Type T

You can own El Vetica for $20. Thanks, Cristina. That's some good internet shopping.

UCLAx Design Presents: Studio Visit to Chase Design Group

Chase Design Group was founded in 1986 by current Executive Creative Director Margo Chase. Quickly developing a reputation for hand lettering and custom typography, Chase built a core business around brand identity design. As the studio grew it took on larger clients and more complex projects, continuing to win and build strong partnerships. Today, Chase Design Group works with some of the world’s largest brands, providing strategy and design for a variety of categories. Their clients include: ABC, Coca Cola, Madonna, TBWA/Chiat Day, ESPN.

Friday, December 4th at 4pm

Please meet Lutska in front of the building at 3:50pm. No late entries are allowed. Be professional, come on time. Please, don’t bring your portfolios or resumes. This is strictly a studio visit.

2019 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles, 90039. Parking is not provided, but there is plenty of street parking.

Please RSVP by December 2nd to your AIGA Student Group President, Lutksa Mamos at lmamos_aigauclax@yahoo.com. If you RSVP and then can no longer attend, please be considerate and email Lutska with your cancellation.

This event is for students of UCLA Extension's Design Communication Arts Program only. Space is very limited so sign up early; the first 15 students who RSVP will be able to attend.

UCLAx Design Presents: People in Pictures with Robert Gallagher

Poster design by Manut Buapet.

Los Angeles-based editorial and advertising photographer Robert Gallagher shoots athletes, celebrities, world leaders and photo-essays for Time, Sports Illustrated, and many more. Commercial clients include Nike, Pepsi, Reebok, Canon, Kodak and Merrill Lynch. At this event, Robert will talk about his work and inspiration. Go here for examples of Robert’s work. His photography is also archived in the permanent collection of The National Portrait Gallery in London.

8 December 2009 | 7:00 – 10:00 pm

UCLA Extension | 1010 Westwood Center | Room 416

This event is FREE but you must RSVP by December 5th to your student group president, Lutska Mamos, at lmamos_aigauclax@yahoo.com.

Insights into the Creative Hiring Process

Get comfortable with some popcorn and check out this long-ish video on:

- Where creative talent-seekers look for leads on new hires
- What a portfolio can't show
- The dangers of relying too much on a single source of referrals
- How creative teams in large corporations deal with official hiring channels
- Finding the narrative in an applicant's work history and online presence

Congratulations Carolina Marchiori! Our Poster Design Contest Winner

We chose Carolina's series of three posters because they were conceptual, and based on ideas. They're something that you want to look at again and again in order to understand their story. In short, her designs have complexity, interest and a little ambiguity. Graphically they're clean and purposeful and very easy to look at. Way to go Carolina!

Carolina won a free DCA course plus we're going to cover her entrance fees to the HOW Poster Design contest. Wish her luck!

Thank you to all of the students who took time out from their coursework and busy lives to submit their entries. We had a good time reviewing your designs and a difficult time choosing the winner.

It's not too late for you to directly enter the HOW Poster Design Contest too, even though we're finished with the DCA challenge. Their deadline is December 1, 2009.

Top Two Type

It's been a while since I've succumbed to the temptations of alliteration, but there it is.

Currently in the NYT the second most emailed article has to do with typography, when it's right and when it's so wrong. The purists portrayed in this article demonstrate the kind of mind (and eye) you want to have when you're reviewing your own work.

WordPress is Your Web Design Best Friend

Seriously. Check out what Michael J. Newman has done with it (including the website above). He can teach you, too! It goes way beyond what you think it is (a blog template).

Not only is WordPress a fantastic way to get your portfolio online, but it's an industry tool for building websites. Yes, you too can do web design! Really.

And, it's taught in the lab on our fancy new Macs, with a teaching assistant at your side. Here is the course description:

Design and Development for WordPress: Beyond the Blog

Art 4 units

$880

WordPress is a popular tool for designers and developers alike that has grown from an open source blog application to a powerful and extendable publishing platform. The WordPress community has created hundreds of freely available themes that allow you to change the look and feel of a WordPress website with ease. Modifying existing themes and creating custom ones can facilitate rapid development of dynamic websites with stunning graphic design. In this project-based course, students design and develop a dynamic website utilizing WordPress as a CMS. Concepts include WordPress fundamentals, creating custom themes, designing for dynamic websites, website maintenance, and extending WordPress.

Leading you will be Michael J. Newman, a designer who has developed and created original content, brand identities, interactive experiences, and creative solutions for such companies as AT&T, Sundance Channel, Vh1, Nickelodeon, and IFC, for over 12 years. To read more about him, go here.

Registration# V4751B

UCLAx Design Presents: Studio Visit to Sisu, Inc.

Your AIGA student group, UCLAx Design, is planning a visit to Sisu, Inc., an award-winning multidisciplinary design studio that creates technology solutions for web and mobile. Started in 2002, their mission has been to do great work, build long-lasting relationships and have some fun along the way. They apply strategic thinking, design insight and practicality to every project. Their clients include: ABC, eBay, Hallmark Channel, Sony, and Paramount.

When: Monday, November 23rd.

Time: The visit starts at 3 pm. Please meet Lucie in front of the building at 2:50pm. No late entries are allowed. Be professional, come on time. Please, don’t bring your portfolios or resumes. This is strictly a studio visit.

Where: 10950 Washington Blvd., Suite 220, Culver City, 90232
(parking is not provided)

Please RSVP by November 20th to your AIGA Student Group President, Lucie Mamos at lmamos_aigauclax@yahoo.com.

Space is very limited so sign up early. The first 15 students who RSVP will be able to attend. This event is for Design Communication Arts certificate students at UCLA Extension only.

Changes: Dreamweaver I and II Becomes Web Design I, II and III

Image from here

You may have noticed that what was formerly known as Dreamweaver I and II has changed for the winter quarter to Web Design I with Dreamweaver and Web Design II with Dreamweaver. In addition, come spring quarter, there will be a third new course - yes, you guessed it - Web Design III with Dreamweaver.

Since there are so many tools to creating a website, it just made sense for us to represent that in a name change. And, Mitch Gohman, one of our revered web design instructors, took to heart student feedback and his own experience that there was just too much to be covered in two courses. Really, getting a handle on this stuff requires at least three courses (not to mention CSS, WordPress, Flash... and on... and on...)

Come spring, there will also be a new six week CSS2 course online. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Here, is Mitch's explanation to me about how to advise students on what to take, when, especially if you've already taken a couple courses with him. To summarize what's below, if you've already taken DWII with him, take the new Web Design with Dreamweaver II not Web Design with Dreamweaver III.

So:

Dreamweaver I = Web Design I with Dreamweaver

(no changes here - they are identical)

Dreamweaver II = Web Design III with Dreamweaver

(but slightly more in-depth about database design)

Web Design II with Dreamweaver = There is no equivalent

(only semi-review will be of the concepts exploring PHP)

The new Web Design II with Dreamweaver is very different from Dreamweaver II. If someone has taken the current Dreamweaver II they will have PHP exposure, but this will only help them with the rest of the new course (Web Design II with Dreamweaver). If a student took the original Dreamweaver II and then took Web Design III with Dreamweaver, it would be very similar to what they have already taken.

If they have taken the current Dreamweaver I, they should take the new Web Design II with Dreamweaver before they take Web Design III with Dreamweaver.

It's like a if/then quiz to test your analytical skills. Also, if you're a student in the Advanced Web and Interaction Certificate, you're not required to take the new course if you've taken Dreamweaver II within the last two years.

Branding by Suggestion and Rejection

I just read an article in the NY Times about the disastrous (or brilliant) naming (and subsequent renaming) of a new Vegemite product (+ cream cheese) in Australia.

Vegemite iSnack 2.0 anyone? Or would you prefer Cheesybite on your warm toast?

It's a story of branding in the age of intense consumer involvement via social networking. Not that this is an example to lament much about, but I do wonder about the popular vote determining what lives and dies in our society, even in a consumerist context.

Vegemite Contest Draws Protests

Your AIGA Student Group Presents HOW TO

HOW TO:
increase your chance of getting a job
improve your resume & portfolio

Want to know how to increase your chance of getting a job in graphic design and advertising? Want to know how to improve your resume and portfolio so employers will knock on your door? Hear directly from the managing director and the talent director at Syndicatebleu, a creative staffing agency, and learn how you can best compete.

Samantha Brown – Managing Director
Samantha has been representing creative and marketing talent for over 12 years. Samantha launched Syndicatebleu in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, where she currently resides. Before Syndicatebleu, Samantha was an account executive in advertising in Sydney, Australia.

Jesse Farran – Talent Director
Jesse has been a Talent Director at Syndicatebleu since 2006. With nearly ten years of prior experience as an art director in advertising for print and web, Jesse has a keen eye for evaluating talent. He has the ability to decipher subtle differences in any skill set. Now with five years in the creative staffing industry, he continues to build loyal relationships with clients and talent that appreciate the astute, personal approach he brings to the table.

At this event, Samantha and Jesse will review resumes and portfolios if time allows, so be sure to bring yours. This event is targeted for students close to graduating or newly graduated.

You must be registered in order to attend this event. This event is only open to DCA current certificate students and recent graduates.

18 November 2009 7:00 – 10:00 pm
UCLA Extension Lindbrook Center Room 208
10920 Lindbrook Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90024

This event is FREE but only a limited number of spots are available. RSVP by November 15th to your student group president, Lucie Mamos, at lmamos_aigauclax@yahoo.com.

Today, it's Today!

You know when you get back from vacation, and you're slightly disoriented and feel like you're switching from one life to another? That's me, today.

I wrote an email to a new student this morning and said the winter courses would be available tomorrow, because I thought tomorrow was November 2, but really it's today.

So check it out, registration has begun again! There is a lot of new stuff in the winter quarter; surely something will interest you.

Also, check out the images in the new catalog from recent grad Kelly Anglin, current student Handy Atmali, new instructor Michael J. Newman and continuing instructor Patrick Fredrickson. Submit your work to the Get Seen Gallery (recently updated) in order to be considered. Just email dca@uclaextension.edu with a link to your work in GIF or JPG format.