Technology Choice: Adobe Illustrator Version 27.2 On Macbook Air 

 

3 features to master

Drawing Lines and curves

  • I already have a good amount of experience working with this feature from visual design however I do not have experience with this in terms of creating product mockups. I need to play around with this feature more to better understand how I can use it to create products. 

Color Design 

  • Color design will be essential in the creation of my project because I will need to be picking colors that reflect the mood and characteristics of the brand that I am creating. In order to do this I want to study the color options on Adobe Illustrator and figure out how to utilize these within design operations of the site. 

Effects 

  • I want to go through Adobe and figure out what effects will be useful in the creation of product design. I have not had a chance to understand all of these different effects so it will be useful for me to watch multiple different tutorials and videos to get a better understanding of some of the more complex effect options that Adobe Illustrator has to offer. 

 

3 Design Features that Emphasize Sociability

Creativity 

  • Adobe Illustrator is extremely user friendly and allows people interested in graphic design for both personal and professional use to utilize their creative capabilities. These designs that are created can be used for logos, artwork, product creations etc. All of these different applications of the software increase sociability because these are designs that are meant to be shared with others. 

Teamwork

  • Adobe emphasizes the ways in which their products have the potential to be used by people who are collaborating within groups. They have features with their products where the user is able to work on a project alongside other people. These designs can also be shared with others once it is completed or while it is still being worked on, meaning there is a social aspect to the creativity of the application. 

Education

  • Many students learn the Adobe applications while in school because their design features are very impressive. For example, I first downloaded Adobe Premiere Pro while I was taking the course digital filmmaking, and developed a good understanding of this application while in that course. Education is a social event because it promotes collaboration with others, especially in fields such as Communications or Film. 

 

3 Ways the Technology/Material Reflects Cultural Values?

Storytelling 

  • One of the most important values about Adobe products and in this case, Adobe Illustrator, is that it allows everyone to tell their story. These products highlight individuality by lacking many templates and backgrounds for users to use. Adobe is all about creativity, using a black canvas to create your own story and tell it however you need to. It is extremely important that people of all different backgrounds and experiences have the opportunity to create art and design in order to make the design space more inclusive and for everyone. 

Diversity and Inclusion

  • Adobe always highlights its passion for diversity and inclusion. Their advocacy shows a clear passion for creating products that highlight multiple different experiences and are accessible to those with different backgrounds and opportunity levels. https://www.adobe.com/diversity/what-we-believe.html

Employee Opportunities

  • It’s important to look at the hiring practices of a company such as Adobe especially when they make such bug claims about their diversity values and education. From my research, it seems like Adobe does greatly care about making their company environment very inclusive by hiring people of different races and backgrounds for various different teams in the company. They want to ensure diverse hiring tactics. 

 

3 ways the technology/material will afford my actions

Accessible 

  • For any aspects of the technology that I may not understand, there will be plenty of online resources that will educate me in what I am trying to learn. Since Adobe Illustrator is such a popular tool for designers, there is so much information out there for me to use to my advantage when trying to understand the platform fully. 

Creative Vision

  • Adobe Illustrator really allows your design visions to come to life because it lets you create directly from a sketch based on the tools that they provide. I will be able to easily see how my sketches can be turned into practical designs based on their blank canvas. 

Features

  • Adobe Illustrator has a plethora of design features that will make it so anything I dream up, I can probably accomplish. 

 

Ways the technology/material will not afford my actions

Expertise 

  • I am not an expert in using this platform. I have used it a few times before, and I have taken courses and watched tutorials to understand it but I am not an expert. It can be extremely confusing to use at some points because you’re basically staring at a blank page with a bunch of buttons and for a lot of them, I don’t know what they do. This project is going to take a lot of learning and educating myself before I understand it.