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Graphic Design podcasts

A couple of design podcasts that I listen to are and highly recommend for good quality information

When I first came across the deeply graphic design cast I had no idea what to expect. I immediately became more knowledgeable of being a designer. Also I made a good friend from one of the episodes. If you are in college or already in the creative field go ahead and subscribe to this podcast you will not be dissappointed.

The Sean McGabe (Seanwes) and Aaron Dowd podcast is fairly knew to me. I have already listened to all 7 episodes and have learned a lot. Sean and Aaron are a great group of guys who have fun. When your listening you can really tell they are having fun. Definitely go subscribe to their podcast as well you will not be disappointed and will really learn some new techniques from them.

What are some podcasts that you listen to?

How to get your motivation back to keep designing

Motivation

We all experience times when we feel as if we are getting burnt out in every shape or form. When that happens it can end up taking away our motivation or it could be another situation that causes us to lose motivation. Because when t comes to creativity we use it daily.

The way we use creativity can be how we avoid running into walls, how we avoid dropping food while eating. But lets stay on topic. Another thing that can happen is we feel that we are burnt out completely creatively. Which has happened with me a couple of times.

Here are some ways that I got back my motivation after getting burnt out and tired with designing.

  1. Relax
  2. Do a project that is completely different from what you usually would do.
  3. Meditate
  4. Exercise
  5. Practice using your hands to design
  6. Watch documentaries
  7. Take a walk and look at the world around you
  8. Pay attention
  9. Its not always going to be fun
  10. The only way to get better is to do it often

Learn how to Budget Your money properly While in Art school

Budget

When you start art school it can become a bit overwhelming. Then after that happens you do not realize the amount things start costing. You may have to buy sketchbooks more often. Then buying textbooks and supplies which will start to add up really quick.

Now there are ways for you to avoid having to buy textbooks simply because you can download ebooks for free. Honestly there’s ton’s of resources that are free and one that I use for ebooks is booksos.org . They also have a good amount of design books as well for free download.

What I did to budget my money properly while in school was to not buy the most expensive supplies I could. Sure I did once or twice. But honestly the supplies you use does not matter with the quality of work you do. Because for example you could own a ferrari and still not know how to drive properly. The main thing to remember is your skill and work quality depends on you.

The second thing is to be very frugal with eating out. This can make or break your bank account depending on where you go to school. Sometimes you can be tempted to go and eat at the delicious pizza place or get a coffee or brownie every morning. After you realize how much money you’ve spent you start to realize that “hey I could be using that money for something else”.

One main thing for you to remember is the difference between needs and wants. You can want to do a thing but in actuality to you need it. Learning how to say no is a struggle for some and easy for others. When you say no do not be afraid, you are simply demonstrating self control.

Also if possible get a part time job while in school to keep some cash in your pocket. There is nothing worse then going through college struggling to pay for supplies and etc.  There’s 168 hours in a week what you do with those hours depends on how your current circumstance in all aspects of your life will improve.

Go to every single class you have

using my camera to work the corner

I cannot stress this enough. While in school I seen so many people not come to class. Which was weird to me. Simply because you are paying for the class and not coming.

I will be the first to admit there were days that I did not feel like going to class. But I went anyway because I knew that I did not have a choice. Because if you are in college or wherever why would you sign up for a class and not go? These things are so simple to do. But also whats easy to do is also not easy to do for some.

Some ways to stay motivated to get your ass up and go to class

  1. You are paying for this class
  2. Why would you even waste time signing up if you are not going to go
  3. Think of the end result if you go and if you don’t go
  4. Your giving thousands of dollars away
  5. You will have to pay it back
  6. Are you thinking about the big picture or what you can do right now?
  7. If you think getting up at 8 for class is bad wait until you get out of school and join the real world.
  8. Its not hard so stop making excuses

How to network in Art School

meeting pan
Many of us whom are in or have been to art school may not have known how to network and become good friends with our classmates. There is a good reason for that simply because we are not taught how to. The way that you go about networking is to not be afraid to talk and let people know who you are.

You may be from a little town in the middle of nowhere or you may be from a huge city. One thing about opening up and talking to people is that we are afraid of being judged. You have to think about the other person whom you sit and stare at in class wanting to talk to that they are probably thinking the same thing.

Alright so lets get to the main topic on how to network in Art school

  1. Stop being afraid of what people think
  2. Surround yourself with people that are better then you (The same thing can be applied to many different aspects of life)
  3. Simply just saying hello will initiate a conversation
  4. What are you scared of?
  5. You will grow the more you surround yourself with like minded people
  6. Each of us needs all of us
  7. Be the person whom your dog (pet) thinks you are
  8. Be a real person (If you come off like you are someone you are not people will find out sooner or later)
  9. Have something to offer
  10. Do not think of the relationship being beneficial to just you
  11. Make sure your network is a reflection of the type of people you enjoy hanging around
  12. Have fun and grow your network not just in school use their contacts and they can do the same with yours
  13. Remember that this is a daily process and not a one time thing
  14. Do not be afraid of people knowing you. (The type of people that know you will depend on the type of people you have in your network)

What are somethings that you use to grow your network?

What to expect when starting Art school

Manchester Art School Students, c. 1962

When I first started art school I had no idea what to expect. You may think that you will spend all day drawing and etc. But in actuality it will be the total opposite. Because you have to learn the process with how designing, illustrating, web design and etc goes from beginning to end.

Then after learning the basics and moving to more advanced classes the workload can seem to overload your brain. When you have projects that will seem to be insanely huge the best thing to do is to work your ass off and get them done ahead of time. Because the worst thing is to be finished with a project the day before and have to get it printed that night. So have the project completed to the best of your ability the at least 2 to 3 days before.

Doing what the project requires or blatantly ripping off an idea that you seen someone else do is not allowed whether in school or in the real world. You may get away with it in the real world but eventually you’ll get caught and the same goes with art school.

Partying or designing can be a tuff decision to make. Simply because your in college and you feel that’s what college should be about having fun and whatever else you can think of. But the main thing to remember while your going to parties, skipping class and not doing your school work your paying for it. The professors are going to get paid regardless if you show up or not.

So with that all said remember

1. Go to class

2. Do your work

3. Partying is only temporary your future is more important

4. This is not high school

5. Being the class clown in college nobody really cares

6. People actually want to learn in class

7. Your paying for this class so go and get your education

8. If this was easy everybody could do it

9. Remember sacrifice a good time now for a great time later

10. Leave your ego and whatever you feel your entitled too at home nobody knows of you yet

11. Have fun with this and love it

Why your Followers Don’t mean anything

Follow Me

Many people get having a mass amount of followers confused. You may have people whom you see go around following tons of people but never really interact with them. One of the main places I see that happen is on twitter. Because like I learned from Gary Vaynerchuk your followers don’t mean shit if you don’t talk with them.

Connecting with others is a main thing I feel that a majority of times we forget to do so. The term social in social media seems to have been forgotten.  There are ton’s of people who you can speak with that you will feel as if you and them lived in the same town you would be great friends.

Show people that you care to take the time to speak with them. Because more or less they would love to chat and get to know you. Social networks have allowed me to meet some great people and continue to do so. The thing is to not get lost in the aspect of being seen as a person who doesn’t give a shit about anyone but themselves.

A good example of that is someone who you see that will follow you and then unfollow you a couple days later. The person will be following 100 people with 10,000 followers and do what the first sentence said. People have a desire to be seen as a popular person or a person of importance. When actually they are someone you and me may have never heard of.

So to end this whatever social networks you are on spend time actually connecting with whom you follow. Your network will grow stronger and more trusting. Plus it will make them appreciate you more and vice versa.