On Monday 2/10, we got some great advice about resumes from Mary Claire Dismukes, who is Assistant Director at SJU’s Career Center. If you missed it or want to review her tips, here is a PDF of her PowerPoint slides: Resume Writing Comm 2015.
Career Fair week starts on 2/16! Here is a schedule.
I haven’t emphasized this in class at all because I didn’t know if it would become a problem and I don’t want to assume bad will in anyone.
But…
it’s become clear that many of you are using outside graphics (vector packs and/or icons) in your work for class. If I give you an assignment and I am assessing your level of skill with a particular software program and design language, I expect that I am assessing your work and not someone else’s. So, if you give me something that relies on another person’s graphics, I am assessing partially you and partially that other person. By my standards, that is plagiarism. SJU defines it as:
using information, ideas or language of another without proper citation, attribution, or acknowledgment of its source.
If you download other people’s work (graphics, photographs, outlines, vector packs, etc.) from the internet and use it in an assignment you submit to me with no attribution or acknowledgement of your source, that is plagiarism. It is the same thing as copying a paragraph from the internet and pasting it into your paper with no citation. At the very least, you need to include a note on Blackboard to say “I used sources from xyz website.” Even better, I expect that you would verify the license of your sources — they should be licensed (under Creative Commons or something else) for modification. And even better make your own graphics! You worked through Chapters 1-3 in Foundations — why not put those skills to use? You are reading about layout in White Space — why not practice with an original layout instead of downloading an InDesign template from the internet?
In short, avoid using other people’s graphics unless the assignment tells you to. Keep your designs simple and within your skill range. And if you do use other people’s stuff, you have to cite your sources.
Working in small groups, write thorough critiques for your group members. Please begin with the person to your right. Post your critique in the thread where the resume was posted. Feel free to talk or ask each other questions about the project as you work on critiques. In your comments, be helpful and caring — not “nice.”
Describe how your eye moves across the page. Does this document help you navigate it? You might comment on:
Focal point: What one thing seems most important on the page?
Arrangement: Does the design have clear sections/groupings and ample white space? If some sections are isolated on the page or in different formatting, is it clear why these sections are different? Does the arrangement make you feel cramped or lost in space, or does it feel just right?
Flow: Do you know where to look to find important information? Does the document guide you through it? Or does your eye jump around and get lost in clutter?
Offer suggestions for improving visual hierarchy through different fonts, font weights, spacing, color, alignment, positioning, etc.
Describe your impression of the overall look of the document. You might comment on:
Repetition: What elements (such as graphics, headline styles, icons, or bullets) are repeated on the page? Do any elements seem to stick out unintentionally from the pattern?
Typography: Do fonts look like they belong together? Do any fonts seem unnecessarily decorative or too dissimilar?
Color: Are the colors harmonious and cohesive? Are accent colors used as actual accents, or do they appear as often as black text?
Offer suggestions for improving visual unity through different fonts, font weights, spacing, color, alignment, positioning, etc.
Is all text readable? Would any font or color choices make the text hard to read for someone who is color blind or eye-strained?
Is the resume visually interesting and eye-catching, or is it just there? What design elements stand out? What’s memorable or striking about this document?
What does the design of the document (not the content) say about the designer’s personality, strengths, and/or background?
Does the resume’s content help you quickly learn what this person has to offer and what his or her strengths are?
Are there areas that seem too verbose or too vague to be understood by a stranger?
Do you notice any typos or inconsistent punctuation?
Props to Sam F. for bringing this event to my attention. I wanted to share it, as it looks like it would be valuable to COM majors who are juniors or seniors.
Hear from professionals in advertising, marketing, communications, PR, and design at an interactive panel discussion and networking event. FREE–exclusively for students. Meet and hear advice about how to get a job and be successful in the industry from professionals from:
LevLane, Tierney, Brian Communications, Comcast, Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board, Greater Media PhiladelphiaTuesday, February 10
La Salle University, 6:30 – 8:15 p.m.
Registration required. Also Philly Ad Club is on Twitter — might be worth a follow.
I received an email from Laura Crispin (Assistant Professor of Economics) about an upcoming event and I thought I would share:
Just wanted to promote an upcoming event that I’m participating in! It’s called “Play Like A Girl” and will be a panel of women discussing the importance of sports for women and girls. There will be an impressive line-up of panelists including several executives from the Eagles and Phillies, along with several faculty and the women’s lacrosse coach. The panel will run from 5:30-6:45pm on Wednesday 2/4 in the Hagan Arena Hall of Fame. All attendees get a free ticket to the women’s basketball game that follows! Hope you can make it!
Another faculty member in the Communication Studies department, Andy Famiglietti, will be offering open lab sessions for students in COM courses. You can go and just use the laptops or get help with projects or a troublesome technical issue during these sessions.
Here’s the schedule:
Wednesdays, 2:30-3:30 in MH 150
Thursdays, 11:00-12:00 (except for 2/12, 3/5, 4/2, 5/7 when we have department meetings) in MH 174
These are drop-in, come-and-go sessions — no sign-up required.
I need to cut my office hours short on Monday 2/2. Normally I am here from 1-4, but I will be leaving the office by 2:15 on Monday. Feel free to make an appointment for some other time this week.
In addition to the assigned reading on layout, please complete a very short homework assignment that will introduce you to InDesign. Create a mock business card by working through this Adobe InDesign tutorial. You do not need to create the logo shown for this assignment. You can download the completed .ai logo by clicking “Get files” near the top of the page. Focus on the final three videos to complete this homework: “Start laying out the business card,” “Add your logo to the business card,” and “Grab attention by adding color.” You can use your own name and address (or not) for the business card. Upload your final business card in Blackboard as a PDF file following the instructions in the final video.
In addition to the assigned reading on layout, go through one of two Adobe tutorials on creating a resume in InDesign. This is not technically “homework” and I won’t ask you to submit anything. Use the tutorials to learn the basics of how you can set up your resume. There is a video tutorial (10 min.) and a text/image tutorial. Both come with work files.
1. Here is the video-based tutorial.
Note: Click “download sample files” to work through this tutorial at home.I found it really useful and clear. Look out for the awesome trick of applying header formatting with the eyedropper tool. There is a separate video about creating a personal logo.
2. Here is the text/image-based tutorial.
Note: Click “get files” to work through this tutorial at home. If you have an older version of Adobe Creative Suite or Adobe CC, you will need to have a compatible version of the InDesign work file for this tutorial. Click this link to download the compatible .idml file. Then move the file into the “create-resume” folder.
A first draft of your visual resume project is due. If your logo is not complete yet, include sketches to give a sense of what it will look like. We will use class time to write critiques and discuss the drafts in small groups. If you miss class today, you will have to complete critiques later, on your own, on Blackboard. If you do not complete any critiques, it will affect the grade of the whole project.
The colors you choose for your badges (and for every design!) should never be arbitrary in the final version.
Make your color palette communicate with purpose. (White Space pg. 131)
Consider not only what colors create harmony and impact, but also what colors might evoke particular feelings and associations in the minds of your audience members.
In marketing, there is endless research on how color affects consumer choices. One study found that “85% of consumers base buying decisions on color.” Needless to say, color is a crucial concept for visual communicators. However, it is also our responsibility to consider the ways that color is socially constructed to mean different things to different cultures. For example, White Space mentions that white is the color of mourning in some Asian countries. We could also think critically about the ethics of black’s association with evil and mystery, particularly in contrast to white’s connotation of purity and innocence. Recall that Darren Wilson testified that Michael Brown looked like a “demon.” And what about pink’s association with weakness and femininity? Sometimes your designs might reflect cultural norms, but make sure it is a conscious choice and not a caustic stereotype guiding you.
You are designing images for the web and not for print. Which color profile do you use?
Remember that print is best with CMYK while computer screens are best with RGB. Although RGB has many more color variants than CMYK (approximately 15 million more), there are only 216 web-safe RGB colors currently.
What color profile did this designer choose? In other words, what is the relationship between the colors in her design?
Help with harmony:
Color can provide unity and coherence in the design of your badges. Whether you choose an earthy palette, a high-contrast high-saturation scheme, or more subdued and simple tones, you should have a plan and a purpose in your color choices.
Today in class:
Use Adobe Color CC to create a few color themes that you might want to use for your badges mini project. Make sure you are signed in using the Adobe ID that you created when you purchased Creative Cloud. If you don’t have an Adobe ID, you can create one and use Adobe Color for free.
So does kerning… RT @TrishWolfe: Fonts matter pic.twitter.com/dWgPCytGhN
— Lisa Hendrix (@LisaHendrix) December 22, 2014
Things like fonts and kerning might not seem very relevant to the digital badges mini project, but typography is an important tool in your “visual rhetoric” toolbox and it will be crucial for your visual resume. One way to think of rhetoric is “directing the audience’s attention.” As Wysocki and Lynch write in Compose Design Advocate, “Because we see where we focus our eyes, seeing is very much about attention” (256). (But if we focus too hard on one thing, we stop paying attention.). When you make something visual, whether it’s a digital badge or a page layout, “you work to draw your audience’s eyes – and hence their attention and thinking – through your presentation in a certain order” (Wysocki and Lynch 256). You work to get them to do something or feel something or have a particular experience.
Given what we’ve done and read in class so far, these guidelines from Wysocki and Lynch make sense as a simple way for thinking about effective design:
Remember to consider your audience. Some fonts are better for people who are older or for people who have dyslexia (e.g. comic sans).
How can you create hierarchy and unity through typefaces?
Today in class:
Throughout this week, start pinning or tumbling examples of type and color that inspire you. This Pinterest board is an awesome place to start.