Some nights you will find yourself sipping on a Red Bull trying to stay awake to finish a 2-D project due the next morning. Due to the caffeine shakes you won’t be able to fall asleep when you finally finish and wind up having a mere two hour window to nap before class. Don’t sweat, we’ve all been there before-you can and will get through this! Here’s my guide to surviving your foundation year:

Defend Your (Good) Ideas

One of the hardest parts of foundation year is being told “No” to an idea that you think is awesome. Sometimes the way you explain your best ideas make them an easy target to be shot down. Learn how to explain the most important parts of your ideas with confidence, and when you are met with resistance, learn how to defend your ideas with persistence if they are, in fact, a good idea. This leads me to my next point…

Don’t be Afraid to Throw Away an Idea You’re Invested In

Art school is about learning how to come up with a vision, following it through, realizing it’s awful, understanding why it’s awful, and tossing it to the side. You will have a lot more awful ideas than good ones when you start, you will spend a lot of time trying to make these awful ideas into good ideas, and you’ll be hesitant to cast them off due to the amount of time you’ve invested. Chalk it up to experience and move on. It is OK to have a bad idea. The best part about a bad idea is it always leads you to something better. Art School teaches you how to weed out those bad ideas from the first seed.

Critique Without Bullshitting

Nothing is worse in foundation year than staying up all night, putting your blood, sweat, and tears into finishing a project due the next morning and then you get to class and have to listen to a bunch of timid students either say nothing in response or bs about your work.
“I really like that you used green. It’s very organic”—that is not a critique, it’s a comment, and the word ‘organic’ is possibly the most overused word in the average art student’s critique lexicon. Don’t be that student. It’s OK to have an opinion in a critique, we’re not here to rub noses, we’re here to offer our honest opinions on the work presented and offer ideas on how to make it better. I remember being nervous in my foundation year that if I was to say anything too harsh that it would make it harder for me to make friends (as I would be labeled as ‘that bitch in critique this morning’). Don’t take critique comments as being a jab at you, the artist, the student. You are learning skills in foundation year, these skills and how they are applied are being critiqued. In the same vein, learn how to critique your own work in the same way.

Learn How to Generate Ideas

Always, always, always idea-generate before starting a project, regardless if it’s an applied arts or fine arts class. Even if you think you’re dead set on your initial idea; sketching, envisioning, and talking over other options might help you to make that first idea stronger or realize that there is an entirely different route you should be taking. The ideas you come up with when you are pushing yourself to brainstorm oftentimes can be the best ones. Make lists, write word associations, flip through books at the library, sketchbook, .

Save your Unused Ideas

I always wrote down lists in my sketchbooks of ideas that I—someday—wanted to pursue. Occasionally I’ll go back and read lists from freshman year and I’ll say “Wow that’s brilliant.” But more often than not I’ll say, “What the hell was I thinking?!!” No matter how small, write down your ideas that you haven’t used just yet, you’ll never know when they’ll come in handy, and if anything, they will show your progression and commitment to your art.

If you have questions you’d like answered about art school please email me! You can always check if I’ve answered it already. If your question becomes a post topic you will always remain anonymous.

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3. How to get into Parsons School of Design

Decide what area(s) you want to learn more about - Do you want to learn more about the behind-the-scenes of magazines? Maybe you’d like to intern at a publication or editorial website. How marketing works in fashion/design/advertising? Why not try an internship in marketing or PR? How web design agencies work? Intern at one! Internships are great because not only do they let you test out the waters of a future career—but they also help to gain real world experience that you would never gain from school.

Make a list of prospective places you would like to work - Magazines, agencies, companies, anything! Do some research on the website; they may list available internships under the Careers tab, if not, look around the site for contact information and call or email them asking for the contact information about the employee or department that handles interns.

-OR-

Look for an opportunity - Craigslist, Fashionista, Ed2010, and the SPD Job Board have been a good start when I’m looking for online listings. I’ve also had a bit of luck with word of mouth.  My W internship was sparked by talking to a friend of a friend about career goals, turns out his best friends sister worked in the art department.

Apply - Send a well-formatted, spell-checked, and professional resume and coverletter.  Make sure to include a digital-portfolio (pdf or website) or writing samples based on the type of internship you’re applying for.

Interview – Dress professionally and bring a resume!  PSDTuts has a good resource for preparing and talking about your graphic design portfolio.  Do research the company before hand and think of questions to ask (and answers to questions that you may be asked during the interview.)  Be sure to follow up and say thank you after the interview!

Talk to your advisor – Due to labor laws many internships require you get school credit—sometimes this can suck.  I have always found a creative work-around so that I haven’t had to pay extra tuition to take an internship, which at Parsons is $1000 per extra credit.  Options include registering your internship as independent study, or (I’ve never tried this) them writing a letter that makes it seem like you’re receiving school credit. Ed2010 offers advice about getting around a credit-only internship.

For the more seasoned readers; what was your first internship and how did you find it?

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1. Questions Answered: What to Major in if You Want to Work for Magazines
2. 9 Goals in 2009
3. How to Present Yourself as a Great Artist Without Making Great Work

Hey Kate, I am entering my Foundation Year at Parsons this fall and I’m so excited! But I’m nervous that it’s going to be super competitive. Is it?

At Parsons, I feel like there is some competition… but most students tend to be friendly and open. As you go on from Foundation Year and separate into your own majors you kind of become a family within your major (at least that’s the way it is in Communication Design). I know we occasionally make fun of how much the Fashion Design students complain, but hey, they do! My personal outlook is that while we are in school we should share knowledge and try to create lasting bonds and contacts with our classmates. By the end of Junior year, in Communication Design ‘10 we already know each others strengths and certain skills or insights we would like to learn from our peers. I’ve had teachers who have tried to pit us against one another saying “You’ll be fighting kids in this class for THAT job after school—know each others weaknesses!”… while with the state of the economy maybe the graduating seniors may feel like it’s a snake pit, I think its important to feel confident in your own strengths and learn how to work well in a team you trust that can make up for your shortcomings. I think what seperates graphic design from other industries in some ways is, or should be, the community.

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2. How to Survive Foundation Year
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Yes, I was the same way when faced with the prospect of going to school in the city “Design is what I want to do, and
New York City has the best opportunities for me to do it.”—and still today I think that’s pretty true. But speaking from personal experience, there are opportunities everywhere, and while in New York they may be easier to find, sometimes you need to think of what kind of life is best for you. One 10-person dorm room, two nearly-terrible apartment situations, two semesters of commuting and three years of school under my belt makes it easy for me to say that living in New York wasn’t and may never be the best living situation for me.

The three questions I wish I had asked myself are:

1. Does this school offer the best program for me or is there a College/University elsewhere that may have a curriculum better suited to my needs? While New York may have great opportunities, you are looking for a school to learn and that should be your first priority. There is plenty of time to utilize New York City for internships or jobs during summer break or post-graduation.

2. NYC has many perks—but do I have the money/energy to enjoy them? I’ve found in my experience that NYC is very much based on ‘going out’ but at the end of a long day/week of classes I rarely had the energy to go out and enjoy the museums, parks, etc that the city had to offer. That’s not to mention that I prefer having people over rather than going to bars and never had the money or desire to drink so I never got a fake ID. Again, this is based on personal preference.

3. Are you ready to live dangerously close to the life of an adult? The reader who asked me was looking for advice to make a decision on graduate schools and probably has her share of ‘life experience’… so this is more for students looking for undergrad study—are you ready to grow up and sacrifice a ‘typical’ college experience? Going to school in the city is a lot like living like an adult (minus, perhaps, your parent’s financial backing and having an actual career). I’m not sure about SVA or Pratt but Parsons has limited on-campus housing, activities, parties, and community in general. Because of this and other reasons, friendships from classes tend to be hard to extend beyond the the campus.

Related posts:

1. How to get into Parsons School of Design
2. Questions Answered: Do art schools care about your GPA?
3. Questions Answered: What to Major in if You Want to Work for Magazines

You’ll Need:

• 3-ring Binder (I use a 3-inch one for more space and durability)
• 3-ring Sheet Protectors
• Sticker Labels or Index Dividers
• Magazines
• Metal Ruler
• Olfa Knife or Scissors
• Cutting Mat (if you decide to go the Olfa Knife route)
•  Optional: Paint Thinner

Start by tearing out whichever sheets you want to keep from the magazine.  Something I learned from putting together contest entries at my W Magazine internship: a few drips of paint thinner in the spine of the mag will loosen the adhesive used to bind it, the pages will come out super clean and it will dry perfectly/without any ripples.

If the pages are too big for an 8.5 x 11 sheet protector (W Magazine and Nylon are both too big!) use the metal ruler and olfa knife to make nice, clean edges (or you can use a pair of scissors).

I sort all of my pages into these categories before putting them into the sheet protectors:

• Ads
• Art
• Beauty
• Clothes/Accessories
• Covers
• Design
• Interiors
•  ”It Girls” – Models, Celebrities, Socialites, Designers I like
• Stuff to DIY
• Textual Content

After they are all in protectors, and still kept in their different categories I put them into the 3-ring binder.  I used to use index dividers:

But I found that they dont stick out past the sheet protectors.  To solve this I made DIY tabs on the sheet protectors themselves using 2 sticker labels stuck together:

(I use this same method to tab important notes in my Moleskine that I want to find again later)

It was quite a task to take all the stuff I had collected in boxes and put them into one binder but I’m glad I did.   Now it’s a lot easier to find what I’m looking for, it’s easy for other people to look through, and everything stays neat.

How do you keep your inspiration together?

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I’m in college now and I would like to transfer to Parsons but I wanted to know… how heavily they will weigh my GPA? Do you think it will have an affect on their decision?

This was one of the biggest questions I had when I applied to Parsons, too. I wasn’t a terrible student in high school, but I wasn’t a star-student either. I’m not an admissions counselor, but if you are worried about your GPA, I think you should focus on what other aspects balance out that weakness. Obviously you can make a really excellent portfolio or home test (I’m not even sure if that is required for transfer, is it?) but have you thought about how some of your extracurricular activites or other interests make you a well rounded student that is qualified to transfer into Parsons? For the record, I had a 2.65 GPA when I graduated high school but I balanced that out with starting a music magazine at my school, helping out the art department, and doing a French exchange program. Also you might be able to say that the reason why you aren’t doing up to your personal standards is because you aren’t being pushed by the curriculum at your current school (and that you think Parsons will challenge you to be a better student and designer.) Good luck!

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Do you have any advice on what major should I take if I want to work in magazines?

In order to answer your question, I need a few answers first. What type of magazine are you interested in working for; fashion, art, technology? Even still, there are many subgroups to these broad content ideas; circulation size, demographic, and niche market. For example, I intern at W magazine, which is a rather large fashion publication under the umbrella of Conde Nast. The target audience is wealthy, established, older women who can afford the crystal-encrusted dresses and Michael Kors’ mink jackets housed within its pages. However, W’s target audience couldn’t be further from my actual lifestyle; a broke college student who can barely afford the $34 nylon tricot leggings from American Apparel. Regardless, I still find inspiration for my illustrations, design, and dream wardrobe from the pages of W magazine.

It also is important to note what type of responsibilities you want to hold at that magazine. Do you want to book the models for the editorials? Design the layout? Price out the cost of rights to all the images used in the pages? Be the photographer hired to shoot the editorials? Be commissioned to make an illustration for an article? Do you want to run the print shop responsible for producing thousands of magazines? It all relies on where your passion and talent lives. There is a whole magnitude of art-related jobs that can be related to magazines in some way, shape, or form.

With that being said here is a quick rundown of a few ways to apply different majors at art schools to working at a magazine:
Communication Design:Creative Directors, Art Directors, and Designers; manage the look and feel of the way the content is laid out on a page. Could also work on the website of the magazine, managing web content and layout.
Fashion Design: Design the clothes featured within the pages of the magazine.
Photography: Take photos of the clothes and models featured within the pages of the magazine. Take shots of interiors, accessories, etc. Possibly find and hire photographers to take photos for the issue.
Design and Management: Public relations, bookings, money and more of the ‘business’ side of the magazine.
Illustration: Draw/paint/create a piece of work to illustrate the articles in the magazine.

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Follow All Given Directions
Presenting yourself well takes minimal effort; following directions. If submitting your work somewhere, read all the information provided to you. Being lazy is not an excuse! Someone, somewhere, probably spent a few hours or days writing up the provided information to better inform you of whatever it is you are submitting or applying for.

Good Images = Good Impression
There are 2 parts to a good image; quality and content. For this, we are concerned with the former. Use photoshop to your advantage when presenting images of your work—crop out the carpeting in the background of your photo, use the free transform tool correct distortion problems, color correct, and never use a blurry photo! Also, if the directions instruct you to make your file a certain size, resolution, or color mode—make sure you do it! It is naive to think that someone will edit your photo for you if you submit it incorrectly. “I don’t know how to use Photoshop!” isn’t an excuse—I’m sure you have a friend or local workshop who does!

Remember, Someone Will Read Your File Names
Keep in mind a lot of special characters aren’t supported when uploading your work online. I know for our registration process characters like the pound symbol (#) and underscores (_) caused serious problems. Keep your filenames something simple; usually including your name, title of the work, or entry number. Keep the crazy organized file names for your computer archiving.
Also, it is ill-advised to name your files something like “shitballs.jpg” or “2girls1cup.mov”—someone will notice, and although it might give them a quick laugh, it is never good to be the butt of someone else’s joke.

Have Professional-Sounding Contact Information
It’s okay if your email is hosted by an ISP, but it is somewhat unprofessional to make your email handle something like “hawtchick08” or “reeferdude4ev,” as these send a certain connotation from the start. A good tip: if you’re embarrassed to put it on your resume or business card, you should probably change it. If this sounds like you I suggest you make a separate email account specifically for business with your first and last name.
The next is very much anchored in opinion but…

A Coherent Artist Statement
Your artist statement should provide context to the work you are submitting, not just your philosophy as a whole. Write your artist statement in a universal language—something that anyone could understand… not language you’ve learned in art school critiques. This is especially true if you’re given a short amount of space to do so. In my opinion, round-about artist statements that sound more like they inspired this song, and less like they are inspired by your work should be re-considered.

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This past Thursday was my last silkscreening class at the Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven. I finally finished my set of 60 hand-screened business cards! I’ve never had my own business cards before, and I always felt like a hack just writing down my info on a scrap piece of paper but now I have cards I’m psyched to give to people.

The front is pretty simple, I was trying to go for something that I could just print in black but would go with the aesthetic of my site (Interstate typeface, italic Caslon, reversed type, simple yet modern). I was hoping to print another round with pink ink so it would reflect more of my drawing/illustrative style but I digress…

The back of each card has a different piece of the same pattern which was hand drawn and then edited in illustrator. The first few were more of a gradient effect (from coraly pink to yellow) but after a few passes of the squeegee it started to blend into this melon color. I like it but it kind of reminds me of Halloween. Oops! After all this is my first time and I took this class to learn and better prepare myself for my graded silkscreening class this fall.

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Start in High School
One of the most valuable connections I ever made was with my high school art teacher, Mrs. Medley. She helped me pick out pieces for my college portfolio, discover inspiring artists, and helped create a solid foundation on which to realize my future in the art and design industry. To this day I can still stop by and visit her if I need guidance, reassurance, or inspiration.

Also, in high school you still have the flexibility to try new things without it weighing heavily on your GPA. Take painting classes, drawing classes, even that pottery class you think you might want to take…knowledge from these introductory classes will be of help when you are honing your skills during foundation year.
What to Select for your Art Portfolio
Obviously a huge factor in your application is your portfolio; but try not to stress over it too much. Show your style, but be sure to exhibit your observational skill above anything else -draw from real life, not photographs! Be sure to include complete pieces, but a few short gestures and figure studies are acceptable. Make sure to exhibit your use of materials, subject matter, conceptual ideas, and compositional skills. Mrs. Medley always told me to keep away from including a lot of illustration; “there is always time for experimentation once you get into school.”

The Home Test is a Chance to Prove Yourself
I believe it was my home test that gained me admission into Parsons. Every school has a different test; but they all offer a chance to show your creative thought process and skill. The best way to approach these assignments is to not think too literally; I was instructed to show 3 perspectives of an object or “thing” in my community that was close to me. I chose to design the packaging for three mix CDs based on Interstate 95 with northbound, homebound, and southbound as my perspectives. Each told a different story and I used my essays to explain my concept and design choices.

Consider Summer Study
I’m not sure about other colleges but Parsons requires at least one session of summer study. I took my summer session at Art Institute of Boston the summer before my senior year of high school. Summer study was a great experience not only to re-affirm my passion in art, but also exposed me to longer class times, city-living, and more intense critiques than I had experienced in a high school setting.

The Essay: Necessary Evil
The essay is a great chance to show your art history knowledge (some schools’ essays ask you to “identify” with an artist or designer) or your strengths outside of art. The essay can showcase your communication skills and make up for not-so-perfect test scores or grades. This is a great moment to sell yourself for who you are.

Extracurriculars
Involvement in extracurricular activities can show your dedication to art and design outside of the classroom; I started a music magazine at my school and it showed that I was interested in publication design and working in groups. Even involvement with sports teams can relate back to your design career… remember, think creatively!

Presentation is Important!
Don’t forget; art school isn’t just about your creativity, it’s also about your presentation! Presenting your portfolio in traditional slide format can show you are dedicated and organized. Be sure to follow the same formatting on your submitted documents like slide lists, essays, and project descriptions. Presentation shows a lot about your work ethic, organizational skills, and even your understanding of creating a basic visual identity.

Never give up!
Foundation year was one of the hardest years of my education to date. I wanted to quit so badly! But walking out on the last day of the year knowing I toughed it out was one of the most rewarding experiences at Parsons so far. Knowing I kept my nose to the grindstone and finished even when I wanted to give up made me feel really accomplished.

Related posts:

1. On Competition
2. Questions Answered: Do art schools care about your GPA?
3. Questions Answered: Studying in New York City vs. Studying in the ‘Burbs