Need Opinions of Schools

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
1

<p>So I want to go into advertising and graphic design. I'm wondering what my chance of scholarships are at these schools and if anyone knows if they're any good? </p>

<p>That is some of my work that I hope to submit.
College</a> portfolio - a set on Flickr</p>

<p>I plan on applying at SAIC
College of Creative Studies (CCS)
Carnegie Mellon (my last choice- I want to stay local)
Lawrence Tech University (a smaller school that is not an art school- I just have a feeling they will give me a scholarship) </p>

<p>As far as ACT I got a 28 and will be retaking it. My gpa is weighted at a 3.848 and I hope to get it to a 4.0 before I graduate (not that matters for college, just for my own personal achievements)</p>

<p>What I'm worried about is that I have not taken a lot of art classes. I've only taken two at my school and I am going to take another 2 classes this year. Do you think I have what it takes to make it into an art program and what advice do you have for me about portfolio and applying, and being successful in art programs? Also, does anyone happen to know much about CCS. Locally, I know it's a great school, but what about outside of Michigan?</p>

2

<p>more people in know design-wise would answer ( guru=rainingagain is back just in time!) but I hate seeing kids’ post go un- replied.
I would like to have creme brulee coffee from your dessert menu, like, now.
I like your landscape assuming done from observation, not from looking at photos.
CCS, I read an article about local car designer alum. It is rare thing to be appointed to hi rank design job in major company as a minority woman, sort of thing. she said how much the school helped her grow and wants to give back to the community. I do not have the article to attach, it was on print and while ago.
CMU does not give merit money far as I heard. but if your family is decently poor, its need base aid is generous.
where are you in Michigan?
there will be big art festival in Grand Rapids next month. go see, or volunteer, then you have something to write about in the essay even though your art class experience is limited.
<a href=“http://www.artprize.org/[/url]”>http://www.artprize.org/&lt;/a&gt;
Michigan just could be the next big thing.</p>

3

<p>I’m located in the detroit suburbs, so Grand Rapids is a long drive though I do want to check out Kendall College. </p>

<p>I think CMU (sounds just like Central Michigan, so very weird to say as most of my friends are going there) is not really possible as I want to stay local and we’re too rich too get federal aid, but too poor for me to be able to go to college without a large scholarships. That has been the big thing dwelling on my mind.</p>

<p>CCS is very appealing to me when I visited, its near home (about 40 minutes) and it really appealed to those things that Michigan people just love! Cars :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Would colleges consider my two years of high tech co-op internship (doing school websites, helping teachers), and two years of web design classes as any way to boost the fact that I haven’t done any pre summer programs, or taken many classes? Also visual art summer camp?</p>

4

<p>Just wanted to put in my $0.02. :)</p>

<p>Art schools primarily judge you by your portfolio, so don’t worry about not having taken many classes or gone to summer art camps. In fact, I think doing art school precollege programs is an exception among art school applicants, not the rule. Knowing web design is huge for graphic design and may be a boost.</p>

<p>I really liked the MemoKin logo you did, and you can certainly render, as evidenced from your drawing of the cottage. My advice, in terms of your drawings, would be to keep only what’s done from real life and makes you look your most serious. In the forest drawing it’s clear that the people are not from life and it looks a bit unprofessional. Love the websites you’ve designed and if you have any more examples of those definitely put them in.</p>

5

<p>The logo in the beginning is alright and the website and menu at the end are fairly good but overall the portfolio is kind of bad. Other than SAIC and CMU, I’m not really familiar with the schools you’re interested in so I can’t say what your admission/scholarship chances are going to be like in general. However, wrt to SAIC theres a good chance you’ll be accepted since your grades are fairly good and their admission rate is really high but your scholarship opportunities don’t look so bright. CMU is far more selective than SAIC, the admission rate to the school of design, according to their website, is around 10% whereas SAIC’s is around 80%. If admissions to the school of design are primarily portfolio based, it would be fair to say that with your current portfolio the likelihood of being accept is quite low. But there’s good news!</p>

<p>You still have quite a lot of time before you need to submit your applications which means you have enough time to make a better portfolio. I would strongly recommend that you draw more often. Everything doesn’t need to be technical observational stuff and in fact a combination of technical representational work with more personal or idea based work is ideal. This is important because most art schools, even if it is a sub college like the cmu school of design, don’t admit students to specific programs and want to see a general kind of proficiency. </p>

<p>I would also recommend that if you are really interested in design that you make a conscious effort to find out what is going on in the design world and see as much design work as possible. Here are some blogs that I used to follow quite often.</p>

<p>[FormFiftyFive</a> – Design inspiration from around the world](<a href=“http://www.formfiftyfive.com/]FormFiftyFive”>http://www.formfiftyfive.com/)
[fleuron[/url</a>]
[url=&lt;a href="http://www.itsnicethat.com/]It’s"&gt;http://www.itsnicethat.com/]It’s</a> Nice That](<a href=“NameBright - Coming Soon”>http://www.fleuron.com/)</p>

<p>It is also ESSENTIAL that you read some good books on design in general and don’t just get all your information from the internet/software books. You should definitely read something on the history of graphic design. I would recommend the thames and hudson concise history of graphic design.</p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Graphic Design: A Concise History, Second Edition (World of Art) (9780500203477): Richard Hollis: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Design-Concise-History-Second/dp/0500203474/ref=pd_sim_b_47]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Design-Concise-History-Second/dp/0500203474/ref=pd_sim_b_47)</p>

<p>or if you are REALLY serious and a little bit of an academic: meggs’ hiistory of graphic design</p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (9780471699026): Philip B. Meggs, Alston W. Purvis: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Meggs-History-Graphic-Design-Philip/dp/0471699020/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282997506&sr=1-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Meggs-History-Graphic-Design-Philip/dp/0471699020/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282997506&sr=1-1)</p>

<p>You will also need to be familiar with the general principles of graphic design.
There is the non designers design book by robin williams which is a short, simple and altogether great introduction to basic graphic design principles.</p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> The Non-Designer’s Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice (9781566091596): Robin Williams: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Typographic-Principles/dp/1566091594]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Typographic-Principles/dp/1566091594)</p>

<p>But perhaps as someone whos interested in studying graphic design at university level you would need something more rigorous. In which case I suggest arnim hofffmans graphic design manual</p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Graphic Design Manual: Principles and Practice/Methodik Der Form-Und Bildgestaltung : Aufbau Synthese Anwendung/Manuel De Creation Graphique : Forme Synthese Application (Multilingual Edition) (9783721200065): Armin Hofmann: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Design-Manual-Form-Bildgestaltung/dp/3721200063/ref=pd_sim_b_3]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Design-Manual-Form-Bildgestaltung/dp/3721200063/ref=pd_sim_b_3)</p>

<p>and josef muller brockmanns grid systems in graphic design.</p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Grid Systems in Graphic Design/Raster Systeme Fur Die Visuele Gestaltung (German and English Edition) (9783721201451): Josef Muller-Brockmann: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Systems-Graphic-Systeme-Visuele-Gestaltung/dp/3721201450/ref=pd_sim_b_1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Systems-Graphic-Systeme-Visuele-Gestaltung/dp/3721201450/ref=pd_sim_b_1)</p>

<p>They are both fairly old texts but are still, nonetheless relevant in terms of learning about composition and layout. I promise you that reading any of these books (besides the history ones) will make you a better designer, visually at least.</p>

6

<p>I admit, I had to look at a map of Michigan ( I am an immigrant) So Grand Rapids is far, the other end of the state, more close to Indiana. hah.
An arbor is kind of close. Are you doing U Mich?
It is still hefty sums but half the price of outer state kids. I hear they got all kind of good in-state help, merit and needs, no?
If you get ACT 30 plus you might have a good chance.
Its artschool should have portfolio or supplement requirement. I can not navigate their giant site right now, if kids from your HS regularly apply there, your teacher should be able to help you, or read up yourself.</p>

<p>Listen to kaelyn, but don’t get discouraged or overwhelmed. no regular HS kids should know all ^ this, that’s why you are going to college to learn such things.
he( now I know it is he! ) won’t be telling this and that if you are the hopeless case, in other word, your works piqued his interest enough, which is a good thing, really.
Art books are expensive, try going to good big library or bookstore. I don’t read much besides Communication Arts ( we get then at job) but there are tons of trade magazines and annual publications, any big commercial mega bookstore - B&N, Borders has such sections. if you go to art museums, their giftshops usually have selection of art and design books.
write down the name of the artist/designer you like, then google it, see where and how they become who they are. these days, they have not only official website but blogs for friends and family and you never know what you will find! those are really fun to follow, you don’t see it as “studying” but you will learn alot from. because if you see something you like, you’d want to know about it, so you’d look up name/ jargon/ place/ medium.
And boy, not like when I was your age, now you get answers right away! just copy the words and search, in seconds you get all this information. what a world it become. </p>

<p>eh… are you up drae? help out around here?</p>

7

<p>@bluetulip Thanks! Good to know I’m not too behind. I decided I wanted to be a designer… oh about 8 months ago and between work and school and such putting together a portfolio is near impossible. </p>

<p>@kaelyn You’ve stated my work is not very good but you have not explained why. I understand my work is less conceptional and a bit more technical. I will defiantly keep working on it and I’m better at business cards and websites then anything else. All the schools I’ve had reviews at have been quite surprised with my work and said its excellent and quite advanced for an incoming student. Not to say the schools have been excellent. I will certainly check out the blogs and books you listed however. </p>

<p>I’m certainly interested in CCS for a factor that I think many of the schools don’t have. Because it is located in downtown Detroit its surrounded by auto companies and other companies that come in who present students the opportunities to work with the heads of their design teams for advertising, industrial design, package design to launch real world ideas and products while still in school. I’m not sure if there are many schools like that? It also makes the school less conceptual and more technical. </p>

<p>I’m not sure, is it normal for admissions counselors to suggest you email your work to them over the course of the summer so they can keep critiquing it?</p>

8

<p>I’m up but too busy too answer…I will before the weekend is over.</p>

<p>I’m starting to feel that Kaelyn is not a young person.</p>

9

<p>Hey annay,</p>

<p>I don’t want to come across as the overly critical loudmouth but I should explain my opinion. Generally, a lot of the stuff looks amateurish as in, it seems like you are more excited by the fact that you can make a web page, rendering, layout etc without any particular attention to aesthetic considerations. I’m not saying that technical skills are unimportant but rather that aesthetic considerations are equally as important. For example in the first two images there seems to be little attention paid to the organization and relationship of elements i.e. composition. Similarly it seemed, until the last website, like you have little interest in typography or color relationships. It seems like you haven’t put much thought into how you want the finished product to look or why. But ultimately it doesn’t matter so much what I think of the work. What is more important is that you develop the ability to see your own work in the context of what is being produced in a specific area and come to your own conclusions. You should find work that you consider amazing and measure your work against it, learn from your betters etc. </p>

<p>Having been to a number of portfolio reviews, I think you have to be very wary of how admission representatives respond to your work. Generally admission reps, more than anything else, want to encourage students to apply to their schools for a number of reasons that needn’t detain us. What that means is they tend to maximize flattery and minimize criticism as much as possible. It’s only with the more selective and/or reputable schools that you get direct criticism.</p>

<p>Bears and dogs is right in that the books I’ve recommended aren’t stuff that most high school students would have read. However they are books that (in my humble opinion) anyone interested in becoming a good graphic designer should read. I think they’d be especially relevant for some one aiming to produce a scholarship portfolio. some of the specific links are to expensive hardcover versions of the books but i just linked to those versions cus they had pictures. The softcover versions are much cheaper. I think you’d find most of them at any decent sized art book store. </p>

<p>For the record, I’m 19 and a he. Hope i’ve not been too boorish.</p>

10

<p>sorry if I was short Kaelyn…</p>

<p>It is just extraordinary the amount of information you have taken in and are able to convey at your age. You are impressively articulate.</p>

<p>I am a bit crabby because my husband and I have been working on a huge project with a very tight deadline…a website that’s coming in at about 100 pages. Just a reminder to anyone going into the design field. It’s not all typography, color and layout. There are a lot of logistics involved in most projects. Make sure you also study information architecture, programming and take a class in design management if you can. It takes a large set of skills to see a project through to completion. No one person can do everything when the projects get big, but it is good to have the knowledge to be able to interface with your team. Many of your days will be deadline driven. Develop good time management skills and learn to set boundaries so that you can have a personal life too.</p>

11

<p>No need to worry Drae. No offense was taken at any point.</p>

<p>I just made an uber post!!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/989407-reading-recommendations-art-students.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/989407-reading-recommendations-art-students.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

12

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I’m back from vacation and more human now and am able to take in what has been discussed on this thread. Annay, you received some good advice here. I think Kaelyn was on to something when he said that it looks like what excites you right now is the fact that you are able to accomplish the (design) work technically and that it would be helpful to start looking at work that inspires you in order to develop your own aesthetic further. Here is a site that features some nicely designed websites: [Home</a> - Web design inspiration from siteInspire](<a href=“http://siteinspire.net/]Home”>http://siteinspire.net/)</p>

<p>Keep giving yourself “assignments”. Try the Design Project prompts that are on the CMU admissions site: <a href=“http://www.design.cmu.edu/files/designproject_090821.pdf[/url]”>http://www.design.cmu.edu/files/designproject_090821.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>And I agree with bluetulip. Keep drawing from observation. I would love to see more of your landscapes. Also…can you take a life drawing class? Sometimes there are local arts organizations that host life drawing sessions. Keep your eye excercised! </p>

<p>I am very curious about CCS? Have you visited? It sounds like a great option for you.</p>