January 12th, 2009
Spring semester of my senior year has approached very fast. I find myself stressing out about the things/days/thoughts/deadlines that seemed like a century away. But, now they are here. So many decisions! Do I graduate and then try to get a job in my career field? Do I keep the job I currently have and apply to graduate school? Do I sleep for a couple of months? Do I know what I really want to do with myself for the next couple of years? What about my senior thesis show that I have to complete. There is also an individual study class that I am enrolled in that I have to complete a show for. Although I would like to focus all my time on these two projects there are so many other items that are on my plate. I will have to find time to regulate all these items and make sure that I have plenty of time to spend on each one. Of all the questions that keep floating around in my mind, graduate school lingers the most. Over the past six years, I have grown a strong passion/want for a couple of states that I have visited along with the photographs I have produced while visiting. Some of these states include Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado and Idaho. The two states that I have been most interested in are Montana and Oregon. I have chosen to start the application process for a graduate degree at both the University of Montana and the University of Oregon. So, for now, I am thinking portfolio, portfolio, and portfolio.
Printer Guide Review
After we completed researching our printers, I hoped that we would have a chance to keep all the information for future use and reference. Once we started making a book using our printer information, an element of fun came into play. We were able to take a normal boring print shop and turn their name and information into a colorful style of design. Overall, I feel that this Print Guide is something that will benefit us in the future and for years to come.
Self Project Synopsis
Over the past few weeks this project has been a challenging quest to find out how I want people to perceive me through my photographs and design. The first part of the project, I had to ask people to give me three words that they think describe me. That was a challenge in itself because I have never had to ask people what they think about me nor have I ever really cared. The responses that were given to me were not as hard to handle as I thought they would be. This project enabled me to search many different paper types, fonts, and examples of business cards that I would not normally look at. I feel that I researched more for this project than I had in others because it was about me. Throughout all the rough stages, I struggled. It seemed as though over night I figured out what I really wanted to see as a final product. Overall, this project has been a fun way to end the semester with something that will benefit us as student instead of completing something for a client.
AIGA Synopsis
When this project first started, the only things I could think about were how we may need more time then what we had left in the semester. Once we met Grant and Lisa for the first time, it seemed as though everyone was on the same page. The project details were laid out nicely and they were also very descriptive. The clients wanted a look and a feel before anything else. After many roughs, class discussions and Basecamp post, we seemed to have come up with a name that stuck with the client. Once this process was over we saw that we would not have enough time for deliverables, so we came up with just doing posters and buttons. This added a more fun little twist to the project. This way, everyone in the class could turn in something that was their own. Overall, I wish that we would have had more time to finish out the ideas that we started with, but I am glad that we at least were able to meet and work with Grant and Lisa for a few weeks.
Chattanooga State Printers Review
As a college student, I take advantage of what other college campuses are capable of. I recently visited Chattanooga State’s printing facilities. One aspect of their services that I was interested in was the press. It was neat to see the ink be mixed and applied to the press. The pressman painted the ink on the roller that was exposed to light and air when it was running low. The perforator, scorer, and folder was even more interesting to me. The machine was not extremely big, and yet it could score twice and fold twice in a matter of seconds. In a blink of an eye, a piece of paper was sent through the runners and ready to distribute. Overall, this trip was fun and educational.
Take Root Project Review
When this project was first assigned I was skeptical because I have never been a huge fan of working in groups. Once the group assignments were given out I was relieved. I was hoping to be placed in a group that has similar drive and work ethic. After finding out what types of groups there would be, I was thinking that I would really enjoy being on the event team because I do similar work for a living. When I found out that I was on the brochure team, I decided that it would be a different change of pace for me. At first, it seemed that the brochure team got off to a slow start. Taking into consideration that every member of the group had to get a feel for what every one wanted to accomplish, that pace picked up.
The Take Root project proposed a great opportunity for everyone in our group to meet business owners and entrepreneurs in Chattanooga. Our group was able to talk to various printers, t-shirt companies and paper companies. Each one of these vendors was different enough that we were all able to introduce ourselves and figure out what each company was capable of. Regarding the t-shirts, this was the first time I have ever had an issue with the final product. I was able to send an email thanking the company while also having to let them know about the issue that we found with the shirts.
Once we were ready to pick up the final products of everything that we had been working on for seven weeks, I was excited. It was a relief to know that we were finished and could start working on a new project, but it was also exciting to see everything finished. For one class to collaborate like we did was challenging, but helped prepare us for experiences that we would be faced with in the future.
Overall, I would definitely want to participate in a group project like this again. Working with real clients like Helen and the Leadership Chattanooga class was interesting. They did not sugar coat issues like changing the color extremely close to our deadline. They were brutally honest when they needed to be, and as a class we all understood the constructive criticism.
After participating in the project, I hope that every junior class behind us has an opportunity like this one.
RMG- NATIONAL PRINT GROUP
After living in Chattanooga for twenty-two years, I never knew that capabilities of National Print Group/RMG until just recently taking a field trip to their facilities. I always knew that they printed a lot of things around the United States, but I was just able to find out so many more things that I never would have thought come from Chattanooga. Examples of the companies that they work for are Starbuck’s and Home Depot. After visiting a place like this, it makes you proud to say that you have been born and raised here. One aspect of their digital printing facility that I was excited about learning is that they can print on objects like doors, carpet, tile and most importantly ceiling tiles. When we left, I was able to come home and figure out everything in the house that could potentially be printed on! It was a wonderful experiment that made me think about print in a whole new way.
Word Pair Review
Photoshop, Photoshop, and more Photoshop! This program has so many capabilities, which made me automatically love this project even before I was finished. I enjoy taking photographs, so this project was a way for me to challenge my photographs and myself. When looking through the eye of the camera, you see what is actually there. When editing a photo in Photoshop you have the chance as an artist to make the viewer see what you want them to see. I wanted this project to have more steps, but even though it does not I plan on carrying on further in the experimental phases. Another fact that I really enjoyed about this project is that the viewer has a better chance to explore the content, especially when halftones and duotones are used to manipulate and change the photograph. Overall, I would recommend this project to anyone who has never had experience with Photoshop because it is a great way to explore some of the many capabilities that this program has to offer.
Chattanooga Times Free Press Review
I have lived in Chattanooga for twenty-two years. Throughout all the schooling I have had in this time, I was never able to take a field trip to the Chattanooga Times Free Press until now. A college student does not expect to take field trips like these very often, but this particular trip was so insightful that I would take the tour again. Frank, our tour guide, had a lot of experience regarding presses during his forty-something odd years at work. He was able to provide a thorough teaching of the press to our class. He seemed to know everything from the color of the walls in the building to the description of what everything in the building could accomplish. This was one of the better trips I have taken with a class, mostly because of the knowledge and passion that Frank showed during the tour.
Visiting Artist Review
Last week, three artists Mark Andreas, Ryan Wolfe and [dNASAb] visited UTC and each of them placed very unique pieces in the Cress Gallery. I was able to visit the opening reception of this particular exhibit. Each of the artist spoke at the reception about their works and what they mean. Out of these artists, Mark Andreas was my favorite mostly due to the fact that he studied his carpentry skills working on sailboats with an eighty-six year old carpenter. I grew up learning the “old school” way of doing things so it is very nice to see an artist, like Mark, base his work off what he learned in early studies and finding a way to mesh his work with today’s technology.
