As a Junior studying graphic design, I want to talk about what it’s like to be an art student. There are many things that make art students different. It’s not just about the amount of creativity we use and how we use it, it's also the amount of things we don't get credit for.
1. “Free time”
We are constantly using our creativity even when we have free time. Every one of my friends has criticized my major because of how “little” I have to do. They always question why I don’t have homework and always envy how much down time I have but they don’t realize how much work I do in class and how intense some of my classes have been. Yeah I may have a nice break all morning but I have three hours straight of a studio class that follows that and probably another art related class afterwards. When I'm not in class chances are I'm preparing for my next class with sketches or grids or even preliminary designs. Down time is essentially just ongoing work time.
2. Homework
Yes, Art students do have that. We have to prepare sketches, design grids, choose color palates, and research clients and different art styles so we know what we're doing. We have to prepare ourselves for our work in the same way any writer does. Research is a huge deal and we have to do it. There's over a thousand years of designs that needs to be remembered and the only way to really remember all of it is to read about it and research it. (Thanks "History of Graphic Design"). We get to be creative with most of our work though which is pretty great since the assignments can be kind of boring.
3. Attention to Detail
We look at every brushstroke in a painting. We appreciate every perfectly spaced word in a book. We also love seeing a logo use the proper colors for it's message. Every little thing matters to an artist. The attention that we give to the small things helps us better our understanding of the work as a whole and it helps us to gain appreciation of our own work. It also helps us to give the meaning of a piece in a critique or even just in everyday life. By paying attention to the little details you learn a lot about how someone feels and sometimes how they want to feel.
4. Our Feelings
Just like a painting or a picture, by analyzing the details of a person you can see the feelings they have. For most artists, how we act and dress really represents how we feel. A lot more than it can with other people. For example, if I wear a black tank top covered in paint and a paint covered pair of jean capris chances are I'm trying to show you that I'm a proud art student. If I wore an orange and blue maxi dress it probably means I'm having a mixed emotion day. Orange is a happy color and blue is more sorrowful and somber. It could also just be really hot out and it's one of the most comfortable pieces of clothing I have. That's always up for interpretation though, just like all art. We know what we feel and it's shown in every way because we are artists and we want you to get us ... which brings me to my last point.
5. Our Goals
We want you to understand us. That is essentially our main goal. We want you to see us, understand us, but constantly keep pushing us. We want everyone to know us and that's why we do what we do. We may not get really big and nationally known but as long as a few people know our work and love it then that's a huge deal. Our goal is to make our mark and (hopefully) make a difference in someone's life.
