feb 11 class /  by tyler galloway

in class
finish crit: parker, maddy, kelsey

“personal attributes” group exercise
- if you had to describe your classmate to a friend of yours using only one word, what would it be?
- if you had to describe your classmate as a designer to another designer at an aiga event using only one word, what would it be?

quick review of reading, if time allows.

9:00 ari fish here for resume and letter writing workshop. 


new work for next class
finalize 3-5 attributes you feel are most appropriate for you and create mood boards – gather type samples, colors, graphic elements, and general visual examples, making sure they embody your attributes. place your attributes on the mood board and cluster the imagery around those words as illustrations of each term. 

refine your resume and letter writing based on info from ari’s presentation.

extra credit // national student show /  by tyler galloway

nss.png
 

the national student show is a large design competition, mostly frequented by mid-country universities and colleges. part of professional design practice is exposing your work to a larger audience and vying for recognition for design excellence in juried or peer-reviewed situations such as this one. plus, accolades for your work are great lines on your resume.

as a way of getting in the practice of doing this, i’m offering [more] extra credit for entry into this contest. online payment for entries is due by friday, feb 15 and physical work to ship down to dallas [judging location] is due in the gd library by 3pm on monday, feb 18.

please visit the website link above for all rules and details. let me know if you need help selecting work or help with preparing your entry. give it a shot!

to get your extra credit [a .1 grade point bump on your final grade], simply show me some evidence of your contest entry – the physical work you’re mailing, a receipt, etc.

extra credit // aiga portfolio review /  by tyler galloway

highly recommended event! get your developing portfolio reviewed by professional designers.

this is for aiga members only. student membership is $50 for a year and i believe you can sign up for both aiga and this event at the same time.

registration and more info can be found here.

to get your extra credit [a .1 grade point bump on your final grade], simply let me know you went and a couple of things you got out of the experience.

**image/illustration credit: isabelle brown**

feb 6 // final crit on portfolio development /  by tyler galloway

in class
you will give a visual/verbal presentation of your projects as if you are in an interview. be confident, clear, concise and, of course, professional. 

10 minutes total per student – 8 minutes to present and 2 minutes for feedback.

we will do a crit chain format where student a presents and student b and c critique for participation grades [be thoughtful and critical]. then student b presents, with student c and d critiquing, and so on.

make sure all deliverables are turned in – behance url or pdf of images, file structure emailed to me, blog posts.

new work for next class
write out or update your resume. take a stab at writing a cover letter to introduce yourself to your dream internship site. what do you need to say?

find an online or printed personal identity that resonates with you. it can be a website [it’s not about the work, but the site design that frames the work], a business card, or other indicator of a personal [not studio] identity – something to share with your classmates.

ari fish from career services will be here monday at 9:00 for a resume and letter-writing workshop. yay!

review the project 2 brief here.

don’t forget to read: how to find your first design job, from aiga.org

feb 3 class /  by tyler galloway

in class
discuss: flaunt reading over portfolio q&a. make a list of best practices and/or things to keep in mind.

discuss: how to write about projects [title - problem/objective/audience -  solution; what one sees vs what one reads; brevity; establishing a replicable structure]

what are aspects of a design project that a potential employer wants to know about? 

how are you approaching your writing? 

discuss sequencing of work – what goes first, last, middle and why

as time allows, work time – final touches on all project images and writing.

new work for next class
production on behance site, screen-based pdf or keynote that can export cleanly as pdf. keep layouts simple and focus the viewer’s attention on what’s most important. include your written descriptions using professional and clear typography. 

read: how to find your first design job, from aiga.org
this is the same text as appears in the recommended text, “the aiga guide to careers in graphic & communication design”, so if you have that book, check out chapter 4.
this reading will be due in two classes – feb 11.

final crit format
you will give a visual/verbal presentation of your projects as if you are in an interview. be confident, clear, concise and, of course, professional. 

10 minutes total per student – 8 minutes to present and 2 minutes for feedback.

we will do a crit chain format where student a presents and student b and c critique for participation grades [be thoughtful and critical]. then student b presents, with student c and d critiquing, and so on.

project 1 // file naming and structure /  by tyler galloway

one of your deliverables for the portfolio development project is a screen shot of your computer file structure - project folders w/images + text file for descriptions. here is a visual example of exactly what i mean:

file-structure.png
 

folders are named descriptively based on the client or project name. photo files are named based on the sequence in which you plan to display them. the text file contains the written project description that you can copy/paste anywhere.

the point of this is to get you into the “professional practice” of organizing your files and folders in an archival way, with an eye toward your future self. ultimately the structure you set up doesn’t matter, as long as it is there and set up in a way that works for how you think. in five years, will you be able to find these files if you need them? i encounter this regularly with both design and school work, where i need to dig through an old external drive to find something i never thought i’d need.

it’s very important to get into this habit, if you have not already. every single studio or agency you work for will have a systematic approach to which you must conform at some level. they have so much work flowing in and out that it’s imperative for them to be able to archive work efficiently and retrieve it quickly when asked for updates, revisions or extensions to that work.

aiga design and taxes rescheduled /  by tyler galloway

this even has been re-scheduled for Tue, Feb 5, 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM

aiga kc is hosting a “design and taxes” event at 5:30 on feb 5 at their crossroads space. attendance with a brief description to the class about what you learned will get you a .1 grade point bump on your final grade.

for reference on the 4-point scale, a B ranges from 2.9 to 3.1 and B+ is from 3.2 to 3.4. each “grade zone” is only .3 points. a .1 bump is enough to round you up to another half-grade level if you are on the edge. three extra credit options in this class is a solid half-letter grade.

studios! /  by tyler galloway

an ongoing list. links forthcoming. please contribute in the comments if you think of something.

local studios/companies with kcai alumni
dmh [diamond merckens hogan]
shs [sullivan higdon sink]
mbb [muller bessler brown]
reactor
barkley
garmin
vml
di [dimensional innovations]
eisterhold associates
populous
beveridge seay
hallmark
cerner
d e g
c3 [creative consumer concepts]
whiskey design
propaganda 3
kcata [kansas city area transportation authority]
playlistplay

local studios general
design ranch
willoughby
hufft architects
bnim architects
el dorado architects
project blackbird - motion work
indicia
springboard creative
crema

national studios with kcai alumni
nickelodeon - nyc
public theater - nyc
air bnb - san francisco
sales force - san francisco
moxie sozo - boulder
blackboard - austin
ia collaborative - chicago
madeinspace - los angeles
thrive - helena, arkansas

jan 30 class /  by tyler galloway

in class
group crit of near-final image sets. we’ll need to move quickly to get everyone in and keep the project process moving along.

discuss flaunt reading. make a list of best practices and/or things to keep in mind.

discuss: how to write about projects [title - problem/objective/audience , process, solution; what one sees vs what one reads; brevity; establishing a replicable structure]

pair up and help each other to write about one of your top three projects. continue writing project descriptions as time allows. 

new work for next class
work on project descriptions for all 7 projects. post to your blog. 

finalize all image production for all 7 projects.

prep for final crit on feb 6:
[these are the deliverables listed on the project sheet]

– behance url with 7 project images and descriptions
OR
– keynote and/or pdf file with 7 project images and descriptions 
– screen shot of computer file structure - project folders w/images + text file for descriptions

blog deliverables
– specific short and long-term goals, including names of possible places
– a couple of processed project images
– project descriptions for all seven projects

jan 28 class /  by tyler galloway

in class
discussion over flaunt reading

desk crits: review project photographs and project 1 re-works.


new work for next class

start project 2 re-work.

continue image-making and production for all 7 projects. this should be nearly done by next class.

group crit on work-in-progress for next class. have digital files ready to show.

jan 23 class /  by tyler galloway

in class
brief discussion over reading.

studio photography demo – camera setup, lighting, using the seamless, and processing your images in photoshop.

in-class work time on portfolio selection, project re-works, and project documentation.

one-on-one crits with any students i have not spoken to.

new work for next class
project 1 re-work should be wrapping up.

visual documentation for all 7 projects should be beginning or continuing. process one or two photos to share for next class and post those to your blog. we are looking for clear visual information on your projet, good composition, and high craft [focus, color balance, tonal range, etc].

read flaunt: interview section pp 141–167

we have about two more weeks for this project.

hallmark internship presentation at kcai /  by tyler galloway

Hallmark representatives will be on campus at 11:45 a.m., Tuesday, February 5 to announce their extensive 2019 Summer Internship Program.

This year Hallmark will be looking for students to fill multiple internship opportunities with primary interest in 3D Modeling, Video Editing, Graphic Design, Illustration, Writing & Editorial, and Industrial Design. You can get an advanced look at their summer internship positions at: https://careers.hallmark.com/go/Internships.

Please mark these dates on your calendar:

Tuesday, February 5 - Hallmark presentation in the Irving Auditorium at 11:45 a.m.

Tuesday, February 26 - On campus interviews for selected individuals

Any student interested in working with Kansas City's premier creative company should plan to attend the session on February 5 to learn more about all that Hallmark has to offer. For additional information please contact KCAI's senior director of corporate programs Randy Williams at rwilliams@kcai.edu or at extension 3527.

jan 16 class /  by tyler galloway

in class
discuss range of goals

review portfolio sites as a group

review reading

lecture and discussion of styles of documenting work: seamless vs context vs digital flats, etc, etc.

questions to ponder:
why psd mock-ups?
what is your point of view on your visual storytelling?
how to handle projects with several parts, multiple spreads, or other complexity?
how much zoom is enough on detail shots?

small groups / one-on-one: final decisions on top 7 projects to begin with.
- what does this collection say about you as a designer?
- what’s your best project and why?
- what is your favorite and why?
- what role does variety play?
- how do these projects relate to your stated goals?

new work for next class
continue project 1 re-work

read flaunt: photography section pp 119-129

project inventory /  by tyler galloway

history of graphic design
timeline

vis com 1 + image
posters
project 1 series
tool videos
object translation book
photo sequencing + video

type 1
typesetting exercises
type as texture
collage letters
french folded publication – experimental type
book

vis com 2
tool instructions
branding + packaging + video for imagined company

type 2
modular typeface
type specimen
dual narrative book
current perspectives posters

applied comm theory
semiotics map
modes of appeal zine
communication model
rhetoric poster + supporting materials

narrative
sequence exercise [collages]
folly poster + motion
explainer video
free project based on 5 prompts [spatial design, zines, etc]

type 3
biodiagrams
artist file
manifesto

human centered design
research book
research video
packaging system

+ freelance and internship work, studio electives

notable portfolio sites /  by tyler galloway

please place links to sites in the comments of this post.

here are a few sites to whet your appetite!

normal

Vasilis Marmatakis

accurat

wkshps

keep in mind, most of these are professional studios, so they have more resources to put behind a site and position themselves differently than an individual looking for work. so maybe my list is somewhat off-topic. see if you can find interesting sites for individuals and add them in the comments.

hello world! /  by tyler galloway

welcome to professional practices class! i’m super excited to discuss these topics and facilitate your learning more about the field as you prepare to present yourselves to the professional design world.

in class
review syllabus, policies, and general expectations.

review project one

discuss what you’ve done vs what you want to do – goals for internships and eventual jobs. 

full portfolio review of existing work. come to class with printed collection of work [best 10 projects and have hung up in classroom with a point of view on what needs re-working].

small group crit - decide which two projects are going to be re-worked and what / how to re-work: re-design, extend, refine, or “apply” [make more practical or professional something currently abstract or “student-like”].  

new work for next class
blog post on specific short and long-term goals, including names of possible places.

start project one re-work.

identify an interesting portfolio site and be ready to discuss in class - comment in the above course blog post titled “notable portfolio sites”. note approaches to how images of the work are shown. 

read flaunt: introduction pp 10–13