Thursday, February 25, 2010
2010 DSC job fair a disappointment
I decided to drop by this year's job fair held in the Gardner Center Ballroom. My first surprise was when the people sitting at a desk in front of the Ballroom stopped me and required me to fill out a name tag before I could enter. If I'm coming to the activity and it's free, what's the purpose of requiring me to wear a name tag before I can enter the double doors? It's not like the people offering career opportunities are going to really remember my name. Then when I walked in I was surprised to see there weren't many people offering jobs or school information. I could not find anything to fit my interests. Last year's Employment Fair was so much better. The main reason I went was to get information from Southern Utah University representatives about its Master's programs. Well, this was another disappointment because they only had information on special education degrees and social work. Why would you not send representatives that would be able to talk about all its Masters degrees? I just don't get it. So I didn't find any job opportunities that fit me, and I left empty handed from the school tables.
Friday, February 12, 2010
It's time to find strength in ourselves
I find it very interesting how most times we do not see the best qualities in ourselves until someone else points it out.
This epitome came to me after having a very meaningful discussion with someone I admire. I told her I respected her strength during difficult situations, in which she responded she was not strong. To give a little bit of background, the woman I am speaking of is battling cancer. I can't think of any other adjective that better suits any cancer fighter than "strong." If strength doesn't work for you, you can have your choice of any of the following words:
able, able-bodied, big, capable, durable, enduring, energetic, firm, fixed, hale, hard as nails, hardy, hearty, mighty,reinforced, robust, rugged, secure, sinewy, solid, sound, stable, stalwart, stark, steady, strapping, sturdy, substantial, tenacious, tough, unyielding, vigorous, well-founded, well-made,aggressive, brave, clear, cogent, courageous, dedicated, deep, eager, fervent, fervid, fierce, firm, forceful, gutsy, handful, hard-nosed, independent, intelligent, intense, iron-willed, keen, perceptive, plucky, potent, resilient, resourceful, sagacious, self-assertive, steadfast, take charge, tenacious, tough, unbending, uncompromising, unyielding, vehement, violent, zealous.
So why is it we refuse to see what seems obvious to everyone else around us? We're constantly underestimating ourselves, seeing ourselves as insufficient. The problem is we are not insufficient. Individually we are strong, charismatic, amusing and truly amazing. There's no reason to doubt this.
It's time to take a step out of the cut-throat competition of daily life. It's time to realize our worth and utilize our best qualities. It's time to be ourselves. Let me know how you'd best describe yourself by commenting below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
This epitome came to me after having a very meaningful discussion with someone I admire. I told her I respected her strength during difficult situations, in which she responded she was not strong. To give a little bit of background, the woman I am speaking of is battling cancer. I can't think of any other adjective that better suits any cancer fighter than "strong." If strength doesn't work for you, you can have your choice of any of the following words:
able, able-bodied, big, capable, durable, enduring, energetic, firm, fixed, hale, hard as nails, hardy, hearty, mighty,reinforced, robust, rugged, secure, sinewy, solid, sound, stable, stalwart, stark, steady, strapping, sturdy, substantial, tenacious, tough, unyielding, vigorous, well-founded, well-made,aggressive, brave, clear, cogent, courageous, dedicated, deep, eager, fervent, fervid, fierce, firm, forceful, gutsy, handful, hard-nosed, independent, intelligent, intense, iron-willed, keen, perceptive, plucky, potent, resilient, resourceful, sagacious, self-assertive, steadfast, take charge, tenacious, tough, unbending, uncompromising, unyielding, vehement, violent, zealous.
So why is it we refuse to see what seems obvious to everyone else around us? We're constantly underestimating ourselves, seeing ourselves as insufficient. The problem is we are not insufficient. Individually we are strong, charismatic, amusing and truly amazing. There's no reason to doubt this.
It's time to take a step out of the cut-throat competition of daily life. It's time to realize our worth and utilize our best qualities. It's time to be ourselves. Let me know how you'd best describe yourself by commenting below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
23rd annual Robert N. & Peggy Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show
The 23rd annual Robert N. & Peggy Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show and Sale begins Saturday.
I had the opportunity to view the gallery today and took a couple photos to show you the upcoming, and truly amazing, works of art. I was taken aback by the meaningful contexts behind the different mediums depicting epic tales of travel and hard work. Native American images line the walls while more modern art is displayed on pedestals throughout the showroom. Sadly, I can't say I've been to many of the art shows here on campus. However, now that I've seen a few, I can advise you to not let the opportunity fly by. The Sears Art Gallery allows students and community members to view the wonderful talent located both here in town and other areas.
One of my favorite pieces in the show is by Cheryl Collins. The sculpture is titled "The Glass Heart." No one can miss the powerful sculptures standing tall with its organic-looking medium. The earthy colors are subtle, but the vibrant red heart stands out to give the sculpture meaning.
For those who would like to go see the exhibit, I have listed the times below.
Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sundays: 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
(*Editors note: I apologize for the amateur look of these photos. They were taken from my phone since my camera died.)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Design Evaluation
Examples of good design
I found many different designs I would consider as good examples. Here are a few that caught my eye.
This first photo is a photo of Choxie chocolate, offered at Target.
Balance: Choxie uses both symmetrical and asymmetrical designs to make its products stand out. This balance can be found on both the packaging and the chocolates itself. In this photo, you can see there are both evenly balanced designs and asymmetrical designs. When looking at the three-dimensional product, it seems to be very asymmetrical. Some boxes they produce, however, are symmetrical. The circular patterns--even though they are repetitive patterns--are spaced far enough apart that if it were split down the center, it would not be obvious it was the same pattern. In addition, the asymmetrical balance is shown with the brown lid versus the blue box. The blue box takes up much more space than the brown lid on the box.
Contrast: The dark and light colors on the box contrast each other in size, texture, position, shape, color and orientation. As stated above, the asymmetrical design assists in contrasting all of these primary forms of contrast. Contrast is obvious on most Choxie products. Simply looking at the black and white chocolate design you can see the difference between contrasting shapes (the squares and circles), position (where these items are placed), color (the difference between the light and dark), and orientation (circles inside squares and squares inside circles).
Line:One of the first things I noticed was the concept of lines. Choxie utilizes a variety of lines, including vertical, horizontal and curved lines to create patterns both in the chocolate itself and the packaging. This photo shows the chocolate pieces individually without the packaging. The different uses of lines create an eye-catching display that stands out among some of its competitors.
Texture:The texture of most Choxie chocolates are very smooth and flat. This allows the designers to imprint colorful designs that come out clear and crisp on the top of individual pieces. Even the chocolate covered espresso beans have a smooth finish. This is much different from an average Hershey or Crunch bar.
Color: My favorite thing about Choxie's products is the color used to catch attention. One way to persuade me to buy a product is simply having good use of color in a design, which seems to make me want the packaging more than whatever it actually contains. The use of vibrant colors makes it stand out. The business also coordinates colors very well. I don't think I've ever seen an ugly box produced by Choxie.
Space: Choxie packaging doesn't really use negative space. The only negative space I could find that was prominent on the box of chocolate espresso beans was the brown lid. The solid brown creates a sense of negative space when contrasted with the positive space underneath it. The individual chocolates in this photo show a balance of positive and negative space through the designs imprinted on the tops. These designs wouldn't look good unless they had at least some negative space between the elements.
Shape and form:Choxie utilizes both shape and form in its packaging. It uses shape by creating designs imprinted on the box or chocolates. It uses form by the way the boxes are actually shaped. The box of espresso beans is not just a regular box; rather, it is more of a cone. Since this is not in a regular shape, it helps to stand out from any other box-shaped products. Choxie also uses hatbox shaped items and other geometric forms to stand out from its competition.
Gestalt principles: Choxie uses the laws of similarity, proximity, pragnanz, continuity and closure. Items of similar shape and size are grouped together on the packaging and individual chocolates. They are very simple forms, such as circles connecting to other circles. They also follow a path (i.e. the swirling pattern on the individual pieces). The differences in circular patterns also add to the law of closure. It's also shown on the domino-like pattern on the blue and black and-white chocolates above.
Below are a couple other designs I felt fit these principles.
Examples of bad design
This Web site is the raw form of what could be replacing our Dixie Sun Link Web site.
Balance:This Web site tries to use an asymmetrical balance to make different items stand out, such as the Utah News Channel and the placements of the two vertical navigation bars. If the Web site would have been created with three columns instead of four it would have been more properly balanced.
Contrast: Overall this site doesn't have a lot of good contrast. Most of the colors are dull and dark, with the occasional bright, random color.
Line: One of the only things I did like about this Web site was its use of lines. It uses horizontal lines to separate the different stories and vertical lines to draw the eye up to the icons. The horizontal line on the top of the page cuts the image off from the rest of the splash page, which is OK.
Texture: The attempt of texture is used on the top of the page with the Dixie rock. The image is created into an almost animated version of the actual mountain by the pixilated dots.
Color:I hate the colors. The colors look very simple and childish. They also downplay the seriousness of the Web site since they look like something any very, very beginning Web design person would pick out of clip art.
Space: There is a lot of negative space right now since the Web site is not up and running yet. Once it is running, the white space will be filled with broadcasts and text. There is also a lot of negative space with the blue horizontal navigation bar.
Shape and form:The shapes are very simple. You have the simple looking sun for the weather, boxes for news, and boxes to separate the different elements of the page. Although I'm OK with the different boxes separating the stories, I do not like the shapes used for the icons.
Gestalt principles:Since the Web site is in the very beginning stages, it does not meet most of the Gestalt principles. There are a couple laws it does meet, such as the law of similarity and the law of continuity. The law of similarity is shown through the grouping of similar shaped boxes to separate the stories, through the different navigation bars and through the grouping of icons. The law of continuity is shown on the top with the Dixie rock that continues horizontally in both directions.
**Side note** Utahnews.ch is in the very beginning stages of design. I took a very critical look at this design, but mean not to hurt any feelings. The design will be changing if the Web site is approved.
I found many different designs I would consider as good examples. Here are a few that caught my eye.
This first photo is a photo of Choxie chocolate, offered at Target.
Balance: Choxie uses both symmetrical and asymmetrical designs to make its products stand out. This balance can be found on both the packaging and the chocolates itself. In this photo, you can see there are both evenly balanced designs and asymmetrical designs. When looking at the three-dimensional product, it seems to be very asymmetrical. Some boxes they produce, however, are symmetrical. The circular patterns--even though they are repetitive patterns--are spaced far enough apart that if it were split down the center, it would not be obvious it was the same pattern. In addition, the asymmetrical balance is shown with the brown lid versus the blue box. The blue box takes up much more space than the brown lid on the box.
Contrast: The dark and light colors on the box contrast each other in size, texture, position, shape, color and orientation. As stated above, the asymmetrical design assists in contrasting all of these primary forms of contrast. Contrast is obvious on most Choxie products. Simply looking at the black and white chocolate design you can see the difference between contrasting shapes (the squares and circles), position (where these items are placed), color (the difference between the light and dark), and orientation (circles inside squares and squares inside circles).
Line:One of the first things I noticed was the concept of lines. Choxie utilizes a variety of lines, including vertical, horizontal and curved lines to create patterns both in the chocolate itself and the packaging. This photo shows the chocolate pieces individually without the packaging. The different uses of lines create an eye-catching display that stands out among some of its competitors.
Texture:The texture of most Choxie chocolates are very smooth and flat. This allows the designers to imprint colorful designs that come out clear and crisp on the top of individual pieces. Even the chocolate covered espresso beans have a smooth finish. This is much different from an average Hershey or Crunch bar.
Color: My favorite thing about Choxie's products is the color used to catch attention. One way to persuade me to buy a product is simply having good use of color in a design, which seems to make me want the packaging more than whatever it actually contains. The use of vibrant colors makes it stand out. The business also coordinates colors very well. I don't think I've ever seen an ugly box produced by Choxie.
Space: Choxie packaging doesn't really use negative space. The only negative space I could find that was prominent on the box of chocolate espresso beans was the brown lid. The solid brown creates a sense of negative space when contrasted with the positive space underneath it. The individual chocolates in this photo show a balance of positive and negative space through the designs imprinted on the tops. These designs wouldn't look good unless they had at least some negative space between the elements.
Shape and form:Choxie utilizes both shape and form in its packaging. It uses shape by creating designs imprinted on the box or chocolates. It uses form by the way the boxes are actually shaped. The box of espresso beans is not just a regular box; rather, it is more of a cone. Since this is not in a regular shape, it helps to stand out from any other box-shaped products. Choxie also uses hatbox shaped items and other geometric forms to stand out from its competition.
Gestalt principles: Choxie uses the laws of similarity, proximity, pragnanz, continuity and closure. Items of similar shape and size are grouped together on the packaging and individual chocolates. They are very simple forms, such as circles connecting to other circles. They also follow a path (i.e. the swirling pattern on the individual pieces). The differences in circular patterns also add to the law of closure. It's also shown on the domino-like pattern on the blue and black and-white chocolates above.
Below are a couple other designs I felt fit these principles.
Examples of bad design
This Web site is the raw form of what could be replacing our Dixie Sun Link Web site.
Balance:This Web site tries to use an asymmetrical balance to make different items stand out, such as the Utah News Channel and the placements of the two vertical navigation bars. If the Web site would have been created with three columns instead of four it would have been more properly balanced.
Contrast: Overall this site doesn't have a lot of good contrast. Most of the colors are dull and dark, with the occasional bright, random color.
Line: One of the only things I did like about this Web site was its use of lines. It uses horizontal lines to separate the different stories and vertical lines to draw the eye up to the icons. The horizontal line on the top of the page cuts the image off from the rest of the splash page, which is OK.
Texture: The attempt of texture is used on the top of the page with the Dixie rock. The image is created into an almost animated version of the actual mountain by the pixilated dots.
Color:I hate the colors. The colors look very simple and childish. They also downplay the seriousness of the Web site since they look like something any very, very beginning Web design person would pick out of clip art.
Space: There is a lot of negative space right now since the Web site is not up and running yet. Once it is running, the white space will be filled with broadcasts and text. There is also a lot of negative space with the blue horizontal navigation bar.
Shape and form:The shapes are very simple. You have the simple looking sun for the weather, boxes for news, and boxes to separate the different elements of the page. Although I'm OK with the different boxes separating the stories, I do not like the shapes used for the icons.
Gestalt principles:Since the Web site is in the very beginning stages, it does not meet most of the Gestalt principles. There are a couple laws it does meet, such as the law of similarity and the law of continuity. The law of similarity is shown through the grouping of similar shaped boxes to separate the stories, through the different navigation bars and through the grouping of icons. The law of continuity is shown on the top with the Dixie rock that continues horizontally in both directions.
**Side note** Utahnews.ch is in the very beginning stages of design. I took a very critical look at this design, but mean not to hurt any feelings. The design will be changing if the Web site is approved.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Dixie Sun
I've dedicated over five years of my life to the Dixie Sun; however, after this semester it will all be over. As I sat in class today I realized that this really is it. I remember starting out as a staff writer my senior year of high school. I volunteered in hopes of being picked for a scholarship my freshman year of college. That was in fall 2005. I started on staff as an opinion editor. That turned into the editor-in-chief position the next two years. Then I have fulfilled the role of Dixie Sun's first online editor. What I'm having a hard time digesting is the fact that it all went by so quickly.
I've seen a lot of staff members come and go. Most of the staff this semester has served with me for at least a year. I was fortunate enough to work with a few of these staff members for four years. At the end of this semester we will all part ways. A few of us may stay in St. George, and a few of us will leave. Either way I will not wake up every morning knowing I will see these close friends in newspaper every day.
As cheesy as it may sound, I can't imagine waking up without going to school in the morning. I'm looking into Master's programs and I realized I will not be going to Dixie State College after my last final in April. That is actually what determined my decision to possibly apply to work for the college. I really am keeping my fingers crossed I can be hired on asap; however, I cannot really start unless I'm in a Master's program. Eventually I look forward to possibly running the new magazine production in DSC's communication department.
To give you an opportunity to walk in my shoes for a few moments, I have added some photos below of the program that has consumed my life.
Every week we look forward to seeing these newly printed newspapers stacked outside our door. We print 2,500 papers per week and also publish online.
The Dixie Sun doesn't bind its editions anymore. But back in the day we used to bind the issues at the end of the year. There is an amazing collection of historical Dixie Sun issues. This newspaper has grown so much!
Blood, sweat and tears go into these newspapers every week. What most students don't realize is how many hours their fellow students are dedicating to publish a well-written and accurate newspaper every week. Next time you pick up a Dixie Sun, realize there is an amazing staff of students working hard for your benefit.
We work a week ahead of ourselves to produce a new newspaper. We map out our game plan and share ideas.
This is just another photo of the newsroom.
I took this photo a couple years ago and I absolutely love it. It just seemed to capture the theme of Dixie Spirit while showing the new ideas they're moving forward with. It's amazing this college has been open since 1911.
My newest assistant online editor, Kassi. She's an amazing person, and she was willing to try an anchovy all in good fun.
She didn't like it. :)
Here are some of the amazing staff members that give the Dixie Sun a heartbeat.
I've seen a lot of staff members come and go. Most of the staff this semester has served with me for at least a year. I was fortunate enough to work with a few of these staff members for four years. At the end of this semester we will all part ways. A few of us may stay in St. George, and a few of us will leave. Either way I will not wake up every morning knowing I will see these close friends in newspaper every day.
As cheesy as it may sound, I can't imagine waking up without going to school in the morning. I'm looking into Master's programs and I realized I will not be going to Dixie State College after my last final in April. That is actually what determined my decision to possibly apply to work for the college. I really am keeping my fingers crossed I can be hired on asap; however, I cannot really start unless I'm in a Master's program. Eventually I look forward to possibly running the new magazine production in DSC's communication department.
To give you an opportunity to walk in my shoes for a few moments, I have added some photos below of the program that has consumed my life.
Every week we look forward to seeing these newly printed newspapers stacked outside our door. We print 2,500 papers per week and also publish online.
The Dixie Sun doesn't bind its editions anymore. But back in the day we used to bind the issues at the end of the year. There is an amazing collection of historical Dixie Sun issues. This newspaper has grown so much!
Blood, sweat and tears go into these newspapers every week. What most students don't realize is how many hours their fellow students are dedicating to publish a well-written and accurate newspaper every week. Next time you pick up a Dixie Sun, realize there is an amazing staff of students working hard for your benefit.
We work a week ahead of ourselves to produce a new newspaper. We map out our game plan and share ideas.
This is just another photo of the newsroom.
I took this photo a couple years ago and I absolutely love it. It just seemed to capture the theme of Dixie Spirit while showing the new ideas they're moving forward with. It's amazing this college has been open since 1911.
My newest assistant online editor, Kassi. She's an amazing person, and she was willing to try an anchovy all in good fun.
She didn't like it. :)
Here are some of the amazing staff members that give the Dixie Sun a heartbeat.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
