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I love newsletters!

The second half of the quarter has started and my new online class (Electronic Design) is very interesting and interactive!  Our first project was to choose a company that we will work with for the next 5 weeks.  I chose Squangles, my children’s illustration / Charlotte’s poetry business. 

First project,  mock up a design of the newsletter using a grid style of your choice.

First the requisite thumbnails of various newsletter styles/grids (portrait only).  #11 was a popular vote from classmates, but I chose #15 because it was outside of my experience and thus, seemed more personally interesting. 

Then choose one and turn it into a mockup on Illustrator.  (I kept the mock up as black and white and just used a photo that was in my stash.)  I think this grid could challenge me a bit, so I chose it. 

This activity made me miss my newsletter… I want to get back to writing, designing, publishing it!!!

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Easier Quarter

This quarter has been the first break I have had in a year.  We are not learning anything stressful in the one class, I learned nothing in my online Web Marketing class (because I have been involved with real web marketing for years…so that was a waste of money, which was actually sad), and so it was left up to the html/css class to challenge me during the first half of the quarter.

Fortunately, Jason (html instructor), slowed down this quarter with only 2 hour lectures as opposed to the previous 4 hours.   Some of it actually stuck in my head and by mid quarter I was able to produce the following re-work of the Indiana Sheltie Rescue site.  It was a challenge of my limited skills, but a thrill to work on!

On a side note, there are some glaring (to me) design issues, but I still made 100% on the project.  I hope to continue developing the site, and as I get better with the Adobe software and html, I will fix the design elements that are bugging me.  All in all, though, I like the overall effect.

The following 3 pages are the only ones I completed, but here is the beginning stages of that site in html:  Indiana Sheltie Rescue

Proposed home page

Volunteer page

Adoptable Shelties page

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“Full Speed Ahead!”

“There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” (Anais Nin)

After much consternation, meetings with teachers, and discussions with friends, I finally changed my major to Graphic Design.  Once that decision was made this week, I have been at peace about my studies.

My web teachers keep saying how good a web design degree is… making it sound like the holy grail of any career decision.  However, my resume is strong, and business topics are easy.  Coding, while there is much to learn, is linear, predictable, and not a challenge.  It was a comfort zone choice at the time – a known entity and a safe bet.  Interactive media was to be the additive challenge. 

It is often hard to let go of what is known to step out into the unknown.  Graphic Design is a big risk for me career wise, yet it pulls on something deep within where I live.  I have never worked in the graphic arena.   It uses soft skills as well as technical.  There is nothing linear about it.  It is creative, which can be unpredictable and elusive.  And both sides of the brain will be engaged in a way I have not experienced before on a business level. 

This move scares me, it thrills me, it challenges and excites me.  I have doubts that I can do it and specters of the fear of failure that sometimes haunt me.  It is new territory that will push my limits, challenge me to always be better, frustrate me and maybe even make me cry at times.  There may never be that point of satisfaction that I get with technical writing knowing I met all the rules, the page is precise, the code clean, and the project was the best.  Yet I know, deep down, I will grow and expand and be more than I have been before. 

I am ready for it.  I feel excited and alive as never before!  The time is right and the time is now to do something positive with the precious creative gift granted to me by Divine design.

Admiral Farragut’s bold charge keeps coming to mind:

“Damn the torpedos!  Full speed ahead!“

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Ansel Adams’ Long Lost Negatives

I find it so exciting when old art, thought to be lost, is found!  It makes it even more poignant when it is an artist I admire.

A man paid $45 at a garage sale for what has turned out to be 65 Ansel Adams’ long lost negatives!  That man is set for life, but even better, the gift of  our country’s beauty as seen through the eyes of a great artist has been given back to the world.  What a thrill!

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I am so “there”…

There comes a point in nearly every student’s college career where they want to quit or they start questioning their decision on their degree program.  At the end of last quarter and through break I was so burnt out.  I was so “there”!

Now, 2 weeks into the new quarter I am settling in and the quarter is very manageable.  Burnout has subsided.  However, I am seriously considering whether Web Design is the right choice.  That is my new “there”… and I am sooooo there!

It is very frustrating, because my soul feels very right brain (creative), yet my left brain argues against it (and I am skilled enough with the left brain tasks that it is a strong argument.)

Try this creativity test from The Art Institute

I am a “cusp” child and I cusp even on these tests.  I was born on the cusp of Scorpio/Sagittarus, I was born on the cusp of baby boomers/Generation X.  On both of these I lean forward to the second option.  On the brain tests, if there is any leaning, it is to the creative right brain.

I am one mixed up, yet very versatile and complex gal… sometimes it is loads of fun, but at other times it is a real pain!  Trying to decide on my next career path, that is a pain.

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Just let me play!

As I enter my second year of college classes, I have been feeling a bit frustrated with a strong desire to “move on with my life”.  It feels like I am spinning my wheels at school and accomplishing very little.   Turning down full time work on two different occassions over the past month added to that burned out cloud hovering above.

At one point during week one I wanted to share the words of a song (that I owned) with some of my friends.  All I wanted to do was to say “I love you” and I found the perfect song for it, but no YouTube available.  That motivated me to spend some extra time playing around with Windows Movie Maker.  It is very simple, but I was motivated:

That intense motivation for something so “simple” made me decide to do a quick review / inventory of the past 4 quarters to put things in perspective.  In the process, things in general began to look more promising! 

Things that don’t work so well for me in the classroom (thus, probably not in a job either):

  • Designing logos that I can’t make interesting to myself such as the bag clip, a restaurant, or an industry
  • Advertising for products that don’t inspire me like Therma Care
  • Programming games (even for kids)
  • Websites for topics I don’t care about
  • Projects that are centered around movies, tv shows, the gaming industry, etc.

Things that are working for me:

  • Writing and designing projects that centered around charities. 
    It did not matter which class or media I was working in, these projects motivated me and they were covered in a myriad of classes such as Script Writing, Marketing, Typography, various software classes, as well as some Design courses. 
    (Examples: Compassion International, Indiana Sheltie Rescue, and website for a friend’s passion.) 
  • Creating communications that promote relationship building.
    Basically… being able to share and relate are very important to me. 
    (Examples: the cd case for my family, videos about my family, and photography class projects that allowed me to incorporate my family, nostalgia, or my vacation time.) 
  • Topics that send a message.
    (Examples include the video about the Human Footprint, the video about animal rescue,  a poster with a call to action for animal rescue, or the Christmas one for Food for the Hungry.)
  • Anything that has to do with kids, fun, and just pure enjoyment.
    (Such as the snowmen USPS stamps, the diety interactive book I made in Design Concepts, or the newspaper page that was all about cats.)
  • Helpful projects business-wise.
    I have to say the Eiteljorg wayfinder logos and standards manual was one of the most helpful projects I have worked on in regards to my career.   It opened the door to creative possibilities by combining the skills I already possess with new ones I am learning.
  • Hands-on, get messy, physical creating.
    When I thought of my favorite classes, by far it would be those that incorporate a lot of drawing and creating on a more tactile level.  Design Fundamentals is at the top of the list, although photography ranks up there as well.  I also enjoyed putting the diety book together.  Software is ok… but I want it to enhance my creations, not be the sum total of them.  That was interesting to learn.

What I will do with all this information is only to be guessed at.  However, I am hoping that I can find ways to use it as I continue down the college path in the upcoming quarters.  It certainly picked up my spirits and has me ready to get back into the “fray”.  I hope all this thinking has given me hints on how to motivate myself and keep my interest up even on dull projects.

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If You by Charlotte Franck

Over break the three of us have been having fun getting to know a new friend and after one particularly lovely girls’ evening out, Charlotte was thinking about relationships and penned the following.  I think it gives a good sense of the essence of this 3-week-long break, as well as the invitation to friendship!

If you want
I will drink your
Honey tea
Red burst sunsets
Star studded sky.
If you want
Come drink my
Morning coffee
Seas at sunrise
Cathedral rock.
Savor every drop.
 ©C. Frank 2010

[Update: Charlotte has now started a blog for her poetry, Essence, which I love so much!  She deals with tough topics as well as fun ones, so just explore! ]

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Facebook and the Cuddle Factor

Ok, I just couldn’t resist this one.  A study shows that social media interaction increases oxytocin.  And you all wonder why I am so huggy / happy?  It is because I hang out on Facebook, of course!!!

http://mashable.com/2010/06/25/oxytocin-social-media/

Let's pile on Aunt Sheri!

Of course, the other option for “happy” is contained in about 18 little hearts that I love so dearly.

Pictured: Aaron and Ruth’s kids as well as Beky and Brian’s brood.  Orren, William, Samantha (Kolb), Lizzy, Eva, Simeon (Kolb), Nathanael (Kolb)

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End of Quarter

This quarter ended with a >bang<.  It is hard to even capture it and convey the energy of the moment.  On Tuesday I gave my presentation for Corporate ID and sighed in unmitigated relief to have my standards manual completed and off my hands.  Now it was up to Beth to do the grading.  At this point, I did not even care what happened. 

 That evening my inbox contained a request to bring examples of my work to an interview the next day. I have a random portfolio of my writing, but wow… I could take this finished and bound standards manual!  With a promise to return it promptly, Beth allowed me to borrow it prior to my interview.

That turned out to be the most exciting interview / networking opportunity I have had in years!  I went in expecting the standard writing discussion (for a full-time Roche project) and came out 2 hours later on fire and wanting to work for this comapny.  When they saw my work they were really interested, but when the standards manual was pulled out, it tipped the scale over to excitement.  However, as a full time student, I turned down the opportunity of a full-time gig.  Maybe in the future!

It was such a fantastic experience that various people told me I was “glowing” throughout the remainder of the day!  I rode that wave for weeks!  My final in video class that night did not even phase me, I was so “high”.

That following Friday Lainey and Charlotte took me out to Petersons to celebrate survival and Saturday was spent at our extended Garvin Reunion in Hagerstown.  It was wonderful to see everyone, but  my sister, Mattie, and family from Ohio was a special treat.  I had not seen Kara for some time and she has turned into a doll!  She certainly captured her Aunt Sheri’s heart!!!

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The Eiteljorg – Standards Manual

This blog post has been very hard for me to compose, but it needs to be done before I start back into classes tomorrow.  First, I absolutely LOVED! this project because it gave me excuses to hang out at my beloved museum and immerse myself in a topic so dear to my heart.  

Secondly… this was one of the most painful finals I have had to date.  The reason for that happened to be the software we were told to use, which I have not yet been trained in (I will be taking that class this coming quarter.)  This made the process of creating much slower and more complex than was necessary.  I put my head in my hands and cried a couple of times from the intense frustration with the software (InDesign), which blocked my creative process time and time again.  Charcoal pencils and paper quickly began to look like highly desireable tools, let me tell you! 

So how about the part of the project that I loved?  Wow… Beth told us to choose any logo we had created during the quarter and develop it further, just as we would in a “real world” situation.    

Of the 6 wayfinders I created for the museum, I chose to develop the performing arts logo.  Why? For the simple reason that Beth liked it best.  I have learned that it behooves the student to take note when a teacher gives a strong indicator of a preference!  Start out good and that is one hurdle you can eliminate! 

Our first step was to begin revisions on the logo itself to bring it up a notch.  Notice the changes created on the brown shapes as well as separating the “ground” where the dancer’s foot is touching.  Fortunately, my changes were simple and subtle, thus not much work.  

Original logo

Final logo

We then did a color study, so the second logo above shows the final color choices.  Pretty close to the original, but again, a subtle change that makes a difference somewhere in the creative brain.  I also performed a typography study, but stayed with my original Lithros Pro; however the study was a positive and validating activity. 

Pantone 2 Color Study

Typography Study

The culmination of all this production was a logo standards manual.  Anyone who has worked in the professional world (especially large corporations) has probably run into “rules of use” for the company logo.  Knowing the rules can keep you out of trouble (basically, you can get fired for certain types of infractions!)  Maintaining the integrity of the logo is key.  

In other words, you don’t want to stretch/distort the image, change its color/size, place distracting information too close, on top, or underneath it, etc.  As a consultant, the standards manual is the first thing I search for on a project.  When one is not available, then I talk with the marketing / legal department to write my own reference manual.  It is an essential and vital reference for any consulting project involving logos. 

Being that this is a familiar business product, creating it in Microsoft would have been a cinch and far quicker, but maybe it is a good thing I was slowed down.  Otherwise, this would have been a 50 page manual instead of the 17 minimal pages I settled on! 

Basically, a standards manual defines how a logo may and may not be used, identifies its color palette, sizing, typology, clear space requirements, etc..  It may show examples of applications such as t-shirts, stationery, brochures, ad banners, as well as membership cards and other company specific uses. 

[Click the book cover below to see the inside pages.]

 

This project gave me such an empowered feeling as I began to realize my original design instincts are strong, developed over 30 years of painting and working with buyers to improve my work and increase sales, I am sure.  I instinctively know what will work, yet the combination of Beth’s 2 classes has given me an ability to develop beyond instinct and to know how to improve from a starting point.  And since that is the whole reason I am at AI (vs. IUPUI’s much less expensive IMD program) it makes me very happy in my choice of school!  

One thing I do find ironic is that my classes in logo and branding (which have  been so scary to me) have given me tools that I know I will use in developing my fine arts pieces from this point forward.  I never would have guessed that, yet I am grateful.