Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Kris Celeste | AVT 395
A big issue that we college students face today is obtaining or maintaining a job. It is very easy to fall into the comfortable life of being a student. Acquiring a residence, putting food on the table, maintaining a vehicle, in a greater sense having a family, is difficult to sustain without a stable income. Many of us know about these responsibilities but we don’t know the reality of it until it’s too late. Let’s do what we can to prepare for what is ahead.
Gaining knowledge in a specific field never stops. It does not end when you receive your degree. Continuing to learn will always be positive for your growth as an individual and as a full-time employee. You want the company or business you will be interviewing with to know that you are always ready and eager to learn something new.
Remember, don’t give in to thinking you know everything. Confidence is a great quality, but stay humble.
If the design community is a neighborhood, then it’s easy to see that professionals who work in boutique design studios are the cool kids and In House designers are the nerds. Designers who work at boutique design studios are the edgier, up-to-date, multitasking cool kids of the design world. In House designers sit inside their cubicles, editing and reformatting the same dulled down design for days and days on end. This was my point of view, until I read about it in the first person POV. Stef Miller gave her personal opinion about the benefits of being an In-House designer over working in a boutique design studio. Her confidence and not to mention her long list of benefits listed changed my mind. The decision to design in-house or in a design studio is a personal preference. Ms. Miller donated a few questions to ask yourself in the process.
“If you’re debating whether or not you should apply for the corporate marketing associate position you saw advertised in the paper, consider these five questions:
1. Does every project I work on need to be entered into a design competition?
2. Do I know how to effectively communicate the importance of ROI?
3. Can I juggle new project requests, budgets, conception, implementation and production? By myself? On more than 20 projects at a time?
4. Am I OK with the fact that no one I work with (except maybe my boss) will understand the importance of what I do until the one day I am out with the flu?
5. Could I wear my shirt tucked in every day?”
If your answer is no, then put on your sneakers and head to the door that leads outside.
[For the full article see http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/step-outside-the-inside-forget-it ]
Finally, someone did it (and won an Oscar for it)!
Have you ever been watching a movie and just after you’re sucked in, they throw in an awkward, blatantly obvious product placement? You’re now less into the movie and more annoyed that the Pepsi can label is magically facing forward each time the actor takes a drink throughout the scene. Well, I applaud H5 (François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy et Ludovic Houplain) for taking product placement to a whole new level…a level of its own with no distractions from the plot because the plot is product placement.
With over 2,500 brands, trademarks, and mascots, this short animated film lasts only 16 minutes but manages to build a plot out of characters including Ronald McDonald, two Michelin Man cops, Esso Girl and Big Boy. In addition to a possible love story, this short film entertains us with an action-packed plot filled with humor. The high-speed car chase through a city reminiscent of L.A., the flamboyant Mr. Clean conducting the children’s train tour through the zoo, and the Jolly Green Giant’s private parts censored by a Parental Advisory label is sure to keep you interested. (Warning: strong language. Yes, Ronald McDonald curses up a storm.)
I’m not sure what the film makers’ intentions were, but whether you find Logorama entertaining with a fantasy world comprised of iconic logos or cynical with a world over-saturated with commercialism, as a designer it’s absolutely a joy to watch. I won’t give away the plot, but you must watch Logorama. And more than once, for each time you watch the thousands of logos that comprise this clever film you will notice something you didn’t catch before. Genius!
At the AIGA Portfolio Review Day on February 27th, 2010, Jake Cheney gave a short talk on the “5 Things I Wished I Had Done More of While in School.” Cheney, a creative director for an international law firm, is the charismatic education director of AIGA’s DC Chapter. I can’t stop thinking about the five things. The very first thing on his list made me smile ear-to-ear.
1. Read More: He recommended that for every 1 design publication you read, you should read 2 more books about anything else. (I love reading.)
2. Write More: As you move further in your career, you will have to write more; consequently, you will be designing less. Good writing skills also shine through on your resumes. Lesson to be learned: Learn to write well while in school. Thank you, AVT 395.
3. Take More Risks: This translates into “screw up now” instead of later. Supposedly, by exploring and gambling with new ideas and mediums, you’ll learn to solve problems faster.
4. Network Earlier: Make connections with people. According to the theory of “six degrees of separation,” everybody knows everybody else. Some day, one of the “everybodies” could help you land a job with an important somebody.
5. Lose the Ego (Faster): Don’t try to save the world with your designs overnight. Humility and quiet confidence are two qualities that often speak for themselves.
Just from listening to him, you can tell that Cheney is one of those designers who truly loves design and what design enables him to do for others. As a student, I think it is important to listen to these designers talk because it is so inspiring to witness love of design. As a student, I want to say thank you to him and all the other designers who took the time to put together the Portfolio Day speakers.
By Ayn Roberts
So a week or so ago, I attended AIGA’s Student Portfolio Review Day which was a great experience as a budding designer still looking for her niche and still exploring the wide wide world of design. It was really interesting to see the different opinions on my work as some designers were critical on some things and loved others. I think my greatest critique was from Tim of Design Army, who not only commented on what pieces were strong and what wasn’t, but more importantly where my style was going and what I should be focusing on as a designer trying to discover herself artistically. I also noticed that for Tim, attention to the voice of the designer was favored over the complete execution (though that was analyzed as well) of the design- it was important that the concept be recognized as well as the design execution. When I was reviewed by a creative director from a non-profit however, she was focused mostly on the hierarchy of information and whether the design “looked nice” for lack of a better phrase. I believe it is most certainly the nature of a creative institution versus a more commercial one that begets the different philosophies of what constitutes a “successful design”. Definitely some food for thought.
We work and study hard in order to prepare ourselves for the inevitable task of getting a job. Most everybody does it, so it shouldn’t be that hard, right? Well, in today’s economy and market filled with fierce competition it might be easier said than done.
While browsing through the professional resources page on aiga.org, I found a free online book that is meant to help both students and professional designers get a job (a good job)! “Getting a Design Job” by RitaSue Siegel covers a lot of important topics from self-evaluation, different jobs available, job hunting, resumes, portfolios, researching, networking, interviewing, and what to do afterwards. While some of it is geared towards industrial design, this is still an invaluable resource. Siegel wrote this publication for Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and is the President for RitaSue Siegel Resources, a consulting and search firm specializing in finding designers for clients such as Proctor & Gamble, McDonalds, Apple and Nissan. You will see many articles by Siegel in Communication Arts and Business Week.
“Getting a Design Job” is 127 pages but is not overwhelming with its small page size and well-organized layout. The introduction alone is interesting – “design thinking”, changing design trends, green design and globalization are all touched upon. The 127-page book is probably more than you want to read in one sitting, but this is a resource definitely worth downloading.
Remembered the best commercial of Super Bowl 44, Betty White plays football like Betty White until she eats a Snickers? I really loved Snickers’ new concept when Betty ate a Snickers, she immediately turned back into her younger, male self. It was one of those best Super Bowl 44 advertisements according to USA Today Ad Meter. The first commercial showed Betty White in football game among young friend. When Betty ate a Snickers, she immediately turned into male self. It was most effective and memorable advertisements. There’s great following up with celebrity duo, Aretha Franklin and Liza Minnelli. The new ad has four friends in a car on a road trip. When Aretha in the back seat complaining about the AC. She smacks one of the guys in the head and say “Oh yeah, how’s that feel?” One passes her a Snickers, and says, “Every time you get hungry, you turn into a diva.” to her. After she eats, transformation occurs, and then Liza shows up. It was created by BBDO New York. Their ad is funny and unique. They seem to examined the trends, created fresh approach, and did well attracting the attention of the various levels of audiences.
Snickers Game Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYyBtHLS9-Q&feature=related
Snickers Road Trip Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pnjtxfIJDE
Walmart is a company that either loved or hated. Walmart became the most powerful company in America. Some said Walmart has some unethical, but very legal, ways to do business. They realize that we love low prices as a country. It’s an advantage that almost everything is in one store and you have various selections but you probably would want to wear sneakers. Their new logo is much friendlier than old one. I figured their round shaped text style and burst image approach customers with ease and comforts. The logo was made “to better reflect the transformation our stores have been undergoing, inside and out,” Linda Blakley, a Wal-Mart spokesperson said. The logo’s “warmer, friendlier, cleaner feel” communicates the company’s renewed commitment to customer service and reminds consumers that stores “are warm, friendly, fresh, sustainable, and cleaner” than ever before, she said. Soft colors and a graphic element seem to emerge and look of sunburst or pedals of a flower are certainly warmer than their previous logo.
Advertising in the newspaper is a popular advertising source. As you look into your local newspapers, you will notice a number of businesses that advertise on a regular basis. Advertising in the newspaper provide truthful impression to audience compare to ratio advertisement or any other media. More than likely, if the advertisements are repeated, the ads are working. Even though the newspaper no longer takes most exclusive source of news, they still remain a strong factor in their specific field of influence. There are some characteristics of paid-circulation newspapers that make them especially appealing to advertisers and disadvantages, such as:
- Timeless: It offers a predictable frequency of publication: once, twice or up to seven times a week.
- Flexibility: It has flexibility in terms of ad size and placement. Production changes can be made quickly, if necessary, editing can be added on short notice.
- Catalogue value: People expect to find advertising in their newspapers. In fact, many people buy newspapers just to read the ads from the restaurants, movies and discount stores.
Cons;
- Most Newspapers are black and white Printing.
- It has a relatively short life span (newspapers are typically read once, then discarded), thus requiring multiple insertions.
To me design is something that is not fancy or amazing looking. It’s more like how easily it relates to our daily life. That’s why I’d like to introduce the designer team 5.5 designers’ first project called ‘Reanim’ . Reanim project is to study and reinterpret the original idea. Image of the hospital that breathes new life into the old design that has been look away by people.
What they do is open up the new role for the designer. Relationship between creator and producer, unlike designer only design the image and producer makes the stuff . As a designer they can become a either creator and producer both at once.
Designer doesn’t has to be famous, to me it’s more like a friend or neighbor who can help you out when you need their help.