Friends of Graphic Design at PSU

the hall monitor: orientation day_02

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WOW. Its practically the end of the term and these posts aren't going as planned. It definitely echos my entire time here within this program. I feel as if I'm destined to not finish. I can personally tell you all how easy it is to let your life outside this program and the classroom derail your coursework, thought processes and motivation. Every term it seems as if a new obstacle pops up looking to throw me off course. This term alone has given me quite a few of these wonderful thralling gifts. And I expect the same to happen to most of you as you continue throughout this program. Whether you have a broken elbow or a broken heart it is easy fall behind in your classes. Due to these inevitable setbacks and hardships I've come up with a few key ideas and/or tactics that will hopefully help keep you on track regardless of the situation!

MAKE FRIENDS

This sort of goes hand in hand with my previous post about involvement in the program. Creating connections with your peers in this program is vital. Let's face it, the people I know outside of the GD program just don't get it. And by it I mean they don't understand why I'd rather spend my time making something or figuring out how to solve a design problem than going and getting drunk. So, find a friend or two that you can connect with in the program. Make a blood pact and vow to keep each other on track or start project parties where you meet up with your peers and work your asses off. Surrounding yourself with hardworking and like minded creative individuals will help you stay focused and keep you motivated. Also, make sure your interactions with your GD peers aren't 100 percent based on schoolwork or the GD program! When you get that project finished or have some free time... go out for a drink, sing karaoke or go bowling. Have some fun and get to know your peers!

ATTEND CLASS

One of the worse decisions you can make in this program is to not attend class.  You are just more likely to fall behind. The PSU GD program has a decently strict attendance guideline for this reason. The GD classes can be intense. You have a ton of information to take in and learn. You get critical feedback of your work and you also can get much needed inspiration from your classmates. There are hundreds of excuses and reasons you can give yourself on why not to attend class. Don't use them. This is especially true if you do happen to fall behind. Go to class even if you don't have the work you supposed to have. Just being in class will benefit you even if you have nothing to show! Get your A** to class. Trust me, if you don't, you'll regret it!

 

CUT OUT DISTRACTIONS

I'm a huge film fan. And for the longest time I tried to convince myself I could do work and have a movie playing in the background. 10/10 times I would end up sitting watching the movie instead of doing homework. My work greatly suffered in quality as well as the amount I completed. Take note of the things that distract you and try as hard as possible to cut them out. If you go from project to project and you continually fall behind take some time figure out why that is. Cutting out your distractions will help you create better work. You'll also most likely get it done quicker and on time!

USE PROBLEM AS FUEL

During my time here in the program I've had my fair share of problems. I would always tell myself that if I didn't have this certain issue or problem that everything would be fine. I'd be able to give my project 100 percent instead of the 36.65 percent I had given it. But, as I continually came up against various obstacles I found there wasn't much I could do. The only thing I could do was to change my attitude about how I looked at my problems. I found that every problem has the potential to be a learning experience. We have the ability to take our problems, learn from them and use them as fuel for our design careers and our lives. Oh... and by the way, if you haven't learned it yet.. we are in the problem business... that's what we do. We design to solve problems. If there were no problems... every designer would be out of a job. So, get used to it and let your problems be your fuel for success.

REFLECT

One of the newer posts on this blog is a survey about the PSU FoGD student program performance this term. The students that head up FoGD are looking for feedback. They are using this survey as a tool to look back at the term and see how to improve their roles as Student officers. This is called reflection. Reflection is one of the single most important lessons you can learn in this program and in life. Without the reflection of your actions, process and work you will have a very hard time getting better. I highly suggest that after each project and each term you take some time to reflect. Look at how each project and the term as a whole played out. What went well? What didn't go so well? What can you do differently next time to get a better result? Ask yourself these questions and more. Those of you who take the time to reflect will definitely come out ahead of those who don't. 

These ideas or tactics are just a few of the basics that will help you jump start your success in this program. Your success directly relies on you and what you do or don't do. Control what you can and don't worry about what you can't. To put it simply... life doesn't stop because you want to become a designer. Stuff happens and it happens to everyone. You are going to come across many obstacles while working towards you goal of completing this program. The people who are successful in this program and in life understand how to use their obstacles as a shield or weapon to persevere. So... Don't be afraid to use you friends for inspiration, encouragement and a shoulder to lean on. Get into a routine and get organized to help your life function more smoothly. Attend class!!! No exceptions. Don't let unneeded distractions deter you from becoming successful. Let your problems be your solution and your solution help you get over your problems. And lastly, take time to reflect. It will aid you greatly.

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING - FROM THE HALL MONITOR!

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the hall monitor: orientation day_01

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Possibly some of the best advice I ever received about this program came at the beginning of my junior year. I was close to the end of my first term as an upperclassman and I was undoubtably failing. The advice came from my ART 320 instructor at the time, Precious Bugarin. Precious took me aside and told me I had a decision to make. She said I was good enough to already be working in the field and that I needed to decide if school was really for me. Precious was in no way telling me that I was this amazing genius designer, she was just asking me what I wanted my future to look like. She said that if I wanted to continue within the program and if I wanted to go to graduate school I would need to...

Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to stop myself from failing that term. But I did take away something that has now come to be much more valuable than any passing grade. I was given advice that hit me just right and it helped put me on track. I had struggled throughout my first two years in the program and at one point considered seriously dropping out of the GD program and Portland State for good. I just couldn't figure out why I didn't have enough interest to go to class and get it together. But after I spoke with Precious things really started to click. I found that it wasn't that I didn't have interest in design or that I didn't have interest in learning/school. It was that I wasn't having the experience I thought I would attending art school or college. I found that I thrive off experience and I needed to experience what "art school" was like. I wanted to be surrounded by people who inspired me. People that would push me to be better than I currently am. I needed to feel like a designer/artist and not just someone who could design. Ultimately, I found I needed to be involved in more than showing up to class and I needed to take advantage of everything this program had to offer.

Now, the PSU graphic design program has undergone many changes since I began my journey. While there have been many faculty which have made this program a strong one in the past... there have been small steps as well as many giant leaps forward from both faculty and students which have helped grow and nurture this program tremendously over the past year and a half. For those of you just entering this program you should consider yourselves quite lucky. You have an advantage that my previous classmates and I did not. You now currently have many resources available and events to be apart of that were not around when I started. This site nor its big sister site, Command Save, ever existed. There was no blog about the happenings within the program and the design world. There wasn't an easy way to find info about the program or access to lists of web links and books recommended by people you knew you could trust. The green room didn't exist either... previous students had no where to gather, relax and interact in between/outside of classes. And there were no inspiring and informative Skype/visiting artist lectures.

OK... I'm writing this post a bit longer than usual to give you a more in depth look at my past with this program and to show you how I've been along for these dramatic and important changes. I have seen what a great program this has become and I would hate for those of you just entering it to have to wait until your Junior year to get the advice I wished I'd gotten as a Freshman. It's really how this blog series got started. So, please, I urge you all to take advantage of any and all aspects of this program. These blogs, artist lectures, competitions, student/faculty Flickr pages, etc... they all hold great value in helping you succeed within this program. This program is tough if you want to do well and only gets tougher. So, again, take advantage and get involved. I guarantee you will not only come out of the program with a design degree but an experience that will enrich your work, and most importantly your lives.

Check back for day_02 of orientation later this week!

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sneak peek: the hall monitor

Welcome/welcome back all new and returning designers*! It's very exciting to see the hallway(s) and classrooms full of fresh new faces as well as all of the old ones... who seem to already have dark circles under their eyes from too much work and not enough sleep. We're already a few weeks into the newest term and now that everyone has settled in a bit... I'm sending out this brief teaser for The Hall Monitor; a new series starting this week here at FoGD!

The hall monitor is a series of posts dedicated to helping all of you new and young designers stay afloat during your journey throughout the program and in the world of design. You can think of these posts as a resource center for success, a survival guide for the program and a cheat sheet for the important lessons that I've learnt in and out of the classroom over the past few years.

Over the next week I'll take you through your orientation, so to speak, that will give you a more in-depth look about this new series, a brief overview of design and an expectations guide that should aid you greatly as you begin your journey.

Sound helpful, informative and exciting? Damn right!

So... check back often! The new hall monitor posts will be starting soon and in the meantime there are many wonderful, informative and inspiring posts to check out. Your talented classmates constantly and consistently provide amazing posts covering a wide variety of topics for you to enjoy. So please, do just that... ENJOY!

*and yes, I just called you newbs "designers" even when I know you can barely use the pen tool. Its OK... you'll get there!