Indiana State University Professor Nancy Nicols-Pethick joins the team to talk shop and how she uses her unique experiences to push students to find passion in their work, learn how to address failures, and recognize how to aim for higher personal standards rather than settling for their current skill level. We cover mastering creative foundations, work/life balance, and, of course, her thoughts on AI. Join us and our wonderful guest as we discuss art, passion, and finding creativity in the seemingly mundane.

Nancy's Website
Through the Eyes of an Artist - Nancy Nichols-Pethick

Host, Producer, & Editor - Mark Cela
Host, Director, & Script Writer - Kristen Pericleous
Host, Social Media Manager, Social Media Content Creator, & Editor - Dan Lawson

In this episode, the Team talks about accessibility and design. Guest host Lauren DeMarks talks about user experience (UX) design and the spectrum of use cases for ensuring equitable experiences regardless of temporary or long-term physical disabilities.

Show Notes:

Overall, what does it mean to have accessible design?

• Lauren, would you like to give us a definition or overview?
• OVERVIEW Accessibility is the practice of making sure a product, environment or service can be used by everyone—however they encounter it.
  • Including those with blindness/low vision, speech impairments, hearing impairments, cognitive & learning disabilities, motor/dexterity issues—accessible solutions make it so that these folks can actually meaningfully use the designs we create.
  • But accessible design is important in ALL elements and design disciplines.
• Accessible design can also help people with various kinds of impairments (because you probably first think of permanent ones).
  • Situational —walking in high heels, I’m at a loud concert.
  • Temporary— my leg is broken, I have an ear infection and cannot hear.
  • Permanent — I am paralyzed and cannot use my legs, I am blind.
• Accessible designs help EVERYONE
  • Accessible design helps ALL people—even those without disabilities (taking 14 bags of groceries to my 7th floor apartment makes elevators look real nice).

What’s the difference between Accessibility and usability?

Usability issues generally affect all users, both users with and without disabilities. All users have difficulty using a website. Accessibility issues occur solely for people with disabilities when they have difficulty using or accessing a website without problems.

• Accessible design makes spaces and designed products USABLE for EVERYONE, regardless of ability.

Accessibility is important in ALL silos of design

• Digital
• Print
• Physical
• Environmental
• Teaching
• Etc.

Digital

• Mainly consider solutions that benefit low-sight or low-hearing users.
• Cognitive impairments come into considerations too.
• Alt. text.
• Not just relying on color to communicate a message.
• Allowing for customization (text size, color-blind settings, etc) (we also see this in video games).
• Goes beyond just visual, and as a digital designer you need to have a tight partnership with your developers to make sure the code is accessible as well.

Print design?

• Oxo vegetable peeler maBuilt environments & environmental design.
• Take mobility into account more than digital products.
• What things are considered in this area of design?
  • Routes, signage, etc…

Curb cut - Physical products

• Design for folks with arthritis, but they’re just flat out more comfortable for everyone.

Teaching

• Providing multiple ways (within reason) for students to demonstrate mastery.

Host, Producer, & Editor - Mark Cela
Host, Director, & Script Writer - Kristen Pericleous
Host, Social Media Manager, Social Media Content Creator, & Editor - Dan Lawson

In this episode guest host Lauren DeMarks joins the Team as talks about ways to level up as a graphic designer.

Show Notes:

What does it mean to “level up?”

• More than just software skills, aesthetic, or even becoming more efficient
• Higher level of performance, thinking, innovating, systems thinking, etc…

Tangible markers of successful leveling up:

• Promotion
• Title change
• Raise
• Responsibilities change/increase
• On reflection, softer markers like just feeling more confident in doing something you weren’t doing a year ago

Anecdotes & Story Time!

• Lauren’s experience
• Lauren’s classmate’s experience: Basically everyone left and she just found herself the most senior one on the team after only 5 years.
• Dan: Constant growth mindset = new, unplanned opportunities!
• Mark: From a nobody to Kristen & Dan’s friend!!!

Advice:

If you feel stuck or like you don’t know what to DO to actively level up as a designer, here are some useful tips!

• Find a mentor (someone to constantly push you)
  • How to find one? Can it be a more experienced colleague? Past professor?
  • More senior members on your team (stress the value of NOT being the sole designer on a team right out of school)
• Attend events
  • Industry events, online, in-person, etc.
• Keep in touch!!!
  • Classmates and coworkers that move to other jobs
  • These people can spread far and wide and make even more connections. It’s worth your time to keep in touch! You never know the connections you can eventually make!
  • Kristen got her job at Miami bc she kept in touch with Erin who taught her letterpress at Miami, asked for help letterpressing her wedding invites, just happened to mention teaching at Miami was her dream job, and 4 YEARS later Erin remembered and asked her to apply to the opening at Miami!

Host, Producer, & Editor - Mark Cela
Host, Director, & Script Writer - Kristen Pericleous
Host, Social Media Manager, Social Media Content Creator, & Editor - Dan Lawson

In this episode, guest Crystal Black talks about issues related to doing design work for friends and the pitfalls of not using a contract.

Egg Timer News: Canva buys Affinity!

Host, Producer, & Editor - Mark Cela
Host, Director, & Script Writer - Kristen Pericleous
Host, Social Media Manager, Social Media Content Creator, & Editor - Dan Lawson

In this episode, The Team attempts to stay on task and talk about work-life balance for Graphic Designers.

Show Notes:

General Overview

• What is work/life balance?

Specific Situations

• School vs. “Real World”
  • Extra cirriculars, friends, social life, after-work events, side gig (??), hobbies
  • Kristen’s advice: don’t take on too much directly out of school!!
• Traditional Agency (9-5) Job
  • Occasional out of hours work requirements
  • Additional learning/professional development
• Teaching in Higher Education
• Freelance Designer

Lifestyle choices that affect your productivity

• Caffeine and sugar crashes, Physical Fitness, Diet, Sleep, Drink Water

Host, Producer, & Editor - Mark Cela
Host, Director, & Script Writer - Kristen Pericleous
Host, Social Media Manager, Social Media Content Creator, & Editor - Dan Lawson

In this episode, The Team explore different software used in professional graphic design.

Show Notes:

Today we’re going to address a question we get all the time:

“There are SO many programs, what do I really need to learn?!”

• School won’t teach you everything, but it will teach you how to learn, where to find tutorials, what questions to ask, etc.
• You’ll also learn on the job!
  • Some is experience-based
  • In tech, based on security approval

Let’s cover some of the big ones:

• Canvas vs. Illustrator vs. Corel, Canva, Adobe, iPads, 3D, Maya, Figma,

Buckets

• “Traditional” design
• UX
• Animation
• Illustration
• Brainstorming & collaboration (idea stages)
• Free vs. paid resources (https://github.com/KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives)

Host, Producer, & Editor - Mark Cela
Host, Director, & Script Writer - Kristen Pericleous
Host, Social Media Manager, Social Media Content Creator, & Editor - Dan Lawson

In this episode, The Team explores the graphic design interviewing process and the tough questions and situations that may arise during the process.

Show notes:

Interview Questions, Answers, and Etiquette.

Not every question ever, just some of the hard ones!

• Tell us about yourself!
• What’s the weakest piece in your portfolio?
• Answering questions about team projects
• Why isn’t work from (X seen on your resume) in your portfolio?
  • How to handle showing “real world” work
• If you could choose one project to represent you, which would it be and why?
• Being asked a question and you want to use a piece or experience that was not in your portfolio
• Questions about “design process”
• Why did you leave your last job?

Other questions:

• Work experience before college
• Work experience during college
• Why do you want to work here
• Why are you the right person for this job?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?
• What could you bring to this company?
• How do you think you could grow as a designer?
• If we hire you, where do you see yourself in 5 years?
• What is your end career goal?
• What is the toughest part of a project?
• What is the biggest obstacle you’ve faced in a project? In life?

Host, Producer, & Editor - Mark Cela
Host, Director, & Script Writer - Kristen Pericleous
Host, Social Media Manager, Social Media Content Creator, & Editor - Dan Lawson

In this episode The Team Interviews UX Designer Lauren DeMarks! Lauren talks about her time as a design student, intern, and Senior UX Designer.

Show Notes:

Working as a designer in a very specific niche and how I adjusted out of school

• apprehensive about diving right into edtech right out of college because it sounded kind of limiting on its face, but really it’s been a lot of fun
• also probably more common for designers to see than they think
• It’s also just the reality for any designer that ends up being an in-house designer
• They’re going to have to become familiar with a specific vertical or industry
• Young designers could just kind of naturally gravitate toward the more sexy-sounding agency jobs but there’s a lot out there outside of that!

A few questions for Lauren:

Topic: being ok with going into a very niche career right out of school?

• Introduce yourself!
• How did you find this job? Is this your first job?
• How do you build and maintain excitement about working within a specific industry—especially one you didn't expect to be working in?
• How did you adjust to working within a niche? What did you have to do to adjust in your role that you might not have expected when you got into edtech?
• How and what skills can transfer from one industry to another? How do I communicate and show those skills to future employers?

Host, Producer, & Editor - Mark Cela
Host, Director, & Script Writer - Kristen Pericleous
Host, Social Media Manager, Social Media Content Creator, & Editor - Dan Lawson