(+) & (-)

Insight into ones self is the hardest thing to do. But after some consideration, I've decided that the following best represent the positive and negative aspects of my personality...

POSITIVE

Motivated

-I set a goal and I have to reach that goal no matter what. 

Reliable

-I'll do anything for friends or family. If I'm asked to do something, it will get done.

Hardworking

-I don't like to delay on projects, I like to put my nose to the grind stone and get things done. Being active and working is better than sitting around being bored.

Problem Solving

-I found at an early age that I can solve problems easily. This comes in handy in a time of need. I can use my resources and get things done no matter what.

Adaptable

-I can work anywhere, I can pick up and go and it doesn't phase me. I don't mind where I'm working or where I am, I'll make it work for me.

NEGATIVE

Passive

-I stand back from situations and access before going in. I can sometimes be easily influenced by people when they want me to do things that they want instead of what I want and I won't defend myself.

Aloof

-I've always been shy and I stay to myself before I get to really know someone.

Flighty

-Sometimes I can act the compete opposite of what I'm usually like and act irresponsibly.

Apathetic

-I can get to a point where I just don't care anymore. I just want to get things done, no matter what.

Defensive

-I can usually avoid it, but sometimes I still let things upset me and I will get my back up.

"Don't think. Draw."

People come and go through my life, and each make an impact on how I grew up, whether I noticed it or not. But there are a special few who stand out the most, who helped push me in the right direction. 

The biggest influence on the way my life is shaping out would be my art teacher, Linda Carson. 

I started taking classes at her studio, The Big Black Pig, when I was young, and really fell in love with art. I took as many classes as I could and learned as much as I could. She was an amazing teacher and knew how each of us learned and in turn we all learned a lot. She taught me to keep a sketch book. I was taught that my sketch book was not a book of beautiful drawings, but my thoughts and ideas.  

At the beginning of each class we would start with warm up sketches and drawings, to get our hands loose. This is where I learned a lot as these exercises taught me to work quickly and to not be so perfect, to just get my ideas down.

Linda taught me that it was ok to make mistakes. She always had a way of showing me so that I understood what she was talking about. We used to take a blank piece of paper, then draw a picture on it, she would then make us do certain things such as paint over half of it with white paint, and then draw on top of that paint with a new material. I didn't realize it at the time, but she taught me to loosen up and to enjoy making mistakes and failing. I'm very grateful for that now.

She also got to know us all, had new things to teach us each week, made us all feel like amazing artists and was honest when something could be changed. I was taught to look at things a different way, see my world around me differently. Her studio was what I looked forward to each week. It was inspiring just to be standing in it. She pushed the boundaries and I loved her for it. She was truly an inspiration to each and every child that went through there.

I also wouldn't be at Humber if it weren't for another very special teacher, Mr. Waldeck. He introduced me to Graphic Design. I really had not heard of this profession while at school and it seemed too good to be true. Combining my two loves of art and computers for a job. I was shocked. But he taught me everything I needed to get into school. He encouraged me to do my best and to push my limits. He saw potential and knew I could do better. He too was a great teacher, knew how I learned and taught me so that I would get the most out of his lessons. 

Eventually I was pushed to where I thought I would never be in high school. I would never have guessed that in my final year I would be allowed to design the sets for the drama club. It was a great experience. I was taught new tricks and techniques and I was proud of the work I did. I was even more proud when he awarded me the Computer Art award in my grade 11 & 12 years. I was ecstatic and it helped me decide that I might just be good enough to go to school for Graphic Design. 

Without these two very important people in my life, I'm not sure where I would be. But I am glad that they touched my life and helped shaped who I am today. 

There are fewer rules than you think (by Linda Carson)

1. Don't put down anyone's work, especially your own.
2. Don't lick the brushes.
3. No adult slave labour.
4. You can quit but you can't whine. 

My Manifesto That I live My Life By

FAIL

You'll learn more than succeeding. You look at the world a different way. It changes you.

COLLECT THINGS THAT INSPIRE YOU

Art. Design. Posters. Photographs. Newspaper clippings. Magazine clippings. Furniture. Objects....etc.

THINK BEFORE YOU JUMP TO THE COMPUTER

Doodle. Draw. Write down words. You'll do better when you get to the computer.

PUSH YOUR LIMITS

Do something you normally wouldn't. Change things up. Pick another font/colour/picture/layout that you normally wouldn't. 

LISTEN TO OTHERS

Sit in on conversations without contributing. Listen to how other people think, talk, voice opinions. You learn so much.

JUST THINK

Let your mind wander. Stand in the shower and let the water hit you. Stare out the window. Sit in the dark. Your subconscious is fascinating. Then go backwards in events and see how you arrived at that idea!

TRAVEL

Go downtown, on walks, to other cities, provinces, states, countries. Take the public transit, walk, bike, run, take your car, see different perspectives.

OBSERVE YOUR SURROUNDINGS

Store front signs. Products. Displays. People. Architecture. Advertising. Nature. The world around you is amazing.

DO MORE THAN GRAPHIC DESIGN

Sports. Hobbies. Art. Cooking....you learn and experience more. Your view on the world expands.

DON'T BE AFRAID

You can't go through life afraid of everything. The world is an amazing place, so go discover it. Things aren't as terrifying as you think.

My Mood Board

What inspires me.

20 Words [Design]

Explanation

Understanding

Perception

Impact

Personal

Unique

Realization

Appreciate

Ignorant

Purpose

Creative

Subconscious

Amazing

Dull

Like

Dislike

Beauty

Junk

Message

Reason

Design is Statement Revised

Design is open to interpretation. 

Technology Consumption in a Week

Over the couse of a week, I recorded how much I use/rely on technology. I wasn't too surprised at my findings as I know that being a graphic designer that I'm ALWAYS online and I can't stand to be without my cell/ipod/computer. I love technology and Apple maybe a little too much. I knew I didn't read enough, and I miss that as I used to read all the time. Being in college doesn't help as I spend all my free time doing homework and by the end of the night/morning I just crash on my bed. I was aware of how much I use everything on this list, and you might say I'm a bit of a technology addict.

My Findings:

Amount of time reading (books, magazines, newspapers...)

6 hours 15 minutes

*I was lucky this week and took some time to read my book, but this number is usually quite low. This number does NOT take into account reading other things such as billboards, posters, misc words all around us. Of course, I read these all the time, either subconsciously or not. It is another way I get my inspiration.

Amount of time listening to the radio

0 hours

*I don't usually listen to the radio unless in my car, and being in Toronto on campus, I don't need it. I have my ipod, why listen to the radio?

Amount of time listening to music

4.5 hours

*I like to put on background noise while working on homework. I also like to listen to my ipod occasionally while walking to class. I'm not a huge music fan, so this number is a little low.

Amount of time watching TV/movies

24 hours 45 minutes

*Most of the time, I'm not even paying attention to what's on the TV, I just like it on for background noise. I only really watch 2-3 shows during the week to get away from homework. I love movies, so most of this number is from movie watching. 

Number of emails sent

8

*This is from Hotmail/Gmail only, it does NOT include Facebook messages.

Amount of time surfing the web

5 hours 30 minutes

*I don't usually surf around on websites. I mostly stick to my Facebook and Twitter. But I do use Google a lot, which is where most of the time is spent, usually looking up things for school projects. Occasionally if I have time I'll look for new design inspiration or even pictures to put on TCI

Amount of time talking on the phone

1 hour 13 minutes

*Weekly I'll call home and spent half an hour-45 minutes on the phone. The other numbers come from friends calling.

Number of texts SENT

311

Number of texts RECEIVED

339

*This number fluctuates. I'm mostly talking to my boyfriend back home. On the weekends he's away on course the number goes up even higher as he's bored and has a lot of free time.

Amount of time on MSN

168 hours

*I NEVER turn off my MSN, either out of laziness, or afraid that people can't reach me if I'm offline. Again, I'm mostly talking to my boyfriend. I also use it to keep in touch with friends back home, friends on res and friends from class.

Number of times I check Facebook & Twitter

70

*I'm constantly checking to see if anyones messaged me, or commented on something. But I think I like to check it so often is because I like to see what other people are up to. I have a lot of people from my high school and it's nice to see what they're doing in their lives. I also love to read the status updates. (Hence why I also love Twitter) I know it's kind of creepy, but I'm strangely inspired when I read them. Sometimes someone's said something funny or creative and it influences me to write something equally funny/creative.

I realize that some people may find these results sad. That I'm so dependant on my technology. But I can't help it. I love technology. It's why I'm in graphic design. There are so many more things that can be done with a computer and now a days, people can be reached that much easier! I love my apple products and I can't stand to not be around them. I guess they make me feel different from everyone else, because not many people have a mac and that makes me different. I like being different and I don't mind being addicted to my technology. I love it.

Quote of the week:

"If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger."  

~Frank Lloyd Wright

My Design Process

New project, 2 weeks to complete. Extremely short time compared to the 3-6 weeks we can sometimes get for projects. But this would test our time management skills as well as how well we can think on such short notice.

I have a week to think up a concept for the Humber Jazz Studio Ensemble CD. So many thoughts flow through my head. I think the first thing I thought about was how much I really wanted to win this one. Excitement and ideas flow through me. But I have to pin point one. In class is not the time, so I turn to the rest of my friends to see what they're thinking. They too are excited and have ideas flowing through them. We continued our talks as we walked back to the residence.

Talking to them helped me understand what parts I may have missed while I was thinking about the design instead of listening to all the details. I also got a feel for what they were thinking of doing. We had already come up with a colour scheme! Ariel decided that he was going to go speak to Denny himself to see what he personally wanted. This helped us greatly as we were told that he wanted simple and elegant and a matt finish. Ideas continued flowing through us, but I still wasn't ready to start designing anything. I needed my computer.

I'll admit that I forgot about the CD until the next weekend, other projects tend to take over my mind. But I suppose sub consciously I was still thinking about it and getting ideas from talking to my friends as they worked on it all week. I finally sat down on my bed, sketch pad and computer handy. I started to think what Prologue meant. Where did the word come from? What could it depict? I googled the word and found out a lot of different things. I wrote key words and phrases on my paper, occasionally stopping to think and doodle on the side. 

Then it hit me. Prologue is a statement. It's at the beginning of a story. And I knew exactly how to depict a story. I started to sketch out my ideas. Simple thumbnails, but I already knew what it was going to look like in my head. I decided the easiest way was to depict it as a story plot line. That way, the lines would tie the whole CD together, front to back. I had a good feeling about this concept and I ran with it. Monday we had to have an idea and a concept in digital form already. I did not have it done in time, so I went and saw Heather a day later. 

Sitting in class, I saw everyone else's, and I was again amazed at how we can all get the same project and come up with different ideas! Sure, some we similar in a few ways, but they were all uniquely different on how we all decided Prologue should look. I also knew (since I didn't have mine done) that I didn't want to go the ordinary route of just justifying the text or keeping it horizontal, I wanted it to have more movement and make it more interesting. The idea for placing my text on a slant and wonky like it was actually points on the plot line came to me then.

I went home with new hope for the project. I took my learning from Dawn and her grid exercises and applied it to my CD. The result was exactly what I wanted. I was proud to show it to Heather the next day. To my surprise, she liked it too, with little to be changed for next week. After showing some of my classmates, they weren't too sure about my design. It wasn't exactly what he wanted. But I decided that the way he told us about the project, that he himself didn't know exactly what he wanted. So I went with my gut, and kept my design. I just had to convince him that it was elegant and simple, in it's own way, I was just pushing the boundaries a little. 

Next week in class Heather again liked the design and I had nothing to change on it. I was ready to print and show the client. We had 2 days to finish, print and make our designs. We had to meet with Denny on Wednesday afternoon. I was surprisingly not nervous like I usually am. I was confident in my design, I loved what I did. I went in, told him my concept, the reason why I did what I did, and that I pushed what he told us to do. He thought for a moment and told me that it was ok, that I pushed the limits, but still maintained everything he wanted. He had never in 6 years seen anyone use the copy like I did. I was pleased that he liked it and walked out feeling great.

End of the day, I just felt great to have another project finished and out of the way. I forgot all about the CD project until Tuesday afternoon when I got a phone call from Denny himself saying that he'd pick my design. MINE! I couldn't believe it and I didn't know what to say. I had to go in that day to meet with him about changed to the copy and little details that had to be added in. I met with his graphic designer, who is very nice, and very helpful. She helped me make sure that everything was print ready. It's now been sent off to the printers, and I just can't wait to see how it prints out :)

It's been a short time for design work, but I liked it. I'm able to think of things easier and I don't have those weeks to second guess myself. Sure it wasn't as much time as we're used to, but it was a great way to test our skills to see if we could come up with things almost on the spot. I know I've proven to myself that I can do it. 

Quote of the week:

"Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless."

How do I create?

I am a person who uses creativity and design to shape my life. I create by using what I see from the world around me. I use my creativity in my art to experiment with different materials and styles and I carried that over into my design by using different colours and fonts. 

While watching the TED talk video I was reminded of my time in high school when I was forced to take things such as math and science more than I wanted. I'm not a strong mathematical or scientific thinker so I struggled through my years in school. I couldn't wait for my classes of visual and computer arts, it was what I was best at. I agreed with Ken in everything he said and I do wish arts were accepted more. I knew that the arts weren't as accepted but hearing it from Ken, it seemed to sink in more and I realized just how bad it really was. 

After the TED talk video and while discussing our opinions I noticed that we had all written down the same quote. "If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything creative." We are all taught that being wrong is bad and so growing up we were too afraid to speak our minds. I know I was, and still am. It's something I need to over come. In school everything is focused around our marks that we're afraid to try something that might be wrong in fear of getting a bad mark. Even in college we're hesitant to try something daring because if it's wrong, we fail and if we fail, we don't get jobs. It's a cruel cycle. 

Being a creative person, I have to keep ideas flowing and hearing suggestions from the 100 Habits of Successful Designers gave me some new ideas. My favourite suggestion was looking at the everyday world for inspiration. I related to it the most because it's what I do when I need to think up new ideas. From designs of water/salt on the subway floor to other designers work. I take it all in, and it really influences what I create.

All the suggestions given tied together with looking at the everyday world. Reading, traveling, holding conversations and changing my environment are all involved with looking at the world around me. 

Quote of the week:

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

-Albert Einstein

Design Is...

Design is creating ideas through philosophy, propaganda, science, storytelling and craft. It's about coming up with a solution based on needs and communicating the solution of those needs to the target audience. 

This is how ideas, thoughts, messages or opinions are distributed to audiences. It can make people feel or think a certain way, It can help them make decisions on buying products or services and it can get people to think another way. 

This is all created by knowing the audience, knowing their needs and wants and giving that to them in either a straight forward or subconscious manner.

Design isn't just ads and posters, it's so much more. It's everywhere. Clothing, buildings, products, technology, furniture, interiors, cities, countries even to how humans ourselves are designed, we couldn't function without design. The world would fall apart.

I chose to be a designer because I love to be creative. I love everything there is about design from coming up with an idea to executing said idea. I couldn't picture myself doing anything else, being creative is what motivates me. I want to design work that would inspire other people like designers inspire me. 

When I design, I feel great about myself, like this is what I'm supposed to do with my life. I want to see my work and be proud of it, I don't want to have to regret it each time I see it. When I see exceptional design I feel inspired and I want to go home and draw or paint. 

Even though there's a difference between art and design I still like to go back and forth between the two and create something truly amazing. 

Quote of the week:

"Art has to move you and design does not, unless it's a good design for a bus." 

- David Hockney