Erik’s Blog

There are so many people that need to watch this, I can’t begin to list them.

That’s it. Finished. Kaput. Bupkis. No more.

Next step: the long walk on May 4th.

Then it’s a matter of waiting for the diploma to arrive.

I subscribe to a quarterly (?) an occasional publication produced by Winterhouse, Jessica Helfand and William Drenttel’s design company/group/whatever in Connecticut. It’s an interesting, large magazine-ish publication, printed on newsprint and inked in one color two colors.

However, every time I look at it I wonder what would happen if I was the one that produced it. I don’t have to think very long to find the answer: other designers would thrash it. The fact that JF and WD are producing it makes it acceptable because they’re huge in the design industry. Sure, the work is good, but it’s made better because of the names BEHIND the work.

The same goes for work of other big name designers. I don’t particularly care for most of Paul Rand’s work (heresy, I know), nor do I think everything David Carson has done is all that wondrous, nor do I think Pentagram consistently produces mind blowing designs. These people/companies produce good work, but because I’m a student if I did the same work it would not be seen in the same glowing light. In fact, similar designs produced by Yours Truly would more likely than not inspire a pat on the head, a “nice try little boy,” and another return to the drawing board.

Last night I participated in an AIGA student portfolio review. The things prospective employers were looking for from students did not necessarily mesh with the work of JF, WD, PR, or DC (okay, maybe the DCs had some representation). In other words, the expectations employers have of students seem out of whack with the industry from which we’ve derived much of our inspiration. Students at the portfolio review who clearly deviated from what their design programs expected of them seemed to be the ones who were offered jobs on the spot; the folks who employed modernism and the Zen that so many professors (and the JFs, and the WDs, etc.) use as its wrapping were often passed by.

I fall into the latter category. Everyone that reviewed my portfolio liked the work I displayed, but it was clear that many of them were looking for folks who could design snowboards. With each passing, I thought to myself “what if Michael Beirut showed my work as if it was his?” Something tells me the folks who walked by would not have walked by.

I do good work, I know I do. The people who reviewed my work confirmed it. It just seems odd to me that college design programs could be so out of whack with the realities of the design field. Design changes so much it’s not realistic to expect curriculums to adapt, but there is such a HUGE disconnect with some programs that I have to wonder what the folks who administer them are thinking. I’m not talking about any school in particular; I’m talking about MANY schools, as quite a few were represented at the portfolio review.

Anyway, I’m graduating in just over a month. That’s when the real fun begins.

Clocks, originally uploaded by erat.

It’s OVER. It’s been a semester from hell (who said it gets easier when you become a senior?) but it’s finally over.

Of course, it couldn’t end without putting me through one last wringer. The huge, dead tree in our backyard was removed today as I was finishing up my final clock project (the clocks are shown above). That meant the power line going to our house had to be disconnected, leaving me with no clear options to print. I thought I printed everything I needed yesterday but I guess I forgot a few items. Luckily, I had enough juice in my UPS and my MacBook to get everything done. I was sweatin’ bullets for a while, though.

Who cares? IT’S OVER. A few weeks of relaxation, and then I start my last semester of college. Then it’ll REALLY be over.

What day is it again?… Hmmm.

From a comment on DesignObserver:

“It’s easy to blame the decline on stock illustration, computer programs etc. they are easy whipping boys. But much of the blame has to be placed on artists that refuse to expand their own creative horizons and would rather insist on things remaining as they’ve always been which at best is unrealistic. A one trick pony use to cut it, but not anymore.”

Maybe I’ll print this on small cards and slip them under the doors of art department professors at the U of U. It’s tempting.

In spite of the best efforts of my design professors to fill my time with assignments, I still manage to (defiantly) read books. Screw ‘em, I need balance in my life. And I’m sick of school.

Pffththttthtthhhhh… (more…)

Hey, how’s it goin’? It’s been a while, hasn’t it? In case folks think I’ve dropped off the face of the planet or that all the love is gone, I figured I’d check in and post an update or to…or twelve…whatevuh.

Thrills and chills await you after the jump.

(more…)

I have tons of stuff I’d like to write about other than school, but for now I only have time to do this. If school info bores you, g’away.

I finally have my grades for this past semester:

• 3rd Year Graphic Problems II: A
• Digital Studio Practice II: A-
• Food & Nutrition (don’t laugh): B

The Food and Nutrition grade could be a shocker as I haven’t dropped below an A- since returning to school in ‘03, but for some reason I’m fine with it. I think I’m coming to terms with the fact that I don’t have to kill myself over A’s. When I’m out of school, nobody’s going to care.

I’m also happy to see my list of to-dos reduced as I roll into my last year. I have a math class, an upper division writing class, and a handful of graphic design classes left. That’s it. Sounds like a lot, but trust me, it’s a cake walk compared to the list I had three years ago.

Yep, that dot on the horizon is the light at the end of the tunnel…

Like it matters, right?

I just took my NUTR 1020-90 final exam (I took a nutrition class as my second science general ed). I swear, half of the questions weren’t in the textbook or in the lessons. No biggie, all I have to do is pass. It should be the last science class I ever need to take, at least for an art degree.

In pre-celebration I built a pinhole camera out of a matchbox. I’ve been carrying this thing around with me all day long. Developing the negatives will be…interesting.

So, school’s out until August. On to bigger, better things.

Barring any unforseen circumstances, I believe I have an internship lined up at Richter7 in downtown SLC.

Schwing…

[Update: It’s confirmed. I begin on May 9th.]