Reiko's Blog of Absolute Doom.

So you think you can make things huh?

Graphic design of course is a terribly picky field to be in these days, as you know and i wanted to write a bit about this because i used to go to school for it. This is in by no means a bad or good perspective on it. Also this post is completley of my own opinion, and may be torn to bits at people's will.

In this particular post i will be covering:

Good things to try in graphic design
Skills you may want to have before getting a job
Great magazines to subscribe to
The forefathers of our graphic design era (Opinions please!)
Things to watch out for
A few places to check out
A few decent NZ and US schools
Ups and Downs to Graphic Design in the Media

So let's start with the good things to try in Graphic Design!

Making your own wallpaper

This is really good to start out your new found computer design skills, start off with finding your own computer's resolution, find a paint program and start playing around with pasted pictures.. the more advanced you want to go, the better the program should be.

Making you own livejournal/avatars 100x100 or buttons/avatars smaller/bigger

This is even more good, smaller and much easier and harder in many other ways.. you start with your blank canvas and work your way into what you want. (Or you cheat, get a picture, some brushes, photoshop and the crop tool~)

Making your own posters for your room

No i'm not talking about rasterbation here, i'm talking about making posters in about letter or A4 size. Just start with a few pictures, and begin to play!

Making your own greeting cards

Even better! you'll be making christmas and birthday cards in no time! ... well once you figure out how to fold the card correctly without swearing at it!

Skills you may want to have before gatheirng yourself to get a job in Graphic Design

Actual software knowledge (Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator)
Design and Color theory knowledge (Can be self taught, but they like educated people too)
An open mind.

Why do i say an open mind? Because a closed mind isn't going to be able to gather ideas, and focus on the customer's needs.

Some absolutley freaking wonderful magazines to get ahold of despite their prices:

Computer Arts
Photoshop

The rest i'm unsure of their names but a later date i'll grab those for ya if you want :O

FOREFATHERS ASSIGNMENT!!!

I want you, the readers of this blog to comment with your opinion on who is the forefathers of our design era. Do your best!

Things to watch out for:
When you go to school for Graphic Design, you may need to know a bit before you go in.. sometimes lecturers aren't always trained in the field they get thrown in. (You may get one that's expierenced in photography, and knows design by hand but doesn't always know Adobe Flash, or HTML.) But on the other hand this doesn't make them a bad lecturer, or make it right to complain about everything about them. This is experience for you, the student to learn how to teach others so the lecturer isn't doing all the work for you!

People who want a free ride.
(Because a lot of them, want to steal your stuff.)

Cost implications of hardware, software and other things you'll need in the future

The long wait for your education...

And stupid people... because no MATTER WHERE YOU ARE , there they are!

A few places to check out: (OK OK OK A COUPLE!)

www.deviantart.com
www.sheezyart.com

If you are an amateur .. those are the best places to place your work.

Few decent NZ and US Schools:

Art Institutes (All over the US)
University of Minnesota
University of Otago
Otago Polytechnic
Southern Institute of Technology
Rassmussen Business college (I forgot it's new name!)
Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD)
Christchurch Polytechnic
AUT

Ups and Downs to Graphic Design in the Media!

ADVERTISING NOW RULES YOUR WORLD
YOU ARE BOUND BY WHAT YOU SEE
SMELL TASTE AND HEAR
AS A WAY TO PRODUCE DESIGN
AND KEEP THE WORD FLOWING.