Sea of Shoes

Sea of Shoes

So I've been debating going shoe shopping for a few weeks now, and its not because I NEED to go buy new shoes, but because I want different versions of what I already have. I think this is the problem most girls have when it comes to clothes. Its not that we need all of it, but there's always some variation on what we already own and its interesting so we purchase it. And hey, you never know where you might be going that you might need to wear it.

Another reason I want to go shoe shopping is because I now have a 'real' job in which I can wear different types of clothes and outfits, so in the past my clothes have worked for me, but now i find myself not having the right shoes to go with my outfits.

This blog has inspired me to go find a few great pairs of boots and maybe some pumps that I can walk in without feeling like a giant (I am already 5'10") and feel comfortable wearing while walking to work and/or standing up at a bar for a good few hours. All many important things to consider when shoe shopping....so wish me luck! Bout to spend some good hard earned money that I should probably be saving for rent and bills....

Designer//Slash//Model

This website was made and designed by a Digital Kitchen, which is a digital design firm that creates interesting and cutting edge graphics for clients such as BMW, HBO, Discovery Channel, etc.

This particular site is a satirical promo for DK to show their personality and how they take a tongue and cheek look at the world of design.

Take a gander!

Designer//Slash//Model

Designer//slash/model

Love this!

Been a While

Yes, I believe it has been 5 months since my last post. I guess I get caught up in life and don't much feel like posting my ideas out to the world. But I have been keeping myself busy.

I graduated from NCSU in Graphic Design in May, then I began an internship at the North Carolina Theatre in Raleigh in June. This was a great opportunity for me because I love theater, and when I was younger I had the dream of designing for Playbill and this was my chance to design for a theatre company even if it wasn't Playbill. I also had the opportunity to work with some amazing women while meeting great people.

Halfway through this internship I got my first freelance design job and soon after I began a full-time position (non-salary) at a small exhibit design firm downtown, which I am still currently working at.  And also this summer, I traveled a lot of family reasons and now my sister is engaged!!! And now I will begin working on her wedding invitations and save-the-dates. I have also started to participate in AIGA Raleigh, and a friend and myself have begun a Design Collaborative.

So its been crazy, but I love keeping myself busy and I have really appreciated all of the experiences I have had in these past months, they have been invaluable.

Some links to my life:

Where I worked earlier this summer:
http://www.nctheatre.com/theatre/index.html

Where I work now:
www.abrothers.com

Design Stuff I'm Involved In:
http://designpact.blogspot.com/
http://raleigh.aiga.org/
http://www.ncsu.edu/graphicdesign/newcontexts/

Marketing/Design

So as a graphic designer, I know that a huge part of what we do is marketing. We market our ideas through the visuals we create and every aspect of what we do is important to trying to get the consumer to understand what we are trying to say. Furthermore, it is a very relevant conversation that both the marketing and graphic design 'world' need to be having together.

Just as we are becoming globalized, our professions are becoming more interconnected and I believe we have to be more aware and knowledgeable of our surroundings. Yes, this has always been a part of both the marketing and design profession, or at least it should be. But as my professor, Meredith Davis, mentioned in her lecture, "graphic design has a limited history of concern for the cognitive behavior of audiences in terms of research and theoretical perspectives." In the past, many designs were about making things to be beautiful, with less thought of how people receive and process information. However, today we can no longer assume that our audience understands what we are trying to convey. Our designs have to have more substance, more background research, in order to relate and portray our ideas to our target market. There are different learning styles, personality types, and demographics in general that are relative to the design process. This of course is a conversation that has been discussed, but I think more and more the context in which our designs and marketing are placed is becoming more important.

Context defines form and thus in order to create an appropriate form we have to understand its context. And again, because we are a more globalized society, our context is constantly growing, changing and adapting.

It's been a while....

So it has been an embarrassingly long time since I have 'blogged'...so long that I continued to avoid blogging so I could ignore the length of time that has passed. But here I am, deciding that my thoughts are again worthy for the public eye as I apparently have had few for the past five months.

My life in a nutshell up to now.
3 of my friends have gotten engaged (one of which I am a bridesmaid in)
I spent 1 week in Montecristi, Dominican Republic working with Orphanage Outreach
I have taken up spinning class and attempt to go 3x a week
I have 1 l semester left at NC State (the real world is getting too close)
I have moved into a new apartment in Raleigh, NC
It has been exactly 1 year since I studied abroad
I got 1 black cat named Bailey

That about sums it up. My life now consists of trying not to think too much or too hard about the fact that I will need to be getting a job soon. As well as trying to keep up my grades as I take a semester of 18 credit hours, work part time, continue my college activities and try to have a fun time on the side. Hopefully, it won't be another 5 months before I write again...but for now its off to class.