PROJECT 3 BRIEF

Project 3 Brief

Overview: This project involves expanding the designer’s personal and professional development through participation in a number of different activities. The designer should plan ahead as much as possible and tailor these activities to suit personal goals and interests.

Requirements:

The accumulation of 200-250 points’ worth of activities over the course of the semester. All activities must be design-related and clearly documented on the designer’s Practicum blog. This documentation should follow the prescribed Activity Notes Format and include photos, paperwork, receipts, correspondence, etc. Upon the completion of all activities, the designer must write a summation of the experiences and if/how personal goals were met.

Target Audience: There is no specific audience for this project; instead, the designer will be engaging with others and presenting herself as a developing professional in the realm of design.

Objectives: The designer should participate in activities that will aid the most in personal growth and learning, as well as those that will be the most enjoyable and worthwhile.

Timeline of Potential Activities:

January 29 – Introduction to projects

January 31 – Review of projects

February 5

February 7

February 12 – Briefs complete; Chrystal Stanley resume workshop

February 14

February 19

February 21 – Speaker presentation

February 26 – ADAI Student Exhibition Deadline

February 28 – Speaker presentation; AIGA Iowa Passion Projects Critique

March 1 – ADAI speaker at Grandview University

March 5

March 7

March 9 – AIGA Iowa Get A Job Bootcamp

March 12 – Speaker presentation

March 14

March 19 – NO CLASS

March 21 – NO CLASS

March 26 – Speaker presentation

March 28 – Printer tour; Drake GD Portfolio Night @ Olmsted

April 2

April 4

April 9

April 11

April 12 – Opening of Group 1 BFA Thesis Show @ Anderson Gallery

April 13 – ADAI Student Exhibition

April 16 – Portfolio reviews ongoing

April 18

April 23

April 25

April 30

May 2

May 7

May 9

May 14

May 16 – All work due by 9:30am

PROJECT 2 BRIEF

Project 2 Brief

Overview: This project is centered on the development of a personal stationary set and a distinctive identity system to unify all pieces developed for both Project 1 and Project 2. In addition to the design and production of these stationary pieces, the designer will develop a group of related writings that support these documents in a professional and productive way.

Requirements:

One professional resume.

One professional cover letter.

One personal design statement for use on portfolio website, as a basis for cover letters, and as a set of guiding principles.

One thank you/follow-up card.

One personal business card (separate from Project 1’s leave-behind).

Any other related items, as deemed necessary.

Documentation of process and completed pieces on personal Practicum blog.

Target Audience: The intended audience for these pieces are potential future employers within the realm of graphic design. The pieces should reflect well on the designer and help to leave a lasting impression on those who encounter them—this might include professional designers, art directors, or non-design employers or clients, so the appeal must be as universal as possible.

Objectives: The identity system should be consistent across all pieces and they should form a comprehensive set of personal stationary. All writing must be clear, professional, and representative of the designer’s personality and objectives. The design of the pieces should complement and enhance the written communication without overwhelming or detracting from it. Pieces should be practical, economical, and easy to alter and reproduce.

Timeline:

January 29 – Introduction to projects

January 31 – Review of projects

February 5 – Rough draft of design statement and resume

February 7

February 12 – Briefs complete

February 14

February 19

February 21 – Photography of current portfolio pieces complete (updated as semester progresses)

February 26 – Draft of identity system design (colors, elements, grid, varying layouts)

February 28

March 5 – Designed drafts of resume, cover letter, design statement

March 7 – Group meeting; drafts of thank you/follow-up card, business card

March 12

March 14 – All drafts (written and designed) posted to blog

March 19 – NO CLASS

March 21 – NO CLASS

March 26

March 28 – Website complete

April 2

April 4

April 9

April 11

April 16 – Group meeting; all stationary finished

April 18

April 23

April 25

April 30

May 2

May 7

May 9

May 14

May 16 – All work due by 9:30am

PROJECT 1 BRIEF

Project 1 Brief

Overview: This project involves the design and production of three different versions of the designer’s personal portfolio: an emailable PDF, a web-based online presence, and a physical presentation portfolio. The design and execution of these pieces should be closely related to the concurrent design of the pieces in Project 2 (see Project 2 Brief).

Requirements:

One emailable portfolio in PDF form, consisting of 8-12 strong and current pieces of design work. This PDF should be 5mb or smaller, and should be formally related to the design of the pieces in Project 2.

One personal portfolio website coded by hand and live online. This will include both design and fine art work to play a more flexible role in the designer’s entry to the professional realm. No more than 8-10 pieces of each will be featured on the website.

One interactive presentation portfolio and related collateral items, or “leave-behinds.” This portfolio should be content-flexible, easily portable, and representative of the designer’s strongest work.

At least two portfolio reviews and completed review sheets.

Documentation of process and completed pieces on personal Practicum blog.

Target Audience: The intended audience for these pieces are potential future employers within the realm of graphic design. The portfolios need to be flexible enough to accommodate a number of possible employment goals, since the designer is open to a very wide field of work.

Objectives: All three portfolios and additional collateral should be clearly related, and also have a strong formal relationship to the design system developed in Project 2. Consistency, organization, and clarity across all three pieces is important. Included designs should be representative of the designer’s strongest pieces to date, and all photography should be high-resolution, well-lit, and present an accurate reproduction of the original work. The website should be functional and simple-to-navigate, and the presentation portfolio should be accessible and easy to interact with.

Timeline:

January 29 – Introduction to projects

January 31 – Review of projects

February 5

February 7

February 12 – Briefs complete

February 14

February 19

February 21 – Photography of current portfolio pieces complete (updated as semester progresses)

February 26 – Draft of website design complete, begin coding

February 28

March 5

March 7 – Group meeting

March 12

March 14 – Emailable portfolio complete

March 19 – NO CLASS

March 21 – NO CLASS

March 26

March 28 – Website complete

April 2

April 4

April 9

April 11

April 16 – Group meeting

April 18

April 23 - Presentation portfolio complete; reviews ongoing v v v

April 25

April 30

May 2

May 7

May 9

May 14

May 16 – All work due by 9:30am

ROUGH, ROUGH, ROUGH STATEMENT

<Brief note> I don't know if it's just me, or if everyone found this unbelievably hard... it is so difficult to write about myself! Anyway, I worked on this over the weekend and am not happy with it, but I forced myself to not touch or revise it until after class today. I feel like I will probably have to write two or three (or four... or ten...) revised versions before I settle on one that feels and sounds like me and actually works as a design (or, for me, art & design) statement (I don't think this does, yet). </note>

Design Statement

If there comes a point in my future when I am asked to choose between being an artist and a designer—a line of distinction which I have found many people are eager to draw—I will find myself without a ready answer or, even, a way of separating the two parts of myself. Though I boldly labeled myself an “artist” long before I had ever been introduced to the concept of graphic design, these two ways of seeing and communicating have become irreversibly linked in my consciousness. Art is a form of expression and design a type of informed articulation; although the production of each is limited to those who are literate in such forms of communication, both inherently need to be accessible to all.

I have always been told I am “creative” and “artistic” and “talented,” but until I developed a firm understanding of basic design principles, my art was unstructured and uninformed. My approach to art is a deliberate blend of precision, clarity, and wit. The “natural talent” people see in me is, truthfully, a sort of chronic perfectionism and a demand for personal excellence; I value care and thoughtful construction in all my work. I try to bring the directness and articulation of design into my art without directly spelling anything out for the viewer, and I find subtle, intelligent humor to be a powerful and accessible communicative force for reaching others. My artmaking is directly informed by the expressive functionality of design, even as I seek to make others pause before my work and, hopefully, think a little deeper than they were a moment before.

So, too, have many of my artistic preferences crept into my design tendencies. My demand for precision crosses all disciplines, and I savor the ability to manipulate individual pixels and lavish attention on minutiae. Despite this, I favor elements of physical production over strictly digital work: if I have the opportunity to create a tangible object, I nearly always choose to do so. Feeling that I had a personal hand in a piece’s creation, beyond moving a mouse on a desk, is the most rewarding part of a process for me. I keep myself open to suggestion and influence, and allow myself to draw inspiration from all aspects of my life and consciousness. Design is, by nature, a multidisciplinary field. My tendencies in both art and design are an informed response to my perceptions and experiences, whether spanning the course of a single day or a lifetime.

CURRENT RESUME

I've attached a jpeg of my resume as it looked at the end of 2012. Ignore the crop marks and odd spacing--it's my printer version. The design of it dates way back to Typography 1 in the fall of 2010, and is in no way indicative of any sort of design decisions I will be making for my personal identity system... I just never bothered to change the original design since I figured it would be getting an overhaul eventually.

I am unsure of what I might still be able to add to the resume--can I add my current classes and my upcoming BFA thesis show, for example, or do I need to wait until after those events have ended before I can add them? There are a few other things that need tweaking and probably more that I'll think of to add or remove, but I thought I would post what I've got so I have somewhere to work from. It's nice to know that I at least have most of the content of my resume done already, rather than having to write it from scratch or update several years' worth of material. Every little bit helps!

PORTFOLIO BRAINSTORMING

I've come up with a preliminary list of potential portfolio pieces that I may want to use. I'm open to a wide variety of jobs in multiple fields involving art, design, or both, so I know I want to have a flexible portfolio that can include various types of pieces I need it to for specific situations. I've included both design and fine art pieces from the past two years, and I'm keeping spots open for projects yet to come! Also, please excuse the lack of actual titles for many of the pieces... I'm so bad about actually titling things that most of them just go by their nicknames for now (this will have to change when my BFA show rolls around).
**Starred pieces need to be photographed properly

Fine Art:

- The Astounding Anti-Aphasia Articulation Apparatus (sculpture)

- the turtle (sculpture)

- Lead Balloon (sculpture)

- Nose Envy (print) **

- the mayan statues one (print) **

- the mad scientist one (print) **

- the archaeologist one (print)  **

- the dragon one (print) **

- W. Snakespeare & E. Lemmingway (print) **

- A Loving Mockery (print) **

- _____________ (projects this semester) (print) **

Graphic Design:

- Dadaist Manifesto

- Pappajohn Sculpture Park exhibition catalog **

- Knowledge map **

- Garamond poster & brochure **

- Drake Service Learning brochure **

- How To Live On 24 Hours A Day **

- Sprout identity system

- Hamlet poster & brochure (needs a little reworking) **

- _____________ (projects this semester) **

READING RESPONSE FOR 2-5-13

Chapter 6
This chapter didn't resonate quite as strongly with me as the previous readings, because it seemed to aimed more at freelance designers and the heads of studios, neither of which I have any desire to be in the near or foreseeable future. The underlying ideas were valuable, though--the need for constant promotion and to direct all promotional materials (even websites) towards what clients want to see are clearly good practices. I appreciated the author's discussion about our constant dissatisfaction with our own portfolios and the self-effacement that usually occurs when showing a body of our work to others. I think I mentioned this in the previous responses, but it's that same fear of judgement, I think! We're always our harshest critics (or should be, anyway) and so we tend to project our own feelings and misgivings about our work onto whoever else is seeing it. Every time I read a new chapter of this book, I just get more and more worried about the coming months and job hunting... it's turning out to be much less reassuring than the title would suggest!