Independent Study 1

Log:
The following are the dates on which I was working on the yearbook:
9/20-9/24, 9/28, 10/1, 10/8, 10/11, 10/13, 10/18-10/21,10/28, 11/2-11/5, 11/8-11/13, 11/16-11/18, 12/3, 12/6-12/11, 12/13-12/16, 1/4-1/7,1/10-1/13, 1/17-1/22, 1/24-1/26, 1/28, 1/31, 2/7-2/9

The Model Assembly yearbook spread that was completed for my independent component.

 Literal

a) I, Cynthia Schroeder, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work."

b) There are a myriad of things that I have done for my independent task, all under the "completing the yearbook" umbrella of course. What I mean is that being the Editor-In-Chief is a very demanding and stressful job. I always have to have yearbook on my mind as well as always coming up with fresh ideas or new ways to contribute to the book or staff. In example, I am always on the look out for events happening at school. Another example is how I practically drown myself in design magazines and other schools' yearbooks and look for inspiration for my staff and I to use while designing. In my spare time I enjoy going through the stacks of yearbooks I have in my room and analyzing them. Whether it's creating yearbook spreads, managing the staff or handling senior ads, I do it all. However, since my topic is on yearbook design, I have spent a majority of my independent task time designing and inputting content into yearbook spreads.

Interpretive
Although I technically only put five spreads in the binder, I feel it is an adequate representation of what 30 hours of work is. In reality, five spreads is equivalent to only ten pages out of the 132 pages in the book; 64 of which have already been completed. In my binder, I also added all of the drafts that went into creating the final yearbook spread that is ready to be published. In order to do yearbook well, one must be incredibly detail-oriented which is evident due to all of the drafts that have been included in the binder. So even though I only have five spreads in the binder, I have over 55 sheets of paper that are drafts. I did this because I wanted to visually show the reader exactly how much work goes into creating just one yearbook spread let alone an entire book.

Applied
My independent task really helped determine what two of the answers to my essential question are - using inspiration and conceptual yearbook design. While working on the yearbook, Mimi kept telling us and referring us to certain magazines that we should try to embody. She said that they pulled off the look we were going for. Also, I have found that when I use a concept in a yearbook spread (i.e. connecting the headline to the dominant photo) it makes for an overall better product. I've learned that it is our job as yearbook designers to connect the verbal and visual concepts together to invite the reader to read the spread; it makes for an overall more interesting spread.