The Beginning of the End

Hello everybody!

So I've been  a little lax on the whole blogging thing, but I'm back today to say I am alive, well, and super pumped for  my last semester here.

This semester is amazingly exciting (and labor intensive) for the seniors in Communications Design. We continue to produce six credits worth of new work while simultaneously collecting together and tweaking all of our old stuff. Hopefully a lot of the old stuff will be able to go into our final portfolio. Technically we should all have 18 credits (roughly 18 projects) worth of work to chose from by the end of this semester. Of course some of the projects from our past will not shine as bright as others so we do a little bit of augmenting and editing to get everything all set.

And then I'll have a portfolio! A real, live, communications design portfolio. I remember when I first entered this major (was it only?) three years ago and I could not fathom how I could ever produce such a lovely object as a CMD portfolio. Now that I'm here and I have revisited those past portfolios for my own reference, I know my work is up to it. Design I thought impossible not so long ago I can do, and do just as well (or in some cases even better)! It feels good, really good.

That's not to say I won't struggle at all this semester. Design will always have the ability to stump and befuddle. I've learned that from all the lectures and articles I've been ready. It's part of the fun and the challenge. Still, I have the basic tools now.

Just the other day I sat down with my new project (a line of Tibetan yak dairy products) and I knew exactly what needed to be done. My visual research is thorough, organized and very inspiring. Before last Thursday I knew nothing about Tibet and it's culture. Now I'm beginning to be familiar with customs, colors, patterns, words and foods. It's one of the many benefits of this profession. I get to learn quickly and in depth about any problem presented to me. I will always be able to be curious and inquisitive.

I guess designers are forever students in this way. I am VERY aware that my education has just begun even though I'm on the edge of graduating from Syracuse. That, to me, is a comforting thought.

More to come about my job search and self branding!

Wish me luck!