My illustrator project is an infographic titled, “Microplastics in Oceans”; for this project, I chose to mix both Canva and illustrator. My intended audience was people who use plastics in their everyday life and want to learn more about plastic pollution and/or how to reduce microplastics in the ocean. Plastic pollution has many misconceptions and is only ever talked about at the surface level. I was trying to communicate more education about plastics to a more public audience. For example, plastic pollution and microplastics in the ocean are often associated with straws –which I included in the pictures– but people almost never realize it’s in dust, markings, coatings, textiles, and much more. Although some reductions and effects are discussed, the types are rarely made the focus, which I felt was also important. All in all, I was trying to communicate that microplastics in our oceans are complicated; they have many: causes, types, effects, and ways to reduce them.
The features of the project effectively convey the message to the audience. Firstly, I would say the title stands out and looks a little childish to convey a subconscious message of innocence. Often when people think about pollution and the effects of living in unsustainability they think about future generations and there innocence in terms what they have contributed to pollution, overconsumption, and overuse of resources. I also used small aquatic animal characters for a similar reason but so that the viewer feels a sense of empathy for the animals this problem is effecting. Additionally, I used text as titles and bullet points for general education purposes to convey a very straightforward message. These animals are also surrounded by images of the things in the bullet points so that even if someone doesn’t stop to read it, they still understand the message. I used the classic “THANK YOU” that used to be on plastic bags and a crossed out water bottle because they are common things associated with microplastic pollution. By using images along with words I was able to convey an informational message.
To create this project I started with a template from Canva. Then, I changed all the text to fit my topic and deleted all the original icons it came with. In essence, I just kept the background from the Canva template because I felt like the blue color, waves, and text boxes were well designed. Next, I added stickers already in Canva and used the category tool within the stickers to find matching stickers. The most time consuming part was making my own icons in illustrator. For example, when I made the water bottle the ten minute tutorial turned into a few hours. I made the water bottle in illustrator out of shapes, by clipping, using the object outline, changing the color, curving specific corners, and a few more tools. I also made the “THANK YOU” print by using text, outline tools, filters, and other tools. Finally, I exported everything into Canva and filled in the empty spaces.
While making this project I learned a lot about illustrator and communication. Compared to the photoshop project I felt I could more freely use words and that made conveying a message a lot easier. I also learned that conveying a topic in an infographic is also difficult because lack of space, and because you want it to be legible from a far. I had never used illustrator before so everything was very new to me. I learned most, if not all the basic tools to a beginner level. All the tutorial really helped me how to figure out all the tools together. For example, with the three dimensional words it was easy to use and see all the tools at once. About myself I learned that if I chose a topic I am genuinely interested in the research takes a lot longer.
On the next project I want to use what I learned in both the illustrator and photoshop project. Some things I want to do differently is change the theme. For the past two projects I’ve done the same theme and I want to venture out to a different topic now. I really liked the final product of both of the previous projects because the tutorials that lead up to it help determine which aspect I can incorporate. By finding more of my own tutorials I can also explore more of what can be done on the designated program.