simone jenifer design.

Nov 22, 2009

I am not a Type Designer...

By Simone Subversive On 16:24 In Typography

...but, I love typography, so I'm throwing my hat into the type-designer ring.

Here's the background, my typography professor put a challenge to me, 'create a typeface that is elegant, clean and expressive'. He means expressive in a stark, modern, and modular sort of way.

Well, it's an assignment, so I can't say no. I'm armed with my love of typography, some background notes on the client, a whole book of gridded graph paper, my MacBook, and this awesome website!

I've got a week, this is my uppercase "F" and lowercase "C".

Portfolios That Inspire: JJAAKK Design

By Simone Subversive On 06:51 In portfolio

This is a love story for
Typographers,
When B meets G

Jjaakk has a very diverse portfolio showing print, packaging, concept, and environmental design. The online presentation is clean and intuitive(this matters).
I really liked the full portfolio, but fell in LOVE with the packaging, so the samples I show below represent my favorites.

Take a look and get inspired:

Membership: Does it have it’s privileges?

By Simone Subversive On 09:26 In portfolio

As a designer two years out of undergrad--soon to be fresh out of grad school—I’m a member of the premiere organization for professionals in this field. I’m also a member of the secondary org, and a couple groups that have nothing at all to do with graphic design whatsoever. When I made my first dues payment, I wondered if it was worth it. I’m sure many new designers wonder about that too. My mentor, Bob Shelley, put it into perspective for me.

It’s important to network within your field, but it’s more important to network outside of it. While graphic design firms may not search the AIGA member rolls to find the newest member of their art department, groups of architects, contractors or physicians are more likely to search their associate members listings for freelancers.

The professional organization membership also allows you to take classes at reduced rates, enhance your resume, get preferred pricing at annual meetings and conventions, and get your name out to t broader audience. So when it’s time to renew, consider a membership in an organization outside of design.

In Love With Amazon

By Simone Subversive On 06:08 In Rant

I love Amazon MP3 downloads. They're cheaper than the other popular download site--even if only by a few coins per album. My most recent purchase saved me over $2, took a few minutes, and was the easiest thing I've done all week. I plan to dedicate my next art project to Amazon MP3 downloads!.

grumble grumble

By Simone Subversive On 16:52 In Rant

I have had it up to here with ATT! The service is horrible, calls get dropped constantly and I still have a monster bill. The customer service staff--while often nice and helpful--are too busy trying to cover every item/add on/and feature in their script to be very efficient. I'm going to scream, then I'm getting rid of ATT.

The Vector logo resource

By Simone Subversive On 16:52 In Resources

I found brands of the world a few years ago and it's been invaluable in my student work. Simply type in company name or a key word and it list pops up. No more tracing in Illustrator using bad bitmap images of logos for school.

Antigua HouseRental

By Simone Subversive On 16:40 In Web Design

This winter I got the chance to stay at my aunt and uncle’s awesome new house in our village. Now, back in the states, they’ve challenged me with creating a web site for their house. I’ve gone back and forth on the design and learned a few things in the process.

The more people stay at their vacation home, the more work I get to do. For now, page is a work in progress; there's always new blog posts to add/edit, and images come at varying speeds during the year.

“Good Hair” Newsletter

By Simone Subversive On 16:15 In print design

I actually got excited for the first time about my hair! I have had a natural since I was about 18–after my 4 year experiment with perms. Now I’m a 29 year old grad student in Baltimore with a fro and yet another reason to love my hair. In my Editorial Style class our final project is to create a newsletter targeting a certain group/niche audience and write for them. The actual physical newsletter ends up being an afterthought when the writing-editing-re-writes are done. Since it’s a group project I latched onto the group with the topic that held the most interest for me; it turns out that a fellow student had recently embarked on the journey to natural, healthy, nappy hair and wanted to share her experience. Thus, the hypothetical quarterly “Good Hair” was born.

In writing and researching my 4 articles, I found several resources that I had neglected:

youtube how-to videos
natural hair blogs and forums
salons that cater to unprocessed crowns
books that advise and support
other women with kinky dos willing to share their knowledge
information, information, information.

I got excited again. The attached jpegs are 4 newsletter pages. They are student work and contain ultra-low res borrowed images.

Fitness UB Magazine

By Simone Subversive On 12:20 In Layout

Awesome new year, awesome new projects. February has Groundhog Day, MLK Day, Prez Day, and Now Fitness UB Day. My new zine all about health, fitness and nutrition for women launched on the 14th. It's a peach, here are a couple sample pages.

Interview Question: What are your Goals?

By Simone Subversive On 08:44 In job search

What are your long-term goals?
What are you professional goals?
Where do you see yourself in 2, 5 years, or 10, etc.?

These are basically the same question. This is not merely an inquiry as to whether you'll stick with the company for the foreseeable future. When this questions arises in an interview setting, the interviewers likely want to gain insight into you as person, your self-awareness, and your communication skills.

Here are a few Wrong Answers:

"In five years I plan to be the director of marketing at this company, managing a small but innovative team--working to grow the brand of this company." Is this even an option within the company or department where you're applying. Unless you're 100% sure, that your vision for the company is in line with their strategic plans, goals and direction, this goal shows inflexibility. It also connotes a low opinion of the current 'brand'.
"Hmm, with this busy final semester and graduation, I haven't really had time to think about it." This answer will likely prompt a few follow up questions that you really don't want to answer...What have you had time to think about? Realistically, this answer shows a lack of vision, planning, and creative thinking.
"Well, in a few years I hope to be back in school working on my MFA in order to become tenured faculty at X University." This answer states, without stating, that you are killing time in the potential job. You are either looking a company to pay for your advanced degree or a place to wait until you get into grad school.

How about the Right Answer:

What are your goals? What do you really want. Most successful business people will tell you that a key success factor is the ability to set and achieve goals. Think about this before you get to the interview. Is this job a stepping-stone for the next professional level? How does this job factor into your real long-term goals.

Monster.Com says to Script it Consider this answer:

"I have learned that long-term goals are best achieved when I break them into shorter goals. My short-term goal is to find a position that will put me in a forward-moving company with solid performance and future projections. As part of a team, I want to add value and continue to grow the company. My long-term goal will depend on where the company goes. My plan is to move into a position of responsibility where I can lead a team."

How Do I answer this question?

Honestly. Whenever asked about my goals I have always had only one answer. I want to continue to grow, learn and develop. I want my horizons to be ever expanding. Professionally, this means that I see myself as a perpetual teacher and student. Personally, I talk to strangers, read voraciously, travel, and ask questions.

In an interview setting, I tend to polish it up a bit, but this is my truth. What is your truth...where do you see yourself in the future?

Interview Questions: Ace the Telephone Interview

By Simone Subversive On 10:14 In interview

Once, I totally failed a phone interview! It was embarrassing, and I regret the entire experience. Eventually, I may write about it for my "Worst Interview Ever" series.

For now, you have the benefit of my experience. Here are a few of of the usual questions and a step-by-step guide on how to answer them:

Tell me about yourself... is usually the first question.

1. Do not recite your life story; they want to know if meeting you is a good use of their time.

2. Talk about the educational and professional experiences that have shaped your career.

3. This answer should not exceed 2 minutes.

My stock answer for this goes along these lines:

I have an extensive background in fine arts and chose to study graphic design in college. While there, I was offered an assistantship that allowed me continue my education. So, I studied Publications Design and fell in love with the field. I completed several freelance projects for a diverse group of clients in grad school. Regarding my career, I've always worked in either education settings or in the non-profit sector. My current work is for X organization. I was drawn to it because of their commitment to teaching the arts in public schools.

That's basically it. I do elaborate where necessary, but I stick to this script.

Tell me about your experience… Your response to this must be relevant to this job, and the specific skills you bring. The 2 things to remember when aswering this question are:
1. Give a brief synopsis of your professional experience, as listed on your resume,
2. Find the priority requirements in their original job posting, and connect these to the work that you've done in the past.

What are your strengths? Pick three. Be warned, concrete software skills should not dominate the conversation. Highlight your creativity, attention to detail, ability to assimilate new information, or collaborative work style.

What are your weaknesses? Pick one or 2--no more. Briefly identify a weakness and present your strategy to overcome it.

What are your salary requirements? Okay, I'm not sure exactly how to answer this. Don't answer this one so early in the game. Your salary requirements are negotiable.

A good strategy is to say that at this point you don't know enough about the scope of work at this company to give a range.

When the interview ends, you will be asked if you have questions of your own. One writer advises that you "take the initiative and ask, 'The most pressing question I have is when can we meet?'" Frankly, if you feel confident about the previous 30 minutes, go for it.
Here are some other good questions:
1. Will I work directly with clients? Who would I with on a daily basis?
3. Is there a lot of collaboration between the designers and the other departments?
4. How does your company support professional development?

Learn More About:

You’ve applied, interviewed, and got the offer!

By Simone Subversive On 04:44 In Resources

Now What?

When you get the job offer, don't be taken by surprise and forget to negotiate. You can't just blurt out a “Yes, when do I start.” Employers expect you to take time to consider the conditions of your employment.

This is your opportunity to establish your market value as a designer:

Figure out your personal costs, cost of living, student load debt, etc.
Find out comparable companies in your region pay their graphic designers, and
Balance that information against your personal strength as a designer.

In addition to money, other things are definitely negotiable. Make a list of your desires and prioritize them. Negotiable items in your offer may include health benefits, paid vacations, unpaid leave, your start date, flex time, and daily working hours (not everyone thrives on a 9-5 schedule).

You can compromise on some items for others that are more important to you. Just be sure to be clear about the offer, ask questions, and take the time to consider it. Try to adjust whatever is not satisfactory now. It is important to start off a relationship with clarity and trust.

Congratulations!

Let's say you haven't gotten to this point yet, but the interviewer wants to nail down your price early in the interview process...learn how to handle that and other interview questions.

Enter your keyword

Nov 22, 2009

I am not a Type Designer...

Nov 1, 2009

Portfolios That Inspire: JJAAKK Design

Oct 9, 2009

Membership: Does it have it’s privileges?

Jun 3, 2009

In Love With Amazon

May 11, 2009

grumble grumble

Apr 27, 2009

The Vector logo resource

Antigua HouseRental

“Good Hair” Newsletter

Feb 21, 2009

Fitness UB Magazine

Dec 21, 2008

Interview Question: What are your Goals?

Here are a few Wrong Answers:

How about the Right Answer:

How Do I answer this question?

Dec 7, 2008

Interview Questions: Ace the Telephone Interview

Oct 8, 2008

You’ve applied, interviewed, and got the offer!

Hello There...

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