“Intelligent self-directed learning is better than formal education. Never be afraid to take a road less traveled—an uncertain path that conflicts with the norm.” – Robert I. Brown
At the end of February, I discovered Skillshare and fell in love. It was everything that a bored college student with design, photography, programming, and entrepreneurial ambitions could ask for. So during March, on top of my 30 Days Projects, online college credits, and traveling, I split my time between five (yes 5!) Skillshare classes that I just couldn’t resist. It was a lot to take on, and I saved a lot of the work for the last week of the month…but I got a lot done and I am so proud of the results that I wanted to share them here! So here we go:
Intro to UI Design: Friendly Design for Startups & Small Business
The project was to design a lean one-page site for a startup of your choice. I was going to stick with the Party-Starter company suggested by the teacher, but it was too hard not to mimic what she had already mocked up herself as an example. It was inspiring to watch her create a beautiful website from scratch in less than 30 minutes, and I aspire to be able to do that some day. Mine took me hours, but I’m excited about the result! It revolves around my idea of making it easier to find trails and parks and all the relevant information you need to explore them. Maybe I’ll be able to actually put it into use someday soon 😉
Map Design: Learn to Communicate Places Beautifully
The project was to create an amazing visual map or travel guide. This class was such an inspiration to me, that I’ve taken on an entire project series of mapping the National Parks for a website idea I have. But for the class itself, I wanted to look to where I’ll be living in just a few months (Portland), and create a guide for all the amazing places I want to hit while there. The idea is to take this design and make it interactive, so that you can hover your mouse over one of the trees (which are all currently saved as layers named after the place they represent) and information on and pictures of that trail/park/landmark will pop up with a link to more. It’s all about simplicity and ease of use.
Information Design: Turn Ideas into Infographics
The project was to design a simple map infographic. Simple, being the key word for me. I was inspired by a post I found with details about the type of people who use each filter on Instagram. It seemed so much more relevant and interesting to me, so I decided to forge my own path instead of using the hurricane information the teachers provided for my infographic. I wanted to stick to the theme of my other projects and look at stats for trails, national parks and other adventures in the U.S. And of course I ended up examining the national scenic trails. The hardest part was finding the data and figuring out how to display it! There’s still a lot more I want to do to this (add the trail lengths, find a better way of displaying the high and low points of the trails, etc.), but I am satisfied for now.
EasyDSLR: Master your Digital Camera in less than 30 days
I’m saving this one to do with the April classes I plan to sign up for. I thought I could get it done with the rest of my March classes, but I realized I was putting unrealistic expectations on myself. I want to be able to really focus on the lectures and the photography project, and I need to give myself the time to do that. There is no rush. Plus, I probably understated how much work I left for the end of March. In April I will do a better job of spreading things out!
Digital Illustration: Communicate with Color, Pattern, and Texture
Oh boy, was I burnt out on this one. The project was to illustrate my interpretation of the word “quiet” or “loud.” I had all these visions of mountains and kayaking and hiking tails and yoga and tea when I pictured a final interpretation for “quiet,”…but learning to use Illustrator was tedious and I just wanted to be done with it, so this is my half-assed effort. I’m still trying to master good color combinations. Did I say “master”? I meant obtain just the smallest bit of skill in creating palettes for my projects. Because it’s really tough! The main takeaway with this project is that I am now familiar with the basics of Illustrator. Which is great! (Although, I’ll probably go through and watch the lectures one or two more times…just to solidify everything.)
Next Steps
I am so proud of the work I’ve done for these classes, and I am excited by how much I’ve learned! They completely exceeded my expectations. I’ve enjoyed them so much, that I’m ready for more. I’ve signed up for 3 more courses: Speak UP: Be a Thought Leader + Electrify Your Reach, How to Program iPhone Apps in Three Weeks, and Design Beautiful Apps: iOS App Design (UX) (and of course finishing up the DSLR camera class). I am thrilled for a productive April!
Wendes Gray 