IDSA@SFSU: March 2009

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Portfolio Nite Wrap Up

Hey IDSAers,

First, a BIG thanks to all who participated in our Spring 2009 edition of the DAI Alumni Portfolio Nite, especially our guest alumni presenters/reviewers. Also, a specific BIG thanks to Prof. Ricardo Gomes!

I thought I would share some of my notes from the evening, both to initiate discussion amongst any of you who may have attended (and check this blog) and for those who missed out:

1. Pictured above is Jeff Sand, alum and product designer. He had quite an exciting presentation of his product design portfolio as well as a concise and fairly compelling narrative of his design process and employment history.

I was surprised (and excited) when Jeff described a common design scenario (for him at least) where he would have just two weeks to develop a concept starting with sketches, then surfaces, and then the pitch to the client. "Two weeks"?? I saw this as great news, because given the rapid approach of both the Spring Mixer (April 2nd) and the Western District Conference (April 24-26) this means that in theory, we could all develop our ideas at a professional level (or at least an approximation of one).

In reference to living with a fellow creative professional (his wife is an architect) Jeff said, "We design because we love design, not because it's a great living."

2. I lucked out and managed to land a quick portfolio review from Arvind Gupta, about three minutes before the review period ended. Arvind's quick and valuable feedback went something like this:

"You've got some product here and some process shots, but I'm not seeing how any of this is relevant to me. People basically trade cash for benefits. So communicate what is the benefit to me, and do it with pictures because no one wants to read."

Thanks, Arvind! I will definitely take this to heart.

3. The evening wrapped up with a panel discussion with almost all of our guest alumni on stage.

In response to the question "what human qualities do hiring professionals look for?" Arvind replied that people want to hire someone that they would want to hang out with. Considering how consuming design work can be, this makes a lot of sense to me. If you are going to "live" design (both at home and the office), you want to work with people you can "live" with.

Another valuable comment came from former IDSA SFSU President/Chair, Kristrun Hjartar. She said, "it is so important that you do more than just your [design] homework. You cannot just do your homework! I cannot emphasize this point enough!"

I heartily agree.

And lastly, more words from Jeff Sand. When approaching a job interview, prepare an answer to this question, "how am I going to deliver what this person needs." If you can communicate this, it is hard to say "no" to hiring you.

Labels: alumni, DAI, IDSA SFSU, Portfolio Nite

posted by Thomas Deckert # 7:38 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Friday, March 20, 2009

Sweet concept presentations on Yanko

Yanko Design has posted some really sweet concept designs.

The first is a lifeguard stand/rescue device:

The second is a translator based on images!

Yanko Design has more images and informatio on the projects respectively:

Lifegaurd thingy

Translator thingy

posted by Toast # 12:49 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, March 19, 2009

IDsketching.com's Spencer Nugent Interview

Here's an interesting short interview with Spencer Nugent that was put together for davidson.com/creators. It's a cool format He's sketching a camera while talking!

Spencer Nugent Interview from Industrial Design Sketching on Vimeo.

Via IDsketching

posted by Toast # 10:11 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Saturday, March 14, 2009

IDSA@SFSU: Portfolio Nite 2009 - Program Schedule

posted by Thomas Deckert # 3:47 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Monday, March 9, 2009

Product Design Forums releases new rescource!

Product Design Hub beta. It's name is what it is, it's a resource that acts as a hub for all things design; articles, videos, tutorials, blog, forum, job posting, directory, and competitions!

check it out!!

Product Design Hub

posted by Toast # 11:18 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

DAI Portfolio Nite - Thursday, March 19th, 6-9pm, Jack Adams Hall

Hey IDSAers,

Here is the latest schedule for Portfolio Nite. There are just two weeks left to prepare. Please comment with any thoughts, questions, or suggestions:

The DAI Portfolio Nite will take place from 5:30 - 9:00 PM, Thursday, March 19th in Jack Adams Hall in the Cesar Chavez Student Center at SFSU.

PORTFOLIO NITE PROGRAM SCHEDULE:

5:30 Refreshments

6:00 Welcoming Remarks: Ricardo Gomes, Chair
Mariko Hingston, SFSU Career Center

6:10 DAI Alumni Presenters Intro:

* Tiffany Norlock, Interactive Producer for Walmart.com

* Clay Haller, Product Design Director, Advance Elements

* Asya Soloian, Creative Coordinator, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

* Jeff Sand, Founder/President, Jeff Sand Product Development

* Chris Fong, SF Chronicle, Publication Designer

* Caroline Chu, Founder/CEO, Caroline Chu Cosmetics Inc. (former Creative Director, NVidia)

* Bill Seidel, President/CEO, America Invents

6:20 Alumni Panelist Presentation (10 -15 minutes)

8:00 Open Portfolio "Break Out": Open(informal) Portfolio Break Out session with the DAI students, Alumni Presenters and Guest DAI Alumni Reviewers

Additional DAI Alumni Reviewers:

* Charles Floyd, AbsolutelyNew Director- Design Services

* Joanna Lee, Production Manager, Brand Communiction Design Consultant

* Joward Pascual, Interactive Designer, Apple Inc.

* Marilyn McLaughlin, MLEE Designs, San Francisco

8:30 Guest Alumni Reviewers and Alumni Presenters Portfolio Panel Discussion: Panel summary feedback/comments of Student Portfolios, and audience questions to Alumni Panel

9:00 Conclusion

Labels: night, nite, portfolio

posted by Thomas Deckert # 9:25 PM 0 Comments Links to this post