Saturday, March 2, 2013
PROTOTYPING!
This is my working idea for my portfolio leave-behind... I wanted to create objects that were clearly hand-constructed (as opposed to having a pre-made object personalized through an outside vendor) because physical construction is one of my favorite parts of the design process and I think leaving something that work and care has gone into will (hopefully) make an impact. That being said, I needed to come up with something that was reasonably quick and easy to make multiples of, and that wouldn't require any expensive materials (I figure those can come into play once I've had a job for a while!).
I made it all out of scrap newsprint, so it's obviously really flimsy here, but I plan to find a heavier stock for the box. It needs to be something that will hold ink well, and that will allow crisply-folded edges with minimal "fuzzy" damage to the ink when pressed (see magazine cover in the background for a bad example of fuzziness!)
You open the box, and --voila!-- there's something interactive inside. That tab is not particularly attractive on the edge there, so I may try something more in the middle of the square. This paper will be sturdy, but probably a little thinner than the box paper.
I need to work out the proper measurements for a good, even fit inside the box... this was mostly eyeballed.
Pull on the tab to reveal the box's secrets.
Look at that! An accordion book! This book will include my contact information, images of my portfolio pieces, blank "texture pages" to break up the works, and probably a few short blurbs from my designer's statement (which I NEED to work on...). The length of the book will be determined later, but it's so simple and versatile that it can really be any length I need
So that's the basic gist of it for now. I think the square is a little too large at the moment, and I may try to figure out how to make the box a little shorter (right now there is a lot of empty space inside, when the booklet is folded down). I think the idea is interesting, though, and it's very representative of me and my interest in physical craft... hopefully I'll turn it into something that will be unique, easy to make, and will leave a good impression with potential employers.
SECOND CANDIDATE Q&A
Type of activity: Guest speaker
Points available: 5 points
Date: February 28, 2013
Location: FAC 304, Drake University
Presenter: Laura [last name withheld]
Entry: After Laura's presentation there were a few minutes for faculty members to ask her some questions related to her work and experiences, but then they all left so that she and the students could talk more informally. There were a lot more questions asked during this session than there were for the first candidate (although I think that was partly snow concerns-related!), and Laura probably asked us more questions than we had for her. She is unfamiliar with the Des Moines area, so she wanted to hear about the atmosphere and opportunities here from a student's perspective. She also asked us a lot about Drake's design facilities--whether we have personal studio spaces, what the printing situation is like (groans all around, here), and how much we interact with students from unrelated departments. Hopefully we were able to give her a quick glimpse of campus life here (such as explaining the Relays, which she had never heard of) and made her feel like she would be a welcome addition to the department faculty.
Assessment: Again, this session was documented on the provided survey.
Conclusion: Laura was very relaxed and comfortable interacting with the students, and seemed very enthusiastic about the atmosphere at Drake--having been to a liberal arts college herself, she seems to really connect with this type of education and the structure of our department here. She came prepared to ask us all about Des Moines and our experiences here, and was genuinely interested in our lives as students and as developing designers. She answered all of our questions fully and thoughtfully. Overall I think she is a solid candidate for the position here, and has a fresh and lively perspective to bring to the department.
Documentation: See previous entry.
Points available: 5 points
Date: February 28, 2013
Location: FAC 304, Drake University
Presenter: Laura [last name withheld]
Entry: After Laura's presentation there were a few minutes for faculty members to ask her some questions related to her work and experiences, but then they all left so that she and the students could talk more informally. There were a lot more questions asked during this session than there were for the first candidate (although I think that was partly snow concerns-related!), and Laura probably asked us more questions than we had for her. She is unfamiliar with the Des Moines area, so she wanted to hear about the atmosphere and opportunities here from a student's perspective. She also asked us a lot about Drake's design facilities--whether we have personal studio spaces, what the printing situation is like (groans all around, here), and how much we interact with students from unrelated departments. Hopefully we were able to give her a quick glimpse of campus life here (such as explaining the Relays, which she had never heard of) and made her feel like she would be a welcome addition to the department faculty.
Assessment: Again, this session was documented on the provided survey.
Conclusion: Laura was very relaxed and comfortable interacting with the students, and seemed very enthusiastic about the atmosphere at Drake--having been to a liberal arts college herself, she seems to really connect with this type of education and the structure of our department here. She came prepared to ask us all about Des Moines and our experiences here, and was genuinely interested in our lives as students and as developing designers. She answered all of our questions fully and thoughtfully. Overall I think she is a solid candidate for the position here, and has a fresh and lively perspective to bring to the department.
Documentation: See previous entry.
SECOND CANDIDATE PRESENTATION
Type of activity: Guest speaker
Points available: 5 points
Date: February 28, 2013
Location: FAC 304, Drake University
Presenter: Laura [last name withheld]
Entry: This presentation was, like the first, an opportunity for the department faculty and students to meet and learn a little about Laura, the second candidate for the open design instructor position. She was given the same request to structure her presentation around the transition from undergrad to The Real World, and she used her own experiences and development as a narrative to impart some general wisdom and advice. Laura described her evolution from painter to designer, and finally to Art Director and instructor; she presented examples of her work from each of these stages, and some outside/experimental works as well. She was even brave enough to show us some very early pieces she did for the Chicago Tribune, which included slightly overzealous use of the "bevel/emboss" tools.
Assessment: As with the first presentation, students were provided with a short survey to complete after attending one or more of the related sessions for this candidate.
Conclusion: I thought that Laura had a number of very strong qualities, both as a designer and as a potential teacher at Drake. She is deeply engaged in her own work and clearly draws inspiration from a range of different experiences and encounters. Her interest in combining design with other disciplines (such as performance art and viewer interaction) and her appreciation for collaborative projects could bring a lot to the design department here--I have been involved in a couple of very enjoyable collaborative design projects, but only in the classes I took with Hilary. I didn't think her presentation skills were quite as polished as the first candidate's, but that could simply be a matter of their respective amounts of teaching experience. She clearly communicated her love of being a mentor and a guide for students, and seems very enthusiastic about Drake and the design department here.
Documentation: Here are some notes and my in-progress survey for this candidate.
Points available: 5 points
Date: February 28, 2013
Location: FAC 304, Drake University
Presenter: Laura [last name withheld]
Entry: This presentation was, like the first, an opportunity for the department faculty and students to meet and learn a little about Laura, the second candidate for the open design instructor position. She was given the same request to structure her presentation around the transition from undergrad to The Real World, and she used her own experiences and development as a narrative to impart some general wisdom and advice. Laura described her evolution from painter to designer, and finally to Art Director and instructor; she presented examples of her work from each of these stages, and some outside/experimental works as well. She was even brave enough to show us some very early pieces she did for the Chicago Tribune, which included slightly overzealous use of the "bevel/emboss" tools.
Assessment: As with the first presentation, students were provided with a short survey to complete after attending one or more of the related sessions for this candidate.
Conclusion: I thought that Laura had a number of very strong qualities, both as a designer and as a potential teacher at Drake. She is deeply engaged in her own work and clearly draws inspiration from a range of different experiences and encounters. Her interest in combining design with other disciplines (such as performance art and viewer interaction) and her appreciation for collaborative projects could bring a lot to the design department here--I have been involved in a couple of very enjoyable collaborative design projects, but only in the classes I took with Hilary. I didn't think her presentation skills were quite as polished as the first candidate's, but that could simply be a matter of their respective amounts of teaching experience. She clearly communicated her love of being a mentor and a guide for students, and seems very enthusiastic about Drake and the design department here.
Documentation: Here are some notes and my in-progress survey for this candidate.
Friday, February 22, 2013
CANDIDATE CRITIQUE OF STUDENT WORK
Type of activity: Guest speaker
Points available: 5 points
Date: February 22, 2013
Location: Carnegie letterpress room, Drake University
Presenter: Matthew [last name withheld for confidentiality!]
Entry: This was an opportunity for faculty and students to watch Matthew critique existing Drake student work, to get an idea of his approach to critiques and observe how he handled the assessment of an assignment that he had no previous familiarity with. There were ten posters lined up on the wall, all responses to a recent assignment in one of the graphic design classes that involved an international poster competition based in Italy. Matthew had a chance to read the project brief, and then began the critique with an overview of his approach to poster design/assessment and a quick rundown of formal qualities he looks for. He then critiqued each poster individually, addressing in detail the two whose makers were present in the room. He made an effort to involve the audience in his critique as well, and fielded some questions from faculty members at the end.
Assessment: Again, this was included on the one-page survey documenting our impressions of the candidate and our assessment of his critiquing skills. Interestingly, this portion of his interaction with us involved him assessing us almost as much as we have been assessing him.
Conclusion: I found his critique to be pretty strong overall, considering he did not have any previous knowledge of the posters or their creators and considering the very limited time he had to work with. He was unafraid to be appropriately critical, but was constructive and thoughtful in his suggestions for improvement. He seems to have a good deal of background knowledge to draw from (for example, knowing the relative efficiency of nuclear vs. wind power) and had some good on-the-spot ideas for how certain posters might become more dynamic through scale shifts and hierarchy. Even though my work was not up for critique, I still found the session productive; I filed away a number of mental notes regarding future poster projects and overall I found much of his advice to be quite valuable--and as I mentioned in the presentation activity notes, it is always interesting to hear a fresh, outside perspective on our work from time to time.
Documentation: Again, see my notes from the presentation.
Points available: 5 points
Date: February 22, 2013
Location: Carnegie letterpress room, Drake University
Presenter: Matthew [last name withheld for confidentiality!]
Entry: This was an opportunity for faculty and students to watch Matthew critique existing Drake student work, to get an idea of his approach to critiques and observe how he handled the assessment of an assignment that he had no previous familiarity with. There were ten posters lined up on the wall, all responses to a recent assignment in one of the graphic design classes that involved an international poster competition based in Italy. Matthew had a chance to read the project brief, and then began the critique with an overview of his approach to poster design/assessment and a quick rundown of formal qualities he looks for. He then critiqued each poster individually, addressing in detail the two whose makers were present in the room. He made an effort to involve the audience in his critique as well, and fielded some questions from faculty members at the end.
Assessment: Again, this was included on the one-page survey documenting our impressions of the candidate and our assessment of his critiquing skills. Interestingly, this portion of his interaction with us involved him assessing us almost as much as we have been assessing him.
Conclusion: I found his critique to be pretty strong overall, considering he did not have any previous knowledge of the posters or their creators and considering the very limited time he had to work with. He was unafraid to be appropriately critical, but was constructive and thoughtful in his suggestions for improvement. He seems to have a good deal of background knowledge to draw from (for example, knowing the relative efficiency of nuclear vs. wind power) and had some good on-the-spot ideas for how certain posters might become more dynamic through scale shifts and hierarchy. Even though my work was not up for critique, I still found the session productive; I filed away a number of mental notes regarding future poster projects and overall I found much of his advice to be quite valuable--and as I mentioned in the presentation activity notes, it is always interesting to hear a fresh, outside perspective on our work from time to time.
Documentation: Again, see my notes from the presentation.
CANDIDATE STUDENT Q&A
Type of activity: Guest speaker
Points available: 5 points
Date: February 21, 2013
Location: FAC 304, Drake University
Presenter: Matthew [last name withheld for confidentiality!]
Entry: This session followed the candidate's presentation, and was an opportunity for students to get to know Matthew a little better in an informal, comfortable setting. All the department faculty left the room and we were able to chat freely with him about a variety of topics. We got a better idea of his personality and his sense of humor, and he had a few questions for us about Drake, Des Moines, and some ins-and-outs of the Design department. He asked us to tell him something about Drake that the faculty would never tell him, but clearly none of us are aware of any deep, dark secrets because all we offered was friendly squirrels and poor outdoor drainage!
Assessment: As with the presentation, each student audience member was asked to complete a one-page survey documenting our impressions of the candidate and our assessment of the question and answer session.
Conclusion: Matthew seems like an incredibly friendly and personable individual, and he related very easily to the group of students he was interacting with. He also brought in some physical materials for us to look at during this time, including some branding work and publications he designed, and I enjoyed having the chance to look closely and handle some of his actual work rather than seeing it all on-screen. It may have been helpful for Matthew to interact more with students he might actually be teaching (i.e. those who are not graduating in May!) but I hope it was productive and encouraging for him to speak with us anyway.
Documentation: See previous entry.
Points available: 5 points
Date: February 21, 2013
Location: FAC 304, Drake University
Presenter: Matthew [last name withheld for confidentiality!]
Entry: This session followed the candidate's presentation, and was an opportunity for students to get to know Matthew a little better in an informal, comfortable setting. All the department faculty left the room and we were able to chat freely with him about a variety of topics. We got a better idea of his personality and his sense of humor, and he had a few questions for us about Drake, Des Moines, and some ins-and-outs of the Design department. He asked us to tell him something about Drake that the faculty would never tell him, but clearly none of us are aware of any deep, dark secrets because all we offered was friendly squirrels and poor outdoor drainage!
Assessment: As with the presentation, each student audience member was asked to complete a one-page survey documenting our impressions of the candidate and our assessment of the question and answer session.
Conclusion: Matthew seems like an incredibly friendly and personable individual, and he related very easily to the group of students he was interacting with. He also brought in some physical materials for us to look at during this time, including some branding work and publications he designed, and I enjoyed having the chance to look closely and handle some of his actual work rather than seeing it all on-screen. It may have been helpful for Matthew to interact more with students he might actually be teaching (i.e. those who are not graduating in May!) but I hope it was productive and encouraging for him to speak with us anyway.
Documentation: See previous entry.
CANDIDATE PRESENTATION
Type of activity: Guest speaker
Points available: 5 points
Date: February 21, 2013
Location: FAC 304, Drake University
Presenter: Matthew [last name withheld for confidentiality!]
Entry: This was an hour-long presentation given to Drake Art & Design faculty and students by Matthew, a candidate for the currently-open Graphic Design instructor position. It was an opportunity for him to introduce himself to the department and showcase both his work and his approach to teaching design. The presentation was organized around topics that are important to graduating seniors, including advice for getting your name and work out into the wider world, tips on the job hunting and interview process, and how to keep yourself engaged and happy in a very competitive, demanding field. He was able to use examples of his own work and anecdotes from his experiences to both illustrate these points and give the audience a better feel for him as a person and a designer.
Assessment: Each student audience member was asked to complete a one-page survey documenting our impressions of the candidate and our assessment of his presentation. While all decision-making rests with the department faculty (and rightfully so!), I appreciate that they are interested in hearing students' feedback and involving us with the process of candidate selection. Even though I will not have the opportunity to take a class with the new professor, it is a great opportunity to watch a little bit of the hiring process and to hear a fresh voice discussing design education.
Conclusion: I took fairly copious notes during the presentation because I felt he had a lot of sound advice for us soon-to-be-graduates. I really appreciated his multidisciplinary approach to design and illustration and was inspired by his seamless integration of both into nearly all of his work (including his portfolio and self-promotional materials). Combining design and hand-worked illustration/construction is something I am greatly interested in, but I have not yet found a solid approach (or, perhaps, seized the right opportunities) to do so in my own work. His reminder that our personal identity system will be an evolving process, and that what we are stressing about this year will be a fleeting memory a year or a decade from now, was also a reassuring salve for my current second-semester-senior nerves! I think Matthew has a lot to bring to Drake if he is hired and I think he would be a good fit within the department, both personality-wise and with his design sensibilities.
Documentation: I neglected to take a picture of my completed survey, but here are some of the notes I took over the course of the presentation:
Points available: 5 points
Date: February 21, 2013
Location: FAC 304, Drake University
Presenter: Matthew [last name withheld for confidentiality!]
Entry: This was an hour-long presentation given to Drake Art & Design faculty and students by Matthew, a candidate for the currently-open Graphic Design instructor position. It was an opportunity for him to introduce himself to the department and showcase both his work and his approach to teaching design. The presentation was organized around topics that are important to graduating seniors, including advice for getting your name and work out into the wider world, tips on the job hunting and interview process, and how to keep yourself engaged and happy in a very competitive, demanding field. He was able to use examples of his own work and anecdotes from his experiences to both illustrate these points and give the audience a better feel for him as a person and a designer.
Assessment: Each student audience member was asked to complete a one-page survey documenting our impressions of the candidate and our assessment of his presentation. While all decision-making rests with the department faculty (and rightfully so!), I appreciate that they are interested in hearing students' feedback and involving us with the process of candidate selection. Even though I will not have the opportunity to take a class with the new professor, it is a great opportunity to watch a little bit of the hiring process and to hear a fresh voice discussing design education.
Conclusion: I took fairly copious notes during the presentation because I felt he had a lot of sound advice for us soon-to-be-graduates. I really appreciated his multidisciplinary approach to design and illustration and was inspired by his seamless integration of both into nearly all of his work (including his portfolio and self-promotional materials). Combining design and hand-worked illustration/construction is something I am greatly interested in, but I have not yet found a solid approach (or, perhaps, seized the right opportunities) to do so in my own work. His reminder that our personal identity system will be an evolving process, and that what we are stressing about this year will be a fleeting memory a year or a decade from now, was also a reassuring salve for my current second-semester-senior nerves! I think Matthew has a lot to bring to Drake if he is hired and I think he would be a good fit within the department, both personality-wise and with his design sensibilities.
Documentation: I neglected to take a picture of my completed survey, but here are some of the notes I took over the course of the presentation:
Monday, February 11, 2013
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
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