S | 8 | Sticker Pack / Merch Pattern

This is Unit 8’s project block. Several class meetings under one brief. You’ll be pulling techniques (and possibly artwork) from 8.1–8.4 into one finished, multi-piece set.

Project Idea

Driving Question	How can a small, related set of graphics, stickers, or one repeating merch pattern, feel like one cohesive product instead of four unrelated pieces?
Learning Goals	Apply a brush or a repeating pattern deliberately, not decoratively. Reuse one symbol and one saved graphic style across multiple pieces for visual consistency. Convert at least one raster or hand-drawn source into vector artwork using Image Trace. Use a generative AI prompt as a starting point for at least one element, then hand-edit it.
Project Summary	Design a small sticker pack (4–5 related stickers) or one repeating pattern for a merch product (a T-shirt, a tote bag), combining every Unit 8 technique.
Major Products	A multi-artboard .ai file and a set of per-artboard exports.
Making it Public	Publish the exported set to your Google Sites portfolio.
Key Project Documents	Rubric

[10 Mins] Bell Ringer / Hook

Today’s stinger: name one sticker pack or merch design you’ve actually seen in real life, and one specific thing that makes its pieces feel like a matched set rather than random clip art.

[15 Mins] Project Brief & Demo

“Watch how this one sticker uses a symbol I already built, a shape I traced from a photo, and an AI-generated starting point I hand-edited. Four Unit 8 tools, one small piece of art.”

Required elements checklist (all four required somewhere across your set):

1. Brush or Pattern: a brushed line or a repeating pattern fill used deliberately.
2. Symbol + Graphic Style: one symbol reused at least twice, sharing one saved style.
3. Image Trace: at least one element built by tracing a raster or hand-drawn source.
4. Generative AI: at least one element that started as an AI-generated prompt result, then was hand-edited.

[45 Mins] Studio Time

1. Choose your format: a 4–5 piece sticker pack, or one repeating merch pattern (or both).
2. Sketch a rough layout or theme on paper before opening Illustrator.
3. Build your set in Illustrator, working through the required-elements checklist above. Reuse your 8.1–8.4 files as raw material or reference where it helps.
4. Structured Peer Review (middle project day): trade screens with a partner and run a Plus/Delta pass.

1. Prepare

• The Draft: Ensure your work is exported or ready to view. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Placeholders for missing pieces are okay!
• The Plus/Delta Chart: Create a simple T-chart on a piece of paper or a digital document:
• Plus (+): What is working well? (Strengths, clear storytelling, strong technique).
• Delta (Δ): What should be changed or improved? (The Greek symbol for “change”).

2. The Review Process

• Silent First Pass: Experience the work all the way through once without speaking. This allows the reviewer to experience the “flow” of the piece.
• Second Pass: Go through it again, but this time, the reviewer should jot down specific notes in the Plus and Delta columns.
• The Golden Rule: Feedback should be Specific, Objective, and Kind.
• Bad: “I didn’t like the ending.”
• Good: “The ending felt abrupt because the music cut off before the reporter finished speaking.”

3. Giving Feedback (The Reviewer)

• Identify the “Pluses”: Start with what is successful.
• Suggest the “Deltas”: Instead of just pointing out a mistake, offer a solution.
• Example: “The transition at 0:45 is a bit slow; maybe try a simple cut instead of a dissolve.”

4. Receiving Feedback (The Creator)

• Listen Without Defending: It’s tempting to explain why you made a choice, but for now, just listen and take notes. If a peer is confused, a general audience likely will be too.
• Ask Clarifying Questions: If a note is vague, ask for the exact timestamp or location: “Can you show me exactly where the audio got too loud?”

5. The Revision Plan

After the session, look at your Delta column and prioritize your edits:

1. Level 1 (Critical): Technical errors (missing audio, black frames, typos).
2. Level 2 (Message): Pacing issues or confusing sequences.

3. Level 3 (Polishing): Color tweaks, fancy transitions, or extra effects.

4. Revise based on peer feedback before your final project day.

[30 Mins] GMetrix / BrainBuffet Self-Guided Strand

Continue any remaining GMetrix Module 5/6 progress during earlier project days.

[8 Mins] Save, Export & Submit | Final project day

Organize (File Management)

1. Ensure that Google Drive for Desktop is syncing to your computer.
2. Create a Project Directory (Folder) in your Google Drive Google Drive/My Drive/Digital Design/YYYY-MM PROJECT NAME
3. Try to keep all of your project files for this project together, so your work is not interrupted due to technical issues.

Storing all your files in the /Downloads folder in your computer is a BAD idea. If any of these files are lost/deleted you will have to reconnect them. Put them in your project folder directly. This will also be helpful in the event of any computer issues.

1. In your project directory, maintain subdirectories for every category of resource you will be using.

YYYY-MM Project Name

📁 Graphics

📁 Sketches

📁 Photos

📁 Notes

1. It’s also good to include directories for related files

📁 Project Files

📁 Exports

1. Save your file as LastName_FirstName_S8_StickerPack.ai, with one artboard per sticker (or one artboard for your pattern tile plus one mockup artboard).
2. Use the Asset Export panel with Use Artboards enabled to export the whole set at once.

Publish your work to your Google Sites Portfolio

1. Create a new page on your Google Sites Portfolio to catalog your work.
   • Your work should be exported in a web-safe format in a manner that allows for the work to be embedded without requiring Google Drive permissions
2. Your work should be accompanied by a detailed project description
3. Submit the published portfolio page to your LMS (Schoology)

🗂 Organize: Put a short written rationale naming which Unit 8 techniques you used and where in your binder. Save your finished multi-artboard .ai file in the Project Files folder of your Digital Design project folder on Google Drive. Save your per-artboard exports (Asset Export panel, Use Artboards) in the Exports folder of your Digital Design project folder on Google Drive.