Field Trip during Class Time on 1 February

Everyone needs to make plans for class on 1 February.  We will be traveling to Chai Wan to meet Tommy Li at his studio.  We will meet at the studio at 2:00 pm and you will be able to leave at around 4:00 pm.  We will travel to Chai Wan by MTR and then take a short taxi ride to his studio.

This means there will be no in-class presentation of your CV and portfolio concepts.  You will, however, need to hand-in your more traditional CV and give me a document which explains your portfolio concept in detail, including pictures.  You will also give me a description of the type of job and the type of company where you see yourself applying and using your CV and interactive portfolio as tools.  I will then be able to make comment and deliver it to you after the Chinese New Year Holiday.

This visit is a great opportunity to meet one of the best designers in Asia if not the entire World.  Please go to Tommy Li Design Workshop to see the kind of work he and his team are doing and what they have done.  The website itself was created by Wilson Tang and Javin Mo, the two partners in Milkxhake who are DGC graduates.

18 January 2010

I think we are now settled in FSC 901 and we need to get the rhythm of the class and the work it will require.

To see the information about self evaluation better presented go to the First Job SWF and look at the first part of the application.  We will discuss the latter parts in greater detail in the coming week.

You need to be working on your Personal Logo, your traditional print CV and the design of the paper being used for that traditional format.  We will take a look at your logos in the next class on Monday.

I will also talk more about using analogies for interactive resumes in the coming class.  Your printed and mock-up interactive will be presented on 1 February and there will be a grade associated with this submission.

If you have any questions feel free to make a comment on this post.

First Class and UPDATES on syllabus

I think we covered the class and you know what to expect.  I know everyone fully understands what they are going to need to do over the course of the semester and if they do not they will ask me questions.  I hope everyone will appreciate this approach to learning that will demand a great deal of participation from the students, including learning about yourself, and introduce them to some interesting Hong Kong Designers, Entrepreneurs and Business People.

I am going to make some changes that will allow everyone to work more efficiently and spread at least one important assignment to the middle of the semester.

Here it is:

The Portfolio Presentation will occur on 1 February.  This will be a design presentation and not the presentation of a complete interactive platform.  Students will show their design idea for their PDF or traditional C.V. and for their interactive portfolio, that includes CV information.  The interactive portfolio will include an analogy, interface elements, navigation devices, levels of information, color scheming and/or color coding.  An operational mock-up of the Interactive Portfolio will be due on 15 March.  This functioning information space will demonstrate the analogy and various elements in operation but does not have to include all of the specific portfolio pieces.

With this change the Business Idea Presentation will occur on 8 February, the class just before CNY.  The chosen groups will be announced via this blog and email so that everyone can start thinking about the business they would like to help to develop over the holiday.

Of course the one thing that might change our schedule is the availability of guest speakers, but due dates will remain unchanged unless there is a major reason or need for change.

I am sure this will help everyone better focus and produce better results in each of these assignments.  The presentation on 1 February will include a completed idea but will provide the opportunity for positive criticism and improvements before the final submission of the operating framework on 15 March.

The flow of the course is preparing you to get your first job and build a career and then using the skills you have learned over your three years in DGC to prepare for the possibility of building your own business at some point in the future.

IMPORTANT: We will be meeting in FSC 901 for the rest of the semester.  This will give us immediate access to computer technology in a space where we can also sit together as a large group, or in small groups, away from the computers.

FSC 901 - venue for class for the rest of the semester

1 February - Portfolio Design Presentation - Mock-up and design elements for PDF and Flash, presented in less than 6 minutes.

8 February - Business Proposal Presentation - Your individual business idea in less than 6 minutes.

15 March - Functional Portfolio Submission - Operating analogy and design elements submitted in an appropriate form.

Looking forward to continuing on Monday in the afternoon.

until then...

The First Post

Here is my first post for the semester.  It is cold and rainy but it will warm up.  Your career might start a bit cold but if you work hard and make the best of your opportunities then it will warm up as well.

This is the place where I will review each class session and I will post any necessary information for the entire class to see. 

This is the blog you should subscribe to and in your self-description provide a link to your personal blog related to this class and your group blog for your business.  These need to be two different blogs.

I hope you will learn a lot this semester and I hope it will be more than just how to work hard on your honour's project.

Until the next time...