Back in January I went to the first AIGA Detour event with Liz Wood, Jessica Thing, and Molly. It was so much fun! We went to Saturday Manufacturing. I had never been before, and almost immediately fell in love with the space. The interior was really cool. Each person in the small office space had their own cubicle. The walls were decorated with work that had been done by the company. It seemed like a really cool place to work. Then again, any place that has pancakes is a cool place to work. I think my favorite part of the entire experience was just how welcoming everyone was. They were excited to show off their space and their work. I could totally see myself working at a place like Saturday Manufactuing. It is a small company and so relationships are very important to them from what I could tell. I like a place that values personal connections. I also like that they had a lot of personality and they weren’t afraid to show it. They were not uptight people. That said, they were still professional. They had done a lot of really cool work for big name companies (like Kum & Go).

Being a Member of Professional Organizations

I am a member of AIGA and AAF. Being a member of AIGA has been rewarding (even more than just for the 5 EXTRA CREDIT points that I get for this practicum). Although we haven’t done much this semester as a new chapter, I have gotten a lot out of my membership. I really like being a member because I get all of the emails that are sent out. Some of them – most of them, actually – make their way to my trash bin after a quick read of the information. Others, however, are full of relevant information. Even though the price will be going up one I graduate, I will continue to be a member in MO, or wherever I end up getting a job.

I am also a dues paid member of AAF (America Advertising Federation) and the Drake associated bAD co. club. (This professional organization should be worth extra credit, too *wink wink*) I have been even more involved with AAF in the past few years. I held and officers position in bAD co. for the past two years. I have also make a lot of great connections through speakers I have attended that have been a part of AAF. As a dues paid member with a high GPA, I was also eligible for the Alpha Delta Sigma Honor Society. I was inducted at the end of April.

I am really glad that I was able to be a member of these two professional organizations during my time at Drake.

Printer Tour

Back in February, Liz Wood and I were working really hard on our Advertising capstone. We were both working on the plans book team and had to visit a printer to discuss what we wanted it to look like. We went to ColorFX and met with a really nice man named Roger Johnson. He is an account executive and was able to answer all of our questions. We got to walk around the entire facility. Walking through, we got to see each area where printing takes place. We learned about the different types of printing that happens on the different printers. I didn’t know before our trip that there were so many different types of printers in one print factory. I also didn’t realize just how big they are! I always imagined them to be like our printers but a little bigger… not huge machines that spit out thousands of prints every hour. Taking the tour was so much fun. ColorFX does some pretty cool print jobs. While were were there they were printing things for Mediacom and HyVee.

Happy Spring

I cannot believe how fast this semester is going by. Spring break was later than it has ever been before. I have been working really hard on both of my senior classes (practicum and advertising capstone) as well as my two design classes (publication and context/process). This semester has been beyond overwhelming. I think I bit off more than I can chew with my ad capstone. I was on the plans book team, and worked on designing the 32 page book for the competition at the end of the month. Now I am on the pitch team, too. That means everything I do – eat, sleep and breathe – will have to revolve around capstone until the 20th. What was I thinking!?! I don’t think I was.

I have a lot to do still for my stationary system and such. I have letter head that I created a while back, but I don’t like it very much. I am not sure what I am going to do with it. I know it needs to be tweaked… but how much? There are parts of it that I really like and that I think set it apart for other stationary systems. However, it does not seem to fit with my personality.

Here’s my old stationary system.

It’s time to enter the real world.

I need to buy a presentation case for my physical portfolio. I want to get one that is 14″ by 17″ so that it can hold and showcase the majority of my work at it’s actual scale. I have never had a portfolio before. I have never gone on interviews or been judged as a designer before. I am very nervous for this step in my life. I want to make a presentation case portfolio that is representative of my best work… but I don’t know what my best work is.

Design Practicum

I am taking Graphic Design Practicum for 2 credits, and thus and responsible for creating a series of usable portfolios as well as a stationary system and other written documents. The projects for GD Practicum are designed to aid me in becoming a grown-up and entering the real world. This is something that I have been working toward for many years, but as a last semester senior, I still have a ways to go.

This blog will be used to share what I create for my practicum. It will be a reflective space.