Future Students,
The class you are about to take is truly what you make of it. This class is one of the very few classes in Newhouse that you get to choose a topic or subject that you particularly enjoy or are interested in and watch it come to life. I remember at the beginning of the semester how daunting it seemed that I would have to create a prototype, be constantly critiqued, and not compare my work to others–which isn’t easy for me. With that said, here’s what I’ve learned:
Advice:
- This is YOUR prototype. Yes, you may get a lot of advice from classmates and Professor Strong, but at the end of the day, you get to decide how your prototype looks, what images you will use, what the color palette is, etc. You definitely want to take other’s advice into consideration, but don’t get lost in it. I often times would find myself changing something that I wasn’t in love with, just because someone else to do it. I would eventually change it back, or rework it, and many people were amazed by the work. Also, make sure to pick a subject you love or are interested in, as I mentioned before. I cannot stress this enough!
- Keep up with every single assignment and meet deadlines. To be 100% honest, I heard from many students that they struggled in this class and had numerous late nights or all-nighters. Come to find out, it was because they weren’t meeting deadlines. This class has so many deadlines, but they’re spread out enough to give you breathing room. BUT they can definitely seem like a lot if you don’t meet them. This class is a lot of work, but thanks to the numerous deadlines and how the class is structured it is absolutely, 100% doable. I never had a late night or sleepless nights from this class just because I got my work done and fixed things on time. Do not doubt yourself! You can do it!
- Go to office hours. Honestly, just go to Professor Strong’s office hours. She has so much fabulous insight and she is just such a pleasure to talk to! I can’t count the number of times I would go to her office and then we would have fun little side conversations about something random. She truly cares about her students. I’m going to miss her so much!
What I’ve learned about Publication Design:
- There’s this thing called the grid–yeah, use it. I took one design course before this class and I honestly don’t remember using the grid and thinking back, I don’t know how I survived! Without the grid, your work can be such a mess. I mean, it still can be with the grid if you don’t use it correctly, but it’s so helpful and makes design look pleasing to the eye.
- Patience is everything. I give so much credit to those who do this for a full-time job. You need to have so much patience. I like to think I’m a patient person, but I’m not. If you’re stuck on something or you can’t think clearly after a few hours of working, walk away, grab a snack, watch a funny YouTube video and then come back and start again. Trust me, it works.
- Experimenting is necessary. If you think something will look cool or more the right vibe for your publication, test it out! If it doesn’t work, command z, my friend.
Just make sure to have fun in the course, get to know others and their publications, and definitely get to know Professor Strong! Good luck!
