NEARLY FINISHED

So why did I come to Brighton? I came because I felt like the work I was making in the states was becoming increasingly myopic, esoteric, and un-engaging. I came because I was frustrated with the institution, and how it gobbled up my life, with how design-absorbed I had become; and how the inevitable side-effects of an art institute education: pretentiousness and an inflated ego, had begun to affect my psyche.

Why am I glad to leave Brighton? Because I came expecting this magical cross-disciplinary approach to a designer's education, a synthesis of subject matter rather than a specialization and fragmentation of curriculum. What I expected and what I experienced were two very different things. Regardless of my preconceived notions of this place, it has taught me the kind of lessons that stick with you forever: ones that you learn yourself, through trial and error, experimentation, and failure. So, in a strange way, even though going to school in Brighton was more akin to a vacation than the chaotic educational rodeo I experience at KCAI -- I've found that this lack of structure, of professionalism, of any semblance of a liberal arts education, has taught me that enthusiasm, passion, and motivation are qualities that can not be taught, but are inherent to success. I've also learned to importance of living life and making work second. Without a frame of reference to create from, work becomes irrelevant, anachronistic, and elitist. I'm attracted to design because of its social implications, because of its relevance to people in the way they relate to information, objects, the world around them. Modern art is dead. In the words of Banksy, "[...] never has so much been used by so many to say so little." Art has become so incredibly specialized and compartmentalized that the only people who benefit from it and relate to it are artists or designers themselves -- A narcissistic and napoleanic climate that I'd much rather not participate in. Even though some artists may call design "Art's little brother," it serves a real purpose, and has the power to make non-artists, even non-art enthusiasts see the value of a more complex beauty: of organizing the world of things, of a sense of the unity of form and function. Getting back to the point (haha), I've learned that design is a bottle that you put things into, not a thing in and of itself. It's a methodology, a way of thinking, an attitude, a spirit even. At the Art Institute I was trying to make design a thing in and of itself, not realizing that the most poignant and groundbreaking solutions are ones that use design as a language, not an object -- ones that relate to people in a direct, entertaining, and novel way that crosses disciplines and subject matter. In the words of Sim Van Der Ryn, "It is time to stop designing in the image of the machine and start designing in a way that honors the complexity and diversity of life itself [...] design is a survival of all species."

Despite the tone of the passage above, I've also learned to stop taking myself or my work so seriously. If design is meant to emerge from a sense of play, formality is the antithesis to an environment capable of engendering this type of play. This is not to say that formality and professionalism are not important skills of any practitioner, just to say that the glorification of them can only create an awkard and impersonal environment of self expression, one that hinders reflexive, spontaneous, and fun work.

And finally, I've learned the importance of designing with the general public in mind. Not that I don't want my work to be appreciated by fellow artists and designers; It's just that I'm much more interested in work that everyone can relate to and appreciate. Im sick of this image of the artist/designer as a social outcast/genius -- as a person who can't relate to the general public, and makes work only as a means of satisfying himself, or the narrow community that understands him and his avant-garde nature. The general public doesn't know the distinction between art and design, so why have we allowed higher-education insitutions the power to specialize them. The most meaningful solutions are ones that address design in an artful way. Ones that see these not as divergent disciplines, but as inherently interconnected practices with slightly different outcomes.

Anyway, Im ready to come back to KCAI. I miss learning about things other than design, and having a normal schedule, and actually doing work. Even though I might moan in the process - the sense of accomplishment at the end of the semester is really nice.

I'll continue to use this blog as a way of documenting my internship at Topshop, as well as wrapping up my semester here after my assessment this Friday. Images of my work and of the school will come in a later entry - once the business of this week subsides.

Miss you all!

TOPSHOP INTERNSHIP & STUFF

So I got the internship! In June I'll be at Topshop headquarters at Oxford Circus, London doing design work for their 2009 collection. Cant wait! Still pinching myself a bit.

The crit for the current project was pushed back again. Im getting a bit tired of doing a lot of work that doesn't end up getting critiqued. Im pretty excited about the work I'm doing for this 'Distinctively Odd' book cover brief. It feels along the same lines as the illustrations I did for my vote poster last year.

Im currently in the process of documenting all of my work, as well as photographing the campus and Brighton. Because of a request, I'll be posting pictures of everything in my next entry.

Stay tuned!

NOVELTY

So now that the novelty of going to school in a foreign country has worn off, I feel like maybe I can be a bit more objective about my education here, vs back home.

Have I been too hard on KCAI?
In some ways yes. But in others, I don't think so. While our school is far from a bad place to learn about design, it has its faults. While I think that my experience abroad has in many ways validated the standard of education that I feel like I'm receiving at KCAI, it's raised some important questions - many of which I've posted here as a means of comparison -- as a way for me to evaluate how each program succeeds / fails. At the same time, I'm a student and probably don't know whats best for me. I can only give feedback based on the way that I learn & create, and how each program either fosters or rejects that.

I've been through a few more projects and crits. I believe that for the most part, the University of Brighton relies on its name and student talent to keep it as good as it is. The quality of student work is really quite high, and I think all of us feel challenged by each other and by the tutors - as their standards are high. But aside from that, there is absolutely no structure. Classes and lectures can be randomly cancelled, briefs are sometimes only partly explained, and meeting time with the tutors is few and far between. An aspect of the KCAI community that I miss is the one on one time with the professors. I don't think I realized just how much time the teachers spent with us until I came here and experienced the English status quo. Even if a teacher isn't giving feedback, it is still helpful to have them handy to talk through a project, to discuss ideas, and to talk more broadly about design.

The crits are different as well. Student discussion is not nearly as high as it was at KCAI. I miss the amount of dialogue we had at home, whether it was forced or not. While the quality of the work is higher, most students capacity to articulate themselves is not as high as at KCAI, and really isn't cultivated as much. While the crits are most definitely more relaxed, they can become tangential and at times completely unhelpful. I think because I'm American, the tutors feel like they have to be nicer to me? Or perhaps don't know me as well and because of that can't give good feedback. In any case, I feel like my critiques go by way too fast, and most times are just pats on the back, or don't make sense.

One of the biggest things I miss are academic courses. I miss writing papers! (*gasp*). Here I have a studio course and an extension study (which is also design related). So, I really don't have any academic endeavours. At first, it was a nice break. But as the semester has moved forward, I've realized how nice it is to choose academic classes that sync nicely with studio practice.

Perhaps the thing that I miss most is the studio culture at KCAI. It simply doesn't exist here. While I dont think one should live in studio, it is nice to be able to go to a space where there are other people from your course who you can discuss briefs with. I think I've realized how much I learn from my peers.

I do enjoy the projects in comparison, though. I feel like they're a lot more fun, and allow for the student to be a lot more creative. In some ways I felt like the briefs at KCAI were at times over designed, cramming way too many objectives in, and too structured. They were also designed in a way that the student doesn't have a grasp of what the end product will be, only the next task at hand -- so at times it felt a bit myopic. In comparison though, there aren't any stated learning objectives here -- so demonstrating and articulating what we've learned is only apparent through the work, which is probably a good and bad thing. It goes back to the "sink or float" dogma of the real world, it either works or it doesn't, and because interim crits are much fewer here, a student's self editing skills have to be much sharper. So while this curriculum hasn't told me upfront what its taught me, I have learned a lot.

So maybe I should apologize? I feel like coming to Brighton was something I needed. At last years' end, I was fed up with KCAI and completely ready to leave the country. I needed another program to put KCAI in perspective and either reinforce my experience there or negate it. I've found that Brighton has done both, in different ways. While being here has been a nice break, and has allowed me to experience another culture, I think that when the time's up, I'll be ready to return home.

I will miss the facilities though. They have a bookbinding workshop and letterpress workshop that you guys would DROOL over. Its amazing. They also have two tutors specifically for each workshop that help with any technical questions. And materials like book cloth, binding thread, matt board, all for sale in the workshop. But I guess it is a University though. Yay government funding.

_____________

The current brief is called "Distinctively Odd". Our task is to design book covers for three different books, all of which are on Penguin Books' "Oddest Book Title" list. Titles include: 'How to Avoid Huge Ships', 'The Joys of Owning a Chicken', and 'Bombproofing Your Horse'. The challenge is to make each jacket look distinct, while considering the overall theme of the three jackets. In some ways its a branding project, in others its about differentiation.

I'll post more as the project develops.

BACH IN THE SADDLE AGAIN

Don't judge me based on my title for this entry. You love it.

To be honest, the title does identify my challenge for the coming week: To try to make Bach interesting. To create CD packaging and a booklet redefining his visual identity in hopes to share his brilliance with a younger generation.

So why is Bach important?

Although his contemporaries considered him to be out fashion, Bach is widely known as one of the most famous composers of the western tradition. His style, classified as part of the Baroque period was outdated for his time, but out of the context of his contemporaries, his compositions stand resilient for their unmatched mastery of counterpoint, strong melodic lines, and use of the organ. A proponent of the German Fugue tradition, Bach's work weaves together distinct melodies effortlessly. 

Taking this idea of weaving, my end solution will hopefully be a three-dimensional sculpture that graphs his melodic lines over time, using some nontraditional yet related sculptural material: like thread, yarn, rope, hoses, pipes, etc that each represent a melodic phrase. These materials will then  be staggered in space so that the viewer can see the intersection of the phrases.

Inspired by the simplicity of Josef Mueller Brockmann's Musica Viva Poster series, hopefully my typography and layout will remain restrained, with an emphasis on the geometric shapes created.

That's the idea. I'll post progress as it happens. 

Besides the Bach project, we were briefed on a project that could end up with an internship at Topman, on Oxford Street in London. I can't discuss the details of the project, but Im really excited for the opportunity. 

My assessment went well, it was really more of an informal conversation, with the tutors suggesting places for me to visit during my time here that will make my experience more culturally stimulating. I guess that's the point of this trip. For me though, it's really about figuring out the designer I want to be. To be honest, Im not sure that KCAI's curriculum is right for me. It has its strengths, and Im glad to have learnt as much as I have, but it doesn't give me the creative freedom to make the work that I need to make. While I'm here I hope to come to a decision on whether or not to return to graphic design when I return, or if a department like interdisciplinary suits me better. Hopefully the work that I make here and the people I meet will help to make the decision a bit easier, to help me find out some things about myself, and who I am as a designer. 

My goal while here is to make work that is a bit more sculptural, more fine arts based, more hand generated. I realize that the computer has become first nature to me. I know that I've been taught to use the computer as a "tool", but it has become my starting point. Im considering a technology strike: Only using this machine for setting type, or other things that would completely ridiculous / time consuming to do by hand. I'd just like to see the impact it has on my work. 

One thing I've noticed is that as I've had much more time to think about what I'm doing before I do it, there is less of a chance for mistakes. I don't think good design can happen without mistakes, because oftentimes executing the idea as simply as you've envisioned it yields a slightly boring, obviously thought out piece. It's about the accidents, really, that make work interesting. So, Im also working on getting started on the work faster, and to think about it less. <----- really the opposite of what I've been taught. Come on though... when there isn't a script, life is considerably more interesting. I prefer improv to screenwriters. 

MUSIC PROJECT

I've attached the brief for the the project we were just assigned. I couldn't have been more wrong in my guess. We are to choose an artist from options the tutors have outlined for us:

Different Trains – Steve Reich

Sonatas & Interludes for prepared piano– John Cage

Kind of Blue – Miles Davis

Goldberg Variations - Bach

The Great Poets – Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Blake, Burns, Wordsworth, Keats,

Browning, Whitman, Dickinson, Manley Hopkins, Hardy

Djangology – Django Reinhardt

Greek – Mark Anthony Turnage

British Bird Song –

Artic tern, Barnacle goose, Blackcap, Brambling, Common gull, Common tern, Coot, Crane, Dipper,

Dunlin, Egyptian goose, Firecrest, Fulmar, Golden eagle, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goshawk, Great

crested grebe, Greenshank, Grey wagtail, Hobby, Hoopoe, Kingfisher, Lesser whitethroat, Little egret

This land is Your Land (Asch Recordings, Vol 1) – Woody Guthrie

Early Works – Steve Reich

From there we're supposed to design a record cover, sleeve, and 16-page booklet discussing the artist / why they're groundbreaking. It seems like a lot of work, but also a lot of fun - integrating two of my favorite things: music & design. I just can't decide who to pick! Its between John Cage, Woody Guthrie, and Bach. Pretty varied, I know. Whenever I'm assigned projects like this where I have a choice, the most difficult part for me is usually deciding what to do (of which I spend like 70% of my time doing). 

So I have an 'assessment' on Friday, where the tutors are going to look over the work I've done so far, as well as my portfolio and discuss it with me. It will be more informal because they can officially 'assess' me, because I've only just gotten here, so really it will be more like a conversation. I'll post afterwards and discuss what they've said.

More to come later! 

DESIGN AS PLAY, STUDENT'S COMPASS, AND STRUCTURE

Design is really about play -- visual play. I've found that there's a dichotomy in design that makes it both wonderful and daunting. As designers we are fortunate enough to have jobs that incorporate our hobbies and passions. We get to do what we love for a living. Yet, therein lies the problem. We have to do what we love for a living. Its easy to agree that the best work happens when one forgets that they're working, and falls into a state of visual play. Yet it's easy to think about briefs & assignments in terms of labor, not fun. And at times, these things really are laborious. 

The curricula of Uni Brighton & KCAI are good case examples of this dichotomy. It seems that the American school system is centered around "holding your hand" every step of the way, guiding students through their ideas through conventions like interim crits, and requirements for brainstorming. The British school system, on the other hand, is much more about being open to whatever. This complete lack of structure arguably allows for much more informal play. It allows for students to develop their own formal compass, and establish a precedence for their own quality of work -- an attribute that I think all student designers will desperately need in the professional world, having to answer to superiors, justify their own decisions and content, and "know when to stop." There won't always be a professor to hold your hand, to make you do 50 thumbnails before being done, and then giving you 10 interim meetings, telling you what works and what doesn't. A student must learn how to assess their own work, and work until they are satisfied. When a teacher assigns 50 thumbnails, the student's mind is all on that 50. As they finish the 30th thumbnail, they're thinking they have 20 left to go. Its about the destination, not the journey. Instead, professors, (i think) should be challenging students to work until they're satisfied with their ideas. Until they're confident they've created a good solution. Above all of this, I believe that work ethic is a self-determined behavior. It is something that you can force, train, even condition, but I believe it is tied to a person's commitment to a given subject or project, and their own assessment of their ability. So, in assigning those 50 thumbnails, the student is thinking of quantity, and reverts to this idea of design as work, as labor. Not play. Brainstorming should be about play, about quick, reflexive ideas. About having fun, not about drudging through requirements.

The formalism of KCAI almost suspends this sense of play entirely. Things like required statements, intensely formal critiques, process books, and thumbnails, create an extremely narrow-minded environment to work in. Everyone works on the computer not only because there isn't much time to think of other options, but also because its the status quo. At Uni. Brighton, there is a huge emphasis on creating work outside the computer, on thinking with your hands, and constructing installations, making prints, doings paintings and illustrations, making weavings, cross-stitches, videos, animations, sculptures to express the idea. I feel as though Im using the computer as a crutch. Because of the narrow scope of my thinking at KCAI, I feel behind -- like most of my ideas involve the same work process: sketch. rough it out on the computer. execute. refine. finish. It's so scientific! So formal! So CONTROLLED! Design is not this. As I've said before I believe that its about having fun and learning from your own mistakes on your own terms. Then, as you become more emotionally involved in your OWN ideas, your standards for your work evolve. I think this is how real learning happens. You have to make it personal, that gives a student an emotional investment in their own work.

So I had my first real crit here. It went really well. I have to say, thanks to Michael Kidwell, who taught me (despite my moaning) to have a close and careful eye for typography. Essentially, that's what the project was about. We were to design a a magazine spread (cover, double page spread, back) about a particular font. 

One of the first things I noticed about the crit was how chilled it was. We sat on couches in the corner of the studio, the teachers sitting with us, and we informally talked about our work & ideas. It was refreshing because it felt a lot more like a discussion. There were no requirements as to how much any student had to say. People just said what was on their mind, and it was generally good. While on the subject I have to mention a huge beef I have with KCAI: professors marking during crits how much a person speaks. Not only does it create awkward situations, but I think it goes completely against the idea of feeling comfortable during crit to express yourself. You're being judged even when you're not being judged. And, in attempting to reach their quota and get their participation grade for class, some students just say random things that may or may not pertain to the conversation at hand, or are just completely invalid. What works about Brighton is that these things are not monitored, so when a person has something to say they do, and when they don't have something to say, they don't. It sounds funny, but the motivation to speak in order to satisfy a requirement really distorts the whole purpose: to have a meaningful conversation about the work. A worthwhile critique, I think, is one where everyone feels comfortable, where it isn't awkward because of ridiculous requirements. To some extent, the formalism of the institution makes it incredibly awkward back home. That, and the professors don't do much to help. I've really enjoyed how informal, personal, and meaningful this crit was.  I will say though -- the tutors spoke much more than the students, something that I miss about KCAI.

We get a new briefing tomorrow. The tutors gave us a sneak preview of what the project will be. Apparently it has to do with music (YES!!). We are to make a mix tape for a friend, and then trade mix tapes, and graphically translate the tape (...maybe). Or something along those lines. They were very vague, but I guess I'll find out tomorrow. It's encouraging to have briefs like this, that have real world implications and are open enough to generate slightly self-directed work. While I am beginning to miss the structure of KCAI, it's nice to begin to think about my place as a designer, and how I can distinguish my work from others. 

Its late here, so that's it for now. I'll post again tomorrow once I find out the new brief.

ADJUSTING TO ENGLISH UNI

This blog wasn't started to brag about where I am. Or to give you scenic pictures of the view outside my flat. In starting this blog, I hope to illuminate the differences between Uni Brighton's curriculum & our own, as well as offer insight into life abroad, and the way it affects my work.

Maybe first I should explain what "Uni" is. I thought it was hilarious when a friend of mine first said it. "Uni... as in unicorn?". But apparently in England they don't call it college. Or University. Or whatever. It's just "Uni." Which is both cool and bizarre. 

In any case, Uni Brighton is an extensive facility, a 4 story modernist building, complete with courtyard and two cafeterias. Despite the grandeur of the reception, personal studio space is a foreign concept. Most designers will either all work together in a commons area, or will do the majority of their assignments at home. I don't think I understood the advantages of a communal studio space until now. It gives you the opportunity to run your ideas past other designers you respect, it gives you a collaborative environment that allows for outside the classroom learning to happen. 

The students themselves though are very talented. One advantage to being at a larger school is amount of students, as well as variety. Not only does Uni Brighton have an illustration department, but the line between "graphics" as my major is called, and illustration is wonderfully blurred. Illustration students participate in interim crits. It's just sort of an amalgamation of people that have their own specialization, but collaborate cross-discipline on projects that are assigned to both sections. I think that it offers a unique perspective. It really is the kind of synergy that I'm missing back at KCAI, as I feel like the graphic design department is immensely isolated from the rest of the school, something I have major issues with -- as I feel like we have as much to learn from the rest of the student body as they have to learn from us.

Classes are laid-back. REALLY laid-back. You can like... go if you want. Volume of classes is also much lower. The system is different altogether than it is in the states. At the University of Brighton you sign up for a "course" which includes all of your studies. No liberal arts. No signing up for specialized classes like those offered at the Kansas City Art Institute. For example, everyone in "Level 2 Graphics" goes to every "class" together. These classes are not chosen by the students, but rather predetermined by the "tutors" to sync up with existing studio practice. I have one main studio class, a "Critical and Cultural Studies" class (which I haven't quite figured out yet), and a visiting alumni lecture class. (which is really great, because Brighton has many illustrious alums, among them, Daniel Eatock, Europa, Harry Pye, the guy who designed the new British currency, etc.) So there really isn't a lot of structure. I think that this is both good and bad. Its a difficult adjustment for me, coming from such a rigid and rigorous curriculum, to suddenly be free... to do whatever. It's strange.

For example: I was assigned my first project on the first day of school, nearly three weeks ago. Since that assignment, there has been one extremely informal interim crit (in which many of the students had nothing to show, only describing vague ideas of what they wanted to do). The final crit for this project was meant to be tomorrow, but was cancelled. So the project won't be discussed until sometime in the future, during assessments. It's just a strange adjustment from the professors at KCAI holding my hand every step of the way, giving feedback -- to a sort of sink or swim dogma. In some ways I'm less accountable for myself, and haven't had the drive to do the work. Especially with adjusting to life in the UK, a culture highly evolved around drinking & nightlife. *cough*

The main project I was assigned was a 'design against fur' brief. Through designing poster or creating an animation my goal is to persuade someone against the evils of the fur trade. Its a bit more difficult than I thought it would be, because its hard to stay away from the obvious: images of blood & guts. Following tyler's advice I've been able to pull from what I learned about modes of appeal and rhetoric for some solutions, still in progress. Once they're done, I'll post them to this blog.

Aside from the fur brief, I was also given a typographic project -- to design a spread using only typography (no imagery, no color) informing a reader about a typeface. (Basically the mailer project from last semester). I wont have anything until next Friday, so I'll post once I print and photograph the final.

So in some ways I got what I asked for. A breath of fresh air. Some time to think, to work on my own projects, to gather, and to live life. I think that without a doubt both programs are flawed, and in some ways are maybe exact opposites of each other. KCAI's rigidity is important in instilling a certain work ethic that will be viable in the professional world. However, the amount of work we're given doesn't allow us to live life comfortably. I would argue it instills an unhealthy work ethic in students - that living in studio is okay, even encouraged. We are effectively slaves to the curriculum. I think because of this, many students don't experiment as much as they could, and many times do the work "just to get it done" instead of doing it to the best of their ability. Also, because at KCAI we are given projects with specific learning outcomes, the end result really smells of school. It can't stand alone. It looks like an exercise. However, at Brighton we are given time to experiment. We have PLENTY of time to do really... whatever we want. The possibilities are endless. However, the assignments don't feel like they're teaching me anything. And the complete lack of structure and studio atmosphere makes it difficult to focus on school.

So hopefully this blog will allow KCAI to learn from a school that is immensely different from it. As much as I love KCAI and graphic design, I had to leave in order to figure things out. The workload and never ending nature of the curriculum was enough to drive me crazy. It was uncomfortable, it was making me depressed. I think that these issues really need to be addressed, because although the teachers feel like they have so much to teach that they can't fit it all into three years, there comes a point when it simply doesnt work -- all the stuff they're throwing at us. It becomes bullshit, and we get unmotivated because of the sheer amount of WORK we have to do. Its extremely overwhelming. 

Im a big believer that it is impossible to make good art unless you are happy. I think in the end, that is why the students at Brighton Uni do good work. Because they're talented, but also because their school allows them the time to comfortably approach these assignments and make them portfolio pieces, something they're proud of, not just another assignment with a due date, but a labor of love. That's what any good design is, something that you slave over because you want it to be as good as it can be. I wasn't getting that at KCAI.

So I'll leave it at that. There will be plenty more to come as school moves forward. Stay tuned!

[as the brits would say...] CHEERS!