Today was the first day of Spring Quarter at California State University Los Angeles. For me, the day started at 4:30a.m. so that I could make it on time to my 8 a.m Concept Development class.
The classroom itself was very warm, too warm to a point where at times it was quite uncomfortable, but the topics on hand helped cool my nerves.
On a flash card, our professor, Jimmy Moss, asked us to answer questions about our expectations of the class. I don't remember exactly what I put but I know that what I do want to learn is how to effectively brainstorm my ideas and to effectively communicate them so that they appear well thought out and have purpose. In the past, brainstorming is either a hit or miss for me because I either procrastinate to a point where I am rushed to pick an idea that I have no time to altar, or I completely change ideas multiple times without trying to build upon what I had thought of originally. And so the old saying seems evident, "Old habits die hard."
We then looked up what concept was on the dictionaries of our smartphones. According to the Dictionary.com app on my iPhone, a concept is "a general notion or idea" and Wikipedia defined it as "a mental idea". Everything really does start with an idea, such a the telephone, as discussed in class was not a finished idea becasue up until today its evolution is still ongoing. Today, it's texting on mobile devices which allows for immediate communication, to a generation where instant gratification is what we demand.
What is communication? As mentioned in class, "information that is transported from A to B." But what if B does not fully understand the information received? Does that still count as communication? Does there have to be an assurance that the message was received in the way we wanted it to? In affective communication, I think it does. I think it's important for the message or idea to come across clear so that there is no misunderstanding.
Emotional commitment. Jimmy had talked about the busy schedules many of us students have and how ineffective our study habits are because there was no emotional attachment. With cramming, I have found that the information only sticks in my brain until the test is over, then my mind just throws it out, or only remembers some part. I think emotional attachment is necessary in order for information to stick in our brains. Emotional attachment means having a deep interest in anything you are learning or are working on so that your mind can envelope everything you observe or feel about it which allows you to remember things much easily. For me, repetition and constant reminders help for ideas and information to stick.
I am a graphic design student who is just barely getting my feet wet, and I am reminded almost every day that in order to better myself and my skill I must fully emerge myself in all that is design, I must "become a fan of graphic design" as teacher, Joe Bautista said to us my first quarter at Cal State L.A.
I can only learn so much but if no action is applied i.e. experiential learning, then I am not really learning and fully understanding and experiencing. So it's time to get in there, and get excited about graphic design.
I feel the same way about needing to make more of an effort to immerse myself in graphic design- and I love it that we're encouraged and required to go to the events that we are, for this reason. I've been trying to familiarize myself with more design magazines, books, blogs, etc. :) It's kind of overwhelming how much is out there to be immersed in- hard to know what material to choose, to spend your time with! But it's an easy habit to develop, I think. It's been inspiring already!
ReplyDelete