Graphic Design Certification

I have recently taken a strong interest in the hot topic of graphic design certification, and when it all boils down, I'm for it.

While I understand the concerns of more fees to be paid, and the argument that "work should speak for itself," I think an element of standardization would be far more beneficial than harmful to both the business of GD and its practitioners. While a lot of arguments are based on other certified professions, including doctors, lawyers, and accountants, I'd like to point out another type of certified occupations: optional certification.

While doctors and lawyers are REQUIRED to be certified in order to practice, there are many fields where certification is available, though not required. Such fields will allow a certified practitioner far more opportunities within their field than someone else who may have a degree or experience, but not a verified certificate. The two examples that come to mind are Mechanical Engineering and athletic officials, because both are personally relevant in my own life. While a skill set and some education is enough to get you a basic job in these fields, pursuing a certificate ensures a firm grasp on concepts beyond the basics and thus opens more and even bigger doors.

I suggest something similar for graphic designers. While certification would not be required to practice graphic design, it is another unit of measure for field practitioners. If you can build a solid reputation, and clients can look at your work and know you can deliver, that's fantastic. Don't worry about certification. But I see this as a unit of measure for others outside the design world who may not have the knowledge and experience to discern the educated, "legitimate" designers from hacks with an Adobe Suite.

I have seen this especially with freelance designers hired by smaller businesses or independent business wo/men. After all, most graphic designers aren't producing work for other graphic designers. We're working for others who don't have the education/understanding/skills to produce the work themselves. So how do THEY know who's legitimate and worth the price, and who's just throwing out adapted templates and padding their own reputation? Sure, there's extensive research to find a credible designer, but without the right background and foundation to start with, being able to understand our field as it now exists is often too much of an investment. That's when the cheaper, flashier hacks win out and both the client and the legitimate designers are losing. So what's so wrong with having a solid tool to benefit both honest designers and discerning, yet GD-uneducated, clients?

So, if it were up to me, what would I propose? Well, I think the Canadians have made a great start. Their certification is based on both a written test (exemptions are available for senior designers) and a portfolio interview. The test covers four topics, including:

• design history, principles and research
• business
• technology
• and Rules of Professional Conduct

The portfolio interview requires six original projects and the ability to back the design decisions made during their development. Before review, a written rational is also submitted stating the problem, design objective, and solution of each project.

So, to obtain certification in Canada, designers are required to demonstrate knowledge of the business and professional ethics, as well as the ability to deliver intelligently developed designs. The certification serves to distinguish educated, effective, and experienced professionals (at least 3-4 years industry experience are required) from anyone who just owns some software programs and calls themselves a "designer."

I am in full support of these credentials, though would not be opposed to some slight variations. For one, I see flexibility with the education/degree requirements. Though I did pursue a 4-year (and very expensive) education, I have great respect for those who are self-taught and able to receive equivalent education through self-motivation. If they can study for and pass the test, and support themselves through the questions of a portfolio interview, I think they are deserving of certification. I would also support a variation on experience requirements, perhaps including distinctions between an "educated apprentice" and experienced professional, to accommodate those who have pursued and completed a graphic design degree at an accredited institution. I also found no explicit reference to the duration of the Canadian certification, whether it is a lifetime qualification, or must be maintained and renewed every few years (I imagine 5 would be a good number here). I would be interested in arguments on this topic, as well.

As I said before, I have no problem with those who choose not to pursue a certificate still participating (and succeeding) in this business. I see the certification as an additional step to professional improvement, and a standard on which those less familiar with the field can base their decisions. I would image organizations with explicit understanding of design, such has established studios, would not require a certificate for new hires, as they are fully capable of determining merit based on individual portfolio reviews. But I think it is time for some definition and standardization of our field, especially to establish ourselves within the rest of the business world.

The Good Comes With the Bad

Well, today has been an interesting day of ups and downs. I suppose I will start with the good.

As far as work goes, the sky is starting to brighten. I'm getting more roller hockey work than I can even manage, and will be going to my ice seminar in a week and a half. Though there is no improvement on the graphic design front (I actually received a note of declination for a job today, which was unexpected but appreciated), Aaron Brothers is looking more and more promising.

I went in for an interview at the Irvine location today (Ant works in Irvine, which is about halfway between here and Anaheim), and I think it went really well. They had me fill out paperwork for a background check, which I see as a good sign. And the best news? They're looking to fill a full-time framing position! Full-time means about 32-40 hours a week, which is right where I was looking to be, and also comes with health benefits including dental and vision. This job looks better every time I look at it. For framing, I would be mostly (the interviewer said about 75%) responsible for constructing projects on deadlines in their workshop, and partially responsible for additional sales and customer work on the floor. There may be overnight shifts to receive shipments, but the majority of a framer's responsibilities would be daytimes during the week. Yay! They sounded like there's plenty of flexibility to work around hockey, and I would imagine I'd be able to fill in some freelance graphic design (or studio searches) around the edges.

They do have a second position available, as well, responsible for the floor and sales. While not as ideal, it's also a full-time job, and still at Aaron Brothers, so I'm optimistic and hopeful.

The bad news of the day is that of a friend's death. Josh Green, a classmate from elementary through high school, was hit with a respiratory attack while camping with another close friend of mine and their respective fiances. By the time he reached the hospital, he went into cardiac arrest. They were able to revive him, but tests show no blood flow to the brain or brain function, and he is unable to breathe on his own. They're keeping him on life support until they can find organ recipients. Since he was young and healthy, they believe he could save as many as five lives by donating.

It's hard to see the passing of another friend who has barely made it to adulthood. Most of my memories of Josh are from the playgrounds of Foothills, or working with technology and video at Air Academy. He went on to college for film studies, and I think everyone who knew him had high hopes and expectations for him. He was one of those guys... you just knew he'd succeed in whatever he wanted.

So I guess this is a hats off to one of those great guys who's made the world a better place. Even in his passing, Josh is caring for those he may never have even met by being a donor. I never would have expected anything less. My thoughts are among his friends, and especially with his family and fiance. I wish them all peace in this incredibly difficult time.

I Got A Job!!! ...kinda

So, last week I came across a roller rink on one of my scouting adventures. I'd asked the kids about the activities there, and boom, a week later, I have a gig. I've basically been hired to work every Sunday evening, something like 3 games, and then I get to play one. The first two weeks I'll be working off league fees in order to play, then after that it's $15/game. Nothing like ice hockey, but it's still money, and it starts this weekend, so yay!

Other than that, there's not much new. I'm going to be dropping off Aaron Brothers applications tomorrow (I dropped one today, already), then picking Ant up from the airport. I finally get regular company again!

Well, that's all for now.

A Day of (rather unpleasant) Firsts

Well, I sent out my first personal promotion book today. Oh, my... can you say nerve wracking? I mean, I'm no longer just in a classroom, and not sending some blind application out online. I actually sent a piece of me, my work, my craft, and my ideas, and now I have to wait and see if it's loved or falls flat on its face.

Now, I imagine most of you are wondering, "What the heck is she talking about, a 'personal promotion book'?" Well, it was my final project at RIT; I suppose you could almost call it a thesis. It's a project sent to potential employers to make me stand out from the crowd. Essentially it's supposed to be a concentration of my best, most marketable qualities. So... do you understand the stress and paranoia yet? One piece, one single object, to sum me up and scream "Hire ME!"

What is my project? A book. Yeah, a book. BUT, I make really cool books. It's hand-made from materials (papers and cardboard) purchased in about 20"x30" sheets. I forgot to take any pictures before I sent it out, but I'll be making more books to send to other studios and will take a picture of one of those. It's gorgeous with gold covers and a navy-blue, accordion style (concertina) spine.

Now, it's not just an empty book, either. Actually, the concept is pretty heavy, and personal, too. The title is "Kunst. Функция. Design. The Language of Design" (translation: "Art. Function. Design."), and is about the correlation between the elements of design and language. So, I'm basically hoping it will wow employers with my superhuman constructive skills as well as my scintillating intellect (hahaha).

Anyway, I've been incredibly uptight about sending out this book, and getting (or not, in the worst case) the coming criticism. I wanted to send it out early this morning, but didn't get to the post office until late. I wanted everything to be perfect with the package when I sent it, and took a long time just tearing over the little details. When I finally did get to the post office, I made my acquaintance with another rather unpleasant first.

My first auto accident.

It felt rather strange, being 22 and not really knowing what insurance information I was supposed to get. I probably didn't do it all right, but I think the girl that hit me is very honest and won't try to cheat on anything. We were in the most horrendous parking lot I have ever experienced, with perhaps half the needed parking spaces and too many people desperate to find a spot. I had pulled in off the street and was attempting to merge with traffic in the lot when an SUV in front of me decides to back up for someone leaving. She never even saw Ant's tiny Mustang. I put on the horn, but I wasn't quick enough for her to react in time, and it tore up the front quarter panel and scuffed the bumper pretty well, too. Thankfully it was nothing more than body damage.

So, that's my thrilling day of firsts. I'm glad that Anthony's coming home on Thursday, and I'm hoping his insurance covers additional drivers in his car (otherwise the other driver's insurance won't pay). In the end, I'm hoping for luck with my promotional send-out, and smooth sailing processing the repairs of my boyfriend's car. What a day.

Out and About

Well, I have been on my own "in LA" for a full week now. And I'll admit, it's been a lot of sitting behind the computer (job searching) and mac'n'cheese. After the first few days of SoCal glamor had passed, I started to go a bit out of my mind. I'm really not an all-alone kind of girl. Granted, I am incredibly independent, and more comfortable on my own than most, but I'm realizing there's a difference between on-my-own and all-alone. I need company, at least from time to time. You know, a little personality interaction.

Anyway, after a bit of stir-crazy restlessness, I decided I just had to get out and it didn't really matter where. Well, as long as it didn't cost me any money (though I've been dying to go hang out at a sports bar or something and get a drink among random people). So, I've been finding an excuse to drive somewhere every day lately.

One day I looked up all the Aaron Brothers stores within 15 miles of here, and just went to get applications. It was actually a pretty good way to get somewhat acquainted with a few neighborhoods. There is a store in Irvine, where Ant's job is based, and another in Tustin, which is an area I'd considered for housing. Both seem like pretty nice areas. Irvine is actually a lot larger than I expected, especially compared to all the tiny towns around Aliso.

Another store was located in Costa Mesa, just north of Newport Beach. Now, Newport Beach is an area that was highly recommended for Anthony to live by some younger coworkers. It seems to be considered a more 20-somethings social center than anything farther down here. Again, Costa Mesa was an interesting neighborhood to explore. Certainly kind of a hip-ish, young, almost eclectic-feeling area. The traffic and streets were... interesting to navigate, but it looks like another great beach town to explore (with Ant of course).

I managed to stop in at the Anaheim Ice arena while I was out, too. Honestly, I was a bit under impressed. I'd had the menatl image of some huge 4-sheet facility like the Edge in Littleton, ESL in Rochester, or the Amherst center in Buffalo. But it wasn't. It was a nice facility, but felt a bit older, and only had 2 sheets (I know, ONLY 2 sheets, right?). They had a figure skating competition going on, so it felt like it was more figure skating centered than hockey, but we shall see where it goes. The shop in the facility seemed about half and half, but the figure skating portion was larger than I've ever really experienced. There was also another skate shop across the street that was exclusively figure skating (a bit of a shock when I walked in, honestly), so I don't think it was just the competition that affected my perspective.

Another day I didn't get out until about 9:30 pm, so my adventure was fairly limited. But I decided to drive around the neighborhood and try to get my bearings. I did find A LOT of shopping centers with plenty of variety, both big chains and small local shops. I even stumbled on the Aliso Viejo community center, which has a pretty sweet outdoor roller rink. Once I get my gear up here, I'll definitely be hitting that up.

I also stumbled on a surprising amount of wildlife along my drive. The first was a HUGE coyote in the parking lot by our nearest Michaels. He was so big I'm not entirely convinced it wasn't a wolf, but I find coyote more believable. My second surprise was a big white owl that flew over an intersection and perched on a nearby store while I was stopped at the light. Again, not real used to seeing owls. I suppose the bird wasn't that big as far as owls come, maybe medium-sized, but the wing span took me by surprise.

Now, I'm no stranger to wildlife in the backyard (I mean, how much more wild does it get than black bears climbing the neighbors' trees, and mountain lions picking off neighborhood dogs?), but I was honestly very surprised to find much around here. Although, with all the canyons here around Aliso, I supposed I shouldn't have been so shocked.

My most recent adventure was today. I've found a studio to send a promo book to (my Design Language book, developed last Spring quarter at RIT), and I needed some materials to put it together. We have a Michaels close, as well as an Aaron Brothers, but neither really sell the book supplies I needed. So, it was a trip down to Laguna Art Supply. It was exactly what I expected it to be, and I will certainly be going back again. The only trick is to avoid going when it's prime beach time. The visit reminded me, though, that I do need to make a networking trip through Laguna in the not-so-distant future. You know, just handing out resumes at any somewhat art-oriented shop.

I suppose that's about as complete of an update as I've got. I can't even describe how trilled I am that I only have 4 more full days alone before Ant comes back. It will be so nice to have someone around in the evenings; honestly, I think it will be motivating, too. So, that's where I am right now. Still working on the job search and applications send-out, and absolutely thrilled Anthony is coming home.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I drove up to Culver City today to meet with an old college friend. He was nice enough to take me out to brunch, and then we headed over to Venice Beach again. He'd mentioned to me that he's picked up roller blading as of about a month ago, so I'd brought my skates up and we figured we'd find a place to explore. Turns out Venice Beach really is a great place to skate.

We parked a short distance from the beach near his friends' apartment and just skated to the beach. They have a beautiful bike road along the beach (separate from the pedestrian walk lined with shops), and it worked very well for us. We weren't really sure if we should be following the bike or pedestrian path, but I think we chose well. In the end, we passed most bikes that were on the pathway, anyway. We actually skated all the way up to Santa Monica Pier where they even have a ferris wheel and roller coaster. Certainly another great place to check out with Ant.

Just on the other side of the pier, we came across a large section of sand filled with white crosses (on closer inspection, there were also a number of red and blue ones, as well). It looked like a cemetery in the middle of the beach, so we decided to explore. I guess it was some Iraq war tribute. We didn't stay there terribly long, and decided to head back toward the car, and to maybe explore a bit in the other direction. Apparently, bikes, blades, and boards weren't allowed any farther than our starting point, so we headed back to the car and on to my first introduction to Boba Tea. It was pretty tasty, though I didn't care for the boba, but I would certainly go back for the milk teas.

All in all, it made for a fairly tiring, though thoroughly enjoyable day. We skated about 8 miles in the end, and the commute up there was about an hour each way, so I think I'm just going to relax at the apartment for the rest of the night. It was very nice to get out again, and I'm looking forward to exploring the neighborhoods down here by blades over this next week.

Wild Dolphins!!

So, I'm learning (the hard way) that I really need to make a better effort to keep my camera with me at all times.

Today's plan was really just to be a relaxing beach day, so we got up late and headed to Aliso Beach around noon. Shortly after we arrived, I spotted what I was amazed to confirm were fins rolling in and out of the water's choppy surface maybe a hundred yards off shore. We had our first California wild dolphin sighting! I could identify three together, sometimes coming at least halfway up out of the water and gliding gracefully back under. Several times, we lost track of the dolphins, and would find three in another location about 50-80 yards or so off. For quite a while, we believed there were only three in the water, but eventually discovered that there were sevaral small groups dispersed in the water. It certainly made for a fantastic start to the day.

With all the beach- and pool-going, I'm starting to get a little bit toasty, though. Not nearly as extreme as I've had in the past, but two mild sunburns with no heal time in between certainly make for an itchy and uncomfortable state. I think I'll be laying low for a little while, now, and not going all sun-crazy. Try to give my poor skin a little chance to adjust. For the record, I have been applying tons of sunscreen... it just isn't as strong as I will be purchasing in the near future, and I apparently have some overall adjusting to do. I do believe I will have a pretty sweet tan not too long from now. I wonder how much my appearance will change in a month here... I'm sure my hair will bleach out quite a bit as my skin gets darker, too.

Other than the beach, we did a little more shopping in Laguna. We found an awesome little hole-in-the-wall collector's gem called Aeronautical Art (I believe). It had some pretty incredible pieces (mostly posters, but some books and other memorabelia), many of which were autographed. I found one poster in particular that I REALLY wanted to get for Ant... it was a pristine poster of all the moon walkers, with signatures from 11 of the 12. Fantastic! A little out of my price range, though. Perhaps if I strike it rich before someone else finds the little jewel. Ironically, Gabe made a purchase there, and the tube the seller gave us to take his poster home actually contained the certificate of authenticity for the Moonwalker's signatures. It hurts so bad to have such a small piece of that prize in my possession now (I'll be returning it very soon), and yet be so far from the actual thing. At least I suppose I can dream.

I found another incredible piece, too, that was a little more within a reasonable price range. Well, that is, it would be if I had a steady job. It was a fantastic painting of a shuttle coming out of a launch bay at Kennedy, at night in the midst of an incredible lightening storm. If I get a job in the near future, I will likely go back for that one. I have a hard time passing up something both Ant and I would love - good artwork of his favorite subject.

We also stumbled upon another restaurant in Laguna that's similar to Geoffrey's Malibu in the sense of style and view. Not quite as refined, but certainly beautiful. We didn't eat there, so I don't know how the food compares, but I believe it will be on my list of places to try.

I supposed that is enough for today. It is incredibly late, and Ant's family will be leaving at about 5am, so I figure I could use a little sleep before then. Until the next breathtaking adventure...