AIGA USC: AIGA China Vista Article

Crossroads
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By Kristie Kam

“Kristie, may I speak to you please,” my boss’s friendly yet intimidating voice loomed over the gray cubicle wall. My heart skipped a beat as I took my hand off the mouse. The swivel chair squeaked as I got up from my desk and turned the corner. I nervously anticipated bad news, or criticism on design. But instead, I was met with an excited grin -- he informed me that my design had been selected for the 2010 USC Spirit Shirt*. I was in shock. I pinched myself a few times and called both of my parents with the incredible news. Six months later, seeing my work on random USC students all over campus, I still can’t believe it.

Fall of 2008, as an undeclared freshman at USC facing the daunting challenges of overcoming homesickness and doing my own laundry, choosing a major befitting of my personality was not the toughest on my list. As a kid I took summer art classes for 10 years and became engrossed in the world of imagination. So I threw together some past work from high school and applied to the Roski School of Fine Arts. I also decided to check out a fall semester job fair. One booth immediately sparked my interest when someone asked, “Do you like to use Photoshop?” Memories of myself spending hours and hours photoshopping my friends’ heads onto celebrities’ bodies surfaced to mind. I was hired at USC Spectrum Design Studio; this man became my boss.

That day onwards, by creating marketing materials for numerous student organizations, I started to build a diverse design portfolio and learned the skills that classes could not offer. Through client interaction I was exposed to a wide variety of design needs, processes and aesthetics. I also got to work with talented individuals like my boss: John Cheng (‘09), current director at USC Spectrum Design Studio.

There is no instructional manual to get from point A to point B.
You’re free to start at a different place than someone else

Born and raised in Palos Verdes, California, John began to attend classes at Art Center in Pasadena as a high-schooler. In 2005 he was admitted to Roski School of Fine Arts major in graphic design.

Throughout his major, John also dabbled in business courses through Marshall School of Business. With some marketing classes he learned the relevance of design in advertising, and started to think of himself as a brand, and sell and promote it by developing a strong personal presence. Organizational behavior class taught him the dynamics of situational intrapersonal relationships in the work environment.

In the spring of 2009, John was accepted to Special Projects class, an elite, invitation-only design course that aims to bridge the gap between 3 areas of study: design, business and engineering – business students set up focus groups and relayed the research results; designers created marketing materials such as packaging, ads and websites; meanwhile the engineers were responsible for all the technical and executional aspects of the project.

For John, it was an interesting experience collaborating with people with other expertise. The ability to work with new ideas from unfamiliar backgrounds and contexts, at a more specialized art school like Roski, was an extremely valuable.

Such interdisciplinary education goes a long way. “Having a diverse campus inspires a wider range of conversation among students. Because in a university setting, there is no instructional manual to get from point A to point B. You’re free to do anything you are able, and start at a different place than someone else”.

Try Everything!

And that is exactly what Courtney Kawata (‘07) decided to do. Growing up in Newport Beach, and ever since her only graphic design class in high school, she was intrigued by the duality and flexibility of art mixed with other forms of creative expression. USC embodied everything she was looking for to explore the endless creative opportunities in a spectrum of industries.

She illustrated political cartoons for the Daily Trojan, USC’s daily newspaper. Inspired by some of her most memorable professors, she started the first AIGA USC chapter, in an effort to establish networking and communication among design students and the design industry. Courtney majored in Fine Arts and minored in Business.

Business Communications prepared her for work by improving her ability to address a wide range of audiences. Financial Real Estate and computer coding classes provided a nice balance between her left and right brain instincts. Throughout her entire college career she was open to every possibility and tangent imaginable, whether it dealt with design or not. All of these contributed to her diverse collection of skills and work ethics. At her job currently, Courtney must able to immediately switch gears from working on a project for Tron to another dealing with fairies. It’s the unique range of courses with overlapping themes at USC that train her mind to be capable of such multitasking.

Courtney professes to, “Try everything! You will limit yourself when you graduate if you don’t know about other areas of study. Designers must be a jack of all trades… and know how to communicate well. … if you don’t, they won’t pick you.”

[And education] beyond a specific craft, or art form,
is going to be more valuable in the long run.

The Lead Designer and Project Manager for American Apparel, Chris Berdine (‘05) was the one that they did pick. He majored in Fine Arts at Roski School with an emphasis in design and intermedia; minored in advertising.

After an internship with Studio Number One, a celebrated LA-based creative firm, in his senior year Chris applied and was later hired at the art and graphics department at American Apparel. He day-to-day work included designing store fronts, signage, packaging, billboards and bus wraps, just to name a few. Despite tremendous workload and a huge learning curve, during his 5.5 years with the company, the design department grew four fold, with a record set for the highest number of stores opened in one year.

Because Roski’s design program at the time was just blossoming, outside work for American Apparel, classes “were more like personal time with the professors” for Chris. “Each design course was a new experience getting to know each of the professors and their unique perspectives on their respective industries.”

On the other hand, non-art classes played an equally important role in Chris’s career. Knowledge in business, communications, media planning and buying helped to balance the fundamentals of modern day marketing practice. At American Apparel Chris was the only one with education in media buying and rates, and was therefore given an interesting combination of responsibilities that he would not have been prepared for if not for his minor in advertising. Bumping shoulders with students from other fields, taking occasional cinema class and general education courses all contributed to his success as a designer. It’s not hard to see how a strong and diverse academic foundation that pans across arts and sciences became highly useful in design and vice versa. Furthermore, it will continue to build a more well-rounded education. As Chris said himself, “logically a school that offers more than just a limited education in a specific craft, or art form, is going to be more valuable in the long run.”

Having been in design for only about three years, I’m growing to realize that I still have so much to learn. After speaking with these three extremely talented professionals, I question whether I have taken advantage of all the resources and opportunities available to me; and whether I am ready enough for the journey ahead. Nonetheless, the engagingly diverse atmosphere and comprehensive interdisciplinary education formed at USC truly allow me and my peers to learn from each other and create experiences that will be undoubtedly beneficial whatever path I take. And with this in mind, I think I’ll be just fine.