There is no doubt that the economy is hurt and we’re facing a lot of uncertainty. Being in New York City, I have personal connections to a lot of highly skilled people who have lost their jobs, and a lot of seemingly stable companies that are struggling. To help me get through the chaos, I have been exploring topics that interest me, meeting new people, and learning about myself.
Lecture: From Sketching to Experience
The School of Visual Arts MFA in Interaction Design program is running a monthly lecture series to build awareness around their new curriculum. The lectures are free, and held at a bar downtown. The first event focused less on sketching as a traditional concept, but rather on the best ways to transition ideas from your brain to a tangible product. One phrase that stuck with me is “you don’t start designing in pixels.” In other words, don’t start a project with precision. Start documenting ideas with a fat Sharpie, iterate and refine until you are ready to lay to out on a computer, build a prototype, or shoot film.
While all four lectures were fantastic and motivational, two have stuck with me. Tom Bodkin, design director for the New York Times, shared the story of creating the historic November 5th NYT cover with our new president elect, Barack Obama. He explained how the front page evolves from a few boxes and scribbles on the corner of a piece of white paper to a custom NYT front page graph paper. It’s a rapid process of testing what makes sense to Tom, and gaining agreement from the news directors fighting for space. At the end of his talk, Tom gave everyone a copy of the November 14th front page layout, hours before it went to press.
Andrew Sloat is a graphic designed and videomaker (not to mention a drainage ditch). He studied dance as an undergraduate, and spoke about how he creates videos. Look for “A More Perfect Union” on his website to see the final product of what started as a young boy’s passion to decode secret messages. Andrew took the letters of the Preamble to the United States Constitution, mapped out the mechanics of shuffling the letters to words and phrases, and executed a video that evokes a strong sense of pride and hope.
Lecture: “The Interviewers,” December 8
Don’t miss the next lecture. Register on the SVA site, meet some new people, and think about new approaching daily tasks.
