Life on the Outside...

...is very relaxing. I still don't think it's quite hit me yet that I've graduated. I'm both excited and nervous about my next step, but I really have no idea what to expect now out in the "real world." What I do have is a GREAT portfolio and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. I also have an interview with a packaging and branding firm in New York City and several more leads from the portfolio show at Lubin House! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I decided to move back home after graduation, so I'm living in PA for the time being. Despite being a different state, it's actually easier for me to get to NYC from here than from my apartment in Syracuse. It's been very nice to be back, but it's also been difficult staying motivated about personal goals, and I'm getting rather antsy. Luckily, a few fellow CMD-ers asked me to start up a design + life blog with them about our experiences as new graduates (I think everyone's itching for something to do now that we don't have CommDesign). Hopefully it'll be up within the next week and I can post the link for you :-)

Be sure you can expect plenty more from me in the future, so keep checking out my portfolio work at www.jessgaito.com for projects and updates!

Yours In-Design,

Jess

Passing the Torch

This past Wednesday, Sam (my good friend & partner in crime) and I turned over the reins of SU's AIGA club to a new executive board. It was time. However, feeling the withdrawal, Sam suggested that we start our own design blog about what it's like to transition from a student to professional designer. The goal is to update once a day (sadly I've been a little lax in this), and we have some interesting topics lined up.

Check us out:
Design In Progress

Love

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

AIGA TSHIRT COMPETITION

AIGA was able to stay active over the Thanksgiving break by hosting a T-shirt design competition over Thanksgiving break. The majority vote when to this typographic entry, which we will be ordering this week (hopefully) and selling to raise money for the club :-)

I'm thinking navy colored shirts with electric green typography would look super sweet...

In other news, Sam and I will be retiring as Co-presidents after this semester and handing over the reigns to a newly elected president and executive board. It's been a pleasure and a trial trying to rebuild the club and strengthen membership, but hopefully now our successors will really be able to have the support to do something great!

Let the voting commence!

Cool Video

"Handcrafted with love by BYU design students and faculty, for the 5th Typophile Film Festival. A visual typographic feast about the five senses, and how they contribute to and enhance our creativity. Everything in the film is real—no CG effects!

Shot with a RED One, a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, a Canon EOS 40D, and a Nikon D80.
Stop motion created with Dragon Stop Motion."


Sam showed this video as inspiration during our AIGA meeting :-)

Mashing & Monsters

Who: The Warehouse Crew
Where: 4th floor, CoLab
When: Friday the 30th, 6-9pm
Why: Because all the cool kids will be there

Hosted by AIGA and IDSA

I was working in the warehouse late one night
when my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my project from it's place did rise
and suddenly to my surprise

From my table in the warehouse east
to the colab floor where the cool kids feast
the students all came from their studio abodes
to have some fun at the festivities below

They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a Warehouse Smash!
They did the mash
It caught on in a flash
They did the mash
They did the monster mash!
--------------------------------------------------

TICKETS: $3 pre-sold in the warehouse lobby, bug Sam, Jess, or Liz
COSTUMES = A MUST!
Be prepared for a night of old school games, prizes, candy, food, mashing, and of course monsters!Sponsored by AIGA and IDSAGet Halloween off to an EPIC start!

Stephan Sagmeister @ RIT

On Monday, a few members of AIGA made the trek over to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to see Stephan Sagmeister's lecture.

(below: RIT student work for Sagmeister's design
challenge, "touch someone’s heart with design.")

The place was packed, so we got to sit in the aisles, but the good news was that we were super close to the stage :-D

Stefan Sagmeister and Massimo Vignelli

What an exciting year to be in Syracuse for design! Last week, Michael Bierut was here visiting campus, and now Massimo Vignelli is scheduled to speak at SU in late-October! Also, RIT is having Stefan Sagmeister visit their school in three weeks and has invited our AIGA members to RIT for the event!


One of the things I'm most excited about is connecting with other AIGA groups. Albany's AIGA chapter will also be at RIT for the Sagmeister event, and I've extended invitations for RIT and Albany to join us at SU for Massimo Vignelli's lecture. Hopefully this is the start of greater communication and exchange between the chapters; I would love to have a giant portfolio show from the different schools at the end of the year!

Michael Bierut

Last Tuesday, SU's School of Architecture hosted a guest lecture by Michael Bierut, called "My Life as a Font." Unfortunately I was unable to attend, BUT because of my position as Co-President of AIGA, I had the privilege of attending in a special Warehouse luncheon instead! Hopefully, we represented AIGA (and CommDesign) well and didn't embarrass ourselves too much, because for those unfamiliar, Michael Bierut is something of a celebrity/hero to design students.


Blurb from the SU events site:
Michael Bierut, partner at full-spectrum graphic design firm Pentagram in NYC, will lecture. In 2006 Bierut received the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) medal, the profession's highest honor. His work is represented in several permanent collections including MoMA and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in NYC. He currently serves as a director of the Architectural League of NY and of New Yorkers for Parks, and is a senior critic in graphic design at the Yale School of Art.

I think it's safe to say that I wasn't the only student in complete awe, but what really impressed me was how gracious and candid he was with his time and in speaking with us about design. We gave him a small tour of our third floor, and he even signed a poster for us!

I'm still giddy thinking about it.

Later that afternoon, the Warehouse showed "Helvetica," an independent documentary film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. Michael was again a special guest speaker and participated in a Q&A after the movie.

I can't think of a better way to christen the renovated Warehouse!