project 1 has been in process since last week in type studio 1, but I’ll give a brief rundown for those who care. The project is a call for entries for a typeface design competition in japan, through a company called Morisawa. The project calls for a multi-part, unified design including an enclosing envelope, cover page, two page instruction sheet, 3 page type specimen sample, and entry form. We spent the last two class periods creating a logotype (hand drawn or digital) starting with thumbnails and working up, and most recently, defining a grid system on which to base all of the materials. I’ll post all of the sample sheets and project description in a day or two (I have to scan in the pages, since the professor refuses to enter the digital age for classroom instruction, even though we meet in a computer lab).

So, the basic in class process runs like this.
logotype design (sketches) -> logotype roughs (digital) -> grid system line, greeked, actual type -> type study in place -> further production and assemblage.

I’ll post the supporting documentation and samples tonight.

this project was the long-dreaded and little understood moment that still had me slightly fearful of this quarter at scad. fortunately, that dread and fear is now mollified. the project qualifications and parameters are as follows:

1. bring whatever art stuff (or craft stuff) you happen to have, including your normal art box of paint, pencils, pens, and some other more juvenile stuff like crayons, glue stick, etc.
2. bring paper, magazines, newspapers, type specimen books, you get the drift…
3. create a project with no parameters regarding medium, format, dimensionality, or specific style in a 1 1/2 hour time period, using no technological influences outside of a copy machine and/or polaroid camera

so, on to the actual experience. I went out to michael’s to buy some paint, since I assumed my gouache had dried up by now (it hadn’t). So, I bought several colors of sort of cheap acrylic paint, rubber cement, and other weird stuff like crayons and glue stick. I showed up at 9:00 this morning with a full art box, portfolio case, and other misc supplies. others arrived complete with a portfolio case and roller luggage full of stuff. the project topic was announced–create a visual narrative describing your personal design process, using whatever traditional methods/media/style at your disposal. also, use of type as communicative via language was not allowed, type was only allowable as texture or design element. we had written a paper describing our design process for last class, so this project was visually expanding on the paper we had written. i’ll attach the process paper and some other stuff to this post.

The project really went pretty well. I’ve not really planned, designed, and executed a project in a classroom setting like this, especially in such a restrictive time limit. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and really reinforced sticking to our own design process to solve a design/creative problem. Following the design/execution session, we did a class critique of all of the projects. She apparently liked mine, but didn’t really seem to dislike anything anyone else did either. She did remark that my project communicated in a clear and linear fashion my design process (which I thought was the goal). On the other hand, most of the other projects required a large amount of explanation, dealing with visual language, symbolism, and flow to even approach the project–to me, this seems a weakness, since the projects failed to communicate on a primal or experiential level. On the other hand, I think that is something that will be addressed in the redesign over the weekend.

So, what did I learn about design through this exercise? I think I was much more conscious of my design process as I worked through my solution. I can’t remember a project in recent months or years with a more tightly controlled process of brainstorming, thumbnails, roughs, and final mechanicals. Whether that will turn out to be a creative limitation or enhancement remains to be seen. Over the weekend, our task is to turn this project around in digital form, analyzing our process up to this point, summarize its strengths and weaknesses, and then redesign the project as necessary for class on tuesday. This process of creation/analysis/redesign/presentation will repeat every week for the next 6 weeks. Oh well, there goes my weekends.

design process paper

I will often speak of what good scad graphic design students refer to as “the process” or “my process”. the design process is at the heart of the grad graphic design program. Although you are encouraged to do thumbs, roughs, and type studies at BJU, they are not formalized stages or grading stages for a project. At scad, each project is to be accompanied by a process folder. This folder is a guide to the project at hand, including research printouts, sketches, thumbnails, roughs, type studies, color studies, initial mechanicals, and the final project. Throughout each project, the professor will look through this process folder to see what work you have done for the project. This also means that you cannot skate through some of the stages of the design process, because someone will be evaluating your process as well as your final project. As an organizational freak, I like the whole folder system, but it seems that it may be too formalized to deal with creative beginnings to a project. Also, I like to use my hardbound sketchbook rather than loose-leaf paper to do my initial sketches and thumbnails. I guess it will have to grow on me. So there you have it–the “process”.

this last week has been a whirlwind of new activities, new faces, and most definitely a different environment. I’ll post some info on each of my classes, including instructor info, syllabi, and project stuff. A lot of the academic information is for my own chronicle of work at SCAD, as well as the art faculty at BJU.

I am taking three classes this quarter (which just started, and ends a little bit before thanksgiving–yes, that means I’m off for the entire holiday season.) The classes are scheduled in 2.5 hour blocks, so that actually amounts 15 hours of class time per week. I am taking History of Graphic Design–a provisional class for me to officially enter the program–as well as Design Methodologies and Typography Studio 1, both graduate level classes.

history of graphic design

this class is an undergraduate level class, and it really does show. although I am highly interested in the subject matter, due to a dual interest in graphic design and art history, the academic environment is not ideal. the professor seems to understand very little about the subject matter, and chooses not to teach, but to rather question the students about the subject matter, often resulting in a staggered and incomplete framework to base the remaining material on. the homework load is minor, which, on the optimistic side, will allow for more time in my studio classes. the load consists of 4 open book reviews on the required reading, a midterm, and a final exam. In addition, there is in class biography of a chosen graphic designer. the level of competency in this class alone is appalling–over two-thirds of the class are graduate graphic design students, yet, when questioned about their favorite designer or movement, most had no tangible knowledge of either. [Thanks to Mr. Bopp for encouraging us to look at type and design]
syllabus
schedule

Typography Studio 1

This class looks promising, but still probably close to undergraduate level. I’ll post about our first defined project in a subsequent post. The instructor is foreign, but is understandable, and seems passionate about his subject matter–especially type. We have a large proportion of foreign students (especially asian) in our class, and that adds a different (and helpful) dynamic that I didn’t get to experience at BJU. Again, basic competence seems to be lacking (even from some students who I know just took a provisional undergrad typography class). Today in class, we had to create a type specimen sheet based on requirements for a type design contest. The instructions were reasonably simple, asking largely to set type in various point sizes with solid or loose leading. Most of the students in the class did not understand how leading was specified (12/14 or solid), and misunderstood other basic typographic terms. Even competency in programs like illustrator or indesign were lacking. [thanks again mr. bopp, for imparting the core of what I know as typography–your undergrad typography program seems to be top-notch]

Design Methodologies

This class is the wild card right now. The syllabus is attached, but none of the projects are clearly defined, and the professor seems dead-set on keeping them that way. She is very attached to experimental design, creative and quickly executed. She also enjoys caffeine, hyperactivity, and swearing at every possible moment in class. She seems to be very intelligent, but stresses that point often in the context of design (my way is right because I’m really bright.) I think the class will be a good experience overall, but I’m still unprepared for the details. I also hope to be a positive christian influence, which often runs counter culture to everything around you. The projects will run on a rotating basis–thursday is execution and review, weekend is for refinements, final project due the following tuesday. This is repeated seven times through the quarter, which is pretty intense for a ten week quarter. We have been instructed to bring a box of art related materials to class on thursday (both 2 and 3-dimensional items); we will be given a topic on which we are to brainstorm, sketch, and execute in the first two hours of the class. The final 30 minutes is used as a critique forum. A final project based on the executed project is turned in the following class. Since this is primarily a theory class, no direct technology interaction is permitted for these projects. We have our choice of media, but beyond that, everything is developed and executed by hand. I’ll report back once we’ve completed our first project…it should be interesting.
syllabus

Hopefully thats enough reading material for now…i’ll post additional class details as they come up.

I had my first real hands-on SCAD experience today, consisting of a departmental meeting for grad graphic design students. In all, there are about 44 incoming MA and MFA candidates in my department, so at least I’m not alone. Although SCAD is organizationally and logitistically not BJU, some of the relaxation that comes with the shirking of formality and time pressure is welcomed.

One thing I’m learning very quickly is the prevalence of the “SCAD Bureaucracy”. It’s odd, but it seems that the faculty and students live and learn on one level, and there is always a controlling body up above somewhere telling you what to do (often asking you to go through unnecessary red tape). What I did not expect is the faculty telling me to ignore and avoid this said bureaucracy as much as possible. Although some of the resulting disorganization is annoying, sometimes the more relaxed atmosphere lets you be that much more creative.

The labs are well stocked and really quite nice, and it’s also a great perk that the labs are open until 2am every day. The simple pleasures of life. Oh, and they have a new 11×17 printer. Also a nice touch. Parking, however, is going to be another issue altogether. You thought bob jones had it bad, well, think again. SCAD has upwards of 5500 students this year, and a grand total of 2000 parking spaces across its entire sprawling campus. So, finding any parking anywhere, much less close to your classroom building is basically a pipe dream. I don’t mind getting there a little bit early, but I was advised today that I would have to get a space by 7:45am for a 9:00 class to be guaranteed a spot. Other than that, you have your choice of metered parking galore in every direction around the historic district. Since classes run 2 1/2 hours, the 25 cent/20 minute premium could add up in a few weeks. I guess we’ll have to play it by ear.

Other than school starting up, life is just drifting along right now. I have an interview at a temp agency tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll be able to get work through them. Crystal is still looking at a couple of opportunities, and should know by the end of the week. I’m still adjusting to having her around, and other little things like cooking dinner every night. I hope to get back up to Greenville for a weekend at the beginning of October. I look forward to seeing all of you guys again. to the wonderful employees of PCJ (Gwen now included), no coffee shop comes close to our coffee or, more importantly, breves. I’ll also have to get my bubble tea fix at o-cha again. I’ll have to thank my good friend Kayla for that addiction.

I’ll be posting more specific details about my classes as I get them from my professors. classes start wednesday. cheers.