reaction to "Plain talk about learning and a life in design"

"Plain talk about learning and a life in design" by Sharon Helmer Poggenpohl (found here)
This article spoke about the various routes that designers have in current society. What was very interesting for me was the article stating that all graphic design jobs required an actual degree. When I was completing my Graphic Design Associate Degree, at least 1/3 of the class were older established adults that pretty much had some form of design skills after having worked as a designer for so many years. Most of their situations were that their job was now requiring that they held some form of paper that stated they were graphic designers, even though their employer knew that they could design. I remember that there even was a man in his 70's who was pretty awesome at typography; it feels like a totally different world than the school that I have been for the last three years.

KCAI, I feel was described when the article writer was describing grad school. We are basically making lifelong connections while in class, many of us have put in very long hours and sometimes not sleeping, because we are dedicated to the work that we are doing—or just managed our time incorrectly. Many of us are pretty much so wrapped into graphic design that other classes fade away and a bit so does our outside life. I fully understand that grad school is a different environment, but art school feels like that half step to grad school. Had I just attended a college that had a design program I may not feel as if I am in a mini grad program, but who really knows for sure.

I keep thinking about that statistic that on the low end we will have I think it's 4 or 7 careers in our lifetime—then I wonder how long I will be here in design. At this point, I could definitely see myself going to grad school for some form of design/design writing, but who really knows what the future is going to hold yet. I think I will know in 3–5 years, if design is my main field. I have a variety of interests still, so I'm not majorly concerned if it ends up being some similar field to graphic design or storytelling or communicating. I do think that right now I belong somewhere in the design or advertising field and can't wait to learn more. I'm also excited for the possibility to move around and see what design culture is like in different states + cities, perhaps even countries. 

I wonder where my classmates + professors will end up though...hmm

my pecha kucha presentation.

As part of AIGA, we had 2 Pecha Kucha presentations this semester. I was supposed to present at the first one, but came down with the flu so I presented this time. It went OK. I ended up not fully using my notes because I had written down a bit too much to say, so I glanced off what I wrote and spoke based on the images that I put on the slides.

It was definitely an interesting + intense experience needing a careful selection of words while staying social; I definitely had a few snags in continuing to talk about the previous slide while on the next slide. I just hope that it was informational + a bit personality driven that it went well.

print portfolio digital layouts. take 02.

Below are the updated pages from last class. each spread is the front + back of one page—split spread in middle and you have one loose page for my portfolio. Those little gray rectangles are to be cut out as that is where the portfolio will be cut. I know that I still need to fix some of the image quality, but I put in what I could find, the descriptor text and I created the "what I learned" part. I couldn't even think how to use this format for my writer hybrid part, so that will be a good chunk of my next step or figuring out how to make another booklet for the writing part. As for now, my thought is that a potential employer would open up my portfolio and dive right into my work and the last sheet is the photo of me with my bio and contact information. This weekend I also need to build the container/binder part of my portfolio.

print portfolio digital layouts. take 01.

These are the two sides of my portfolio sheets that I was working with on Monday. The pages are 9 x 9. I wasn't sure if I wanted any text or how much on the side with the main image, so I added a bit but not a ton. The second side is really the description of what it is and a sentence or two about what I learned while completing that project. I experimented with some different body text as well as that quote/lesson learned for each project.

side A option01 (with crop marks).


side A option 02 (with crop marks).

side B option 01 (with crop marks).

side B option 02 (with crop marks).

side B option 03 (with crop marks).

side B option 04 (with crop marks).

side B option 05 (with crop marks).

"an open letter to design students everywhere" response.

"An Open Letter to Design Students Everywhere" by Jessica Helfand

This article basically spoke to that fact that no matter the major + no matter the age that we get out of school; the newly graduated is normally nervous of the future. THUS, calm down y'all (myself included) before it becomes a negative issue. Post graduation is still a time of learning and growing, just in a different format than school. Learning in school gave us the ability to just reach blindly and leap; we had freedom to explore. Post graduation our learning and growing is more about our self and the way we work. We should ask lots of questions + be informed of who gets what kinds of jobs to better figure out where you belong. We're really not about to be in a new age of figuring ourselves + our favorite design methods out. Embrace it and run, for we will get nowhere walking.

two quote highlights of article.
"Later on, you’ll look at what you wrote and saved and drew and you will realize that without even trying, you created a time-capsule that is, itself, a manifestation of what mattered."

"Your education will not end the day you graduate: on the contrary, what you're doing is learning how to learn, and how to think, and how to visualize the ideas that percolate in your brain."

business card update.

front of business card option.

I've been doing some more work on my business card. As of right now my plan has been to Moo Print, but the dimensions that I was initially working at where different than Moo's dimensions. So I am test printing some options from Moo and seeing how they work out—here's to hoping at least one looks stellar.

back of business card option 01.

back of business card option 02.


back of business card option 03.


back of business card option 04.


back of business card option 05.

three conversations presentation.

Below is the presentation that I gave today as the condensed conversations that I had with 2 designer or 1 writer. I had some issues consolidating all of the information that I found out + hope that I gave all three professionals a positive image to my classmates + professors.

reaction to "HR lessons from Steve Jobs."

"HR lessons from Steve Jobs" excerpt from What Would Steve Jobs Do?: How the Steve Jobs Way Can Inspire Anyone to Think Differently and Win by Peter Sander (McGraw Hill)] 

When I first started reading this article, I was hesitant to follow Steve Jobs lesson/employee finding procedure, but I read on and realized that I did in fact agree with his methods. I've been finding for the last 7 years that the people that are of the most benefit are the ones that are unbeknownst moments of interaction. I can't tell you the number of times that I have been sitting places and observing some of the same people walking by on a regular interval to only meet them months to years later and become friends or coworkers. Whenever that happens, it actually is super fascinating to me. Then I often ponder if it was all with reason that I saw them so many times before yet not know them.

"recruit a team of diverse, well-traveled, and highly skilled pirates, and they’ll follow you anywhere."

The line above is pretty solid but also true. The number of officer teams/groups of individuals that I have had around me over the years, whether I had a "higher title" or not is larger than I can count on my hands. Most of the teams were full of individuals that did not have their lives together; there often was at least one drama focused person, if not two individuals that were always sparing.

What often worked well with these teams, were the varied minds that came together to solve problems. It wasn't necessarily a walk in the park, but our jobs/tasks always got done. There were always at least a few individuals who rose to more lead roles, but we all had our spot. 85% of the officers that I have had over the years have been dedicated to the various organization causes and that truly is why we succeeded. A great group of individuals means nothing if they aren't invested and don't feel passionate at all about the end goal.

You can never replace true dedication and those are individuals that I have never broken ties with; they are the individuals that will come in handy one day—keep them close, but not a choke hold. :)

annaleavebehinds.

I've been trying to think of a versatile series of materials that will focus on the aspect of storytelling + sharing without heavily focusing on the media in which is being used to express. I do have an affinity for printed materials, specifically books + magazines. It is because of that love that I think that it would be best if I utilized a format of materials that I love. 

On the flip side of that, I have the little letter pressed card in here for the tactile nature of it. Although I personally do not currently have experience in that area, I love letter pressed items for the sensation of touch. I'm really in love with texture in all medias, especially extremes hence my wide range in music from the fluid, strong and soft pop music such as Katy Perry, Maxwell + Frankie Valli to powerhouse vocals such as Gloria Gaynor + Aretha Franklin to the hard industrial sound of KMFDM, Raymond Watts + Nine Inch Nails to very gritty and hard edged rappers such as Stevie Stone + Kendrick Lamar to composers such as Frederic Chopin + Igor Stravinsky to many other singers, bands, composers and forms of sound/music. I want my written + visual voice to be the focus with small times of surprise like when you are opening a gift and don't know yet if this item is something that you hinted at that you wanted or something completely unknown.

all examples were found off Behance.

book option 01 | Michael Pharaoh.

book option 02 | Alex Fergusson.

magazine option 01 | Jiani Lu

mailer option | Mash Creative.

minibook option | Ana Pedro Henriques, Diogo Azevedo + Joana Francisca Freitas.

poster potential | Thomas Wong.

lil print pressed card | Walter Hansen

tear open a moment. | Jorge Fernández Puebla

I really enjoyed the moment of feeling like the piece was just for you; no one else has seen this but you. There is a lot of magic in that moment of believing that something was made just for you and your eyes only. This reminds me of one of my birthdays when my brother taped these two attached sheets of paper to my bedroom door, causing me to open it carefully as the paper was thin and I didn't know what was within. The front was a note in his handwriting, "for your eyes only." And man was I happy that I did not tear that paper too rough because there was a Nine Inch Nails concert ticket within.

the future ponder.

I’ve been doing more focused thinking for the last couple weeks about my future and where I see it going. To be totally honest here, I’ve no one interest or love that is high above the rest. I enjoy versatility and the ability to move around. Community college was great because each Associate Degree that I received was a two-year commitment. The four years that I was at community college, other than the two degrees, I was most involved in Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges at both the school (chapter) and the state (regional) level. I was also involved in Program Board, a group of work-study students that were in charge of most free events on campus in the form creating some new events, then promoting and working them. I miss presenting educational sessions as well as running conferences. I also miss being in charge of + running our biannual induction ceremonies, including actually inducting the new members.

At that same time in community college, I worked at a public library in the children’s department. I shelved books, helped with seasonal reading programs, as well as helped with physical planning and moving of the book + audiovisual collections within the department. I also volunteered in the technology department at that library to help process books and other materials. By processing I mean from the physical point of adding plastic book jackets over the book covers, writing/printing/applying the spine labels to the books, changing the materials’ status in our online card catalogue and really anything else that was needed done.

The rest of my time was spent attending concerts and performances, watching as many films as I could, reading as many books as possible, writing, taking photos, expressing myself via art and stopping by various departments in the library + at my school to chat with people. I once thought myself something close to a Renaissance man; the skills in multiple areas based on interests, passions and life lessons. I was highly imaginative + not focused on where these interests, skills or connections would take me in life; I focused on the here and now, having learned multiple times not to plan for the future that may never come.

I’ve always had the: pleasure of thinking all the time, need to help others + build connections to those above me, need to give every task my all, need to prove myself, want to make my motina + brolis proud, intense fascination with psychology + the mind/memories in general, as well as the personality to be what people needed, especially in the form of listener + problem solver.

Moving out to the MO changed a lot of that for me. There were not organizations that I had been involved with in the past nor any new ones that I wanted to join. I was in a new environment that I had no knowledge with and I had a totally different mindset than many of the people that I first met at school here. My focus was my education, as the loans had begun as soon as I moved out here, I knew that I had to push hard through all that I didn’t know or understand; it HAD to work or I go back as a failure in the eyes of many individuals. It has been a hard last three years for me, but I have learned things about design, life and myself that I didn’t know before.

Since I’ve been out here, my interests in travel, music, movies, stories and connecting with others has hit an all time high. Digital and interactive design in the form of altered reality or futuristic technologies is still immensely fascinating for me; I grew up and am still a fan of Sci-Fi movies + TV shows. Although most of my personal growth happened while in community college, I have grown more as an individual since I’ve been out here. I’ve also missed some moments of my community college life that I don’t fully know if it is out of the lack of the activity or interactions that used to be part of a daily routine or if it is an actual missing part of me. There are multiple subject areas that I still want to learn and question if that should be put above a career at this point. I also still don’t think that I have fully found who I am yet and have been pushing around the idea of going off the grid and experiencing the world. My logical side likes to come in and debate the next step of my life, but I have been wondering if now is the time to step away from logics + give into the unknown.

Devenant Le Nouveau.

Art Nouveau brought us out of the dark pent-up energy of the industrial revolution to reflect our inner desires and share experiences with others. Therefore, we chose to focus on "becoming the new" and the different ways of expressing thoughts, feelings + actions. These pieces of artwork often incorporated the themes of sexuality, nature + liberation. Many of the techniques used to illustrate those themes included: hand lettering, colors, curves, women, patterns + overall poster design.

Devenant Le Nouveau by Anna De Sando