fastcompany website covers "design ignites change" project

seven seniors in visual advocacy class are participating in the "design ignites change" initiative sponsored by worldstudio and adobe youth voices. they are mentoring students from paseo academy in the making of billboards about tolerance, which is super-cool right? here's the fastcompany article. go team!

AIGA student group round table

There are still a few spots open on this year's AIGA student group round table discussion. The discussion will be scheduled for the coming weeks. If you are interested in participating or need further information, just email me. Currently the junior class is well represented, with only a few sophomores and no seniors.

The mission of the event is as follows: This year we are asking AIGA student groups to conduct roundtable discussions to help AIGA design a future path for the organization. Your voices will be heard at AIGA’s yearly all-chapter leadership meeting held in June.

KCAI Graphic Design group visits Minneapolis

Over spring break, I joined a group of KCAI graphic design and AIGA enthusiasts; we visited the chilly and lovely city of Minneapolis. Everyone piled into four cars at the violent hour of 5:45am on a Monday.

On the first day, just a few hours after our arrival, we visited Larsen. I especially enjoyed the moment when a woman and a friendly cocker-spaniel walked in the door. We have an open dog policy, our guide, Heather Olson, let us know. Apart from the fur, the atmosphere was professional. People were quietly working in cubicles. Larsen specializes in print, web-based media and some industrial design; among their clients are, Buffalo Wild Wings, Wausau Paper and Best Buy.

Day two: A cold walk to the Minneapolis School of Art and Design (MCAD).

At MCAD the studios for all fine art disciplines were contained within one building. We walked in the door to experience a multi-disciplinary exhibit.

Occasionally, I enjoy photographing myself, reacting to art. Deer in the headlights is my specialty. (above)

We brought work to show and experienced a critique with a Junior level Typography class.

Above, is the paper airplane graveyard, located on the ceiling of the design studio space. The dust collection was not unlike our occasionally neglected filters in the spray booth.

Robb dressed in neutral colors that day in order to coordinate with this environment and assure my success when the above moment arose.

(Day 2 ended with a glorious trip to the Walker Art Center. I was sans camera and felt naked. Members of the in-house design staff gave us an informal presentation on some of their projects. A tiny design team of five is responsible for all printed materials for the Museum, including exhibition catalogues and promotional campaigns. They do not sleep. Severely competitive one-year internships are offered for recent graduates.)

Day 3: After eating blueberry pancakes (two days in a row) at a local diner where everyone on staff is required to have tattoo sleeves, we regroup.

We began the day with a walk to Guthrie Theater. Although the sky was clear, the hallway-like environment of surrounding buildings prevented the sun from softening the chill.

An enamoring view of the Mississippi river can be experienced on the balcony of the Guthrie.

Our next journey occurred a few blocks away at the design firm, Duffy & Partners. Suspense was intensified during an awkward and silent elevator ride to the sixth floor. (above)

Duffy's atmosphere included a spacious, modern interior with tall ceilings, exposed stone, and giant windows overlooking the Mississippi. Soothing, yet energizing music played over the speakers. Also, everyone was good-looking.

Duffy specializes in developing identities; we also viewed some industrial design pieces. Among their clients are Fresca, American Eagle, Aveda Men and Thymes.

The lecturer at Duffy talked about the evolution of a brand. According to their process, identities are inspired by the initial research contained by mood boards. The colors, style, connotations of mood board images should all represent the potential identity in some manner. During this presentation we all glanced at Jamie and wondered about a possible conspiracy. (Following the lecture, some of us ate at a superb Thai restaurant in the city. The spice was fierce and people were sniffling. On the way out, I grabbed a fortune cookie, such suspense contained in a tiny treat, you will met someone special at a social event.)

And now for a visit to the coolest place in the nation: (objectivity is not necessary in an editorial) Aesthetic Apparatus. These guys are on my list of the most talented and clever people on earth. The atmosphere was so comfortable and unpretentious; this is the type of environment where you could walk in with bed head and no one would like you any less.
The mantra of Aesthetic Apparatus creators Dan Ibarra and Michael Byzewski, is simple: Do what you love. Don't do it for the money. Part of their marketing scheme is to stay up late, listening to music and drinking beer, while printing limited-addition screen prints for bands. This company of three has such a high national and international following, the posters usually sell. A moose costume is memorialized in the printing room. At a print convention, one of their friend's danced infront of the Aesthetic Apparatus booth while wearing this costume.

Our last adventure occurred at the letterpress shop, Studio on Fire.Founder, Ben Levitz demonstrated the original process with hand set type (above), as well as the slightly more recent process of creating plates from exposing film separations (below).
Levitz also talked about the tactile quality that embodies letterpress design and how quality should be a consideration when chosing a printer, rather than cost alone.
I happened upon this label taped to one of the presses. (Cookie fortunes are always powerful indicators of success.)

Feel free to comment on your experience of the Minneapolis trip:
What were your favorite tours? How did the crit go? Do you want to end up in this city? Did you also agree that the boys at Aesthetic Apparatus were gods?

Desigtech Summer '09

North Carolina State University design/computer science departments are looking for participants in the designtech summer research program. i had the opportunity to intern last summer and it's a really amazing opportunity, particularly for anyone interested in web development, data visualization, and information architecture. undergraduate research is a great asset if you're considering applying for graduate school.

apply today

application deadline: April 15

projects spanning artificial intelligence, graphics, visualization, and visual design. Projects include cinematic camera control for interactive narratives and games; automated tours through virtual, visualized environments; agent-based visualizations of streaming data such as RSS feeds and sensor telemetries; and PDA-based navigation tools.

participants are paid $600 per each 40 hour work week of involvement for a period of about 9 weeks. This brings the total pay to $5400. Dormitory Living accomodations are provided. Travel expenses up to $350 will also be covered.

magazine publishing

MagCloud enables you to publish your own magazines. All you have to do is upload a PDF and they'll take care of the rest: printing, mailing, subscription management, and more.

Resume & cover letter tips:

Resume do's and don'ts (via Filter Talent)

• Tailor your résumé for a specific job, if possible. Focus on the genre of work you are pursuing and show how your prior experiences are fitting.
• Include the full month and year for dates of employment, not just the year. Explain employment gaps using professional language.
• List jobs in chronological order beginning with the most recent.
• Limit your résumé to 1-2 pages. Aim for 1 page unless you are senior in your position.
• Keep an updated PDF version of your resume accessible for download.
• Include awards and recognition you’ve received for your work.
• Don’t exaggerate your contributions, length of tenure, or skills.
• Don’t refer to yourself in the first person (“I”). Stick to short, powerful phrases about what you have accomplished as if a professional was writing about you on your behalf.
• Don’t include a photo of yourself or personal family information.
• Don’t include your high school under education unless you are new to the workforce or do not have college education to list.
  

A cover letter is SHORT, more personable, and custom crafted for each firm. Check out this example for starters.

The letter should include:
(1) briefly introduce yourself (e.g. a graphic design student from KCAI, graduating in 2010, inquiring about summer internship opportunities)
(2) explain the reason you're contacting them specifically (e.g. an internship at "X" design firm is what I'm interested because of such and such, my skills are an asset to you because of such and such)
(3) informing of your availability to interview, gratitude for consideration, etc.
(4) include your contact information
(5) lead them to the other components and reference your design work/work experience found there (e.g. links/pdf or additional pages of resume and portfolio)

If applying via email, the cover letter goes in the body of the email. If applying by mail, the cover letter and resume should be on the same designed letterhead.

VML internship

Interested in interactive, online marketing & web design? VML is interested in hiring 2 of KCAI's graphic design department students as summer interns (paid). Submit your resume and digital samples of work by Friday 4/3 to Robb Smigielski, Associate Creative Director at VML (rsmigielski@vml.com).

Take some 1968, add a dash of 1927, shake it up with some ice and a fresh color palette... voilà!

Read about Pentagram's development of this tasty new identity for New York's Museum of Arts and Design.

march 25=lunchtime presentation by bob holt and bill wagoner from hallmark cards. bob is co-creator of the hoops & yoyo characters, bill is the studio manager. everyone is nice.

aiga: defining the designer of 2015

"AIGA has defined six major trends, and the challenges they pose for the profession. They define design’s role in a much broader, strategic context than its roots: the making of things and beautiful things. Although that remains an important contribution, they will be a manifestation of a solution that may involve many different forms, including intangibles such as strategy and experiences. Among designers and educators, there has been an enthusiastic response to taking on these trends, although there is also anxiety about whether designers are adequately prepared to take on the broader context of the roles these trends imply for them."

Click here to read the trends

So, what do you think? Are you prepared, cautious, enthusiastic to take on this broader definition of design?

Good Stuff

From "Good" a very graphic and informative
(aka infographics) animation by a fellow Missourian.

http://www.frankchimero.com/work/view/jailbirds_for_good_magazine/

Never Sleep

To demystify the transition between school and work, the author's of this site share their failures, successes, and surprises during their years in college and progression into the field. This book is soon to be found in stores, and until then you can read a collection of the essays online.

LIVE THIS AFTERNOON: layer tennis

Wondering what to do on a Friday afternoon when you're not in studio but still in need of a design fix?

Today is an All-Brooklyn edition of live Layer Tennis. Armin Vit takes on Sam Potts with Ben Greenman of The New Yorker and lots of other places providing the layer-by-layer comments.

Here is Ben's Match Preview: http://layertennis.com/090320/
And here is the Official Coin Toss: http://coudal.com
The match starts at 2pm.

outreach international internship

the deadline for the outreach international internship is march 30. please send a resume and work samples via email to marsha penrose: m.penrose at outreachmail.org

outreach international's website.

gear for sports internship

kcai has had several students in this position in the past years, and i believe you would be working with a kcai grad in this dept.

website

Position: Graphic Artist Intern
Hiring manager: Dana Christian
Department: Art Production
Shift: Temp.- Summer
Recruiter: L.Zerbe ( lzerbe at gearforsports.com )

This is a paid internship for students in graphic design. The ideal candidate will be a current student in a Graphic Design program, preferably at the junior level and will have arrangements to live in KC for the summer. Experience with Macintosh systems and Adobe Illustrator CS is preferred.

This is a learning & task oriented position that will include a variety of special projects. The goal is to develop the skills needed to accurately execute custom screen print art. This internship allows the student to work along side full time graphic artists and perform similar duties. Tasks will be assigned by a Senior Artist or Manager.

make your own book.

make your own book

collaborative application

A realtime rich-media streaming collaboration and chat called drop.io

reproduce and revolt coverage

a while back i made a little image about what animals we call "food" and what animals we call "friends" and it was accepted into a great book of activist clip art called "reproduce and revolt" (available on my reserve shelf in the library). a site called "brooklyn street art" interviewed josh macphee, the author, and the article features that piece, alongside several other artists/designers including mister shepard fairey. woohoo!

flash-tastic

Pretty cool screen take-over banner ad for iPhone on pitchfork.com right now. Make sure your cursor is not on the screen though.

Summer internships at Hallmark

The deadline for internships at Hallmark is March 16th. There are about 10 positions available including 2d and web. Apply here.

internship available

outreach international is a local organization whose purpose is to help men and women in poor communities overcome the effects of poverty and create new futures for themselves and their communities. sounds great, no? well, they are looking for a summer intern to create micro-sites and campaigns for the website. contact marsha below for more info:

Marsha Penrose
Communications Specialist
Outreach International
129 W. Lexington, Independence, MO 64050
Phone: 816-833-0883, Ext. 311 Toll-free: 888-833-1235

Ever wonder what faculty do after school?

aiga fh3 Conference, Chicago

Check out where your faculty will be over the weekend.
Jamie Gray and Michael Eppelheimer were selected to participate at the AIGA Educators Conference in Chicago. Their presentation is about Technology and Blogging.


http://www.futurehistory3.com/speakers.html

Design writing awards

The 2009 Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing & Criticism are now open for entries until June 1st. The main award is $10,000 with a student award of $1000.

The Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing & Criticism seek to increase the understanding and appreciation of design, both within the profession and throughout American life. A program of AIGA, these annual awards have been founded by Jessica Helfand and William Drenttel of the Winterhouse Institute to recognize excellence in writing about design and encourage the development of young voices in design writing, commentary and criticism.

lunch lecture series

hello everyone. mark your calendars_march 25_for a lunchtime presentation by bob holt and bill wagoner from hallmark cards. bob is co-creator of the hoops & yoyo characters, bill is the studio manager. intrigued? visit the site_and yes, there is also a blog!