Senior Workshop in Graphic Design. Prerequisites: GrD 3200 with grade of C or higher. Restricted to students who have been accepted into the BFA program. Advanced exploration of multimedia including illustrative and photographic animation, interactivity, internet applications, and strategic communication. Professional practices in digital media. Lab Fee: $20.00.
The Seven Deadly Sins Critique: Just a quick reminder that the Seven Deadly Sins Postcard Project is DUE this Thursday, April 20th at 2:30. It should be a printed version inspired by the 7 Deadly Sins (or 7 Heavenly Virtues) along with an intro card and a packaging supplement.
Tomorrow,
Tuesday April 18th, is our last "work day" in class.Your attendance is
optional if you prefer to work from home. :) The studio will be open for you. Also, I'm not 100% sure I will be present tomorrow as I've been feeling under the weather over the past weekend but hope to get better by tomorrow...not sure yet! I'll be there if I can!
The Design Notebook Critique was moved to our exam date which is next Thursday, April 27th at 2:30p in 460. Bring your Design books to individually review in
class. It will be a casual review of the work you've done in the books I
gave you on the first day of class. Have fun with this!
ALSO,
You should prepare a PDF sample of the work you did this semester to
turn in to me. You can send them to me via email on the exam day OR I
will also pass a USB drive in class if you wish to put your work on the
USB that day instead of emailing. It's up to you.
The MODA designers should have their work ready to send to MODA on this Thursday April 20th.
I will collect your revisions on another USB to give to Laura Flusche at MODA on Friday. Let me know if that works for the 4 of you working on the revisions. Thank you again for agreeing to continue revising your beautiful work. BTW: You do not have to turn in The 7 Deadly Sins Project (optional) but if you do then we'll see that on Thursday as well. :)
That's it! I hope I got all of this correct here and in your minds! Have a great last week of classes Seniors!
It’s
normal to feel overtaxed by your job once in a while, but when that
feeling becomes persistent no matter what you do to pull back or
redirect your efforts, you may be experiencing burnout—and the problem
probably lies with your employer.
According to a study by the University of California, Berkeley, Rutgers, and Deakin University, there are six main causes of workplace burnout.
Unsustainable workload
Perceived lack of control
Insufficient rewards for effort
Lack of a supportive community
Lack of fairness
Mismatched values and skills
If
you’ve ever worked...anywhere,
you’re probably familiar with at least all of these—some employers
either don’t know or don’t care that their employees are constantly some
combination of stressed, depressed, and angry. Some bosses and
companies even seem to
like it that way. And when you’re interviewing for a new job, it’s easy
to miss the signs of a toxic workplace if you aren’t looking for
them—it’s easy to get drawn in, and once you’re in, it can be hard to
get out.
Here are some tips for recognizing the kind of workplace that’s likely to cause burnout.
Warning signs in employment ads
There
are some words and phrases in online ads that should be considered
flashing warning lights to those trying to avoid potential job burnout.
Here are some examples:
High-performance culture: Some
people thrive in highly demanding jobs, but just about everyone
requires a supportive environment to make it work for more than a few
months straight.
Ability to handle stress: Any
employer that mentions “stress” in a help-wanted ad is probably someone
you want to avoid, especially if it’s phrased like “you have to be able
to handle a stressful environment.” That indicates that they already
know their employees are burning out, and they blame their workers
instead of considering it a workplace problem.
Able to work under pressure: See above.
Looking for a “rock star” or a “ninja”: I
hate seeing this phrase in a job listing, unless Mötley Crüe is looking
a new bass player. Actual rock stars are generally not good at
quarterly planning meetings, attending Wednesday HR trainings, or filing. (Neither are ninjas.)
Employers who use these kind of descriptors in their ads are being
unclear about the qualifications they’re actually looking for. It reads
to me like, “we want someone we can take advantage of.”
We’re like a family: This
could indicated a workplace without proper boundaries. My family
doesn’t pay me to show up, but they do inspire a different kind of
loyalty and commitment than a workplace has a right to expect.
No mention of salary: As career coach Leah Tillyer, told Yahoo News:
“If there’s no salary in the job adverts this can mean there isn’t an
open and fair culture around pay… if it’s office-based work with no
flexibility this is usually an environment lacking in trust.”
An ad that’s been there forever: If
you notice the same position advertised for a long time, it could be
indicating a poison pill job that no one wants. Or it could be a “ghost job” that isn’t real anyway.
Signs of burnout culture to watch for during the hiring process
An
employer posting an ad for an accounting ninja who loves stress is
actually saving thoughtful job-seekers time by eliminating the need to
send them a resumé. But toxic employers are often stealthy, and may seem
to be offering a reasonable position at a normal workplace—the cracks
don’t start to show until you actually start going through the hiring
process.
To gather information on any company you’re interested in, check out Glassdoor,
where you can read honest workplace reviews from employees and
ex-employees. You can’t beat it for an overall vibe-check of a would-be
employer—if there’s anything wrong with the way a place is managed,
someone on Glassdoor will tell you about it.
The
process leading up to an interview can reveal a lot about a company’s
culture as well. Unprofessional or outright rude mails may clue you in
that it’s an environment you don’t want work in. Not responding in a
timely manner could indicate a lack of organization, a lack of respect
for potential employees, or both.
If
there’s confusion about what exactly the position will entail, who you
can talk to about it and where or when you should show up to be
interviewed, that’s another sign of disorganization, and disorganized
offices are often filled with burned-out employees. Another red flag: If
they’re trying to get you into an interview unreasonably
quickly, it could indicate that there’s an issue with planning at the
company, and you might want to stay away unless you want to be thrown
directly into a burning building (metaphorically).
Ask the right questions at the interview
If
you make it all the way to the interview, congratulations: This is your
chance to truly investigate the environment of the workplace and get a
feel for how you’d fit in. But before you start, check the general vibe
of the place. Do the people seem happy? Is anyone silently mouthing “run
away” in the reception room?
While
some workplaces are demoralizing to basically everyone, others might be
a great fit for some people and a terrible one for others, so ask
questions at the interview that are geared toward your biggest concerns.
It’s a cliche, but it’s also true: You are interviewing them as much as
they are interviewing you.
This excellent article from The Harvard Business Review
suggests
specific questions you might ask, geared toward each of the six main
things that can lead to burnout, but they aren’t far removed from the
kind of questions you’d probably ask anyway—if more deftly worded. So
instead of saying, “You’re not going to expect me work a ton of overtime
without extra pay, right?” you can try, “What are standard work hours?
How often do people have to work on weekends?”
If
responses to these questions seem too vague, don’t be afraid to ask for
specific examples. Even if a question makes you uncomfortable—like,
“Can you describe how you handle mistakes on your team?”—are worth
asking. Pay close attention to the answers, listening
for signs of evasiveness, impatience, or dishonesty. If you ask direct
and straightforward questions—per Harvard’s examples, something like
“How does the team communicate when they have too much on their
plate?”—you shouldn’t be throwing anything at them that isn’t easily
answered. But If you do hit on something your interviewee is
unprepared for, expect a polite, “I’ll look into that and get back to
you.” And then actually make sure they follow up with a satisfactory
answer.
Here's some candid shots from the MODA presentation on Tuesday March 28th! Great job everyone on a stellar presentation with so much wonderful design work to show. I was proud to stand and watch how each of you embraced your own work, your own voice and mostly your own creative voice as a designer. Bravo! It really doesn't get much better than that!
I thought their comments/criticisms were an honest interpretation of the work each of you submitted. I liked that they gave you some supportive remarks mixed with some constructive criticisms. My best advice is to try and be open to any/all comments from those who work in design and then decide for yourself what you wish to take with you.
"Be like a sponge, soak it all up and then just wring out what you don't want."
