job market...or lack thereof

i know it has been nearly 2 months since my last post. and i know my -14 readership is on the edge of their seats. i actually havent personally given out the link to my blog to anyone except the teacher whose class i created this blog for. its on my facebook, but thanks to the ingenious tabbed interface, pretty much nobody clicks on the "info" tab to look at which links you have on your profile.

either way, the last 2 months have been lackluster. i have been looking for my first post-degree job. therefore, i have been advising everyone i know who is still in college to stay in school for as long as humanly possible. creative types, i mean.

for shits & gigs last summer i was checking various websites for job postings, just to see what was out there in terms of entry-level positions in graphic design & related jobs. there were pages upon pages of jobs that, had i already received my degree and did not need to go to school full time, i could have been 110% qualified for and ready to step in to. 

now, there are maybe 10-15% of those same jobs available (25% on a really week) for someone with my qualifications, aka new degree and less than two years of experience. and i know craigslist may not be the key choice for job hunting, it suits my example of the decrease. last july, there were maybe 20 pages of jobs in the art/media/design section, and less than 5 months later when i began my arduous search, there were no less than 3 pages. theres not much that we can do about it, though.

most of the jobs now in my field are mid- to senior-level positions. thus, they employers want at least 3 if not more like 5+ years of experience to qualify for a position. but my question, as well as many of my colleagues and even those not in the creative field, is how are we to gain such experience if we cant even find a place to get our feet in the door??

i say all this with one exception: web designers. unfortunately i did not have the clairvoyance in my first half of college to see where the direction of design was going. and i did not do my research either. because not only do employers want people who can design for print, but they want people who can design for the web. if you know Dreamweaver, HTML, XHTML, CSS, javascript, actionscript, PHP, and anything else in that realm, you are considerably safer than the strictly-print design folks like myself. also Flash is really big too. if you are still in school and have the opportunity, LEARN SOME OR ALL OF THOSE THINGS. even if you just get your feet wet and develop them later, it will put you ahead.

i know very basic HTML, XHTML, CSS, and Flash. I have one book that covers the first three, and another book i just bought that covers Flash only. I am basically going to have to teach myself as much more as i can so i can get a better footing in those areas. 

luckily i have some interviews set up for this week, and a few possible freelance opportunities in the works. my goal is to get some work going within the next 2-3 weeks. not only for my own sanity, but because the bills are still continuing to knock on my door. and tap on my window at night. 

with that, happy job hunting!!

JONESIN' FOR A JONES

JONES SODA = DELICIOUS.

whats more is that Jones has gone organic and made some tea drinks. the design of the labels is amazing: its clean and fresh, the graphics are simple, and the overall design just yells out from the shelf: DRINK ME I AM GOOD FOR YOU!

the mark itself for the new line is also really great; its not stuffy like a lot of organic products. the line flows through the a, n, and i to make the word more fluid. the rounded edges are reminiscent of organic-ness in general. i also like that the branding for Jones is also included because that really adds to brand identity. im definitely looking forward to trying these products.

Jones soda itself is a unique design. the copy and logo are all neutral colors, and Jones enthusiasts can send in photos to appear on the labels. i love seeing a colorful photo because the rest of the label just makes the photo pop out. (no pun intended). and if there is  no color from the label, there is color in the drink. you can even send in your own photos and order a custom case of soda. NICE.

excuse me, but i have to go get some beverage.

DESIGN MY DRINK

DIRECTIONS:

take a walk down the organics aisle at your local jewel. stop when you get to the beverages. ADMIRE.

so much of the design in that section is white and clear (but colorful) and sans-serif and modern. and beautiful. i only put a little sampling  on this blog, so you will need to go and see for yourself. i would buy them all just for the packaging, but they are pretty expensive.

then there is a line called Crayons. they look like they taste good, but i cant really get over the name. i assume its because of the colors and shape of the can, but i dont know if i would like the idea of drinking crayons....

anyway, the original of this style of design is vitamin water. even though the labels are black and white, the color comes from the drink inside. and have you read the copy on those? genius.

thirsty??

ED HARDY

have you seen Ed Hardy anywhere lately? I'd be surprised if you haven't. the legendary tattoo artist has a presence on clothes, shoes, hats, bags, and everything. not to mention a fragrance line, which I just recently bought a bottle of. what do ed hardy's tattoos smell like? fruit and flowers.

I've always been a fan of tattoo artwork, and its kind of cool to be able to wear tattoo art without the permanence. its colorful, illustrative, vintage, and glam. the only downside is the cost. most of the designs are carried by high-end designers and so you pay for their name plus the name of Ed Hardy. but if you want the designs without paying your life savings, of course there are posters and calendars and all of the paper products. those are less expensive; i have a few different posters. 

pick up some Ed Hardy stuff for yourself. just google it and you will find something.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON DARK CUSTOM

harley-davidson's latest unique line of motorcycles is called Dark Custom. it has about 5 different mean-looking bikes in the line. the last photo above is the Nightster, my dream bike.

but beyond the fact that the bikes are hot, the design of the marketing is really eye-catching. VSA Partners has the Harley account, but according to partner Steve Ryan, they haven't really worked on the dark custom stuff.

the main logo for the line is a re-working of the Harley racing 1 logo. it has a skull near the top and comes in black and white. its beautiful.

the rest of the marketing has a mix between grunge and vintage styles, with scratchy handwriting fonts and gothic fonts as well. the imagery is a nice mix between hand-drawn almost comic images and of course photos of bad-asses riding their Harleys from the dark custom line. this is a huge shift from the clean cut (yes still beautiful) marketing design from VSA.

when I was at VSA recently I had the opportunity to see some preliminary design for the new H-D Ink line of clothing and bike accesories, and it is in line with the dark customs look.

this is some design I wish I was a part of.