Tobey Albright

In this class you will engage in a wide variety of professional practice activities to help prepare you for life after SAIC. In this course, each student will focus on advancing the design (layout, graphics, narratives, flow) of their portfolio so that it best conveys their individual design skills, experience and interests. Students will produce materials appropriate for delivery of their work across multiple formats (print, digital, web, etc), will learn how to edit/ arrange their materials to suit the specific context of application, and will create consistent design elements that can be shared across the full range of professional materials from portfolio, website, business cards, and other promotional materials. The course emphasizes hands-on, real- world professional activities and opportunities for emerging designers.

More information about Professional Practice and the Academic Spine curriculum can be found on the SAIC website: http://www.saic.edu/academics/departments/academicspine/

Life after design school could reveal vast diversity beyond traditional employment opportunities, such as working for a design consultancy, as an in-house designer, or independently. Positioning Methods Lab is designed to help students shape their portfolio into various formats, focusing primarily on each students? specific future goals, and establishing a promotional strategy that feels authentic and attuned to their personal form of world-making.

Readings and screenings will vary but will include foundational and instructional readings such as:
Elements of Typographic Style by Bringhurst Grid Systems/Raster Systeme by Josef Muller-Brockmann
The Crystal Goblet by Beatrice Ward On Punctuation by Gertrude Stein My website is a shifting house next to a river of knowledge. What could yours be? by Laurel Schwulst

As well as an introduction to various tools and resources such as:
Are.na, Cargo Collective, the SAIC Service Bureau, the SAIC Writing Center, and various file formats and structure for print and web.

In addition to completing weekly assignments and readings, students should expect to finish the class with a resume, portfolio in either printed or PDF form, as well as a personal website of work.