Author Archive
Amazing Advice For Creatives
Posted on: May 3, 2011
If you don’t know Ira Glass, you should. He is the host of an amazing radio show on WBEZ Chicago called “This American Life“. I stumbled upon this quote from him which is the best I’ve ever heard anyone explain the struggle of being a creative and how to get good at whatever you do:
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.
A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. … It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Its getting close to that time again! Another student film fest is scheduled for next term on June 10th so start getting your entries ready! We accept any time-based work from westwood students including animation, video and motion graphics. You can submit a class project or make something especially for the festival.
Deadline for entries is: June 1 a week after class starts.
Submit a dvd or cd with your work in .MOV quicktime format. Use 1280 x 720 or 720 x 480 resolution. You can drop off entries directly to Dave or to 9th floor education office.
Prizes are to be announced, but pass grand prizes have included: 1gb external drive, free web hosting and a Wacom drawing tablet.
*** By the way, if someone would like to design the poster please contact dave at drodriguez@westwood.edu.
Visit to MightyBytes design studio
Posted on: April 11, 2011
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On Friday a group of 10 students took a trip to the Andersonville neighborhood to visit the MightyBytes design studio, which has worked for many local clients such as the Joffrey Ballet, Shedd Aquarium and the Chicago History Museum. While their primary focus is on web design, they also create alot of interactive, video, animation and motion graphics work as well.
We met with Tim Frick, Joy Burke and Steven Zeisler, who shared their knowledge on many topics such as running a boutique design firm, tips for networking and marketing your brand through homemade beer! Students were able to see first hand what a small agency looks like and hear from experts actually working in the industry.
LaTonya Harris said that it was the most valuable visit to a design studio that she has had in her time here at Westwood. Bravo MightyBytes!
This month for design, we have Justin Hampton who is being awarded for his achievements in being recognized by many online sites devoted to design as well as his hard work, dedication and work outside of class.
A couple terms ago Justin created these ads for an advanced photoshop class:
On a whim, he submitted them to a popular website called “Ads of the World” which is juried and decided to post his work on the site. Since then, a slew of people have seen his work and many have posted their opinions on blogs and twitter feeds. One site has him listed under a “daily inspiration” list and two others wrote up reviews on his work.
Below are some of those links:
CampaignConscious TrendHunter Cruzine
NewRevolutionDesigns Armemporium Croom
Also, overall Justin is a very good designer and hard worker which is evident in some of his work which you can see below:
What do you like best about Graphic Design?
I love the process. I love taking a concept and bringing it to life. I can still say that I get excited when it comes together.
What motivates you to work hard?
Money… no joking (lol). I want to be the best. Quietly I’m the competitive type. If I can’t get the top ranking, I’m going to be close.
You are close to graduation, what will happen then? What are your plans?
Immediately plans are to take a good nap first, then get back on the grind to break into a really good Ad agency. If that doesn’t work, then a “portfolio school” to step my game up.
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Thanks to everyone who participated in the Urban Apple logo contest. We had a total of 10 entries from 6 people. Which was a really good turnout for the small amount of time given for the project. There was some really great work submitted but there could only be one winner…. or could there?
In the end, Machelle picked two student designs to combine into one super design for her logo. The two winners were Brandon Chase and Matt Hecht. You can see their designs below:
Machelle really liked Brandon’s concept alot and she really liked Matt’s logo as well, especially the text. So we took both of them, combined them and vectorized Brandon’s Photoshop design to get the final logo below:
Machelle was able to look past the aesthetics of the original logo and recognize the power of a good concept. An interesting side note: Brandon created his design by taking an apple, carving it, photographing the result and altering the image in photoshop. In the end it is such a simple image but there was an incredible amount of work put into it.
Contestants for Contests?
Posted on: February 5, 2011
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Some exciting news on the Contest/Competitions front! The competitions page has been updated with 8 new ones for you to check out. One of the most exciting is the Everglades $15,000 logo contest! Also check out the Adobe Achievement awards at the bottom of the page. Check it out!
URBAN APPLE LOGO CONTEST $75.00
Also, I’d like to announce a logo design contest for design/animation students here at Westwood. One of our collegues, Machelle Palmer is in need of a logo design for her realty business “Urban Apple”. The contest is only open to students at our campus and the prize is $75.00. Because competition is so low you have a great chance to win! Below is more info:
Due Date: Monday Feb 14
- This logo is for a real estate brokerage and management office. The purpose of a real estate brokerage office is to offer buyers, sellers, and renters of real estate assistance with navigating the real estate process. The services are provided by real estate agents. The services will encompass assistance to both residential (home) buyers and commercial (business) buyers.
- Additionally, the services will include property management activities. Property management includes condo association dues and maintenance activities as well as property rental collection and upkeep.
- I am looking for an image that portrays a combination of an urban lifestyle/urban living (chic) with customer service that has a country feel (small town/sense of community).
- I would like the logo to have a “corporate” look but still be somewhat cozy and inviting.
- I would like the logo to make people think about purchasing urban real estate with ease and with personal service.
Email entries in Illustrator format to drodriguez@westwood.edu by Feb 14. We will also accept Photoshopped entries but prefer vector. (if you are submitting photoshop files, make sure they are 300dpi and good quality)
For questions email drodriguez@westwood.edu.
Design Social Pics
Posted on: January 31, 2011
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We had a really great turnout for the design social last Friday! Thanks to everyone for coming and participating. It was a lot of fun, and I’m sure we will do another one of these again soon.
For those that weren’t there, we shared some announcements on the design dept. and played a Pictionary tournament which turned out really well. Students were given clues based around graphic design and animation, so a person may have to draw anything from the Nike logo to more obscure things like “typography.”
Also, thanks to Kosta for bringing in a ping-pong setup, which was also a lot of fun.
Here are some pics from this event:
And congrats to the winning Design/Animation Pictionary team, the McGyver’s Squared: Brandon, Michael, Casey, Edgar, Ivan, and Nes!
Design Social! Friday!
Posted on: January 24, 2011
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We are organizing a small get-together for the design and animation department on friday and hope you can make it! We will have free food! Be sure to ask your instructor for your morning/afternnon class if you can miss some class time to attend. 
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February 4 – 27, 2011
Southern Shore Art Association
724 Franklin, Michigan City, IN
219-879-4980
Hours: First Fridays 12-8, Fri, Sat, Sun 12-5
The Southern Shore Art Association (SSAA) announces its First Annual Photography Exhibit. This year’s “Captured Light” will showcase current work of member and guest photographers. Approximately 15-20 artists are expected to display a total of about 75 photographs exhibiting a wide range of themes, subject matter and technique.
This exhibit will include images demonstrating a range of the creative spectrum from “straight photography” (as captured in the camera) to highly edited images and a variety of print media including paper, canvas and metal.
Our own Felisha Bavirsha and Latonya Harris will be showing some of their work as well as your photography master, George Kassal!
Join the artists on Friday, February 4th for a Free Opening Reception and First Friday Celebration from 5-8.
Refreshments and appetizers will be served. Many other galleries and businesses in the “Uptown Arts District” will also be open.
For more info, check out SouthernShoreArtAssociation.com .
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FYI, there are some new contests posted in the Contests/Competitions page for you to see. Including an interesting one from HOW magazine looking for any design work with a strong typographic influence.
Speaking of contests, the Latino Cultural Center recently announced the winner of this years Latino Film Festival Poster competition and the winning design is pretty interesting. What do you think?
From the Designer: Claudia Renzi
“My main goal in designing a poster for the Latino Film Festival was to create an image that was easily and quickly understood. “El Gallo” was inspired by the folklore of my native Venezuela and the tradition of rooster fights in Latin American countries. As a child, the roosters’ early morning song would wake me up to get ready for school and the colorful birds became a symbol of a new day.
In addition to this childhood memory, shared by so many Latin Americans, the colors of the Mexican lottery cards influenced my design. I chose soft and sophisticated colors that would give the design a vintage feeling. I am very excited and grateful that I won. Thank you, Claudia “
goodstuffhouse
jeroennelemans
