Studio Week begins!!! And it has already been super superlative as everyone is off to a week-long charette that will be all about make and do. We had in the house for a brown bag lunchtime ‘paper seminar’ with Unisource and Neenah Papers at the end of last week… and, Jim Garcia brought in all the ice-cream and toppings the students could eat. Grads are rushing around, finishing up work, and students are working diligently on everything from logos to iphone apps, chair concepts to brand platforms, environmental models to videos, websites to publications… Congratulations to all on your hard …more

Just announced, awarding in the upcoming CMYK Magazine national student competition (design section, issue #46, due out February 2010):

First up, Erick Montes’s logo, Belmont, which becomes a new branding moniker created for a line of men’s fragrance.

And, the eco-friendly packaging design for light bulbs with a personality… as designer Leilani Silversten alluded, “They literally speak to you from the shelves.”

Wonderfully frivolous and a refreshingly re-envisioned, Four Paws logo emphasizes the company’s interest in both dog and cat products. Designer Rachel Anscher suggested of her imaginative design, “It shows the love pet owners have for their mischievous animals.”

If you’ve …more

In the House!… Abercrombie & Fitch were here interviewing Portfolio Center designers. Creative Recruiter Eric Puestow has hired at least 50 of our grads over the past few years. Accompanying Eric on the visit was A&F designer (and Portfolio Center alum) Jenny Shores, who shared her excitement about working for a company that is the superlative of apparel and retail industries in the country.

Just out for perusal… the stunning Communication Arts 2009 Design Annual announcing the very best design of this year. It is a book full of excellence and brilliant creativity. CA celebrates its 50th year with the announcing of the winners in the celebrated competition. This years book included over 60,000 entries as 209 projects, representing the work of 159 firms, were selected for inclusion- a tough standard to make the cut. Go take a look at commarts.com.

And, judging this years amazing annual competition, some of the most inspiring designers, including Sean Adams, AdamsMorioka; Scott Arrowood, Arrowood Inc.; Janet DeDonato, …more

Tuesday, Oct 27th, at 6:30pm, is the Patron Opening for the Marcel Breuer Exhibit at the Museum of Design Atlanta. The exhibit will run through January, 2010. Marcel Breuer was one of the most influential Modernist designers of the 20th century! If you are even the slightest fan of Bauhaus art, design, and architecture, then you are a fan of Breuer.

Besides his architectural masterpieces, such as the Atlanta Fulton County Public Libary, downtown, Breuer was well known for his pioneering furniture designs, particularly the Bauhaus tubular metal chair known as model no. B3, as well as the now famous …more

Our own Rachel Anscher and Joli Glantz (both ‘brand new’ Portfolio Center graduates) have just had their work published in the Student Spotlight on The Dieline.

The Dieline is the most visited website on package design in the world and has become the voice of the industry.

Not many people realize this, but packaging is the world’s third largest industry—only Food and Energy/Petrochemicals are larger.

The packaging industry will spend somewhere around $630 billion this coming year (to put it in perspective, this is 30 percent more than the entire global pharmaceutical industry). It is the most important means …more

The prizes just keep coming at Portfolio Center. And on the first day of a new quarter, I’m delighted to share this exciting news, yet another bar set for our incoming students, even as it is a notch in the belts of all students and alumni. For every individual Portfolio Center victory is also a collective victory, reflecting brightly on us all.

How Conference!!!!… Gets high marks this year… What an amazing conference… Austin, Texas and 108 degrees with no breeze… kicking off on Wednesday early evening as participants rolled in from all around the United States. There were over 60 sessions split up amongst 7 different tracks, ranging from Creativity, Design Disciplines, Business, Your Career, In-House, Technology & Production and the HOW Learning Center— and such amazing national speakers… and business consultants… and technical-driven participants who all came to share their talents, knowledge, and education, and to build relationships.

Portfolio Center was represented from the podiums of the meeting rooms of …more

It was a remarkable day, to say the least. It certainly opened up a world of “WOW! I would love to work here”… and gave great insight into how a magazine works and is designed and what the culture is that makes culture. Lots of questions were asked and the presentations were super.

We got to hear about Cooking Light, the magazine and the digital/ video side of it; Southern Living, the 14th largest magazine in the country, with 26 editions, which is equal to producing a full magazine from scratch every 2 weeks; and Coastal Living. We saw how …more

Check it out: Recent grad Mike Kelly’s amazing work is showcased in Dieline’s Student Spotlight.

Dieline is the number one site read and referred to by the packaging industry and designers all over the world.