FIDM Magazine

FIDM OC Graphic Design Students Help "Heel" Hunger

FIDM Orange County Graphic Design Students are competing in a charitable event, CANstruction, to benefit the OC Food Bank. Constructed from approximately 3,000 cans of food, the students will design and construct a woman's high heel shoe and the competition will take place at South Coast Plaza from September 5 to September 27. Please contribute pink Bumble Bee tuna cans, red Tyson chicken cans, and/or cash donations to Student Activities on any FIDM campus. You can join the students for an all-nighter on September 4 to construct the stiletto at South Coast Plaza!

Interview With the Digital Media Students Behind Living the FIDM Life

Read FIDM Fashion Club's interview with the Digital Media Students behind Living the FIDM Life. Students Hartley Haverty and Melissa Wong produce, film, edit, and bring to life everything that's in the reality show. Read the full Q&A here.

Learn more about FIDM's Digital Media & Graphic Design Boot Camp for High School Students in August!

Graphic Design Student Wins 3rd Place for IRON MAN Movie One-Sheet

Congratulations to FIDM Graphic Design Program Students Aaron Avila and Omar Rajput! Both students qualified as semifinalists in the one-sheet division of the 8th Annual Key Art Student Awards Competition and Aaron was awarded THIRD PLACE! The prestigious competition celebrates excellence in creativity and craftsmanship in motion picture making. There were 12 semifinalists from colleges across the nation and students and instructors came from as far away as New York and Pennsylvania to attend the awards ceremony held at FIDM's Museum & Galleries.

On-hand to present the awards were Creative Director Jeff Bacon from top entertainment marketing agency The Designory who revealed one reason why he and his agency are involved in the student competition: "When I was about sixteen, I won an art contest and this told me it could be a career I could pursue. When I got into the business, I wanted to help create that opportunity for today's students."  He'll be pleased to know that Aaron Avila told us that "the award gives me even more confidence that I can succeed in the industry."

FIDM Instructor Doug Haverty explained how he approaches the competition in the classroom: "We watch the movie and talk about the marketing campaign and then I tell them to forget all that and come up with a completely new approach. I think it's pretty amazing that they all start with the same materials, but yet look at all the different ideas they've come up with."

Images: Top, one-sheet for Iron Man by Aaron Avila; Bottom, one-sheet for Iron Man by Omar Rajput

Graphic Design Alumna Tanya Smith Debuts Whimzie Prints

Graphic Design Alumna Tanya Smith, who has run the successful firm TGS Design, has just opened Whimzie Prints, an online shop stocking fashionable note card sets. All of the products are designed and illustrated by Tanya, who resides in Renton, Washington.

FIDM Alumna Designs New Simply Green Shopping Bag For JC Penney

Business Wire has a story on JC Penney's new earth-friendly Simply Green shopping bags, which were designed by top fashion students. One of the three bags is from FIDM Graphic Design Alumna Jocelyn Goode, of Oakland, California, who graduated from FIDM in March. Featuring a fun, fresh wildflower design, Jocelyn's colorful bag mixes style, function, and responsibility. “I hope my bag inspires others to find creative ways to re-use what they have,” she said. The Simply Green bags arrive in stores on April 8, 2009!

Grad Jeff Poulin is Making Superhero Designs for Juniors

Marvel superheroes have been turned into sassy juniors designs thanks in part to FIDM Grad Jeff Poulin, who was profiled last year on the Alumni Website. Women's Wear Daily has the details:

"The entertainment company, best known for its library of comic book superheroes ranging from Spider-Man to Iron Man, is starting 2009 with a major push into the women’s apparel, cosmetics and accessories markets. This move comes after more than 70 years of gearing the bulk of its merchandise assortment to the young men’s market, selling everything from Spider-Man comic books to Captain America business card holders and Incredible Hulk T-shirts."

Click here to read the rest of the WWD article.

FIDM Graphic Design Students Develop Unique SPIRIT Campaign "Stunt"

 

 

Lionsgate Films selected nine art and design schools across the United States to design local advertising campaigns for their upcoming film The Spirit.

Students Alex Kapustin, Lesley Leong, Martha Walker, and Hector De Leon from FIDM's Graphic Design department were inspired by the construction happening in Downtown L.A. They created a 20' x 30' hanging banner which incorporates a crane that will hold the piece aloft and viewable from Interstate 10 until midnight tonight. The banner will then be on display in the FIDM lobby. --Kim

Pictured: FIDM Students making the original presentation  to Lionsgate FIlms, the actual banner located at 1020 S. Figueroa Street, The Spirit website.

Eco-Friendly Grads Help Make Green the New Black

The eco-friendly Green Movement is in full swing and FIDM Alumni are doing their part to contribute to the health of our planet. In June, Interior Design and International Manufacturing & Product Development Grad James Saavedra, who was a designer on the second season of TLC's Clean Sweep and writes the Décor Fellow blog, and his partner Kelly LaPlante launched JAK a new Art Deco- and Hollywood Regency-inspired handcrafted furnishings line with an environmentally sustainable twist.

"Our motivation is that when we took a look at the existing green furniture available to designers we recognized there was something missing," says James. "I believe it is imperative, now more than ever, for us to take a good hard look at our habits and how they are effecting the world in which we live."

One of the first FIDM Graduates to work in the green industry, Alison K. Pollack, started Earth Friendly Interior Design the same year she graduated, with a goal of creating a healthier environment by using alternative materials. (Pictured at right, one of Alison Pollack's interiors.)

“For the first time there is a connection being made between planet sustainability, health issues with chemical overload, and climate change,” says Alison, who also designs Suite Baby, an organic nursery line. “The amazing sense of gratification that the contribution I made, no matter how great or small, preserves something greater than myself.”

Other FIDM Alumni are also making waves in the movement. Fashion Design Grad Karen Kananen founded Raw Earth & Wild Sky, a sustainable style company that features handmade clothing. Based in L.A., the eco-friendly label uses 100% organic cotton and low impact dyes.

Fellow Fashion Design Alumni and friends Rebecca Eliason and Debra Weaver launched Re-Dewin, a line of recycled vintage clothing, this year. (Pictured at left, a vintage look from Re-Dewin.) And this year, Product Development Graduate Tika Shenghur ‘04 launched Teek Design Studios, a line of creative and contemporary green stationery.

New Interview: Graphic Design Student Jocelyn Goode

FIDM Graphic Design Student Jocelyn Goode, in her second year on the San Francisco campus, recently won JCPenney's national Reusable Bag Contest. The bag, featuring her signature, will be sold in JCPenney stores next spring. In our latest Style Scoop Interview, find out how this busy student stays inspired! --Kim

Graphic Design Student Wins JCPenney Reusable Bag Contest

FIDM Graphic Design Student Jocelyn Goode, in her second year on the San Francisco campus, is one of the three winners of JCPenney's national Reusable Bag Contest. Jocelyn's bag, featuring her signature, will be sold in JCPenney stores next spring. --Kim