AIGA-ATL Student Blog

And the Winners are...

2010-12-06T10:31:00.003-05:00

The AIGA Student Membership Party was a blast! It was held on Saturday December 4 at 7pm at Big Studio in Atlanta.

Thanks to all the schools for coming out and thanks for your Juried Pin-Up Show entries! The jurors of the night Kurt Seidle of Grant Collaborative, Elise Thomason of Iconologic, and Albert Whitley of Whit Creative had a tough time coming to an agreement. The jurors began at 4:30 and didn't arrive to a decision until 8:00.

The winners of the Juried Pin-Up Show are:
1st Portfolio Center
2nd University of Georgia
3rd Georgia State University

The 1st place winner of the Juried Pin-Up Show will receive 1/3 gallery space at MODA.

The second competition, the People's Choice Pin-Up Show was a tough call as well but the winners are:
1st Stephen Mullinax, University of Georgia
2nd Nathan Pak, University of Georgia
3rd Melissa Lee, University of Georgia

UGA kept their winning streak from last year in this competition!

Congratulations to all competition submitters and winners as well as our door prize winners! All prizes were supplied by Binders.

Thanks to everyone who came out Saturday night! It was great meeting everyone!

AIGA Student Membership Party

2010-12-03T10:14:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow night is the AIGA Student Membership Party!

Join us for a night of good design made by AIGA student members!

There will be two ongoing competitions at the party: the Juried Pin-Up Show and the People's Choice Pin-Up Show. All submissions for the Juried Pin-Up Show is to be turned in tomorrow at 4pm at Big Studio with the statement copies. Members can submit one piece into the People's Choice Pin-Up Show. It can be anything that you have made.

People's Choice Pin-Up Show and door prizes will be provided by Binders.

Come for the great people, food, drinks, music, and prizes!

Everyone is invited: you, guests, members, educators, professionals,...etc.

Please pre-register at: register here
Payment is at the door and CASH ONLY. If you pre-register you get the discount at the door.

Letterheads!

2010-10-22T14:11:00.004-04:00

I am blogging about another blog.

I came across Letterheady today by Shaun Usher who has scanned in copies of letterheads from companies, celebrities, and so on and so forth. They're pretty fun to look at!

Letterheady

Yale Goes Wiki

2010-10-20T13:48:00.006-04:00

Yale School of Art's website is a wiki. A wiki allows users to edit pages live.

If you go on their site, you'll see that it's not like many art school websites online. Each page is unique, different, and fun and constantly changing.
For now, graduate students, alums, faculty, and staff are able to edit the pages on the site.

Dan Michaelson came up with the idea.

“We wanted the website to be a transparent window onto the art school,” Michaelson said, comparing the website to the School of Art’s physical location. “There’s no reason why the website shouldn’t be a space that belongs to the students as much as the building.”

Check it out!
Yale University School of Art

Taking wikis to a whole new level
Wiki.com

CHROMATIC: A Tribute to Color

2010-10-01T15:34:00.002-04:00

CHROMATIC: A Tribute to Color

Saturday October 2 at 8:30pm - Sunday at 2:00am

The Goat Farm
1200 Foster Street: The Rodriguez Room
Atlanta, GA

Free event.

16 GRAPHIC ARTISTS. 1 SHOWCASE.

What happens when you gather works from 16 industry designers, talent from the likes of Armchair Media, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Portfolio Center, People of Resource, Sons&Sons, etc., put them together in a former cotton gin-factory and mix in music, drinks, and a photobooth?

We’ll find out on October 2nd, 2010 at 8:30 PM, since this unique graphic arts showcase highlighting the talents of some of Atlanta’s most influential designers hasn’t ever been done quite like this before. With only the parameter of “color use”, 16 of Atlanta’s most innovative, professional graphic artists broke free from marketing standards and art direction, pulled out all the stops, and are proud to present inventive works for a night dedicated to the celebration of design.

Participating artists include:

Duke Aber
Kevin Byrd
Branden Collins
Drew Dominey
Travis Ekmark
John Ferguson
Candace House
Petrika Janssen
Jeffrey Jarvis
Farbod Kokabi
Eric LaCombe
Ron Lewis
Elise Mattingly
Lee Summers
Wade Thompson
Joe Veazey

CHROMATIC will take place at the historic and atmospheric Rodriguez Room at the Goat Farm (1200 Foster Street, Atlanta, GA, 30318, near Star Provisions). In addition to dynamic artwork, the free event will also include a color photobooth by (http://www.suckerpunchphotobooth.tumblr.com/), drinks, DJ Chris Daresta and DJ Luis Ponce, and originals and prints for sale. For more information visit the official CHROMATIC page at http://www.cargocollective.com/chromatic.

09/28 with Methane Studios

2010-09-27T11:45:00.004-04:00

Methane Studios'
Mark McDevitt and Robert Lee
with Michael Ouweleen

SCAD ATLANTA
Tue, Sep 28 7 pm - 9 pm

This is a FREE event.

Register for this event online.

Methane Studios got its start in 1998 when Mark McDevitt and Robert Lee formed a partnership to produce silk screen posters for the East Atlanta club The Echo Lounge that featured some of the best independent bands in the late 1990s.

The roots of this partnership started in the mid 1980s at Columbus College of Art and Design located in Columbus, Ohio. Robert and Mark,both from small Ohio towns, majored in Illustration and bonded over bad 80s haircuts, corndogs, good music and creating art to form a friendship that would transcend into creating award winning artwork recognized worldwide. Our status as well-known designers has led us to win awards in design competitions in How, Print magazine, and the Graphis poster annual. In college we learned in a more traditional way which allowed us to explore techniques that we use today. We never let our posters look computerized. We use the computer like a pencil or paint brush. The computer has allowed us to speed things up and to explore more options for sure, but we still belly up to the drafting table often. We draw inspiration form many artists be it musical or visual and our work tends to have a vintage influence.

Today we exist as a two man studio creating package designs, logos, and posters for clients such as Turner Broadcasting, Honda, Liberty mutual, Blue Q, Dave Matthews and many other of your favorite bands. Recently featured on CNN, you can also find our work in many books that feature designs relating to t-shirt, music packaging and of course posters. We dig David Stone Martin, Jasper Johns, Ralph Bakshi, Mort Drucker, Robert Rauschenberg, Warhol, Edward Ruscha, Push Pin, Alex Steinweiss and countless others. Our goal was always to tell a story, convey a message, and to make someone stop and think a little with our designs. We have a sense of humor as well and it's important to not take ourselves so seriously all the time.

Michael Ouweleen, co-host of POLITELY DISRUPTIVE on WMLB, is Sr. VP, Creative Director of Cartoon Network On-Air, and writer-creator of HARVEY BIRDMAN, ATTORNEY AT LAW.

Spirited Calligraphy: Texts Marks and Meanings - East & West

2010-09-24T16:31:00.003-04:00

October 7 - November 19, 2010
Drawing and calligraphic mark-making are as essential in Western art as they are in Eastern art. Evident in the works of early American abstract expressionists, calligraphic mark-making continues to be a significant component in contemporary art across all media produced in the East and the West. Today American, Asian and European artists employ drawing and mark-making methodologies outside the formal, figurative, and representational art approaches and aesthetics. Some integrate new media and digital technologies while others consider more direct applications using a variety of media, materials and production processes. Explore contemporary interdisciplinary and multimedia drawing and mark-making applications in this exhibition.

October 7 - Opening Reception & First Thursday's Downtown Arts Walk
5:00 pm - 8:00pm in the Welch Gallery Lobby
10 Peachtree Center Ave. Atlanta GA 30303

October 8 - Calligraphy in Action Performance & Symposium
11:00am – 2:30pm in the Alumni Hall Auditorium
30 Courtland St. Atlanta GA 30303

Speakers:
Kevin Hsieh - "Origin and Stylistic Development of the Chinese Writing System"
Craig Drennen - "The East West Fusion"

Calligraphy Performers:
Tsai YuLung (China) - "Heart Sutra"
Michiko Hamazaki (Japan) - "Taichee-Integrated Calligraphy"
Sogen Hirano (Japan) - "Sumi Ink & Brush Performance"

Moderator: Junco Pollack

All gallery events are FREE and open to the public. Free evening event parking in the United Way bldg. @ Auburn Ave & Courtland St.

Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Gallery

ITC Legacy

2010-09-19T10:24:00.005-04:00

The University of Georgia's Professor of Art Ronald Arnholm's ITC Legacy Square Serif Pro font has recently been nominated for the Federal Republic of Germany Design Award 2011. This prestigious award is one of the highest to receive for design excellence in Germany.

Inspired by Nicolas Jenson's 1470 Eusebius typeface, Arnholm designed a revival of that typeface for his MFA thesis. In the early 1980's, he revisited his design and began to expand the original to become ITC Legacy. The family was first released in the early 1990s, and Arnholm has added more to the family since.

The family includes sans, serif, and square serif as well as serif condensed with each including several weights.

Arnholm is a graphic design professor at the university. He received his BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design and his MFA at Yale where he studied with Paul Rand, Bradbury Thompson, Alvin Eisenman, and Herbert Matter.

Nomination for German Design Award
ITC Legacy

Michael Bierut

2010-02-18T15:20:00.003-05:00

Just a reminder that Michael Bierut will be at Portfolio Center tonight - Open to the public!

Portfolio Center | 125 Bennett St. | Atlanta, GA 30309

Phone: 404.351.5055

STUDENT VIDEO MEETING @ Portfolio Center

2010-02-05T20:05:00.002-05:00

Hey Guys,

Just a quick reminder that our meeting is tomorrow @ 1 pm.

-Spencer

AIGA Letterpress Event

2010-01-27T14:31:00.001-05:00

Sign up for Letterpress Finesse!!

It will be held Saturday February 20th, 4-8 pm @ Atlanta Printmakers Studio

The cost is $15 for Student members and $20 for Non Student members. This will cover the cost of the space, paper, ink, light food, and drinks.

It will be a great night of creativity and fun with students from the Atlanta Area! Come ready to work (no nice clothes) and play!

Please go to http://www.aiga-atl.org to sign up today!

For more information please e-mail jgerjet1@yahoo.com

Portfolio Day at GSU!

2010-01-21T00:18:00.003-05:00

Please come help plan our upcoming Portfolio Day to be held at GSU (on Saturday, April 17).
Take Marta to Five Points Station, or park at M-Deck . ($6)
additional Maps at http://www.gsu.edu/map.html

The meeting location is in room 468 of the Arts and Humanities Building (building 2 on the map) at the corner of Gilmer St. and Peachtree Center Avenue.

If you are unable to make the meeting, but want to continue to be notified about Portfolio Day planning, let Liz Throop know as she will be heading this up lthroop@gsu.edu

Thanks!

Summery from AIGA Meeting 1/9/10

2010-01-14T03:01:00.005-05:00

Meeting Minutes

Follow the link to download the PDF -> Here

Independent

2010-01-09T21:35:00.000-05:00

Aiga heading to the independent tonight! Come Join us.

Design Inspiration

2009-11-16T09:41:00.006-05:00

The idea of the design inspiration section is to share stories. Stories can be insightful or make you laugh, they can let you know you’re not the only one with doubt, but most importantly they allow you to understand. Post your story below or share something that inspired you today design related or not. Keep it to 500 words or less!

At Portfolio Center it’s always interesting to see how people found their way here, since after all it is not your every day design school. So my inspiration is how I found my way to Portfolio Center.

To be quite honest the portfolio is just a conversation starter if you think about it.

My story starts in Denver, CO and actually has nothing to do with me having the best design portfolio after graduation or the best job – in fact I had neither - for me it has been all about relationships.

“Rick, you’ve taught me more in the last 5 minutes about design and typography than I’ve learned while I was in undergrad. Could I get your contact info and talk with you more about “design,” maybe show you a couple projects?” I asked. “No. I am sorry dude, I’m way too busy to take on another student. I am a teacher, a father, and I run a design studio,” replied Rick. “Man I won’t send you 20 emails, I’ll be respectful of your time. Just the way you talk about things is very insightful,” I said jokingly. Staring at me and then at my black book that I called a portfolio. He answered, “Alright, I’ll reply with one word. Here is my business card.” I took it from his hand and quickly scanned the text: Rick Griffith – Matter Studio. I then asked,” Rick, what does your studio specialize in?” “You don’t know what I do? Before you email me, look me up dude.”

A few months later I found myself at Rick’s studio helping him with his web project. Like the guys at Dress Code say, “Fake it till you make it.” I had no idea how to build an ecommerce website for Rick but I figured I could do it knowing just basic HTML. Little did I know I was in over my head but I worked day and night figuring out how PHP works and how to integrate it into HTML. Eventually I built a working site and made a few new friends along the way!

What I learned from Rick working at his studio, because of that one chance to talk about my work, taught me a lot about myself. That ultimately affected my design, knowledge, and ultimate goal of pursuing a career in design, starting at P.C. Without this relationship I would not be where I am today.

Design for me has been like learning a second language. Not just a language that you speak and write, but one that you draw, color, and erase. The work load here at P.C. is heavy but well rewarding. It has its ups and downs for sure, but it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. I don’t know where I’ll be after P.C. but I’m looking forward to the unknown potential.

Rick's first email reply to me was:

Pretty. Incoherent. Two words.
-Rick

Art & Copy

2009-09-24T10:20:00.001-04:00

I checked this movie out last night at the Plaza Theater in Midtown Atlanta last night, and was pretty impressed. It gives a great understanding to what the advertising field is all about, what its become, and where its going. Interviews with some of the most creative thinkers of industry made the film quite interesting. Learn where the great campaigns such as Got Milk? and Nike's Just Do It. came from. Check out the trailer below.

- Eric Dewyngaert, President of Atlanta Student Board

Daft Punk Dance

2009-08-14T20:53:00.006-04:00

I came across these 2 music videos on YouTube that I find particularly interesting when it comes to design, typography and motion. The main idea I took away from these is that sometimes function can dictate a design. The “great” design in these video is that it’s so organic and can be used in so many different ways, yet the concept and final outcome are the same! So the same idea with different words and a different song could produce the same type of effect but a completely different dance!

In each video the dancers have painted words on specific parts of their body which are the lyrics from the song. Each word, in order to make it legible the person moves that body part into position – when you combine multiple words you start to create a set of specific movements. Speed up the music and the robotic movements become rhythmic and fluid. This idea interested me because there are many possibilities on what a costume for professional dancers might look like. Another idea I had was the words could be moved to different areas on the body and create a different dance to the same song. The same ideas apply to the hands video – what if he had gloves with type on them or if the type was glow in the dark? Be kind of cool to see that guy in a club or in a music video.

Oh and if you want one of those robot helmets of theirs check this link out.

Girls Dancing

Hands Dancing

House Cleaning

2009-07-27T17:11:00.001-04:00

Went through all the spam followers and blocked them. If you got blocked unintentionally send me a P.M. and I will add you back on the list!

Flash Basic WebSite using AS3 + source files

2009-07-24T02:50:00.007-04:00

Super Simple As3
Driven Website:

Recently it has come to my attention that students at Portfolio Center are wanting to get their hands wet in flash to help promote themselves early on in their career before they graduate. Great idea! The only problem is you have to take a class in flash to learn the program and if you don't have time in your schedule it can be difficult to know where to even begin. I thought I would start posting different tutorials on this blog that I know are easy to read/ have all the correct action script 3 code/ and are relevant to what students want to get done. So this first link goes to making a very basic website using mostly As3(trust me learn it now, it will make your life a whole lot easier in the end)

Gallery Link

I have also included a 2nd link to the Adobe Layers Flash tutorial site if you want to start exploring on your own.

Do not hesitate to ask questions. I will be posting more tutorials and progress to harder things down the road. Tutorials to look forward to are xml, jquery, papervision, etc.. that all integrate with flash and are currently being used by many interactive studios. I will also be posting a few polls to see what everyone would like to get from the tutorials.

New BLog

2009-07-09T23:34:00.002-04:00

A new blog has been established for the AIGA Atlanta Student board to publish design related articles.