Our final class was on Thursday. Finals week starts tomorrow and on Tuesday, we will be screening the promos we've been working on!
On Thursday, we talked about the learning outcomes and what grade we felt we deserved in the class. We then had a discussion about the difference between Art and Graphic Design. In the past, I have felt that some classes were a waste of time and did not accomplish anything they set out to do. With the exception of one, this course successfully met the learning outcomes listed on the syllabus. Although I am not a design student, one of the main reasons I took this course was because I had a desire to improve on my ability to develop concepts. I not only wanted to come up with better ideas, but I wanted to generate many ideas quickly. I feel that I have succeeded in accomplishing this. Every idea I come up with may not be brilliant, but I am able to generate many good ideas quickly and strengthen them faster than I was able to before.
I found it interesting that many people were stumped when asked the difference between Graphic Design and art. As students making it their career choice, I was expecting many to give thoughtful and informative answers. I had a general idea myself, but I found it difficult to formulate a coherent description. Jimmy told us that we needed to know what Graphic Design was to effectively complete our videos. Together, the class slowly pieced the meaning of design like a communal puzzle. As a whole, it was stated that design was the use of art to communicate a message and solve a problem. Designers are critical thinkers, solving problems for their clients and being mindful of their audience. More might have been said but I began to think about my video and how I wanted to approach my idea. After talking to Jimmy about my idea, I left class feeling pensive and a little less stressed about the impending workload.
descriptor collection
demure: a shy or modest appearance or manner
sesquipedalian: using lengthy words; containing many letters or syllables
adamant: set opinion, unwilling to reconsider a decision
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Art 220: Entry 18
On Tuesday, one of the students in our class shared her experience of AIGA's Student Portfolio day. The keynote speaker for the event was Robynne Raye, one of the co-founders of the design company Modern Dog. Jimmy gave us some background about the company and showed us their website. The information presented on the design company's site is written in a way that caters to businessmen and corporations but the art that was displayed was jocund and vibrant.
Modern Dog is known for their playful poster designs. They enjoy creating posters but, unfortunately, it does not pay well. Jimmy told us that what keeps the company afloat is their corporate work. The corporate money they earn is enough to allow them to take on projects where the pay is little to none. I think many creative people search for this. They want to live their dream, producing fun artwork they enjoy but they need to strike a balance and bring home a paycheck.
Some entertainment companies have a no-moonlighting clause in their contracts. Legendary animator Chuck Jones was fired from Warner Bros. when they discovered he had broken their exclusive contract to work on a UPA film he had written with his wife. Despite working at a renowned company, Jones had the desire to do his own side project. As awesome as it is to have art projects for homework, there are moments when it's still work. I'll be painting in a very specific technique that the professor desires and I'll want to doodle in my sketchbook. I expect it will be similar once I get settled in my career. I'll be working on a project that may not necessarily be my original idea. I'll love that it's art but every once in a while, I'll want to do my own thing.
descriptor collection
anhedonic: inability to feel or experience pleasure
jocund: full of humor, cheerful
fallacious: mistaken idea, deceptive
Modern Dog is known for their playful poster designs. They enjoy creating posters but, unfortunately, it does not pay well. Jimmy told us that what keeps the company afloat is their corporate work. The corporate money they earn is enough to allow them to take on projects where the pay is little to none. I think many creative people search for this. They want to live their dream, producing fun artwork they enjoy but they need to strike a balance and bring home a paycheck.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
Some entertainment companies have a no-moonlighting clause in their contracts. Legendary animator Chuck Jones was fired from Warner Bros. when they discovered he had broken their exclusive contract to work on a UPA film he had written with his wife. Despite working at a renowned company, Jones had the desire to do his own side project. As awesome as it is to have art projects for homework, there are moments when it's still work. I'll be painting in a very specific technique that the professor desires and I'll want to doodle in my sketchbook. I expect it will be similar once I get settled in my career. I'll be working on a project that may not necessarily be my original idea. I'll love that it's art but every once in a while, I'll want to do my own thing.
descriptor collection
anhedonic: inability to feel or experience pleasure
jocund: full of humor, cheerful
fallacious: mistaken idea, deceptive
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Art 220: Entry 17
Thursday's class consisted of deep thoughts and a whole lot of whoa's.
These were some of the questions people posed during our game of "what if...?"
Even after class had ended, I continued to ponder the possibilities. As a kid, I would hold my nose before drinking nasty medicines. I found out years later that smell determined taste, and holding my nose was actually an effective coping method. When someone asked "what if earth had zero gravity?" I simply thought of how cool it would be to float around weightlessly. What I did not consider was how our eating habits would be affected. Jimmy pointed our that the aroma of our foods rises to our nostrils as we eat and if gravity changed, how would our sense of smell change?
I loved the possibility of space being a spec in God's heart. And God being one of many others like us. It made me visualize infinity in a new manner and I felt so minute-- but not in a bad way. When someone proposed the extinction of religions, I contemplated the fate morality. If religions never existed, would politics have existed? If no one believed in anything higher than humans, would we have a sense of wonder?
If we were to run out of oil, I feel we would not cope well at all. We would be quite unprepared. Cars would be scattered everywhere, and many people would possibly have to leave their jobs or leave hours early to arrive via bike. It would also force us to bring back electric car.
I continued to think of more what if's for a few hours. Some a bit outrageous and others that plunged me deeper into thought. As creatives, we should explore different possibilities-- both plausible and implausible. We can consider the implications and simply let our minds go free. I felt like this was a great exercise in cultivating creativity and developing the imagination.
descriptor collection
disillusioned: disappointed in someone of something
weary: visibly tired
petite: smaller than average
What if we could never die?
What if sexual identity didn't exist?
What if there were no more religions?
What if 9/11 never happened?
What if there were no such thing as success?
What if earth had zero gravity?
What if everything we do has been decided?
What if consciousness is a dream?
What if everyone looked the same?
What if space was God's heart?
What if Hitler and the axis powers had won the war?
What if females ran the world?
What if there were no borders?
What if we ran out of oil tomorrow?
These were some of the questions people posed during our game of "what if...?"
Even after class had ended, I continued to ponder the possibilities. As a kid, I would hold my nose before drinking nasty medicines. I found out years later that smell determined taste, and holding my nose was actually an effective coping method. When someone asked "what if earth had zero gravity?" I simply thought of how cool it would be to float around weightlessly. What I did not consider was how our eating habits would be affected. Jimmy pointed our that the aroma of our foods rises to our nostrils as we eat and if gravity changed, how would our sense of smell change?
I loved the possibility of space being a spec in God's heart. And God being one of many others like us. It made me visualize infinity in a new manner and I felt so minute-- but not in a bad way. When someone proposed the extinction of religions, I contemplated the fate morality. If religions never existed, would politics have existed? If no one believed in anything higher than humans, would we have a sense of wonder?
If we were to run out of oil, I feel we would not cope well at all. We would be quite unprepared. Cars would be scattered everywhere, and many people would possibly have to leave their jobs or leave hours early to arrive via bike. It would also force us to bring back electric car.
I continued to think of more what if's for a few hours. Some a bit outrageous and others that plunged me deeper into thought. As creatives, we should explore different possibilities-- both plausible and implausible. We can consider the implications and simply let our minds go free. I felt like this was a great exercise in cultivating creativity and developing the imagination.
descriptor collection
disillusioned: disappointed in someone of something
weary: visibly tired
petite: smaller than average
Art 220: Entry 16
On Tuesday we were given the following sequence of numbers:
1
10
11
100
and asked to fill in what came next. We were split into two teams and our team chose that the next number in the sequence was 111. Our reasoning behind this was because we saw a pattern where a zero and a one were added to the number two spots before. For example, a zero added to 10 makes 100 and a one added to 1 makes 11. Another one added to 11 would make the next number in the sequence 111. Alternating between adding zero's and one's would create the sequence 1, 10, 11, 100, 111, 1000, 1111, 10000, 11111.
Jimmy chose a representative from each group to go up to the board and present our reasoning. Using what was presented, we then had to come up with the next numbers in the sequence. Unfortunately, not all the things we discussed as a group were iterated to the rest of the class and the other group had a difficult time finding the next number in the sequence using our formula. Similarly, we felt that the other group's method had conflicting pieces of information that prevented us from solving the sequence.
I found it interesting that both groups approached solving the number sequence from a visual perspective-- like true art majors-- rather than trying to created a mathematical formula. Although we spent a good amount of time discussing different methods and preparing for our presentation, leaving out one minor detail prevented the other group from completing the sequence. Like previous exercises, this one further taught us the value of clear communication.
Jimmy chose a representative from each group to go up to the board and present our reasoning. Using what was presented, we then had to come up with the next numbers in the sequence. Unfortunately, not all the things we discussed as a group were iterated to the rest of the class and the other group had a difficult time finding the next number in the sequence using our formula. Similarly, we felt that the other group's method had conflicting pieces of information that prevented us from solving the sequence.
I found it interesting that both groups approached solving the number sequence from a visual perspective-- like true art majors-- rather than trying to created a mathematical formula. Although we spent a good amount of time discussing different methods and preparing for our presentation, leaving out one minor detail prevented the other group from completing the sequence. Like previous exercises, this one further taught us the value of clear communication.
descriptor collection
ingratiating: agreeable, pleasing
overwrought: overly complicated in construction or design
overwrought: overly complicated in construction or design
congenial: pleasant due to similar interests
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Art 220: Entry 15
On Thursday, we saw another TED Talk video and Jimmy gave us some history about the TED talks. It was started by an architect named Richard Wurman who transitioned into the world of design. One of his first big projects was to design the pacific bell logo for the smart pages. His company came up with the idea, he was not hired to design it. Whenever you have a big idea. no one is going to approach you. You have to get your ideas out there. If not for an intern named Maria, who was working for Wurman at the time, the company would have never gotten the gig. She was very motivated and asked to pitch the idea. She asked to be sent to San Francisco, and believing he had nothing to lose, Wurman complied. When she successfully got the gig for her firm, they allowed her to oversee her own branch. In this way, she got to learn process of running a design firm which facilitated the process of laughing her own firm, today known as Hot Studio.
I find it incredibly inspiring that someone so young could have accomplished so much after recently graduating from school.. She had all her education fresh on her mind, she was highly motivated and she just grabbed the opportunity by the horns. She traveled across the nation, something that can be frightening at such a young age, to represent her firm.
Our attention span is 19 minutes. This is how long TED talks are. TED talks are our nation's geniuses. John Maeda graduated from MIT with a background in computers. He was given advice to became a designer and he followed said advice. His work is intricate. I too, enjoy intricacy and making things complex for myself.
simplicity = more enjoyment, less pain
descriptor collection
exuberant: very energized and excitable
cordial: friendly, heartfelt
majestic: beautiful and dignified
I find it incredibly inspiring that someone so young could have accomplished so much after recently graduating from school.. She had all her education fresh on her mind, she was highly motivated and she just grabbed the opportunity by the horns. She traveled across the nation, something that can be frightening at such a young age, to represent her firm.
Our attention span is 19 minutes. This is how long TED talks are. TED talks are our nation's geniuses. John Maeda graduated from MIT with a background in computers. He was given advice to became a designer and he followed said advice. His work is intricate. I too, enjoy intricacy and making things complex for myself.
simplicity = more enjoyment, less pain
descriptor collection
exuberant: very energized and excitable
cordial: friendly, heartfelt
majestic: beautiful and dignified
Art 220: Entry 14
Tuesday's class consisted of listing all the concepts we've covered over the past 8 weeks. For our final, we have to create a one-minute video promoting the Art: Graphic Design/Visual Communication Option at Cal State LA. As a foundation class for this major, this course has covered the important concepts that design students will be learning in their upper division courses.
Presentation, critical evaluation and the critiquing
Some of the concepts were discussed more thoroughly, such as Visual Literacy. Having the ability to read a picture and decipher the meaning is an important skill set in our field. Art often contains emotions and psychology. As creatives, the goal is to produce pieces that will provoke reflection and critical analysis rather than just be thought of as pretty pictures.
Some concepts mentioned, like networking and abandoning fear, tied together. Networking can be scary, especially with established professionals. And while some have difficulty starting a conversation, others may need to work on holding back what they say. Don't burn bridges. Not only will you be viewed as more well-mannered when you're polite, but you may be securing a future job with a potential creative legend.
Some concepts mentioned, like networking and abandoning fear, tied together. Networking can be scary, especially with established professionals. And while some have difficulty starting a conversation, others may need to work on holding back what they say. Don't burn bridges. Not only will you be viewed as more well-mannered when you're polite, but you may be securing a future job with a potential creative legend.
Presentation, critical evaluation and the critiquing
Punctuality and professionalism go hand in hand.
After this, we were given time to brainstorm for our final. Some people spoke with their neighbor and after a while, the class began to form into larger groups. It was quite fun to bounce ideas off each other, share and improve one another's ideas and simply discuss freely in a group setting. We discussed how we got to cal state LA and the variables that went into choosing to study art. Some of us discussed our ideas for our videos and joked about ways to make the art building more enjoyable for art students.
descriptor collection
brazen: bold and without shame. OR (referring to sound) loud and harsh
effusive: expressive (with feelings and emotions)
resplendent: impressive in appearance
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