July 11, 2018
Curiosity, hard work, and finding a passion: my path to web design
Since I am newly graduated and feeling extra reminiscent of my time at school, I thought it would be fun to share the story of how I got into my field. Below is a condensed timeline of how I found my fit in web and user experience design:
Pre-college years
As a kid, I loved playing with software and computers, and as the son of a professional photographer, I have early memories of art and technology. I didn’t consider myself very creative growing up, but I truly admired art and design, and frequent visits to my dad’s studio made me enthusiastic about the creative industry. In high school, it was clear to me that I wanted to pursue a career that would mix my creative and technical abilities, so going to college for graphic design was a no-brainer (although my family was a bit skeptical at first).
Adventures in art school
I enrolled at The University of Akron and began taking art classes in my first semester. In their design program, the first year is dedicated to a foundations curriculum, so my courses included things like drawing, 2D, and 3D design. These courses helped push me in significant ways and made it much easier to transition to my actual design classes, where idea generation, concept development, and process were vital. I liked how well-rounded the curriculum was, and I enjoyed learning from my instructors, but it wasn’t until my first web design class that I really dove into my passions.
Web I
Learning to code felt like magic to me. Going into my first web design class, I was very excited and a little bit nervous, since I knew this could be something I would really enjoy, but also challenging at the same time. But it turns out when you’re driven to something, and nothing can pull you away from it, actually learning the material and practicing it is no hard work at all. I threw myself into web and loved the class for making me think more critically about design, the satisfaction I gained from creative problem-solving, and the foundation skills I learned from coding basic HTML and CSS.
Web II and onwards
Once I found out how much I loved web design and coding, everything else I was doing seemed to benefit from it. I began studying graphic design in closer detail, researching other artists and designers, and working more diligently and thoughtfully on classwork. My work improved considerably during this time, and I started genuinely enjoying my education. Later classes like Web II and Interactivity taught me core principles of user interface and user experience design, things that excite me just as much as, if not more than, web.
The real world (learning doesn’t stop after school)
During my time in college, I was fortunate enough to land an internship doing graphic design work for clients. I also managed the website for my art school which gave me more experience dabbling in code and taught me valuable lessons in communication and working independently/remotely. Now that I’ve graduated and am working a new full-time job, I feel like the learning has just begun. While I can confidently apply the skills I learned during school in my new position, there is infinitely more to understand, many years of growing to do, and so much more to accomplish. While coding websites may not be your fit, it indeed is mine, and I hope this blog post can inspire you to find what excites you in the design field.
Design Education
Web Design
June 21, 2018
The Layouts of Tomorrow
Extraordinary examples of what is possible in layout and animation in web design. With new tools like CSS Grid and other front-end techniques, it is an exciting time to be designing for the web!
Web Design
June 10, 2018
serpentwithfeet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7VtBSanue
Absolutely digging the new debut album by Josiah Wise (“serpentwithfeet”), soil. It’s a beautiful record packed with songs about love, filtered through the artist’s upbringing as a black choirboy in church as well as his gay identity.
His music is tender and filled with awe, and the sounds—which can be described as a fusion between R&B and gospel—are overlaid with Wise’s gorgeous, fluttering vocals.
soil was released two days ago, but it’s already becoming a new favorite of mine. Some standout tracks on the album include “whisper,” “wrong tree,” and “bless ur heart.” At times, the album feels theatrical even! Overall, it’s an excellent debut album crafted with powerful self-expression that demands the listener’s focus.
New Music
June 10, 2018
Frank Chimero on design criticism
This is an exceptional list of tips & techniques for productive design criticism by Frank Chimero. I learned some of these points in practice in design school, but it’s helpful to remind ourselves of smart ways to conduct and respond to critique, primarily when working in a team.
Art
Community
Creativity
Writing
June 4, 2018
2018 Logo Trends
Interesting report on emerging trends in logo design for this year: “The key takeaway from this is not to imitate, but to find a way to push these ideas forward and make them your own.”
Branding
May 17, 2018
Thoughts on Beach House - ’7’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eBDrE25ec?rel=
Beach House’s latest album, 7, is the first release of this year that I’ve really loved to listen to. In its entirety—the songs, the album art, the packaging, and the music video so far—it really feels like a cohesive experience to behold. Musically, the band has reached new ground, maintaining the fantastic vocals and layering guitars from past albums, but also introducing heavy shoegaze influence and a darker tone.
This moody palette is not only prominent on the album’s songs but the visuals, too. The video for “Dark Spring,” the album’s opener, feels like a perfect fit for the song’s atmosphere. In the video, the song’s dreamy guitar riffs, booming drums, and soft, light vocals are paired with beautiful textures, like a snowy nighttime street scene and an eerie, old home filled with pulsing lights and smoke.
The range of styles on 7 is also stunning. “Pay No Mind” feels like a perfect summer festival song, with its churning guitars and satisfying drum kicks. While the song has a slower pace than many others on the album, it is delightfully interesting to listen to. There are lots of other surprises on the album that make for that next level of interest: echoey whistles on “L’Inconnue” (where Victoria Legrand sings in French), to the mesmerizing rhythm of the synthesizer on “Black Car”, and finally, the nostalgic tone of the piano notes in “Last Ride”.
The album cover for 7 bears considerable resemblance to the new music. The grungy collage of black-and-white textures along with holographic foil seem to match the album’s standout aspects very well—musical sensory overload, with the variety of instruments and sounds, and a quiet, shining introspective quality.
I’m looking forward to the many, many repeat listens this album will provide in the coming months and years.
New Music