Inspiration

Last semester I attended a graphic design conference with AIGA called SEEK. I had gone to this conference last year at NIU, and met a lot of influential creatives from all over the US. I learned about what kind of skills I needed to acquire over my last year here at Bradley. I was so excited to attend this year to see what I would learn and who I would meet.

One of the most impactful presentations at SEEK last semester was from Justin Ahrens, the Principal and Creative Director at Rule29. It gave me a whole new perspective on design and where I eventually want to take my career. He shared stories of his travels to Africa, and how design can make a difference all over the world. I eventually want to be stable enough as a designer where I can work with non-profits to create impactful designs that can change the lives of others.

Above is a video Justin showed during his presentation of an inspiration he knows. This video really hit me, and made me realize the bigger picture. You should do what you love and live life to the fullest. It is a touching story!

Inspiration

Last semester I attended a graphic design conference with AIGA called SEEK. I had gone to this conference last year at NIU, and met a lot of influential creatives from all over the US. I learned about what kind of skills I needed to acquire over my last year here at Bradley. I was so excited to attend this year to see what I would learn and who I would meet.

One of the most impactful presentations at SEEK last semester was from Justin Ahrens, the Principal and Creative Director at Rule29. It gave me a whole new perspective on design and where I eventually want to take my career. He shared stories of his travels to Africa, and how design can make a difference all over the world. I eventually want to be stable enough as a designer where I can work with non-profits to create impactful designs that can change the lives of others.

Above is a video Justin showed during his presentation of an inspiration he knows. This video really hit me, and made me realize the bigger picture. You should do what you love and live life to the fullest. It is a touching story!

Graphics 360

My favorite sketch paper in the entire world is Graphics 360! What makes this sketch pad better than any other is it's resistance to the permeant marker bleeds. So I can draw in sharpie as much as I want without having the black bleed into the paper like on a normal sketch pad. If you are a designer and don't use this paper for your mock-up sketching, I completely recommend buying one. It gives you cleaner sketches to show to clients.

This paper is also very useful when it comes to tracing items. It is slightly translucent, but not too much that it looks like tracing paper. Graphics 360 is a great tool that really helps me present beautiful sketches in critiques or presentations.

Portfolio Show

This year has gone by WAY too fast. It felt like just yesterday I was a freshman attending the senior portfolio show at Bradley, and now it is my turn to put my portfolio on display. The show is from April 29th - May 10th, which means I have to have everything ready by next Friday! I have so much to do in such little time. Even though I complain I secretly love it. I enjoy pulling all nighters brainstorming and designing, it is when I come up with some of my best work.

From the beginning I always thought I would hand bind my portfolio, especially after I took my very first bookmaking class junior year. Today I changed my mind. I have put a lot of thought into my portfolio, and I think the best solution is to use a professional screw post portfolio holder. Even though it isn't hand crafted, it is the much better solution in the long run. This way I can rearrange pages, switch out pages, and add to my book without having to redo the entire portfolio. I can use the portfolio case for the rest of my life, because it is very durable. The hand bound book may not last as long and get a lot of wear and tare.

I researched many different companies that sell portfolio cases, and I stumbled upon a company called Klo Portfolios, where you can customize the outer shell of the case. I fell in love instantly and knew I had to get one. When I read how long they take to order and receive I lost my hope. I emailed the company to see if there was anyway they could squeeze in my order, and they were so kind and accommodating! This is a very pricey item to buy, but since I will be using it for my entire career it is definitely worth every penny! I chose a matte black finish with my logo engraved on the front of the cover, and I will receive it next week! I can't wait to put everything together for my show!

If anyone would like to come check it out, here is the Facebook event page.

Lockitron

Locking or unlocking your house without a key just seems a little ridiculous. When I first heard of this product, before I watched the video, I thought it was scary and unsafe. It made me think that anyone could just walk into your house, download this app and somehow open your door.

After I watched the video, I think it is the coolest thing ever. This app and devise not only can unlock and lock your door without a key, but it alerts you when someone is at your door or trying to get into your house. It is almost like a security system for just your door lock. I went from thinking it was completely unsafe, from now thinking what will I do without this device. The app can allow you to unlock your door from all over the world. It would be so nice if you didn't have a key or got locked out, or just wanted to go for a run but didn't want to bring your house keys! Solves so many problems I didn't even know I had. (Know that's a good product ;)).

It doesn't help that I can be paranoid at times, and I think Lockitron can solve my issues of not knowing if someone is trying to break into my house. If I had this now I would know and be sent a text message in advance so I have time to prepare!