Next Generation: Part 2

I received another email from a local student here in Wichita wanting to know more about graphic design and what to expect when she graduates. 

Communication in the workplace:

Since we are a small ad agency, everyone helps to answer the phones here. I am regularly directing phone calls and sometimes making small talk with callers if they need to hold for a short time. I will also make presentations with clients, about projects we are working with them and what changes need to be made. It is important to be able to discuss your work and why it looks the way it does. Creating a design usually means work with intentional input from color, type, and image; and you should be able to explain why you used those. Everyone develops his or her own presentation style, but the presentation is one of the best ways to "sell" your work. Most of my communication is oral between my boss and my fellow employers. Since we have graphic designers, web developer, and media buyers here; we all work on different parts of the projects such as buy the ad space, schedule the ad, and then development. Keeping up -to-date with what coworkers need me to do is essential to projects being done on time.

Essential Skills:

Time management is the most important skill you can learn. There are usually many client jobs that are due, and being  able to prioritize is essential to getting things done. Taking good notes is always appreciated. I take notes during clients meetings and will usually send a word document to my boss so she can keep track of everything that has been discussed, and she really appreciates it. The marketing profession is increasingly becoming about staying on the cutting edge or at least up-to-speed which can mean some self-teaching once you are out of school. Trying to keep the mentality of a student/constant learner is a good mind-frame to have.

Preferred communication:

I prefer my visual communication. I became a graphic designer because I like to see rather than speak. Even mundane tasks, such as, making a an excel sheet of all the ads we worked on in 2011. I color coded the emails, print, billboards, and organized them based on their subject matter or I will make a graph for a client to use in an annual report. I sometimes will use quick sketches in initial meetings with clients to show them a possible options, because images can speak louder than words. Using visual cues helps me organize information, which can make that info easier to comprehend for me and others.

The Next Generation

The other day an email came into my inbox from a freshman at the local university. They had questions about my studies, my career, and why I wanted to be a desire. It is about passion. Telling this student reminded me about why I wanted to be where I am.

How do you spend your time? Email, Adobe Creative Suite, Doodling, managing printers, preparing files for flash, web, and print,  and dealing with clients and publications.

A typical day? Checking my email and take care of projects based on urgency and deadlines.

How did you choose this career? When I first entered school I was undecided and took basic courses required for every student, but I had taken an intro to design course and it changed my college career completely. In this class I created books, digital patterns and illustrations, and I was able to realize that I had been doing "graphic design" activities my whole life. I used to layout, illustrate, and work with color on my Christmas Letter to Santa, I developed my own websites in high school, and I always carried a sketch book with me. It is more than a career; I am passionate about what I do.

 What are your favorite thing to do?  I find I am always looking for the new project or a challenge, something that helps me stretch my creative muscles. When I have a project I haven't worked on before or a new client, that creates something for me to learn. You are never done learning in this career, because it is person-based. People likes, dislikes and how they interact with brands or products changes with internet, social media, and personal growth. I like working on logos because it can combine some of my favorite skills: iconography and typography. I am able to put a lot of work and creativity behind each logo.

"Family Dinner" by Me  |  An original screenprint

Choosing a career in college can be based on a lot of things, and most likely you will change your mind. But if you choose a career that you have passion for it will be easier to go to work everyday, even when you don't bring hope as much "bacon" as you would like.

The Student Method

Picture #24

When I was looking for a job (almost 2 years ago) I heard over and over again that they wanted more experience and that projects in the "real world" did not have the lengthy deadlines that school has. The work place is fast pace and quick turn-around. The work environment could benefit from a little bit of The Student Method. Yes, clients are still going to what that brochure done yesterday, but the additional effort to understand your client and your client's consumers will greatly benefit your work output. Slowing down your research and development process can lead to quicker implementation and a better presentation to the client.

When we began projects in school we began with RESEARCH, no physical design at all. Based on that research we would develop a creative brief that would use synonyms, audience description, creative stories that help describe the brand as it is currently and what it hopes to be. Talking with your client and their customers can help you know what each side is looking for.

Only after this research had been completed were we allowed to move into design and layouts. We were limited to just hand rendering in the initial step to allow for quick layout changes and ideas to flow from our hands. Then once our sketches were approved we could move to the next stage of computer mockups. From mockups these digital pieces began to evolve into completed projects (that were often printed and hand cut and bound). Printing is its own nasty experience, and can still be today. With advancement in technology the ability to have your printout look just like your monitor (and vice versa) is next to impossible.

 Research never stopped and was always continually progressively in each part of the project. With the fast paced environment is difficult to take the time and find out the needs and wants of client as well as their consumer. Design ideas  take time to develop and mature, so for our best work taking time to slow down and do it right will give us the best results.

Good

Fast

Cheap

(You can only have 2)

Learning to Write

There are many skills I would like to become more proficient in; one of these is copy-writing. A wonderful aspect of my job is the variety it enables me to practice. Most of the time I am pushing pixels and organizing my designs. Sometimes I get to venture into photography, printing, data entry, marketing, and copy-writing. I have not developed anything profound, such as Nike's "Just Do it" campaign, but I have added lines that have enhanced a project. Copy-writing is very much intertwined in the design process, which is why I want to gain a greater skill-set in this area. In large agencies copy-writing is its own full-time profession. In a smaller office its just a bunch of creative people talking together to come up with the best idea.

One way that I am building on my copy-writing skill is by using this blog on a frequent basis. Here I am able to collect my thoughts and let my ideas come across in a clear and concise way (hopefully). This may help practice writing, but this does not help me to create liners or tags to pull in a reader/consumer and make them want to participate/buy the client's product or event. How can I become better and delivery concise statements that are attractive to a vast audience? Is it just something you are born with? I have found a few things that improve my writing.

• Writing Drafts: similar to sketching for designers, the best idea won't necessarily be the first one that comes to mind, so keep trying. I do not always write drafts for this blog, but when I do my writing seems better written.

• Think about the audience: the look and feel of any design has to appeal to the consumer/reader; it is the same for writing. I wouldn't use difficult scientific language to write a children's book. In the same respect, I wouldn't want to offend my consumer/reader by speaking down to them. 

• Find a voice, and stick to it. Writing is the voice of any design/brand/company/product so keep that voice consistent.

• WRITE IT OUT: I find this one to be the most useful for me. There have been studies that show that printing by hand improves language fluency, spelling, and have more developed sentence structure and story-line. At the very least writing it out first puts at least two drafts to go through my writing before it ends up on my blog.

Unfamiliar Territory

Graphic Design often dances together with marketing, but it is a different beast altogether. Like, design it is a skill-set that never ceases to change. Requiring one to endeavor continuously to adapt to media, market, and most importantly people! I have often thought of continuing my education at school to learn more about marketing, since it is so closely related to the work that I do. Marketing is still a part of every person who wants employment. We become our own product to market. I have never taken any class in marketing, and only have suggestions based on what I have experienced.

Being an introverted person it works against my nature to market, but every person has it within themselves skills that make them unique and there is not point hiding them. To make these skills easier to find on the webs there are few courses you can take to ensure more people are finding you, you business, or your product.

• META TAGS: You have probably heard it before about the importance of meta code: the "invisible" part of code that helps search engines pick up your important keywords and descriptions. This code goes in the <head> tag.

•  TELL GOOGLE: This will add your site to a Google crawl list. It can help google to find you more often.

• LINKS: You are socially active across the web, so make all your sites connect back to one another.

•  UNIQUE TITLES: When you name each of your webpages make sure to name each page distinctively to help search edges find you.

• SITE MAP: Most hosting companies can provide this for you. This lets search engines filter through your pages more quickly.

None of these are guaranteed top spots or success, but a way to enhance your online promotions. I also recommend that you post a favicon (the little photo next to your domain in the browser. This looks more professional, and shows that you think of all the details. If you have any pointers to please share with a comment below.

Learning from Mistakes

I often hear we learn from mistakes. Mistakes are not failures, unless we fail to learn from them. Errors become these bright red lights that at the time overwhelm me with disappointment. when I finally move on from it, I can make the further effort to make sure that NEVER happens again. To help you learn from my own mistakes here are some typical mistakes for designers (but not limited too).

• SPELL CHECK: spelling errors are probably the most common mistake. And I have seen fellow designers loose clients through lack of diligence. Sometimes I too forget to hit that little spell check button. In fact if I could convince Adobe to make it a little icon on the tool bar, instead of being hidden in the file navigation, it would be a very welcome change.

•  MIND YOUR FOLDS: a recent mistake of mine to ignore the printers folds. Made a huge problem. It has to be reprinted and refolded. It has caused a project that was already running behind (due to the client's complications), but now the project is another week behind schedule. It has taken me a few days to stomach this problem, but I need to move on and make a vow to dictate clearly my vision to the printer. Hopefully this mistake will never occur again through vigilance.

•  USING RGB (for print): Printers can only print in CMYK and particular ink (such as Pantone).  Believe me it can make a huge mess to clean up after someone who uses RGB for CMYK. RGB is for screens only. If you are doing digital work that is perfect, but for print use CMYK.

• MISUSE OF PROGRAMS: the Adobe Suite can be fairly interchangeable, but each program has its own specialty. You can create print documents in Photoshop, but I would not recommend. Doing so will create more work for yourself, and for your printer (professional not your desktop).

Always a Student

Life often requires that we be constant learners, but as a graphic designer I seek out knowledge. "Knowledge is Power" I guess all those cheesy movies i was forced to watch as a child has fully brainwashed me. I crave learning, whether it is learning new techniques, new coding, or subjects completely separated from graphic design.

The internet is a quick easy source to develop further knowledge on almost any subject. I learn best by doing myself, so i can read as much as I want, I do not fully comprehend the words until I delve into it with my own hands.

With all of this being said, I plan on starting a section focused on tutorials or educational posts. If you have any subjects you wish to discuss or projects you wish to learn please leave me a comment. Not only can this be a helpful contribution to the design community, but more selfishly it will help me practice and learn useful skills. I am excited for this new endeavor.

In the meantime here are some good sites if you want to learn something new:

• Smashing Magazine (mix of everything, but I use it mostly for web) 
• CreativeCow.net (motion) 
• Pixel77 (illustrator and photoshop) 
• Vectips.com (illustrator)
• And of course google and youtube can help you search for particular skills you would like to learn.

Graduation Day

A year ago I was preparing to graduate from the University of Kansas filled with hope for the future. Imagining that soon enough I would land a new job in Wichita with a design studio and do amazing logos and do all the fun hipster graphic design things. I would get married and we would live in apartment, and then make enough money to get a house with a white picket fence and dog. Well it would be 6 months before I did get a job. During that time I became very disheartened that I could not land a job, because I was not good enough. No agencies or studios in Wichita seemed interested. I had taken some long trips, just to interview in Kansas City. I would make it to the last round, but failed to have the experience necessary. No one wants to give you the chance to gain experience. It is risky for a business to hire someone with little to no experience. I did finally get a job. At first it seemed like something different that what I wanted, but that is why they say don't judge a book by its cover.

I began working with car ads, but little by little I proved that I was up to the challenge of doing more. I have created a logo for a company and preparing to work on more collateral pieces. I have had opportunities to expand my illustration skills, do billboards, t-shirts, emails, and some flash work. I am really grateful for the opportunities that my company has given me. It has been to be appreciated for what I do, and I have proven to myself that I am capable of doing graphic design work that can be appreciated at the professional level. I enjoy my fellow employees, and I think that this company can go far. I am really excited about the opportunities that lay before me. So, I still have some of that hope that I had a year ago, but maybe with a bit more wisdom.

Much like high school, not being able to prepare me for college; nor was college able to prepare me for the professional workforce. It did give me the tools and a basic foundation, but my toes where barely even in the water. I guess it is a lot like freshman year with my Design 1 course. I dabbled in the programs and made simple layouts, but by senior year I could see my immature work and its failings. I can look back at my student portfolio and see things I wish I had done differently. I know that my skills have improved. I hope to continue to improve them, because you are really never done learning. Thanks for making me a better designer, and to better understand my craft.

I wished I had engaged in blogging when I had the chance. I am currently struggling to change my actions towards social media, blogging, podcasting, ect… I can’t help to think if I had taken this more seriously when it was REQUIRED for me to blog, listen to podcasts, and social network (for work). So if you are still in school, don’t take what the make you do for granted; you might regret it later. I would have been much better off if I had used the opportunities that the university had given me.

Can Anyone Be a Designer?

With the advancement in software and a rebirth in craft movement it seems that everyone wants, and can be a designer. But can they? Lots of designers have the humble start of no schooling and go onto become very successful designer. Some are just crafters looking to make something trendy. Most people ARE capable of being designers. A primary function of a designer is to organize information, but also combining function and aesthetics. Designers need an aptitude for problem solving. Designers can be very talented not going to school, because you are judged by your portfolio not your school and grade.

School has the advantages of teachers being more knowledgeable in the field than you, and they can impart knowledge and skills that would take you much longer to figure out on your own. Fellow students are great assets to your education. Learning along with others creates a common bond, easy networking, and you would be amazed the magnitude of what you can learn from your peers. In our projects we each learned tricks to the different tools, and we able to help each other out. Being a student gives you the foundation to begin learning on your own. School also will provide you the history of graphic design, and knowing the history can help you understand the conventions in design today and better understand your tools.

With motivation you don’t require the aid that teachers and your fellow students can provide, but if you find you need that form of encouragement and supports there are plenty of blogs around that you that can give you the help of your peers in a non-intimidating way. It can be hard to keep the motivation up to learn on your own. I know that I continually endeavor to learn on my own new tips and tricks, but I always become lazy. I have considered taking short classes for support of teachers and the forced commitment of attending class.

Scheduling time, set apart from the rest of your day, can help ensure you take time to learn a new skill. Keeping a clean and distraction free workspace also helps ensure success. My TV and Netflix often distract me from achieving my goal. Put up design inspiration. Engage in alternative activities. Diversity can be a great asset to a designer. Graphic Design is not solely for computers, in decades past they did not have computers to accelerate the design process, so get practice drawing, painting, and if you can I strongly suggest screenprint and letterpress. Letterpress gives you a new appreciation for the simplified way we are able to layout type on a computer, as well as be having more detailed attention toward kerning and leading.

Even after school a designer is not done learning, so it is important to continue growth in your craft with: books, tutorials, lectures, and perhaps more classes! Design, software, and society are continually changing, so always look for an opportunity to learn. It is never too late to begin learning. --Wow how many more clichés can I fit here!? Many people can be successful without school, now she focuses more on her photography and blogging. Check out Heather Armstrong on dooce.com or her interview with Debbie Millman

Inspired vs Stealing

It is difficult to be creative every day, particularly on-demand, as a graphic designer’s job requires. We all look at other people’s work and the environment around us to inspire us, or even just to see what our peers are doing. It is one thing to be inspired by our peers work, and it is a completely different thing to steal. We have to sometimes walk a fine balance, but it is often best to avoid it completely.

SKETCH Imitation can happen by accident. In many cases, everything has been done before. The importance of sketching can help avoid imitation. Often imitation can occur when you use an initial approach and do looking beyond this. Our initial feeling on a project is often the simplest approach, which is why this can lead to imitation.

WATCH & AVOID Seeing what our peers in the field are doing can be a great way to avoid fads. Avoiding what you see others doing is not only a great way to avoid fads, and dating your design; but it is a great way to prevent theft. We respect our own work, so we should respect the work of others in our fields.

DO ONE, NOT ALL It would be difficult to look at work, love it, desire to make something just as inspiration, and to not be able to try to reproduce something in a similar affect. One way to let inspiration work through is to take ONE trick that you noticed in their work, learn it, and incorporate it into your design. You can be inspired by the mood of a person’s work, and try to create a similar feeling in your own design.

THINK, THEREFORE IT PROBABLY IS If you think it is stealing or you are concerned that it might be, it would be best to not do it at all. Graphic Designers have to trust their instinct in this line of work, and of course you must put it to use in the case of design infringement. If you are going to use images (ex. Google images) you should site where you got this inspiration from, and if you are going to use this work in final art you should contact the creator for permission to use their work.

In the creative field it can be murky waters trying to protect your designs, and to protect yourself from theft. It is best to respect others work, as you would want them to respect yours. Imitation can be the best kind of flattery, unless you are stealing art. If you have concerns about a work, or want to develop ways to protect your own work: use watermarks and speak to a lawyer who is knowledgeable on intellectual property.

Blogging for Design

As a designer it is crucial to be organized and creative. Finding inspiration can be a challenge. Today I have several notable ideas that popped into my head today, after doing some web surfing:

1) Writing and drawing in journals began my freshman year of college, as a forced assignment. By junior year, instructors had moved us from making personal ideas in a written journal to publishing posts a blog that the whole class could read. New intimidation comes when you have to develop cohesive thoughts that appeal to more than just yourself. They have to be relevant and have an educational basis. Now in the ‘real’ world I welcome have a blog. I have lapsed, but we all have to fail and pick ourselves up again. I have been looking into starting a blog for the company I work for and the time and effort we would need to put into the blog, in order for it to be a successful blog. Something struck me while pouring through tens (maybe hundreds) of blogs.

LISTS.

Not everyone is using them, but they were the most appealing to sort through and read. I spent double, sometimes triple, the amount of the time on a blog that used numbered lists. Using text variation rather than large blocks of text made reading a blog that much more enjoyable.

2) Noting the importance of blogs fits into my goal for the week of details. Blogs are built on details. You MUST pay attention to the simple things such as spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and potent material. Blogging is more important than I have given it credit in the past. It can help a company relate to customers, while educating them more on subjects related to your particular field. It allows a conversation to take place; it can and should be personable.

3) Little details such as using headers, italics, and type variety can create visual interests as well as organize the information and apply a tone to the text.

4) I have focused on ways to help making content appealing and organized, but the most vital member of a blog is having content people want to read. We can make a blog as pretty as we want, but if the content is lack-luster it won’t keep our readers’ attentions. Take the time to practice and review your thoughts to make sure they are cohesive and would appeal to your audience; not just more fluff to fill the internet with. It is more than just whipping out your thesaurus for some witty words.

Importance of Drawing

Whether you have the skill to make a realistic portrait or you relate more to stick figures, I find that drawing is a skill that every designer should continue to hone. It is easy to fall into the trap of doing everything on computer, because it ends up there any way right? Well the speed and ease of drawing comes naturally. Even simple drawings of squiggles and boxes can be the quickest way to cycle through a variety of layouts. My new year's resolution of doing something creative everyday can become a challenge on the weekends, all week I make ads and when I am home I begin to vegetate. But the importance of drawing and keeping the creative part of my brain enticed is essential to who I am as a designer and as a person. Drawing stimulates a different part of the brain than using a computer and is faster than what we could achieve on the computer. Drawing also has brain development benefits. Studies have shown improved memory cognition if a person utilizes drawing, and that can help prevent and slow brain deterioration due to Alzheimers.

So get out there and draw. It won't cost you much. Grab a pencil or pen and some already used computer paper, and you are ready to activate your brain cells and get inspired.