Studio Tours

Studio tours are amazing! I want to encourage anyone who didn't attend to do so next year. They really help you get a sense of the possibilities we have with our major. Not only do you get to see real designer work, but you get to hear their stories behind it. It makes the whole process much more real when you hear that they struggled and pulled all nighters to get to their beautiful projects as well; it makes our work feel worth the effort.

And on a semi-related note, I know Andrea was talking about how to keep us from getting worn out. Well, we just had a guest speaker, Bill Carswell, in History of Philosophy and Design and he showed us the 8 principles of having fun. I think that is what I need to do to stay ahead of the game. I am always thinking about what needs to get done, even when I do let myself go out. If I let the stress disappear for just a little while and have some true fun, maybe take a little weekend trip, I will be much better. Lawrence has a lot of wonderful get away spots, especially by Clinton Lake. I think I'm going to take a lot of drives out there next year, clear my head, and enjoy life as it is right now, knowing that no matter how hard or stressful the work gets, I will always get it done.

Inspiration

I would have to say that the last project as a whole inspired me the most, but pieces of each deserve credit. I really enjoyed the translation that we did in both the book covers and the exhibit pieces because if made the project seem like it will relate to the 'real world' a little more. I also really enjoyed learning AfterEffects. I was very nervous about having to learn it all on my own, but it gave me the confidence to experiment on my own a little more and to try new programs like this. The workbook, though not too exciting, was an excellent project. I had been wanting to have a list of all the rules, and now I do. It really helped me think about what we are/aren't supposed to do and will make it easier with future projects. Finally, I really enjoyed the last project and it reassured me with my decision of graphic design. I had been a little iffy because I wasn't enjoying simply layout too much, but having a concrete idea and sticking with it throughout the series really made it enjoyable.

How Creativity is Being Strangled by Law

I thought this video made a few great points. First, that the Internet has brought back the read only culture to the read-write culture. There is now user generated content, amateur culture is celebrated, and we are using technology to say things differently. I especially enjoyed the examples that followed this point, and if you don't listen to the article, at least watch the videos, they are quite entertaining. The two proposed changes, for artists to make their work more freely accessible and for businesses to embrace this opportunity so that free content can grow, makes a lot of sense. With "competition creating balance" these changes could allow for new technologies in the future.