Expanding Skillset: Design: Projects: Road Sign

  • How do I create an interesting & relevant design that is simple, economical, and functional for everyday purposes?

What am I making?

  • A road sign for a real travel message or something relating to experiencing life

  • example Road Sign page you would put on your Google Site

How do I make it?

  • Follow the Steps

Steps

  1. PIck a situation to make a road sign for;

    • it could be something that actually happens on the road

      1. "dangerous curves ahead"

      2. "falling rock")

    • or it could be something that happens in life

      1. "I'm not in the mood right now!"

      2. "the future is so bright"

  2. Do research - find graphic design symbols and icons that represent the situation you're designing for (although, I recommend sketching your own ideas that come to mind first!)

  3. Draw sketches of possible road sign solutions for your situation

  4. Decide on an idea to draw on your computer

  5. You can use Adobe Illustrator or go to Vectr.com (sign in with Google so you can save)

  6. Create a Shape to hold your sign symbols

  7. Create an Uncomplicated Graphic that represents your situation. It should be scalable - look good big or small.

    • Many Road signs have no need for Text. If you do use Text or Numbers, keep it simple!

  8. Balance and Align all parts on the Road sign so everything is spaced nicely and not close to an edge or another element

  9. Select all the elements and Export the Selection as a PNG file; you may need to click a link and then save the image from the screen by right-clicking on it.

  10. On Google Sites, under Pages, create a new page called Road Sign.

  11. Add your Road Sign image, and describe how your Road Sign represents your situation.

  12. Write about what you learned doing this assignment, mention skills and techniques.

  13. When done, push the Publish button, review the settings, and publish.

  14. Then click the chain-link button, Copy the link for your page, and paste it into Google Classroom to "turn in."

Grading

  • All design is your own. You may re-draw your own versions of images, but do not use others' images as is. Use the Pen tool and Pencil tool to create shapes for any images

  • Overall design matches the situation; explain your reasoning on your page.

  • Balance and Alignment - good spacing, keep major elements away from the edges, even spacing

  • Combination of Color scheme and Graphics demonstrate Unity

  • Practice Economy - nothing complicated or cluttered in the design to distract from quick visual processing

Career Connections

  • Graphic design, Marketing

Resources