Designing a Digial Portfolio-Chapter 9
Creating Written Content:
create a portfolio with no written content, that way you can elaborate about a piece and just speak from your mind
What to write and why
-identify your work
-introduce yourself
-explain your ideas and process
-speak directly to your audience
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
this website shows how you can incorporate the details of a project, in various ways
-dont use abbreviations
-know all names, titles, spelling
Introducing yourself:
resume:
keep it clean, visually and verbally, no errors, the more readers the better
CUSTOMIZING:
customizing your resume slightly to each company can make it look like you took specific interest in them and that you know about them
The Bio:
short note that explains yourself and your experiences
The examples of resumes that has misspellings and much needed corrections was really funny, a good way to ease my mind mid-reading!
tips:
-check spelling as you type (option to click on while working)
- verbal diarrhea-keep it short and sweet
-too many "ands"- dont use this word unless its in a series of things
-know when to capitalize
Cover Letters:
should included a standard salutation, short reference to who you are and why you are sending your material, and a thank you in advance for their interest in your work
Design Brief:
a capsule overview of the client and their project, or they can be more complete explanations of the project and its criteria
Case Study:
a full analysis of the design problem and its solution, should be in its own window
Process Comments:
show examples of your process, and annotate your sketches with comments
rob.id.au : an amazing website showing industrial designer Rob Shearing's work
Philosophy:
your work should address how you think and what you believe about our profession
Writing to your Audience:
it can be an enormous plus to be able to project a little of yourself into your writing
Humor in Work: Jeff the Designer
playing games can break the ice, this makes me happy considering some of my flash animation projects are kind of silly
Getting your words worth: sandstromdesign.com
The president of this site, Rick Braithwaite, is crazy and very good at what he does.The site has a very clear navigation, simple and clean. I think its a great site, and has a great way of showing off their work.
building a digital portfolio-140
After browsing through the pages of personal portfolios my head was spinning.
All these designs look great, but how am I going to make a portfolio, or promotional piece that looks half as good as these?
I originally wanted to make another portfolio, aside from my website, to emulate a magazine but that idea was not greatly accepted. So now I am thinking about making a little flip book style project that will include some pieces of my work on each page, with a little description of the project on it. In this book there is an example of a promotional piece by Janet Odgis, who takes little cards and prints examples of her work on it, and binds them together with a little nub. She packages them together with bubble wrap. I think that this idea is cute, and really just shows all the work, in an uncomplicated, unique way.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Blog 8 - March 22
Designing a Digial Portfolio-Chapter 8
Repurposing and Optimizing:
File Adaptation Strategies:
repurposing: "attractive for oversized work that has no special paper stock, like a poster, but it can work in lost of other situations"
Repurposing with PDF's: is one of the best ways to repurpose produced work, screen based PDFs are pretty easy to make but "they can often be the key to winning an interview" Tips for creating a good PDF:
File Adaptation Strategies-
colors, types of ink, select paper, die-cuts
repurposing is attractive for over sized work that has no special paper stock, but it can work in a lot of other situations
repurposing with PDF's: things to avoid:
-avoid scrolling-create letter sized pages, so they can be viewed and printed easily
-shoot original files- always return to your original file for your PDF material (ex. flash files should be kept as fla's)
-use TIFF files-so you dont have to scale them
-optimize JPEGS
-merge PDFs
-make your PDF a project-have a redesigned resume as a part of the project,
-create a cover page- contact info name and the page number as a header or footer on each subsequent page
-watch your file sizes- in case the person you are mailing it to has limited storage
-label your artwork-captions
-name PDF sensibly-use full name in the file label
-no headshots-unless you are a performing artist!
I liked the example of the Visual Vocabulary portfolio-clean and simple.
A lot of this chapter focused in on formatting files, which is helpful because I know that some of my work has a lot of color and texture.
I know that some of my work that I want to include in my website (portfolio site ) is Flash Animation, and on page 152, Baron shows how to encode them, by either importing the .swf or as a quicktime or windows media file.
Porfolio Highligh: Micheal Cefaratti
This website is incredible, I absolutely love the opening. I really want to learn how to make my website in Flash. I love his color scheme as well. I have been using Kuler a lot to give me color ideas, and used the Granny Apple colors for my site so far. His navigation is up to the viewer, and has a linear following as well.
Building Design Portfolios 74 - 94
Presenting a Print Portfolio:
This area of the book was of great interest for me, considering I am going to make a print form portfolio of my work. Since I hope to work in magazines, I want to have my work as visual and flat out as possible for the potential employer to see. The first piece, should be an eye catcher but not the BEST piece of work, as you dont want to sell yourself short and have the onlooker lose interest (seeing as I know that not all of my work is thattt good ). Build your pieces in order of excitement so that you get to the final best piece of work by the end! Portfolio presentation is the most important thing, I know that it is important to know the fonts, colors, purpose etc, as you are presenting the portfolio, because they may ask you questions about why you in fact chose the styles and fonts you did, just knowing how to defend your choices shows that you made them for a reason. "A good portfolio should express in some way who you are and what relationship you have to the world"..this will help separate you from being just a designer, and from others.
Preparation: Make a list of questions that you anticipate to be asked, and thus, know the answers! Be prepared to answer anything they may throw at you, and write down the questions that you are asked in interviews, and remember to perfect the answers, and make sure to include what it was that they suggested, or asked for that you may not have had.
Presenting: BE ON TIME! I have to really pay attention to this detail, especially because my friends often call me "pokey"due to my constant rush. I like the tip that says to never respond to comments in an apologetic manner, they are critiques on your work and you shouldn't apologize for your work, you should be confident with everything that you did. Never say "heres what I can do for you"-you sound arrogant and presumptuous that you are fit for the job, or being seriously considered . Chris Pullman, is known for liking print portfolio's the most;"first they present fewer obstacles and difficulties, because they don't rely on technology, many variables and frustrations associated with speed or software incompatibility are eliminated...designers with print portfolios generally tend to offer a deeper level of understanding about their work". Speaking intelligently about your work is a key element in presentations. If you cannot be present at the time of your portfolio review, make sure to have a typed up commentary to be followed as they look through it. Include sketches, and comps to show your thought process. The way you present yourself, attention to detail shows how you are oriented with your work as well.
Repurposing and Optimizing:
File Adaptation Strategies:
repurposing: "attractive for oversized work that has no special paper stock, like a poster, but it can work in lost of other situations"
Repurposing with PDF's: is one of the best ways to repurpose produced work, screen based PDFs are pretty easy to make but "they can often be the key to winning an interview" Tips for creating a good PDF:
File Adaptation Strategies-
colors, types of ink, select paper, die-cuts
repurposing is attractive for over sized work that has no special paper stock, but it can work in a lot of other situations
repurposing with PDF's: things to avoid:
-avoid scrolling-create letter sized pages, so they can be viewed and printed easily
-shoot original files- always return to your original file for your PDF material (ex. flash files should be kept as fla's)
-use TIFF files-so you dont have to scale them
-optimize JPEGS
-merge PDFs
-make your PDF a project-have a redesigned resume as a part of the project,
-create a cover page- contact info name and the page number as a header or footer on each subsequent page
-watch your file sizes- in case the person you are mailing it to has limited storage
-label your artwork-captions
-name PDF sensibly-use full name in the file label
-no headshots-unless you are a performing artist!
I liked the example of the Visual Vocabulary portfolio-clean and simple.
A lot of this chapter focused in on formatting files, which is helpful because I know that some of my work has a lot of color and texture.
I know that some of my work that I want to include in my website (portfolio site ) is Flash Animation, and on page 152, Baron shows how to encode them, by either importing the .swf or as a quicktime or windows media file.
Porfolio Highligh: Micheal Cefaratti
This website is incredible, I absolutely love the opening. I really want to learn how to make my website in Flash. I love his color scheme as well. I have been using Kuler a lot to give me color ideas, and used the Granny Apple colors for my site so far. His navigation is up to the viewer, and has a linear following as well.
Building Design Portfolios 74 - 94
Presenting a Print Portfolio:
This area of the book was of great interest for me, considering I am going to make a print form portfolio of my work. Since I hope to work in magazines, I want to have my work as visual and flat out as possible for the potential employer to see. The first piece, should be an eye catcher but not the BEST piece of work, as you dont want to sell yourself short and have the onlooker lose interest (seeing as I know that not all of my work is thattt good ). Build your pieces in order of excitement so that you get to the final best piece of work by the end! Portfolio presentation is the most important thing, I know that it is important to know the fonts, colors, purpose etc, as you are presenting the portfolio, because they may ask you questions about why you in fact chose the styles and fonts you did, just knowing how to defend your choices shows that you made them for a reason. "A good portfolio should express in some way who you are and what relationship you have to the world"..this will help separate you from being just a designer, and from others.
Preparation: Make a list of questions that you anticipate to be asked, and thus, know the answers! Be prepared to answer anything they may throw at you, and write down the questions that you are asked in interviews, and remember to perfect the answers, and make sure to include what it was that they suggested, or asked for that you may not have had.
Presenting: BE ON TIME! I have to really pay attention to this detail, especially because my friends often call me "pokey"due to my constant rush. I like the tip that says to never respond to comments in an apologetic manner, they are critiques on your work and you shouldn't apologize for your work, you should be confident with everything that you did. Never say "heres what I can do for you"-you sound arrogant and presumptuous that you are fit for the job, or being seriously considered . Chris Pullman, is known for liking print portfolio's the most;"first they present fewer obstacles and difficulties, because they don't rely on technology, many variables and frustrations associated with speed or software incompatibility are eliminated...designers with print portfolios generally tend to offer a deeper level of understanding about their work". Speaking intelligently about your work is a key element in presentations. If you cannot be present at the time of your portfolio review, make sure to have a typed up commentary to be followed as they look through it. Include sketches, and comps to show your thought process. The way you present yourself, attention to detail shows how you are oriented with your work as well.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Blog 7- March 15
Designing a Digial Portfolio-Chapter 7
Cleaning Up: Chapter 7
Baron shows us a successful working process, narrowing down problems with digitized art (tonal problems combining and editing size and resolution, sharpness) and he says that these issues occur in both still and motion pieces of work. He shows you a sequence that is helpful in order to edit issues wiht tone, color, resolution and sharpness.
Choosing a file type-this section is helpful, because to me i always see the various different file types and never know which one is best, for a particular type of artwork. "You should select the form that best suits your purpose at each stage of your working progress".
TIF: photographic or continuous tone files
EPS: illustration and publishing
AVI/MOV: onscreen moving image
GIF/JPEG: image compression formats
PDF: for publishing
MP3:sound
NEVER EDIT A JPEG--! okk!--because they are efficiently compressed
Tonal Values/ Brightness and Contrast: images can suffer from bad contrasting and color shifts, you can adjust these with the histogram chart that regulate the distribution of brightness and contrast.
The cheat sheet (pg 124) was helpful for image editing purposes, as i often see these terms when im working with an image, but am not 100% sure of which to use at certain times.
Color Casts: this helps fix your photo and make it appear the way you intended it to, i have used the variations option before and found it helpful.
Stitching:helps merge two images together, you can merge with stitching software, or by hand
Editing Problems Away:
Moire-"happens when the dot patterns of offset printing clash with the pixel grid, you can eliminate or decrease moire simply by finding a sweet spot (an angle where most of th screen dots dont create pixel patterns)".
Line Art- since lines are for the most part only made of black and white, they can sometimes break up into bitmaps when scanned. using a higher resolution and scaling down the line art helps as well.
Backgrounds- you may not always have to have a background but a good one can help the piece stand out. Baron uses an example from So Takahashi's Terminator ashtray, showing how it was "beautifully shot on a neutral background"
Cropping- "to be safe, before you crop or resize any file, save the file you've been editing and crop a copy"
Sharpening- only sharpen if the image really needs it, you should NEVER sharpen a file that is already compressed! thanks, Baron.
Building a Design Portfolio 40-74
Job Hunting: Cold Calls
I remember hearing about this last week, with our visitor who graduated 5 years ago. Taking posters, flyers from companies, remaking them, and presenting your idea, and hopefully (fingers crossed) having them accept it.
The notes and guild lines for cold calls was very helpful and interesting to read.
The tips for resume was helpful too, because right now I have my resume typed in Microsoft word, and I know I have to change it to InDesign eventually, but I havent finalized my idea just yet. I liked the final design however created by Judith Aronson. The Cover Letter portion of this chapter helped me too, it says "in your cover letter, try to gently encourage the reader to look at your portfolio".
THANK YOU NOTES: can show your appreciation for them taking time out to interview you
Promotions: by mail, I like the idea created by Janet Odgis
As I was looking through the promotions, I saw a logo that I really liked. I have tried a design like this in the past, and am curious to see what would happen if I took another stab at it. The designer, Hirokazu Kurebayashi took his name and in all caps, had it broken up and spelled out within a circle. I have done this in fact before, and now seeing it in a professional light, makes me want to do it again. My name is long, just as Kurebayashi is, so maybe ill attempt it again.
I loved looking through the various PDFs and posters created for certain events. My mind is racing with ideas now.
Cleaning Up: Chapter 7
Baron shows us a successful working process, narrowing down problems with digitized art (tonal problems combining and editing size and resolution, sharpness) and he says that these issues occur in both still and motion pieces of work. He shows you a sequence that is helpful in order to edit issues wiht tone, color, resolution and sharpness.
Choosing a file type-this section is helpful, because to me i always see the various different file types and never know which one is best, for a particular type of artwork. "You should select the form that best suits your purpose at each stage of your working progress".
TIF: photographic or continuous tone files
EPS: illustration and publishing
AVI/MOV: onscreen moving image
GIF/JPEG: image compression formats
PDF: for publishing
MP3:sound
NEVER EDIT A JPEG--! okk!--because they are efficiently compressed
Tonal Values/ Brightness and Contrast: images can suffer from bad contrasting and color shifts, you can adjust these with the histogram chart that regulate the distribution of brightness and contrast.
The cheat sheet (pg 124) was helpful for image editing purposes, as i often see these terms when im working with an image, but am not 100% sure of which to use at certain times.
Color Casts: this helps fix your photo and make it appear the way you intended it to, i have used the variations option before and found it helpful.
Stitching:helps merge two images together, you can merge with stitching software, or by hand
Editing Problems Away:
Moire-"happens when the dot patterns of offset printing clash with the pixel grid, you can eliminate or decrease moire simply by finding a sweet spot (an angle where most of th screen dots dont create pixel patterns)".
Line Art- since lines are for the most part only made of black and white, they can sometimes break up into bitmaps when scanned. using a higher resolution and scaling down the line art helps as well.
Backgrounds- you may not always have to have a background but a good one can help the piece stand out. Baron uses an example from So Takahashi's Terminator ashtray, showing how it was "beautifully shot on a neutral background"
Cropping- "to be safe, before you crop or resize any file, save the file you've been editing and crop a copy"
Sharpening- only sharpen if the image really needs it, you should NEVER sharpen a file that is already compressed! thanks, Baron.
Building a Design Portfolio 40-74
Job Hunting: Cold Calls
I remember hearing about this last week, with our visitor who graduated 5 years ago. Taking posters, flyers from companies, remaking them, and presenting your idea, and hopefully (fingers crossed) having them accept it.
The notes and guild lines for cold calls was very helpful and interesting to read.
The tips for resume was helpful too, because right now I have my resume typed in Microsoft word, and I know I have to change it to InDesign eventually, but I havent finalized my idea just yet. I liked the final design however created by Judith Aronson. The Cover Letter portion of this chapter helped me too, it says "in your cover letter, try to gently encourage the reader to look at your portfolio".
THANK YOU NOTES: can show your appreciation for them taking time out to interview you
Promotions: by mail, I like the idea created by Janet Odgis
As I was looking through the promotions, I saw a logo that I really liked. I have tried a design like this in the past, and am curious to see what would happen if I took another stab at it. The designer, Hirokazu Kurebayashi took his name and in all caps, had it broken up and spelled out within a circle. I have done this in fact before, and now seeing it in a professional light, makes me want to do it again. My name is long, just as Kurebayashi is, so maybe ill attempt it again.
I loved looking through the various PDFs and posters created for certain events. My mind is racing with ideas now.
Blog 6 - March 8
Designing a Digial Portfolio-Chapter 6
Digitalizing Traditional Work: Chapter 6
"In the end your portfolio is all about your work"
-not having the original at hand, people will judge you by two criteria, image quality-sharpness, cleanness, size, and speed and image appropriateness, whether what you've chose to show actually helps them judge your work
-be prepared to evaluate your work twice: before you scan it and when you see the scanned image themselves
-Jeff Kaphingst's portfolio: i liked Jeff's layout, he made things clear, and almost interactive, because of all the movement. the navigation is fun and clear, most importantly.
-photographs: scan vs. digitize
this section focused in on the method to use to upload photos. i have some photos that i like from my photography classes, however they arent printed, all of them are pretty much on my firewire drive, and can just be loaded up digitally. Baron focuses in on how to shoot your work, and how to chose the right camera depending on the work being captured. he says that a digital camera has better results, because you can see right away how it came out, and "reshoot until you are satisfied". a pivoting display screen makes shooting more enjoyable, and more effective. Baron refers to BBK Studio again, talking about how when you use a different color background, to set your images on, that it can effect the way the image looks.
Digitizing Flat Art:
This section, Baron focuses on a good scanner, why is that so important? He claims that "color, feature and time..a good scanner will read and reproduce more colors than a cheap one-with more fidelity to the original art". He gives hints on various types of scanners: flatbed scanning- clean the scanner (duh!), square up your art (you can do this in photoshop that he describes), watch for moire (the dots on the image, which are the product of the screens and pixels colliding). A moire is the fuzzy dots that appear on an image.
Building a Design Portfolio pg 0-40
"a design portfolio is a grouping of loose sheets collected in a portable case"
today we change that our portfolios have new forms such as:
-websites
-motion portfolio
-files on disc
-portable document PDF
-limited edition books/moographs
This book will help with resume, cover letters, assemblage of portfolios, presentation boxes, website designs and self presentation and promotion. "Students are advised to design a website during their studies in order to promote themselves as both print designers and website designers.
"Great work done in school or college is NOT a complete representation of the designer to come!"
I like this part, because I have often felt that my work, while being decent, can be A LOT better, and I rarely feel comfortable with presenting it to potential clients.
"An art director wants and needs to be assured that the new employee can produce the same caliber of work when designing all kinds of materials, from commercial book covers to text-heavy advertisements."
-There are many ways to approach portfolio presentations, as there are varieties of types of designers.
-The most important thing to understand is that SELF PROMOTION, while important, should not take up every waking moment, nor should it look like it took most of your time, it should not be so elaborate that it outshines the work you are exhibiting, or be self-indulgent
-"In the end, the perfectly designed system for displaying your talent will reflect you, your interests, your design skills and your unique creativity"
Making a Working Portfolio:
Portfolio: you can redesign it it next year or next week - knowing this can make a big project less intimidating!-yeyy. Your portfolio shouldn't be pretentious in a way that it overpowers your work, its a grouping of design pieces that composes a cohesive, unified whole.
-create samples in your area of interest, this kind of extra effort shows enthusiasm and initiative, and produces a solid portfolio that shows how you would solve a specific problem, never offer to produce free work as a way of getting a foot in the door
tone: tone of a portfolio should reflect the kind of work that most interest you. Take a unique approach to different pieces. Never have sloppy assembly or poorly trimmed boards.
range: have a wide range of design work, you dont need to have one of every item in the design lexicon, but it is wise for designers to produce portfolios with a wide range of design materials-more is better as long as the designer feels confident about each piece.
Portfolios in book Format: materials thematically or link them in a biographical manner, explaining different class projects, typographic exercise, goals and aspirations somewhat like chapters in a book.
-the book format is practical and keeps the portfolio fluid; with the availability of personal computers and high-end printers, making a limited-edition book portfolio is now feasible where it might not have been 20 years ago.
-some drawbacks- viewer cannot see the original size or experience the tactile qualities of the original materials, including three dimensional features such as foldouts, pop-ups or variations in paper stock
showing process: thumbnails, rough sketches, text pages that reveal the path taken to the final design solution, they explain the problem that was presented, restrictions that were imposed, or any specifications from the teacher or client
Presentation, Boxes, Cases, and Portfolios:
choosing the proper package:
The larger the dimensions of the portfolio, the less experienced the applicant
its funny that they have it, but the exact book that I bought last week, is here in this book. The portfolio that I bought has screws that undo to take out or add in sleeves of work.
Digitalizing Traditional Work: Chapter 6
"In the end your portfolio is all about your work"
-not having the original at hand, people will judge you by two criteria, image quality-sharpness, cleanness, size, and speed and image appropriateness, whether what you've chose to show actually helps them judge your work
-be prepared to evaluate your work twice: before you scan it and when you see the scanned image themselves
-Jeff Kaphingst's portfolio: i liked Jeff's layout, he made things clear, and almost interactive, because of all the movement. the navigation is fun and clear, most importantly.
-photographs: scan vs. digitize
this section focused in on the method to use to upload photos. i have some photos that i like from my photography classes, however they arent printed, all of them are pretty much on my firewire drive, and can just be loaded up digitally. Baron focuses in on how to shoot your work, and how to chose the right camera depending on the work being captured. he says that a digital camera has better results, because you can see right away how it came out, and "reshoot until you are satisfied". a pivoting display screen makes shooting more enjoyable, and more effective. Baron refers to BBK Studio again, talking about how when you use a different color background, to set your images on, that it can effect the way the image looks.
Digitizing Flat Art:
This section, Baron focuses on a good scanner, why is that so important? He claims that "color, feature and time..a good scanner will read and reproduce more colors than a cheap one-with more fidelity to the original art". He gives hints on various types of scanners: flatbed scanning- clean the scanner (duh!), square up your art (you can do this in photoshop that he describes), watch for moire (the dots on the image, which are the product of the screens and pixels colliding). A moire is the fuzzy dots that appear on an image.
Building a Design Portfolio pg 0-40
"a design portfolio is a grouping of loose sheets collected in a portable case"
today we change that our portfolios have new forms such as:
-websites
-motion portfolio
-files on disc
-portable document PDF
-limited edition books/moographs
This book will help with resume, cover letters, assemblage of portfolios, presentation boxes, website designs and self presentation and promotion. "Students are advised to design a website during their studies in order to promote themselves as both print designers and website designers.
"Great work done in school or college is NOT a complete representation of the designer to come!"
I like this part, because I have often felt that my work, while being decent, can be A LOT better, and I rarely feel comfortable with presenting it to potential clients.
"An art director wants and needs to be assured that the new employee can produce the same caliber of work when designing all kinds of materials, from commercial book covers to text-heavy advertisements."
-There are many ways to approach portfolio presentations, as there are varieties of types of designers.
-The most important thing to understand is that SELF PROMOTION, while important, should not take up every waking moment, nor should it look like it took most of your time, it should not be so elaborate that it outshines the work you are exhibiting, or be self-indulgent
-"In the end, the perfectly designed system for displaying your talent will reflect you, your interests, your design skills and your unique creativity"
Making a Working Portfolio:
Portfolio: you can redesign it it next year or next week - knowing this can make a big project less intimidating!-yeyy. Your portfolio shouldn't be pretentious in a way that it overpowers your work, its a grouping of design pieces that composes a cohesive, unified whole.
-create samples in your area of interest, this kind of extra effort shows enthusiasm and initiative, and produces a solid portfolio that shows how you would solve a specific problem, never offer to produce free work as a way of getting a foot in the door
tone: tone of a portfolio should reflect the kind of work that most interest you. Take a unique approach to different pieces. Never have sloppy assembly or poorly trimmed boards.
range: have a wide range of design work, you dont need to have one of every item in the design lexicon, but it is wise for designers to produce portfolios with a wide range of design materials-more is better as long as the designer feels confident about each piece.
Portfolios in book Format: materials thematically or link them in a biographical manner, explaining different class projects, typographic exercise, goals and aspirations somewhat like chapters in a book.
-the book format is practical and keeps the portfolio fluid; with the availability of personal computers and high-end printers, making a limited-edition book portfolio is now feasible where it might not have been 20 years ago.
-some drawbacks- viewer cannot see the original size or experience the tactile qualities of the original materials, including three dimensional features such as foldouts, pop-ups or variations in paper stock
showing process: thumbnails, rough sketches, text pages that reveal the path taken to the final design solution, they explain the problem that was presented, restrictions that were imposed, or any specifications from the teacher or client
Presentation, Boxes, Cases, and Portfolios:
choosing the proper package:
The larger the dimensions of the portfolio, the less experienced the applicant
its funny that they have it, but the exact book that I bought last week, is here in this book. The portfolio that I bought has screws that undo to take out or add in sleeves of work.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Blog 5 (Part2) - March 1
today i looked on blackboard at all the personal websites created last spring. i have always been a fan of john-austen catero's work, and i have actually met with him to discuss potential work at conde nast, as my father works there and he wanted to have the chance to speak with him. i have had some classes with him and i really enjoy his style and technique-and how he uses flash for his websites.
the first image on his website is really captivating and really looks like there is movement occuring. i have some photos from a digital photography class which i would like to see presented in a way such that he used.
after taking time to look through my old pictures i found some that i thought were pretty cool that i could see being used on the first page of my site.
the first image on his website is really captivating and really looks like there is movement occuring. i have some photos from a digital photography class which i would like to see presented in a way such that he used.
after taking time to look through my old pictures i found some that i thought were pretty cool that i could see being used on the first page of my site.
Blog 5 - March 1
Designing a Digital Portfolio Part Deux: Collecting and Preparing
Organizing your work:
Do not wait till last minute to create your portfolio and compile it, throughout the process of developing it, gather your work! Baron says its only hard in the beginning but once you have everything organized the rest will flow, waiting till last minute can be a result of hard work that isnt rewarded with being paid.
Collecting Material:
-everything you do should remain in your possession organized and neat-in forms of cd, print or disk ( as said in previous chapters)
-keep process materials-ask "is this project a keeper"-meaning you should hold onto all the process work - everything from sketches to mindmaps and storyboards-"your concepts can be a powerful took to help you illustrate your creative process in your portfolio
-keep editable backups of computer use- keep all forms of your work, not just the final pdf of a document, the layers and steps taken can be helpful when seen
-Students:retrieve graded work- i like this section, as i am still a student at this time. graded work has comments and critiques which can be very helpful, as their suggestions can really improve a piece of work- be responsible for your own work and get it back before the year ends!!!
-request samples when working for hire- i would feel weird asking this, but it makes sense, ask your potential employer to show you some of their work, sample copies and perhaps a sample portfolio.
-get plenty of samples-similar to the past suggestion, Baron says that "you can never have too many samples", seeing print samples can really help you get a stronger impression on the company and their work
-photograph artwork- shoot your own work as soon as it is done-this is a great idea, something i have definitely never done before. i usually just back up my work on my firewire and make sure that it is safely saved.
Strong Original Art:
STORE WORK WITH CARE!! badd things can happen (that one picture freaked me out, i often have nightmares that my firewire drive is going to one day break on me :( )
Everything from storing traditional materials, such as flat artwork, to portfolios, to process work, must be stored in a way that will preserve its image-you dont want anything that will get in its way, stain it, cause damage or be affected by weather or sunlight.
Storing Digital Output:
this has to do with the quality of the work once it is printed, does the printer have the ability to print out your project exactly how you want it? the sidebar that wrote about this really helped in that it mentioned the importance of running a CMYK bar test that shows you the quality of the ink and the colors, and how you can use the print outs as a guide by placing one piece on a sunlit wall, another in a box with a lid someplace dark, and another in direct sunlight.
Organizing Samples and Artwork:
Baron made a good point-have records of your work in case of theft, that way you can prove to the police that the work existed and was yours. He talks about storage of work: orginial non-printed artwork should be in flat files, shelves or racks, and keep a record of where it is, take pictures of the pieces and add text describing them. Documenting the work now makes the most sense and keeps you from having to remember the details of all the work at once much later.
Organizing Digital Files:
Five disciplines:
-group (use folders for each client or project series, use a new folder for each project, link the folders, have an alias file on the desktop to make reaching them easier)
-name (name uniquely, avoid generic names, name descriptively, avoid numbers, name briefly - long names can get cut off and be confusing, dont use colons, semi colons or slashes)
-show (using icons is one of the best visual methods of showing work, use catalog thumbnails they create bigger thumbnails, and can read the file dimensions from many formats- for example iView MediaPro is a cataloging software, as well as adobe Bridge in my experience )
-weed (throw things out!! simplify where you can, have a process folder for any ideas and throw out errrs when the project is finished, update when you can throughout a project
-backup ( keep all copies in one place, as you finish each project, copy the final version to a disk, or external hard drive, make a catalog of your work, FileMakerPro, media that can organize your work is beneficial because you can have a sideshow of your work, you can bring in whole folders into the catalog or bring in individual files)
Portfolio Highlight:
Gabe Rubin / Left Brain Right Brain
SOO cool!
Rubins portfolio site "proves that the two sides of the brain can exist in perfect harmony...its unusual layout decision and color palette dazzle, whiles its intuitive navigation and clearly presented content make it easy to appreciate"
I looked at this website, finding myself so mystified by Rubins transitions and navigation techniques i really enjoyed the flow from one image to the next. His style is dark and dreary- a look i often appreciate and admire. i like how its not all neat and linear, he really takes on a new approach.
Organizing your work:
Do not wait till last minute to create your portfolio and compile it, throughout the process of developing it, gather your work! Baron says its only hard in the beginning but once you have everything organized the rest will flow, waiting till last minute can be a result of hard work that isnt rewarded with being paid.
Collecting Material:
-everything you do should remain in your possession organized and neat-in forms of cd, print or disk ( as said in previous chapters)
-keep process materials-ask "is this project a keeper"-meaning you should hold onto all the process work - everything from sketches to mindmaps and storyboards-"your concepts can be a powerful took to help you illustrate your creative process in your portfolio
-keep editable backups of computer use- keep all forms of your work, not just the final pdf of a document, the layers and steps taken can be helpful when seen
-Students:retrieve graded work- i like this section, as i am still a student at this time. graded work has comments and critiques which can be very helpful, as their suggestions can really improve a piece of work- be responsible for your own work and get it back before the year ends!!!
-request samples when working for hire- i would feel weird asking this, but it makes sense, ask your potential employer to show you some of their work, sample copies and perhaps a sample portfolio.
-get plenty of samples-similar to the past suggestion, Baron says that "you can never have too many samples", seeing print samples can really help you get a stronger impression on the company and their work
-photograph artwork- shoot your own work as soon as it is done-this is a great idea, something i have definitely never done before. i usually just back up my work on my firewire and make sure that it is safely saved.
Strong Original Art:
STORE WORK WITH CARE!! badd things can happen (that one picture freaked me out, i often have nightmares that my firewire drive is going to one day break on me :( )
Everything from storing traditional materials, such as flat artwork, to portfolios, to process work, must be stored in a way that will preserve its image-you dont want anything that will get in its way, stain it, cause damage or be affected by weather or sunlight.
Storing Digital Output:
this has to do with the quality of the work once it is printed, does the printer have the ability to print out your project exactly how you want it? the sidebar that wrote about this really helped in that it mentioned the importance of running a CMYK bar test that shows you the quality of the ink and the colors, and how you can use the print outs as a guide by placing one piece on a sunlit wall, another in a box with a lid someplace dark, and another in direct sunlight.
Organizing Samples and Artwork:
Baron made a good point-have records of your work in case of theft, that way you can prove to the police that the work existed and was yours. He talks about storage of work: orginial non-printed artwork should be in flat files, shelves or racks, and keep a record of where it is, take pictures of the pieces and add text describing them. Documenting the work now makes the most sense and keeps you from having to remember the details of all the work at once much later.
Organizing Digital Files:
Five disciplines:
-group (use folders for each client or project series, use a new folder for each project, link the folders, have an alias file on the desktop to make reaching them easier)
-name (name uniquely, avoid generic names, name descriptively, avoid numbers, name briefly - long names can get cut off and be confusing, dont use colons, semi colons or slashes)
-show (using icons is one of the best visual methods of showing work, use catalog thumbnails they create bigger thumbnails, and can read the file dimensions from many formats- for example iView MediaPro is a cataloging software, as well as adobe Bridge in my experience )
-weed (throw things out!! simplify where you can, have a process folder for any ideas and throw out errrs when the project is finished, update when you can throughout a project
-backup ( keep all copies in one place, as you finish each project, copy the final version to a disk, or external hard drive, make a catalog of your work, FileMakerPro, media that can organize your work is beneficial because you can have a sideshow of your work, you can bring in whole folders into the catalog or bring in individual files)
Portfolio Highlight:
Gabe Rubin / Left Brain Right Brain
SOO cool!
Rubins portfolio site "proves that the two sides of the brain can exist in perfect harmony...its unusual layout decision and color palette dazzle, whiles its intuitive navigation and clearly presented content make it easy to appreciate"
I looked at this website, finding myself so mystified by Rubins transitions and navigation techniques i really enjoyed the flow from one image to the next. His style is dark and dreary- a look i often appreciate and admire. i like how its not all neat and linear, he really takes on a new approach.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Blog 4 - February 22
Designing a digital portfolio Chapter 4: Format
Flexibility :
—Synonyms 1. pliable, elastic, supple. Flexible, limber, pliant refer to that which bends easily. Flexible refers to that which is capable of being bent and adds sometimes the idea of compressibility or expansibility: a flexible piece of rubber hose. Limber is esp. applied to the body to refer to ease of movement; it resembles flexible except that there is an idea of even greater ease in bending: a limber dancer. Pliant stresses an inherent quality or tendency to bend that does not require force or pressure from the outside; it may mean merely adaptable or may have a derogatory sense: a pliant character. 2. tractable, compliant.
—Antonyms 1. stiff. 2. rigid.
There are many different options available for packaging a portfolio, PDF, slideshow presentations, interactive websites or CD- there is NO right format!
Main breakdown: portable or online
Portable:
methods:
Zip disks: Baron says no-undependable and fragile
CD's: most common choice for a disk based profolio, can choose between a CD-R and a CD-RW. What is the difference? A CD-R makes it so that you can only copy the cd once, and make no changes once its burned. A CD-RW makes it so that you can write many times, this version is the best, as knowing me, i will be making numerous edits. One bad aspect of a CD is that some may find inserting the cd and searching for info to be too much work. On the other hand, some find the CD a great version because you can edit the image, and view it anywhere at any time, and there is no need for internet to view its contents. Baron shows an example of Robert Shearings portfolio site, showing how the quality shifts on different mediums.
Mini CD's: just the right size! however they "do not play nicely with any slot loaded CD player"
DVD: best choice according to Baron for moving image work.
Laptop: you never have to worry about platform issues.
Online methods: many people use the internet as a means of displaying their portfolio. "an online portfolio is one that people can view from their very own desktops, on their own time" says Baron, I feel as thought this ability, makes it easier on the person reviewing the portfolio, and seeing as the design field is increasingly becoming web-based and involved, it makes sense too. Personal websites seem to be one of the more personal versions of a site. Last semester, in fact, I had to make a personal site of my own topic, so I chose to use it to culminate all of my work, or at least the work that I was happy with, and put it into a site.
I liked the section where Baron wrote out the difference between jpgs and pdfs-as I didnt know what the benefit of each was, or why chose one over the other. I also found a site that wrote about the difference between a jpg and a gif.
Baron says that while a personal site is beneficial, you should keep things to a slight minimum, as to not have "your work could get lost on it, unless th site feature your portfolio or has a premium portfolio level that makes you more visible".
wwar.com is a site that is a site that helps out with personal websites, that you pay for yearly for guidance and tips. I browsed though the site and found it helpful where it had research links. Sharpeonline was a really amazing portfolio site with great photographs, i really enjoyed looking through it. Baron describes it as being designed through macromedia flash, a program which i really enjoy using, and learning about. Throughout the site, is included the portfolios of the members that work for sharpeonline.com, it was cool to visit them and see the different styles and approaches these great creators use.
Flexibility :
—Synonyms 1. pliable, elastic, supple. Flexible, limber, pliant refer to that which bends easily. Flexible refers to that which is capable of being bent and adds sometimes the idea of compressibility or expansibility: a flexible piece of rubber hose. Limber is esp. applied to the body to refer to ease of movement; it resembles flexible except that there is an idea of even greater ease in bending: a limber dancer. Pliant stresses an inherent quality or tendency to bend that does not require force or pressure from the outside; it may mean merely adaptable or may have a derogatory sense: a pliant character. 2. tractable, compliant.
—Antonyms 1. stiff. 2. rigid.
There are many different options available for packaging a portfolio, PDF, slideshow presentations, interactive websites or CD- there is NO right format!
Main breakdown: portable or online
Portable:
methods:
Zip disks: Baron says no-undependable and fragile
CD's: most common choice for a disk based profolio, can choose between a CD-R and a CD-RW. What is the difference? A CD-R makes it so that you can only copy the cd once, and make no changes once its burned. A CD-RW makes it so that you can write many times, this version is the best, as knowing me, i will be making numerous edits. One bad aspect of a CD is that some may find inserting the cd and searching for info to be too much work. On the other hand, some find the CD a great version because you can edit the image, and view it anywhere at any time, and there is no need for internet to view its contents. Baron shows an example of Robert Shearings portfolio site, showing how the quality shifts on different mediums.
Mini CD's: just the right size! however they "do not play nicely with any slot loaded CD player"
DVD: best choice according to Baron for moving image work.
Laptop: you never have to worry about platform issues.
Online methods: many people use the internet as a means of displaying their portfolio. "an online portfolio is one that people can view from their very own desktops, on their own time" says Baron, I feel as thought this ability, makes it easier on the person reviewing the portfolio, and seeing as the design field is increasingly becoming web-based and involved, it makes sense too. Personal websites seem to be one of the more personal versions of a site. Last semester, in fact, I had to make a personal site of my own topic, so I chose to use it to culminate all of my work, or at least the work that I was happy with, and put it into a site.
I liked the section where Baron wrote out the difference between jpgs and pdfs-as I didnt know what the benefit of each was, or why chose one over the other. I also found a site that wrote about the difference between a jpg and a gif.
Baron says that while a personal site is beneficial, you should keep things to a slight minimum, as to not have "your work could get lost on it, unless th site feature your portfolio or has a premium portfolio level that makes you more visible".
wwar.com is a site that is a site that helps out with personal websites, that you pay for yearly for guidance and tips. I browsed though the site and found it helpful where it had research links. Sharpeonline was a really amazing portfolio site with great photographs, i really enjoyed looking through it. Baron describes it as being designed through macromedia flash, a program which i really enjoy using, and learning about. Throughout the site, is included the portfolios of the members that work for sharpeonline.com, it was cool to visit them and see the different styles and approaches these great creators use.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Blog 3 (part2) - February 15
How to Be A Graphic Designer, without Losing your Soul: Chapters 5 & 6
is this concept even possible?
Chapter 5: Running a studio
Adrian Shaughnessy, the author of How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul, , writes that the fact that design "is still the product of individual minds" is what makes the field so popular. The design of something new, takes time and planning, while the building of a car, as Shaughnessy uses as an example, is fully automated. The steps are 1, 2,3..
What do you need to make a design studio? A fully loaded staff says Shaughnessy, and one that is creative as well- "always employ people who are better than you". Well in my eyes, what does "better than" actually mean anyway? Shaughnessy says that he was told that it means someone who "has skills and abilities that you lack is the only way to ensure a studies growth and development".
I like the little blurbs in blue on the margins of each page. The tidbits of information provided good tips and examples of true experiences that the author has had. I never realized how important the search for a receptionist is as well, you need one that is efficient, trustworthy, organized ad reliable. I thought it was interesting when Shaughnessy said that "adding staff alters the dynamics of a company...it might enable you to do more work, but it adds to your overhead and makes it imperative to increase turnover" aka loss of freedom. The more people that are hired to the company, the more you need to look out for and provide for.
Angela Lorenz: an artist from Berlin has a "highly distinctive 'digital aesthetic' which makes her work unique". She focuses her work on print design, screen design, programming and alive visual presentations for electronic-music concerts". I like the fact that Lorenz did not go to design school, and that her ideas and deisngs came straight from her heart and soul. In school she was influenced by language "as a system or code", this to me is really cool, because language really is, inevitably a system, code, that we use to communicate with one another. Not everyone understands the same language, however there are ways to learn them, and crack them if need be. Through her internships she learned from her fellow coworkers, and they all helped each other out.; she is a self taught designer.
Lorenz typically works with electronic music. I researched a little bit about this, and found a cool site called Analogik, which is a site dedicated to electronic music. This genre of music attracted Lorenz, because it is a type of experimental music, I found this cool, because a lot of designing is experimental, because you are always mixing and matching different styles and techniques that you never know what will work.
Chapter 6: Winning New Work
"everybody needs graphic design, or so it seems"...
Shaughnessy is so good he can pick out the font used while in Ardeche,wherever that is! The author writes about how there is rarely enough work , that most of the time it seems scarce when we most need it and overkill when we are bombarded with work. Shaughnessy quotes Dorothy Goslett, "this will be the main battle of your whole...career: not only to find clients to start you going but constantly to be finding clients to keep you going".
is this concept even possible?
Chapter 5: Running a studio
Adrian Shaughnessy, the author of How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul, , writes that the fact that design "is still the product of individual minds" is what makes the field so popular. The design of something new, takes time and planning, while the building of a car, as Shaughnessy uses as an example, is fully automated. The steps are 1, 2,3..
What do you need to make a design studio? A fully loaded staff says Shaughnessy, and one that is creative as well- "always employ people who are better than you". Well in my eyes, what does "better than" actually mean anyway? Shaughnessy says that he was told that it means someone who "has skills and abilities that you lack is the only way to ensure a studies growth and development".
I like the little blurbs in blue on the margins of each page. The tidbits of information provided good tips and examples of true experiences that the author has had. I never realized how important the search for a receptionist is as well, you need one that is efficient, trustworthy, organized ad reliable. I thought it was interesting when Shaughnessy said that "adding staff alters the dynamics of a company...it might enable you to do more work, but it adds to your overhead and makes it imperative to increase turnover" aka loss of freedom. The more people that are hired to the company, the more you need to look out for and provide for.
Angela Lorenz: an artist from Berlin has a "highly distinctive 'digital aesthetic' which makes her work unique". She focuses her work on print design, screen design, programming and alive visual presentations for electronic-music concerts". I like the fact that Lorenz did not go to design school, and that her ideas and deisngs came straight from her heart and soul. In school she was influenced by language "as a system or code", this to me is really cool, because language really is, inevitably a system, code, that we use to communicate with one another. Not everyone understands the same language, however there are ways to learn them, and crack them if need be. Through her internships she learned from her fellow coworkers, and they all helped each other out.; she is a self taught designer.
Lorenz typically works with electronic music. I researched a little bit about this, and found a cool site called Analogik, which is a site dedicated to electronic music. This genre of music attracted Lorenz, because it is a type of experimental music, I found this cool, because a lot of designing is experimental, because you are always mixing and matching different styles and techniques that you never know what will work.
Chapter 6: Winning New Work
"everybody needs graphic design, or so it seems"...
Shaughnessy is so good he can pick out the font used while in Ardeche,wherever that is! The author writes about how there is rarely enough work , that most of the time it seems scarce when we most need it and overkill when we are bombarded with work. Shaughnessy quotes Dorothy Goslett, "this will be the main battle of your whole...career: not only to find clients to start you going but constantly to be finding clients to keep you going".
Blog 3 - February 15
Designing a digital portfolio Chapter 3: Audience
au·di·ence Pronunciation[aw-dee-uhns]
–noun
1.the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively, as in attendance at a theater or concert: The audience was respectful of the speaker's opinion.
2.the persons reached by a book, radio or television broadcast, etc.; public: Some works of music have a wide and varied audience.
3.a regular public that manifests interest, support, enthusiasm, or the like; a following: Every art form has its audience.
4.opportunity to be heard; chance to speak to or before a person or group; a hearing.
5.a formal interview with a sovereign, high officer of government, or other high-ranking person: an audience with the pope.
6.the act of hearing, or attending to, words or sounds.
"you dont become someone new with each group...you adapt your style to feel more comfortable- or to make the people you're with more comfortable with you"- Baron
This quote seems accurate, in that as you would go on an interview, you are not changing who you are in order to seem more appealing to the client, but you are trying to show how, despite who you are, and what you are accustomed to, that you can adapt and acquire their style and understand where they are coming from, and what they hope to create. I always feel as though I am not good enough, or that I lack the abilities that a company may need or want from me, however, if I can make them believe that my knowledge will be useful for them, and that my thinking can be flexible enough to work with their concepts, then maybe I can be the one for them.
ReSearch: Baron writes on how crucial it is to have an understanding of the companies you are interviewing for. By showing interest and knowledge about the company, the more suitable you may seem for the job, the more prepared you are to answer particular questions about their company or their current work, the better. Baron includes 4 steps on how to conduct your research on a company or job field:
1-who's your target audience?-you need to research who your target audience is, find out the reaction and preferences of other products or companies, and see what logos, styles, marketing techniques they use and how the audience responds. This also deals with the type of company you would want to work for, large or small? long projects? or quick demanding ones? "how company size is likely to impact your project opportunities"
**The market assessment area (page 44) was very helpful, as it included information on looking for a job, and looking for clientele. The breakdown really helped clear any misconceptions. For the looking for a job area, it included bullet points specifying geography, company size, type of projects, types of media...etc. For the looking for clientele, the bullets included information about their type of audience, other creative opportunities within, the type of work they purchase and so on. The specific job category was interesting for me because I never really thought of the job search process in this way, it really is crucial to research the background of the company on top of the kind of work they do, as it could potentially be a place where you would work and spend hours of your time.
2-what categories should you search?- once you have an idea of your target audience, you are looking for "general ideas about this target", how you can narrow down the companies that fit your target, their location...this will all be helpful in the long run. Baron says to have several pages of potential targets!!! KEEP this in mind Kat ;)
3-what specific companies should you approach?- the target audience/companies that are now organized, are the companies in which we are "testing our portfolio with. Baron suggested a bunch of questions that will be useful to "find answers through networking, periodicals, school contacts, websites, or other research sources".
4-what do these organizations want from you?-
before your begin your portfolio, Baron suggests designing your audience and determining their basic category information. By doing so, you have the chance to create a portfolio, or a compilation of your work in a specifically appealing way for that company or audience. The questions shown in this section were helpful guides, they play a good role as the opening questions during an interview. Knowing these answers are important, in that you are investing so much time at this one company and you want to make sure that it is a place you will be comfortable at.
Search Tools-
Personal Contacts-This area of the chapter was appealing to me, especially, because my dad works at Conde Nast and holds a significant position in the company. His influence was the prime reason for both of my interning opportunities, and I have made sure to take the most that I could from my experiences. Even though I know I had these great chances to be at two great companies, I sometimes become anxious that the only reason I got to work was because of my dad, and not because of my abilities. While at Quad Graphics, one of the top printing companies in the country, I had my own desk, and went into work everyday doing my thing, and really producing work that was later featured in magazines. I truly felt as though my contributions were valuable and that my time was valued. I also made some very great friends while at Quad, and still keep in close contact with the sales manager, Liz Fowler, who in turn has become close to a mentor figure to me. However, at Conde Nast, I felt more like an intern, doing minor tasks, but still experiencing the work flow of producing a magazine issue. They gave me awesome opportunities to go on photo shoots, sit in on the creative director and her team when given the cover stories for an issue, planning out the images to be used to illustrate article titles, as well as to work with the fitness editor. I got a broad view of the daily work life of Self Magazine. From Self magazine, I walked out being friends with the other interns, as well as the editor and the creative editor, who I look up to and admire. So I know that I am so lucky to have these chances, and that I shouldn't let them make my abilities seem insignificant, I need to still be able to prove to them however, that I am more than an executives daughter.
Schools Universities and Alumni Associations- The only real alumni association that I currently have under my belt, is that I am a member of Kappa Alpha Theta on campus. With this, I have many alumni contacts, that I really hope will be useful as I enter the business world.
Internet- the internet is a fine way of gathering information about a company and their objective. Baron suggests a strategic approach for web searching for a job;for example starting off at yahoo! or google, with key words, cities etc. From here you can also create a targeted search as well.
BBK Studio: Know your market-if you know your market well enough and can have all the information a client or audience may need, while having an appealing design, your off to a good start. Baron claims that "speed and efficiency are important to corporate clients" you need easy navigation, quick loading, and up to date information.
Side Note:I remember when I went out to lunch with a woman that I worked with at Quad Graphics, and she suggested to me that what will prove to be valuable always, is the ability to carry on conversation about daily news, and any current events. She advised me to begin reading the new york times, one day a week, slowly beginning with reading just one section (as I am not an avid newspaper reader, i need some time to get into the swing of things). By doing so, I will be up to date with at least some part of our news, and be able to converse professionally with a client, or coworker.
au·di·ence Pronunciation[aw-dee-uhns]
–noun
1.the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively, as in attendance at a theater or concert: The audience was respectful of the speaker's opinion.
2.the persons reached by a book, radio or television broadcast, etc.; public: Some works of music have a wide and varied audience.
3.a regular public that manifests interest, support, enthusiasm, or the like; a following: Every art form has its audience.
4.opportunity to be heard; chance to speak to or before a person or group; a hearing.
5.a formal interview with a sovereign, high officer of government, or other high-ranking person: an audience with the pope.
6.the act of hearing, or attending to, words or sounds.
"you dont become someone new with each group...you adapt your style to feel more comfortable- or to make the people you're with more comfortable with you"- Baron
This quote seems accurate, in that as you would go on an interview, you are not changing who you are in order to seem more appealing to the client, but you are trying to show how, despite who you are, and what you are accustomed to, that you can adapt and acquire their style and understand where they are coming from, and what they hope to create. I always feel as though I am not good enough, or that I lack the abilities that a company may need or want from me, however, if I can make them believe that my knowledge will be useful for them, and that my thinking can be flexible enough to work with their concepts, then maybe I can be the one for them.
ReSearch: Baron writes on how crucial it is to have an understanding of the companies you are interviewing for. By showing interest and knowledge about the company, the more suitable you may seem for the job, the more prepared you are to answer particular questions about their company or their current work, the better. Baron includes 4 steps on how to conduct your research on a company or job field:
1-who's your target audience?-you need to research who your target audience is, find out the reaction and preferences of other products or companies, and see what logos, styles, marketing techniques they use and how the audience responds. This also deals with the type of company you would want to work for, large or small? long projects? or quick demanding ones? "how company size is likely to impact your project opportunities"
**The market assessment area (page 44) was very helpful, as it included information on looking for a job, and looking for clientele. The breakdown really helped clear any misconceptions. For the looking for a job area, it included bullet points specifying geography, company size, type of projects, types of media...etc. For the looking for clientele, the bullets included information about their type of audience, other creative opportunities within, the type of work they purchase and so on. The specific job category was interesting for me because I never really thought of the job search process in this way, it really is crucial to research the background of the company on top of the kind of work they do, as it could potentially be a place where you would work and spend hours of your time.
2-what categories should you search?- once you have an idea of your target audience, you are looking for "general ideas about this target", how you can narrow down the companies that fit your target, their location...this will all be helpful in the long run. Baron says to have several pages of potential targets!!! KEEP this in mind Kat ;)
3-what specific companies should you approach?- the target audience/companies that are now organized, are the companies in which we are "testing our portfolio with. Baron suggested a bunch of questions that will be useful to "find answers through networking, periodicals, school contacts, websites, or other research sources".
4-what do these organizations want from you?-
before your begin your portfolio, Baron suggests designing your audience and determining their basic category information. By doing so, you have the chance to create a portfolio, or a compilation of your work in a specifically appealing way for that company or audience. The questions shown in this section were helpful guides, they play a good role as the opening questions during an interview. Knowing these answers are important, in that you are investing so much time at this one company and you want to make sure that it is a place you will be comfortable at.
Search Tools-
Personal Contacts-This area of the chapter was appealing to me, especially, because my dad works at Conde Nast and holds a significant position in the company. His influence was the prime reason for both of my interning opportunities, and I have made sure to take the most that I could from my experiences. Even though I know I had these great chances to be at two great companies, I sometimes become anxious that the only reason I got to work was because of my dad, and not because of my abilities. While at Quad Graphics, one of the top printing companies in the country, I had my own desk, and went into work everyday doing my thing, and really producing work that was later featured in magazines. I truly felt as though my contributions were valuable and that my time was valued. I also made some very great friends while at Quad, and still keep in close contact with the sales manager, Liz Fowler, who in turn has become close to a mentor figure to me. However, at Conde Nast, I felt more like an intern, doing minor tasks, but still experiencing the work flow of producing a magazine issue. They gave me awesome opportunities to go on photo shoots, sit in on the creative director and her team when given the cover stories for an issue, planning out the images to be used to illustrate article titles, as well as to work with the fitness editor. I got a broad view of the daily work life of Self Magazine. From Self magazine, I walked out being friends with the other interns, as well as the editor and the creative editor, who I look up to and admire. So I know that I am so lucky to have these chances, and that I shouldn't let them make my abilities seem insignificant, I need to still be able to prove to them however, that I am more than an executives daughter.
Schools Universities and Alumni Associations- The only real alumni association that I currently have under my belt, is that I am a member of Kappa Alpha Theta on campus. With this, I have many alumni contacts, that I really hope will be useful as I enter the business world.
Internet- the internet is a fine way of gathering information about a company and their objective. Baron suggests a strategic approach for web searching for a job;for example starting off at yahoo! or google, with key words, cities etc. From here you can also create a targeted search as well.
BBK Studio: Know your market-if you know your market well enough and can have all the information a client or audience may need, while having an appealing design, your off to a good start. Baron claims that "speed and efficiency are important to corporate clients" you need easy navigation, quick loading, and up to date information.
Side Note:I remember when I went out to lunch with a woman that I worked with at Quad Graphics, and she suggested to me that what will prove to be valuable always, is the ability to carry on conversation about daily news, and any current events. She advised me to begin reading the new york times, one day a week, slowly beginning with reading just one section (as I am not an avid newspaper reader, i need some time to get into the swing of things). By doing so, I will be up to date with at least some part of our news, and be able to converse professionally with a client, or coworker.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Blog 2 - February 8
Designing a Digial Portfolio-Chapter 2
Adaptation:
Soul searching; this chapter title hit home, I related to it because I really do find myself often at a loss of words when it comes to describing myself and my work. I usually just go about creating my work, and my assignments by just starting from scratch and moving forward. In the past few months in my classes, my teachers have really honed in the importance of mind mapping, sketching, and thumbnails, before actually starting a new design or project. I feel that as I have become more comfortable and used to this process, that the task of describing my work will become easier.
The self-assement checklist reminded me a lot of when we made our mind maps, where we had to assess our skills and put them into true perspective-what are we really familiar with, what we have slight experience with. I liked the part when the questionnaire asked why we were making the portfolio and the specifics of how we like to work etc, i felt as though they opened my eyes to questions that i should be aware of, if i had not been already.
When Baron wrote about strengths and weaknesses, and how companies look to see if you have the ability to handle their work, it reminded me of my internship at Quad Graphics,where i would change location weekly and get to experience the many different areas of work. The process of magazine printing is exhaustive, and the floor that I worked on had stations where you worked on page inventory, to color correction, scanning of photos and artwork, and any other editing of the page layout. I related to this area of the reading because as i was interning i felt as though they were putting me in different situations where i had t quickly learn the work process and do it well. this work, i found was not that challenging, and i enjoyed it very much. When Baron wrote that "knowledge is tougher to assess because it can be hard to recognize what you don't know", I realized how true the statement was. There is always so much more to learn and its when you are taught something new you can immediately create a connection with what you already know, and it may seem like an easy task to pick up, when in fact it may prove to be more challenging. I know that while I have taken many courses on digital design, that there are so many more tools and skills that I will have to learn and face the challenge of learning in the future. I also agreed with Barons statement "self-confidence is important, but it should be based on reality", this is true because you cannot expect yourself to be able to do everything, however you need to be confident in what you do know, in order to have someone trust that you can do the job for them. Creating short term goals will most definitely be the most beneficial method of moving up in the creative business.
Baron writes on the importance of freelancing or temp jobs as ways of reaching your long term goal. I worked at Conde Nast Publications this past summer, at Self Magazine, and it was there that I saw many freelancers coming into the office to work on the website, or on a photo shoot, to do their work and then leave. I found it intriguing and very interesting that they are almost nomadic in the sense, when they work. They take their job on the run and gain experience and clientele all over the city. By doing this type of work, they develop an extensive portfolio.
PersonAlity-I would love for my portfolio to show some of mine. However, sometimes im at a loss of what kind of personality i have. I know im quirky and sometimes really reserved but other than that I dont really know how I can convey that artistically. As Baron wrote "your personality should be less obvious in a client project" when you are in graphic design, as you are hoping to sell yourself as a flexible and open minded individual. Keeping the quantity down to 20 objects in your portfolio seems smart as well, as you dont want to be overbearing and just make it seem like your throwing everything you've ever done into the mix, when in fact there may only be a few really great pieces. Just like in the "creating your own projects section", where Baron wrote, "if you dont have any good examples of the work youd like to do, and none that can simply be revised, its time to invent your own". I like this statement, because i have truely thought this same thing numerous times. Now that i have to compile all my artwork into a portfolio im feeling as though none of it is good enough, so why not try to revamp them?
Adaptation:
Soul searching; this chapter title hit home, I related to it because I really do find myself often at a loss of words when it comes to describing myself and my work. I usually just go about creating my work, and my assignments by just starting from scratch and moving forward. In the past few months in my classes, my teachers have really honed in the importance of mind mapping, sketching, and thumbnails, before actually starting a new design or project. I feel that as I have become more comfortable and used to this process, that the task of describing my work will become easier.
The self-assement checklist reminded me a lot of when we made our mind maps, where we had to assess our skills and put them into true perspective-what are we really familiar with, what we have slight experience with. I liked the part when the questionnaire asked why we were making the portfolio and the specifics of how we like to work etc, i felt as though they opened my eyes to questions that i should be aware of, if i had not been already.
When Baron wrote about strengths and weaknesses, and how companies look to see if you have the ability to handle their work, it reminded me of my internship at Quad Graphics,where i would change location weekly and get to experience the many different areas of work. The process of magazine printing is exhaustive, and the floor that I worked on had stations where you worked on page inventory, to color correction, scanning of photos and artwork, and any other editing of the page layout. I related to this area of the reading because as i was interning i felt as though they were putting me in different situations where i had t quickly learn the work process and do it well. this work, i found was not that challenging, and i enjoyed it very much. When Baron wrote that "knowledge is tougher to assess because it can be hard to recognize what you don't know", I realized how true the statement was. There is always so much more to learn and its when you are taught something new you can immediately create a connection with what you already know, and it may seem like an easy task to pick up, when in fact it may prove to be more challenging. I know that while I have taken many courses on digital design, that there are so many more tools and skills that I will have to learn and face the challenge of learning in the future. I also agreed with Barons statement "self-confidence is important, but it should be based on reality", this is true because you cannot expect yourself to be able to do everything, however you need to be confident in what you do know, in order to have someone trust that you can do the job for them. Creating short term goals will most definitely be the most beneficial method of moving up in the creative business.
Baron writes on the importance of freelancing or temp jobs as ways of reaching your long term goal. I worked at Conde Nast Publications this past summer, at Self Magazine, and it was there that I saw many freelancers coming into the office to work on the website, or on a photo shoot, to do their work and then leave. I found it intriguing and very interesting that they are almost nomadic in the sense, when they work. They take their job on the run and gain experience and clientele all over the city. By doing this type of work, they develop an extensive portfolio.
PersonAlity-I would love for my portfolio to show some of mine. However, sometimes im at a loss of what kind of personality i have. I know im quirky and sometimes really reserved but other than that I dont really know how I can convey that artistically. As Baron wrote "your personality should be less obvious in a client project" when you are in graphic design, as you are hoping to sell yourself as a flexible and open minded individual. Keeping the quantity down to 20 objects in your portfolio seems smart as well, as you dont want to be overbearing and just make it seem like your throwing everything you've ever done into the mix, when in fact there may only be a few really great pieces. Just like in the "creating your own projects section", where Baron wrote, "if you dont have any good examples of the work youd like to do, and none that can simply be revised, its time to invent your own". I like this statement, because i have truely thought this same thing numerous times. Now that i have to compile all my artwork into a portfolio im feeling as though none of it is good enough, so why not try to revamp them?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Mindmapping...sketching...resume..oh my
So today im feeling a bit overwhelmed..a lot a bit actually.
Not only do i have a lot of work to do for my resume and portfolio, but today is the beginning of recruitment here at Quinnipiac. i am the vice president membership for kappa alpha theta and for the past year, and even more so in the past few months i have been planning and creating thetas recruitment. while it has been an exhausting task, it has also been rewarding and exciting. i have held numerous workshops and mandatory meetings, and along with the help of the membership committee, we have created the theme and breakdown of each recruitment party which will take place within the next few days-and yikes begin in the next few hours. I am very excited-and i may even be attempting to relax myself with the breathing techniques PB taught us today in class!
As for my portfolio process, i have been experiencing days where i feel completely on top of what i have to accomplish, and days where i feel as though i have absolutely no idea about what i got myself into. this is good, normal right?
I created a rough draft version of my mind map last week; it includes internship experience, my courses, resume information, etc. However, after seeing my classmates mindmaps i realized i may have drifted from the original task-neglecting to include some key items. i liked viewing my classmates mindmaps, in that they helped me find the words that i couldn't grasp to describe my "skills", i found that the word "software" was a better term. by seeing other students thought process i was able to learn more and get more ideas for what i will need for my own mindmap. i downloaded a 30 day trial of NovaMind for my computer and began remaking my mindmap, and will hopefully construct one that fully shows who i am and what i can do.
our next assignment is to create 24 sketches of a logo, and 12 compostitions. while i have always loved drawing and sketching, it is when i am put to the test that i sometimes panic. i think that i think too much, and try too hard to be overly creative and outrageous when i try to come up with a logo, which then makes any sort of design look way to processed and complicated. i need to break free of this and just let my creative mind go--
Not only do i have a lot of work to do for my resume and portfolio, but today is the beginning of recruitment here at Quinnipiac. i am the vice president membership for kappa alpha theta and for the past year, and even more so in the past few months i have been planning and creating thetas recruitment. while it has been an exhausting task, it has also been rewarding and exciting. i have held numerous workshops and mandatory meetings, and along with the help of the membership committee, we have created the theme and breakdown of each recruitment party which will take place within the next few days-and yikes begin in the next few hours. I am very excited-and i may even be attempting to relax myself with the breathing techniques PB taught us today in class!
As for my portfolio process, i have been experiencing days where i feel completely on top of what i have to accomplish, and days where i feel as though i have absolutely no idea about what i got myself into. this is good, normal right?
I created a rough draft version of my mind map last week; it includes internship experience, my courses, resume information, etc. However, after seeing my classmates mindmaps i realized i may have drifted from the original task-neglecting to include some key items. i liked viewing my classmates mindmaps, in that they helped me find the words that i couldn't grasp to describe my "skills", i found that the word "software" was a better term. by seeing other students thought process i was able to learn more and get more ideas for what i will need for my own mindmap. i downloaded a 30 day trial of NovaMind for my computer and began remaking my mindmap, and will hopefully construct one that fully shows who i am and what i can do.
our next assignment is to create 24 sketches of a logo, and 12 compostitions. while i have always loved drawing and sketching, it is when i am put to the test that i sometimes panic. i think that i think too much, and try too hard to be overly creative and outrageous when i try to come up with a logo, which then makes any sort of design look way to processed and complicated. i need to break free of this and just let my creative mind go--
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Blog 1 - February 1
Designing a Digital Portfolio Ch.1
Designing a Digital Portfolio
Profession
-how do you define yourself when you are applying for a job, so many descriptions that fall under the same job category
-experience designer
-make sure you know who you are and what you want to do
-variety is good but make sure to have only enough so that it doesnt look like you have yet to find what you are best at
-know what your purpose of your portfolio is
-different categories of portfolio-art/considerable control over the subject, message, media, presentation of their creative work
-enjoy a range of media while you can ( as a student )
-2D Graphics-photographer, graphic artist
-Design-architect designs buildings, interior spaces, and landscapes/industrial design, design products and systems, multimedia designer
-portfolio should emphasize a variety of project briefs, should have a concept that presents the actual work well but is presented in the form of a design project in itself-but not overwhelm the projects
-Freelance/Full time production
-motion graphics-animators: portfolio take two distinct forms, highly compressed low bandwidth sampling on the internet and a richer deeper version on tape or disk
-videographer-captures moving images, have digital and analog portfolios
-performance-good quality film resolution can be very important, digital portfolios offers the opportunity for a performer to establish credibility and provide a good presentation
This section of the reading came to me as both an eye opener and a continuum of some things that i thought i was already aware of when it came to preparing a portfolio. I was interested with the reading when they categorized the different types of portfolios you can create, based on your prime area of expertise.
Designing a Digital Portfolio
Profession
-how do you define yourself when you are applying for a job, so many descriptions that fall under the same job category
-experience designer
-make sure you know who you are and what you want to do
-variety is good but make sure to have only enough so that it doesnt look like you have yet to find what you are best at
-know what your purpose of your portfolio is
-different categories of portfolio-art/considerable control over the subject, message, media, presentation of their creative work
-enjoy a range of media while you can ( as a student )
-2D Graphics-photographer, graphic artist
-Design-architect designs buildings, interior spaces, and landscapes/industrial design, design products and systems, multimedia designer
-portfolio should emphasize a variety of project briefs, should have a concept that presents the actual work well but is presented in the form of a design project in itself-but not overwhelm the projects
-Freelance/Full time production
-motion graphics-animators: portfolio take two distinct forms, highly compressed low bandwidth sampling on the internet and a richer deeper version on tape or disk
-videographer-captures moving images, have digital and analog portfolios
-performance-good quality film resolution can be very important, digital portfolios offers the opportunity for a performer to establish credibility and provide a good presentation
This section of the reading came to me as both an eye opener and a continuum of some things that i thought i was already aware of when it came to preparing a portfolio. I was interested with the reading when they categorized the different types of portfolios you can create, based on your prime area of expertise.
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