_end of semester statement

I’ve definitely learned a lot over the course of this past semester – many things which both supplemented as well as challenged the lessons set down last year. I learned to push in numerous different directions here – even if I had my own reservations about something. Doing so helped me to learn to experiment, step outside my own comfort zone, and not be afraid of failure. From each direction I tried, regardless of whether they resulted in success or not, they all contributed to my decisions made, eventually coming to a final solution. But what was definitely the most stimulating thing these past few months was the assimilation and implementation of ideas across the classes.

While we did work on sometimes very different projects; each with varying concepts and problems to contend with – there were still numerous levels of learning and parallels being drawn between the three. Things I learned from Michaels could very well translate into tasks in Jamie’s – or vice versa.

In Michael’s Image Making course, I learned to develop my own image-making skills, which would carry over into projects undertaken in my other two studios. With assignments such as the Seven Deadly Sins or the Six Degrees Project, I learned to look at different angles and such when photographing my subjects, or conveying an idea through its indexes or symbols, rather than the literal depiction. Lessons here easily translated over to other assignments such as the Placards done in Visual Communications, or the Lecture Poster in Typography 2.

In Jamie’s Visual Communications course, it was a challenge to establish my own cohesive, legible and working visual language; especially one that could appropriately convey my chosen subject matter, and be applied to different types of media. I had to learn to understand things such as the subtleties between revealing complexity, and removing complexity. These things and much more factor in to all that we as designers need to contend with. For the work that we produce shouldn’t just be a piece on the wall – they’re large working ecologies. Lessons learned here often paralleled, such as in the Placards and our Type+Image Books.

And finally, in Michael’s Typography 2 course, aside from trying out both analog and digital means of exploration, I was able to work with typographic hierarchies, and type’s ability to influence meaning. We did a substantial amount of research in this course as well, and thus I had to familiarize myself with how to control this info through hierarchies – and then implement them in things such as Magazine Spreads. Things I learned here were adapted into things such as our 6 Degrees Project, or the Placards.

All three courses taught me the importance of creative problem solving, exploration within defined parameters (whether it be our own or someone else’s.), and the importance of exploration – And it is a blend of the three courses that I hope to take with me into future projects.