Archive for June, 2008

Well after the initial scare I received that internships may be considered unethical, I have come to the conclusion that this may be the concerns of a vocal few. For the most part I have received some rather positive responses to the question “were your internship experiences valuable to you?” In additional pretty much every person that I asked said that they would do it again if afforded the chance. However the main reason I am writing another article on the subject is to share the information I received about how to have a great internship experience. In fact the information I received along with my personal experiences have helped to create a list not only for the employer but the student as well.

Well it took me a lot longer than I had originally expected but I was able to track down the original links to more than thirty PDF documents that I have collected over the past couple of years. I have personally archived every one of these files due to the high quality of content. No matter what you call them; ebook, white paper, or resource they all contain information that no designer should go without. (In actuality there are more than 30 files however it was a good round number for the title…)

Before graduating from college I became increasingly interested in pursuing my education in design further than an undergraduate degree. After talking with numerous faculty members I decided that it was best for me to spend a couple of years in the field doing some actual work before obtaining a masters degree. That was at least until I read about the new Masters of Fine Arts in Interaction Design that is going to be offered at the legendary SVA starting in the Fall of 2009. This program looks to have all the things I have been searching for in a masters program, great faculty (Christopher Fahey, David Womack, Jason Santa Maria, Karen McGrane, Khoi Vinh, Paul Ford, Matt Owens, Rachel Abrams, Jeffrey Zeldman), a prestigious school, and some sort of coverage on interactive media. In theory this new program would actually surpass all of my criteria.

One thing that I have learned designing in what is mostly a solo environment is that inspiration is a very hard thing to find. If you work as a freelancer or in an environment devoid of other designers you know just as well as me that creativity is something that has to come from somewhere. Working in an environment with limited access to other designers can really make it hard to break out of design block if you are not aware of what works for you. With the large amount of web design I have been doing lately I have found that this medium suffers the most from group thought. So called “inspirational” sites are everywhere to be found however they only seem to perpetuate current trends, so where do I turn, here are a few tips that I personally use.

Lately I have been looking past websites for design inspiration. In my opinion the so called web design “inspiration” sites have become completely flooded with similar looking trend driven sites. While some galleries are closely monitored and look to only showcase great design, for the most part this is not the case. Print design is one option to look for inspiration, however one area of design that is very inspiring to me has been skateboard / snowboard graphics. These graphics are very expressive and show a ton of a creativity which are two important criteria for judging work based on its inspirational qualities.

I was thinking earlier today that it would be a great idea to convert the background graphics that I have created for my Twitter themes into iPhone wallpapers so that the two could match. If you haven’t already downloaded a free Twitter theme, check out the links in the related articles section below.

A while back I posted some free twitter theme designs on the blog, and due to the overwhelming success of those themes I have decided to create a second collection. As always these themes are free for personal use, however please do not use the graphics in your commercial designs. Thanks, and I hope that everyone enjoys them. Also, if you have some themes you would like to share please put a link to them in the comments below.

Today we find ourselves at post number seven in my Sources of Inspiration Series. I have rounded up another batch of great portfolios that are both inspirational and stylish. Be sure to check out the other inspirational portfolios via the related articles section below.

Note: This is not a series about the websites themselves. That said, enjoy the amazing design work located within the portfolios below.

My recent website CreativeInternships.com has sparked some great conversations along the subject of whether they really are a good experience. As a student I was required to do three full-time internships for an entire semester each. In my situation I can say that each of the positions offered me something that positively influenced my career. I definitely learned aspects of the design industry and printing that I would have otherwise never learned in the classroom. On top of the things I learned, the experience gained was one of the largest factors that set me apart from other applicants when I ultimately went looking for a job after school.

If you follow this blog at all then you have no doubt read one of my articles speaking out against the evils of speculative work. In addition to my hatred for spec, I have also used this blog to provide advice to design students. The result of these combined efforts is CreativeInternships.com. Spec work finds the majority of its victims from those who are inexperienced and lack the knowledge to see past the false claims being made. Designs students are typically a large part of this group of victims because they are desperately seeking experience to break into what is a very competitive field. Creative Internships hopes to avoid this by making access to Internship positions more available.