Here we are at the end! I have learned so much this semester and I hope I’ve become a better designer because of it. For my final portfolio, I knew I wanted to incorporate my brand name, Climbing Ivy Productions. I used Illustrator (wahoo! I know how to use Illustrator!) to create this gorgeous climbing ivy for my intro slide. After I was finished, it did look beautiful…but a little too beautiful. Since my audience is potential clients, I wanted to appeal to all sides of the spectrum–not just the flowery feminine. So I had to “kill my darlings” so to speak. I saved my pretty flowers for another time and created a more streamlined ivy symbol. Then I got to work choosing my projects and the order. I decided to use a gradient background with varied colors to match the projects. But every time I tried to upload it to slideshare, some of the background gradients wouldn’t show up. So after a little frustration, I went back to my powerpoint and changed all the slides to gradient green like the first page. After I did that, I decided I liked it better that way. Everything looked more simple and unified (unify the parts, amiright?) and the green actually showed up for the party. Not like pale pink and pale gray. They were party poopers.
I wanted my message to convey simplicity. I wanted my projects to shine so I did little else aside from a gradient, a title, and a small leaf icon to tie everything together.
I really like ivy.
Critique: I got some awesome feedback this week. I actually kind of love it when people nit-pick because I want perfection. Melanie suggested I make sure my link actually worked and fix the gradient on a few slides. For some reason, when I uploaded the pdf to slideshare, a few slides lost their background! Oh, technology.
Brother Stucki suggested I fix the alignment and tracking on one of my slides. He also reiterated the need for a live link and fixed gradients. He also suggested I use correct capitalization. I took all these suggestions, plus a few new ideas I had, and created my finished product:
Climbing Ivy Productions 
Amy – you were born to design (among other things 🙂 I just love your work, and your writing as well. You are funny and oh-so talented. I will miss seeing your designs. You have set the bar superbly high in this class and I have learned a lot from you. I agree with all the changes that you made on your slides (except the capitalization – I preferred it the other way but I would have changed it too because of who suggested it LOL). Your work is fun, yet tasteful and professional. It was so fun having you in my class. Good luck to you my friend.
Kerri
Here is a link to Taylor’s blog:
https://taylorsplaceblog.wordpress.com/
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Hi Amy, you always do a great job in all your designs. It still makes me laugh when I see your introduction, I don’t think anyone would have known if you hadn’t brushed your teeth. You always impress me with your designs. Your Magazine design always touches my heart. May the Lord bless you with comfort and strength as you design the rest of your life.
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The changes you made to the final portfolio worked beautifully. I love the green gradient background and the ivy touches. Throughout the semester, I really enjoyed seeing what you would come up with for your projects. You are a talented designer and I hope you have many opportunities to share your talent in the future.
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Amy,
I love your slideshow design. I also love your Climbing Ivy design but agree that the simple ivy for this project is just what your slideshow needed. Perfect. I love that you unified the gradient color and used green throughout the whole show. My favorite piece of art (I think) is your movie poster. You look very cute in that picture. I also like that you added a small green leaf next to each of your titles because that added just an extra flare that is cool. I have loved seeing your designs this semester and I think that you have created projects that you can be proud of. Great job.
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I think your portfolio is excellent. I love the ivy design and that you used the little leaf on every slide. I love your personality that is evident in your work and your writing. It has been a joy to have a class with you. I enjoy seeing your work and your comments. Thank you for being such a great part of this class.
https://katiehaleblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/final-portfolio/
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I so love this portfolio. I’ve learned so much from you this semester. Your talent and eye for design are amazing. I love your movie poster. You did an excellent job with all of these projects and you should be proud!
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