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The Card
A Semi-annual-ish
~ why greeting cards? ~
~ why greeting cards? ~
Rational:
As we approach the the mid-point in a semester, we need some major grades. However, at this point, you're usually just starting to get the hang of the different technologies and tools we've used. You probably wouldn't quite be ready for a full-scale project yet, especially not if you only have a couple weeks to complete it before grades are due. A greeting card mini-project gives you a lower-risk and lower demand opportunity to practice the tools you've been learning without a gargantuan project looming over you.
A greeting card can also be very technically and artistically complex... or not. You can adjust the level of complexity based on your skill level and how much time you have to dedicate to it.
Additional Points:
A personally made card by someone in our community is more meaningful than a store-bought one by a staff member who may not actually know them
Cards can be given for a variety of reasons; holidays, birthdays, appreciation, well wishes, etc.
A greeting card is not tied to any specific medium or tech, and can be created physically or digitally, using a wide variety of tools
Greeting cards have no specific requirements stylistically, meaning they can be adapted to a variety of interests and skill levels
Due to all of those previously mentioned, there is no specific limit on who can make one, or how many they can make
More than Work
As Greeting Cards are about communicating a kind message to others, this also shows potential service. You could use this mini-project as service hours, and potentially extend it into a larger service project if you wanted. This will count as our service-related learning for our class.
Why repeatedly used?
Known Trajectory, a Reduction in Stress
For many, one of the biggest contributors for fear and anxiety is uncertainty and unknowing. If at the middle of each semester, you know what you'll create, you can begin to anticipate this. You know what's coming, and you'll be able to start thinking about how you'll utilize what you're learning.
There is no Limit
As previously mentioned, due to the amount of variance in card design and production, there is no specific limitation with what you can do for it, unless you are limiting yourself. The greeting card is an idea, and how you decide to fabricate that concept can be done dozens of ways.
american-greetings.mp4
me. Worried Penguin (2008). cut paper.
Cut paper art for a get-well-soon card I made while at Uni, for one of my mom's students who was in the hospital.
Portfolio Building & Considerations
A big portion of courses with me are about helping you understand how to build a portfolio to demonstrate your capabilities and skills.
If I were to say that I made a greeting card with cut paper, is that impressive? Probably not. A greeting card probably isn't enough.
However, what about a series of greeting cards? What if I were to say that I have made greeting cards both physically and digitally using a wide variety of skills and tools, including:
cut paper,
kraft paper and markers,
markers and ink,
as an HTML webpage,
programmed in Python,
drawn and colored entirely with Photoshop,
hand drawn, photographed, and colored in Photoshop,
photo + photomanipulation in Photoshop,
and on Procreate with the Apple pencil.
Through this repeating mini-project, you'll also have the opportunity to continually develop a long-running portfolio project.
As I've also implied, you aren't limited to technology. You could create additional cards on your own, using other mediums, to bulk up a portfolio project page about greeting cards.
If you want to show other skills or interests in your portfolio that are not specifically related to your main focus, this is another place you can do that.
Consider creating some in whatever foreign language you're studying,
or what about one for someone who is blind or visually impaired?
Could you make a physical greeting card featuring braille?
Or maybe a greeting card that includes audio?
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