Original Work Product Proposal and Calendar 

 
Introduction + Statement of Purpose:  
My Original Work Product will be the creation of a video series detailing the following aspects 
of graphic design: basic design rules and principles, the ‘Dos and Don’ts’ of design, current design 
trends with an explanation for their popularity, and the creation of my own designs. In total, my goal 
is to create 5 to 6 videos through digital software and editing, before publishing the series on a website 
of my own making.  
My objective is to apply the skills and techniques of design that I have learned in past courses, 
while also learning and gaining new experiences by challenging myself to be better and collaborating 
with my mentor. Some of the classes I have taken in recent years include Photojournalism, Yearbook, 
and Digital Media and Design, all of which exposed me to Photoshop and a fraction of InDesign. My 
goal is to not only expand on my knowledge of InDesign but to also learn about the uses and 
applications of Illustrator. In doing so, I hope to create a product that is not only informative, but one 
that provides lessons and takeaways for those who view it. My target audience for this assignment is 
aspiring graphic designers and freelance artists who are beginning to learn the basics of design. I feel 
that my product will be beneficial to them in that it reviews the fundamentals of how to design, along 
6 with how they can modify their products to fit the tastes of their desired audience. In fact, I think my 
product would be advantageous to my mentor, Chris Brooks, because of the design education course 
in his workplace which aims to teach and expose ambitious artists to the design industry.  
 
Review of Skills and Research:  
The research I have conducted throughout the first semester will be extremely helpful in the 
creation of my product. I have mainly reviewed the applications of specific design software, such as 
Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, all of which will be used in my project. With regards to their uses, 
Photoshop is the primary program artists utilize for any and all of their projects, however it’s mainly 
used for flyers and designing the layout of websites. InDesign is generally used for any brochures and 
layouts with an excessive amount of text (the items are “text heavy”), while the program Illustrator is 
generally used for logos, printed materials and scalables. The past courses I have taken in recent years 
has exposed me to the many uses of Photoshop, whether it be simply editing a photo or creating an 
advertisement from scratch. These skills will be applied to the making of my 4th video, which will be 
focused on creating a magazine. Moreover, I plan on further developing my knowledge of both 
InDesign and Illustrator, both of which will be utilized in my 5th and 6th videos. While I have used 
InDesign before, I am not yet confident in my abilities to create a finished product, and therefore plan 
on reviewing and updating my skills through the tutorials provided on the program, along with the 
website h
​ ttps://www.skillshare.com/​.​ These techniques will be applied to my 5th video, where I plan 
on screen recording myself designing a brochure in InDesign. Finally, I plan on learning how to use 
Illustrator, which I anticipate will be one of the more challenging parts of the assignment due to the 
fact that I have never used it before. I am excited however, I find brand naming (one of the products 
Illustrator is applied to) to be one of the more exciting aspects of Graphic Design and therefore 
welcome the challenge to overcome my lack of experience. The skill set acquire here will be used in my 
8th video, where I plan on screen recording myself as I create a mock logo.  
 
Methodology: 
` I anticipate the entirety of the project being very complex and potentially tedious at times. It is 
because of this that I have decided to extend my calendar to 12 weeks, in order to ensure I have ample 
time to learn, create, and edit the numerous aspects of the project.  
To begin, I will start the project by buying the materials needed for the first few weeks of 
production, where I will be making 3 whiteboard animation videos. I plan on purchasing the 
whiteboard, dry erase markers, eraser and Imovie in the first week, while holding off on the purchase 
of Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator (seeing as I will not be utilizing those programs until week 7, 
and monthly subscriptions can be costly). From there, I will establish a space for the whiteboard 
animation videos; essentially a desk space with great lighting along with an overhead space for the 
recording camera. After this is completed, there are numerous online videos detailing the best ways to 
create a whiteboard animation video, so I will research these until I find the best method to create the 
first 3 videos. My process for these will be quite simple: I plan on outlining a script for each of the 
main topics I am discussing (the basic principles of design, the applications of Photoshop, InDesign, 
and Illustrator, along with the dos and dont’s of graphic design, and the explanation of current design 
trends), recording the illustrations on camera, and then adding my voiceover on Imovie. At week 7, I 
will purchase the aforementioned design programs, and screen record myself creating a magazine 
(week 7-Photoshop), a brochure (week 8- InDesign), and a mock logo (week 9- Illustrator). Once all of 
the footage is compiled, I will create my voiceover in Imovie, before piecing the videos together and 
making any final adjustments or edits. Once I have successfully completed all of the videos, I will then 
design my own website where they will be uploaded and easily accessed by the public. Once this is 
done, I will take the final week to ensure that everything is done to my satisfaction, while making any 
minor modifications.  
 
Materials: 
There will be a wide variety of materials needed for the complexity of this project, ranging 
from digital design software to dry erase markers. The list includes, but is potentially not limited to, 
the computer programs of Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, along with Imovie, Skillshare, a 
software compatible laptop, recording camera, headphone set, whiteboard, eraser, and dry erase 
markers. To begin, I plan on creating about 5 to 6 videos for my graphic design series, 3 of which will 
be done through whiteboard animation. This is where I will utilize the recording camera, headphone 
set, Imovie program, and most importantly, the whiteboard and dry erase markers. The tools necessary 
for this next stage of the project will include a laptop (for screen recording) along with the headphone 
set and Imovie. The remaining 2 to 3 videos will feature me both creating new designs with 
explanations for the software and what techniques to use. This will be the most complicated step of 
the project, and the equipment necessary will include the 3 software programs of Photoshop, 
InDesign, and Illustrator, along with a laptop, headphone set, and Imovie. Once I have completed the 
creating and editing process of the videos, I plan on creating a website where all of these videos can be 
placed and easily accessed. Overall, I already have some of the equipment necessary to complete the 
project, and through research I anticipate that the expenses for the rest of the items will range from 
approximately $85 to $100.  
 
 
 
Conclusions:  
What I hope to accomplish through this project is obtaining a greater understanding of 
InDesign and Illustrator, along with creating a video series that will be beneficial for any aspiring 
graphic designer and freelance artist. It is my hope that this will be useful to my mentor, Mr. Brooks, in 
that he can use my product to assist the design students in his workshop. Overall, my desire is to 
benefit the community by providing access to design tutorials, history for the evolution of 
advertisement layouts, and explanations of current design trends. My goal is to not only encompass 
everything that I have learned from the research I conducted first semester, but to also establish and 
grow my designing capabilities; this is where my research can be applied and put into action.  
 
Dates:  
Week One (2/11-2/16) 
● Subscribe to ​https://www.skillshare.com/​ to update myself on design techniques/ learn any 
new skills  
● Download Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign  
● Establish a space for whiteboard animation videos  
● Download IMovie to create whiteboard animation videos  
 
Week Two (2/18-2/23) 
● Review Research Assessment #1 and Research Assessment #2, the basic principles of design 
● Record the whiteboard animation video for the basic principles of design 
● Record the voiceover on Imovie 
● Create and edit the whiteboard animation video  
 
Week Three (2/25-3/2) 
● Review Evidence of Evidence Assessment #2, the applications of design software 
● Record the whiteboard animation video for the applications of photoshop, indesign, and 
illustrator 
● Record the voiceover on imovie 
 ● Create and edit the whiteboard animation video 
 
Week Four (3/4- 3/9) 
● Research the ‘Dos and Don’ts’ of Graphic Design 
● Record the whiteboard animation video 
● Record the voiceover on imovie  
● Create and edit the whiteboard animation video 
 
Week 5 (3/11-3/16) 
● Record a second part of the previous video; specific design trends and why they’re popular 
● Research how to screen record on a laptop 
● Research current design trends 
● Create a whiteboard animation video of popular design trends 
● Create a voiceover on imovie  
● Create and edit the video on imovie 
 
Week 6 (3/25-3/30) 
● Refresh my design skills by reviewing on Skillshare 
● Screen record myself designing a magazine on Photoshop 
● Record voiceover on imovie  
● Create and edit video on imovie 
 
 
 
Week 7 (4/1-4/6) 
● Screen record myself designing a brochure on InDesign  
● Record voiceover on imovie 
● Create and edit video on imovie  
 
Week 8 (4/8-4/13) 
● Screen record myself creating a design for brand naming on Illustrator  
● Record voiceover on imovie 
● Create and edit video on imovie 
 
Week 9 (4/22-4/27) 
● Create and design my own website to upload all the videos onto (most likely weebly) 
● Upload all videos to the site  
 
Week 10 (4/29-5/4) 
● Review videos and website  
● Make final adjustments and edits where necessary 
● Publish website  
 
Video Descriptions:  
1) Video 1: “Basic Principles of Graphic Design”-what graphic design is used for/ daily visuals 
and applications of Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator  
2) Video 2: “Dos and Don’ts of Graphic Design” -rules of digital graphics and what an artist 
should consider when outlining a design 
3) Video 3: “Current Design Trends”- explanation of modern design trends and the reasoning 
behind their popularity (possibly reference older designs and why they’ve changed) 
4) Video 4: “Design in Photoshop”- voice over explaining tools on Photoshop while I create a 
magazine  
5) Video 5: “Design in InDesign”- voice over explaining tools on InDesign while I create a 
brochure  
6) Video 6: “Design in Illustrator”- voice over explaining tools on Illustrator while I create a mock 
design for a company’s brand name