There are many things that I am grateful for knowing; I think it’s extremely important to know who the best tailor is. Who the best waxing lady is. And, of course, when the next sale at Neiman’s is!
But I am getting a little off topic already. Merde! (I’ve taken to swearing a lot more in french since the babies started repeating everything I said!)
I will be more specific. There are many things that I am grateful for knowing, thanks to Art Center (the – dare I say – “Harvard of Art Schools” where I lost days at a time in a sleep-deprived fog, being forced into crushing, demanding, army-style design training).
I know things about tape. Like, for example, that every kind of tape has a different purpose and application. And not to mix them up.
I know things about glue. Like, for example, which ones are acid-free and archival, and are perfect for bookbinding, gluing on rhinestones, or gluing fingers back together after slicing half of them off during late-night production marathons for projects due the next day.
I know things about color. And the difference between watercolor and gouache. And dielines And bleeds. And also that you should always check the broccoli in the cafeteria to make sure that there are no bugs in it, before you chow down.
But the BEST thing I know from Art Center is the difference between 8 hours & 5 minutes.
Somewhere midway through my schooling, my classmates and I were given an assignment to find a black and white ad (from a magazine) and spend NO LESS than 8 hours duplicating the ad. It didn’t matter what media we used, or how we replicated the ad… but we had to spend a minimum of 8 hours copying the ad to perfection. The following week in class, everyone brought in the original ads they chose and put them up next to the 8 hour copy, for critique. In every case, the copies were amazing and nailed almost every detail from the original ads. We all felt such pride.
Right before class ended, the teacher announced that there was a second component to the project. The homework for the following week was to copy the original ad again, but this time… are you ready for this… he wanted us to spend NO MORE than 5 minutes. Whhhhat? We were shocked. How on earth could we do that, seeing as how we’d just spent 8+ hours doing this task only days before? The teacher assured us that there was a point to this. So we all left, begrudgingly, to start to next phase of this assignment.
A week later, everyone came in to class and put up the original ad, the 8 hour copy and the new 5 minute copy. In every instance, the 8 hour copy was far more beautiful, rich and intense. But also, in every instance, the 5 minute copy communicated all the important, key elements of the original ad. Just with a little less glamour!
So, like every good children’s story, this tale comes with an important moral… Not every project requires the 8 hour version! If you can communicate something to your client in 5 minutes, then DO NOT SPEND 8 HOURS trying to do the same thing. You have to know when a project requires 8 hours, and when it requires 5 minutes. If you can sketch out an idea quickly, on the back of a napkin, then you can spend the remainder of your alotted time bringing that idea to life in it’s final form.
Now, if only I could shop the next sale at Neiman’s in under 5 minutes, I’d truly have mastered this concept!