Capstone: Peer Review
Time for another update on my capstone class! If you are not aware of my previous posts on this topic, you can find the rest of my posts here. For this post, I thought it would be productive to go over someone else’s work. There are all sorts of incredibly talented designers in my capstone class. Choosing just one was a bit of a challenge. However, after looking over the possible candidates, I thought that one particular classmate’s capstone project stood out a bit more than the others. This classmate’s name is Benjamin D-Nagy. Like me, Ben also posts updates on his capstone here on Medium, so if you want to check those out, here is his profile. I will also link his Behance account in this post so that any of you that are curious can go check out his impressive portfolio.
Ben’s Capstone
Now, many things make Ben’s project impressive, but first, I would like to give you all a bit of a background on what his project is. Ben is an aspiring illustrator. Due to this interest, he found a capstone that would fit in with this desire of his. The principle behind his capstone is essentially a study of famous illustrators and what makes their illustration styles unique. Ben will then be taking these unique traits and designing a series of at least five posters that will include a custom masthead (example shown below) and an illustration. Both contain the essence of whatever illustrator he is currently focusing on at that phase of his project. If you would like to find out a more detailed description, here is the project statement that he posted.
Why This Works
This project is fantastic for many reasons, but I just wanted to go over a few of them. The first of these reasons is simple; the project directly relates to the sort of work that Ben wishes to do in the future. The second reason is something that I applaud him for: Ben intentionally chose a project that would push both his technical and creative limits. Since this is the case, Ben will surely grow quite a bit as a designer by the end of this. I applaud him for this choice because this is a different approach from what I am doing in my project. I chose to do a project that showcases the breadth of my abilities as a designer instead of choosing one that highlights the sort of work I want to be doing in the future or the things I would like to improve on. Granted, I chose a design style that I feel reflects me and will also push my limits as a designer, it just varies quite a bit from Ben’s tactic, and I find his to be more commendable.
Any Suggestions?
Considering that I find critiques to be incredibly important to the creative process, I would like to go over any suggestions that I might have for good ole’ Ben concerning this process of his. Forewarning, there are not very many at the moment. My first suggestion is something I know he has heard before. He must take note of the time that he has been given to do this task and convince himself that every little detail does not necessarily need to be perfect if it means he can get more work done. We are all our own worst critiques, so getting bogged down by the minute details can be a time killer.
My second suggestion would be to make his final poster the most impressive. His last poster will likely be focusing on himself. If Ben can make that poster an absolute home run, it will bring his project to an entirely new level. I think that this is the case because it is one thing to identify and highlight another person’s style, but it is an altogether different thing to do that and identify and highlight your own artistic style. I think that this will make his capstone stand out because he will then have shown the technical skills that he possesses while also showing that he brings something different to the table with his own style that can hold its own, even when hanging up next to these other prestigious names.
Closing
To wrap up this post, I would like to give a little bit of advice to any designers out there. If you want to improve, do not be focused entirely on yourself. There are all sorts of amazing designers that are worth admiring out in the world. Use their genius to your advantage. Be a sponge. Soak up every creative solution that you see, blend them in your mind, and make something no one else has seen before.
Oh, and Ben, if you are reading this, good luck with grad school! Looking forward to seeing where you will go in the future.
