23 Jul Update from Alina Sutherland – Wrapping up at BDA: Illustrator for the win!

Designers are the unsung heroes of our society.
They religiously study and celebrate form, function, and color in a way that benefits the population in arguably almost every aspect of our daily lives. From the chair you’re sitting on to the screen you’re reading this article on, some designer, in a far off city, was probably up late dreaming about its conception. If I wanted to be dramatic I would liken them to God, but no one needs that kind of pressure.

Anyways, I’m always delighted to have the opportunity to learn from designers because they have a unique way of viewing the world that I find refreshing. I’m not an aspiring designer by any means.

I do, however, strive to have a general competence in regards to design and the corresponding Adobe programs that are used, which is why I chose the full day intensive Hands-On with Adobe Illustrator course for my second BDA + SheSays scholarship class.

Our instructor was designer Michael Chavez who approached the entire instruction of the course with the style and deliberate detail that you would expect from someone who has worked in visual communication for over a decade.

He began the course by introducing us to a website that he built specifically for this class (so designer-y of him). On this site, he visually mapped the outline for what we would be learning about in the class, as well as additional Illustrator short cuts, cheat sheets, and anything we might find useful after we left the class.

Having access to this website sort of blew my mind—in a good way. Chavez went way beyond being our instructor for the day; he created a tool for us to use when we got stuck outside of class. As a fellow over-achiever, I salute you, Chavez.

What followed the introduction was a thorough instruction on what Illustrator is used for and how to use it. Illustrator, as a program, is extremely user friendly once you understand the basics, and before we knew it we were all building vector images and manipulating types within the program. I really loved learning the program, however, the nugget of knowledge that I really felt excited about was actually a website that Chavez clued us in to: color.adobe.com. This site allows you to create your own color libraries based off of whatever images you want. I immediately began creating libraries from my favorite personal photos and movies.

As someone who is already familiar with most Adobe programs, having the ability to create my own color library adds an entirely new personal aspect to my work—which I think is a good metaphor for design in general.

I think what makes good design feel so powerful is its flexible depth; it’s ability to speak to many in a personal way.

Overall, I would highly suggest taking a class at BDA if you’re considering it.
They provide students with thoughtful instructors and high quality facilities that take the task of learning a new skill to an approachable level.