From Power 2 Empowerment

The Communication Design Faculty recently completed hosting its first ever International Conference on Visual Literacy on June 6 and 7 at the Univerisity Center of Dallas. The event was a great success. We had two sets of keynote speakers: Heather Amuny Dey (’97) of Nike and Jonathan Baldwin from Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee Scotland, and Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Melanie Burford of the Dallas Morning News and Professor Douglas Kellner of UCLA. We had 6 different panel discussions and 25 different presentations. Heck, we even had the Mayor Tom Leppert of Dallas!

The conversations were lively and exciting. If you'd like to read more about the conference, go to the website. In a month or so, we should have many of the papers presented posted as well.

Our thanks to the current students who worked the conference with us, as well as the alumni and UNT administration who attended and support the event. I'd like to extend a special thanks to my colleagues Keith Owens, Michael Gibson, Jack Sprague, Johnnie Stark of Interior Design, Paho Mann of Photography, and Jennifer Way of Art History for the great planning and execution.

The Golden Orchard

At the 50th Annual DSVC Professional Show on June 7th, our very own Jack Sprague was honored with the Golden Orchard Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching. This is only the third time this award has been granted, and it couldn't have been given to a more deserving professor.

I think that you should all be proud that Jack Sprague is one of ours (or better yet, each of us is one of his). Don't forget to send him a hearty round of applause.

News about Paul Jerde

As many of you know, Paul Jerde (’94) is in the hospital right now with a serious head injury he sustained two weeks ago when he was hit by a car while riding his bike.

Paul still has not regained consciousness (unless that happened today), but he finally off the ventilator and is showing active movement in his arms and legs—I am hoping this is a very good sign. The doctors have told Patty, his wife, that sometimes these things just take time.

There is another blogspot site for you all to keep up with Paul, his progress and his family: http://getwellsoonpaul.blogspot.com/.

Paul is the Creative Director at Mason Baronet, and he taught for us as an adjunct a year ago.

I know that the faculty and his UNT family are holding him close and keeping him in their prayers. I'll keep you posted here as well.

Sorry it has been so long

But this trusty leader forgot both his password and his user name. Hard to get help when you can't remember the user name.
But never fear, I finally remembered it and now have it written down in a safe place!
There is much to post, so on with it.

Help! I Need Somebody!

The faculty are looking for students who are available on June 6 and 7 to work at the Visual Literacy Conference in Dallas. It is not demanding work, just mostly gopher and directing work, but you get into the conference for free, get to see some interesting presentations, and free lunches. Not a bad trade.

Let me (ligon@unt.edu) or Keith (kowens@unt.edu) know if you can help.

Thanks, Eric

CommDes at UNT Hosts Visual Literacy Conference

Computers, televisions, iPods, billboards, magazines and books flood people with images nearly every moment of every day. In a world packed with images, what does visual literacy mean? And how does it shape education, politics, ethics, technology and marketing?
The University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design seeks to explore those questions and more in its first-ever visual literacy conference, titled From Power 2 Empowerment: An International Conference on Critical Literacy in Visual Culture. The international conference starts at 8:30 a.m. June 6 (Friday) and ends with a multimedia art show and reception at 5:30 p.m. June 7 (Saturday) at the Universities Center at Dallas, 1901 Main Street, Dallas.

“Individuals, companies and even countries are finding themselves in a world where imagery, powered by technology, is becoming the preferred form of communication or persuasion,” said Keith Owens, assistant professor of communication design at UNT. “This conference allows people to explore, respond to and share knowledge about this dynamic new communication order.”

About 100 to 110 local, national and international participants are expected at the two-day conference. Planned events include two keynote speaker presentations, one of whom will be introduced by Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert; panel discussions; breakout paper presentations; and an eclectic multimedia art exhibition that visualizes the conference’s important themes.
“This conference isn't just about design,” said Michael Gibson, associate professor of communication design at UNT. “It's about what motivates us to live our lives the way we do. Our increasing reliance on imagery to make sense of our world and communicate with others is shaping our society and being shaped by it.”

Keynote speakers at the conference are:

• Douglas Kellner, George Kneller Philosophy of Education Chair at UCLA and author of several books on social theory, politics, history and culture, including the recent book Guys and Guns Amok: Domestic Terrorism and School Shootings from the Oklahoma City Bombings to the Virginia Tech Massacre;
• Melanie Burford, a 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner and a Dallas Morning News staff photographer who was part of the Dallas Morning News team that won the prize for reporting the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina;
• Jonathan Baldwin, lecturer in Design History, Theory and Practice at the University of Dundee in Scotland, co-author of Visual Communication: From Theory to Practice and a self-taught graphic designer; and
• Heather Amuny, a creative director at Nike Brand Design.

Registration cost for the entire conference is $150 for non-students. Reduced-cost registration for students is available, starting at $25.
To register for the conference or for more information about the conference program and other speakers, visit http://visualliteracyconference.unt.edu/.

RSW Is Hunting for an Intern

We got this from alumni Ryan Briggs ('03).

RSW Creative are looking for an intern. Interested candidates can contact our Creative Director, Saul Torres, at:
torres@rswcreative.com

If you have any questions, contact me at ligon@unt.edu.

Celebrating the Persian New Year!

Arma Shahidi ('07) was asked to be part of "Celebrating Norooz" on Sunday, March 23 which is an art exhibition of Persian artists work. Norooz is also the Persian New Year. The exhibition will be held at the Plaza of the Americas at 700 North Pearl Street, Dallas, Suite G-207. She hopes to see you there!

UNT Racks 'Em Up!

Wow, the students racked up the entries in the Dallas Society of Visual Communications 4th National Student Show, the only national student show for Communication Design! By my best count, UNT entered 348 separate entries and 24 portfolios. There were a total of about 2300 entries from all of the schools, so UNT entered about 15% of the total entries, but got just over 34% of the show! Great showing!

Here is the break down by school:

Total Pieces Accepted 184
******************************
Art Institute of Dallas 2
Collin County CC 2
Indiana U 2
Indiana U—Southwest 1
Kansas State U 1
Louisiana State U 1
Mississippi State U 1
Missouri State U 17
Oklahoma State U 6
Rutgers U—Camden 3
Southern Methodist U 3
Texas A&M Commerce 8
Texas Christian U 24
Texas State U 15
U of Incarnate Word 1
U of Kansas 15
U of Louisana—Lafayette 1
U of North Texas 72
U of Oklahoma 3
U of Texas Arlington 7
Utah Valley State College 2

Total Portfolios Accepted 22
**********************************
Collin County CC 1
Indiana U 1
U of Kansas 2
U of North Texas 17
U of Oklahoma 1

You can go to http://www.dsvcstudentshow.com/index.aspx?id=24 for the complete results.

Congrats to all of the students who got work in the show!

Design and Community Identity

DFW AIGA Presents:

District Branding: Design and Community Identity

March 13, 2008
7:00 p.m.
The Melrose Hotel
3015 Oak Lawn Ave.
Dallas, Texas 75219
214-521-2121
To reserve you spot for this event, please visit aigadfw.org.

What is the heritage of place and how do you best connect that past to its vision of the future? How do you help a community define its vision of the future? How does this vision integrate into the fabric of the city at large? Bennett Peji, a specialist in urban design and district branding, will discuss these questions and will explore how to discover and define what distinguishes neighborhoods, communities, and cities in order to build a clearer, sustainable identity. City employees, developers, and designers interested in community and public works projects will all benefit from this presentation.

Bennett Peji is a specialist in district branding and design. He serves as an AIGA national board member, a Commissioner of Art & Culture for the City of San Diego, an Asian Business Association Vice-President, and a Public Art Committee member for National City. He is one of the co-founders of the AIGA Center for Cross-cultural Design and is San Diego's first AIGA Fellow honoree. His firm, Bennett Peji Design, focuses on helping revitalize organizations, cities and cultures through district branding. Believing that form follows culture, Peji served as master plan consultant for the Filipino Village development in National City. He is leading the district branding projects for the City of Carlsbad, downtown Rancho Bernardo, downtown National City and the Asian Pacific Historic District in downtown San Diego. Peji is the recipient of the 2005 Arts, Business and Culture Award from the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the 2004 Outstanding Professional of the Year Award from the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce and the 2004 Asian Heritage Award for Cultural Preservation from Asia Media. Besides business and community service awards, his firm has received over 200 design awards.

Peji is a co-founder and regent of the Baja California Missions Foundation, founded to renovate and preserve the historic missions in Mexico.

Final Count for DSVC Entries

Wow!

Our final count (I think) is 343 separate entries in 18 of 22 categories, and 24 portfolios in 5 scholarship/portfolio categories!

I spoke with Lori Dibble, chair of the Student Show, and she said they expect to have the results posted on the web site in two weeks. I'll send out an announcement as soon as I know.

Good job everyone.

You Guys Blow Me Away!

As of Sunday, Feb. 24 at 11:23 p.m., my running total for DSVC enteries are: 324 separate entries and 23 portfolio entries, all entered by 87 different students. And I don't think that is the final tally.

Way to go.

I have not heard when the announcement will be made but I'll share that when I hear.

Thanks for entering out in force. Good luck!

Mapping the Island

I received this illustration freelance job earlier this week from Jay Franklin, an alumni fo the art department ('82) and am now posting it here for you.

"I am looking to have someone illustrate a map for me. My father is writing a book about the island of Kauai and I need an illustrated map of the island. It will be a pretty simple illustration for someone that has proficiency in the style that I am looking for. I am looking for a black and white line drawing looking down on the island that would show some of the basic terrain of the island. I am not looking for a topographical map, but a drawing of the island to illustrate the locations where some of the events in the book take place."

If you are interested, please contact Jay via e-mail at jay@franklins.org.

Turner Duckworth in CA Magazine

Emily Charette ('07) wrote with a heads up about a feature about Turner Duckworth in the January/February issue of Communication Arts. It highlights some of David Turner and Bruce Duckworth's philosophies about work/design and and has images of a lot of nice projects. Emily has been working at Turner Duckworth since this past summer.

Thanks Emily!

Fossil Internship Available

Graphic Design & Web Design Internships — at Fossil's award-winning design studio!

Fossil, a leader in the design, marketing and distribution of fashion watches, apparel, leather goods and eyewear has opportunities for full-time and/or part-time graphic design & web design internships for the spring and summer semesters in our headquarters in NE Richardson, Texas USA. You must be currently working on, or have a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Arts or related field. Our paid internship program will offer you hands-on experience in a fast paced, in-house environment. Our design studio of over 100+ creative people will provide you an enriched internship experience.

Portfolio required at time of interview. We prefer interns who would be available for full days at least 2-3 days per week up to full time, 5 days a week. We are willing to work with school schedules.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE: Internship candidates are encouraged to apply if able to meet the following requirements:

* Working knowledge of graphic design principles and possess both artistic and technical skills.
* Knowledge in Adobe programs on a Mac platform.
* Web experience a plus, but not required
* The ability to effectively balance multiple projects and meet tight deadlines
* Strong communication skills
* The ability to work well with others and as part of a team
* The ability to follow direction well
* Currently working on or have a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Arts or related field.


Please e-mail resume including samples of your work to Lori Massey at Lorim@fossil.com. Please indicate your availability in your correspondence. No phone calls please. They will be accepting resumes through April.

Sad News

I heard this week that Scott Golem's wife died earlier this week. Scott is an alumni from '93.

Our sincerest condolences go out to you, Scott. We'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

Sorry for the Lack of Posts

Due to the preparation of the entries for the DSVC, and me getting sick, I have not been very diligent here at the blog, but never fear: I'll be posting once again.

Hang in there with me!

DSVC Show Entries

It appears that UNT entered about 200 entries in the DSVC competition this year, roughly the same number as last year. (I hope to have a final tally by Monday.) There is a lot of great work entered. The folks and volunteers at DSVC are going to be very busy this weekend sorting, and judging the work. Like you, I hope we do well. I know you will make us proud as you always do.

I want to remind everyone before the list is published of who got what work in the show that this is, still, only a design show. Every year, lots of great work doesn't get it. Every year, work not so great gets in. The judges will be looking at over 2,000 entries in a matter of two days. Some really great work will always be there, but other pieces strike a judge's fancy on a particular day or not. Design can be pretty subjective, especially when one is looking at that many pieces in so compressed a time period.

All of this is to say that if you get work in the show, that is really great; if you don't get work in the show, don't beat yourself up. (These same judges on a different weekend would likely pick a different show out of the exact same entries.) This is true of professional shows as well.

We want you to know that we are proud of you for the hard work you do, for the quality work you do, and for being really great students. Regardless of what shows and wins, or not.

CA Magazine Annual Illustration Call for Entries

Luan Luu ('07) sent this along as a reminder to any of you aspiring illustrators.

The deadline for the 2008 CA Illustration Call for Entries is March 11. Check the website for more information.

Thanks, Luan!

Simona Cellar is Smokin' Hot

Simona Cellar ('07) was featured in one of Zurich's newspapers in January. Yes, the article is all German, but basically she completed a project with an artist in the city. The task was to develop an idea of how to make art for the city of Zurich, and for its government buildings. Their idea was to put video screens next to office doors that showed little videos of what happens in that specific office. She also designed two posters to explain the whole concept. They (Simona and the artist) ended up in the best of 10, which is great!

Other than that, she doing well. She is still doing an internship at MetaDesign Zurich ,and hopes to get hired full-time in April.

Than ks for sending us this update Simona. Also, tell Erik that Jack and I said hello. (We took him to eat at Javier's years ago when he came to UNT.)

DSVC College Club: February Meeting

Date: Feb 21st
Time: Be there between 5:30 pm and 6:00 pm
Location: 3232 McKinney Avenue Suite 1200 Dallas, Texas 75204
Phone# 214 969 1050

Sibley Peteet Design, founded over 23 years ago, has grown from a two-man design boutique to a nationally acclaimed, multi-disciplined communications powerhouse. No matter what kind of work from Annual Reports, Branding or New Media, they do it all. Their client list includes Mary Kay, Radio Shack, Verizon, Nokia and 7-Eleven, to name a few. For more information about their work please visit their website at www.spddallas.com, or simply join our tour on February 21st for a 101 experience. We will meet between 5:30 and 6:00 pm for a quick tour of their facility followed by 30 min presentation by Mr. Don Sibley and 10 minutes Q & A.

Professors and students who are interested in participating in this event please RSVP by Feb 18th to Arma Shahidi: armaart@gmail.com

PARTICIPATION IN ANY COLLEGE CLUB EVENT IS FREE OF CHARGE FOR DESIGN LOVERS.

Looking forward to see you all,

Arma

New DSVC Student Show Deadlines

Good News:
The deadline has been extended for the DSVC entries. The deadline is now Thursday, Feb. 21 at Clampitt by 6:00 pm. The DSVC will be sending out a mass e-mail about this sometime soon, Lori tells me. So I will move my deadline to end of day (5:30 p.m.) next Monday, in my office. You can still take work down yourself as long as you promise to e-mail me what you entered (category number, title of piece, number of pieces).

Other News:
It is the practice of our program (when we can afford it) to enter the work of those alumni who graduated in the Spring of the previous year, but only work done in these students' final portfolio semester. One of our current seniors wrote to express concern over the legality of entering work of students who graduated last spring according to some of the wording at the show site. This is a practice we have followed for many, many years, but I check with Lori Dibble—the chair of the conference just in case.

Lori told me that as long as the work was done for a class and when the alumni was a student, then it is okay to enter. Concerning entering this work in portfolio scholarship competitions, she said that she'd like the Jump-Start Portfolio Scholarship to go to a student who will be graduating in a couple of months rather than one who graduated 9 months ago. I told Lori, and now you all, that we only enter our alumni student portfolios in the Padgett Scholarship competition. That seems fair to us and seemed very fair to Lori and the board of DSVC.

Our entering past students work raised another question: Can a current senior count on the program to enter their work next year? The straight answer is: Don't count on that happening. Our ability to enter past student's work is wholey dependent on what funds we have available in our Gift Account. This year, gifts have been fairly generous so we are able to enter a nice quantity of work from last Spring. In the past, this has not generally been the case.

However, if you are a current senior in your final semester, you may plan to enter work that you complete later this semester in next year's Student Show, according to this policy. If we can cover that expense for you, we will, but usually we are only able to select what we consider the very best to submit ourselves.

I hope that answers any of your concerns.

Eric

I'm on the Case, Sir

Lori Dibble ('02) recently upgraded her portfolio and she is left with a (slightly used) aluminum portfolio case 18"x2 5" (roughly). She'd love to sell this for a few bucks —$75 obo. (These things sell for $150 or more, so it is a great deal!) It still looks great, but she just doesn't want it sitting around her house anymore! Are any of you interested in buying this portfolio? It would be a really great purchase before the Job Fair at the Student Show!!!

If you are interested, please send me an e-mail (ligon@unt.edu) and I'll forward it to Lori. She lives close to Denton, so it would be easy for someone to pick it up.

Two of Our Own Dominate at the Fort Worth ADDYs

Last night at the American Advertising Federation of Fort Worth (better known as the Fort Worth Ad Club) two of our students dominated! Current art direction seniors Beth Gillespie and Jessica Hillman both brought home top awards.


Jessica Hillman won a gold ADDY for her Coke Blak Campaign.


Beth Gillespie won a Gold ADDY for her Hypnotiq campaign (pictured above), a Silver ADDY for her GE Lightbulb campaign, a Judges' Award of Merit, and a Special Judges Award for Photography Used in a Design for the photography she shot herself in the Hypnotiq ads.

Beth noted that she and Jessica were the only students from UNT who entered the competition this year, making Communication Design in the College of Visual Arts and Design at UNT the only program who can claim that all of their entrants came home with Gold!

We are truly proud of you two! Way to go.

DSVC Student Show FAQs

Q1.
If I'm turning in multiple entries for one advertising campaign, do I pay for each individual piece or does the whole campaign count as one entry?
A1.
If the multiple pieces make up a single campaign you only pay for one entry. The only caveat to remember is that if the campaign gets accepted, all of the work will have to fit on a maximum of three boards. If you want to see how that might work, the display big booth near the resource room now has a number of examples of entire campaigns, none of which will exceed 3 boards. You may gang multiple pieces onto a single larger sheet. You may resize as necessary, however, if you reduce any work significantly, you may want to indicate the percentage of reduction in 6 point type in the lower right hand corner of the piece. "Printed at ??%"