Ready for Liftoff

I have finally escaped the drama that was Communications and New Media.  Do you know what that means? Probably not, so I'll elucidate.  There is no longer a grade attached to this little blog of mine, so I am free to write about whatever my heart desires! Liberation tastes so good, as does summer. YUM.

I suppose I should explain a little bit about myself before I continue on my blogging journey...

My name is Katie, and I am an advertising/public relations major (studio art, visual communications minors) from Colorado Springs, Colorado. As beautiful as the mountains may be, I found the land of hike and bike to be a bit too mundane for my tastes.  Admittedly, I  much prefer Chicago hotdogs to granola bars, which lead me to the windy city for college. A rising junior at Loyola University Chicago, I absolutely love the city life, and I could stay in Chi-town forever!

A few of my favorite things...
Disney, old pianos, big yellow balloons, fuzzy blankets, drawing and painting, unicorns, cookie dough truffles, miscellaneous emoticons, and Breakfast at Tiffany's <3

Feel free to comment, criticize, laugh, cry... (hopefully tears of joy)

Whimsically,
Katie

The Art of Storytelling

Recently I watched a Ted talk given by John Meada called “How art, technology, and Design Inform Creative Leaders.” John Meada is the president of the Rhode Island School of Design, specializing in connections between design and technology. Early in his career, he created a human computer, which consisted of a team of actors assembled to complete a simple computer task.  In doing this, Meada was highlighting how much we take technology for granted; there is much intricacy in the processes occurring behind the computer screen.  At Loyola, I am studying both arts and communications, and I am heavily invested in the merging of the two.  I was very inspired by his explanation of the purposes of art and technology. He said, “Technology makes possibilities. Design makes solutions. Art makes questions, and Leadership makes actions.”  If I learned anything for our Communications and New Media class, it was how to merge my artistic side with modern communications methods.  Maeda highlighted the fact that, as we move into this new era of digital media, we need not abandon the traditional artistic perspective.  Art, he explained, makes us explore and interact with the world without limitations.   Artistic expression implores people to expand their thinking and make ideas even bigger.  With art, “no” does not exist.  In an era of electronics, we cannot abandon the beauty of aesthetic artistic skill, for then style and individuality will be lost.  Maeda, in stressing the importance of tradition, also talked about how he only buys antiquities if they have a good story behind them.  Upon hearing this, I immediately thought about our class, and how we have been analyzing storytelling as a tenet of good communications, be it in advertising, digital campaigns, or journalism.   To me, a good story is sort of like a good wedding; there is something borrowed, something new, something old, and something blue.  Well, maybe not blue necessarily, but a good story definitely paints a picture with a wide array of colors.  To truly grab the audience, one has to pull from the past; from memories, shared experiences, and human emotions.  But there is also an element of looking toward the future, and the hope of what could be.  Great stories are strung together with beads of the past and present, but above all they come from the heart.  The only requirements are passion and a pencil.  Once lead hits paper, the possibilities are endless.  

The Reality of Television (Not Reality Television)

Television is a powerful tool in today’s world.  Humanity looks to TV for entertainment, relaxation, current news, and personalized interests.  Because of its audio-visual properties, television possesses an innate ability to formulate constructions, understandings, and memories within people.  However, while television has abounding benefits, it also harbors a slew of negative effects.  A significant drawback appears in the mature content on television programs, especially those of a sexual nature.  One could reason that there is a strong connection between visualization and behavior.  In adolescents especially, a direct correlation exists between promiscuous themes in television programming, and sexual activities in the real world; this connection is arguably responsible for risky and apathetic sexual attitudes found among today’s youth. 

The most egregious issue surrounding sexual content on television is the dangerous sexual attitudes endorsed as natural, universal, and inconsequential. Nonchalant sexual attitudes are indeed a frightening concept to instill into the minds of young adults, especially because the United States has such a high STD, STI, and teenage pregnancy rate.  Teenagers so readily believe that terrible and difficult situations will never befall them, or that there will always be an easy way out.  One can look to the source of this faulty principle with the click of a remote.  With events that are extremely troubling, such as a teenage pregnancy, Hollywood creates the illusion that all can be amended with the wave of a magic wand.  For instance, Teen Mom, a reality show following young mothers, glorifies these peoples’ mistakes, and gives girls everywhere the hope that if they get pregnant, they might end up on a television show. There are thousands of other programs comparable to Teen Mom, and most of them dodge matters of pregnancy, STD’s, peer-pressure, and regret completely.  As much as humans want to believe there are no consequences for hedonistic behavior, it does not change reality.  

Dream Job: Official Facebook Ambassador

In my musings about communications, I stumbled upon an interesting new movement in company promotion.  There is a program based out of New Orleans that works with entrepreneurs to enhance their social media presence.  Aspiring business leaders must apply and be accepted, and in turn receive guidance throughout the production of their companies.  This program, called NOLAbound, cites many specific ways to improve upon the professional face of one’s company.  They assist business people in becoming social media ambassadors, a term I had never heard before.  A social media ambassador runs campaigns that vocalize and characterize the company, as well as attaching it to pertinent communities online.  Their success is quantified by how well they reach various populations, and specifically in attaining access to greater resources.   Being able to network efficiently allows one to gain fruitful partnerships, ideally propelling them into a position of authority within their market.  One of the main way social media campaigns gain attention is by targeting prominent bloggers and figures within the market, and using their appeal to acquire more followers. It was interesting to think about companies actively selecting people to represent their company online.  Essentially, a social media ambassador is an online public relations professional.  Companies must be very selective about who they choose to represent their company online, especially because once content is released to the Internet, it can never be completely destroyed.   Social media ambassadors must be creative, strong writers, and reliable. These professionals especially have to make themselves present enough online to draw in consumers, but not overbearingly so.  I appreciate the fact that social media has become a quintessential part of brand success and loyalty.   As a communications major, it is encouraging to see the skills I am learning applied to a real-worldly environment.  

Check out the NOLAbound website here!

Google is Not the Gallery

As an advertising major, and an art minor, I am always invested in topics that bridge the gap between these two worlds. Of course, I was very excited to be doing a presentation for class on new media art and creativity. In researching for this project, I found a multitude of interesting trends on the rise.  From  video game imagery to speed-art videos, there is truly a wealth of creativity flourishing on the digital platform.  While I uphold the majority of new media art as brilliantly vivid, interesting, and innovative, there is one facet of it that I particularly disheartening.  Call me old-fashioned, but I am somewhat disturbed by the idea of online art galleries.  I know it is a convenient way to sell art and expanding one's market reach significantly, but I hate to see fine arts so commercialized.  I have always been worried about the technique and detail of drawing and painting being replaced by digital art.  It is true that both are excellent sources of self-expression, but I just hope that time can preserve the texture of gesso peaking through oil paint and the delicate lines of graphite.  That is not to say that online art galleries would be completely replacing fine art, especially because it is the selling of fine art online, as is done with apparel and books.  However, it is a step towards eliminating artistic interaction in the real world.  Art is something one cannot fully grasp online; one misses the immensity, proportion, textures and mood alive in a gallery.  I experienced this first hand when I went to the Art Institute of Chicago. My favorite artist is Edgar Degas, and I love his chalk pastel pieces especially. As I walked into the impressionist wing, I was completely blown away.  I had seen his drawings on the internet, but never had I been in the presence of a real Degas.  There is something so moving about seeing real art in the flesh; I hope the experience never disappears from the modern world.  Society needs the Blue Period just as much as they need the digital age.

Fun and Educational, In the Same Sentence!

It is no secret that my favorite game is Sims.  I love to make people, dress them up, ruin their lives, drown them in the pool... Needless to say, it is a world where I can do whatever I want without experiencing real-world consequences.  That being said, Sims is not without its drawbacks.  My biggest problem with Sims is that I get addicted to it so easily; throwing my social and academic calendars out the window to pick the perfect wallpaper for my virtual victorian-style home.  Today, I unearthed some information that could placate my addictive tendencies.  There is a new version of SimCity that is to be utilized as a learning tool. That's right.  It is an educational Sims game, called SimCityEDU.  I could play Sims, and learn at the same time, which makes me feel far more productive. Basically, teachers can upload lesson plans, and encourage students to play along with them.  Players are asked to build virtual cities, around which lessons in business, economy, geography, and other subjects are centered.  Produced by EA in coordination with GlassLab, SimCityEDU is specifically geared toward students studying in the STEM format, meaning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  GlassLab is a nonprofit organization dedicated to merging electronic and education companies for the edifaction of modern learning.  What I love about this idea is that it directly relates to the students of the millennial generation.  We primarily  understand and learn through technology, yet so often we are taught through old media vehicles.  By placing education in the context of gaming, I would argue that a student would be far more receptive to educative materials.  Students would not only learn better because their attention is more engaged, but learn more through the interactivity associated with human-computer technologies.  I really hope these methods can continue to be developed, especially for the sake of younger generations.  Play on Sim lovers!

From Neanderthal to Business-Chic

Today in my Comm class, Professor Yoo showed us a very fascinating website.  We talked about search engines today and in the past.  He gave us this link: 

This Way to the Time Machine!

It is a website that allows one to find earlier formats of websites from their inception until today.  We looked up my school's website, which looks drastically different today than it did in 1996.  I am amazed not only at how far technology has advanced since the 90's, but also at the evolutions of design.  The 1996 Loyola website is humble in its appearance, with one picture, a logo, and 8 basic links on the cover page.  Today, there is a slideshow cover photo, links at the top and bottom of the page, and far more detail.  While the design of our website presents much more information than that of the past, it does not clutter or overwhelm the page.  There is far more emphasis invested in creating an interesting and inviting website.  As an advertising and public relations major, I fully understand the necessity of constructing an interactive and engaging home page; it is a prospective costumer's first introduction to a product, idea, or service.  The 1996 version of Loyola's page very clearly represents the primordial attempts of web design.  Since then, many steps have been taken to transform paragraphs on word document into an engaging work of design.  I think it is important to note how essential modern design is in marketing to the millennial generation.  We respond best to updated formats because that is all we have ever known.  I would even argue that we expect advertising and digital signage to be formatted correctly and with thought because this treatment has been applied to all visual communications of the current age.  I hope that a dedication to design and artistry, customizable to individual and group interest can continue into the future as well.