where lily damota is at

well.. goals here. i feel like i really got 'behind the 8-ball' this quarter by investing so much time into my portfolio... several weeks into the quarter even.. STORY OF MY LIFE. but a job was achieved. First-years. Boston. Stoked.

i've been doing a decent amount of illustration work in illustrator, too. which is somewhat unrelated to developing ID skills directly, but fulfilling and a skill i am happy to improve on none-the-less.... seems important to continue to build the professional relationship with the woman who has been giving me the work, even if causes some slack in school now and then.

Still getting things done, anyhow. other goals included improving sketching and rendering... pretty happy with the new techniques learned in roller's class and can definitely see myself using them in the future.. as for the sketching i am now trying to work in pen and marker which has been kind of a difficult adjustment since ive always just worked in pencil... i see progress, however.

Always wish i was investing more time into all my work, I might be getting a little better at this.

New Goals:

• Win housewares contest
• Change world with innovative beehive
• in spare time redo info graphic and then a new concept for your lame pen.

what makes design not terrible, why i am not terrible, etc.

Good design can be an aesthetic piece, or be a tool that really enhances a persons' quality of life. Engaging a user with an exciting and fulfilling experience is of particular importance to me..... Also of equal validity is how materials and labor are sourced... as well as the environmental externalities that that are caused as a result of production, use and disposal of a product.

What makes Lily daMota good as a designer.. in particular? Well. I think I possess many qualities that typically aren't congruous in one person.....  I can make cartoons,  illustrate and create fun graphics and patterns... and i can learn just about anything  (urban ecology, japanese, beekeeping... whatever....) I love exploring and trying new things. Roll all this together and combine it with the fact that I am capable of making a broad spectrum of design products that are completely aesthetic and rockin'?? I am literally unstoppable. Mostly because of the learning stuff, too many people are afraid of failure and don't take risks, i am the opposite... and become bored very easily. i am always looking to 'greener pastures' in just about every aspect of my life, this means i am never satisfied, which from a design stand-point can be pretttty good.

Also it is a literal fact that i am exciting, fun.... and.... people, people just tend to really like me.

The thing i value most in my product designs has definitely come to be integrity.. integrity in purpose and in material specifications and longevity... bam.


Thanks now, more later!

earrings

i did some sketch-renderings of earring concepts, i was happier with how these came out then the more 'finalized' versions. anyway...always more work!

mixed media

I've always very much enjoyed collages and am excited to take a stab at mixed media with this next project.... here is some cool stuff i have grabbed up off of print and pattern, etc.... here and there over time! all cool stuff.

Infrographics

Infographics are neat, I feel like a fool for not using them up until this point... Down-right foolish, honestly. Here are some cool and interesting infographics I stumbled across in my travels.

Groovy Cat

We recently got a new cat named Groovy Cat. As of late I have found myself wishing that our cat was somehow endowed with the voice and persona of Tim Gunn, a host on Project Runway. If this were so,  he would be able to approach me and my roommate in the morning and say 'Good Morning Designers.' Also, he would be able to offer words of encouragement in times of hardship, such as, 'Make it Work.' Unfortunately this is not the case, and I must persevere with no talking cat... which at times is quite difficult. More later.

Hello, let me tell you about a designer I like.

A designer I have really enjoyed as of late is a metalsmith named Monique Rancourt, (moniquerancourt.com.) I saw her work at a craft show in Boston, bought some earrings and have been watching her since. When I spoke to her at her booth she said that she was always experimenting with new techniques for her jewelry.. some of her chain bracelets are all dipped in molten plastic which give a really interesting affect.. All in all her work is just really unique unto itself and really well done. I can also honestly say I had never seen anything like some of her pieces, and I give her kudos for establishing a line of beautiful handmade jewelry that is distinctly her own. Even though all her pieces are really different, there is a cohesive undertone that makes them collectively identifiable as 'monique rancourt'... it is definitely an admirable thing to have such a strong, identifiable sense of design perspective.

brand!

'David and Scotti' is a handmade, eco-friendly Italian brand that is sold in Department stores internationally. Even though they are a big company, David and Scotti still value handwork over mass production because the appreciate the quality and aesthetic it imbues their products with. It is good to know that there are companies out there willing to invest in the labor that gives craft and diy such strong appeal. The bags are also made exclusively from materials made in nature, nothing plasticized.

I think the bags in general have a good visual diversity to them, and you can really sense that a human worked in the details of the bag, in this bag ^ it is the hand-knotting, braiding and rouching.

I like that the company is willing to invest in people vs. machines and is conscious about their material choices. Most companies don't care that there are externalized environmental costs for their material slections and just take shortcuts to get the best mass-produced aesthetic for the least amount of money. David and Scotti took a risk by going handmade and choosing natural materials (and not being completely exclusive in their price range.) I would like to work for a company that is willing to innovate, and take risks and not just do what is most cheap and convenient to be just a 'neck ahead' in the short term... and rather is forward looking in the impact of their designs. All in all I guess my future plans operate more around a set of values then around a particular product range or brand I would like to design for :/!

Hey, portfolios man.

Lily daMota here!

What should a portfolio have to be totally great? Well, I think there are a few qualities that are literally necessary for a portfolio to be attractive to potential employers.

*Dynamic, and to the point:  No one likes to be bored. Avoid redundancy, keep it short and strong. Don't draw out projects.... even if your project is really cool, it is unlikely I want to look at it for 20 pages. Page layouts should follow some sort of logical grid, but not to the point where the viewer loses interest and the projects start to blend together. Color, graphics and high quality photographs are good attention grabbers and are particularly impactful when successfully integrated with sketches and other work.

*Organized and Progresses Logically: No one likes being confused, don't confuse your potential employer. People become angry and frustrated when they are confused, this will make you more likely to be thrown in the 'do not hire' pile.

*Personal: What does your portfolio say about you? Can I tell what kind of person you are? Am I going to remember something about you after I have gone through 20 other portfolios? Moreover is what is memorable what you want to memorable.

http://designdroplets.com/articles/portfolio-advice-back-basics/

^ Good point here, your portfolio should tell the viewer EXACTLY who you are. If in doubt, take it out.

http://www.designsojourn.com/designer-portfolio-shootout/

^Be aware of your own design capabilities and be able to tell a potential employer what it is YOU are good at!

http://www.allartschools.com/art-careers/graphic-design/graphic-design-portfolio
^Variety, simplify, catchy not kitschy.

Midterm Critique

Target Consumer and Retail Space

Target Consumer and Retail Space

Product Assessment

Brand Investigation