Design Gang Wars on campus. It looks like Rob & Jeff vs. Kate. SOTA vs. Unique. It’s like bloods and crips. It’s like Brazil and China. It’s like the Yankees and Red Sox. Well, not quite. Anyhow, a huge congrats to Kate for her internship. As lazy as she can be, she’s still talented as f*ck.
AIGA portfolio review in 3 days. Three days untiil I get ripped a new one—constructively.
>>> School of the Arts
>>> Unique
I’m already in my first week of summer break and I’ve lived a couple of adventures. One of my goals this summer is to learn a new instrument. On Sunday, I took my 15-yr old brother’s trumpet out from the dust and gave it a try. He gave me pointers, showed me how to play two notes and hold the trumpet properly. 30 minutes later I stopped. I’ve been practicing the lip vibrating since March (although that was to innovate different fart sounds with my mouth). That idea is scratched.
Last midnight, Vince dropped by and we had a good talk, helped Kate choose pieces to present for her internship interview. O yeah, and we spent a good hour and a half outside the front door. A peace-out turned into a fun and stimulating adventure of feeding my new pet black widow. We tried to feed it roly polies and a millipede. We had a blast watching roly polies activating their defense mechanisms and narrating roly polies. They’ve got quite a personality.
Today, the principal of our design program invited Rob and I to work for an awesome design organization on campus. I’m anxious, excited and anxious and anxious. I’ve wanted to work there since my 2nd semester at Sac State. I’m going on my 5th. One more year. It’ll fly by and I have so much growing to anticipate. It’s huge stuff. Trumpets, roly polies and an opportunity to grow, not to mention the generous pay.
Some quick blurbs. I spent about 10-20 minutes total at the computer in the past 3 or 4 days. I developed a set of photos from my lc-a (it’s been a while). MacBooks are stupid (I’m jealous). That black one is doper than I’d expected. I got cool new hats. The Spring Show was cool. Those senior portfolios were nuts. Rob and I had hella pieces up there. We still got our asses kicked because those senior portfolios were nuts. Starting Monday, I have projects to work on. Yay. AIGA portfolio review preparation, remounnts, design refinements, reprints and develop an identity system for Corinthians of Menlo Park. Being stagnant rots my brain.
This is my first late-nighter to study that I can recall. Parents and other students wish me luck on “studying” for finals but the truth is I haven’t studied like this since I’ve been at the University. For us, it’s more like projects. You know how we had projects and presentations and we hustle to get things going because it’s due the next day?
That’s design except these projects require an extensive amount of work, research, brainstorming and implementation. Each project is also its own study. And each project feels like it is due the next day, even though it’s due in a month or two. Rather than spending countless hours memorizing information, comprehending math formulas and equivocating useless education, critical thinking, language devices, color theory, art sensibilities, and countless other resources are applied to create effective design.
So yeah. I took it up the ass when a person implied she has it tougher by having to study her ass off through the wee hours of night, digging her nose in the book and writing essays that will no way in shape or form be evaluated any other time than the moment her professor’s student assistant reads it for a grade. We were exchanging horror stories of bodily abuse resulting from lack of sleep. As far as I know, if you’re committed to working hard, you’re working hard.
Each piece that a committed student designer creates is a prospect for his or her portfolio. If I worked countless hours designing a piece and it is still shitty, it has no purpose beyond my instructor’s evaluation. Each designers’ design is an investment. We are probably alloted only a few pieces to bury deep in our closets for nobody to see when we were designing at our worser moments in life.
I’m sure the readilators, mathematizers, and scientifcors are working their bums off but don’t dismiss a designers’ work because he or she smiles while doing it. Although I have a hell of a load on my shoulders, a butt load of projects, I burden myself with extreme pressure to be good, I am having fun. This suits me much better than being an IT. Yes, there was a point where my creative side and linear technological side battled it out for what would have been options in my career-making decision. Oh high school. You’re funny.
Regarding Kate’s blog. I completely agree. Specifically, I think that person really needs to come to terms with himself. Acknowledge that you’re confused or whatever it is you are feeling, rather than parading both sides of the party like puppets in your show. I just turned 23. Technically, I am old balls. But you’re 2 years older than me so you are olderer balls. Just be real. It’s okay to express what you’re feeling but don’t completely ignore it. I really have no clue what information being passed around is true. It’s really high school all over again. Or Middle school. Or Elementary school. Be real and just come to terms with what is going on.
I know, I know. I hate cryptic blogs too but I have no other way to present this without awkardness. So, why the hell not.
4 all-nighters, 9 days. I’m super pooped. One more project to go. Tonight, sleep.
This summer I have several fun projects lined up and I’m super stoked about helping the director of our design program with her book project. Kate, Rob and I will be participating. Rob and I are designing Univers buttons that we can hopefully sell online and at school. I have paint supplies. I’m gonna start on a project that will carry on through next year. Kate and I are desinging an identity system for a care facility. I’m going to photograph as much as I can. And I am crossing my fingers that I am invited to a paid internship with a reputable design department in Sacramento. I gotta introduce myself to flash for next semester’s flash course.
Although I’m exhausted right now and I have several projects and summer school lined up for me until Fall resumes, I am excited and pumped to just have fun. Designing without strict parameters and just having a good time experimenting with mixed media and formats. O and what else? Kate and my adventure to New York in July!
I hope I at least pass my government class. I am seriously burnt out at the moment. Happy thoughts, Jeff. Happy thoughts.
It’s been some months since I purchased an album on Tuesday but today was highly anticipated.
Stadium Arcadium is a beautiful musical arrangement. Frusciante is insanely talented. Anybody expecting shreds and wailing will be upset but it definitely constitutes as music. Chili Peppers aren’t 20 anymore so it would be quite awkward for them to put their tube socks back on. And Frusciante is blessed to be living after the abuse he put himself though so this peaceful channel of dauntless creativity is beyond awesome. However, I disagree with Anthony saying how funky it is. It’s more mellow than funk. Overall, the double-disc album displays Chili Peppers’ growth as artists and musicians.
If Chili Peppers rocked out hard as strict as they used to, they’d look all Keith Richards. Gross.
Gnarls Barkley, I finally got all 14 tracks. I love it even more. Today is musical splendor. I haven’t been this excited about a release in a while. Things were getting boring. Gnarls Barkley reminds me of how excited I was when NERD was fresh; I’d rather listen to Cee-Lo siing than Pharrel’s half-ass soul howling.
Of all the all-nighters, this one has got to be the worse. Strangely, Kate and Rob agree. That’s how I conclude my birthday weekend. I will reward myself with a nice, quick hibernation—wake up at 10, and pick up where I left off. Sadly, that all-nighter was wasteful, since our guest instructor wasn’t in to crit our work.
As for this past weekend—awesome. It was low key, chill, I still got work done and people remembered. Voicemail is acting up but I got a good four greets all at once—over a day late and Kaye gave me candy in government. I killed that. I needed that sugar. I am completely out of juice today. That’s rare. I’m a crazy but today, I’m a tired.
