Last week I created a design for pet safety tips for the heat. I learned that Brittney, who runs all the social media accounts for LCSO, also follows other agencies to get ideas for posts. Brittney asked if I could get to work on a post for heat safety tips for the community. Using the safety organizations to gather tips for my design, I could add useful facts to spread awareness of what the post was about. Digital Art Fundamentals taught me how to use vector images to my advantage when compiling scenes in Adobe Illustrator. I used photos of items that would be seen at the beach and sketched them into the program. Then made them into vectors for the beach scene I was creating. Open space between vectors is a great way to place facts and tips for the post. I loved building on my digital design skills while also learning how text placement should go in these illustrations. They need to be found and read by the viewer with illustrations to capture what the tips are telling them.

My next project is to create a design to be posted for Patriot Day. Agencies need to be cautious about how we pay tribute to 9/11, so I worked with Sarah to learn what the agency stays away from. For example, wrong colors, wording, and other factors could trigger or offend viewers of the post. This was new for me to learn because I did not realize how big of an impact our posts could have. Knowing this, I will continue to learn about how to be aware of how my designs will affect others.

Sarah also showed me a few tools she uses when picking color schemes and making illustrations. Adobe Color allows you to select a base color and generate various types of palettes. Vecteezy is a website that lets the user download images for free commercial and private use. When I first started my design career, I learned about the rights of artwork and how to credit people. Knowing this helps me understand what is and may not be used in my designs. This is vital, especially since most of my designs are for commercial use.