A lil Exercise

I am currently working on my final print for serigraphy. I am looking for the perfect typefaces, but just can't seem to find the right combination tonight, so I thought this little exercise was much needed because my words are lacking a personality of their own!

TAPE!

For product and packaging class we are currently working on a project for 3M, Target, and GNC. It is a collaborative project with graphic designers, industrial designers, and packaging majors. The project is to design a new tape dispenser and the packaging, graphics, and store display for it. Here are a few concepts that I came up with for the project. 

Does it make sense?

I am working on a system in addition to the structure of the shoe box seen below. The bigger picture is to create a user experience and my focus is buying running shoes in stores with the target audience of new or beg. runners. What shoe should you buy? What shoe is right for your foot & purpose? These are the questions I am trying to answer. The research I have been doing has been an exciting process! I definitely feel more confident in finding the right shoes for me, not to mention I even found myself looking at the bottom of my running shoes to see which areas were the most worn down. I can't wait for the finished product!  3 weeks to go!

Over the Weekend

Just a quick look at what I worked on over the weekend. A screen print assignment and the final version of the "save the dates."

The Last 5 hours...

Our new packaging project is about user experience and our focus is shoes. Many hours put in already and many many more to go.

One Month Down

Classes are well on their way and assignments, tests, quizzes and projects are starting to build up. I just finished up my first screen printing assignment and I would share it with everyone if it was actually worth sharing, better luck with the next one I guess. I am in the middle of preliminary sketches and ideation for my first packaging project, for the most part it is going well, I was a little stumped on a name, but after thinking about it non-stop for 48hrs I think I got one!  I'll make sure to keep you all updated along the way. On top of the school load, I have worked some time in to update my identity: business cards, resume, etc. It was a fun little break from school work and overall I am happy with how everything turned out. Not to mention there was a little push to get some business cards before AIGA's Design Camp this weekend!! Oh yes there is more... I am in the middle of finalizing "save the dates" & can't forget about the internships! This month also accounted for my first month ever of working over 20hrs a week and going to school full time. I was a little skeptical at first how it would all work out, but with a little time management everything is working out just great! To add on to the awesomeness of my amazing jobs, I was chosen as Artist of the Month for August. It was quite a wonderful surprise! That wraps up September and if I had to guess October will look very similar with lots of design. Already this weekend I will be packing my bags and headed to northern MN for AIGA's Design Camp, super excited!!!

A successful summer...

New portfolio pieces! Completed my first 1/2 marathon! & Fun with the camera!

#ilovemyjob

    Yikes tomorrow is August and my last post was the beginning of June, oopsies! I've tried to sit down and give you an update on the internships, but I've been so busy that I resorted to making notes in my sketchbook for when I found the time to actually sit down and write an update. I will not lie work has been a little overwhelming, some days I feel like I am in school. It really is nothing to complain about though considering I love everything I've been working on and I've been learning things that I would never learn sitting behind a desk in a classroom. There is especially nothing to complain about when you have at-least one tweet a day that says #ilovemyjob.... we all know that twitter doesn't lie! Trying to juggle two internships at the same time has definitely brought a couple challenges, but at the same time it has in no way been impossible to manage. I work at the EDC Monday, Tuesday, and then I go to the ECPC Wednesday, Thursday, and I split Friday's; morning's at the EDC and afternoons at the ECPC. Working at two different places gives my week a lot of different variety. At the EDC there are major long term projects as well as short little jobs that may need to be finished within the day. My boss came in to me the other day and said "can you fix this? ...and by the way you have 15min." So, I said sure READY SET GO! Whereas at the ECPC the work is more uniform, I usually have a good idea as to what I will be working on over the course of the day. The work is also different because it is mostly small ads, so in one day I may have worked on 20 different designs. Working two different places at two different paces keeps me on my feet. Some days are slower than others, but at the same time some days you have to settle with the notion that not everything will get done and that can be frustrating. The theme of last week was "due date was...yesterday." I don't know how many times I heard this and it was funny because I heard it at both the EDC and the ECPC. My advice is not to panic, you have to just take a deep breath open a new document and begin it is really not that bad. This last week at the EDC was exciting and I'm learning that designers get excited at the littlest things. I had sent off one of my major projects to the printer the week before and on Monday the proof had arrived!! It was so exciting to see my first "real" project in print form. What I mean about "real" is that instead of just printing one and handing it in for a grade, it will be printed in thousands and sent off to people across the country. The second project, a mailing piece,  I had sent off to the printer did not go as smooth and had a few set backs. I just keep in mind everyday that this is a learning process, right? A major thing that I have learned in the past week while sending off files to the printer is how to prepare them. I had a number of different adjustments that I had to make to my files such as color corrections and bleeds. Also each printer has their own specifications on how they would like the files to be prepared. Being able to work one on one with the printers and requesting project quotes is frustrating at times, but it is great experience because it is not something you are taught in school and it will only benefit me in the future. Aside from dealing with printers the project I have been working on keep getting more exciting!! In just this last week I worked on a mailing flier, a magnetic notepad, and a billboard!!! The billboard is pretty exciting I can't wait to drive by it! I have also made some updates to the website and learned what a favicon is and that I will be designing one within the next couple weeks. I have also had the chance to get out and use my camera for a couple of different projects. The project that is being printed now features my pictures on every page including the cover making it even more personal to me. Aside from designing at work I have been trying to sketch as much as possible, above you'll see a little something I did on my lunch break in the park. I am also working on wedding invitations and always looking up new contests to enter. And aside from design entirely I have been keeping busy with my training for the Madison Mini Marathon in 3 weeks!!!! Life is good!     

A Well Overdue Update...

I have been meaning to update this for over a week now, but I have been super busy. From moving apartments to spending time with family and just getting settled in at the new jobs. Packing and cleaning is hard work and I'm not even done with the unpacking or organizing of the new room. That will probably not happen till the end of summer. It worked out nice because my roommate is subleasing my room in Menomonie for now and I am staying in EC which is about 4min away from work which is awesome!! This week I started as the graphic design intern at the EDC (Economic Development Center). The first day was great, the boss took me out for lunch and I got started on my first project!! I'm very excited about the job and I think it will be an amazing experience to say the least. For a little over a month I have been working as the graphic design intern at the ECPC (Eau Claire Press Company). I am starting to get the hang of things a little bit. I have mostly been working on the realtor books and ads for the newspaper. Both jobs are a little different from one another, but the experience is great and the people are all very helpful. My hours are mostly 8-4pm, Monday-Friday, it is weird to have an entire workday in by 4 and not have to work on weekends. Considering all other summer jobs I have had, these don't really seem like work because it is something I love and enjoy doing, the time seems to fly by. It is also weird that I work on a project for a full day and then I don't have to take it home to work on like school. Aside from all the design at work I am also doing some on the side. I designed a t-shirt for the Wausau East Highschool Homecoming for next fall and I will soon be starting on Wedding Invites. I have not been getting out and experimenting with the Canon as much as I would like, but I am really going to try to more. The problem is once I get it out I don't like to put it away, it is such a fun toy!! All in all summer vacation has been awesome!! I think my brother and I are planning a trip to Chicago in a few weeks and I am also training to run a 1/2 marathon in August. I am keeping myself very busy, but am enjoying ever minute. I hope to keep you updated on the internships as much as possible over the summer! =)

Possibilities of "g"

I had a little down time at work this morning and reading for history of design got boring. So, naturally Illustrator just opened....funny how that always seems to happen! And here is what was created...

RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!!!!!!

It's over! My art history paper was due today. I worked on it non-stop this last weekend. I think it is safe to say I really don't want to write a 10 page paper again no matter if the topic interests me or not. It was one of the biggest assignments I had this semester, well actually one of the biggest I've had in a long time. With it over it almost feels as if the semester is over, but there is a couple weeks left and couple assignments to go. One of my internships begins next Friday, eeeekk, I'm nervous, don't worry I will definitely keep you all updated!

Vacuum Formed Letters

Over the past couple weeks in Sign & Exhibition class we were assigned a letter and had to create it out of anything with the idea of texture in mind. We then had to take it to the vacuum former and pull it out of plastic. What did we do with them then you ask? Made pangrams or sentences that use every letter of the alphabet. We may have got a lot of looks by passerby's, but it was a perfect day to be outside and make art!