Tag ccad
I obtained my BFA at Columbus College of Art & Design.
Day 92: wed, 2 apr 2014. Adam creates explosions, solves Rubik’s Cubes in Motion Graphics.
What I did this week (28 mar 2014)
Monday afternoon, I recorded two oral history interviews for my thesis project, which is coming along albeit slowly. We had a work day in motion graphics. Our teacher spent most of the time talking about Taco Bell’s new breakfast menu, leading me to believe he is in fact a paid representative for Yum! Brands.
After a frazzling tuesday morning commute, I worked in silence in jewelry all morning. After friendship lunch at the Hills, I went to Senior Ad where we sat through a few hours of presentations and worked in class. I left early to record yet another thesis interview, which lasted a good long time.
By the time my interview meeting was finished, I was 40 minutes late for History of 2-d Design—and it was snowing hard! I ran across campus to make the rest of class. We had a study session for an upcoming test. By this point, it was practically time There was a reception beforehand, where odd hors d’oeuvres were served. Lots of friends. After Draplin’s very enjoyable and entertaining presentation, I checked into the afterparty at the MindMarket. I didn’t stay long; 14 hours on campus is long enough for one day.
The fun continued on wednesday. Back in the MindMarket, I had lunch with Aaron Draplin and about 20 other kids, where I served as official question-asker and conversation-starter. We enjoyed a very pleasant repartee! After lunch, I did homework in the school library for a few hours (a cozy place), turned in my motion graphics project in class, and headed home.
I had lunch with Marcia Tabler on thursday. We mostly talked about thesis, and she was tremendously reassuring. It’s nice to have lunch with people who can calm you down. Senior Ad was its usual dysfunctional, fun self—after some presentations, we played tunes and worked on projects and had good conversations and enjoyed each other’s company. After that, I took a test in History of 2d; then the week was over! Graduation will be here before I know it.
Day 90: thu, 27 mar 2014. Just a normal afternoon in senior ad—the kind of afternoon I’m going to miss a lot when it’s gone.
Thesis, part 7: how long have I been completely insane?
Remember how I said I was going to make a bunch of sweaters? That’s how this whole thing started, after all. I love this collegiate sweater I made and I wanted to make more.
I bought a knitting machine at the very end of january. I’d wanted one for a long time, so that was great. At the time, I tentatively planned to use the machine to produce some unknown quantity of sweaters.
Much of february was consumed with another intensive project. That’s not to say I’m trying to pass the buck; only that I didn’t put much time practicing with the knitting machine or familiarizing myself with large-scale production techniques. Despite my lack of productivity, by the end of february I’d done some patternmaking research and produced a fairly detailed plan of the sized garments I hoped to make.
By the beginning of march, I’d started to realize how little time I actually had; if I was going to produce sweaters all my myself using my own knitting machine, I’d have to get my act together fast. I had my yarn supplier make me six pounds of yarn according to some vague specs. Last week, I went and picked up the yarn. This past weekend, I started trying to create production-ready sample garments with the yarn, and everything completely fell apart.
As I began knitting, the crushing weight of my overambitious planning fell on me like a load of bricks, and my stress level increased 200% in an instant. Who am I kidding? This yarn is not what I wanted! There’s no way I’ll be able to make more than two or three of these things in a month’s time! This machine is a total drag! Everything is terrible!
So I’m going to restructure my project a little bit. Instead of foolishly thinking I’m going to actually make tens or hundreds of finished garments myself, I need to outsource production to a serious knitting mill. Instead of planning to deliver sweaters by the thesis exhibition on may 1, I’m going to do a Kickstarter-style project. I’ll create a few prototype sweaters beforehand and use the thesis exhibition as an opportunity to get people excited about the project.
Instead of putting all my time into hastily producing a bunch of sweaters in the next few weeks, I’m going to focus on three things:
- finding a great knitting mill to collaborate with
- developing my overall brand (“CCAD is Ours”) and creating a compelling brand story—getting people excited about the idea of this brand; finding ways to conceptually tie all my products together; advertising my offerings effectively
- designing an engaging exhibition experience for the thesis show
I should have been more realistic about the sweaters. If I’d spent a little more time thinking, I’d have realized how unrealistic my original goals were. Perhaps I am being over-dramatic. Either way, I think things are back on the right track. I’ve got a lot of work to do.
What’s next?
Thankfully, all my eggs are not in this sweater basket; I’ve been conducting interviews and curating photography for that “CCAD family scrapbook”, and even if the rest of my project is a complete wreck, I think the book will turn out okay. I’d love to have these books printed and bound and ready to sell in person at the thesis show on may 1, so I’m working hard to finish the book and to find a good printer.
I’ll also be working to complete the few prototype sweaters. Once I have these, I’ll be able to shoot some promo photography. I will also be working to maintain healthy sleep schedule!
Stay tuned for more mental breakdowns and progress.