I wanted to write down some of the big ideas that I learned while attending my first semester at CCA. I took Graphic Design 1, and History of Modern Art. I learned more in the first one.

This quote from Paul Rand sticks out in my mind:

Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.

1. It’s true. Everyone that added any sort of adornment or unnecessary frill to their work was asked why they did it. Pretty soon, I could tell the shitty answers (“it just didn’t feel right without it”) from the good ones.
2. Don’t leave widows in a final project. Widows are single words, usually at the end of a paragraph, that have been knocked down the next line of text all by themselves. They create unsightly white space.
3. Don’t letter-space upper and lowercase
4. Doing anything to cut corners is quickly noticed and drastically effects your grade. Doing things that look like they were difficult and took a lot of time are appreciated, but don’t necessarily bump up your grade.
5. Good design should be invisible. Generous leading may look chic, but not if it was done for no reason.
6. Symmetry is boring.
7. The details in typefaces can be extremely subtle, and teachers may think it’s ridiculous that you don’t notice them.
8. Just because a teacher is a successful designer, doesn’t mean they are fun to kick it with. This came as a shock, as I thought that all designers would be tons of fun. Sounds dumb now, but it totally made sense in my head.
9. Art school is not for dummies and it is not easy.
10. Art degrees can get you in just as lucrative businesses are normal degrees. As long as you’re studying graphic design.
11. All nighters aren’t that bad.
12. I was an idiot to ever go to school for something I didn’t love.
13. Someone has had, and used every good idea you’ve ever thought of, but it’s still fun to try.
14. Turning in a project you had fun doing is more fulfilling that getting a good grade on something you hated.
15. Sketching with a pencil is better than sketching on a computer.
16. The more work you do up until you start the project, the easier and better the project will be.
17. Don’t take feedback personally, even if it really was an attack, and the person meant it.
18. Be weird. Push it. I didn’t do this enough. Now I’m regretting it