Panel Discussion

I have been to 3 other panel discussions before the one I attended last night. I always find myself inspired after I get out of them. But not this time. This time it actually made me realize that after I graduate in May, I will have nothing I have now, especially school and work (I am a student assistant, I cannot work at my office after I graduate). It means I will have to go into the real world and take off my training wheels and THAT scares me. :/

The first one to speak was Dominique Bragg. She graduated in 2007. She gave some good input on how not to work for friends and relatives. It can never be professional and eventually someone is going to get the bad end. She currently works for MTV. She is the graphic design coordinator. And works on banners and other marketing features for the neopets website.

Teressa spoke next. The company she works for is called Neuron Syndicate. She does entertainment design for the DVD packaging. She kind of talked about the harsh reality of working with clients. One point she made clear was that people don't pick things right away. There can be many rounds of comps and then some how come back to the very first idea drawn out.

Max Shustler was the last speaker. It was his fault I kind of feel this way now. He works for Hamagami and Carroll. He does packaging design for video games. He also freelances outside of the studio. He works under 4 supervisors. I learned quite a few things from him, one of which were to aim high when asked about the pay. If you aim low, you will get it. If you aim high, there is room left for negotiation.

A few other things I learned from the Panel Discussion was that it is way easier to work for web than print. Youre never going to use your portfolio, it is only your ticket to get in. Develop a thick skin because people can be rough in the real world. You do not need a fancy website to get your point across.