Thursday, November 15, 2012

IWD 2013 Poster Subjects


Here's a list of who's already taken for International Women's Day, 2013:

Alison Keba: Michelle Mathies, civil engineering technologist at the town of Halton Hills.

Andrew Merola: Julie Payette from Montreal was the first Canadian astronaut to visit the International Space Station, where she operated the Canadarm robotic arm. She has studied and obtained many degrees at a variety of Universities. Her background is in engineering.

Brandon Puim: Kate Braid was born in Calgary, Alberta Canada. She has worked as a labourer, apprentice and journey carpenter building houses, high rises and bridges and doing renovations as a non-union, union and self-employed carpenter for many years. During her years in construction she began writing notes about the male culture of construction eventually shaping them into poetry which won her the Pat Lowther Award for best poetry by a Canadian Women.

Erik Sciarra: McMaster anthropologist Dr. Megan Brickley

Fiona O'Reilly: Roberta Bondar, Canada's first female astronaut

Giordano Di Pelino: Dr. Sonia Anand - Hamilton at McMaster University. Helped lead a groundbreaking study that looked at how the interaction of social and biological factors play a role in cardiovascular disease. After that, Anand began new research into heart disease among Aboriginal communities.

Heather Bridge: Lorraine Labrosse: She's a mom from BC. When her kids grew up she decided to pursue a career as a plumber.

Jacqueline Fasser: Perri Tutelman of Richmond, B.C. was named one of Youth in Motion's Top 20 Under 20 this year for her work researching the immune system and cancer growth at the University of British Columbia's Biomedical Research Centre.

James Muehmer: Gail Prosser-Craig is an expert on carpentry and the wiz on the show Canada's worst handyman.When she is not building she is advocating for women who want to get into trades, and is the founder of Women Who Build Stuff, a restoration company in the GTA.

Jeff Marta: Dr. Cheryl Levitt is a rural family physician, academic and teacher, and she has worked tirelessly to promote gender equality and women’s health in family medicine. She won the 2012 Hamilton Women of Distinction award and the Federation of Medical Women of Canada honoured her in 2008 for her achievements.

Jinfang Xu: Dr. Saiedeh N. Razavi, Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering, Chair in Heavy Construction.

Karen Nogas: Shanta Nathwani, IT professional

Karina Marttinen: Dr. Charity Marsh, who holds a position as Canada Research Chair in Interactive Media and Performance in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Regina, where she uses her research to connect students with issues (such as identity, community, politics) using indigenous hip-hop. She was also recognized in "Women and Science" by Innovation Canada for International Woman's Day.

Karla Basulto: Helen Irene Battle, the first woman in Canada to earn a Ph.D in marine biology. She is from London Ontario. She was the one who pioneered the idea to use fish eggs to study the effects of cancer causing substances on cells. She also taught at the University of Western Ontario. She also fought for improving the position of woman in universities and encouraged girls so get into the sciences.

Kris Van Santen: Veena Rowat.* She is the first Canadian woman to get her PhD in Electrical Engineering.

Kristen Malstrom: Trina Burton from Hamilton, who now works for a Mississauga custom building and renovation company called Women Who Build Stuff. In 2008 she was awarded a scholarship on behalf of RESCON (Residential Construction Council of Central Ontario) as a student in the Women in Skilled Trades program.

Krystal Fortman: Marla Shapiro, a Canadian medical doctor best known for her journalism in health on CTV News and many more areas. She is also a breast cancer survivor who wrote a book on her experience.

Melissa Forde: Marissa McTasney, the founder and owner of Moxie Trades, is a skilled trades worker. She also designed a line of pink work boots and work gear for other women in skilled trades.

Miriam Hashemi: Heather Sheardown is in Pathology and Molecular Medicine. She has her Phd in Chemical Engineering and is a researcher and professor at Mcmaster University.

Ngoc-Tran Trach: Dr. Josephine Hill, Zandmer/Canada Research Chair in Hydrogen and Catalysis, at the University of Calgary, and recipient of the 2008 Minerva Mentoring Award for encouraging women in engineering, science and information technology.

Nicola Weston: Birutė Marija Filomena Galdikas, OC (born 10 May 1946), is a primatologist, conservationist, ethologist, and author of several books relating to the endangered orangutan, particularly the Bornean orangutan. Well known in the field of modern primatology, Galdikas is recognized as a leading authority on orangutans.

Nurcan Kublay: Erika Kangas grew up in northern British Columbia and Sudbury, Ontario. Excelling in math and science, and wanting to pursue a career in aviation she moved to Toronto to attend the Aerospace Engineering program at Ryerson University. She was selected to be a participant in the Ryerson Institute for Aerospace Design and Innovation (RIADI) program.
Omi Singh: Lt. Col. Maryse Carmichael. She is the first woman to ever be in the acrobatic flying group; the Snowbirds. She is now the Commanding Officer leading the team.

Patrick Burchill: Esther Marjorie Hill, first woman to enroll and graduate from a Canadian program in Architecture. She was born May 29, 1895 in Guelph, Ontario and passes away January 7, 1985.

Samantha Marsh: Katherine McCurdy-Lapierre - Coordinator of Website Operations at Mohawk College. Katherine updates and designs the main public website for Mohawk College. She takes on other special projects such as teaching and assisting other employees to use the websites content management system. She is card-carrying member of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario.

Sarah Fitzgerald: Shirley Marie Tilghman, from Vancouver, British Columbia is a molecular biologist. She conducted pioneering research on the role genes play in the development of the mammalian embryo.

Shannon Proudfoot: Rachel King, a 28 year old woman who has been working as a trim carpenter for3+ years.

Stephanie Donnelly: Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, a professor at McMaster University. Tamara Fletcher: Alice Evelyn Wilson. Born Coburg, Ontario August 26, 1881. Died April 15, 1964. A paleontologist who worked at the Geological Survey of Canada, where she described fossils in papers and books. She lectured and traveled to bring geology to the public, especially children. In 1937 she was the first woman to be elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Tiffany Thompson: Elsie MacGill (1905 - 1980) was the first woman to receive an Electrical Engineering degree in Canada and the first woman aircraft designer in the world. She oversaw the design and production of 1450 Hawker Hurricane airplanes in Canada earning her the nickname "Queen of the Hurricanes". She was also active in women's rights issues and in 1967 was appointed to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women.

Tina Clark: Beverly Major MacIsaac, Quality Control Technician, studied at Mohawk and works at Seimens.

Vanessa Dos Santos: Prof. Monique Frize is a Canadian academic and biomedical engineer knowledgeable in medical instruments and decision support systems. Her book: The Bold and the Brave: A history of women in science and engineering was released by University of Ottawa Press in November 2009.

YeeWa Fung: Veena Rawat*, Electrical Engineer.

(because of a communication mix-up, two people will be doing posters using this particular subject).

Friday, November 9, 2012

2012 KPI Poster Finalists

Congratulations to the six finalists in this year's KPI poster design competition!

Our clients reviewed all the designs and chose these six to present to the college Management Executive Committee. MEG will make the final decision about which 3 campaigns go to print. The winning posters will be distributed across all of Mohawk's campuses in advance of the February 2013 KPI survey. They will also be used on the screens and may even be included in some way as animation in the KPI promotional video.

Good luck to the six finalists!



Our clients were impressed by all the great work done by everyone - even those who didn't make it to the finals. They commented that many of the designs didn't look like student work, but were in fact professional-looking. They also said they felt this years designs were a step up over all from last year's efforts. Give yourselves a pat on the back!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Emotional Labour Quiz

The purpose of this 'quiz' is to see if you understand the concept of what Seth Godin describes in his CBC Spark podcast interview as "Emotional Labour" - and for you to demonstrate that you have begun "the act of connecting to another human being and making a change even if it’s not easy for you to do in that moment" in your own way with the social media tools we've learned about this semester.

Here's what I want you to do in today's class:

Write a post on your blog describing in your own words what "Emotional Labour" is.

Include links and screen captures from the websites or blogs of three people or organizations whom you have discovered and have begun to follow who, as Godin says, demonstrate "the priority of creating meaningful connections... creating context and real meaning for people." (In this case, you).

Write about how you have been doing emotional labour in your use of social media.  Include screen captures as evidence of "the difficult work that other people don’t feel like doing today" that you have begun doing.

If you're thinking to yourself, "Uh-oh - I haven't done any of that!"  explain why not - and how you intend to begin doing so before the end of the semester.  Describe your strategy - break it down into steps, based on what you were taught this semester about using social media tools and what Seth Godin describes as "something that shows your expertise, something that’s generous, and most important, something that’s going to spread. Because the essence of what it takes today is not to yell at any individual, but to encourage people who already like you to go get their friends."




Monday, February 27, 2012

The Top Ten IWD Designs for 2012

Ten Mohawk College faculty members from Graphic Design, Art & Design Foundations and Integrated Animation judged this year's competition. To avoid influencing each other, judges made their selections independently and the selections were then tabulated to arrive at this year's winners.  Here are their selections...

1st place: Jessica Oddi - 10 votes.
JessO

Tied for 2nd place: Jessica Bryers and Adrian Curelea - 9 votes each.
JessB AdrianC

A 3-way tie for 3rd place: Sara Morris, Jeneal Mailloux and Zoheb Shaikh - 8 votes each.
SaraM JenealM ZohebS

4th place: Steven Alphonse - 7 votes.
SteveA_InternationalWomensDay

5th place: Marissa Martin - 5 votes.
MarissaM

And rounding out our top ten: Serene Porter and Jefferson Ceballos - 3 votes each.
SereneP JeffersonC


Congratulations to the winners!

Other designers who received votes but, unfortunately, not enough to make the top ten: John Ayles, Ashley Hamel, Keira Hurley, Katie Fitzgerald and Walter Henry - 2 votes each.

Angela Bell, Eric Kools, Will Liu, Rachel Milak, Jen Ridder, Sara Stroud, Brittani Teitsma - 1 vote each.

Congratulations to all of you for your excellent effort and for all of you who did not win a top ten spot, we are looking forward to seeing your original painting in our gallery show in Student Engagement on March 8th, 2012 - International Women's Day!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Your "To Do" Checklist

Today's class will be a self-directed working period. No new lesson, and no in-class presence required. But please use your time effectively to make sure you've completed everything required to date:

Your Blog

- Have you created a custom header?
- Have you created a custom background?
- Do you have a Links list directing visitors to the other platforms in your social media hub?
- Have you provided meaningful content that isn't an example of your own work but is within the area you've chosen as your specialty?

Your Twitter


- Have you created an avatar and added it to your profile?
- Have you created a brief description of who you are and added it to your profile?
- Have you included a link to your portfolio or blog in your profile?
- Have you been tweeting links to interesting sites, resources and people or just "tweeting your own horn"?
- Have you made an effort to follow interesting a important twitter users who will benefit your career in some manner?

Your Flickr


- Have you created an avatar and added it to your profile?
- Have you created a brief description of who you are and added it to your profile?
- Have you included a link to your portfolio or blog in your profile?

- Have you created sets and added your work to them?
- Have you joined at least three groups relevant to your area of expertise and added your work to those groups?
- Have you commented on the work of other members of those groups?

Illustration Friday


- Have you posted links to your IF projects on the Illustration Friday website?
- Have you visited the websites or blogs of other IF participants whom you don't know from class and commented (positively) on their work?
- Are you incorporating graphic design elements in your IFs in a truly creative and effective manner as outline in our General Graphic Design rubric?

Carbonmade Portfolio


- Have you created several projects that focus on your strengths in different skill areas of graphic design?
- Have you created a brief description of who you are and how to contact you in your profile?
- Have you included a link to your blog in your profile?

Google Plus


- Have you created an avatar and added it to your profile?
- Have you created a brief description of who you are and added it to your profile?
- Have you included a link to your portfolio or blog in your profile?
- Have you been posting links to interesting sites, resources and people or just posting links to your own work?
- Have you made an effort to Circle interesting a important G+ users who will benefit your career in some manner?
- Have you made an effort to engage those people in conversation?

Resumé/CV


- Have you designed an attractive, professional looking resumé for the creative employer?
- Have you designed a more conservative, professional looking resumé for the business employer?
* Remember there are Links to valuable resources to assist you with resumé writing in the links post further down.  Scroll down to read that post.

All of the elements listed above represent markable components of this course.  If you're missing any of these elements, use this checklist and our class time to catch up.

As always, please leave questions in the comments section so others who have the same question can get their answers at the same time. :^)











Monday, February 13, 2012

Finishing our IWD Posters


We'll continue ( and hopefully complete) our paintings today (February 13th class).  

You'll need to photograph the finished painting, take it into InDesign, and complete the text components.  It should have on it: "International Women's Day", the name of your subject, and (in the bottom corner) the line "Created by 4th Semester Mohawk Graphic Design student, ________(your name)"

Remember that the graphic design component of this assignment comprises the largest portion of the marks, so as you begin to work digitally to finish the project, use this opportunity to modify or finesse any elements that could be working better, including text, colour, values and composition. 

* Important: The finished trim size is 18" x 24" -- make sure you're working with hi res (minimum 300 dpi) files, that you add crop marks and bleed, and that your file is formatted for print colour (CMYK).


The final file (in PDF format) must be submitted by Feb. 21st.  I'll alert everyone to the correct server location once I hear back from Phil.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

IWD Poster, Painting in Progress

I've had a few people email me to say they won't be in tomorrow because of the snow. Please work on your painting and bring it with you on Tuesday so we can do a class critique in our Portfolio class.

You should be about half way done after Monday's class and be ready to post your work in progress on your blog. I would like to see a step by step as the painting progresses with your written description of what you're doing and why as you go along.

Show at least three photos (more would be better) of progress as we see on Jessica Oddi's blog

This component will be worth 10 percent of your marks for the semester.

As promised, the final painting is not the big part of the mark (for those of you who feel a bit insecure about your painting abilities).

 The marks for this assignment break down as follows:

5% for minimum three thumbnails

5% for minimum 3 colour scheme thumbnails

20% for graphic design of the overall poster as demonstrated by your full size pencil drawing with hand-rendered type in place (see our general graphic design assignment rubric on our class blog for criteria of good graphic design)

10% for thorough step-by-step of work in progress.
(5% this week, 5% next week)

5% for attendance, participation, communication and good attitude

5% for the final file ready for printing on deadline (drop-dead date is end of class, Monday Feb. 20).

* Files handed in late get a zero on this last component.

 Total: 50% of semester.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

IWD Poster Assignment: Thumbnails

Your thumbnails are due for Monday's class. As well, I would like you to print out the Al Parker image that you're specifically using as inspiration for your poster design.

Here's the link to my Al Parker set on Flickr

Bring both the printout and your thumbnails to class. We will be doing a class critique on the board. 

This stage is worth 5% of the total for the assignment and is due on Monday.

Marks will be posted on Tuesday. Thumbnails and your Al Parker inspiration piece must be posted on your blog by Monday at 6 p.m. Any work not posted by 6 p.m. on Monday will lose 50% of its potential mark. Work not posted by 6 p.m. on Tuesday gets a zero.

In class on Monday, you'll be working on revisions, colour scheme exploration thumbnails, and an 8.5 x 11 inch colour rough. Bring colour media of your choice (i.e. pencil crayons, markers, water colours and WC paper). Due the following Monday.

Here's a comprehensive rubric defining grading criteria for all our assignments in this class and our Tuesday class. All Projects Rubric

Questions? Please ask them via the comments section at the end of this post so others with the same question can see my replies.

Have a great weekend - see you on Monday!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Here We Blog Again!

Very exciting: a new group of designers is beginning to implement a vast array of social media tools!

Here's a checklist of sites you need to join as we begin our journey...


Create your blog at Blogger

* Remember that you must choose a blog address that incorporates your name in some way.

* Once you've set up your blog, email me with the URL so I can add you to the Contributors List in the sidebar.

Archive your images on Flickr *

Remember to search for three groups on Flickr that appeal to you and are relevant to the theme or topic you're planning to explore. Begin sharing IF images with those groups when it makes sense to do so (i.e. when your image is appropriate to the theme of that group)


Join the email list at Illustration Friday

Here's how to approach your blog posts:

Begin by exploring my Flickr archives of mid-20th century illustration.

When you find an artist or image that interests you, add that image to your blog post. Explain why that image inspired you and what aspects of that artist's work you intend to incorporate in your own efforts.

Create a minimum of three thumbnail sketches for each topic. Add them to your post. Explain what you're thinking was for those three concepts.

Begin developing the image in whatever manner appeals to you (digital or traditional media - or a combination). Photo treatments MUST be more than just a 'straight' photo. Manipulate them in some manner to make them "illustrative" in some way.

Show work in progress and explain your working process.

Show the final design - and include graphic design elements. Mock the design up to demonstrate its potential usefulness for some commercial purpose (i.e. a movie poster, a brochure, a web page, etc.)

Here's a great example of one working professional's blog posts that is very close to what I'm looking for from you:

 Chris Whetzel's blog

* Remember that each week's topic must be posted by 10 a.m. the following Tuesday - 1 hour before our class - after 10 a.m. that image will automatically be marked zero.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

International Women's Day, 2012 Poster Assignment

Before we begin, READ THIS FIRST

You'll need to have a good understanding of my philosophy about our role as graphic artists and my expectations for for you in this class.

After your finished reading, we'll discuss the article before moving on to our assignment.

Our First Major Assignment of Semester 4 - Part 1: Conceptulaization

We will be designing posters to help Mohawk College celebrate International Womens Day.

A good place to begin your research is at the IWD official website.

Once you've begun to grasp the scope of our topic, sit down with your sketchbook and begin thumbnailing concepts. At this beginning stage, anything goes. You're not designing so much as "brain-dumping."

* Please note that you are expected to hand in your thumbnailing/conceptual work in your sketchbook.     Loose paper may be taped, stapled or glued in - but only sketchbooks will be accepted for marking.

To assist and inspire you in the visualization process, visit my Al Parker Flickr set. We'll be studying Parker's work and his prominence as an "illustrative designer" and using his design philosophy as a springboard for our project. The final art for your concept will be rendered as an acrylic painting on masonite.

Here are your resources:


Mike Vosburg's Overview of Al Parker's Career

My Al Parker Flickr set.

Barbara Bradley's analysis of several works by Al Parker:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Al Parker describes his workflow in 20 steps:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Another Al Parker Step-by-Step: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,

Al Parker quotes