In the past half-year or so I’ve lamented the fact that I have little time to do in-depth video production. That drought is over.

With growth on the horizon for my department and an organizational push toward getting the most from the technology tools that we now employ, I’ve been called upon to interview some folks. I got the assignment and the deadline last week—these need to be done really soon. Luckily I grabbed my favorite campus personality about a year ago and recorded a 30-minute interview and B roll of him strolling across campus and teaching his online course.


This week is dedicated to editing down 2+ hours of interviews, and an hour of atmosphere/B-roll into three, under-five-minute snapshots of how our faculty use technology in the and out of the class. The upshot of this double-quick assignment is that I get to hear the individual stories of how these folk approach the tools. What I’ve learned—and this is important for us in IT departments to hear—is that they are open to using these tools and pushing the limits of the technology to best fit their needs. They’re experimental and they’re open.

My goal is to have my final cuts done by Friday.

Then sometime on Monday, next week, my committee reviews them for content and offers any edits or input. And I spend that afternoon editing--if necessary. Then the final cuts will be hosted on our website by next Tuesday…

*Whew*

Actually, there isn’t.

Image Source : Owl ToDo List by ByGirlParty, www.etsy.com/listing/61988820/owl-to-do-list-notepad-yellow-by

After the  launch of the campus mobile apps, I was approached by a potential client asking for a new mobile app that shares mindfulness and relaxation exercises. WHAT!!

It's definitely a project that I want to build. My goal in this design is to get it done quickly. I hate to say it, but I  really want to see the finished product  and have it downloaded on my device and in my hot little hands.

There are a few snags or challenges that I must overcome with this project, however:

• the existing color palette is not wholly harmonious,
• the client's limited time and expertise in creating media for this project 
• the general lack of supplemental media (photos, logos, audio, video)
• did I mention the color palette?

Speaking of some DIY professional development…

...Last week, I was asked to guest blog for No Impact Week, sharing my green (ish) lifestyle, my insights and general findings with the campus community. Frankly, I used this as a chance to present a slightly different writing style and to take a lot of pictures; I’m sharing the photos as creative commons in Flickr.

No Impact week really made me focus on the way that my lifestyle impacts my community and the larger world. I actually made some promises to myself, to be a stronger advocate for my planet.  A great experience:

Challenge Day 2: Trash...To be honest, in order to prep for today’s challenge, I did two things over the weekend: I cleaned my office (to collect a typical bagful of my work-related garbage), and went through the half full garbage bag in my kitchen at home.

Here’s what I learned. In addition to errant food scraps and miscellaneous non-recyclables, there was an extreme amount of used paper towels, tea bags, and plastic zipper bags…the shame of it all.

Although I  had a GOOD time working on the mobile app this summer, I was sad to see the end of TechTalk last April.  Well, my spirits are now lifted. Last week, I created the new fall version of the series logo (it looks familiar) and then wrote the website spiel, and got to work on the collaterals. This season it's all about ideas (and a pumpkin pie palette):

Kerning birthday candles is way harder than kerning lead type and even more challenging than doing it on the computer!

Shared vía social media by friend and letterpress graphic designer Kristina H.

I left my last job because of a strong desire to grow my technological expertise. That, and I was in the early stages of my career 5-year plan. An opening revealed itself and I stepped outside of my non-profit comfort zone, into higher education. After over a year in higher ed, postings leading toward my goal began to appear. I was tempted by a few of them; going as far as to apply for three prestigious and promising postings. Although confident in my ability to succeed in yet another new setting, I was worried that the move might be too soon—and have detrimental repercussions when I finally apply for my dream job.

Asking the advice of my husband and friends was pointless. All were of the opinion that I’m skilled and talented and supremely qualified for anything coming across my radar. They answered the question of ‘should I be doing this?’ with a resounding ‘you can do it!’ Not what I was looking for.

Taking the advice of a speaker at the annual meeting of WIHME (Women in Maryland Higher Education, professional organization), I opted to seek a mentor. Choosing a professional in my field who I respected—who was judicious and thoughtful—was my goal. Through the years I’ve come across several people who helped build my professional confidence, reinforce my goals of community service, and grow my understanding of the field and my positive role within it. However, one stood out above the rest. My former communications director at my previous job was the ideal candidate.

After a day of deliberation, my old boss agreed to become my new mentor. She asked me questions about why I’d choose to leave my current post—after so short a time. She gave me homework to do between our meetings, and she gave me insights on what hiring managers think and expect. Friends and family can’t do that.

A direct result of my mentor’s probing questions and insightful input was that I put my job search on hold. A direct result of that action is that  I’ve gained some valuable new experience and expertise, and expanded my role within my current department. Often friends and family are complimentary but wholly not helpful.

The objective voice and advanced expertise of my mentor provided me with a compass to keep my 5*-year plan on course.

Yesterday a colleague engaged me by lamenting her current job search—she’s now on to the third interview. (sarcasm)That’s great. People in human services have three—maybe four interviews. You know what graphic designers have? Homework.

When I mentioned homework to her she paused, nodded and said “oh, yeah. You probably had to do things with PowerPoint, right? I decided not to take the bait. Besides she wanted to talk about her current precarious position in the deep, uncharted waters of the job search of a new grad school grad.

Let me tell you, graphic design interview homework can be intense. Although it was a few years back I remember this one vividly. I designed a marketing strategy to engage a young, civically engaged audience, who wanted to live greener. In addition to the communications plan, I also built social media sites (FB, Twit) a blog, a fully functioning website and a print events calendar that could fold down into a recycled billfold wallet.

And you want to talk to me about a grueling three interviews. Puh’lease.




-Simone

Lately I've been pondering the range of skills that I've cultivated after X years out of graduate school. Well, actually thinking about my skills as compared to those who graduated from the same program--at the same time. Back in school, I could see my future laid out plainly: a few years developing my craft in nonprofit organizations as the graphic designer, then maybe another volunteer or pro bono role at a professional organization, but eventually landing as director of design strategy / communications / marketing for a large national nonprofit--like the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (kind of finishing up where I started).

After school ended and I delved into work in the nonprofit sector my interests grew and my focus changed. Eventually I followed a different thread into higher ed. It's been interesting and challenging. Challenging because of the tools, and interesting because of the messages. Marshall McLuhan famously stated that 'the medium is the message,' and boy was he right. Across so may industries, the messages are universal.

This past weekend I'm talking to a girlfriend who's in year two of conducting a passive job search; sometimes she looks and decides not to apply, sometimes I look for her--and she decides not to apply. It dawned on me that we both graduated in the same major, around the same time, and we're both in higher ed. However, that's were the similarities stop.

This good friend of mine is an excellent technical writer, designs almost exclusively for print, takes most of her own photographs (for publications), and she has much more person-to-person contact at work. Conversely, I work mostly in web and digital media (although I'd give an eye-tooth for more print projects), my writing is almost always editorial, and some days I'm half-crazed because I over eight solid hours of computer screens.

It's not bad just different. We'll never be in competition for the same job.

My recent ponderings got me thinking about what other fellow grads are doing with their advanced degree in Publications Design (with concentrations in graphic design, writing, or digital media). I grabbed the first ten names in the private UB Pub Design group on LinkedIn (to which I belong), extracted their names, gender, and current position in order to build the graphs below. Here's the skinny, as illustrated by PowerPoint:

60% Female, 40% Male - 40% Directors (Communications, Marketing, Art, Design, and Production), Yes, I'm represented in this group as well--as one of the instructional designers (close enough).

Hey guys,

Appearance matters in an interview. Having an unexpected accident seconds before the first meeting can prove disastrous. The thing to remember is that you can regain control of the situation by reacting appropriately and resisting the urge to over-apologize. This happened to a blogger at HERCJobs:

"Experts say that employers judge candidates within the first minute. Appearance represents the attention to detail and pride that you will take in your work.

For me, this made getting splashed by a taxi on the way to an interview one summer day all the more unfortunate. I was one step from the curb, when a cab rounded a corner behind me. I went from stylishly ready to big drippy mess in no time flat and had no time to dry off. Mascara running, feet swishing, I walked in.

I would have preferred to be memorable for my sharp answers and knowledge of the field, but I think it will be for the stain I left on the chair. I prepared answers for questions about strengths and weaknesses but not for this. Should I have ignored the wetness? Maybe they wouldn’t notice. Judging by the puddles, squishing sounds and drippy hair, that was unlikely. It was a lost cause and I knew it.

They asked if I wanted a drink of water and I replied that I didn’t need one. I wasn’t smiling. Truth be told, the rest is a blur, but I was mortified and apologized profusely. I wanted to tell them how nice I looked just a few minutes before, but I didn’t…I didn’t get the job—no surprise there.If given another chance, I would have gone in with a huge wet smile on my face and exclaimed I am so happy to be here, but would you believe what just happened to me? I would have been effusive, probably would have apologized (once) for the damp trail I was leaving and then briefly explained that this was particularly unfortunate because I very much wanted the job and the opportunity to contribute to the organization.

* See the original article on HercJobs Blog