-
February 9, 2012
Hustle Hard – Jason Schwartz Lecturing To AIGA DePaul March 5
Jason Schwartz will be continuing The Secret Handshake Lecture Series on March 5, speaking to AIGA DePaul students about transitioning from student to profession, what it takes and what to expect.
This is a closed event for DePaul students only.
-
October 14, 2011
Why Your Milkshake Needs To Bring All The Boys To The Yard – Jason Schwartz + AIGA + Ringling College of Art & Design
Bright Bright Great’s Creative Director Jason Schwartz will be speaking with Ringling College of Art & Design’s Visual Communication department on Friday October 21 at 1pm EST.
-
June 22, 2011
Missed Insight Design Conference 2011? Watch Jason Schwartz’s #freelanceology Presentation
Insight Design Conference-Jason Schwartz from Chris Climer on Vimeo.
Jason Schwartz, Creative Director at Bright Bright Great speaks the in’s and out’s of freelancing. He shares his knowledge; offers tips and direction when pursuing a freelancing career. To learn more about Jason follow him @jaycrimes or visit www.brightbrightgreat.com. The Insight Design Conference is pleased to have Jason as one of this years speakers. Visit www.insightdesignconference.com for more info.
-
June 11, 2011
Big Ups To Insight Design Conference For An Amazing Night
Our CD, Jason Schwartz had the opportunity to present #FREELANCEOLOGY at the Insight Design Conference on Thursday June 9 in Cedar Lake, IN.
It is fantastic to learn that there is an amazing thriving creative community just a few minutes outside of Chicago in Northwest Indiana. If you were at the conference and would like to follow up with Jason with questions or comments, hit us up on Twitter @bbgchicago, or Jason @jaycrimes
-
March 9, 2011
Jason Schwartz Speaking To AIGA Chicago Mentor Group Thursday @Moonshine
Our CD, Jason Schwartz (@jaycrimes) will be speaking Thursday night to @AIGAChicago Mentorship group at Moonshine. This is a closed event. For more information, check out AIGA Chicago Mentor group on Facebook.
#learnsomething #comesayhi
-
December 22, 2010
Interesting Question: Will My Grades In School Reflect How I Will Do In The Real World?
We caught an interesting question on Bright Bright Great’s Twitter feed a few weeks ago from our friend and Ringling College of Art & Design Junior Drew Rios. He asked us, “I wonder how much my grades in school reflect how well I’ll do in the real world” as a designer.
Response by our CD Jason Schwartz:
There is a short and long answer to this. The short answer is “they don’t.” The long and answer that holds more true is that there is “most likely” no correlation. Extreme cases are usually extreme for a reason.
What Is A Grade Anyway?
First off, you have to look at what a “grade” at a university is usually comprised of, which is a blend of attendance, project work and how well you gel with a professor.
Even though attendance and team relations are definitely important factors of successful creative teams (as long as attendance means 2am Skype meetings) the true essence how how successful you are as a designer is usually just a small portion of an actual class grade. Hell, I thought I rocked classes at the University of Illinois and ended up with a B, or even a C (Design History WTF?!), which in no way reflects my passion, or true knowledge for the subject matter in any way.
It probably just meant I missed too many classes, wasn’t a great test taker, or just flat-out rubbed the TA the wrong way.
I do occasionally see a direct correlation in terms of extreme negative cases. Never going to classes and getting straight D’s or F’s at a university is not a true indicator as to how good of a designer you are, but usually an indicator that you can’t hold your own in terms of responsibility and still have some growing up to do still. Lack of responsibility as a student may, or may not translate into an irresponsible creative, but it is a glimpse into what that person is capable of.
However, that being said, some of the best design portfolios we see come from young designers that didn’t even go to college. They have NO grades, yet crush it. For some companies, having that diploma means a lot, for BBG is doesn’t.
A Better Indicator
Instead of looking at how good your grades are in school, a more “true” indicator is to look at how big of a splash you are making in the creative community, while still a student. When you post your work on Behance.net or Facebook what’s the reaction from professionals and peers? How about on Dribbble? Getting a lot of traction?
I tend to find that good designers, who are getting a lot of traction through socially creative communities tend to do better in work for a few reasons. 1. They stay fresh and also involved with the creative community. 2. They are benchmarking against WORKING professionals. 3. They love what they do and want to share it to open dialog.
They crush it as a student and continue to crush it in the real world.
-
September 17, 2010
Lecture Recap Interactive Design & Dev Meetup Group, Chicago September 8, 2010
Thank you to everyone who came out to the Secret Handshake lecture 10 Tips on September 8 in Chicago.
We had a great group and some very excellent questions. As I mentioned at the lecture, I would be more than happy to provide you with a copy of the lecture PDF. Please drop me a tweet @jaycrimes and let me know you are looking for it.
You can also keep an eye on The Secret Handshake’s Official Twitter @_itsasecret. We post out information on upcoming lectures, information from the lectures as well as job openings and fun stuff we come across that are helpful for people finding their way across the creative universe.
-
August 10, 2010
Next Secret Handshake Lecture Series Event Announed: September 8, Jason Schwartz in Chicago
Location:
Conference Center at 200 W. Jackson, Suite 1320
Chicago, IL 60606Time:
6pmGOING PRO: Tips, Tricks & Tactics
Presented by Jason Schwartz (& Will Miller TBD)
Join Jason Schwartz as he discusses “Going Pro: Tips, Tricks & Tactics.” Topics include maxing out your resume, presenting the best work, and how to do it all right. If you have any questions about this subject matter that you would like answered, Tweet them to Jason Schwartz.
The Secret Handshake is an orientation lecture series for student designers and young creatives (18-25) looking for insider insight, honest answers and solid solutions to help you go pro.
This series, started by Jason Schwartz (Bright Bright Great), Antonio Garcia (Gravity Tank) and Will Miller (Firebelly), exists to bridge the gap between “design student” and “design professional” by inspiring greatness, demystifying the industry and providing tactical insight to successfully survive the transition.
Check out their Facebook page. You can also follow Secret Handshake lecture series updates via Twitter.
About the speaker:
Jason currently runs Bright Bright Great, a boutique interactive creative agency located in Chicago. Previously, Jason was the Director of Creative Services at Norvax, a Chicago-based Inc 500 technology company and has worked for 2 Chicago-based tech start-ups over the last 10 years.
Jason was recently featured on the AIGA KC website and judged in the 2010 Internet Marketing Awards. Jason was also a professional assistant at the 2009 Camp Firebelly as well as a participant in the 2009 Coudal Partners Layer Tennis Season. He has also been featured in GD USA magazine.
Got a burning question? Tweet it to Jason Schwartz.
Presented By:
Chicago Interactive Design & Development Meetup Group (CIDD) -
April 30, 2010
Lecture Recap ASU April 28, 2010
Bright Bright Great would like to thank Arizona State University for an amazing lecture event. It was a blast and we hope we were helpful. If you are looking for help with your resume and portfolio, or have any general questions drop a tweet at us.
1. The presentation is now online. Download: Going Pro: What You Need & What It Takes
2. Bright Bright Great is on Twitter and Facebook. If you want to stay in touch, connect with us.
3. Jason Schwartz is also on Twitter. You can follow him too, but then you get to hear ALL of the rants and raves, not just design related stuff.
You might also like: Next Secret Handshake Lecture Series Event Announed: April 28, Jason Schwartz at ASU
-
March 25, 2010
Next Secret Handshake Lecture Series Event Announed: April 28, Jason Schwartz at ASU
Going Pro: What You Need & What It Takes
Maxing out your resume, presenting the best work and how to do it all right.Date: April 28th
Location: Coor Hall, on Arizona State University’s Tempe Campus
Time: 6:00-8:00 pmSponsored by ASU, GDSA & AIGA!
Please note: If you are a student at Arizona State University and have any questions you would like me to address during the lecture, PLEASE contact me. Or even better… hit me up on Twitter @jaycrimes.