CONGRATULATIONS TO EMILY KELLY WHO WAS JUST ACCEPTED TO FIT THIS FALL 2016 FOR COMMUNICATION DESIGN FOUNDATION!
Courses taken in Precollege Programs include:
HAD 150 Magazine Design
HDE 116 In-Store Merchandising Techniques
HFS 182 Develop and Eye for Styling
Were you accepted to FIT this fall too? We’d love to feature you on the blog as well!
Email: [email protected] for more information
Hey! I’m Liz and I’m a junior in high school who’s currently “struggling” between SAT’s and FIT. The “struggle” is completely worth it, I might add. Considering this is my first post, I find it necessary for you to know at least these very fine key details about me: starting with the fact that my entire life has revolved around fashion since approximately the fourth grade. Starting off as a shy, pudgy girl with bangs and braces, I was enrolled in a fashion class for god-knows-what reason. And yet it was the best thing to ever happen to me, sitting down next to this wonderful instructor and being taught how to draw my first croquis. In tenth grade I took the train for the very first time by myself into the city to start a pre-college course at FIT. I remember it was a business course. I also remember that I was more excited to design the website and clothes for my imaginary business than I was to actually run my imaginary business. At the beginning of eleventh grade I took a course in the fall on magazine design. I’d always been interested in photography and journalism so I used this opportunity to feature my own pictures and articles in my magazine. During this time I started seeing clothing, entertainment, art, music all the things I love, as things I could capture through my work. Whether it’s through writing, photography, sketching, or even doodling on all of my Chemistry notes (true story), the thing that brings all of my interests together is my desire to create and admire other people’s creations.
My inspiration comes from young women in the industry like Tavi Gevinson, creator of “Rookie Mag”. I am also an avid reader of Leandra Medine’s “Man Repeller”, the very reason why I bought white jelly platforms and will forever be trying to pull off any form of turtle necks and overalls. Olivia Bee photography and Gia and Sofia Coppola films such as “Palo Alto” and “The Virgin Suicides” really get me in that dreamy, ethereal teen-angst zone that pretty much fuel my ideas for photos and art.
Part of my fashion dedication also goes towards working at a local clothing store- which involves way less glamourous things than I wish it did. The things that I do love about it, however, like successfully styling a costumer and seeing their face light up at their reflection in the mirror, are what make it all worthwhile. The discount also helps with my proclivity towards bank-breaking clothes and all.
During my spring semester at FIT I am taking “Creating the Fashion Figure Level 1” to experiment more in clothing design and sketching. On the other hand I am also taking AP Photography at school and plan on officially mastering the dark room development process WITHOUT permanently damaging at least one film strip per try. I think I may just get there.
~Liz
Student: Sunshine (17) from Aburi, Ghana
Program: Saturday/ Sunday Live
Pre-College Courses:
Magazine Design
Develop An Eye for Styling
Describe your personal style? Probably edgy, dark, but funky some days
Where do you go on your breaks from class? I like to sit on a chair and go on tumblr for inspiration.
What is your favorite thing about FIT? That all the students are creatively diverse and share a passion for fashion.
Who or what inspires you? Diana Vreeland and the history of fashion
What do you want to do after you graduate from College? Go to Japan and work there or at a fashion magazine.
~Mikey
It’s incredible to think we’re nearing the home stretch of this FIT experience. It feels like not even a few days ago I was walking into orientation, wide eyed and ready to learn. Being at FIT has definitely broadened my horizons and taught me far beyond what I expected. Many of our lessons I’ve already been familiar with (I have a bit of experience in most of the Adobe suite, so all the introductions to the programs and basic lessons I had already knew) but the one thing I’ve been exposed to that I could never been on my own has been the class critiques. And let me tell you, I’m in love.
A critique is just about exactly what it sounds like, you take you work, present it in front of the class, and they tell you what they like/dislike, what you should add/remove, and/or any bit of advice or insight to further improve your work. I know, sounds daunting, but getting the opinions from others is one of the best possible things you can do for your work. Or at least, it’s one of the best I can do for mine.
After looking at the design for so long, I definitely can begin to get a little numb to it. It’s like when you get used to a smell because it’s been there so long, or when a song just becomes background noise since you’ve heard it so many times. Having a fresh set eyes look at it helps me notice some faults I didn’t realize was there, or realize my direction. Think back to the old writing exercise, which is to read your piece backwards in order to make sure it makes sense, since you’ve read it forward so many times and might just skip over the mistakes.
Not only are critiques great for your own artwork, but they’re also a great place to be heard and really show your knowledge. There’s always the fear that if you just go up to someone and tell them all the things you think could be improved you’d come off as rude, pretentious, and/or other negative descriptions. Critiques provide an open environment to let people know what you really feel, and give you the opportunity to talk about what you love. It’s a win win! In the end, critiques break the ice. At the beginning of my class, no one would really say anything regarding other people’s work. However, after participating in our first critique, it’s rare someone doesn’t make a comment as they’re walking about the room. Do critiques sound as daunting as they did in the beginning?
Have you participated in a critique, and if so, what’s your favorite/less favorite part? If you haven’t, what’s one thing you’ve learnt in your class that you couldn’t have learnt anywhere else?
As always,
Izzy
AN INTRODUCTION, OF SORTS
So, yes, hello. My name is Isabell Geffner, Izzy for short, and I hail from Long Island. I am 16, and am currently going into my junior year of high school. This semester I will be losing my FIT virginity as I venture into the magazine design class in hopes of expanding my knowledge, meeting new people, and spending my summer doing the thing I love.
All my life I’ve had a thirst for knowledge, it could possibly be my most defining trait. Even if it’s the most seemingly irrelevant fact in the world, knowing for the sake of knowing is one of my greatest drives. I love being able to know everything I can, be it the fact that the word chivalry was derived from the French word for horse, cheval, or the fact that the first ever typeface was invented by Johannes Gutenberg, and was based off of the handwriting of the scribes, who had previously been the ones to create books. Knowing gives you a sense of understanding of the world around you, gives you new perspectives to look at, and information you could use in everyday life, even if you didn’t know you needed it. I love knowing, and I believe that no matter how much you know, and no matter how long you’ve spent learning any topic, you could always know more. This need for knowledge is the driving factor in why I’m taking this class. I love design, I love talking about design (In fact, I never shut up. At this point most of my friends know the difference between a serif and sans serif typeface, and can properly identify between old style, transitional, and modern serif typefaces. I’m quite proud.), I love looking at intricate logos and thoughtful advertisements, and most importantly I love sitting down at my laptop and creating a poster or a website.
My passion for design along with my passion for knowledge has brought me on a never ending quest, to learn all I can about design and use that knowledge to become the best designer I possibly can be. I’m so incredibly excited to be enrolled in this course, to be able to expand my horizons, grow as a designer (and hopefully a person) and continue on this quest. I hope you packed your armor, and brought along your cheval, because it’s going to be an exciting journey.
Until next time,
Izzy