You Can't Miss: I make my case and D.Ro's graduation announcements

(Again, once I get to the lab, I will update this with photos.)

1. Colourlovers. This place has some neat entries and apparently they are expanding which I am sure is very exciting for them - mostly because I read that it was. For this post, I wanted to highlight the entry about imakemycase.com.

For those of you who have iPhones or blackberries, you'll want to check this out! This site allows users to create personal designs for their phone cases. Some of them look really amazing; I might spend some time decorating my own while dreaming of the day I get a new

phone.

2. Danielle Rodabaugh is ah-mazing. How she manages to crank out her designs for class and stay on top of her personal life, I have no idea. I had wanted to design graduation announcements and gave up due to my lack of time for anything (seriously, I would go into detail, but I think most of you are in the same boat). She, however, designed some fantastic postcards that she then let me steal and manipulate for my own personal use. I of course, gave her a shout out on my card. Check the before and after below.

Response: The last semester

This past semester has been incredible. I say that with every connotation of the word because I don't mean it to sound purely positive. There has been so much going on, and I have wanted to cry sometimes (usually in the design lab when I have whatever our version of writer's block is or when I go home at 3 a.m. and cannot fall asleep even though I have work in six hours). I have, however, really enjoyed getting to know our class. It is a shame that it took four years for many of us to get to know one another, but I am glad we eventually did.

I have been so inspired by the things our class has created. The competitions, while sometimes a nuisance, amazed me each time as we all created something different. I have learned a lot from many of you who have greater knowledge and experience than I do when it comes to design, technology and the like; and I appreciate your patience as I have asked so many questions throughout the semester.

I am leaving with a lot more than I had anticipated. (Firstly, let's not go there quite yet. I have a lot to do before next week.) These mini-portfolios might be my demise if I have to scramble to finish them, but I never imagined I would have enough to fill 40 pages. I have very little experience and less clips than many of you, but I will be happy to present my full booklet next week. Some of these pages make me feel very nostalgic for those late nights (well, early mornings...) in the design lab. Someone will have to commit to Skype-ing me at 1 a.m. for the first few weeks after graduation until I get a normal sleep pattern back.

Thanks for a great semester and for all of the things you have taught me! You are all super.

Critique: Murder Covers

So, last week I created three murder covers. I wanted to focus on the things that came to my mind (and the minds of those I polled) when I thought about murder. I can't say that any were particularly imaginative because we all came up with similar ideas.

The ideas I executed included scene-of-the-crime themed elements such as evidence cards, a chalk outline and the morgue. (I may watch too much NCIS.) The feedback I was given was to combine several of my ideas, such as the words "murder," "mystery" and "mayhem" and the chalk outline that was so clearly inspired by "Anatomy of a Murder."

This is where I will post this combination. (As I am in the library and unable to connect to the server.)