Reflecting on my Campus Signage Project - Part 1

     As I work on this project, I am faced with a dilemma. I am a creative person, I always have been a creative person, or I've at least always associated myself with that identity. This project makes me rethink that. I recall being in high school English classes. I was not a procrastinator, but when it came to assignments where I had to write essays, I was THE procrastinator. I cold not use words in the confines the assignment required, it felt impossible, and I dreaded writing. I was a creative person who could do a lot of creative things, I was good at art, I liked to paint, I thought I had a good eye for things that were conventionally visually appealing. But, I was not a writer and I was okay with this.
     When I started college, I attended DePaul University for a rather creative major - music performance. I still had to take general education classes, which included two English courses. I didn't know what to expect other than I'd probably be writing a lot more than I had to in high school, which turned out to be true, but this time writing was different. It was easier for me. It wasn't necessarily better, but I could put words together and answer questions on paper. I think somewhere between getting better at organizing thoughts within the box of a given topic and being able to crate something visually appealing, there was a bit of a trade off for me.
     While walking around campus, I don't generally pay attention to many flyers, or signs. I notice them, but they are more of a passive thing in my field of vision. I've narrowed my work down to two different signs I think could use improvement. One is a little more appealing - it was my sorority's recruitment flyer which I thought was too wordy and could have had a better organization and flow to it. The other is an awful scholarships screen that pops up on NIU computers prior to login. The visual is boring and it's overall a pretty lazy sign. As I continue to work on redesigning this sign, I think I'll get a better feel of whether my imagination is dwindling or Microsoft Publisher is too limiting.