My current portfolio with entries from design work to paintings and other art pieces.

1. Portfolio
of
nahavranek@bsu.edu
at
Visual Communication Major
Ball State University

2. Booklet Layout
Goal:
Design a black and
white, printable layout for an
article about design.
Story:
Discovery by Design is
an article that describes how
typography is something to be
cherished. The actual design
was to be decided by the
artist, with the article in mind.
D I S C OV E RY
DESIGN
by
My Solution:
I decided to
include the recognizable
‘x’-marks-the-spot symbol of
a map with actual images of a
map to make the metaphor of
typography being a tresure
that can be discovered. The
black bars in the center of the
spreads is a repeating trend in
my layout that relates the
larger text to the smaller text
within the black bar. Treasure
map ‘x’s, the black bars, the
footprints, and the images of
aerial landscapes are all
repeating elements within
my layout.
Programs Used:
Adobe
Photoshop, Adobe InDesign,
Adobe Illustrator
Nick Havranek
nahavranek@bsu.edu
The top image is the cover and back of my
book. The right side the cover and the left
side being the back. The bottom image is a
sample of two of the 12 pages in the layout.

3. Three-Dimensional
Words
Goal:
Create 3D words that
represent the meaning of each
word using photography and
any materials.
Story:
While creating my
pieces, I used many other
materials, such as makeup,
garbage, and clothing in
addition to the ones seen on
this slide.
My Solution:
Looking at a
photo does not convey the
feeling of looking at any 3D
artwork in person, but these
are the pieces that I find the
most successful in doing so.
Exude is dripping out of the
ceiling. “Adroit” is spelled
with the body. “Damage” is
ripped apart.
Programs Used:
Adobe
Photoshop, Adobe InDesign
Nick Havranek
nahavranek@bsu.edu
I used Photoshop to increase the
brightness and contrast in certain
areas of each piece. I also edited
out the second ‘d’ in “damage”
using Photoshop.

4. Pattern
Wallpaper
Goal:
To create a piece of
wall-hangning art which is
functional and displays a
repeating pattern
Story:
This wallpaper is
designed to be hung in a
modern teahouse. The
pattern will attract a younger
audience in the hypothetical
town in which it is placed
My Solution: The bright,
high contrast colors combine
with the natural weaving
background and the simple,
yet recognizable, Japanese
character to create a pattern
that is enjoyable, without
being too intrusive.
Programs Used: Adobe
Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop,
Adobe InDesign
Nick Havranek
nahavranek@bsu.edu

5. Abstract Oil
Painting
Goal:
Create an oil painting
from either an objective or
nonobjective idea. Use at
least 20 different oil
painting techniques.
Story:
I wanted to create a
beautiful, yet somehow
chilling painting. An abstract
eye surrounded by abstrated
lashes and tears seemed
perfect for me.
My Solution:
The project
had resticted my color options
somewhat by defining my
underpaintings and which
techniques I had to use. In
the end, the painting
combined light glazes with
heavier scumbles. The bright
colors remain with the faded
edges of black or white. The
corners of the eye itself blend
out to make it appear more
three dimensional.
Nick Havranek
nahavranek@bsu.edu
Above is the scaled version of the four
foot by two foot painting and a close-up
of some details in the piece.

6. Acid Etching
Print
Goal:
Design and create a rug
patterned metal plate etching
with acid. After the plate is
designed, introduce “rug”
patterns by pressing fabric
into the ground on the plate.
Story:
The rug is a chart of
the lunar cycle. The brain at
the bottom of the print
represents lunacy. The wave
coming out of the Earth is a
symbol for the affected tide
by the moon. And the sun sits
in the background to light the
cycle. Clouds line the borders
of this piece.
My Solution: The clouds use
a swirling, open pattern. The
sun has a crystal, aluminium
pattern to represent the
shining and exploding surface
of the sun. The bright center
piece is contrasted enough to
draw a lot of attention to the
Earth and moons. I kept the
designer feeling in my etching
by using strong lines and
dramatic bright lines.
Nick Havranek
nahavranek@bsu.edu
Above, you can see the process by
which I designed and inked the print.
The top-left image is of the sketch of
the design. In the bottom-left corner
sits the actual plate which I etched.
And the largest image is of the final
print with the patters.

7. Woodblock
Print
Goal:
Design a woodblock
print which consits of
natural forms.
Story:
I decided to do my
woodbloack project on the
subject of insects because of
their connection to life and I
wanted to show them all in a
kind of spiritual manner.
My Solution: The color
choice of green continues the
naturalistic feeling of the
insects. The repetition of
similar shapes were chosen to
make the piece feel almost
symmetrical. As the main
focus, the cicada is the
brightest and most
contrasted subject.
Nick Havranek
nahavranek@bsu.edu

8. Interactive
Website
Goal:
Make an interactive
website using multiple pages
and a site plan to link the
pages together.
Story:
My website is about
self-discovery and
self-acceptance. I used
images of myself and titles
the project “Self-Centered”
for that reason.
My Solution: Each image is
carefully planned and place
with other images that relate
in some way to the phrase
that appears when hovering
over the images or the
surrounding images. I used
Dreamweaver and basic
coding to design this
simple website.
Programs Used: Adobe
Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop,
Adobe InDesign, Adobe
Dreamweaver
My interactive website:
nahavranek.iweb.bsu.edu
Nick Havranek
nahavranek@bsu.edu

9. Typographic
Tool Exploration
Goal:
Use manual, typographic
methods to create interesting
designs while studying each
individual letterform. The
colors are restricted to a
palette of black and white
Story:
While creating
handmade letterforms and
phrases, I used stencils,
pencils, markers, a copier,
and even stickers.
My Solution:
My project
draws attention from the
overlapping of words and
characters. The use of only
black and white forces high
contrast and creates a
dramatic reading of
each piece.
Each letter was created in black and then
coppied and cut to make the disjointed
pieces into a signle piece that inverts
colors or the white paper into black paper.
Nick Havranek
nahavranek@bsu.edu

10. Nick Havranek
Visual Communication Major
Ball State University
nahavranek@bsu.edu