So Motley wants us to speak about what I learned about Visual Aesthetics Well I can answer that quickly by saying that I didn’t learn that much in the sense of the word Aesthetics itself. Looking back, I wish I would have read extra (non-required) pieces to get a better understanding. The materials that we were required to read or watch for the blogs did help a little bit as they were things, that for the most part, I could identify with and would get me thinking.
I think the assignments that were given to us were somewhat difficult but necessary for us to get a better understanding of certain elements when it came to design. One thing that I heard my classmates complaining about but I came to appreciate was the grading. No I didn’t get the grade I wanted on most of the projects but it was more to it. Often I would hear my classmates complain of how Motley would say he liked one thing and would recommend another thing and then when it came to grading, he switched it up on them and graded them harshly or different than what how he had gave input to them. I didn’t necessarily agree with this either but in hindsight I did appreciate this. I know it sounds crazy but I feel like Motley’s antics helped prepare us for the real world. When working for clients or even your boss, they may say they like one thing or recommend another thing and then once your finish, may have a problem with it. I’ve heard stories of this and I think that it’s critical to be prepared for things like this when we hit the real world, so that we won’t be hurt, pissed off or ready to quit whenever it happens.
In hindsight I also came to appreciate the process of making sketches before hand. While those projects were taking place, I hated it because I felt like it was unnecessary and just another busy work item that was assigned to us. Looking back on it, those sketches were essential and were the foundation for whatever we were designing. Without those sketches, our paths to the final product would have been all over the place. In life you have to have a goal and a vision, you just cant say you want to get somewhere and not have a plan. These sketches were our goals, visions and plans for what we were producing.
One of the last things that stick out from this class was the critiquing session. I enjoyed them because other people had an opportunity to check out your work and give their input. One thing that Motley feared in the beginning and I think took place too much in my opinion was everyone being TOO nice to each other. This happened quite frequently. I don’t think you should be scared to say what’s on your mind and I think alot of people were, most of the time. There were a few people who did say what was on their mind and came off rude. Finding a healthy balance is what we (as a class) failed to do and should work on, moving forward in the future.