Attendance please

Meet someone who inspires you. I am always looking in the paper and online to see whats going on in Atlanta and who's coming to visit that I can see. I was very excited to see that it's scadstyle at Savannah College of Art and Design and that they would be having 59 influential speakers in 9 days between their Savannah and Atlanta location. Today I met Kelly Cutrone!!!!! The Real Deal—Branding, Marketing and PR Powerwoman spoke at SCAD Atlanta today, in which I was in attendance for, and had a Book Signing afterward. But then Kelly saw the line and made an announcement to meet her at Borders because she was running late on her next lecture so after hearing her at SCAD me and a few friends went out to Borders in Buckhead for a even better lecture than what as at SCAD. And of course, I finally got my copy of "If you have to cry, Go outside" signed!

Fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone is the founder of the public relations, branding and marketing firm People's Revolution with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Paris. She is the star of the Bravo reality TV series Kell on Earth and the author of the book If You Have to Cry Go Outside (and Other Things Your Mother Never Told You). Her PR firm represents dozens of clients, including Vivienne Westwood, Agent Provocateur and Valentino, and has produced dazzling runway shows for Patricia Field and Jeremy Scott, among others. Known for her no-nonsense approach to the fast-paced fashion industry, Cutrone told T: The New York Times Style Magazine, "Even if things are instantaneous, there is still a strategy."

Who do you know? Are you for sure?

In today's job market, it's all about who you know. With the economy at a low and everyone unemployed you can imagine how many job seekers are applying for your dream job with you. You need to stand out. You need to know someone. I would suggest joining a few professional organizations. Start with some local ones and attend their professional events. Have your business cards ready and go out a mingle! Be yourself, be transparent and have fun. If you have a facebook or twitter page that won't get in you trouble, share it when you exchange contact info. Chances are, they have one too. And that's a good way to get your foot in the door.

And then when you apply for that job, guess what? You may just have a contact within the organization now. Join the Atlanta Ad Club and (AMA) American Marketing Association's local chapter to start. From there, I'm sure you will find other ways to meet people in the industry. And don't be afraid to ask someone to mentor you. Most CEO's and VPs had mentors. There's no reason why you shouldn't either.

subscription prescription

Looking for the latest and greatest ads and trends? Look no further. Your daily dose of blogs and subscriptions will save you. The most up to date content can always be found online. And I would suggest looking at award winning work for inspiration. You want to pay attention to whos winning, how, and why so you can be better. One of my favorite websites is www.adsoftheworld.com. You can finds ads from all over the globe on that site. Its very organized and has everything on it. Search by country or by medium. I would also check out www.creativity.com while your at it.

It's also a good idea to read up on your advertising news so that you can be in the know with whats going on in your industry. www.adage.com and www.adweek.com are good sources to follow. Speaking of follow, a lot of these magazines and websites have twitter and facebook pages that are updated pretty frequently with cool information and links to other websites that people are buzzing about. If you want to stay current and ahead, look online. Magazines are a good resource too. I currently subscribe to Communication Arts an CMYK. How is another good one with tons of promotional ideas filled in its pages. Make sure when you sign up you subscribe with the student rate. Same magazines but waaaayy cheaper! Communication Arts is about $25 a pop but the subscription for students is around $40! What a deal! You can also check our your local bookstores to peruse other advertising and design mags. Magazines are very much up to date. More so than books. And often have more information and resources than doing a tricky google search.

kiss kiss
cris

Just shoot me

I hope you have been executing and constructing all of your pieces all along. If not, you will have to do it all in portfolio and get it shot. There's nothing more boring than to look at a book full of 'this is how this would work' statements here and there. Don't just tell us how it would work. Show us! If you have a guerrilla idea or packaging idea, construct it and shoot it. And if you can't shoot it, find a photographer. There are tons of photography students in building 100 that are fully accessible. Put up an ad at the photo cage, walk around and meet people, or email photography instructors and ask them what time their classes are so that you can pop in real quick and make an announcement for assistance. All of those work. But if you would really like to shoot your own work then do so. There is limited equipment for non-majors to check out of the photo cage. Happy shooting.

kiss kiss
cris

Stop the presses

What all needs to be printed? Business Cards, Resume, possible collateral piece, and your portfolio. It's week 3 and now is a good time to start figuring out who you want to print your work. Some printers require a few weeks notice, especially if you are printing out of town. You want to make sure that your work arrives back to you at least 2 weeks before the show. That way, if there are any problems, you have a little amount of time to ship or drive your work back to the printer and get it reprinted.

kiss kiss
cris

Resume? Check!!

Today I had my meeting with Angie in Career Services. This was very helpful. Now you know you must have your resume updated for portfolio show. I would recommend going to speak with Angie as soon as you can before you get swamped with graduating. I met with her and she was able to give helpful pointers and tips on how to make my resume better. She also gave a list of local employers and designer job search engines to start searching on. Good portfolio resources! Dream job, here I come!

kiss kiss
cris

Volunteer for a good cause

Today me and a classmate of mine had the opportunity to speak to upcoming graduate students at the Art Institute of Decatur about graduating. It was such an awesome experience to be able to give people information to make their graduation experience smoother. I only wish there was someone to tell me all the things I shared with them before I graduated.


Things you need to know prior to graduating at AIA:

- Almost EVERYTHING you do can be used in your portfolio. I'm talking Copy Writing Scripts, Media Plans, Animations, everything. So whenever you do a project, even as a freshman, do it to the best of your ability. Lucky for me, I went the extra mile on all of my projects so I am able to just just about everything from my past 3 years at AIA in my portfolio book. Sure, not everything is design work but all of the research you have done can be shown in your "white pages" portfolio book. That's right! You could have 2 books. And why not? The work is already done and you can show that you can do more than just campaigns.

-Pick diverse clients for your ad campaigns. I cannot stress this more. I constantly see people with books that are 1 directional that have to be revamped either at pre-portfolio or at portfolio and that's a little late to be finding out. So don't pick all beer companies for your clients. Don't pick all bars for your clients. You will only look like a drinking weirdo at portfolio. I would recommend picking clients that interest you. Maybe 1 sports campaign, 1 retail campaign, 1 non profit campaign, 1 travel campaign, etc..but don't pick a non profit just for the sake of being diverse. Pick one that means something to you. I chose ending homelessness amongst youth in China as a non-profit addition to my book with UNICEF as my client. Then I have a colorful campaign that I did. I have a pharmaceutical campaign in my book. There's a fashion piece in book as well. And the list goes on. Pick wisely from the beginning.

-Choose different media to display your ads in all your campaigns. You don't have to always/only have a print ad. Why stop there? You can do outdoor, digital, packaging, radio, TV, multimedia, promotional, guerrilla, social media, etc. and there are so many types under those headings also.

-Take pre-portfolio. Yes, it's an elective but honestly it will help you eliminate chaos and stress. In order to graduate, they would like for you to have 8 campaigns done and edited, your portfolio book nicely laid out bound and printed, your resume, business cards, leave behind, website, etc. Can you imagine doing all that in 12 weeks? If not, you need to start half of the process in pre-portfoilo.

-Take electives to enhance your portfolio, not easy classes to just get by. When you have classes that are not included in the curriculum like Typography, Layout, Packaging, etc. that are available for you to take - you should be taking them! You can always sit at home and be mad that they are not included in the curriculum or you can do something about it and take the classes. Cause trust me, your competition is. Its your choice.

-Last but not least, chill out! Find a way to destress. Give yourself time to breathe and clear your head and you will be fine.

Good luck to all those upcoming graduates! Hope this was semi helpful. :)

kiss kiss
cris

The domain is mine! All mine!

I just purchased my domain and hosting! www.thecrystallization.com is all mine!! *muaah ha ha ha*!! Need to finish designing the content for my website now..oh yeah. Well after I finish my campaigns. Thought to self, 1 thing at a time Crystal. It's hard for me. I try to do everything at once. Tisk, tisk. I should know better. Am I asking for a mental breakdown? We'll I thought my brand was so dope that I had to get the domain on lock before anyone snatched it up. Especially if word gets out. We all know how those pesky domain sharks can be. We'll now its all mine and you can't have it. I should have done this last week. Feeling accomplished. Now back to finishing my campaigns for my book. Deadlines approaching!

goodnight!

kiss kiss,
cris

FREEZE!! Now bring me back some money please!

As we all know graduates need money. Especially if they are art graduates. I hope you have been saving money because if not, you will find yourself scraping for cash. I thought I saved enough but just to be sure I put together a little document using InDesign to show my friends and family a small sample of my work in order to raise funds to execute my portfolio. Now, I spent a lot of time on my document. It was animated and the whole 9. I guess you don't have to do all that but I am a bit of a perfectionist. It turned out well. I included a link to paypal to make it easier for them to pay up and everything! :P The response has been well. I'm glad I did it. I wish I could include the entire thing here but you get the idea with the image attached. That was the 1st page of the document.

kiss kiss
cris

How I decided on branding.

So as you know, my name is Crystal. Everyone kinda plays off their name for their branding. The obvious choice would be for me to do this whole "Crystal Clear" thing with clear business cards, etc. and say that your ads will be Crystal Clear with me or that your future is Crystal Clear if you choose me as a designer/advertiser, blah, blah, boring.

So, what do I choose? Something that I connect with, am reflected by, and love.

Crystallization.

#1 I love Crystals. Years before Debeers women did not receive diamonds as engagement gifts, they would get whatever their future husband wanted them to have and it was perfectly okay and normal. Then Debeers came along and changed the game. Who would ever think this one company could change the future engagement rings of all women in America (and other countries)!!?? Now that's awesome marketing. 1 company decided one day that a diamond is forever and the only choice for engagement rings. Wow. Now that's pretty impressive. But I digress. Back to Crystals.

Crystal's are vivid, multifaceted elements formed by crystallization that can be found in a myriad of colors that inspire the mind. They're like a treasure chest of perfect sparkling shapes, colors, and sizes that captivate their audience with great mystery.

Live the dream in a crystallized world where every element has the power to enchant. I'll be your creative catalyst to crystallize your imagination and make your campaigns come to life.

I represent equilibrium, purity, and growth. Those are the keys to crystallization. Welcome to my brand.


kiss kiss
cris

I finally ordered my cap and gown! Yes!! I'm almost there!

There was a hold on my student account and I was kinda afraid to find out what it was. After all, I am graduating in 12 weeks and a financial aid problem is the last thing I need. I reluctantly went to the Registrar's office only to find that it was a graduation hold. They wanted me to order my cap and gown!! Whew, what a relief. But now I'm excited and feel like this is really going to happen. I will graduate in 12 weeks. I have a lot of stuff to get done before that happens but maybe, just maybe, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And I thank God.

By the way, do graduates still throw hats in the air at graduation? I guess we will find out on June 18.

kiss kiss
cris

Who am I?

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

I'm Crystal Flemister, upcoming graduate at the Art Institute of Atlanta. It's the 1st day of my final quarter and I don't know what to tell you. So..I'm this Advertising Designer who works as a Graphic Designer for a company who will remain nameless for now. I'm 12 weeks away from the beginning of the rest of my life and I'm excited, stressed, and calm all at the same time. I'll be posting my portfolio experience, sites that inspire me and whatever else comes to mind as this quarter goes along. I hope upcoming AIA students will find this blog informative and helpful and I hope everyone else finds it purely entertaining. Ha. Well take what you can and share what you please. And this blog will continue past portfolio/graduation so be sure to follow the experience for the long haul.

Enjoy!

kiss kiss
cris