in·spire
1.
to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence:His courage inspired his followers.
2.
to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.): to inspire confidence in others.
3.
to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.
4.
to influence or impel:Competition inspired her to greater efforts.
Looking back on this last semester, It really feels like it just began. Since getting back from Christmas break,everything went so fast, and the minute we finished a project, it seemed like another one was due the next day. From the first semester of type and viscom, to this last semester, I think we were especially pushed and really challenged to come up with our own concepts and solutions to projects with a little less help and definitely a little less time. First semester was a lot of learning exercises, such as our font posters and hierarchy layouts, and second semester was taking what we had learned an applying it to projects that were more “real life,” and a bit more complicated—I like to refer to second semester as an Endurance test.
With all kinds of deadlines and a lot of homework, for me, finding time to be inspired was sometimes one of the hardest things to do. There were several instances when I had to stop and remind myself that I was doing something I enjoyed and that I would much rather be designing a book cover, or working on a logo, then writing a 6 page paper, or studying for a test. Whenever I would get in a “rut” or start to feel burnt out and really unmotivated, there would always happen to be a Hallmark lecture that Monday (of course, when I had the most homework possible). I remember going to most of them somewhat annoyed and pretty anxious to get the heck out of there and back to the lab to finish my work. Time and again though, after most of the lectures, I always found myself inspired and more motivated than before. The speakers would always say something that I could relate to the current project I was working on, and it was hard not to pull something positive from the lectures. Seeing successful individuals talk about their own work and their experiences as students and what they went through to get to where they are today was sometimes what it took to get me excited about what I was working on again. There were several other instances throughout the semester that really inspired me as well, helping out with the Senior portfolio day was one of those. It was neat to see what we would be doing in a few years, and also to get to sit in on different presentations given that day about portfolios, jobs, interviews etc. I particularly enjoyed taking pictures of typography over spring break as well, it was nice to get to be outside and in a different environment, (besides the lab or at a desk with a laptop), and enjoy the break while completing an assignment. Although I didn't use a ton of my photos for my type workbook, the one's I did choose were the inspiration for the color palette I chose for my book, and also got me thinking about the kind of typography I want to photograph next year for our Public Type books.
Lastly, continuing to do the majority of work outside of class in the lab with my peers was also inspiring. Its a lot easier to work on homework over the weekend (verses going out), when your with other people who are working on the same projects as you. Its nice to give and receive feedback from your peers, and just knowing your not the only one who is putting in extra time and effort is really motivating and pushes you to continue to work hard.
No comments:
Post a Comment