Posted June 22, 2010 5:35 pm.
Filed under: inspiration, process, school
Tags: cca, format, portfolio, sample books
One of the things that has been on my mind recently is the upcoming creation of a portfolio of my (mostly student) work over the past few years while at CCA. I will receive my degree at the end of this year (knock on wood), and am currently enrolled in a class called Transitioning to Professional Practice, in which the actual creation of said portfolio takes place. In addition to an online portfolio, we are creating a printed piece, despite the fact that these may be becoming more and more irrelevant in searching for work. There is definitely less emphasis placed on them, at least. Still, a succinct printed presentation of ones work can make a big different when coupled with an effective online one.
If there is a moment or two to spare here at the studio, it is always nice to be able to dig into the archives and browse through the design and paper samples. One of the things I’ve been paying extra attention to lately are page dimensions and different formats. It has been a good process figuring out the best way to show my existing body of work. Today, while doing a little shuffling of the printer sample drawer, I came across two page dimensions that felt really good in my hand, and that I think would work well in displaying my work.
When I sat back down at my desk, I glanced up on the window sill and was reminded of another interesting format—a set of books that arrived in the mail a few weeks ago. Definitely not the best size to display work, but perfect for what they are… cigarette-sized books inside a tin!
Posted March 12, 2010 6:34 pm.
Filed under: clients, lessons learned, visitors
Tags: Christopher, good design book, haiku, portfolio, Project M, Samira, The World's Greatest Mug, Tim
Porcelain Clink Clink
Cut Crinkle Crinkle Crinkle
Fold Bend Crease Fold Fold
Yes, my haiku is so esoteric. You’ll have to order the The World’s Greatest Mug to decode it’s meaning. As of today, they are ready to be shipped!
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Posted December 16, 2009 2:14 pm.
Filed under: details
Tags: live action, lunch, motion graphics, portfolio, reel
One of the latest developments at MINE™ has been discussion about our reel and portfolio. (You can see it here.) Yesterday we ate lunch at Tu Lan (yum!) and talked about various ideas and possible directions.
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Posted June 10, 2009 5:52 pm.
Filed under: awards, daily happenings
Tags: brian roettinger, competition, getting hired, hand held heart, judging, portfolio, sci-arc
At MINE™ we see a lot of mail come through daily. Whether it’s promotional cards for printers, brochures for new paper companies, mailing lists we’ve signed up for (sign up for the Sci-Arc mailing list, beautiful work done by Brian Roettinger of Hand Held Heart!) etc…
One of the nicer (and less annoying) pieces to receive in the mail are thank you letters, gifts, and portfolio promotions! See below for further information.
Christopher is commonly asked to judge portfolio reviews and competitions nationwide, and one way to make yourself a little more memorable to the judges or reviewers is to send them a thank you card! These came in today.
And here is a gift…chest that Christopher received for judging the Applied Arts competition.
Goodies inside, sadly – no dubloons. Next time.
And here is a nice portfolio promotion Christopher recently recieved from Drew Marshall. Looks like he likes our website too! More on mail soon to come.
Posted May 14, 2009 5:30 pm.
Filed under: first times, inspiration, thursdays
Tags: hort, nathan cowen, neil donnelly, portfolio, progress
Every Thursday at MINE™ we take some time out from the work day, enjoy lunch together and share some things we’ve recently been inspired by. On this particularly sunny day in Bernal Heights, we relaxed in the backyard and indulged in some Indian pizza from local restaurant Zante’s.
Having a ritual like the Thursday lunch is another one of the really great aspects of working at MINE™. It’s a chance to get to know each other from a different vantage point – not from behind a desk or under the pressures of a strict deadline. The opportunity to recline in the back patio underneath the trees, talk loosely about design and life in general, and take a much deserved break from the work we’ve been putting in was a nice breath of fresh air and a tradition I’m looking forward to upholding.
After we had our fill of Indian pizza (pretty incredible by the way) we headed back downstairs and I showed some of my most recent work to Christopher and Tim. I was pleasantly surprised with the range and scope of the work I’ve done at CCA. It’s not every day that I pull out all of the pieces and look at them as a body of work. The progression from Level 1 to current work was pretty startling – assignments that seemed stressful and challenging at the beginning of my design education look simple and almost trivial now. I suppose those feelings are evidence of my own progress as a designer – and I’m sure I’ll have similar feelings in a few years when I look at the work I’m doing now. I can only hope to keep progressing and learning and challenging myself with every new project.
Some really nice work that has been inspiring me lately is by the studio Hort in Berlin. They do some really unexpected and beautiful things with type and lo-fi imagery that are really discordant and dynamic (Nathan Cowen, a CCA grad works there as well! See his work here). Also check out the gorgeous print work by Neil Donnelly.
