Logo Draft Project

Designing a logo for this particular blog was surprisingly difficult. Any good logo must be simple and attractive. I found this to be especially difficult with my ground service work and travel theme. I first started with the images that I thought best encapsulates my job, and ability to fly. Some ideas that came to mind were a silhouette of the plane I work with, a person marshaling in a plane, and a passport. Though these concepts might lend themselves well to other endeavors, I wasn’t sure they were quite minimalistic enough for a logo. I ended up choosing a bag as the main focal point for my logo, because of how well it works with both concepts of my motif. I also thought an image of a bag would be a more natural vehicle for text. Following drivedigital.ca’s top 5 logo principles, I went with a generic suitcase design to create a sense of timelessness. I also see this as an appropriate choice because of how universally relatable an image of luggage can be.

To start my logo I first created a rounded rectangle shape and colored it. To make the handle I created another rounded rectangle of the same color, but without a fill. From there I used the scissors tool to snip the shape in half, and aligned it with my bag. To create a sense of motion I rotated the bag slightly, and added a 3D effect to give it depth. I found that expanding both the bag and handle while giving it the 3D effect was the wrong action, because the handle appeared to be as wide as the bag. By keeping them separate I was able to place the handle where I wanted it on the top of the bag, and it blended rather well. To add to the sense of motion I also added a bag tag with a fluttering appearance, and also gave it a 3D effect. In the middle of the bag I placed generic travel stickers with my intended text “Russell Hustle.”

I created everything from scratch. For my final draft I plan on simplifying the overall appearance, and improving the relationship between each shape. Let me know how you think I can approve this logo. I appreciate any and all feedback!

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Russell Hustle Logo Sketch

Continuing with the theme of ground service work and travel benefits, I plan to create a simple logo that expresses both. My logo draft will be a generic suit case with minimalistic travel stickers, encircled by the text: Russell Hustle. Wish me luck! Disclaimer: I am in no way proficient in the arts. 

Illustrator Tutorials

Graphic Design Final

I began this project with the hope of conveying the contrast between my work life and play life as an airlines ground service agent. My original draft contained travel photos layered directly behind my selfie at work in the rain. The purpose was to show what keeps me going in the most unfavorable circumstances. My peer reviews however, helped me to realize that the travel photos directly behind the propeller and body appeared cluttered, and drowned out the plane. In my final draft I sought to make a clearer distinction by keeping these two concepts separate. This supports the dichotomy better, because the travel photos are clearer and not effected by the rain at work. To explicitly unify the two subjects I included a simple text “Not work, Work” so as to invite the viewer to decide for themselves whether or not the trade off is worth it.

I started with my work selfie as a back drop for the picture. It was not quite tall enough so I increased the canvas size from 1200 pixels to 1500 pixels. I used the magic wand to select just me and the plane so I could move it further down the piece and create even more room. After talking with my sister-in-law, she offered me one of her rainfall actions, which I applied to create a more realistic downpour effect. I had to set the opacity lower, and increase the contrast and brightness of my background so it would come through better. I applied 4 separate drop shadows to the plane and myself to really make them pop. From there I began adding my travel photos, and spent a considerable amount of time on the composition and layering of them all. With this final draft I wanted to create more similarity between the photos so I gave them all the same stroke effect. In doing so I wanted them to slightly resemble a Polaroid, but not too much.

All photos are my own, and the rain action I used was Madeline Timm’s. She can be contacted at https://www.madelinetimm.com/contact.

Graphic Design Draft

Disclaimer: I’m not an artist

For this graphic design project my goal was to convey the contrast between the hard work of an airlines ground service agent, and the incredible opportunities it provides outside of the job. I chose one of my less glamorous selfies as a foreground to show the rain or shine conditions the work demands. Behind and above me I included snapshots of travel I’ve done with my flight benefits, which would have been unaffordable otherwise. I purposefully strayed from the thought bubble cliche, and wanted the scenes to take up the majority of the background to express how these memories are the main motivating factor for remaining at this job. I was careful to keep the images behind the plane so as to establish a hierarchy of importance. Though I am constantly recalling the fun times I’ve had traveling, I don’t let it interfere with my job at hand. I’d like to find a better way to portray the concept of a preoccupation with travel, than the scrap-booky way it turned out.

The original picture of me in the rain does not have a whole lot of motion in it so I layered in a stock photo of rain drops to create the impression of downpour (link below). Each travel photo varies in opacity based on its coloring and intensity in relation to the rain backdrop. I liked the idea of giving each one a different layering style to create a unique individualized feel, but I question whether that may have detracted from the picture’s overall unity. There was a lot of trial and error at first as I got the order of layering down right. I found it logically simpler to start completely over, then to try and alter the base image with the other layers already added. The most difficult learning curve for me was to figure out the subtle program quirks like having to press enter before being able to move on to the next task.

What do you think? How can I improve this image? Is it too cluttered? Disorganized? Do certain areas need more light or contrast? Let me know what you think! Any and all critiques are welcome!

https://www.pexels.com/photo/water-rain-raindrops-drops-of-water-8486/

Image Collection

These are the images I plan on using in my graphic design project. My main objective is to convey the stark contrast between my work as an airline ground service agent, and the free time travel it allows me.

Photoshop Tutorial Assignment

Finally learned Photoshop! Meme World here I come!

Ramp Life

I never thought I would work as a Ground Service Agent (GSA) for an Airlines company. I always felt bad for the guys and gals who handled luggage. Every time I traveled I would look out my plane window and see these sullen looking individuals leisurely pacing around, or hectically throwing bags into a cart. It seemed like such miserable work and I never could imagine why anyone would want to subject themselves to all the constant noise, gas fumes, and heavy lifting.

I’m from Alaska, and my wife grew up in Washington state. After our first 3 years of marriage in Coos Bay, Oregon we decided to move closer to family. Alaska was a tough sell because of the horrible weather Hannah experienced during her 3 previous trips there. Flight benefits were my last hope of seeing my beloved family and state on a regular basis. Luckily I was turned down on my first interview for a customer service agent position. I’ve since learned that angry people can be much more exhausting than heavy bags.

During my two and a half years working as a GSA I’ve got to experience some pretty incredible things on and off “the ramp”. I would like to dedicate this blog to the life of a “ramper”, and highlight the remarkable contrast between our work and rest. I think that contrast would be best conveyed through photoshop and the graphic design project. I also plan on conducting interviews of my peers for the Video Story to capture the incredible diversity both in culture and perspective at work. Since I have all the devices necessary, I will source most of the images, and all of the audio and video files myself.

I’ve included some links below from my inspiration file that will likely influence my future blog posts. I look forward to sharing this crazy life style with all of you this semester!

QX Catch-All: A closed facebook page for individuals in my company to post frustrations, shout-outs, recent travels, etc. All work groups are represented so gives a  more holistic understanding of airline culture.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1645949455640839/?multi_permalinks=1992640610971720&notif_t=group_highlights&notif_id=1504281147079597

Ramp Lives Matter: A humorous Facebook community from the perspective of ground service agents. Memes and funny pictures aplenty!
https://www.facebook.com/ramplivesmatter/

#Rampagent Instagram: A collection of pictures and videos taken from Ground Service Agents all across the world.
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/rampagent/