BACKGROUND: You are taking a difficult GRAPHIC DESIGN Final. Lucky you! Please refer to the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS below:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING THE FINAL EXAM IN GRAPHIC DESIGN:

1. WILL MR. B. HELP ME? He could, but not much. Check the FAQ below first, then ask for assistance, if you still need it. He will not tell you how to do anything and will not help you with ideas for your design.
2. DO I HAVE TO TAKE THIS TEST?: If you are sitting there, probably so. You might as well try hard and do your best.
3. HOW DO I START? Follow the INSTRUCTIONS on your linked Final Examination. Make sure to DOWNLOAD the CD TEMPLATE to your folder to get started.
4. DO WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN TESTS? Yes, each student has their own individualized test, complete with your own music and critical commentary from the press about your CD. Make sure you open YOUR TEST, not someone else's!
5. DO I HAVE TO READ ALL OF THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION? Well, Mr. B. would! Any information about the CD to help you make design and illustrations is VERY useful!
6. DO I HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE MUSIC? Well, Mr. B. would! It would be hard to illustrate a CD if you had no idea what kind of music the CD contained.
7. I DON'T LIKE THIS MUSIC! CAN I HAVE DIFFERENT MUSIC? No. As a Graphic Designer, you often need to create designs for subjects and topics that you do not particularly like or care for. This is part of the territory.
8. DO I HAVE TO CREATE A TYPOGRAPHIC TITLE AND ARTIST NAME FOR THIS CD? YES! The TYPOGRAPHY of the name of the CD and the name of the artist is a VERY important part of the design of the CD cover. You MUST create typography that ADDS to the design of the cover and properly carries out the theme of the album and the type of music!
9. WHAT TECHNIQUES SHOULD I BE USING ON THIS FINAL? Excellent question! ALL OF THEM! Impress Mr. B. with the breadth of your skills in Photoshop. Show your skills in Masking, filters, text manipulation, blending, etc. This is your chance to show Mr. B. that you know your way around Photoshop! If you don't know much about Photoshop and don't include any techniques, your grade will likely reflect this.
10. SHOULD I GO LOOK AT THE ORIGINAL ALBUM COVER FOR IDEAS? ABSOLUTELY NOT! You are creating your own design for this project, not copying the original! Besides, looking at the original will corrupt your thinking regarding how your project should look. DO NOT DO THIS!
11. WHAT IF I ALREADY KNOW WHAT THIS CD COVER LOOKS LIKE? I am sorry if that happened. You are at a great disadvantage compared with everyone else. The best I can suggest is to completely FORGET everything you know about the original cover and start all over again.
12. CAN I GET A PHOTO OF THE BAND OR ARTIST FOR MY DESIGN? Please DO NOT do this. This might accidentally show you the album cover, which would be a bad thing for this project. Design without this.
13. DO I HAVE TO HAVE TO INCLUDE ALL OF THE LISTED SONGS ON THE CD? Well, yes! This is a very important part of the CD design.
14. CAN I JUST CUT and PASTE THE SONG LIST ON THE BACK OF THE CD AND BE DONE? Well, you could, but that would be terrible design. Figure out a way to include the song list in a way that ADDS to the design of the CD Cover.
15. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO PUT ON THE COVER? You need to include the production company information on the back of the CD.
16. CAN I JUST PUT A PHOTOGRAPH ON THE CD COVER AND SOME TEXT AND BE DONE? Not if you want a good grade! This cover needs to be DESIGNED! If you just put a photograph and some text, you will receive lower than an F on this project.
17. HOW SHOULD I SAVE THIS PROJECT? Early and often! Hit the save button every five minutes or so, so that you don't lose your work. SAVE your file to your FINAL folder, please EMAIL THE JPG OF YOUR FINAL PRODUCT TO pburkhard@weldre9.k12.co.us when you are done. If you do not email it to Mr. B., you will receive a grade of ZERO.
18. HOW MUCH IS THIS WORTH? Enough points to lower your grade by a full grade level if you do poorly or increase it by a full grade level if you do well.