After taking courses at UCLA Extension for the past two years, I found myself at a crossroads during finals of spring quarter. I was still not officially in the Design Communication Arts program but I wasn't far off from being finished with the certificate. I had loved every course that I had taken and wanted to take more. I took off summer quarter to get my thoughts together and make a decision about continuing the program and if graphic design was my new calling. Now that it is time for class registration I made the decision to continue and finish the certificate. I have gained so much more from these classes than skills. Now, I am very confident in my own work and have developed more of a personal style.
My final project for Graphic Design History & Context was my turning point and breakthrough assignment. There was nothing particularly special about this assignment. We had to chose a Post Modern graphic artist who's work we liked and design three posters influenced by their style. Post Modern was defined as artists of the current era who were no longer trying to be totally unique and original, but instead borrowing from artists they liked from all sorts of decades and piecing those influences together in their own way. Somehow, this lesson of post modern design really hit home with me and everything clicked inside. It was time to stop becoming paralyzed by trying to be original and interesting. Being an artist is not about any of that. One just needs to be themselves and do what they like making work they consider to be good. Chances are if you like your work and find it to be good, someone else will as well.
Maybe we are still living in a post modern art world where there is nothing that will ever be totally new. I think this complete understanding is what has helped me let go of that final chain holding me down. For myself, finishing this design certificate is not necessarily about becoming a graphic designer, it's about finishing this internal transformation that is nearly complete. Though if I ever give up the fight in entertainment design, I think graphic design could make me very happy too.
"Don't try to be original, just try to be good." -Paul Rand Graphic Designer
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