Day 19

We made it to our last day of instruction. The lecture was based on class evaluation. We concluded Concept Development by reviewing what was projected to be learned by the end of this course. Since it was the very first time this course was being taught, it was good to get a idea of all the things that students can expect to learn from here. Overall, I am content with the outcome of my learning experience and felt it was a necessary course in my design endeavor. I feel much more knowledgeable and better prepared to progress through the rest of my academic journey.

Adjectives:
-Fatuous
-Inane
-lp

Day 17 & 18

Day 18: Each and every student was asked to stand up in front of the class and introduce themselves with three interesting things. The task was to state two facts about ourselves with one misleading, false fact. While one of us introduced ourself, the rest of the class was to observe that person and dictate which fact was false. It was quite interesting to see how many of my classmates are bad liars :) The key to this exercise was to prepare us for future endeavors with clients. It was emphasized that we should always make it seem like we know what we're doing and that we know what we are talking bout.

Day 17: We took and enjoyed a lovely field trip

Adjectives:

-Paternal

-Abject

-Attenuated

Day 16

We presented our three different concepts for our school poster along with our creative briefs. We evaluated the best quality work of each individual's concepts, one by one, and everyone got a pretty good idea of how good their execution was. For each student, we were to vote if the work was a "great concept," "pretty good/not bad concept," or "not a good concept at all." I admired some of my classmates' work and hope to see more production from everyone, including myself.

CREATIVE BRIEF

Background: Cal State-LA needs to attract more students to their new graphic design program

Target Audience: High school graduates, motivated design enthusiasts

Objective: Persuade aspiring graphic designers to enroll and learn at CSULA

Single Message: The design program at CSULA will allow for the proper education necessary for its students to succeed in the field of graphic design. Deliverables will be informative and alluring enough so that admirers will have the CSULA graphic design option embedded in their college considerations.

Deliverables: Will consist primarily of posters to be displayed at college fairs, high school venues, and the CSULA school website. The school campus will also display these posters in areas including the student union, cafeteria, fine arts building, book store, hallway bulletin boards and restroom stalls.

Time Frame: Needs to be done urgently, but considering how CSULA’s graphic design program is fairly new, creative briefs will have to be revisited on an annual basis to observe the effectiveness of this new option in order to promote our new program in our best interests.

Approvals: Jimmy Moss

Adjectives:
-Acuity
-castrate
-patriarchy

Day 15

We furthered our discussion on the importance of research while grasping the concept of going through creative briefs. In the workplace, team members collaborate to develop unique deliverables that result from a series of simple questions generated to carry out the best execution for a project. In general, creative briefs usually involve project background, objectives and strategies to target a specific audience as they figure out what needs to be avoided and what should be done. Other measures to be considered in projects are location, budgets, and time frames. Although all these things are important, what was emphasized most to us was to develop a single message that the client would like to communicate and one the public will remember.
I gained a lot of insight from this class session and am glad to have been a part of it as I learned an abundant amount of vital information. I am beginning to realize the significance of this course and am gradually learning to appreciate it more and more.

Adjectives:

-Caricature
-Atrophy
-Benign

Day 14

The class was asked seat themselves alphabetically by their first names to gain a different visual perspective, more so to allow us to step out of our comfort zone. We were asked to give our thoughts about the GAUGE-sponsored presentation of Kim Baer when she had visited our campus the previous week. One by one, each student stated what she or he got out of it - the most important thing learned. I spoke about her willingness to give those with curiosity the chance to learn about the field of graphic design from her perspective. I also enjoyed her statements about her advocacy for research. She always looks new things up to expand her knowledge. We then began learning about the importance that research brings to graphics. It is very necessary to learn everything we need to know to about something when carrying out a project. In addition to our research, we need to develop key concepts and figure out how to execute our ideas sharply.


Adjectives:

-Coarse
-Vernacular
-Despondent

Kim Baer

To the delight of aspiring graphic designers here at California State University of Los Angeles (CSULA), Kim Baer was brought to our school on behalf of GAUGE, the AIGA student group at CSULA, to share with us her knowledge and experience of the field. Baer is a well heralded graphic designer who has succeeded in the field of design for her dedication to her eye for work and now has an established design studio in the city of Pasadena, "KBDA". The event was free and open to the public as it was hosted at the Music Hall on campus. By the end of the presentation, I was able to say I was honestly proud to have been in her presence.
Bear's presentation was titled "A Life of Graphic Design: 30 Years of Fantastic Fourth-Grade Field Trips." Baer provided me an insightful and inspiring point of view. To learn of her success was greatly appreciated. Her most notable statement that compelled me was that it's important to renew my job once I have engaged in a career that I plan on staying in. Innovation is most definitely key if I am to withstand the demands of such a rigorous field. I am an immediate admirer of hers because she sponsors inquisitiveness. I have always made it my business to satisfy my curiosity, but I must admit that I have not always taken that initial step further to my benefit. Perhaps I need to pursue deeper insight from others on similar levels as Mrs. Baer.

Adjectives:

-Prudence
-Conspicuous
-Agog

Day 12

The class was asked to voice our opinions on the progress of Art 220: Concept Development. We were asked how the course outline could be improved, what needs to be changed, and about anything else that needs to be implemented to clarify any vague or broad requests that are asked upon the students work. Many students stated that they were often confused when given the instructions of particular assignments.

One by one, we gave a progress report that included what we valued highest and what we pretty much wish was ommitted from the course entirely. Several students mentioned that they were highly disinterested in carrying out the apple-drawing assignment, mostly due to the high quantity demanded from us. Others mentioned certain activites the class got to do such as bringing in games or watching different films. The rest of us expressed our digustedness in what we felt were flaws in the course. And since this is the very first time this course is being taught, we were told that there is little-to-nothing substantial that can be done to address our concerns regarding the disparity between the units to be earned and the length of class. However, future students may be fortunate to take advantage of such improvements of the course. Regardless, I'm glad this discussion was brought upon us and it is nice to know that our opinions are valued from time to time.

Adjectives:
-Asseverate
-Solemnly
-Berate

Day 11

Each student was to bring in twenty rough sketches depicting concepts of a game or of different types of games. Most of my classmates did this very well and some even received some high praise for their creativity. This activity was to further prepare us in event that we do find work in the field of graphic design where we will have to develop concepts through our sketches for almost everything we design. I thought the assignment was a good test of creativity. However, it was a lot to take in listening to the concepts of each and every idea from every student, especially the ones who decided to come up with twenty different games. That has a lot more to do with our huge class size though.

Adjectives: 

-Forfend

-Delectable

-Ulterior

Day 10

For the game that we brought in to play, we were asked to bring in our interpretation of what the game developers' thought process was pertaining to the objective and strategies of their game. Since I played Scrabble, I had to lay out my mind-mapping idea on a piece of paper that included my interpretation of the successful board game. All of our mind-maps were posted on the wall for everyone else to see. There were lots of creative interpretations of many different games. It was interesting to see what everyone else came up with.
Afterwards, we viewed a few interesting speakers in action including Tony Robbins and Elizabeth Gilbert, two prominent individuals known to inspire their audiences. We went a little in depth about "briefs" and other aspects of the graphic design field, like the workplace and some noteable graphic designers who have or will be speaking at our campus. I felt that this was the most informative class session and gained some insightful knowledge of things I look to experience in the near future.


Adjectives:

Sterile

Blatant

Extravagant

Day 9

For today, we were all asked to bring in some sort of game we could all share with the class. We were to all split up into small groups to share a game-playing experience with. I brought the game Scrabble to share with my classmates as three others decided to join me. I personally haven't played the game since I was very young. I thought it was fun to experience this crossword adventure once again. I actually enjoyed it as I also found it challenging, competing against some very formidable players. I loved doing crossword puzzles during grade school and am really surprised that I don't play this game much more often. Although I ended up losing, I'm glad we got to engage in game-playing activities on this particular class day. Afterwards, we were asked to identify possible motives to inventing this game as well as recognize the key aspects of the game on a mind-mapping activity.

Adjectives:
Demure - shy and modest

Barren  - sterile/ dull

Apotheosis - the ideal example

Day 8

The class viewed a film called Powers of 10. The filmed was produced in 1968 by Ray Eames and her husband Charles. Both of these two made significant contributions to the field of design. The film depicted the universe scaled in factors of ten. We also watched "Why Man Creates" by Saul Bass (Bass & Associates). I found this film much more appealing and interesting. It focused on the creative process and different approaches taken to that process in many different areas of life. I found it very tasteful and innovating for its time. Shortly after, we presented our homework. Our task was to find three 8x11 pictures and to make a story out of those images. I could have done better with my selection of images, but I think the class, overall, did much better.

Adjectives:
- Efficacy
- Restrictionsim
- Autonomously
-

Day 7

The class split up in two groups to expediate the process of presenting our homework. It was closely related to our work of last week's when we needed to find ten phrases that shifted the meaning of a particular simple image. The objective of our homework this week was inversely related as we were to choose some sort of phrase and then find ten different pictures to shift its meaning.
Afterwards, we formed several small groups to develop a short story. We were all given about 10-15 minutes to create this story, but it had to include random items in our personal possesion. In my recollection, my group pulled out a cell phone, wallet, Pepsi bottle, backpack, some mints, and other things of that nature. In the end, we couldn't make out much of a story (a good one at least). However, we at least showed that we were capable of reaching a deadline.

Adjectives:

-Purview
-Purulent
-Pursy

Day 6

Just like the previous class session, we performed the same concept development task. We were to individually select a simple image and change its meaning and interpret it differently ten different times for homework. Once class had begun, we all individually presented our interpretations of a simple image.

Afterwards, we watched a live taping of Sir Ken Robinson, a British author, giving a speech at UCLA.  I believe that taping was presented to us because of his ability to reach out and academically entertain his audience. His words are motivating and more importantly a reinforcement to those of us who have already discovered our career path. His speech was about how finding our passion can change everything. His words were encouraging, but I didn't really find them innovating or new. Just about everything he touched on was told to me by someone else at some point in time. I think I would have appreciated this particular speech even more had I heard it several years ago as I was preparing to go to college. Nontheless, a great delivery.

Adjectives:

-Clause

-Entity

-Pseudonym

Day 5

The class formed several groups of about five people each. The class lecture related to the practice of concept development. The objective of each group was to choose one simple image (plain, without text) out of several pictures and collectively change the meaning of that simple image ten different times . For example, if we were to choose an image of an apple we wouldn't be able to call it sweet or round. If we were successful with our terms, we were praised. Those of us who could not correctly carry out the task were asked to think further outside the box.

Adjectives:
Insulating - A method of entrapping warmth

Dysplasia - a term that refers to an abnormality in maturation of cells within a tissue

Neuropsychology - studies the structure and function of the brain related to specific psychological processes and overt behaviors

Day 4

Mr. Jimmy Moss presented to us a film called "Dreams." The film was directed by Akira Kurosawa, a prominent Japanese film producer who is regarded as one of the most important figures in film making history. I believe this film was shown to us for its conceptual relevance to our class. Kurosawa displayed various segments of visual communication that may highly influence us to strengthen our foundation for critical thinking in the field of graphic design. 
Each segment, or dream, of the film provided significant themes and imagery. The second dream, "The Peach Orchard," stood out more to me due to its story. It had a theme that had don't mess with mother nature written all over it. It was about a doll festival that occurs annually in the spring time as peach blossoms are blooming to the fullest. This time around, a boy's family has cut down these peach trees, which are metaphoric representations of the trees that are supposed to be displayed. The boy is led to the orchard by an unfamiliar face to learn of the negative repercussions his family has caused. Here he runs into lively dolls where the trees would be. They end up  criticizing and verbally attacking him for what he's done, bringing about a sorrowful revelation in which he realizes how much he had loved the trees. The dolls bestow sympathy upon the boy by blessing him with a dance from the doll festival.
The dream reminded me of our present day environment in which deforestation is occurring globally. I am not a proactive go green activist, but i am an enthusiast. I like seeing nature in its healthiest form as I do find smog and decapitated wood to be an unpleasant sight. I guess it hits home to me coming from the 32nd state where the grass is definitely greener and the air is cleaner. 


Adjectives:
Melancholic - sign of depression
Abated - to reduce in amount or diminish
Platoon - a military unit consisting of two or more squads

Day 3

On Monday, the class focused on "mind mapping." Mr. Jimmy Moss showed us thorough examples through a slideshow of how others have used plans to create a process in which preparations are needed for specific events such as how to prepare for college and things of that nature. It can most certainly be referred to as a blueprint that can help us explore all aspects of a particular matter utilizing our minds as part of the creative thought process. I believe almost every mind mapping process can succeed as long as one knows what s/he wants, what is necessary to make it happen, and what can be achieved by all this.

Mind mapping can be very useful as we proceed to explore every facet of ART 220 and our remaining tenure on campus. Although we don't put it down on paper, we all venture in performing some kind of mind mapping daily and regularly without even realizing it. It's all part of planning and scheduling.

-Sidereal time: a way for astronomers to keep track of the direction in which their telescopes need to be pointed to view any given star in the night sky

-Cache: a collection of data duplicating original values stored elsewhere or computed earlier, where the original data is expensive to find

-HTML: Hyper Text Mark-up Language

9/30: 2nd Day of Instruction

We talked about concepts, ideas, and inventions. They all imply the same meaning: A thought that can apply to reality to benefit the everyday needs of mankind such as time. The 24 hour concept of time has immensely contributed to our efficiency of getting us where we need to be and when we need to be there - like getting to class on time. Additionally, time also lets my instructor know when I am late to class, utilizing time as a reference point as part of a class agenda.

We briefly discussed iphones. Mr. Moss concluded that they're terrible phones. I agree! I've always been a Blackberry user to my benefit. Phones, more precisely "smartphones," today provide very convenient applications that help us get around. Another brief topic of discussion included the great Albert Einstein. I knew he was German and I knew he was a scientist. But, I didn't know he was autistic. After all the contributions he made, it makes me feel like I am only using 10% of his 10% brainpower, probably less.

Mr. Moss talked about a position he used to hold as a creative director. He sucked playing ball, but he was great at inhibiting creativity from his team of designers. However, he got bored of that and now seems happily geared toward his teaching profession here at CSULA as he guides us in our experiential journey.

Notes:

-Colors are mood changers

-Mr. Moss was the only one in our classroom to watch the movie "Twilight"

-Visual evidence differs from interpretation

First Day of ART 220

Today Mr. Jimmy Moss introduced me to a brand new course incorporated in the new graphic design option: Concept Development. Since it is being taught for the first time, students were asked to predict what we would do and learn throughout the course. We all shared our thoughts on this with each other during this time. We would then go through a thorough run-through of the course syllabus where we would learn that this course was laid out to be the foundation for critical design thinking as we approach our other upper-division courses.

Some key objectives for us to prepare for as we proceed were to start up an online blog to record our periodic endeavors of Art 220 with at least one post per class. All students were given an apple to take home so that we could depict a different representation of the same apple until the end of the quarter. Obviously tedious, Mr. Moss said he got the idea from a previous teacher of his back in the day. He said that he had to do the same thing every day for a semester - it didn't make me feel any better.

After thoughts...

I wonder why students only receive 3 units of credit for this course when we are required to spend lecture time, lab time, and online time participating in this course. In addition to that, we were told we need to attend AIGA events on top of that even if we're already scheduled to work at our jobs need to get by. Mr. Moss did say that he came up with this course, which is why I found it interesting that it isn't at least 4 units of credit. Many of us students who do attend Cal State-LA receive financial aid. Those of us who do need at least 12 units to receive the full amount of aid offered to us. Additionally, many of us are unable to be on campus for more than 12 units because we work multiple jobs while attending school full-time such as myself.

In my experience registering for this quarter, I found myself stuck at 11 units even though I would already be spending more time on campus than I did last spring when I was registered for 12 units. Beginning this fall, many kinesiology courses were cut while enrollment capacity for the remaining courses were reduced, most of which are 1 unit that students usually can use to fulfill their full-time requirement when needed. I was not able to register for a Kinesiology course this fall. Nevertheless, Mr. Moss did take the time to discuss his pay-cut as far as the newly required furloughs go along with 2 days off of work. However, the syllabus tells us he is not going to miss any days of instruction for Art 220, which would have highly benefited those of us who work full-time and whom are already attending campus more than we need to.

By the way, I am also taking Art 181. This course requires lab time and lecture time while only providing 3 units of credit. My instructor for this course says it was also created by.... Mr. Jimmy Moss.