Words and Images Project...

I'm very proud of this one.

i think i'm hooked. i really like information design. explaining things so they make sense makes sense to me. i think i'm a pretty logical thinker, so i suppose this helps.

Okay.

So I made some more progress with my project. I really like where this is going, even though I only have three more weeks to work on it! But it's okay. It's all about the big picture, the vision. It's not necessarily about what product comes out of this class, but what I see in the long run. Which is perfect.

I feel like I've been slacking on my blog; it's true. I haven't really updated anything in a long time. I think that that mostly stems from the frustration I was having. I didn't know what I wanted to do. Now I do. I had a fascinating discovery today; a revelation.

I found an amazing website.
I googled "information design" and stumbled upon it. It is fantastic! It has many different examples of information design systems and their practical applications and/or uses.
From this website, I saw patterns firsthand that I was interested in, but tried to connect them to my project with no success. I had no idea how the use of such design systems could effectively convey all of the information I wish to say in my piece.

And then I saw the "Pearl Necklet".
And my mind started making connections.
It is perfect; the system I need.
The system I will use.
This is it.

Take a look!

Pearl Necklet

Fantastic!

It's like a subway map.
Different subway lines are different economies of different countries.
We are going somewhere-we are traveling along this economic rollercoaster. It's a form of transportation.

Other countries are being affected by us just as we are being affected by them.
This is why I like the idea of a pearl necklet: The different stops along the subway map, or country "line" are significant for a couple of reasons. The stops are points of convergence between the countries. These separate countries with their separate agendas. And yet they are all interconnected. Different happenings or events bring them together, they have similar "stops" at this point, when they are all interrelated. Though they are separate, they are similar at these meeting places.

What countries are we greatly affecting/are greatly affecting us?
*Iceland
*Russia
*China
*Who else? Do I need to relate any other countries at this time? In order to keep this as manageable as possible so I can actually have a somewhat completed project, it might be best just to leave them alone and just include the four of us


Some inspiration:
The DC Metro Is So Easy to Navigate

NYC MTA- Where I First Fell in Love With Public Transportation

My Favorite! An Interactive Paris

I Love Chicago



Chicago CTA Map:



Two Connected Fibonacci Spirals-I'm obsessed with the Fibonacci Spiral right now...


Washington DC Metrorail


NYC Subway






I'm kind of excited. I think that this project could take me months to complete, but I will try to get as much done in two weeks as possible!

:)

New Direction

My professor for my Words and Images class is amazing. Thylias Moss gave me some really fantastic advice just a minute ago that I think I should really apply to my own life right now.

She said, " Why do you have to know where you're going? Are you okay with not knowing where you will end up? You will end up somewhere. Just trust that you will end up somewhere."

This is so reassuring.

I'm trying to let the stress of internship-searching go away now. It'll sit on the back burner a bit, but as soon as first semester is over, I'll reevaluate and begin the attack.


Thylias, you have no idea how important those words are to me right at this minute.

I will trust that I will end up somewhere, and keep looking and opening my options.

I'm out.

My Favorite Shoe...By Shane and Shawn!

So Shane and Shawn have a shoe with my name on it.

Literally!

Introducing Jenn:



And you can look at it more here:

http://www.shaneandshawnstore.com/jenn.html

Totally love them.

So much!

I'm out!

a very busy buzzy bee

...that's me! :)

Let me quickly update you on my life since it has been a long while. I feel badly about this, but blogging has been the last thing on my mind lately.

I'll try to keep this organized by sections and topics.

INTERNSHIPS:

My internship search is progressing. I found this great program called the University of Dreams which I applied to last week? I think it was last week. It might have been the week before. Anyways, I was accepted into their program! The only catch is that I have to earn one of their full scholarships, which I applied for on Monday. Their program is so amazing. It's an 8 week program running from June 14-August 8 next summer...in Chicago! Their program provides housing through Loyola and helps you in so many ways to get a summer internships.
I actually just got off the phone with Kelly, who is my "Enrollment Advisor". I haven't officially enrolled in the program yet, because it requires a $500 deposit, which I don't have...the program as a whole costs $7000. That is a serious amount of money which again, I do not have since all my summer time is spent working at Oakland Hills (see first couple of posts...from July & August) to make money for school.
Anyways, they would help me get in as an intern to agencies in Chicago...it's funny. Killian & Co. was on their list. They were the branding agency that I had visited while I was in Chicago over fall break. They were awesome. I would love to work with them at their office. That would be fantastic. Anyways, I'll definitely be looking at other agencies as well, I'm going to broaden my horizons as soon as I can. This weekend would be a good time to start. :)
I also talked to Beth on the phone last night and she will be sending me a list of advertising agencies in Dallas that she knows are really solid agencies. So I will be contacting them about their internship programs as well. I would like to go down to Dallas. It would be really nice to be close to my grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins. That would be great. So I'm looking into that as well.

I can't believe I'm thinking about summer already!

CLASSES

I am working on several awesome projects for a number of different classes. It's a little crazy just how many things I'm doing right now, but that's the life of a highly motivated art student!

For ADP, I'm working on three different projects. A group project, an individual research project and a project on my home. My group project will culminate in a green fair on December 7 from 12-3pm at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor. My three other group members and I are creating 12 booths based on four main themes: alternative energy sources, recycling, water conservation and buying locally. We have recruited and led a team with seven students in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment. They are helping us research and figure out what we are going to teach the children at our individual booths. Oh, the Green Fair is geared towards Ann Arbor elementary school children from grades 1-5, with a strong emphasis on 4&5th graders, since we are using the 4th grade state benchmarks as a starting place for our information.

My individual field research project is a part of this larger project. I have to go to a local organization and meet with someone and discuss alternative energy sources. I still have yet to do that, but I'm hoping to do that within the next week sometime.

My home project is going to be an interactive installation that is entirely 2D on the wall somewhere in the art school or in one of the student unions. I haven't figured out a location yet, but I am right now refining my design. It will be a sort of expanded timeline, with a jumble of icons and information. My current idea is that they will match through color coordination, yet the viewer will have to figure that out, since it will not be inherently obvious. The viewer is going to have to make many of the connections in this piece; thus, interactivity is necessary. I always like to do pieces about the viewing space. I think it is such an interesting part of things, to grab someone's attention, but demand that they come closer and get more involved in the piece because there is more information beyond the surface of things. So the icons will be large and the text will be a bit smaller. I have 2.5 weeks to do this piece. It is going to be quick. I'm a little worried since I'm still refining my design, but I am going to start it this weekend. :) I think I want to use printable vinyl which I can get for about $25 a roll, but I might need 2 rolls...I might just stick to paper and foam board. It has to look good, but I do not want it to look cheap.

For my CFC class, I am beginning to explore my stranger project a bit more. Initially I wanted to do an advertising campaign branching off of the ads I created for class a couple of weeks ago. The tagline on those was "Adopt A Grandparent". I might continue with that idea, but I think I can expand it more and delve deeper into the actual ideas within relationships between two people. The first round was quite basic; I'm looking to go much further with this set.

For my TMP class, I am creating a sound piece right now that will be finished on Tuesday. I am not sure at all where this one is going, but it is going to be a lot of work. I am glad that I have done sound editing for videos and music before. That will help me to finish this efficiently. Who knows? I hope I like it at the end. It should be good with the sound bites I selected.

For my Words and Images class I am going to start designing graphics that relate the different countries in the world crisis to each other. I wanted originally to create a website for this class, but I do not know if that will be the best use of all my information I have. For this project I am still not quite sure where I am going with it.

Portfolio:
The President of UM AAF, who is totally awesome and in my W&I class, gave me this awesome book on preparing your portfolio. It is now going to be like a Bible for me. Not THE BIBLE, of course, but this book is fantastic and is giving me a lot of really awesome ideas already! :)


The end. I'm crazy. Also I'm working on Saturday during the day at A&D doing tours for the kids who are getting their portfolios reviewed and answering their questions and such. Hopefully I can get some homework done too! I'll be there from 9-3/4ish...yay for money!


Right now, I'm going back "home" to my room. I have to get some work done before I call it a night.

I'm out.