Field Trip!

Sorry I've been away for so long. This semester had a very rough start, what with every other meeting canceled due to snow or ice. I hope the poor weather is behind us so we can plan some events and really get the participation up.
One event that is up and coming is a field trip to Kansas City. I plan for us to visit KC for two or three days and visit a total of eight design studios who have agreed to meet with us. These studios are:

• Indicia Design
• Willoughby Design
• Brockton Creative Group
• Zero Design
• HypeLife Brands
• Muller Bressler Brown
• Reactor Design Studio
• River City Studio

I contacted studios that were all a bit different from each other, either in design-style or in philosophy. Out of the twelve I contacted, these eight agreed to give us a tour of the studio and talk with students about the design industry. This would be a great time to understand just how the "real world" works. I highly suggest that students bring a notepad or something to write down notes after each meeting. Every designer has his/her own suggestions and theories to succeed in graphic design. Plus, this is a great opportunity to network with the companies and the graphic designers there. It will give you an excuse to connect with the designers on LinkedIn. Perhaps you can schedule your own portfolio review at a later date.
The purpose of this field trip is similar to the purpose of our New York trip: to meet with designers first-hand and see what opportunities await us in the future. I, for one, would love to visit all of the studios, no matter how many trips we have to take into KC. Students are not required to come, but you'd be a fool not to. Most studios are allowing us 12-15 students to come. These positions will go first to the active members of UCM AIGA. After that, any graphic design student of any grade level may attend. Sophomores, Juniors, this could help you understand which areas you would like to specialize in. Seniors, perhaps you can land an interview later.
This is a great opportunity for the students, and I cannot thank enough the studios who are allowing us to visit.

- Marie Aholt

T-shirt Rules and Specifications

Specifications:
- AIGA will accept designs only from students in the Department of Art & Design or who are GATM majors. Each student is limited to three designs. All designs must be created in Adobe Illustrator.
- Designs cannot exceed 10" by 12".
- Pantone Solid Coated colors only! If you don't know what this means, ask Marie Aholt or email ucmaiga@gmail.com to ask.
- Designs must be 3 colors, 4 max. You can also create tints of colors. The tints must be between 10% and 50%.
- Three of the colors must be in contact with each other. Note: if you want the design printed on a dark shirt, it must also have an underbase. Marie and Morgan should be able to take care of this, but the underbase does count as a color touching another.
- Any strokes must be a minimum of 2pts wide.
- No photos, only vector art. You can live-trace, though, so long as it's not high detail.
- Don't convert text to outlines! I know, it's a weird request, but we need the text intact for our class. If you use a strange font, submit its .tff with the design file or at least give us the name.
- Designs should not be specific to UCM or the Department of Art & Design. Students of any major should want one of these shirts. Also, beware of copyright images and fonts!
- If you would like a chart of shirt and ink colors, there is a PDF, under the AIGA folder, on the design server with the information. We can mix different ink colors, but the shirt colors are limited.

Submitting:
- Must be completed by noon on Tuesday, February 1st
- You must submit a PDF or AI file of the design to the AIGA folder on the design server.
- An image of the design needs to be posted to the UCM AIGA T-shirt Designs page on Facebook. You must also post your name with the image. You can also email any these files to ucmaiga@gmail.com to be posted for you.

Voting:
- Students can vote on designs from 1pm, February 1st to noon, February 2nd. Votes will then be tallied and the winners will be notified. The winners will receive one free shirt with his/her design.
- You can get your friends to also vote on designs, so long as they have an interest in purchasing a shirt. Each person has 2 votes. You will vote by selecting the  “Like” button on two design images.
- Please vote for shirts that you would actually wear. We are doing this as a fund-raiser and, even though one design may be awesome, if no one purchases the shirt, we’ll miss out.

Ordering:
- Students can begin ordering shirts from AIGA members starting February 3rd. Orders will be accepted ‘til February 15th. AIGA plans to have a table in the Art Center February 7th and 8th and in the Union February 9th and 10th. You can order shirts for non-students, but you are personally responsible for their delivery.

New Specs!

These are the new specifications for the t-shirt design contest. We need all designs submitted to the server or emailed to ucmaiga@gmail.com by 4pm, Februrary 1st. They must be either .ai files or PDFs. We will vote on the winning designs at a meeting held on that day. Two designs will be chosen to print. The winning designers will get a free shirt with his/her printed design.

Specs:

•  Pantone Solid Coated colors only! If you don't know what this means, email Marie and ask.
• 3 colors minimum. You can also create tints of colors. The tints must be between 30% and 50%.
• Three of the colors must be in contact with each other. Note: if you want the design printed on a dark shirt, it must also have an underbase. Marie and Morgan should be able to take care of this, but the underbase does count as a color touching another.
• Any strokes must be a minimum of 2pts wide.
• No photos, only vector art. You can live-trace, though, so long as it's not high detail.
• Designs cannot exceed 10" by 12". 
• Design cannot include the name UCM or AIGA. We want the shirts to be applicable to as many people as possible at the school. Also, beware of copyright images and fonts!
• Don't convert text to outlines! I know, it's a weird request, but we need the text intact for our class. If you use a strange font, turn in its .tff with the design file or at least give us the name.
• If you would like a chart of shirt and ink colors, there is a PDF on the server with the information. We can mix different ink colors, but the shirt colors are limited.

If you have any questions concerning these specifications, please contact Marie Aholt at ucmaiga@gmail.com. 

T-shirt Designs

So we've been batting around the idea of a t-shirt design contest. We'll officially hold the contest next semester, but I figured I might as well post the specifications now in case you wanted to work on designs during winter break.

The designs should be created in Adobe Illustrator. The artboard can be 13" by 12" but the design itself cannot be wider than 11". We are only designing fronts of shirts. Two colors max, and it's best if they're spot colors. All strokes must be a 2-point minimum. All text should be converted to outlines. Do not mention UCM or AIGA. These shirts should be desirable by students of any major. Also, beware of copyright images and text, since these designs will be for commercial purposes. We do not yet have a deadline. We'll probably have you turn in the designs on the server.

If you want to know what colors PGSA has available for inks and shirts, there is a PDF on the server. I can email it do you, too, if need be. Email me any questions you have concerning t-shirt designs.

Holiday Card Sales

This winter, UCM AIGA Student Group is selling holiday cards that the students have designed. There are five designs to choose from. If you would like to order cards, please talk to a student member or complete the order form found here. Orders must be completed by 5 pm December 2nd.
You can also find us selling cards at the UCM Holiday Market on December 1st from 4 pm to 7 pm in the Elliott Union. So send out a little love this season and support your local students.