Week 1:
So, prior to this semester I had a number of nervous breakdowns notched into my belt of mental health...most of which were in some way connected to the future and the fact that I will eventually leave behind my life as a student and step out into the so-called "real world". I have to say that both of the books we were assigned to start reading offer an abundance of useful and insightful information for the aspiring graphic designer.
Much like the author of chapter one of HBG, I often found myself noticing and copying graphic elements I had seen in the world. I did not discover the field of graphic design until I was the ripe age of 14 or 15 and did not know that it was something that I really and truly wanted to pursue as a career until my freshmen year of college... Since then I have always felt like it was what I should do after I graduate, but recently thoughts have been running through my mind..."Is this really what I want to do?", they say. "Maybe it's just not for you...maybe miming is the best alternative." I have to admit that I"m not always sure about my major and there are surely days when I would rather be anywhere else but the IDD lab, but overall I like what I do and I do what I like. It's just the days when I would like to do something other than graphic design that get me concerned about the future and usually result in those nervous breakdowns I mentioned earlier.
What both HBG and DDP have helped me to realize is that I do not have to have everything figured out right away. HBG has reassured me that graphic design is not just a cubicle job (a worry that was the cause of one of my recent breakdowns) and that graphic designers get to work with people on a daily basis...something that I very much enjoy doing! DDP has helped me to understand that the term "graphic designer" can mean a plethora of different things and that taking on the title does not mean losing all sense of self in the process.
When I first started this major I thought that I would become a 3D animator and be the person who made the movies I grew up loving come to life. Then I took IDD 302 and all that changed. It is from experience that I have grown to know more about my likes and dislikes and the type of graphic designer that I may like to become one day. From DDP's description of the various venues that the term graphic designer can dwell in I have decided that I am first off, a student or art. I enjoy 2D graphics in the photographical sense...and could be called a graphic artist of the illustrator influence. I'm definitely not an architect, but I would like to one day be able to afford a house with the income I receive as a designer. I may also one day like to be a graphic designer by title, which is more specific than being in the field of graphic design even though I would not know it had I not read chapter one of this book. Also, I do like videos, but I do not know if I would ever want to call myself a Videographer.
Chaper 1 of HBG reassured me the most out of both books. I was especially drawn to the author's experience with text as a young man as I mentioned earlier. This reminded me of a collection of designs and type faces that I started compiling around my sophomore year of college. I have always been influenced and inspired by other people's work. I can remember copying Garfield from the Sunday comics when I was a kid and then using the style of eyes that Jim Davis uses to create new characters of my own. I think this is how a lot of design is done. Although one design is the result of that designers work it is impossible to trace all of the influences that that designer drew from to create that one design. In this way I think that all designers are connected and that makes me happy.
Here's a list of websites that have recently inspired me in my graphic design endeavors...my wish is that they will do the same for you.
sleeveface
Threadless
43 Things
