Monday, September 11th

Class hours: 10:05 – 2:45
Mr. Bohmann | wbohmann@ewsd.org

photo credit: Eric Morris – Shelburne, VT – September 8th, 2023

10:05 Today’s Notes & Attendance

Welcome to Week 3

Today is a CTE Red Day -afternoon classes begin at 1:25pm

SkillsUSA – Call for Student Leaders – are you interested? Conference in October for students interested in learning about student leadership with SkillsUSA

September 14th: CTE Back to School Night: 6:00 – 7:30pm This will provide families and students an opportunity to meet with teachers and tour their programs and classrooms. EHS will also be holding their Open House that evening. Come say hi!

Sept. 19th: College Fair Field Trip for CTE seniors 10:15-11:55am @ St. Mike’s College

10:10 Monday Mail – Let’s see what everyone is saying!

10:15 20% Time – Let’s Unpack (Similar to CAWD Agency projects)

One of the best things about technical high school is the access you have to technology, equipment and expertise in your field of study. Also, you get to make some really cool stuff.

The story behind 20% goes back to 3M. (3M makes scotch tape, sticky notes and piles of other things that stick). Art Fry, a scientist at 3M had an idea to put an adhesive on the back of a piece of paper. The goal was to create a bookmark that was not permanent. He called it a Post-It-Note. Fry came up with the idea during 3M’s 15% time, which was time during the workday to explore rainbows and unicorns. Actually it was time that could be used to hatch their own ideas. Google later adopted a similar policy – calling it 20% time. Gmail is just one example of a passion project that came from Google’s 20% time.

Each week, there is production time in the afternoon (for many of you). If you are complete with your work, this is the time to work on your passion project. Last year this might have been referred to as an Agency project.

20% projects are not limited to what we are currently doing in class. If you want to explore environmental lighting in Unity, create laser cats in After Effects or explore f curves in Blender, it’s up to you. Become the expert in your area of interest.

I’ll ask you to provide updates from time to time (generally on a Monday). Presenting work to each other is not only educational but also a great way to practice and improve your speaking skills.

I’ll work with each of you to help determine what your 20% projects will be.

10:20 Developing your Personal Brand

What does the logo say about this person?

Sure, you know brands, McDonalds, Super Mario, Discord, Coke. What do each of the brands have in common – their logos, products and services represent their brand.

Before we jump into our logos, let’s look at some principles of logo design. If there is one term you should take away, that is the Theory of Design known as Gestalt.

Gestalt is a noun. Defined as “an organized whole that is perceived more than the sum of its parts”

Basically when our brain generates whole forms our of otherwise individual elements

A good logo is not just a logo, but rather a brand mark. This means that all of the visual elements help to define the brand. Look at the logo above – probably a teacher!

Some common Gestalt design principles we’ll look at:

Proximity – When individual elements are very close to each other, the human brain perceives them as a whole, in a different shape. Example Example 2

Closure – use of negative space – the human brain has a tendency to seek out patterns, and if the right amount of information is presented, the brain will use it to complete the pattern Example Example2 Example3 and of course the arrow in FedEx. Once you see it, it is all you see….

Similarity – if the individual elements share some kind of similar traits, the human brain will organize them in a group and perceive them as a whole. Example Example2

Figure/Ground – using the positive space and negative space relationship in design to create a visual hierarchy. Example Example2

Continuity – principle that elements that are similarly aligned will be perceived as a whole. Example

Order/Symmetry – the goal is to create a sense of order so the brain is not lost in creating a relationship
Example Example2 Example3

Have you ever considered what your brand is? When you interact with others in person, online and through social media an image of you is build up over time. Colleges and employers have access and time to learn about you even before they meet you. If you don’t have a brand, they will decide for you. What will your brand say about you?

Ok, some deep thinking time….

Design Homework this week:

The goal is to create a custom logo that you can use on your email signature, personal webpage, letterhead and any other print and digital media that will represent you and showcase your work.

The best way to start is by picking up a sketchbook and just drawing. So that’s what you’ll do.

Sketch out six (6) designs. Use pencil, colored pencils, markers – Up to you.
Create the first iterations of your logo. The size does not matter, just getting ideas down is the most important. We’ll call this a 6 Pack. You can use one sheet of paper divided into 6 or a bunch of paper. Your choice.

On Monday of next week each of you will display your logos and we’ll walk around and help each other narrow down the designs.

Assignment: 6Pack_LogoJam – Due Monday, September 18th