SubscribeDreading class in concept development
I’m into the second week of a concept development class at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. According to the school’s course catalog, this course “will emphasize the conceptualization processes of art and design in solving given problems. The student will use creative problem-solving and research techniques, specifically, problem identification, analysis, brainstorming and idea refinement. Portfolio-quality projects will be produced throughout the course of the term.”
I hate the class with a passion. It’s about as exciting as watching grass grow in a drought-stricken area. More importantly, I don’t see a need for it in my life or future design projects.
Since beginning classes last year in June, I’ve really enjoyed being challenged by the courses I’ve taken and have been able to maintain a 4-point overall average.
Although I can’t draw a straight line – even when guided with a ruler – I am passionate about and thoroughly enjoy manipulating digital images and type to create unique designs.
As for this class, it requires one sketch after another. My first assignment required 60 sketches –30 nonrepresentational shapes that express sensations such as touch, taste, hearing, smell and emotion and 30 line designs that express speed, resting and expansion. I had the line assignment down pat. As for the shapes, I had about 4 out of 30 correct. So I spent four hours on Saturday rereading the lecture and course books before doing the assignment again.
Then Sunday evening, I read the instructor’s comments that said I had half of them correct. I didn’t consider trying it again.
I enjoyed my second assignment that offered more than 25 images and required me to pair two of them and write a detailed explanation of the message being conveyed to consumers. I thoroughly enjoyed that assignment and got an “A”.
Then came the third assignment with part one requiring an image of a self-contained product that is for sale. I was required to explain how the shape of the display relates to the product. For the second part, I had to follow the aforementioned instructions to explain gravity-fed displays. That was an easy assignment because it involved personal perceptions and writing explanations based on the lecture and textbooks readings.
I’ve read the course syllabus to get a feel for upcoming assignments. I can truly say that nothing appeals to me. The final assignment in this class requires me to design and fabricate a 3-D presentation model of a countertop point-of-purchase display. I could care less about a countertop display that offers gum, candy bars and seasonal items such as school supplies, Easter baskets, etc. Unfortunately, I have to turn in 20 sketches of my project by Friday. If only I could draw!
My interest in a class, project or whatever makes a huge difference in the way I follow through. With this class, I have to force myself to read the more than 80 pages each week and do the assignments.
Last session, I had some problems learning to design in Photoshop. But I never hated the class even when I spent hours viewing on-line tutorials to help me to execute the techniques. I looked forward to completing my assignments and reading critiques of my designs from the instructors and peers. I fell in love with Photoshop and it is now my favorite software.
The big project in my digital image manipulation class was to design a silly caricature that would be the focal point of a flyer advertising a game for an entertainment company. So I thought it would be fun to transform a casual cookout into an up-scaled one.
At the up-scaled affair, I envisioned a formal outdoor setting with foods other than hamburgers and hotdogs and champagne instead of beer or wine. With that thought in mind, I chose a corkscrew as the body of the caricature and to attract more attention, I applied human facial features, arms, and hands. I dressed the character in a tuxedo and had him carry a silver tray loaded with long-stem glasses filled with champagne. The aforementioned elements were extracted and then assembled through layers in Photoshop. What fun!
Why can’t all my classes be so much fun?
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When I was an 18-month-old plump and very mischievous toddler, I was stricken with polio. Paralysis stole my mobility and I was only able to move my head from side to side. Then, when I was 2 years old, my mother was killed in a tornado. A year later, my father married and began a life that excluded me.
