project

For this project students were tasked with recreating a single print image, based upon the specific requirements and a set of inspiration pictures (you can find the entire project description and links here).

Sort of like the EdCamp Express Logo Project, this project was also one that had a purpose: I have a relative who was looking to get a print done of the above content, and I told her this would be the perfect project for my computer graphics students, because it would really challenge them to be creative, use a bunch of different elements in Photoshop or Pixlr, and create the desired image print while pulling together all of their skills and computer graphics knowledge.

Students were left in the dark (at first) as to what their print was going to be used for, other than that it was for "someone" and needed to include all of the above requirements. 

I really love how each of these prints turned out, and especially how vastly different (yet similar!) they all area.  They definitely combined all of the elements required, but had their own personal touch put in by the student who designed them, which is very much what graphic design is all about.  Enjoy looking over these prints...I sure did, and wish I could be in some of them right now!

EdCamp Express Logo Project

Our latest project in my computer graphics class has been one of my favorites: students were tasked with the challenge (given to them from Chris McGee, the STL EdCamp guru/leader) to turn this EdCampSTL logo into something that looks like it's thrown together/held together with tape and cardboard, for the upcoming May "EdCamp Express" unconference that will be taking place soon.

Students were also challenged to use Adobe Photoshop CS6 to create this project, instead of Pixlr, which is what they'd been using up until this point.  As much as some of them resisted using Photoshop because "it's just too much," all of them embraced it for this project and their logo designs turned out awesome.  I was super impressed with every single one!

I then sent over a folder to Chris of all of the designs, and the EdCamp team voted on their favorite.  Here's the one that won, and will now be on the top of the flyer for the EdCamp Express event coming up in May!  (Spoiler: this student is ecstatic that her logo is being published for a big conference event! --as she should be!  This is pretty awesome for a high schooler to have happen to them!)

And here's the flyer that will be distributed to advertise EdCamp Express:

Although only one student's logo "won", they all were awesome and very creative (and uniquely different!) in my book.  Here's the rest of the logo designs from this project/contest.  Side note: I really love doing these type of practical, "real-life" projects in my classroom.  I find them so much more engaging and interesting to the students because they're work is being showcased (and in this case, voted upon!) in the outside world.