More of an Oscar than a Felix...

Week 5:

As the semester moves on it has become more and more undeniable that I will eventually need to find a job. Finding a job means many different things, one of which is getting organized...Now, I'm not talking about my sock drawer or alphabetizing my DVD collection... I am talking in terms of getting myself organized to seek out jobs. This means getting my resume ready as well as my portfolio site.

Chapter 5 of Designing a Digital Portfolio talks about getting a body of work organized for a digital portfolio. Although the current state of my bedroom may make me seem like Oscar from The Odd Couple I can somewhat boldly say that my Macintosh desktop at school is closer to something that Felix Unger would produce. I had a bad run-in with synchronizations in the beginning of my junior year during which I lost all of my freshmen and sophomore year IDD work...a loss that still haunts me to this day. The only way to keep me from dwelling on the loss of this work is to remind myself that a.) I printed copies of most of it and b.) most of it was pretty crappy compared to the level of work that I can do today (I will probably look back at my current work in a few years and think b.) again...hopefully I won't have to use this as a way to comfort myself from another synchronization loss).

This chapter made me realize that I definitely need to go back over my work and micro-organize it with file names that are understandable to anyone...not just myself. I realize now that I can no longer name files after powerhouse women sitcom stars like "MaryTylerMoore.jpg" or famous cartoon dogs such as "ScoobyDoo.pdf"...sadly, those days are over. I have entered into a new, more comprehensible era of file saving and although I will miss the days when my files were primarily only MY files I am excited to venture into a world that will require me to share my work with other like-minded designers.

Design is fine, but I'm feeling weary...

Week 4:

It's the fifth week of classes and my final year of college. With graduation fast approaching, it's getting harder and harder to keep myself focused on doing quality work now rather than putting all of my energy into worrying about and fearing the future. I am not usually one to worry for too long. Instead, I have bursts and short periods of worry that pass as soon as I give them permission to. When these periods of worry come over me I like to mentally play the song "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley or pray...which are both a better alternative to pulling out my hair. In regards to IDD 480, I have had a few of these period of worry when it comes to my logo design. The problem is that I don't love my logo as much as I think that I should, seeing as I will be spending a lot of time over the coming weeks with it.

Designing a Digital Portfolio has put so much emphasis on the designer's portfolio (as if this couldn't be determined from it's title...) so naturally, as a hopeful designer I want to put a lot of quality work into the portfolio that I design. I have learned a lot of great tips from this book, such as format and directional suggestions, but I still feel like all of this has to be built off of an overall website design. My fear is that since my logo is so specific right now (it's my name in alphabet refrigerator magnets) my portfolio will also have to be very specific. I want to make sure that I really like the overall design that I come up with for my website, but I am worried that I will not have time to get it just the way that I want it.

On a more positive note, I did learn a lot from chapter four of Designing a Digital Portfolio. I had originally thought that including a lot of my photography would be a good idea for my portfolio site, but after learning about duplicating, dividing, and doubling websites I feel a little differently. I think that the best thing for me to do now is have some photography on my portfolio site and considering doubling it to create another site that is just for photography. I think that I will most likely not create this second site this semester, but keep it in mind for the future in case I decide to one day pursue a career as a wedding photographer or Sears portrait center associate.

I really enjoy the interviews at the end of each chapter in How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul. They make me feel like it's okay that I don't know exactly where I am heading career-wise and reassured that if I continue to pursue my passion or art and design I will eventually find my way into a career that I love. I just hope that this "way finding" occurs sooner than later because I am starting to feel a little anxious!

Ready, Aim, Design!

Week 3:

It seems that a lot more goes into this whole "design thing" than I had imagined in the past. Even three months ago if asked what it took to get a job as a graphic designer I would have given a naive answer such as, "hard work and dedication to the craft!" and then smiled in hopes of changing the subject. Now I am beginning to understand something that I had possibly been in denial about prior to taking this course...entering the real world of graphic design is just something that happens to me. I have to make it happen!

I am happy to say that I am not alone in this journey that I will soon embark on. I am blessed with a class, my Interactive Digital Design portfolio class, that will most likely teach me more about real world graphic design than any of my other IDD courses have at Quinnipiac. I also have access to the advice and insight of countless graphic designers via the internet. This weeks reading in Designign a Digital Portfolio gave me the idea to check out graphic design forums on the internet. I thought that I might find a handful of outdated or incredibly professionally-termed blurbs about life as a graphic designer. You can then imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find that more modern and understandable graphic design forums exist than I could possibly post on in a year. One that especially caught my eye because of it's recognizable title was the HOW Design forum. They even offer a forum especially for graphic design students! How amazing is that?!

I am also learning a lot about the ethics of graphic design through my readings. I personally enjoy being ethical as much as I can remember to be, so knowing that I will get to flex my ethical muscle as a graphic designer makes me pretty happy. I like the idea of always committing to a certain quality of work when working as a graphic designer as mentioned in chapter five of How To Be a Graphic Designer. In my opinion I believe that this not only shows clients that as a designer, I am committed to the quality of the work I do, but I also know myself well enough to know that I will get much more satisfaction when I look back at work I have done if I know that I did the best work that I possibly could at the time. I would like to develop a personal motto as a graphic designer. What it will be is soon TBD...

I love being free, but I'm not sure if I could ever be a freelancer...

Week 2:

Before I started IDD 480 three weeks ago I have to say that I was expecting just another IDD class. I say "just another" because after four years of sitting in Tator Hall 128 for hours at a time things can get repetitive and courses tend to blur...at least that's how I feel. Fortunately, this course has been proving to be very different than my IDD courses of the past. Aside from learning how to breath like a dragon in class, the readings for the course have been a pleasant and understandable surprise. Designing a Digital Portfolio has opened my eyes to the ways that a digital portfolio can speak to those who view it. In chapter two the book offered a few questions and answers for the reader to fill out to better understand what they want to express through their portfolio. I found the quiz helpful in assessing what I want my own soon-to-be created digital portfolio to express. I think that what I want my portfolio to do the most is reflect my personality while showing off some of my best work. I also learned from this chapter that the work I display doesn't necessarily have to be the work that I had the most fun creating I think that it will be a good discipline for myself to post in my portfolio some work that I personally find boring.

One thing that How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul brought to my attention in chapters three and four was the fact that I need to start thinking seriously about what type of graphic designer I want to someday be. I had heard about freelance graphic designer prior to reading these chapters, but sort of glamorized the idea of working at home without really taking into account all the responsibilities it takes to do so. These two chapters helped me realize that I may not be cut out to be a freelance graphic designer. I know myself well enough to know that I am not always the best at getting myself motivated to do work (check the time that I am writing this post and take into account the fact that it is due in less than six hours...). I think that I would be especially less motivated to do work if vices like television (I do enjoy a good morning talk show) and snacks around. I think that I would even be inspired to do housework in some circumstances rather than work work.

I also know that when I am not around people for long periods of time I tend to get a little strange. I do enjoy some time alone every day to reflect and think and just be, but I truly do enjoy company. I cannot imagine spending countless hours alone with my work with no one around but my cat to ask questions to or share little tidbits of life with. I want to experience the commute to work. I want to have a separate place to do work and to relax as much as I would want a separate place to cook and shower. I want to have a lunch break that's scheduled and have the chance to socialize over sandwiches at the local deli. I even want to deal with the sometimes difficult boss. I want coffee breaks and holiday parties and the whole nine yards. I want to be able to relate with films such as Working Girl and shows like The Office. I think you get the picture. Thanks to these two chapters I have stripped the glamorous layers off of my ideas of what it's like to be a freelance graphic designer and can now better place myself in a category of designer for the future!