I Feel Stupid contest

[Calligirl]

I think I won today, sure felt like it. I'm trying to get my degree in a class next to kids young enough to be my kids (technically, anyway) and I said something about not having a decent resume. Next thing I know, they're whipping out their PowerPoints on their flash sticks, showing me their stuff out of junior college. I'm talking reams of stuff, some good, some pretty damn good. :rolleyes: Talk about intimidating!

I'm still fighting the urge to grab a pencil instead of a mouse. :( Got a feeling somewhere down the road, I'm going to be working for one of them.

[D-Frag]

keep your chin up, alot of my friends that were in my graduating class had some killer stuff and never landed jobs. I was one of those who didn't have an amazing portfolio, yet landed a job 2 weeks after graduating

[WannaBrie]

:cool: whipping out their Powerpoints? I wouldn't worry too much! Seriously, life experience counts for a lot. i was a few (alright, at least 10) years ahead of my classmates when I finally decided to go back for my bachelor's. They may have known a lot of the programs already, but i was light yrs ahead in my knowledge of art history and design. I was amazed at how many of them had no idea of what gesalt was, or who monet or manet were, what bauhaus was, etc...Ya know what...that pencil will prove to be just as handy, keep on using it along with the mouse...you won't be working for them, you will be showing them how it SHOULD be done!

Keep at it! Good luck!!

[budafist]

No, I wouldn't worry them too much if they were using Powerpoint either. Do any design schools even teach Powerpoint?

Hopeless...

[morea]

I'm still fighting the urge to grab a pencil instead of a mouse.

no!!! Don't fight it!!! Seriously, this will be to your advantage... most of the talented designers I know start on paper, and go to the computer afterwards.

Don't get disappointed. Everybody learns differently, and initiative counts for a LOT. Hang in there, you're going to do just great!

(and it's normal for designers to have some self doubt and angst, lol. It's all part of the creative process.) ;)

[ecsyle]

I would never accept a resume done in powerpoint. Ever.

[Red Kittie Kat]

I don't think everyone has a power point viewer anyway. Don't sweat it Calli. ;)

[morea]

I would never accept a resume done in powerpoint. Ever.

I would accept it right into my recycle bin. :D

[urstwile]

Powerpoint = :shudder:

[budafist]

We certainly can't view ppt documents on our computers at work. Come to think of it, we don't have ppt at home either.

These "kids" are dealing with obselete stuff....(I wish)

[razuel]

:cool: whipping out their Powerpoints? I wouldn't worry too much! Seriously, life experience counts for a lot. i was a few (alright, at least 10) years ahead of my classmates when I finally decided to go back for my bachelor's. They may have known a lot of the programs already, but i was light yrs ahead in my knowledge of art history and design. I was amazed at how many of them had no idea of what gesalt was, or who monet or manet were, what bauhaus was, etc...Ya know what...that pencil will prove to be just as handy, keep on using it along with the mouse...you won't be working for them, you will be showing them how it SHOULD be done!

Keep at it! Good luck!!

I feel good about myself that I know all of those.

I just learned what Bauhaus was last week in art history.

[Calligirl]

Well, my 7th grader knows how to do PowerPoint, it's not that, it's the fact that it was FILLED with stuff, digital, printmaking, brochures, CD covers, you name it, it was in there. They were all projects or assignments and some I could have trashed if I wanted to get all rude and picky but some of it just made my jaw drop.

In thinking about it, though, one problem I have with all these youngsters is the fact that they do all this stuff on the computer, produce some beautiful ideas and then they go and throw some arty-farty font on there just because... Now I know I'm prejudiced because my background is calligraphy so it's just something I notice but I flinch to see it. I keep waiting for the teacher to say something but she never does. One guy who has worked prepress for years, has been in art classes for about 5-6 years and will FINALLY graduate couldn't understand why his mailer didn't win the student contest. He's one of the 'celeb' students that everybody looks up to because he knows so much... I took one look at his mailer and knew immediately. It was the fonts (more than 4!) he used, totally unprofessional look even though the rest of it was really a wonderful design.

I didn't say anything, I'm the new kid. Just wish I didn't feel it. Tonight, though, I'm feeling really old.

[morea]

(((HUGS)))

background in calligraphy? Guess that explains the username, eh? (I am very observant. hee hee! ;) )

Wow, I have tried calligraphy and made a mess of it. I mean, yuck. Oy vey. Somebody jab me in the neck with this nib... that bad, oh my, yes.

Don't let it get to you. Hey, we're glad you're here. :)

[Red Kittie Kat]

Hey Calli don't feel alone ... I feel like the old woman amongst all these youngsters :D

[PrintDriver]

All this dissing of Powerpoint tsk tsk tsk.
While I'd never accept a resume in it, it does have its purpose as a useful presentation tool. There are certain circumstances where you may be presenting your art portfolio to a committee and being able to pop a PP presentation into their projector (it used to be slides!) is more likely to happen than them having a Flash viewer (it pays to ask beforehand, they still might want slides, LOL). The committee may not want to get chummy around your notebook monitor. As part of our graduation requirements the senior GD students had to do these presentations as part of the Portfolio class.
A tool is a tool. It's not what it is, or who makes it, it's how you use it.

[Calligirl]

Morea, you win the prize! I think you're the only one who's ever made the connection. Unfortunately, there's not a great need for calligraphy in today's world, even that has gone to computer (which stirs a great debate among us calligraphers since, by definition, calligraphy means HANDwriting).

I'm a dinosaur. I learned calligraphy, computers came along. I went to work for a sign company, the industry went to vinyl. I learned medical transcription, voice recognition cut that in half.

Sigh. I'm depressing myself all over again.

[morea]

hmm... I wonder if this will help.

When I was laid off from my graphic design job, I couldn't find work doing *anything,* and let me tell you, that comes as a real shock. I've always worked hard and gone out of my way to learn new things, and I have always tried to do more than was expected of me.

Losing a job like that can really make you question your value as a person... and I can sure tell you, it was an identity crisis for me! But I have since learned that being a valuable person is NOT about where you work, it's not about having a good salary, it's not about how you compare to others. It's about who you *are!*

I barely know you, but I would guess from your posts so far that you are a good friend, a peacemaker, you strive for excellence, you're a talented artist, determined, romantic, patient (Calligraphy? oh yeah!), and you do your absolute best. We all have a tendency to treat ourselves a lot more harshly than we would treat others, and I have noticed that a lot of artists seem to be pretty insecure about their worth.

You know, one thing I did to try to boost my self esteem was to keep a little notebook by my bed, and each night before I went to sleep, I would list three things in it that I felt good about that day. You'd be surprised... it makes a difference! It's all too easy to focus on what's wrong in our lives... and this actually helps you to focus some of that energy on positive things. (It's tough, since we're usually surrounded by negativity... shoot, I can barely watch the 6:00 news any more.)

I also subscribe to a (free!) daily "motivational email" thingie, which I signed up for here: http://www.meditationsforwomen.com/

it can be kind of cheesy, but it does help me to start each day with a positive thought. Maybe you'll like it, too. ;)

[reuber1]

I posted a thread called the Ultimate Portfolio yesterday, maybe take a look at that?

[morea]

^ http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22517 ^

[reuber1]

Thanks mo.

[Craig B]

41 fonts in a layout????!! Sorry, I'm a little late to this, but that screams unprofessional to me. That screams let me slap as many "cool fonts" as I can on this design and let the "artiness" of the fonts do the creative for me.

Ugh.

Hang in there Calligirl

[CamarotaDesign]

All this dissing of Powerpoint tsk tsk tsk.
While I'd never accept a resume in it, it does have its purpose as a useful presentation tool. There are certain circumstances where you may be presenting your art portfolio to a committee and being able to pop a PP presentation into their projector (it used to be slides!) is more likely to happen than them having a Flash viewer (it pays to ask beforehand, they still might want slides, LOL). The committee may not want to get chummy around your notebook monitor. As part of our graduation requirements the senior GD students had to do these presentations as part of the Portfolio class.
A tool is a tool. It's not what it is, or who makes it, it's how you use it.

Actually, I know of a few teachers that like to give their school presentations in slides because of the much higher resolution a slide has.

If i'm gonna do a digital presentation, I'm gonna go flash - its powerpoint on steroids, and if you make it a self playing EXE or mac file, you have no problem with that. You just have to make sure you are running it on a computer that can handle it.