After reading through the syllabus for my capstone course, I was mildly horrified to say the least. Just a few of the assignments include weekly blog posts, countless designs for VOX, research projects and a "commissioned" print magazine prototype for a major magazine publisher. Not to mention the online portfolios we need to compose to showcase our work.Wow.
Nothing turns fear and intimidation into anticipation and excitement like hearing success stories from recent Missouri J-school grads who sat on my side of the table just a few years ago. And now they actually have real jobs that pay them to do something they love.
They urged us to leave our preconceived notions about the corporation at the door—this project is all about attracting a younger, more vibrant artist. You know, people like us.
I think the most insightful aspect of the discussion was when we viewed the recent redesign of Better Homes and Gardens. The publication has gone in a completely new direction in the past year. Part of our job as the designers for these projects is to give Meredith some fresh new ideas they can implement into their various publications.
Finally, seeing firsthand examples from previous designers who took this class really sold me on the project. I saw how designers took mundane topics like BBQ or arthritis and created youthful, trendy publications.
These projects are going to be our brainchildren, and I hope mine turns out to be a genius.
>>>danielle<<<
First of all, great title for your blog. I felt the exact same way as you when I was looking over the syllabus. It seemed like a ton. However, after that presentation, looking at previous class projects and hearing that they would have our projects printed for us, I had a much better feeling about the workload. Yeah, it's going to be a lot of long hours in the design lab, but I think walking out of here with a final product like the ones we saw will make it all worth it.
ReplyDeleteI felt the exact same way as you when I opened the syllabus. Jan told me it's all about time management, and I know this is kind of a "duh" comment, but I have the biggest problem with trying to allot the appropriate amount of time for a project. Either I do too much, or too little. Hopefully we can all help each other out with staying on track with the crazy magazine project! Can't wait to find out who our groups are.
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