Week 9 - Giving Back

For the past few weeks I have spent a good amout of time in the community I am studying. I have learned many new things and have benefited from the group. It is now my turn ti give back.

I have noticed the AIGA doesn't have a very large presence on the internet. With myself having a large experience in web design, I want to help them with that. I have joined the communication committee and have volunteered to help out with the website and blog. I hope to have a well done website by the end of this semester.

As for our class, I believe they can benefit from know about AIGA also. Graphic designs is a large art of everyone's lives, especially on the internet. Some majors are closely related to graphic design and can benefit form the topics discussed at the meetings. I believe majors such as architecture, interior design, fashion, and many more could benefit from the AIGA meetings.

AIGA has helped me also. I have been able to communicate with many professionals in the industry. I have also been able to show my current school work to many upperclassman. This review by the upper classmen has often resulted in my work receiving a high grade.

Box 25 - Jargon

• hierarchy - A clear understanding of which items in a design are most important and which are not.
  
• critique - a review of a work with a two or more people.
  
• contrast - difference between elements in design
  
• dpi - dots per inch,
  
• design firm - a company that designs and creates items such as logos, corporate identity, business cards, websites, etc.
  
• radiation - in design, objects coming from a single point.
  
• type family - also know as font, a design of type including all styles and sizes
  
• leading - the space between lines of text
  
• tracking - the space between a set of two or more letters
  
• kerning - the space between a pair of letters
  
• gradation - a gradual change often shown with tint, opacity, size, weight, ect.
  
• bristol board - a 100lb white medium
  
• medium - something a design is made on. Could be paper, canvas, wood, etc.
  
• linen tester - similar to a magnifying glass, this instrument is used when working with small detail and exact measurements.
• gutter - the space between columns.
• margin - the space from the outside edge of a document to its workable area.
• en-dash - a dash the width of a lowercase n.
• em-dash - a dash the width of a lowercase m.
• x-height - height of a lowercase x.
• descender - characters that extend below the baseline. ex: ygjp
• ascender - characters that extend above the mean line ex: tifbdjhkl
  

Week 7 - Planning

The exercise we completed in class has helped me organize and schedule when I am going to complete the rest of this project. I have already spent a good amount of time with my group with three field notes. There are a few more meetings and other AIGA events I can attend to gather even more information. I plan to conduct my interview in week 11 and I already have an idea of the person I will interview. I need to spend some time looking for library sources and sources other than my field notes. With the library sources I need to find examples of how the AIGA group has benefited a person weather they are in a graphic design major or not. Then I need to get a start on my literature review and finally a draft for the final project.

Week 8:Field Note #4 on Tuesday’s AIGA meeting, finalize 3-4 sources for lit review, daft lit review.
Week 9: (Research Proposal Due), finalize lit review
Week 10:Field Note #5 at AIGA meeting, finalize questions for interview
Week 11: Interview, review all field notes so far
Week 12: Field Note #6 at AIGA, review and finalize library sources
Week 13: Write draft of final project
Week 14: (Draft of both final projects 2 for Peer Review Tuesday) (Project 3 due Thursday)
Week 15: Project 4 Due Tuesday. Presentations Tuesday and Thursday.

Box 18 - Focal Point

With the internet as large as it is today, almost all student groups should have a website with at least their basic up-to-date information. Graphic design is a large part of web design and I find a contradiction in the fact that the KSU AIGA student group has not updated their website since 2004! It is now 2009. I realized after attending several meetings that they are in the process of doing so but it should be done at least every year. I believe this is one reason the group is so small. The group needs to have a greater online presence to attract the college age group. Its one thing if a sports group hasn't update their site but graphic designers, one of the main jobs in web design, has not updated their website.

Box 17

The type studio. This is the workshop where AIGA meets. The ceiling of this room is open to two floors of the building. The empty space of this room is filled with several old printing presses. There are many drafting tables with stools. The free standing wall has a tack board for putting up different student work for critiques. The stairs are a spiral stair case that goes to the second level directly into the room. There are several small storage rooms and other class rooms that are off of this large room.

Box 16

Many student groups meet in a place that makes sense for that group. In the case of AIGA, we meet in the university art building. The art building is uniquely designed and is unlike any other building on campus. From the outside one can see the building was designed by a architect with distinct style. The entire out side of the building seems to be covered in fiberglass. This gives the building a translucent look. The roof is very asymmetric with many different contours and levels. The roof is translucent which lets a lot of light into the building. The lighting on the outside of the building is also very different than any other building on campus and goes with the design of the building well. There are various sculptures and earthworks scattered around the building. Some were by students and some were by visiting famous artists.

Walking into the building's main entrance one will find the first thing they see is a gallery. The gallery is always filled with a senior project, faculty work, etc. and is always changing. In the lobby area there are also displays of some the best student work for that week. There are several levels to the art building all uniquie to the others and sometimes confusing and get new comers lost. The art building also has its own certified Apple store. Since 99 percent of students in the art building own Apple computers this is a great item to have in the building.

Down one level in a large typesetting workshop is where the AIGA group meets. The room is full of drafting tables and old letter presses, along with many lead type sets and characters. There is not a better place for the AIGA, the grapic designers organization, to meet.

Week 6 - Conclusions

I have been attending AIGA meetings for the past year and part of this year. In doing so I have been able to come up with a few conclusions about the group:

1. AIGA likes to go on trips to visit different printing presses and design facilities.
2. There are some really good designers in the group and some that are just starting out.
3. The group is much more organized this year than last because of the new professor leader.
4. Most people in the group like to design using a computer.
5. 99.9% of the people in the group own a Mac laptop.

If I were to go observe another student AIGA group I believe most of the meetings would be similar to Kent State's. I could be wrong though, some of the other AIGA student groups have better websites which may mean they might be more organized than we are. I believe that other groups would visit similar printing facilities and design firms and also host similar events on campus.

Online Artifact

http://aigaksu.tumblr.com/

1. What surprised me? - I was surprised to see that the KSU AIGA website hasn't been updated since 2004. You would think as a much as graphic design is involved with the web they would have had a more updated website.

2. What intrigued me? - I was intrigued to find that the group leaders offer mentoring on Sunday evenings for two hours. This is really good for students in the VCD major at kent state university. A lot of times I will want to get some feedback on a project before I turn it in.

3. What disturbed me? - There isn't really anything disturbing about this online artifact from the group. Just the fact that their website wasn't updated.

Groundwork Activity Questions

First - In the student group of AIGA I must take care in the fact that they are trying create a network of graphic designers. Even though I am an insider I still need to consider the way I act around the group. Many members may be annoyed that I am taking detailed notes about the group. I will have to politely explain to them the reason I am taking the field notes. I will most likely do things and activities in the way th group want me to.

Second -

1. When did the group start at Kent State University?
2. What is the primary goal of AIGA?
3. What are the benefits of becoming a member of AIGA.
4. Do you have to be a graphic designer or graphic design student to become a member of the organization?
5. What is the most exciting event or activity you have been involved in with AIGA?
6. Have you personally won any of the design contests that AIGA has sponsored?

Third - AIGA is not like many of the other student cultures that have a stick code of conduct or secret rituals to follow. It is a very laid back atmosphere. To get the most out of the group it is best to get involved with a part of running the group. For example there are jobs in communication such as the AIGA twitter, website, and blog. There also job is outreach and finding students who want to get involved in the group. An outsider would need to know basic knowledge of graphic design to understand much of what is discussed in the meetings. The outsider would need to be polite to other group members and would need to get involved in one or more parts of the group.

Box 12 - Unlearning Our Privilege

Over the last academic year and the beginning of this year I have attended many AIGA meetings. There are very few issues that would make me under privileged in the group. All of age, nationality, gender, skin color, race, ethnicity, and religion do not affect how the groupd treats them. There are other things that may give you more power in the group. If you are an upper class man with much higher education and experience, you are looked up to as a leader in the group. I may have power in the group because of my past in web design and years of experience in the fields. I am already on the list to help out with the web site. Social support may have a small effect on a persons experience in the group. The more people the person knows in the group, the more chances they may have to share ideas and opinions.

As I study the group I do want to find out more about where the power lies and how privilege affects that power. Since the group is not as controversial as other groups there are not many biased opinions in the group about things. Most opinions are spoken only only small detail such as meeting time, t-shirt designs, guest speakers, restaurants to eat at etc.

Week 5 - Blog Post

So far for this project my main source of information has been my past knowledge of the group and my field notes. My fields nots have provided very good, detailed information on what the AIGA organization does and wants to do in the future. I have done a small amount of online research. The AIGA website provides some about information and a lot of information about the current community and their events. I have also done some research in the academic libraries and have found some articles written about AIGA. I have found a lot of good information so far but my research is not complete and need more answers. I am still looking for some information on how the group started. I also want to get some first hand experience on how AIGA has helped to make someone into a successful design.