Exhibit 1

USU Gear Up Display

This graphic was designed for the USU Gear Up program with the goal of creating something the will motivate students to reach for higher education. The design will be displayed on TV screens in school hallways, so the graphic needed to be simple enough that it could be quickly processed, but interesting enough that students will engage with the graphic.

Design Elements:

  • Alignment: The block of text is center aligned, but was designed to have a justified appearance. The placement on left side of the document balances with the weight of the silhouette on right side of the document. Main design elements (text and silhouette) are also aligned using the Rule of Three.

  • Contrast: I created contrast in this image through the use of different typefaces and weights, light and dark contrast between the sky and the cliff the person is sitting on.

  • Repitition: Repetition was used in the recurrence of different fonts and the use of color. The use of a dark font allows for the eye to regularly go back to the cliff silhouette.

  • Typography: I used a sans serif font and a script font. The use of the sans serif font allows for easy readability, and the script font adds some personality and texture to the text.

Photoshop Skills Used:

  • Camera Raw: Highlights and shadows were were adjusted to create a silhouette effect on the cliff and figure in the photo while not removing the texture.

  • Quick Selection tool and Quick Mask tool were used to select the sky and make it a bit brighter through the use of a layer mask.

  • Text tools were used to adjust to color of the fonts, font size, leading, kearning, and justification.


Revision: I put a background behind the text to make it feel like it belonged in the space and less like it was squeezed in. I made this revision per some feedback from my peers and professor.

Credits: Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay, Fonts from Adobe Creative Cloud (Mr Eaves XL San OT, Fairwater Script)