With a Little Help from Your Friends
Making the decision to go to a graphic design school is a wise one if you are aiming for a career in graphic arts or multimedia.

These institutions of learning specifically focus on the job training skills and background that you’ll need in order to qualify for positions in the industry.

But coming up with the necessary funding for your tuition, supplies or lodging can sometimes be as challenging as taking the courses.

But with a little help from your “friends,” you can be successful in both areas.

Graphic Design Scholarships and You
If you need assistance in paying for some of your education expenses there are various strategies in securing funds through various scholarships.

Scholarship College Programs - Some alumni and independent sponsors of colleges provide scholarships and grants to qualified individuals. Check with the graphic design college of your choice to see what type of funding is available.

Website Leads - There are many websites that offer direction and leads on graphic design scholarships and grants. An Internet search should provide a number of locations where you can gather important information.

Government Student Loans - In the United States federal loans are available to individuals who meet specific prerequisites. Fulfilling certain conditions and parameters may qualify you for student loans. For more information visit the official FAFSA (Federal Assistance for Student Aid) website at: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.

The Alternatives
In some cases graphic design majors may not necessarily want assistance with tuition but seek alternative forms of education for their career training.

Community Colleges - Also known as junior colleges, these two-year institutions of learning can provide excellent education at more affordable price points. They offer various associate’s degrees and certificates of completion.

College credits earned at community colleges can often be transferred to other four-year universities for completion of a bachelor’s degree.

Online Education - If you are already working or have special circumstances that make attending a traditional campus difficult, you may want to consider online education for your graphic design classes. Online colleges provide more flexibility in course scheduling because you attend these virtual sessions anytime via the Internet.

Online graphic design schools and colleges offer a variety of two and four-year degrees in many graphic design and multimedia fields.

Next Time…
We’ll investigate some of the ins and outs of applying for scholarships and also provide some leads to different scholarships that are offered to design majors in part two of Graphic Design Scholarship Basics and You.

Until then, keep on designing!

Wisdom from Real People
We conclude this series of The Wit and Wisdom of Graphic Designers and Artists with some of our favorite insights by individuals who have “paid their dues” in the creative arts.

The quotes come from people in the artistic disciplines of sculpture, writing, architecture, and graphic design.

We hope these gems of wisdom will not only cause you to smile a bit, but get you thinking about this thing we call creativity. So without further ado, here are the words of wisdom.

“A camel is a horse designed by a committee.”

- Sir Alec Issigonis, designer of the Mini Cooper automobile

The old saying of “Too many cooks spoil the broth” is sometimes all too true during the formative stages of design. Too many ideas from too many people can ultimately hurt a project. Input from others is a good idea but it is ultimately up to you to choose what works and what doesn’t.

“Technology over technique produces emotionless design.”

- Daniel Mall, interactive art director and designer

In an age where computers are involved virtually in every area of design, we should be aware that technology is only a tool for creativity but not creativity itself. Let’s not forget that we are responsible for designing; computers render them.

Good design is all about making other designers feel like idiots because that idea wasn’t theirs.

- Frank Chimero, graphic designer and author

Although a bit harsh in wording, it’s a humorous way of looking at graphic design. When other designers start to say, “Wow, I wish I thought of that!” you know you’re doing something right.
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“I never design a building before I’ve seen the site and met the people who will be using it.”

- Frank Lloyd Wright, architect

Frank Lloyd Wright produced amazing buildings with his architectural flair. But even with all his talent he realized that design may not mean a thing without proper planning and research regarding the purpose of the design.

“You can’t depend on your eyes, when your imagination is out of focus.”
-Mark Twain, American writer

Have you ever attended a brainstorming session where an individual starts to propose ideas that are totally off base? In some cases thinking outside the box is beneficial, but the ideas need to be based upon the project parameters.

“I am still learning.”
-Michelangelo, artist and sculptor

How could an accomplished sculptor and artist say something like that? If anyone had the right to say they didn’t need any more education, certainly Michelangelo would be a prime candidate.

His brief but revealing comment should be emblazoned upon the hearts of all artistic individuals because once we think we know it all; that is the day when our creative growth stops.

A sound education at a good graphic design school can help in building a solid foundation for our career training.

Continued education classes and courses at graphic design colleges or universities can help us to remain current in our knowledge and skills in graphic design. One thing is certain, if Michelangelo felt he was still learning, we have no excuse not to!

Tate Art Galleries, with four locations in the United Kingdom, and cultureLabel.com–an unique culture store that offer items from over 70 museum shops, artists, galleries and institutions are announcing an open call to all graphic artists and designers to enter the 2010 Release Contest.

Contest Details
The sponsors of this contest are seeking, “…two outstanding product designs that will be produced and sold in Tate shops, through Tate Online and at CultureLabel.com.”

According to the contest guidelines, the winning product design could:

* Capture the experience of Tate visitors, be they young or old, from the UK or from across the …globe
* Capture the impact that Tate has had on the public’s experience of galleries and its influence on …the arts
* Be inspired by the architecture of the buildings, such as the iconic Tate Modern, which is 10 years …old in 2010
* Be inspired by any of Tate galleries, which include Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate St Ives, Tate …Liverpool and also Tate Online

There are two product design categories - products that fall into a retail price range of up to £10 (15 USD) and the second with a retail price of up to £100 (150 USD).

Product Design Guidelines
For a product that will be sold for up to £10 (15 USD) the sponsors state:

“This product will become a much-loved and widely recognized souvenir of any visit to a Tate gallery - the object that anyone visitor will want to take home.

“You might want to focus on London and Tate Modern or Tate Britain and seek to create an iconic tourist souvenir that rivals the ‘Mind the Gap T-shirt’. Or, perhaps you are more inspired by the idyllic coastal setting of Tate St Ives or the post-industrial gallery spaces of Tate Liverpool?

“We want to capture the experience of someone visiting Tate - whether the magic of the first visit or the allure that keeps people coming back. Alternatively, you might seek to capture the impact that Tate has had on the public’s experience of art - transforming galleries into experiential, interactive and lifestyle spaces attracting incredibly diverse audiences.”

For example, some ideas for the sub £10 class of products could be things such as key fobs, cups, posters, t-shirts, folios, pens or other small items.

For product designs that will be sold for up to £100 (150 USD) the guidelines state:

“This more premium product might be the collector’s item that captures the human experience held in Tate.

“We still want to capture the spirit of Tate described above but this product could be a much sought after limited edition, object or accessory and would have the creative flair, artistic and design values reflecting Tate brand and the higher price point.”

Ideas for products in this pricing tier could be, but not limited to, items such as special edition posters or prints, ceramic pieces, jewelry or lithography prints.

Prizes
The winner will receive a cash award of £500 (750 USD) plus royalty payments for the first 6 months of the sales of the design.

Other information
There is an entry fee of £5 (7.50 USD). For the complete rules and guidelines for this contest, click here. To submit your product design idea, click here. All questions regarding this contest should be sent to release [at] culturelabel.com.  The deadline for this contest is March 22, 2010.

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.

IN VISION, a TOPTEN International Art Competition is for artists working within the genre of Visionary, Fantasy, Mystical, Sci_Fi, Surrealism or artists that feel their work stretches and pushes the parameters of our imagination. Artists working in these styles tend to express themselves through a creative process which transcends the physical world and portrays a wider vision of awareness.

“Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.” Discovering possibilities that others do not see is what visionaries do best. The IN VISION International Art Competition gives artists the opportunity to share hidden visions which have been portrayed and transformed into tangible objects; paintings, photographs, sculpture etc.

You can participate by sending in your best five images. The theme is open, and includes all media: painting, digital, photography, watercolor, installation, sculpture, video, mixed media collage, textile, etc. Entry fee is 30 Euro for five images. Deadline is looming: March 31st, 2009. Visit the site to learn more.