APAHM Tour feat. Jay Park was amazing! Got to see some of the greatest Asian performers and personalities, as well as a new favorite: Jay Park, AJ Rafael, Dumbfoundead, KevJumba and DJ KHo. Also bought AJ’s Red Roses CD and got it signed.
Fantastic Sunday! :)
This actually started out pretty badly; the lineart was hideous.
But after hard hours of coloring, finessing, and adding textures, it formed into this: one of the many reasons why you should buy the upcoming Global issue of FIDM’s MODE magazine.
Last Thursday, Secretaries Bebe Palagab (3rd quarter Graphic Design major) and Angelica Villegas (3rd quarter Graphic Design major) took the opportunity to tour the Santa Monica office of SapientNitro, a studio of a different variety.
Despite having 10,000 employees in offices worldwide, these creative professionals don’t structure themselves in suits, ties, and the corporate drabness. Instead, they define themselves as “Idea Engineers” and emphasize the values of openness, communication, and relationships. Those values are definitely reflected in the vibe of their office and employees.
Upon walking into the front desk area, one is immediately enveloped in a modern, sleek, yet intimate environment; the lower-lit ambiance, touchscreen tabletop, and friendly receptionist — all elements that create a very welcoming, yet professional vibe. However, this ambiance experiences a dramatic shift when one enters the inner sanctum of their office: the cubicles of the designers.
Open cubicles, colorful paper lanterns dangling from the ceiling, piñatas, toys, witty posters stuck all over the walls, inspirational messages, an official office dance square: it was a flamboyant expression of the designers’ artistic nature. It was, in a nutshell, the perfect creative professional playground.
The SapientNitro tour was inspirational, well arranged, and redefined the idea of a creative solutions studio. Thank you SapientNitro Santa Monica and AIGA Los Angeles for setting this up and allowing students to meet with the professionals that we are studying to become!
This was honestly the most inspiring tour i’ve ever been on. I want to work for them and bask in that creative environment. Thanks SapientNitro and AIGA LA for making it possible for students like me to learn more about the profession I’m working towards!
fidm:
Last Saturday, I spent the evening at the Los Angeles A+D (Architecture and Design) Museum next to LACMA to catch the opening reception of EMERGE, an exhibition featuring the work of Graphic Design students and American Institute of Graphic Design members (AIGA) from the Greater Los Angeles area. Pieces by students from institutions such as Art Center College of Design, Cal Poly Pomona, California State University Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University, Otis College of Art and Design, UCLA Extension, University of Southern California, and our very own Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising were showcased in this collection of work from emerging designers.
I met up at the gallery with Bebe Palagab (3rd quarter, Graphic Design major), Secretary of The Red Dot, Marianna Holguin (6th quarter, Graphic Design major), president of The Red Dot and EMERGE participant, Mani O’Brien, FIDM Digital Arts Blog writer, Chad Lowe, FIDM Graphic Design alumnus, and René Quintanilla, AIGA Los Angeles Assistant Programming Chair and FIDM Annex Lab Assistant — all who came out to support the students whose work made it in.
It was a very successful event that showed the talents and skills of the coming generation of designers. Congratulations to Graphic Design students Nicole Antonian (6th quarter), Sam Arias (6th quarter), Marianna Holguin (6th quarter), and Jessica Threde (6th quarter) for being featured at EMERGE 2012!
For more information on how to join The Red Dot, FIDM’s student AIGA group for Digital Media and Graphic Design students and participate in exciting events like these, contact the president, Marianna Holguin (mholguin@us.fidm.edu)!
Stressed? That doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Lately, it feels like I’ve been doing everything — everywhere — all at once.
Trying to finish, finalize, and finesse all of my projects for class, part-time jobs, getting financial aid in order, preparing to ascend presidency over the AIGA group, illustrating for the Mode, accepting a director position for the FIDM Student Showcase, trying to find a new apartment before our lease expires in the middle of Finals week: it’s an understatement to say that i’ve been a bit busy as of late.
But, as I walk home every day and look at the living, breathing, teeming city life around me, I remember: it is exactly in these trying times, that it is the most important to realize how truly blessed I am.
I live in one of the most beautiful cities in America. I go to a private college studying how to be exactly what I want to be professionally. I know what I want. I’m employed. I have the privilege to take part in all of these organizations. I am a leader in my community. I have enough means to buy what I need. I blink. I breathe. I wake up in the morning.
There are so many things to be grateful for; why should I stress myself out and lose the charm of what I’m doing in all those (eventually) inconsequential details?
It’s sad to realize that we’re oftentimes too absorbed in our destination that we forget to appreciate and savor the journey. It is through those hardships and tribulations that we strengthen our character, our mindsets, and our dreams. We must always remember to express our gratitude for the blessings that we have received, earned, and achieved.
Thank you FIDM, for all of the opportunities and trials that you’ve thrown at me. I’ve grown immeasurably in the past 8 months of traversing your hallways and squeezing into your elevators; I can never quite fully articulate how much being here has impacted my life for the better. I’m looking forward to the designer that I’ll become after just one more year.
“Count your blessings and not your misfortunes.” Always and forever.
I’m taking the class right now and if you want my honest, thorough opinion, message me off anon so I can reply privately. I don’t have a lot of great things to say and I don’t want to offend anyone who might read this. But I will say this — least favorable class I’ve taken at FIDM.
You can take as many classes from whichever major you so choose. You could probably take Fashion Illustration if you wanted. FIDM doesn’t really care as long as you pay, haha. I was also planning on taking an Entertainment class during my last quarter because it’s the only school that offers a specialized track for it. Just keep in mind that taking extra classes will not be reflected in your degree — unless you finish that track. In any case, you would still have to talk to Steve Reaves, the Graphic Design Department chair to get that all settled.
Hope this helps! :)
Hello and congratulations!
I wish I could tell you more about classes, but we really won’t have many in common aside from a few general ed classes, and that wouldn’t be the bulk of your concern. Some classes that you will probably have to take are Color and Design Theory (where you learn about colors, combinations, and the basics of its application), Effective Speaking (where you learn how to speak professionally and give a presentation), and Survey of Western Art (where you learn about major art movements — basically a history class.) Difficulty depends on the teacher and how well you manage your time, so, as with all classes, make sure that you make time for studying and homework so that you don’t fall behind. Even if they’re only GE classes, they still affect your grades, so don’t slack off!
At school, we have a lot of student organizations that would interest you, such as Student Council (they make decisions to benefit the school and set up events), Phi Theta Kappa (a national honor society with GPA and community service requirements), and MODE magazine (a student-run lifestyle and fashion magazine). There will be a club rush sort of event during your first few days that will enable you to find out about all of the clubs on campus and sign up.
FIDM has extremely benefitted me — but I had to grab the opportunities. That’s a main problem with most students actually, they complain that FIDM isn’t doing what they said they would in terms of providing us with all of these opportunities; however, those same students just sit at home and don’t actively search for them. If you want to get all that you can from FIDM, you must take the initiative to search for them. I have taken so many opportunities that, in a nutshell, FIDM pays me to attend school. Don’t sit idly and let those chances go to waste!
Hope this helps! :)
No it’s all good, there weren’t many graphic design blogs I could have asked prior to applying and I would have loved to have gotten all this information back then. Not that it would have affected my choice, really, but yeah. :)
That’s a difficult question to answer because, as you know, there are way more variables to account for. For example, if you’re interested in applying for an entertainment advertising firm like Petrol Advertising, it would be more beneficial to take Entertainment. However, if you were interested in working for a Magazine Publication company, branding would be the better option. It honestly really just depends on where you want to be post-FIDM. Video game/movie advertising is more Entertainment, whereas Packaging, Corporate Identity, Publication/Logo Design is more Branding.
The thing that most people forget about Graphic Design is that it’s extremely versatile. It is probably the most versatile major that FIDM offers, in the sense that you can go into any industry with a Graphic Design degree.
If you’re talking about getting a job in a general sense, you should concern yourself more with honing your networking, interview, time management and overall design skills.
Hope this helps! :)
I found the tests to be ridiculously easy — to the point where it’s almost a joke. I’m sure that you will too. I tested out of both with perfect scores.
The math test is about 30 questions and is similar to something you’d see in a 5th grade standardized test. The questions are word problems and go something like “Sally has 3 yards of fabric. If she buys 30% more, how much fabric does Sally have?” In addition, you have access to a calculator AND it’s multiple-choice…it’s pretty much impossible to fail. I finished it within 10 minutes. If there’s any studying to be done, I would suggest just brushing up on your fractions, ratios, and percents. If you’re really worried, ask for a study packet; they provide them usually, but if they don’t offer you one, ask.
The english test is also something out of a 5th grade standardized test. They’re also 30 questions and multiple choice. It asks you for the best word to fill in the blank with, if there are any mistakes in a sentence — stuff like that. Easy.
However, (I don’t know how accurate this is or not) my roommates from first quarter were under the belief that if you take the test during orientation or a few days of the start of the quarter, you may be forced to take it despite your score. I took the test a few weeks earlier at another campus (San Diego) NOT Los Angeles, where I am currently attending. My roommate and suspiciously everyone I know who took the test during orientation were stuck with math and english; they say it might have to do with some kind of quota or something, but again, I don’t know.
Hope this helps! :)
