You Can't Miss

My interpretation of a job search.

This week, you can't miss Junior, a blog of anything budding, bushy-eyed, graduate designers would want to know about the the big, scary world of design. Although some content pertains to those living in Australia, a lot of the interviews deal with universal feelings, worries and thoughts on getting a job--from the perspective of the one applying and the one who is hiring.



I thought this entry was particularly helpful, and what is addressed is something I've been thinking a lot about. These days you need a really good answer to the question: Why do you want to work for X Company? What you really need is a plan. I've been thinking of my plans. Sometimes planning the plans involves lots of conversations with myself or, more often, conversations with an imaginary Hiring Director. What can I say to convince you that I don't just want a job, but I want this job? Simon Hakim of the Aussie-based firm The Surgery says that, yeah you're resume looks great, you're highly qualified and you're a team player. But so what?

"By the sounds of it all, you just want a job. You don’t really know why, other than you’d be good at whatever it is you are applying for. You just really want to work there or you kinda just need the money.

I won’t employ someone who doesn’t really know what they want or can offer me or my clients.

I want someone saying:

“You guys could soon be the hottest creative agency, but your work can be improved, and I’ll show you how to get there” or;

“I want to be creative director in five years time” or;

“Here are three ideas for three clients you have and this is why I think it would work and what the benefit to them would be. When can we present?”

Be proactive. Understand what you want and where you are going. Have a plan. Be creative and come up with ideas that benefit the agency or their clients. Give them a reason to employ you."

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Made by Many is still obsessed, like the rest of the world, with Twitter. This week they've included a beautiful slideshow that was recently presented to a client. Part of the slideshow examines Twitter over time, and now I remember that it certainly didn't look as nice back in 2006, when I met my first Tweeters. The look-back makes me appreciate how quickly things move, develop and improve. The numbers also show that Twitter did the right thing on the technological front; usership increased by 900%! If you have the time, look through this slideshow. Plus, you should look through it anyway because it's a great example of a killer presentation. Ohh, I want to make a presentation like that!

Twitter... what's all the fuss about?

View more presentations from madebymany. (tags: future guide)

Also check out the fantastic list of things you must see! on Made by Many. I spent an hour just looking through all of the links. You can do a deep web search for yourself and then look at how to publish your very own magazine for free! yay!

Objects of my affection

Objectified is a documentary by Gary Hustwit, the director of Helvetica. It looks like screenings are slated to begin next month. Hopefully RagTag has the opportunity to show it. The poster (shown above) was designed by Build. I wish this had been at True/False!

Check out the trailer:

A letter to my parents

Dear Mom and Dad,

I hope you're having a great day.
You know how much I love patterns, right?


Well, there's this book. It's pretty amazing. It's called the Geometric Book. There are 264 pages of unique pattern illustrations and a CD that contains all of the pattern fonts in digital format--so I can edit them and use them in my own designs. And, well, it would be pretty amazing to have in my own collection.





If you wanted to look through the book, you can visit this website:

http://kapitza.com/shop/geometric-book

And you know, if you wanted to order it, that would be pretty cool. Maybe we could share it?

Sarah (your loving daughter) + Endless patterns = Happy designs!

Happy Wednesday!

You Can't Miss

For True/False, Kristin and I went to the Missouri Theatre on Friday and saw Waltz With Bashir, a beautifully animated Israeli documentary. Bashir was conceived by the film's writer and director, Ari Folman, in his journey to piece together his memories of the 1982 Lebanon War. Straight away, the audience is viciously greeted by a pack of 26 ruthless dogs that chase, taunt and trigger Folman's memory of what happened almost three decades before in Lebanon. The use of color throughout the film is sparse and the physical movement of the characters is slow. They serve as a metaphoric fog that drifts and envelopes characters who attempt to find out what happened. The film is enthralling. Since the illustrated memories of the film are mostly memories, you sometimes forget that you're watching a documentary. I found myself thinking, this dialogue seems so real--so genuine--and quickly remembered that it is all true. Bashir shows that illustrating the inscrutable can still be achieved and understood by not only the person in search of a memory, but also those watching.

Waltz With Bashir is showing next week at the RagTag. If you have any interest in animation, Israeli/Palestine relations go see this film. If you dont, go see this film anyway.

Here's the trailer:


And also an interview with the director, Ari Folman:



Over at Made by Many, everyone is obsessed with Twitter. I guess I just don't understand. The timing seems off. Twitter was happening two and a half years ago when I was an intern in Washington, D.C. Everyone at NPR was twittering. Suddenly, in the last few weeks, there has been a Twitter boom. I don't want to fault online social networks, because I participate in many of them, but why is Twitter such a big deal only now? I kind of thought it had been happening for a while--that the boomtime was over. Evidently not. I'll just blame my key sense of noticing trends and not following them.

Critique: Week 6

It's been a fun week. The Design Center moved into its new space, sans any shelving or storage. We're keeping our inspiration--posters, magazines, books--in cardboard boxes for now. We do have big, beautiful desks and cool swively chairs...ooh and carpet tiles. We also have a hilarious new Didjlight. vertical glass lamp that !!doubles!! as a didgeridoo. If you walk by our floor-to-ceiling glass walls you'll probably notice that we've all gone native and now only speak, in the words of my friend Derek Zoolander, Ambidigital.


We also have a giant, rubber red leather chaise. Since all of us share the phobia of either lying down or sleeping in public, I'm sure it will get a lot of use. This is what we look like sitting on it.

Besides adjusting to the new environment, I designed a few logo prototypes for the MBA Association at MU. This is the one they picked. Eh, not my favorite, but I'm glad they're excited about it. It's hard to get a lot of the professional student organizations to like anything besides Trajan Pro.



I also designed a little flyer for Four Front's presentation of Geri Jewell (I've never heard of her, but I like the crinkly background!)



Over the weekend I designed a department for Vox, which isn't terribly exciting. BUT! I did get to design a brochure that I'm quite excited about. It's for the Fiber Arts Tour & Exhibits that will take place this summer in Columbia.


I used different textures to give the design more depth. After all, it is a fibers exhibit. You'll notice I used Helvetica throughout. I think the structure of the font plays well off of the unpredictability of working with fibers. For me, it's also a timeless font, and works well with the fact that works from contemporary artsists as well as ancient Peruvian textiles will be shown. I'm also happy with the way my map has turned out on the back. That was a lot of fun to create in Illustrator.

This week, I'll be putting together the style guide for Renovate Style Magazine. Also I'll be layout out the early stages of this year's Epic Magazine. I need to start brainstorming feature illustrations for it, so I can have a few ready to go. Hmm, I think that's about it. Lots to do.

Response: Organization

Art met yesterday to talk about our approach to Renovate Style. It's great to be on a team with three other extremely talented, smart and creative people. What's even more fantastic is that every time I leave a conversation with one or two or all of us, I feel like we accomplish something and that we all know where we're headed. I think the important thing for me, on this project, is to be extremely organized and on the ball with our side of the redesign. It seems like a given, but being really well-organized takes TIME! and I'm getting used to it.

On that note, organization and communication have been major themes throughout many of my design experiences this semester. Whether it's simply slapping numbered post-its on 30+ design samples for a quick critique or figuring out a way to organize hours and hours of ideas into a 10 minute Keynote pitch, my life is getting a little color-coded and tabbed. Which is probably a good thing?

I do miss the spontaneity of sunny, warm days and the feeling that it is okay if I skip a few classes. Maybe I'm coming to terms with my entry into Responsibilitydom, but I've gradually noticed how planned and listed my life has become. It's great because I can keep track of a lot of different, exciting, creative and even spontaneously driven projects, but every now and then I'd like to escape for a day or two.


Diagonsis: I think I need spring break and a certain someone to make his trek across the Atlantic.