Tell us a little about yourself: I draw, paint, silk screen, sew (a little), and I'm pretty good at Photoshop too. As far as inspiration goes, I'm really into a bunch of different kinds of music, almost anything with positive vibes and some intelligent minds behind it. I'm also really into the ocean... Love the beach and theres something about those sea creatures that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside hahaha.
Self-portrait by Tyler, color pencil and oil pastels
What is one of your proudest accomplishments? Every time I'm completely satisfied with a painting it's my new proudest accomplishment.
Agency FB Font
Favorite typeface: I like Magneto and Agency FB.
Banksy Graffiti in Camden, London
Favorite artist: I'm gonna go with Banksy, greatest stencil artist in the world.
How did you choose your major? Graphic design was really the only thing that made sense. It's best way to sell art skills there is.
What do you expect to gain from attending FIDM? Career hookups, and a little technical fine tuning and maybe some good times.
What is your ultimate career goal after graduating from FIDM? Maybe a successful clothing company. Like shirts and stuff. There are enough unsuccessful ones. but the sky is the limit as to what I could do after graduation.
Anything else you'd like to add? My ultimate philosophy is originality: come with it or get lost. No one wants to hear and see the same thing twice. We all have the power to change the world so give it your best shot.
With a love of everything from surreal art to experimental music, Danielle Heer has no shortage of inspiration when it comes to design. We caught up with Danielle to see how she chose her major and what she plans to do after graduating from FIDM.
Tell us about yourself: I come from a small town and I've been doing Graphic Design for four years, specializing in abstract, but I have fun doing anything. I work for a software company called Alight, doing design and video work. I'm also into makeup artistry, video production, fashion, surreal art, and music. I'm outgoing and I love to meet other artists. I'm always wearing stilettos.
What is one of your proudest accomplishments? Probably when I was presented with an award for winning the Every 15 Minutes T-shirt design contest in an assembly in front of hundreds of people. I was also on the video team and we had been up all night long editing. So even though I was exhausted and a little sick, it felt so good to be recognized for all my hard work.
Who is your favorite artist or designer? My favorite graphic designer is Dennis Sibeijn. His work is so genius I can't even begin to describe.
What's one trend or item you're loving now? Silk corsets and studded stilettos. I'm willing to sacrifice myself to the cold weather for the good of the outfit.
Who is your style icon and why? Definitely Rhianna because everything she wears is very similar to my style, so I quite often get inspiration from some of her ensembles.
What is the most beloved item in your wardrobe? My shredded and bleached jeans, which are falling apart and barley wearable, but they fit like a glove.
How did you know FIDM was the right college for you? Because it mixes Graphic Design with the Fashion Industry, the two things I'm very interested in. Also, it's a very focused environment. This will give me the opportunity to really pursue what I want to do and be around people with the same interests.
How did you choose your major?Graphic Design is my passion and it's what I'm good at.
What are you most excited to learn about? I'm very excited to learn about the concept of forming good marketing ideas and there are some classes I have been wanting to take for years.
What do you expect to gain from attending FIDM? I will be expanding my portfolio and developing my skills to become a professional.
What are your career goals after graduating from FIDM? I would love to start out working in a firm or company and then later graduate to creating my own business designing band logos and album art.
What advice would you give students looking to be accepted into FIDM? Go above and beyond and show them why your not just anyone.
We've extended the deadline for this amazing contest until Wednesday,September 30th! This is an amazing opportunity, and here's why!
While we have received a number of talented entries in the categories of fashion design and merchandise marketing, we currently have no entrants for the following categories:
Future Digital Media Grad FutureInterior Design Grad Future Graphic Design Grad Future Jewelry Design Future Beauty Industry Merchandising & Marketing Grad
Why not check out the contest details here! Applicants in these areas have a better chance of winning, so what do you have to lose! Prizes for these categories include an amazing new camcorder, $150 Sephora shopping spree, and an incredible HD media player!
The National Scholarship Competition offers highly-qualified seniors and older graduates the opportunity to earn a full one-year scholarship to attend FIDM, California's premier fashion college.
The 2009 Scholarship recipients are as follows:
Hillary Harper for Fashion Executive of Tomorrow Maelee Lungren for Interior Designer of Tomorrow Sarah Chiarot for Graphic Designer of Tomorrow Nathan Braun for Fashion Designer of Tomorrow Sarah Friesen for Visual Designer of Tomorrow
Congratulations to all the winners for outstanding work in their area of study. For more information including project guidelines for the all-new National Scholarship Competition 2010, click here!
Students Hartley Haverty and Melissa Wong use their multi-talented skills in order to produce, film, edit, and bring to life everything that is FIDM's reality show Living the FIDM Life. After two years on hiatus, the reality show was relaunched back at the end of 2008. Now, we're able to see a piece of what reality is like at FIDM, and what it really means to "live the FIDM life."
FC: What is Living the FIDM Life?
Haverty: "Our premise so far has been that Melissa and I are Digital Media students and we are working together to create a reality show, so it's kind of behind the scenes of a reality show in a reality show."
Wong: "Even though it's more specific to what we're doing right now, I think at the same time it is called Living the FIDM Life and I think there is a universal aspect to where everyone is going through a program--whether it's Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Digital Media, or Interior Design, we are all going through stress at once and dealing with all these things at once and showing how students go about dealing with the pressure."
FC: Who are the individuals involved?
Haverty: "It's people that we pick; mainly right now, the first two episodes that we've worked on focus on the Digital Media Center and how we integrate with the rest of the school, especially with the FIDM Debut Runway Show and projects like the Graphic Design and Digital Media Competition, where students are working together on projects."
Wong: "Eventually we would hope to carry on to different majors. Right now it's competitions within Digital Media and Graphic Design but hopefully it will evolve between Marketing, Interior Design, Fashion, and other majors."
Haverty: "Basically the Graphic Design and Digital Media students are paired up, so they are working in teams of two. They've been given a band named "Seriously" that they have a single from; the Digital Media student will be working on a music video for the band and the Graphic Design student will be working on the album cover design and posters for the band and their single. They will be given three tasks. They are currently working on their first task. They had to go to the zoo and pick an animal that embraces their concept for their idea for their music video and designs. These students have such amazing skill sets that they use to come together and make it work to create a product that is cohesive."
Wong: "The last judging we are going to put up on youtube so the youtube viewers will actually have input on who they think should win. That will be part of the judging for the last episode."
FC: What is your opinion on reality shows?
Haverty: "Now working on one, it's interesting how much things are staged. I mean I still love all of my reality shows. It's technically not scripted but you might need to recreate and reenact, so it is set up a lot of the times. I can look at a lot of shows and know which ones are set up. But it's entertaining because of the characters that people choose. If you get conflict and personality then kudos to the producers for choosing those people because they put them into those situations and they're gonna go at it, so that's real in that sense."
Wong: "It's a lot of planning, although it's reality you need to know where to be and what time. It is reality in a sense that we are in these situations, but we need to make sure we have a camera around."
FC: What is the difference between this reality show and others?
Wong: "I think we are actually working on real world things, and it's really stressful. We're not lying when we're stressing out and going crazy because it is actually what we feel. I think Hartley and I, we're not acting in front of the camera. We talk to the audience genuinely and we're not trying to be other people. This is really who we are."
Haverty: "I would say the difference also is we don't have a crew. I mean it's me and Melissa working camera, working sound, editing (most of it). It's hard when you're on the field and you have to run the entire show. It's kind of like a two-person crew."
FC: What do you think about the Digital Media program at FIDM?
Wong: "One of the things that makes it special is how small it is right now because everyone knows everyone. You're really comfortable with the instructor and with your peers. It's really fast paced and we don't learn just one thing. We learn many skills simultaneously so that we're not stuck in a situation where we wouldn't know what to do."
Haverty: "It's great because teachers can pay closer attention to what your main focus is. Working on this reality show I've been on job interviews where people are very impressed that I can wear a number of different hats. Knowing you can do all those different skills without going crazy is very impressive."
FC: Future goals for the show and in your lives?
Wong: "Ultimately I want to work in the Entertainment Industry. I do enjoy editing and that will lead me to where I want to go. After graduating I'm going to be moving to Japan because I want to travel and see the world and get experiences from different places before I actually settle down into one set career. I think right now it's the best time for me to explore."
Haverty: "I'm working on the show for now. I would like to see this competition be finished and all the episodes be finished. That's my short-term goal. I'm currently going on interviews for full-time jobs because I do want to get my foot in the door. I think now it's timing and riding the wave until someone says they have a project that they will bring me on for."
FC: How do you feel about the current economy?
Wong: With the connections and the reputations that we set for ourselves, I think we'll come out of it o.k. We learn the skills we need here, we just need the chance to prove ourselves. Once we get our foot in the door, we'll be able to meet our ultimate goals."
Haverty: "I think I would have a harder time right now if I didn't have a degree or some kind of forte to show what I do. This is definitely the time to go get a degree!"
Yes, it's silly joke but it cheers me up when it's pouring rain outside. You know what else cheers me up when it's pouring rain--cute rain boots. And nobody does them better than Chooka.
Chooka has been making very un-boring boots out of Seattle for years. They started with bright colors and polka dots but quickly moved into more unique patterns and designs. They recently got the license to make them for tokidoki and Hello Kitty. Do you love them as much as I do? Chooka just wants you to know that rain boots are another means of self-expression. When life brings you rain, walk in it and be cute.
Here's how it works: Choose any one of the following six great categories. Your choice will determine the guidelines for your project. They are:
Fashion Executive of Tomorrow Interior Designer of Tomorrow Graphic Designer of Tomorrow Fashion Designer of Tomorrow Visual Designer of Tomorrow Digital Media Artist of Tomorrow
Here's a description of projects developed by students just like you for this awesome competition: creating a promotional plan for a major fashion retailer, designing a series of posters promoting a certain event, creating the ideal bedroom for a young couple, or designing a new clothing line for the next era of fashionistas.
Now it's time to take the first step. You can request your project guidelines and entry formhere!
Judging Criteria: Entries will be judged on creativity, thoughtfulness, presentation, and promise in the entrant's project.
Eligibility: This competition is not open to current or former FIDM
students. All entrants must be either a U.S. citizen or have Permanent
Resident status.
Learn about FIDM's Associate & Bachelor Degree Programs, meet FIDM Staff & Faculty, see amazing Student Work, tour the Campuses, and hear from FIDM Graduates and learn about their success stories!
Job title and
short description: SMU (Special Make Ups) Designer. I am a Graphic Artist for
Juniors and Men's Clothing.
What are the
things you like most about your job? Being able to create, that is my true passion, and it's
even better when I go to stores & see my designs in window displays as well
as on the customers!
How did you find
out about FIDM and what made you feel FIDM was right for you? Research when I was in
High School & FIDM also made a couple of visits to my school too.
How did you
choose your major? My advisor actually helped me as I was unsure of the direction
I wanted to go in. I
was interested in many different fields but after discussing we decided that Merchandise Product Development would be the best
choice for me at the time.
What are some of
your top sources of inspiration? My inspiration comes from people who follow their
dreams.
What are some of
your greatest accomplishments? Some of my greatest accomplishments are graduating with
two degrees from FIDM, getting a job at one of my ideal companies to work for, and being able to
travel.
What is your
favorite thing about attending FIDM? Although FIDM was tough at times, I absolutely loved
it!
I loved going to class and being inspired by my teachers whom work or have worked in the
industry & just hearing real life stories.
What are some of
your goals for the future? My future goals include to grow with Billabong, travel the world,
& just be happy.
Anything else
you'd like to tell aspiring FIDM Students? I would definitely recommend FIDM,
if you have the
drive for it!
Do not go if you just think oh, its fashion school, it will be
easy, because FIDM is one of
the hardest schools. Now don't let me scare you!
By hard I mean they work in the real world,
they have deadlines, tons of homework, and the knowledge you will gain is unbelievable!
I
believe that because of this I was truly prepared for what I was about to
venture into. You have to
live it, breathe it, and stay focused on your dreams. It will happen for the
ones that have the
drive for it.
What are some of
the hottest trends at Billabong right now? Some hot trends you can see coming this Spring are
from the ''70s, edgy bohemian glamour we would say. Lots of metallic hardware, cool color
combos, and high-waist skirts with graphic tees.
What are some
future trends you see coming? Lots of lace, continuing with animal prints, hand-drawn details.
Splashing more into the eighties vibe with art & color.
(Don't wait too long -- the deadline for Fashion Club Daily's Totally Eighties Flashback Photo Contest is January 31st, 2009. Click here for more info and how to enter.) --Belissa
