Summer Break

Today’s my last day of class and I’ve got PLANS for the summer.

And when I say plans, I mean that I’ll mostly be sitting in front of my computer, if not in my studio.

But honestly, I do have a lot to do. Studio shenanigans aside, I have to do a lot more designing. I graduate this fall, and after that I need to start looking for…*gasp* a job! At a design firm, preferably. But it’s recently come to light that my portfolio work isn’t quite the style that the company I talked to is looking for, and seeing as how I actually LIKE the style THEY like, it was a little upsetting to realize I’m not at that level. So, here are some things I hope to be doing this summer:

  • UI design. I’ve never really made any interfaces. I had one interface design course but we didn’t design interfaces. I’d like to try making some mock apps or something.
  • Responsive design. I haven’t touched it yet, mostly because I was still getting the hang of building functional websites bigger than one or two pages. I’m much more comfortable now, so it’s time to level up.
  • More Tumblr themes. I’ve made 2 this semester for an independent study, but I originally planned 3, and I didn’t get to experiment to the degree I wanted to. I really like building Tumblr themes because they’re much more accessible than Wordpress themes and it imposes a set of restrictions that make you stretch your creativity’s legs.
  • Branding. Either for fictional companies or for legit companies. A lot of my portfolio stuff is starting to get dated. I know for a fact I’m gonna do a soda identity, complete with soda packaging!
  • Freelance Work: Hopefully!! A few weeks ago I sent off an estimate for cost of services for a website for my dad’s church’s sportsman outreach. They said they’d go over at their next meeting in May. Welp. It’s May. Here’s to hoping they’ll approve the estimate and I’ll have a client, haha.
  • Get drafted on dribbble. I have an account (cough*Ekqo*cough), but I can’t post. I want to be drafted so I can post WIPs of my design work.
  • Be more active on Twitter. And maaaaybe brush the dust off my Facebook page for my design stuff.
  • Illustration. Not design, but I want to set up an illustration portfolio. I’ve spent most of this semester thinking about what it is I want to do and accomplish with illustration. I haven’t found all the answers yet, but I do have some (ex: I am probably not suited for editorial illustrations LOL).
  • Set up a working schedule. I…have a lot going on. I have a part-time job that does not give me a set-in-stone schedule each week. I have an art studio, which has been in hiatus as of late because of my school load. There’s a lot of art I wanna get done because my body of art is in a worse condition than my design portfolio. There are books I want to make, merchandise to make for our store, art shows to make pieces for, so on. Then there’s the above list of design stuff I want to do. And THEN…there’s the usual summer break fun things I want to do, so much anime to watch, manga to read, and games to play! And…I really need to lose weight. I haven’t been very active, and I *LOVE* food, but it’s starting to take it’s toll on me. So, a schedule. Time to start managing my time.

Back in my early college years, summer break was boring. Three months of doing nothing but my part-time job! But it’s different now. I’ll have plenty to do. And it’s exciting!