I think the best way to describe it is by comparing it to a love/hate relationship. I absolutely loved it because it gave me an outlet to explore my creativity to use and understand design software that is certainly going to be useful to me in my future career. If it weren't for this class, chances are I wouldn't have come in contact with the Adobe Creative Suite until I made it out into the real world. I enjoyed GRA 217 because it forced me to push myself and explore my own creativity. GRA 217 was by far the most challenging class I've taken in Newhouse, simply because it was so time consuming and I am beyond terrible with computers. I am thankful for the design skills I have picked up, because they are certainly going to come in handy throughout the rest of my Newhouse career and beyond.
The one thing I will say is that I wish we had more lab time, and perhaps lab TAs who knew a bit more about what they were doing. A lot of the time I felt like my questions would go unanswered. I felt as though the only way you really learned something was on your own through trial and error, asking the lab technicians at the help desk, or by getting help from Paul or Professor Taylor during lab help sessions or office hours. I suppose it is better that you learn the programs on your own, because I think it sticks with you better that way, but I was under the impression that as a lab TA, you are supposed to know the software in and out so that you can teach the students who don't know how to use the programs...how to use them. I guess this is not the case.
To end on a happy note, it is kind of bittersweet that the class is coming to an end. I enjoyed (most) of the projects very much, and it's nice to sit back and look at your work, knowing that you yourself designed so many different pieces. Can't say I'm going to miss the stress and the many hours living in the lab though!
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