How drunk can you get at your office holiday party?

Knock Knock Fall Catalog!

Click on the image above to check out Knock Knock’s fall catalog full of goodies. Leave a comment on this post if you have questions for Jen!

Jen Bilik of Knock Knock is our guest speaker this week!

Jen Bilik of Knock Knock is our guest speaker this week. She’ll be sharing “10 Lessons From Being an Employee, a Freelancer and a Boss.” Knock Knock is the home of well-designed, interesting, unique gifts and stationery. They make fun notepads, cool stationery, funny books, and more. Jen also talks about how she created Knock Knock and how her company does business. You’ll find some of her company’s business forms here.

Setting Up a Contract for Design Services

Take a peak at this oldie but goodie from your teacher. Read Article.

EXTRA CREDIT: Internship Preparation Workshop for Graphic Design Students With Petrula Vrontikis*

A workshop to help every graphic design student develop a great internship strategy.

Monday, November 21st
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (Please be on time!)
Room 228 Find out:
• why you need an internship

• where to look for the best opportunities

• how to apply

• how long it should last

• what to expect to do when you are an intern

• how to follow up when you need samples and recommendations.

*Petrula Vrontikis is a designer, author and educator. She is creative director and owner of Vrontikis Design Office (35k.com).

Since 1989, she has taught senior graphic design classes at Art Center.

4 Ways to Avoid a Rick Perry Meltdown During a Presentation

Inc. magazine has a wonderful article that can help you not look like a clown… whether you are presenting proposals, estimates, designs or anything, this article is a must-read.

More Extra Credit!

Information Meeting
Friday, November 11, 2011
1:30 – 2:30 PM
Hillside Campus, Room 205

THE DOT EXCHANGE connects you with alumni and fellow students, to build relationships and skills that will foster your transition from student to professional.

Students are…

• Individually teamed with an Alumni Mentor
• Given unique opportunities to develop professional skills alongside other students
  

Information Meeting will cover:

• Details of Program
• Eligibility Requirements
• Application Procedure & Schedule
  

Acceptance into THE DOT EXCHANGE is by application only.

Extra Credit Opportunity!

Office of Career Development & Fine Art Department Present:
MARK ALLEN – Founder, Machine Projects

Thursday, November 3, 2011
7:00-9:00 pm
Boardroom
Art Center College of Design
Hillside Campus

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Mark Allen is the founder and executive director of Machine Project, a non-profit performance and installation space investigating art, technology, natural history, science, music, literature, and food in a disheveled storefront in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.  Beyond their storefront space, Machine Project operates as a loose confederacy of artists producing shows at locations ranging from beaches to museums to parking lots. Mark will discuss Machine Project’s history, fantastical events, and mysterious collaborators.  Topics covered include indoor shipwrecks, fire starting with sticks, dog operas (by and for dogs), houseplant vacations, and teaching children how to steal cars.

You need to download, printout & fill in the Extra Credit form & get it signed by the speaker.

LEGAL BUSINESS STRUCTURE

It is likely that when you first start your career, you will be doing some freelance work. You may find success and want to establish your own company. At some point, whether solo or as a company owner, you’ll need to understand legal business structure.

If you are a freelancer then legally you are a “Sole Proprietor” or “Independent Contractor.” If you and a friend decide to go into business together you may form a partnership. Often this is just for one project, so you may decide to stay sole proprietors who are both working for the same client. If you want the partnership to be longer lasting, you may decide on a “General Partnership.” There are a couple of other types of partnerships, but from my experience, creatives usually don’t formalize that way. Once the firm is more successful, creative companies will often choose to become a Limited Liability Company ( LLC). Some take the step of becoming a Corporation (an “Inc.”).

The reasons for morphing from one type of business entity to another mainly has to do with two big factors:
(a) Liability
Does your practice result in things that can hurt/kill people? If yes, you personally may want to be protected from being sued and have your company take the hit. LLCs and Corporations shield you personally.
(b) Taxes
At certain income levels, and considering the types of assets you have, it may make sense to become an LLC or Corporation. Why? Because these entities are taxed differently than individuals. It may be to your advantage financially.

How/when you evolve your business structure is a conversation to have with a trained tax professional or accountant, or even with your business attorney. Please see the charts attached for a quick comparison overview of business structures so you can begin thinking about this issue.

Please click the following images to view them at full scale:

VISUALIZING RESUMES AS INFO-GRAPHICS

In last night’s Self-Promo Tools class TA Matthew Manos brought up the idea of having an alternative resume that handles the content as an info-graphic. While this doesn’t replace the traditional classic typographic resume, it certainly is an intriguing idea. Note: your class assignment is to do your resume the conventional way. This note is offered as food for thought for some future resume you may wish to create.

Here is a blog with a lot of examples of Info-graphic style resumes: