Design City Benches for Athens
Athens, Greece is well-renowned for its rich history, cultural heritage and beauty.

To further enhance the city’s picturesque setting the city officials are seeking new concepts from industrial designers for a citywide makeover of its benches. The contest is named Athens Bench Mark.

The citizens of Athens will select the top 100 entries from among all submitted works. From this group of finalists, a jury will select three winning designs. At least one design will be utilized for the production of the city’s new benches.

“bench (a) noun, a simple structure placed in open spaces (parks, bus stops etc.) and used as a seat.”

Contest Details
Since winning entries will be used as production plans for benches used throughout Athens, there are specific guidelines and design rules that must be followed to meet the city’s wishes for aesthetic and functional purposes.

According to the contest rules the submitted designs should exhibit:

* Design aesthetics and harmony - the way it is implied …by the central idea of the contest - in the relation of …the relevant proposal with the urban environment.
* Object ergonomics to suit not only the average user but as well the elder, disabled people etc.
* Quality of materials and functionality
* Innovative and sustainable design.
* Environmentally friendly and other possible materials and methods …of building the final product in an eco-friendly or energy saving …manner as a “Green product.”
* Capability of using the modern present industrial machinery and …realistic, cost efficient, mass production methods… “smart design.”
* Compact design, resistance to vandalism, endurance in time under …all environmental conditions, and ease of installation.

N. Kaklamanis, Mayor of Athens, said:

“Athens Bench Mark, is at once, a global call for creativity, an artistic event, a project that contributes to the international promotion of our city and an attempt for Athens to become a modern, high quality tourist destination.”

Photographer T. Karapanagiotis, President of “The World of Athens,” added:

“…By designing, voting, changing benches in Athens, maybe we can put our own personal touch and change our routine a little.

“To get out for lunch instead of eating it at our office, let the light breeze refresh us. To meet a friend at a bench rather than a cafeteria. To read a newspaper on a Sunday and sit at a bench rather than being confined in a house.

“We hope Athenians and others will participate in designing your own bench or vote for one of your favorite benches. Our goal is to involve the citizens in the city they live in.”

“The Athens Bench Mark is here and gives everyone the opportunity to leave their mark in Athens…”

Other Contest Details
There will be three cash awards:

* First prize: 5.000€ (6,836 USD)
* Second prize: 3.000€ (4,101 USD)
* Third prize: 2.000€ (2,734 USD)

The official rules and entry guidelines of the Athens Bench Mark contest can be found by clicking here. For the technical specifications on file format details and what is needed in your submission package, click here. The contest entry form can be seen by clicking here.

The Athens Bench Mark contest deadline is April 6, 2010.

Little Boxes
Package design has come a long way in the last 50 years. In the past the usual difference between one product packaging and another was simply the graphics and color schemes of the design.

Today’s walk down the many aisles of a modern supermarket or department store literally offers thousands of uniquely designed packages with amazing looking graphics or container shapes.

If you are currently attending a graphic design school or are already a graphic designer you may have been intrigued with this particular subset of graphic design work. In this article we’ll explore what this interesting field is all about and what you can do to prepare for a career as a package designer.

School First
As it is in any career area you want to pursue the usual route for obtaining proper career training is through proper education. For any field in graphic design there are many qualified graphic design colleges that can help you to earn your degree.

Generally speaking a bachelor’s degree is necessary to qualify for most entry-level positions.

If you are targeting package design as your specialty, you will need to take courses that are focused for this design field. In addition you should have a good grasp of spacial relations as it relates to designing packaging.

You can qualify for some entry-level jobs with an associate’s degree or certificate of completion earned at community colleges or two-year junior colleges. Various online education centers also offer these degrees in addition to bachelor’s degrees in graphic design.

Be sure to thoroughly investigate the graphic design schools you are considering as each one differs in its approach and curriculum. Choose the one that best matches your career and education goals.

What a Package Designer Does
A package designer has the responsibility of creating designs for various forms of packaging such as bottles, containers, cartons, boxes, and other packaging needs. The packaging design can be as simple as a logo on a beverage container or as complex as a multi-DVD case for a movie series. In each case the design must meet the specifications of the client.

Package design must be eye-catching and have the ability to entice consumers to pick up and buy the product.

A package designer should not only be well acquainted with the use of traditional design tools such as pens, paints, and pencils but must be well versed with the various graphic design/image editing software and CAD (computer assisted design) software that are commonly used in the industry.

The design process usually starts with meetings with the client and design team in order to understand and agree upon a concept. After the design is approved a number of sketches, computer generated images and a formal mock-up of the packaging is created. During the period of time between concept and final production, there are usually many changes and alterations during the design process.

These frequent changes in design concepts require an individual who is flexible and has good communication skills.

The Job Situation
Package designers usually work for manufacturing companies in the graphics departments, independent graphic design studios or companies that specialize in packaging.

While a typical workweek of 40 hours can be expected, overtime and weekend work is usually required during “crunch time” or when deadlines are shortened.

The job outlook for graphic design positions is expected to grow approximately 13% during the decade 2008-2018. Competition for available job positions will be extremely high.

The mean annual wage for professionals in the graphic design fields (including package designers) is $46,750, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2008).

The List Goes On
We continue our list of Top Characteristics of Creative Designers according to the opinions of those within the industry.

Not everyone has all of these traits, but we can all learn from the list to understand what design companies look for in their staff.

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Here are the rest of the traits that design firms would like to see in potential hires:

• Care about clients. If a design job is nothing more than a product to the graphic artist, it takes on an impersonal feeling and disconnect from the client. A recognition and understanding that the final creation is for people helps to provide added impetus to do a better job.

• Be able to multitask & juggle projects. In the perfect world, a graphic designer should be able to concentrate on one job without distractions or additional duties not directly related to project at hand. But this rarely, if ever, happens. Being able to intently focus is a good thing, but the ability to multitask is virtually indispensable for successful designers.

• Be deadline oriented. Imagine a graphic design firm where everyone could turn in their work whenever they felt like it. This would not only be a formula for instant failure for the business, it communicates a lack of professionalism. Design firms are driven by deadlines, and so should you.

• Find ways to “break through the clutter. In a design job, there are lots of things to do, but not everything has to be done. The ability to sift through the unnecessary or less important tasks is often the difference between meeting deadlines and missing them. A good designer knows what needs to be done and what needs to be put on the back burner.

• Keep an open mind about things. If the art world maintained that realism was the only way to paint, Picasso, Monet, Dali and many other artists could not have created their unique styles of work. Design is also like this–there is more than one way to approach a solution.

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Desirable Traits and the Real Job World
The attributes that professional designers feel should be inherent in people who work in the industry is varied but can be broken down into these categories: teamwork, professionalism, communication, and work ethics.

Graphic design schools educate graphic arts students on how to design, create, compose, and use various tools for illustration, graphic design, or other fields in design work. But the traits that set a successful graphic designer from a mediocre one sometimes boils down to the personal characteristics of the individual.

Design firms need to hire qualified people for their art departments, but as was stated in the Top Characteristics of Creative Designers articles, employers are looking beyond talent and towards potential hires that have many of the traits that make a designer truly successful.

The Standard Resume vs. Creative Resume
When you seek employment, one of the first things your potential employers will want from you is your resume.

People who are looking for a job in business or retail sales will use a standard resume form. It includes contact information, experience, education information, and other facts about the person.

But what if you are seeking a job as a graphic designer, illustrator, or other position in the arts or media? Does a “standard” looking resume work or should you express some of your creativity in your resume?

If you take a look at the numerous books regarding resume writing, most of them will give you a limited selection of resume styles.

But that’s for “regular” jobs, not necessarily for graphic designers or artists.

Should your resume be different and creative? This question isn’t an easy one to answer because each firm, interviewer, or human resource person is wired differently. If your resume is different or stands out, depending on who is on the other end of that resume, you may get noticed or a frown.

The Examples
We’re not sure if the following resumes landed a job for the applicants or not, but they are certainly eye-catching, and different. Look over these examples and decide if you want to try a few of the ideas.

Perhaps the best bet is to have two resumes available for passing out — one that is “standard” and the other one more “creative.” If possible, you can ask the person who is handling resumes which one is more appropriate.

Without further ado, here are the examples.

Will a resume like this be taken seriously or will it be an attention grabber? Click on the image to see the full-sized resume.
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In our next example, the graphic artist has taken the approach of formatting his resume to look like formula guide cards. Click on the image to see the full- sized resume.
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The next example is based upon an old newspaper ad section. In this case however, the graphic designer is selling himself. The idea is interesting and makes reading his resume fun. Click on the image to see the full- sized resume.

As you can see, the variations of what you can do for a creative resume can be almost limitless. But the question remains, when is it appropriate to try a resume such as the ones displayed?

Next Time
We’ll explore a few more creative resumes and talk about what a successful graphic design resume should include. We’ll also try to answer the question of when it is appropriate to use creative resumes.
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If you have ever submitted any forms for scholarships, you realize how involved it can become. But the Frame My Future Scholarship Contest 2010 may be the exception to the rule.

The contest is offering $5,000 in total prize money to five lucky winners plus an additional $1,000 to the grand prize winner’s graphic design school, graphic design college or university.

How It Works
Entering this contest is simplicity itself. Submit a JPEG image that communicates the following theme of “This Is How I Frame My Future.” The idea is to demonstrate, through your design, what your plans and vision are upon graduating college.

Acceptable Original Creations
After you have decided how to express your idea of what you want to accomplish and achieve after your graduation, you may submit your work in various forms such as:

• Photography
• Painting
• Graphic Design
• Drawing
• Poem
• Collage
• A Combination of All of the Above

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Who Is Eligible?
The scholarship contest is open to all full time students attending college for the 2010-2011 academic year. Entrants must show proof of legal US residency. For the official rules and guidelines, click here.

The Awards
Awards will be given to five “success driven” students in the form of $1000 scholarships. The grand prize winner will also receive a $1,000 donation to the school’s general scholarship endowment program.

The twenty-four finalists in this contest receive a commemorative “Frame My Future” frame displaying their submitted entry.

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Other Information
If you are enrolled for the 2010-2011 school year and are selected as a winner, your graphic design college can benefit as well. The deadline for entries is March 15, 2010. Winners are based upon the highest total amount of votes received during the website’s voting period at www.diplomaframe.com.

To submit your entry, click here. To view entries already submitted, click here.

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What the Secrets Are All About
In our previous three-part series on Interview Tips for Graphic Artists and Designers, we have covered areas on how to prepare and conduct one’s self during job interviews.

In this article, we’ll explore things that are not usually discussed — namely what other things interviewers consider when examining  potential hires.

The Mystery of Landing a Job
What distinguishes one job candidate from another after the interview process has concluded?

This question may be answered in the following five things that are usually not known regarding job interviews.

While these inside tips cannot guarantee you a job, they may help you understand the process of how the whole interview process works and what goes on in the minds of those who interview people for jobs.

The First Minutes Are Critical
How well and comfortable an interviewer responds to you can be crucial in a successful job interview.

Interviewers are skilled in picking up on non-verbal communication such as your body language, how you are dressed, and how sincere your answers are. If an interviewer fails to connect positively with a job candidate during the first few minutes, it can be an uphill battle to regain footing for the job seeker.

Interviewers Are Highly Attuned to Deception
Good interviewers are skilled at picking up signals from job candidates who exaggerate or overly enhance what they know or can do. Of course your portfolio can speak volumes about your talents, but capable interviewers can tell just how much experience you really have as opposed to what you say.

Interviewers Don’t Like Silence
As the interview process progresses, a candidate who pauses frequently, is at a loss for words, or is struggling to formulate cohesive responses usually raises a red flag for the interviewer. While nerves are perfectly understandable, a failure to communicate effectively can be a sore-point.

Interviewers Are Looking for Someone Memorable
When you consider that people who do job interviews can literally screen hundreds of job candidates in order to fill a specific job position, job seekers can all start to look alike after a while.

Candidates who do or say something memorable during the interview process can get the attention of the interviewer. If your qualifications also meet what they are looking for, you may increase your chances of being called back for a second interview session.

Interviewers Look for People Who Fit In
While your talent is certainly important in the process of qualifying for a job, your interviewer is also considering how well you may fit into the company’s work environment.

For example, if the workplace is a pressure cooker, the interviewer will be looking for people who can work well under tight deadlines. If the workplace is informal, they’ll be looking for individuals that are easy going and professional in their work habits.

Should You Take the Job Offer?
This seems like a rather odd question, but it should be seriously considered if the company calls you back with a job offer.

During the interview you should have taken mental notes about the person who was doing the questioning. How did the hiring manager or prospective boss treat you during the interview?

Did he seem pushy, disrespectful or condescending to you? If so, you must realize that this is the work environment that you may encounter if you accept the job.

But if everything checks out and you are satisfied with your assessment of the company and its working conditions, you can confidently say “Yes!” if the job offer comes through.