Eventfull Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Friday the 16th, Crabtree Farms, located off of Rossville Boulevard, will be hosting a press release party for TasteBuds. The press release is around eleven o’clock tomorrow and hopefully news reports will be there. Children will be there as well as all the supporters of Tastebuds. It will be the reveal of the new guide which holds all the farms, restaurants, grocery, non profit, and markets who buy and use freshly grown produce. Also, the new t-shirts will be worn by all the UTC graphic design students, Leadership Chattanooga, and professionals at Crabtree. It will be a eventful day and one to remember, not only for University of Tennessee students but for the community. This initiative will change Chattanooga, not only for the consumer but for the producer as well. Consumers will become more healty conscious and when they go to a restaurant which buys produce from the farmers.

Tastebuds also has a website which in under construction at the moment. Also, TasteBuds was on a local radio, WGOW, station this morning promoting the press release tomorrow at Crabtree. One of our own studnets was on the radio station, Tara, along with a representative from Crabtree Farms. They were interviewd about the whole initiative and promoted the guide and restaurants. We, the studnets, were able to listen to it live and were all very excited about how big TasteBuds is becoming. I wish this project will continue to grow from year to year and I hope it continue to be supported.

Field Trips=insight into the printing world

This past Tuesday, my teacher Leslie Jensen-Inman set up a field trip for my Process and Materials for Graphic Design course. This was our second to last day of class so it was a fun end to a very insightful semester. We ventured over to Allegra Printing & Imaging in Chattanooga TN, where we were greeted then taken on a tour of the facility. Our tour Guide, Todd, was very enthusiastic about his job, which makes us excited about printing. First on our tour we were taken to the Graphic Design department where there is only one graphic designer. She deals with adjusting the files sent and sometimes designing the files. Then we went to the small printing press where small books are printed and then we got to see how they bind the books. Next, we were able to see how they glue books together, which can be done by hand and a paintbrush. This machine was called the Paddy Wagon. It was the neatest contraption. We also saw the machine used to fold brochures or booklets; it was quick and efficient. Also, that day they were assembling a sign for a local dentist company. It took many people to assemble but in the end it came out beautifully.

Everyone was gracious to stop what they were doing and explain their process. Everyone was very friendly and there were a lot of intelligent people who work there. They are a community print shop and should be supported by the community.

Eventfull day full of insight

Last thursday was an amazing and insightful day. My teacher, Leslie-Jensen-Inman, gave the art students an opportunity to hear from Cindy Li. The day started at 8 o’clock in the morning with a session called Networking without the Ink, with Cindy Li at GreenSpaces here in Chattanooga, TN. There was a great turnout from the Graphic Design studnets at UTC as well as Professionals in Chattanooga. It was a wonderful time of networking with other professionals as well as hearing Cindy Li speak. She is a web/Graphic Designer from the San Fransisco area who is free lancing at the moment but has worked at AOL. She was very insightful and gave away information that will help young designers network with modern day technology. Since FaceBook and Twitter are becoming popular, it is thereby becoming a place to network with other professionals as well as with clients. Designers need to be cautious of what is said on their facebook and twitter page due to the rumor mill and other concerns.

Next on the agenda for the day… Cindy Li came back to the Graphic Design studio at UTC to talk to the junior class about the world after college. She gave us insight into her world and allowed us to ask questions for over an hour (which flew by). She was a joy to have in the studio and I came away with a better understanding of the world outside of UTC.

That night, Cindy Li also gave a talk at CreateHere located on Main Street in Chattanooga. This event was open to the public and art students from UTC. There was a great turn out and was thankful for this opportunity I was given.

The end of a class.. but not the end for TasteBuds

Last Tuesday, the print team and I sent our files to the printer…It was a glorous moment. All day i had been working on the guide, making final adjustments and all the work was worth it to achieve a well designed piece. This project has spaned a semesters period and has taken around three months to complete. I have learned quite a bit from this experience and all the trials and hills to overcome were well worth it. I have come away with a better understanding of client-designer relationships and have learned a good deal more in Adobe InDesign (this was the program used to design the guide).  From every moment I worked on the guide it was well worth it to see the outcome of the final TasteBud product. 

The guide went to print last Tuesday, therefore, the guide will be in the publics hands wihtin the next two weeks. I am excited to see the guide living within the walls of Chattanooga and the surrounding areas. I hope this initiative will impact the community and help others to realize the imporatance of buying local. If consumers spend their income wihtin Chattanooga and surroudnign areas, then Chattanooga will see an impact and the consumer will get the benefits.

In all, by completing the TasteBuds guide, I feel like  i had achieved a huge milestone in my life. I have walked away with a better understanding of  client-based work and will use the knowledge i acquired throughout my days as a Graphic Designer.

Even though the class is finished with the TasteBud project, it will continue to live on in the Chattanooga area.

amazing experiences

Last Thursday my class was able to tour National Print Group, this company is the largest ditigal, litho, screen, and large format P-O-P printer in the world.  My teacher prepared us and told us beforehand that this tour would be a wonderful experience and it was just that, but more. We were able to stay at the company for almsot three hours and we did not even get to see the second facility. During the tour, our tour guides first explained there process for desiging and what kind of work they typically do for clients. Each client comes to them with a differnet goal and design and it is National Print Groups goal to bring to life the design in print. During the tour, I was able to see the room where they set up signs/banners that would be in stores.  A sign looks totally different set up in a room verses living on the computer so it was quite a smart idea to allow the signs to live wihtin a space.

Next, we were able to walk through the entire printing process, from the pre-press to the screen printing, to the packaging. We were able to see each step and the works who managed the machines each day. These are the men who need to become my best friend because they know so much and I would love to hear there experiences and knowledge. These men and women are very talented and know quite a deal about the printing process.

Since we were unable to see the other facility, we were asked to come back from another tour. I am quite excited and look foward to seeing more machines and meet more people.

tastebud lives

For Professional Practice, our classes has almost completed our first project with a client. Our work is coming together and becoming complete and whole. All of the piece, from the poster to the web site, have a similar design and feel like one. I have been working on the guide booklet that list farmers, restaurants, farmers markets, non profit organizaitons, artisans, and grocery stores. All of the restaurants which are listed use produce from the farms. We have had a huge turnout of partners; in all we have over fifty listings. This is remarkable and quite amazing to know that there are over 50 farms in the chattanooga and surroudning areas. Each farm does not produce/grow just fruits or vegetables, there are quite a few farms who raise chickens/meat/honey. This project has been an eye opener to realize how important it is to buy and support local farms/restaurants/grovery stores. There are a lot of benefits to buying local and it allows the money to stay within our economy here in chattanooga.

This week the class is wraping up projects and going to print. My team (the print team) will be finishing the guide and smaller guide (“TasteBuddy”) and sending it to print. We are making final revisions and it is almost complete. It has been quite the learning experience. I have learned  great deal and this experience will gugde me in my career later on in life. I have worked and meet indivduals who are devoted to this project. Every one who is involved with this project is so on fire and it is showing.