ArtBistro

Putting together a portfolio for graduate school can be a daunting task. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind to help guide you through the process. You can also apply these guidelines to your portfolio after you graduate and are applying for grants, residencies, and gallery shows. Step one: Get quality images that reflect your work well. You’ll need ...

We see everyday how ethics come into play in big business and politics. Usually there seems to be none, but ethics do exist just the same. Of course, there are personal ethics that most of us have as well, and those are a personal choice. But, what about those grey areas of design ethics? How do we make sure we're practicing ...

It seems to me that there are two different kinds of artists in the world: Those who are quick to describe what kind of artist they are (”I’m a post-Marxist, Conceptual, feminist painter whose work is a inquiry into the notion of the organic…” ok, whatever) and those who just want to shrug and avoid the question all together by saying ...

About school, school will forever keep me busy, and I like that. I put school first more than anything or anybody. I put art first, so yeah, I've been slacking in my Geometry class, but I'm back on ground with it. The projects in my art class are just more important to me because they are the building blocks of my ...

Remember when you were a kid? At this time of year we would be excited to go out with Mom and get our school clothes and supplies for fall. Even though the summer months were filled with fun and swimming (in my case), the anticipation of getting new stuff for school made the waning days of the season worth it. What ...

The majority of us have done it already - gone through school to obtain some sort of design or art degree. The grueling days of classes, projects, and tests are over. We're out in the work world and, hopefully, have a job that we like. In school, we've been trained on the latest design software applications and feel pretty proficient in ...

As I've been out in the design world more, I receive a lot of "Call for Entries" postcards and email messages for various design competitions. They come from design magazines, most of the time, but they also come from professional organizations looking to showcase some current work from their memberships. The CFEs from the magazines, usually for their Design Annuals, are ...

The merit of originality is not novelty; it is sincerity. - Thomas Carlyle h4. Being original As designers, we are constantly tasked with being novel, unique, original and new. This expectation places a tremendous burden on us — a burden that becomes even greater when we consider the familiar admonition, “Everything has been done before.” As I teach and as I ...

Many times, in our designing lives, we come across making the decision about the typeface(s) we need to use to put our copy to effective use. Sometimes this entails using a simple, tried-and-true serif face. Other times, we need to use a sans serif. Still, there are those times when only a display face will do - especially for headlines. With ...

Lately I've been fielding inquiries from my former students, nervous about starting their first design job. Fortunately, many of them have multiple offers and the anxiety stems from trying to figure out where they're going to be happy. Here's some perspective for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation. *Your First Job Will Not Be Your Last* It's not like ...

h4. Education, Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement Employment as an archivist, conservator, or curator usually requires graduate education and related work experience. While completing their formal education, many archivists and curators work in archives or museums to gain the “hands-on” experience that many employers seek. Although archivists earn a variety of undergraduate degrees, a graduate degree in history or library science, ...

Storytelling As far as I’m concerned, all design is storytelling. Brochures and books tell stories in a very familiar way; they have covers, chapters and pages. Posters tell stories in three acts (act one from afar, act two as you approach, act three up close), even logos tell succinct moral tales. Thinking of design as an act of storytelling may help ...

As designers, many times we have the luxury of being able to work virtually anywhere. We can sit outside in the park and sketch, we can take our laptop to the hot-spot cafe and tweak our images, or we can even work in the office with our iPod on for inspiration. When's the best time and place in which to do ...

We all know that the business environment is tough right now. Consumers aren't spending money, and our clients aren't either. We may have some ongoing services we're providing, like site maintenance, but what can we do to keep some business coming in and save ourselves some income - and worry lines? h2. Be Grateful for What You've Got In these times, ...

The White Stripes, a.k.a Meg and Jack White, have branched out from the music business to try their hand at the world of Lomography cameras. The result is a pair of branded, limited edition retro Holga and Diana semi-replica cameras that come complete with a cool look and a bunch of extras for photography lovers. The “Jack” Holga comes complete with ...

I started off this morning with my favorite little art trick ever, one that I’ve used ever since I was a teenager. In the weird little twilight that exists between being awake and asleep - that lull that comes over you just as you start to be aware of your surroundings upon waking up - I planted an idea in my ...

A Bachelor's of Fine Arts in new media /animation is a professional degree that will prepare you to work as web site designer and animator. The first year of your program will give you a foundation of visual art skills such as life drawing, 3-dimensional design, color, composition, and some computer aided design. In the second year you will typically explore ...

In part one of this feature I highlighted a few of the more obvious things you can do as a student to help enhance your chances for success — showing up, sowing your work, taking notes, and being an active participant. Here are a few less intuitive recommendations to round out that advice: h4. Be courageous I have great admiration for ...

We’re only a few weeks into the fall semester, but its never too early (or late) to think about what it takes to be a good — or even great — student. This is not about talent or smarts. Being a good student is a skill and an art in itself. Over the years I’ve noticed some of the qualities that ...

A Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art is a professional degree that will prepare you to sell you work in galleries, graduate school or a variety of art related careers. The first year of your program will give you a foundation of visual art skills such as drawing, sculpture, color, and composition. In the second year you will typically explore different ...