Author: Abrianna Zuccaro

  • The Final Stretch

    The final stretch of the school year is here, and it’s both exciting and a bit nerve-wracking. It has been a mix of emotions—excitement, anticipation, and stress. But after months of hard work, assignments, and projects, the end is finally in sight. As a Media Design Student, it’s especially intense because the final projects for our Portfolio Show are due. This Portfolio SHow is extra nerve-racking because they’re a chance to show off everything you’ve learned to actually industry professionals. There is pressure to finish strong.

    But it’s also a time to reflect on how far I have come and how much I have learned. The final stretch is more than just a race to the finish line; it’s a moment to wrap up the lessons, experiences, and growth we’ve had throughout the year. With the finish line approaching, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but it’s also an opportunity to push through and finish strong. The key to making it through this busy period is staying organized and focused. Prioritizing tasks, breaking them into manageable steps, and avoiding procrastination. It’s also important to take breaks when needed. Giving yourself time to recharge helps maintain the energy and focus needed to tackle everything that’s left.

    I have learned so much on this journey that I hope to continue and hone these skills in the job, or jobs, I am going to get out of all this hard work. I want to be able to use my skills and be able to succeed. I am also so thankful to all the people that I have met. I love and appreciate all of them, I am so glad that I was able to get out of my little bubble in Huron, SD, and explore.

    As the school year winds down, it’s also a time for celebration. All the late nights, hard work, and dedication are about to pay off, and that’s something worth recognizing. There’s a sense of accomplishment in reaching the final stretch. So, let’s embrace the excitement, stay focused, and finish the school year strong. The end is near, and the opportunities that lie ahead are worth the hard work we’ve put in so far.

  • Laser Engraving

    In one of our classrooms, we have a laser. This is used to both cutout things and engrave our designs. Along with printing and producing our magazines, this is probably one of the most fun, engaging, and physical hands-on things we have done. Software is one thing, but there is just something about seeing a finished product all printed and laid out that is rewarding. This blog will primarily outline the steps for engraving or cutting out your work. The process would be very similar, but there are a couple of things to look out for and change between the two, and even from one engraving project to another, or vice versa.

    This stroke is what .001, it is very small. Once in the laser you only want this layer to be shown to be able to cut the design out of the paper, or material. See picture on the right and compare.
    This is what the design looks like by it. If you wanted to print and cut it out then you would have to hide the dye-cut layer.

    The first thing you can do with the laser is engrave. The first thing we had to do was design something to engrave. In this process you not only have to worry about your design but also the material you are using. This is because the material you use will have different, if not similar, settings for speed, power, and frequency. These are used so that you can see your design at its best. However, be careful not to accidentally cut through your design. After you know your design and the numbers, you will select raster so that it will engrave and not cut. But you can do both; that is a little different.

    Another use for the laser is cutting. The cutting process is similar to engraving, as it requires knowledge of speed, power, and frequency, but with one key difference: you need to select vector instead of raster in the preferences. Vector is the option to cut instead of engraving. Additionally, to cut effectively, you should set your cut stroke width to 0.001. This is why your strokes should not be this small when using raster or engraving.

    Overall, you must always be wary of what and how you want to use the laser. Since the options for each material will likely vary, it’s essential to know what and how to do it correctly to avoid wasting any material. Nonetheless, it was lots of fun to learn this new skill. Even though we only had a few assignments, we were still able to experience it for ourselves. And I would 100% say that this was enough to be able to get a taste of it, without longing for more.

  • What I have learned (Design Class)

    I have learned a lot over these years, especially in design class. Every semester for the past two years we have always taken design classes. In this blog, I want to focus on a recap of all we have learned in our design class. I think it is good to learn new things but also important to think back to everything you already know and hone those skills. The more you practice the better you get.

    This is the isometric illustration.
    This is part of the seven-ad campaign.

    In my first year, first semester, we just focused on the book and learned step-by-step how to do one thing. For example, we would have a chapter on typography and so the assignment for it would be to make a type-based poster. While there were still other things we included in our poster, it was mainly if not fully graded on the typography and how effective it was. Some other projects we did were silhouettes and a zoo map. We also did things like create an isometric illustration, which is a house made in our software using actions to scale, rotate, and share shapes.

    In my first year, the second semester, we started taking two design classes. These classes were Design Fundamentals II and Layout I. In design fundamentals, we made a T-shirt design, did a business rebrand, a business card and vehicle wrap, a trifold brochure, which was related to my business rebrand, and 2 ads both also related to the rebrand. This semester we finally started to get into full-out designs that were graded as a whole. I enjoyed this semester and learned a lot from it. In my first layout class, we did lots of spreads, magazines, and newspapers. But mainly just single pages. We also made a seven-ad campaign and an interactive portfolio of the work we have done so far.

    This is the package design all marked up with bleeds, dye-cut, and labels. (ect.)
    This is the trifold brochure, it is related to the business rebrand.
    This is the business rebrand I did, in the interactive portfolio.

    In my second year, the first semester just last semester, we also had two design classes, Design Development and Layout II. These two classes were used to produce things for the magazine we are currently making now. In the design development class, we made two full-page ads and made a magazine nameplate that would become our magazine cover. We also made a package design and a product label. I especially like making the package design and the product label. My instructor said that we will eventually print them out and display them with our other things at the Portfolio Show this year.

    This is a 3d of the package design.
    This is my poster from my portfolio campaign.

    Finally, in my second year and my fourth and final semester here I took my last two design classes, Layout III and Portfolio Design. I am in the process of taking them now, but these classes have also sort of been conjoined. In my layout class, we are mainly working on a 10-related piece project. Similar to the seven-ad campaign but in a brand and not just flyers or different sizes but things like merch, signs, identification pieces, etc. In the Portfolio Design class, we mainly work on portfolio things, like the name. This includes the portfolio campaign and personal logo for the Portfolio Show.

    This is the first page of my portfolio student book.

    Overall we have learned and been taught a lot and this is just the design classes. There were also other things we learned like Photoshop, photography, and video making/editing. I love how Southeast Tech has its classes. You don’t necessarily focus on one specific thing, you get to learn lots of skills that will all help in almost any future career in this industry.