Split Decision?

I recall having a conversation with Andy a couple of months ago about things I wan to work toward, career-wise. I have this profound love and passion for graphic design and all things artsy; a strong and unfulfilled history with psychology/counseling; and a new desire to work full-time in the public schools.

So what do I do? I aspire to do work as a designer of "print" art, be it as an art director for a magazine, a freelance digital artist, invitation designer and consultant, or something else extravagant that I've yet to explore.

Recently, I learned about a couple of means by which I could do consulting as an independent contractor. The first is a company called Heritage Makers. Heritage Makers is an online publishing system which allows you to work with clients to publish digital scrapbooks, recipe books, and story books with ease. Totally up my alley!!! I've never been the type to do things like this, which in my opinion is along the same lines as Mary Kay and Pampered Chef (love their stuff), but I can see myself doing this. And... It's Oprah approved, LOL!



The second opportunity would be to become an invitation dealer/designer contracted through Envelopments, Incorporated. With Envelopmets, Inc., I would be able to design the invitations using my design software and their design studio products (inventory of custom papers, cardstock, envelopes, pocket envelopes and more); and use their services/resources to be a successful vendor of these invitations. How nice is that?! I think it's pretty cool. There's a rigorous application process. I'd have to have my business fully operational by then, but I like the potential!



I feel that working in the graphic design field will open a lot of doors for me to be able to work successfully from the home, while also being able to devote a substantial amount of quality time with my future family. After all, being a mother (and hopefully someday, a wife) will always be my #1 on my list.

So why is this post entitled "Split Decision"? I want to do more than one thing, really. I love counseling and working with children and their families. I really feel that being a counselor/therapist was my true calling. Actively listening to the testimonies of others, whom are reaching out for my help, is a skill that comes naturally to me. I'm quite empathetic in nature, however, so this "gift" of providing quality care to others can very easily tear me apart. I can easily turn on that switch that allows me within the protective walls built up by my clients and I am immediately immersed in their lives plagued of pain and misunderstanding. I can't, however, turn off that switch so easily. This ability is my gift and it is also my curse. I feel compelled to do this line of work, and I plan to return to it once my children are grown and successfully independent members of society. Perhaps then, I will finally pursue my Ph.D. in the field. Graphic Design will always be my outlet, along with muay thai...and of course, spending time with the kids and my Andybear. :)

So where does "teaching" fit into all of this? To be honest, I enjoyed doing a lot of my counseling work in the alternative school in Virginia. I would often visit my clients in school to observe and interact with, alongside of their peers. I never had a complaint and in fact, my clients begged for me to visit as many times as I could. To them, and to their peers as well, I was the "cool" therapist, that didn't label them nor made them feel any less than gifted individuals. Sure, they had their behavioral problems and quick tempers, but I was able the de-escalate them fast, without causing a blow to their self-esteem or "reputations". The teachers felt more respected as well, as I offered to help out in a manner a paraprofessional would. I developed a level of comfort in the school setting that was very professionally satisfying. I began to feel that I could do a good service to schools as a behavioral interventionist (if that's even a word) and an instructor. I would LOVE to teach! Just gotta take that GACE (exam). . .YIKES! Oh, AND land a teaching job, lol. Then I'll do the GA TAPP (program) to become a certified teacher. I've already started to apply!! Wish me luck!

Graphic Design + Teaching . . .then later Therapy + Graphic Design (freelance)


We shall see!!

Fundamentals of Design - Final Project

I just finished up my Final Project for Fundamentals of Design, and I gotta tell you, I'm more than pleased with the outcome. I received a lot of positive feedback from my professor and peers, but I keep pushing it and pushing it, hoping to make it even better than before.

I really can't tell you how many drafts I had of this project (far too many), lol. I'd print out each version to compare to the last, getting feedback from anyone that passed my room! I'd hear, "you changed it AGAIN???" . . .Can you blame me though? This project is to be of portfolio quality! It's rewarding to hear, "This version really is better than the last because ______" and I'd actually get valid, constructive criticism! I love feedback and it is always welcomed by me.

Now that I'm done with it, I'm really exploring a desire to intern or work as an art director for a magazine somewhere. . .you know, down the road, once I earn my degree.


Here's my cover design and layout:

Final Version


Draft





Here's my Artist Statement:

"As my final project for Fundamentals of Design, I carried the objective of creating the premiere cover of a magazine about interracial relationships. As stated originally in my project proposal, interracial relationships is subject matter that I am involved with in my personal life: being in an interracial relationship and raising two young mutli-racial children. Interracial relationships are seemingly on the rise and while others are thirsting for understanding, these mixed races couples are thirsting for greater acceptance in society today. The final design was successful in it's use of both positive and negative space with and without the added article headlines. The lines created by the joining hands and the arrows creates a natural flow from one end of the image to the opposite end, creating an equal balance of positive and negative space. The composition is semi formal in nature with the use of technical terminology as well as everyday vernacular, while also incorporating real-life images of interracial couples that exist today. The use of shadowing and some layering helps to create some illusion of depth to the cover art, however, the perception of volume was not achieved, nor, in this case, was it necessary.

I combined the focal image of joining hands with the symbolic image of a black arrow and a white arrow meeting together. This image was made more subtle by partially layering over it a duplicate layer with a pattern overlay (the collage of couples). My biggest challenge was to create design that would convey my message through images alone, before words are ever brought into the overall design.

The use of natural color in this piece best conveyed the message of an existing interracial couple, more so than any other color scheme. As reported through peer observation, the use of a monochromatic color scheme did not suggest the unity, balance, nor variety that the natural scheme did. Monochromatic schemes of the different races joining hands, simply suggested two hands of different skin tones or shades, which could occur within the same race, versus hands of different ethnic backgrounds. I also sampled a hue of blue from the focal image for use elsewhere on the cover (i.e. master head/title and banner advertisement). In addition, I matched the color of a feature headline "Hot Topic" with parts of another feature headline "Interracial Euphony Defined." I received a lot of valuable feedback from Professor Adams and my peers to help guide me through the challenges. I am happy to report that the images I brought together in this piece was able to successfully communicate the intended message with my audience."

"You're invited!"

No, I'm not having any events just yet, apart from Renji's birthday (which I've yet to plan), but I wanted to share some more of my recent work with you all. Mainly INVITATIONS! I've had a couple of Etsy transactions for kids birthday party invitations that were pretty fun for me to make; one of which was a returning customer! I'd previously designed Fancy Nancy and Pinkalicious invites for a lady in Atlanta. Recently, she contacted me again to design invitations for her son's upcoming Legos birthday party! Quite fun indeed! Here's what we came up with:



Success!

Shortly after, I was contacted by a lady in Florida to design custom Strawberry Shortcake invitations. She favored the vintage illustrations of SS, so, like the others, I had to build the invitation from scratch. Here's the final design:



Success!


It's always thrilling to come up with something unique, custom, and have your customer really love it. It's just as rewarding as counseling!


Before I leave you with your feelings of "awww, how sweet", I wanted to show you the invites I made for my cousin, who will have a House-warming party later this month. These were the easiest to make. I just had to fiddle around with the font choices more than the images. According to her, the design was a hit with her friends and co-workers!



Talk about a boost in my design-esteem! I'm sooooo loving Graphic Design!