the portfolio center student magazine
Students at Portfolio Center are far from ordinary. So why should our catalog be typical? What you won’t see in these pages are class lists, course requirements, timetables, or maps. What you will see are exciting ideas, tears, chaos, frustration, fights, sleepless nights, sleepless days, breakthroughs, life-long friendships, great ideas, hard work, beautiful craft, collaborations, pride, and passion. Tons and tons of passion. Oh yeah, and that all leads to jobs. For all the other stuff, visit www.portfoliocenter.edu.
Published by portfolio center press Atlanta, GA
the
half
CATALOG ISN’T AS FUN TO READ
Short of hanging out with us, we believe that you can get the best possible overview of our strange and dear Portfolio Center culture from this publication. For the details of our course catolog, admissions information and more examples of student work, visit our website, portfoliocenter.edu.
A
AMY BARRUS Writer, Pledge & Carrier of the Half Quarterly Torch
ELIZABETH KELLEY Designer, Voice of Reason & Keeper of the Google Doc
JENNY SAVAGE Designer, Doodler & Underwear Architect
MEREDITH MORTEN Designer, Magician & Chief Style Sheet Creator
JESSICA NOEL Content Strategist, Art Director & Wrangler of Materials
the portfolio center biannual student magazine
We hope you enjoy this first issue of the Portfolio Center Half Quarterly. We welcome submissions and ideas for future issues, gifts, cookies and cash. All may be sent to the editor, tania@portfoliocenter.edu.
quarterly
HIT US WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
BLONDIE & PUP
Sneak peek of the new book on Atlanta’s iconic Clermont Lounge, designed by Portfolio Center Alum Ryan Wood (13’) with photography by Portfolio Center Alum Artem Nazarov (10’). Look for more in the next issue of the Half Quarterly /
5
6
7
DAMES A’FLAME, CORNER SERIES “This series was inspired by Irving Penn’s iconic images of celebrities he shot in corners, pushing them out of their comfort zones. I featured Atlanta burlesque troupe Dames A’Flame because I was drawn to their timeless quality. As a master carpenter, I was able to design and build the set, myself, making the entire project a celebration of all my skills.”
BRETT FALCON (Q8), PHOTOGRAPHY
8
9
“ THE ABILITIES THAT YOU ARE LEARNING AS DESIGNERS, OR WHATEVER YOU CALL YOURSELVES, ARE NOW
MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.”
COKE’S VP OF INNOVATION TALKS TO PC ABOUT THE NEXT WAVE BY ANDY STEWART
10
David Butler is the VP of Innovation at the Coca-Cola Company.
Photographed by Brett Falcon (Q8) FALL / WINTER 2013
11 11
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: INSPIRING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE CORPORATE ECOSYSTEM It’s June. I’m on break from school, sitting at home. I get an email from Hank Richardson, asking me to shoot and design a poster for David Butler, the Vice President of Innovation for the Coca-Cola Company. He tells me to find a photographer, someone who’s “solid and wants to stretch their soul.” This is a big deal, he says. It’s July. I’m drained from running around all morning, but we’re finally wrapping up David’s photo shoot. We have a brief conversation as I walk him out to his car. As he opens his door, he looks at me. “If you can’t teach something, you don’t really know it,” he says. It’s August. The poster hangs on Portfolio Center’s front door, greeting David as he walks in. He’s standing in the seminar room in front of a packed house. He’s here to teach about entrepreneurship, something he has focused on for the past eighteen months or so. “Who here likes to surf?” he begins. Being hired on to refresh and expand the biggest brand in the world may seem like an impossible challenge, but when Butler was hired as Coke’s Vice President of Global Design in 2004, he was a natural. Everything Butler does revolves around creating coordinated, sustainable systems, and for the man named one of Fast Company’s Masters of Design in 2009, the bigger the system, the better. Since joining Coke, Butler has been behind every major push to revitalize the 127 year-old brand, from the Ferrari-inspired
soda fountain, the Freestyle Machine, to sleek aluminum versions of Coke’s classic contour bottle. Now, as the Vice President of Innovation, Butler is looking for substantial ways to make the brand even more relevant to the world. As a native of California, Butler grew up surfing. But nowadays, the sport is as much a metaphor for his life as it is a pastime. A few people raise their hands in response to his question, and Butler continues, “If you know anything about surfing, it’s all about positioning. You have to position yourself in the right place at the right time to catch the best wave.” He says that he sees a new wave of innovation coming, a big one, and he and his team are working hard to get Coke in the best position to catch it. “I’m going to challenge you at the end to see how you fit into that as well.” In 1996, in addition to working at an Atlanta-based design firm, David was an instructor at Portfolio Center. Among other classes, he taught a course on media theory, which juxtaposed Marshall McLuhan’s futurist theories from the 1960’s against present day affairs. From his experiences teaching this class, David and a partner decided to open Process 1234, a web-based design company. He asks the crowd, “Where is your ceiling? How far are you willing to go?” Back then, he says, his ceiling was the moon. Around this same time, dot coms — small, internet-based companies — began to proliferate. Specifically, Butler mentions Boom.com, a company infamous for blowing through $60 million in six months. “As it turns out, they didn’t have a viable business model. They knew
THE 5 STEPS OF IDEA REALIZATION
Sketch
12
Iterate
Story
User Research
Integration
the HALF QUARTERLY
how to spend money, but they didn’t know how to make money.” The biggest issue with what Butler defines as the first wave of startups was that they had the energy and enthusiasm necessary to start a business, but not the knowledge to sustain a business. Now, flash forward to today. Startups are mainstream. Entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg are celebrities, and from startup weekends to incubation programs, more sources of support exist to help people turn an idea into a viable business. “What this has led to,” says Butler, “is a global startup ecosystem.” But even with all of these resources, the problems startups faced in 1996 are very much still with us today. “It’s a matter of starting versus scaling,” says Butler. “Ninety-five percent of startups today fail because they don’t know how to scale. The irony is that big businesses know how to scale, but they don’t know how to start, because starting a business demands an entirely different skill set than scaling one. But imagine if we could get the starters to work hand-in-hand with the scalers.”
The next wave, Butler believes, will be about building “scale-ups.” “It’s not just about big companies investing in or mentoring little companies. It’s about codesigning, codeveloping, mashing up, and creating things together that neither one could create before. This
IT’S ABOUT CODESIGNING, CODEVELOPING, MASHING UP, AND CREATING THINGS TOGETHER THAT NEITHER ONE COULD CREATE BEFORE. is what we are working towards at Coke.” Over the past year or so, Butler and Coca-Cola have been working with “founders”—a select group of entrepreneurs in cities from San Francisco to Istanbul— to plug directly into the startup ecosystem, offering innovators around the globe access to Coke’s assets and leverage. “We’re opening up our brands, people, and relationships and asking, ‘What can you do with this? What else can we create?’ The goal is not to launch one of these and make a big deal about it. The goal is to launch these on a global scale. That’s the way we can leverage our company’s scale, and tap into the ecosystem worldwide.” This is what the next wave of entrepreneurship means for Coke. “But, what,” he asks, “does it mean for you?” “The abilities you are learning as designers, or whatever you call yourselves, are now more important than ever,” Butler says. Visualizing and prototyping ideas, iterating multiple versions of an idea quickly, telling a story powerfully and concisely, designing for a targeted audience—the things that you are learning to do intuitively every day--are the skills that startups live and die by, and the skills big businesses depend on. “Your abilities to push things together to get to something better on the other side, to think laterally and horizontally, to see what could be, are now more relevant than ever. Every startup, every scale-up,
FALL / WINTER 2013
every big business needs the ability to design things and get them quickly to market. We need what you have. What you need to do is find how to offer what you do to more people.” Butler sees the present as a landmark time in our society. He recognizes an atmosphere where people are more capable than ever of capitalizing on their ideas, creating something from nothing. And with the backing of Coke, he hopes to both ride and support this new wave of innovation. “My advice to you is, start something big. If you’ve never started something before, hook up with someone else and start something. Or, if you’re better at scaling, get with a starter and scale something big. But whatever you decide, do something big.” These days, Butler has his hands full at the Coca-Cola headquarters. I greeted him as he walked in, arriving at school with just enough time for a quick chat with Gemma, Hank, and me before starting seminar. As he exited the building, he barely broke stride as he shook my hand and thanked me for helping out. But even in a short period of time, Butler’s ideas and insights called question to the way in which people traditionally define education, and forced me to rethink my own approach to learning. For Butler, education is a verb, and every student must be an active participant. So learning, I suppose, is also a lot like surfing. You’ve got to get yourself into the best possible position, and be ready to catch any wave that may come. /
13
14
“Natalie and I wanted to create a campaign for the modern DIY woman. These women are interested in cooking, organization and hands-on homemaking, but are still knowledgeable about current trends. The ads we created are designed for magazines like Real Simple. We were drawn to the style of some of the work that Natalie had in her sketchbook and thought that it could appeal to our target audience. The result was this humorous play on vintage-cool and modern-day thinking.�
15
MC COPPAGE F O N D LY R E M E M B E R S THE PORTFOLIO CENTER PROM
A string of soft, warm Christmas lights danced off the undulating plastic tablecloth waves. Crepe paper seaweed ruffled softly in the breeze created by people moving awkwardly around the dance floor but not dancing. A papier mache mermaid’s sequined brassiere twinkled in the low-watt mood lighting. Most of us didn’t have dates, but we still had our dignity. We knew it was going to be the most magical night of our lives, everything our high schools promised but didn’t deliver. It was an enchantment under the sea. It was Portfolio Center Prom 2013. The prom committee was formed with the hopes and dreams that studio week could start with a bang instead of a whimper. Armed with the hundred dollars promised to us by the administration when they thought we were still joking, we pulled our heads together and started planning. We knew to truly create the undersea atmosphere we were striving for we would need more funds, so brownies were baked, Hank shaped cookies were iced,
16
and the official Prom Bake Sale was held. After doubling our funds, we set to work transforming our unassuming seminar room into a kingdom fit for Ariel and friends. After much work and planning, the night finally arrived. We had been transported from Portfolio Center to Poseidon’s palace. At eight o’clock the doors opened and welcomed students eager to dance to raunchy pop. It seemed that for a few hours, students forgot that they had INTs to order, books to bind, and posters to spray mount. We were prom-goers, united by our deeply-wired, primal urge: to dance. Chaperone and alum Mike Kelly could hardly control the raw energy of the student body as they bumped and grinded to Ke$ha, Rihanna, and, don’t forget, Britney. The night culminated in the crowning of our 2013 Prom Poseidon, Steve Alvarez, and slowly students made their way back to their desks or caves, floating through the night on a cloud of seafoam. /
Tara Segall (Q3) and her mer-spouse
Photographed by Shawn Cuni (Q4)
17
18
19
20
FALL / WINTER 2013
21
WALL HANGING
Everyone’s favorite day of the quarter, interpreted by Elizabeth Kelley (designer, Q8) and Shawn Cuni (photographer, Q4) /
22
23
PORTFOLIO CENTER ALUM MARGARET JOHNSON HAS MADE A NAME FOR HERSELF SINCE LEAVING ATLANTA. AFTER 16 YEARS AT GOODBY, SILVERSTEIN & PARTNERS IN SAN FRANCISCO, SHE WAS RECENTLY MADE THE FIRST FEMALE PARTNER AT THE PRESTIGIOUS FIRM.
After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in journalism and mass communication, Margaret Johnson earned an art direction certificate at Portfolio Center. For her first job, she freelanced for Leonard, Monahan, Lubars & Kelly in Providence, Rhode Island, where she cut her teeth on accounts like Polaroid and Keds tennis shoes. Next, she took a job at The Richards Group in Dallas, Texas, where she worked on Id Software. A couple of years later, she received a call from Goodby Silverstein & Partners, in San Francisco. She packed up and headed west again. In sixteen years, she’s worked on just about every account in the building—SONIC, Häagen-Dazs, Logitech, Nintendo, Specialized, hp, Foster Farms, Budweiser and Nest. Over the years, she’s won awards in every major show, including the One Show’s first-ever Green Pencil for the hyperintegrated Häagen-Dazs “HD Loves HB” campaign in 2009, the 2010 Kelly Awards Grand Prize for the Häagen-Dazs “Five” campaign, a 2011 Cannes Cyber Lion for the Yahoo! outdoor interactive “Bus Stop Derby” and two 2011 Lions for the Logitech “Ivan Cobenk” spot, which was included as one of the CLIO Awards’ 100 all-time “World’s Best Commercials.” Business Insider named Johnson one of the “Most Powerful Women in Advertising” in 2012.
24
How did Portfolio Center help you get to where you are today? I was in the advertising sequence of the journalism school at UNC-Chapel Hill and spent a summer at Parsons School of Design in New York City. I didn’t have any connections or even know anyone in advertising so before heading back to college in the fall, I ripped out the advertising section of the Yellow Pages in the phone book. I called dozens of advertising agencies listed in the Yellow Pages and asked to speak with someone in the creative department. “Anyone?” they would ask. ”Yes, anyone.” And they would transfer me to some random extension where I would ask whoever answered if they were more likely to hire a student from Parsons or Portfolio Center in Atlanta. My decision was made. I went to Portfolio Center. And it turned out, the people I cold-called were right. I put together a solid portfolio at PC and landed my first job working for David Lubars—now the Chairman and CCO of BBDO.
FALL / WINTER 2013
Which campaign from your career so far was the biggest challenge, and what did you do to succeed? “Help Save the Honeybees” for Haagen Dazs ranks up there. Sales were down and there wasn’t much of a marketing budget so everything we did happened because we pulled favors and convinced people to donate their time, ad space, and materials at a reduced rate for a good cause. There’s something cool about helping a company do well while doing good. And it paid off for us too. We won the first One Show Green Pencil for that campaign.
NIKE APPAREL CAMPAIGN. In 2000, Johnson directed this series of print ads for Nike, promoting their newest line of clothing. The ads featured women and men of different athletic fields.
Is there a dream client you would like to work with in the future? Fitbit. I’m really into my Flex wristband. It tracks how many steps I’m walking, running or elliptical-ling a day. The other night I got home from work, put the kids to bed and realized that I needed to walk 1,400 more steps to reach my 10,000 step daily goal. I dragged myself outside and walked around the block. It sounds silly, but I reached my goal and immediately felt a sense of accomplishment. When you work on a product you care about, you can feel it in the work.
25
What are the top three factors that make a particular agency a great place to work and create? A focus on making the best work possible, which means taking chances and having no fear of getting rid of clients that don’t share the same vision. What skills and personality traits do you look for when hiring new creative talent? A great book is the cost of entry. No jerks. No divas. Just people who are driven and want to make great work. You’re writing a book, Don’t Kid Yourself, on staying who you are after you have kids. Any secrets to juggling your work life and home life? It’s funny, you always see articles about women having it all. It’s really about having time for it all. I make a concerted effort to be efficient with my time at work and with my family. I also try to remember that inspiration comes from everywhere, and ironically, it’s rarely in the workplace. Favorite memory from PC? Pulling all-nighters at the Buckhead Kinkos…cutting, pasting and spray mounting all of our work. What excites you most right now? Living in such close proximity to Silicon Valley and having early exposure to all of the new technology coming out of there. Is there anything you wish you’d known as a PC student or soon after you graduated? The people in your class will run some of the best agencies in the country someday. /
26
the awards section PORTFOLIO CENTER STUDENTS TRAVEL ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND WIN BIG IN NEW YORK CITY, DALLAS, AND IN OUR HOMETOWN OF ATLANTA.
27
LIE LIKE A PRO DESIGN: JENNY SAVAGE (Q8)
28
“For this competition, I tried to think of a topic that would be humorous and somewhat absurd. When we were given the prompt ‘(Blank) Like a Pro,’ I knew ‘Lie Like a Pro’ was perfect. There is a wealth of information and articles written about being able to be a better liar. For the look and feel, I used old snake oil salesmen’s pieces as a reference for my illustrations and design choices.”
EMERALD NUTS AD CAMPAIGN COPYWRITING: DANIELLE DEPIPER (‘13) ILLUSTRATION: JESSICA GONZALES (‘13) “Emerald Nuts is one of the two largest retailers of nuts in the United States. They have a lighthearted brand that integrates wit, vintage contraptions & power tools targeted at an adult male demographic. We created this campaign as an extension of that brand, unabashedly embracing our male target demographic and enjoying a refreshing pint of testosterone in the process.”
29
THE STANDARD SHIRT PACKAGING DESIGN: ELIZABETH KELLEY (Q8), JILLE NATALINO (Q8), JOANNA MILEWSKI (‘13), MARY DURANT (Q6), ERIN BISHOP (Q4), & ROB HURST (Q3)
The six team members worked over one weekend to create a men’s dress shirt packaging that would reduce the hassle and waste that currently goes into shirt packaging. When the customer decides to try on a shirt, the package easily and neatly unfolds. Once purchased, the customer can reuse the package to fold shirts for suitcase packing, or refold the package and pop out the perforated hook to create a structural shirt hanger. Extra collar stays are perforated into the packaging. The shirts were recently featured on Packaging Served and Packaging of the World. Global Design Resources, a company that matches innovative ideas with innovative companies, will feature the project in their next Global Innovation Report, a limited edition publication distributed to 50 select, global clients.
30
NAKED LUNCH DESIGN: RYAN WOOD (‘13) This version of Naked Lunch is a cryptic love letter to the travelling writer. Written by William S. Burroughs during his exile in Tangier, the story consists of loosely connected vingettes. The book is set in several levels of code to help you find the connections from the routine run-on ramblings of the brilliant writer as he recounts dreamlike situation he was confronted with in his own life while in exile as a heroin junkie.
31
HARBINGER OF HAPPY. Soon after moving to Atlanta in 2011, Lauren visited the World of Coca-Cola. Today it serves as a friendly reminder of how far she’s come.
JUST A FEW WEEKS AFTER WRAPPING UP AT PORTFOLIO CENTER, LAUREN CHILDS (’13) SCORED HER DREAM JOB AT COCA-COLA. NOW, LAUREN DISCUSSES PORTFOLIO THIEVES, PRETTY PICTURES, AND PERSISTENCE.
32
Where were you before you came to Portfolio Center? I went to University of South Carolina and majored in visual communications, which is essentially the art part of advertising. I did graphic design all throughout high school, which is how I knew I loved it. I knew I wanted to do graphic design, but I didn’t want to to go to art school. So I went to South Carolina to do this one specific program, visual communications. I minored in graphic design and built a great portfolio. And then in my senior year, I was in the computer lab and had my disk drive in a computer. I left for a few minutes, and when I came back, the disk drive was gone. Someone had taken my disk drive with my entire portfolio. So I was in the end of my senior year and had no work to graduate with. I thought, “I’m not going to be able to get a job. Where do I go?” I talked to one of my teachers, and she told me about Portfolio Center, which she had heard about through AIGA. So I looked at it and just kind of went. And if I hadn’t gone to PC, my portfolio would not have been great. My work now compared to what I did in college is like night and day. My work in college was just making pretty pictures. After Portfolio Center, it’s about making good concepts and then the pretty pictures that follow. When did you realize that you wanted to work for Coca-Cola? My sixth quarter at PC, I was in the live client class with Coke, and we did a packaging project for them. I remember walking into the building at Coke, working with people, and feeling the atmosphere. I knew I wanted to work there. I liked all the people I worked with and all the products that we were working on. I loved that we were working on a global brand. The things I would be doing if I worked at Coke would be seen by so many people.
Once we started working on that project, I knew I was going to work for Coke. I would go down to Hank Richardson’s office and constantly remind him. “Hey Hank, do they have any job openings?” or “Hey Hank, have you given them my resumé?” In my 8th quarter, Hank finally said, “There actually is a job opening for you.” And I had less than a week to get all my work together and make a portfolio. How many interviews did you do with Coca-Cola? Five. The first one was a phone interview. The last one was five hours. It was scary, but I was really excited.
What do you like most about the working culture at Coke? The thing I really like about my job is that they truly care about their employees. Yesterday some guys were giving out free shirts and ice cream. I love everyone I work with too. Everyone is brilliant. I watch people do ads from the concept phase, watching the process. It’s really cool to see all of the stuff that goes on behind making a campaign happen. Looking back on your time at Portfolio Center, how do you think the school helped you? If I hadn’t gone to PC, I would not be at my job right now. At all. It has helped me on so many more levels than just design. I understand typography. I understand concepting. I know how to work well with other people. I know how to talk to photographers and art directors. PC served as a huge stepping stone between grad school and the real world. Is there anything you would tell students just starting at Portfolio Center? You’re going to find a job after this. And if you want a job, don’t let any-thing stop you from it. Obviously, I really wanted to work for Coke. And no matter what happens, it’s all a learning experience. /
What do you think made you stand out during the interview process? A lot of it is your enthusiasm. My dad is a job recruiter and I was talking to him about it. He said, “Maybe someone’s work might not be the best, but if you’re really enthusiastic about the job, they’ll see that.” When I interviewed, they loved my work, but they said they needed someone to do technical stuff too. I said, “I want to work here so badly. I will learn the technical stuff.” And it worked out. What is your new position at Coke? I am the global content creator. So anytime you see posts on Facebook, Twitter, or any kind of web ads, I’m the one who thinks about when it’s going to be said, where in the world it’s going to be said, and what’s going to be said. Right now, my team is working on FIFA, the World Cup. The team is going to Brazil, but my bosses are offering to fly me and some other team members anywhere in the world to research the World Cup. So that’s pretty cool. And I’m going to the World Cup next year.
33
34
35
CREATIVE WRITING BY KATIE ANDERSON
From first to eighth grade, I attended a small
Episcopalian school, where each day began with a morning prayer and Friday afternoons were reserved for chapel and community service. Girls wore pleated plaid skirts and stiff white button-ups, while boys were limited to khaki pants and navy collared shirts. Logos and labels weren’t allowed, as administration feared we would use them to indicate status. Since we weren’t able express our individuality by way of left-aligned animal emblems or jean pocket designs, we were forced to find other methods of setting ourselves apart and creating a middle school
hierarchy.
36
the HALF QUARTERLY
Gym class was every kid’s favorite time of the day. The fifteen minutes leading up to it were probably the most dreaded. The locker room was a pre-pubescent chopping block, or a post-pubescent flaunting ground for the more developmentally fortunate of the group. And because we all looked the same for the other seven hours of the day, it was our time to either shy or shine and an opportunity to see what our peers were really working with. In short, underwear mattered. First there were the Changing Room Cherubs. Even back then there was something about the all-white bra-and-panty combo that suggested innocence and prudery. They were the future high school teases who would twirl their hair and flirt with teachers, but would never kiss on the first date and God in Heaven knows were saving themselves for marriage. Kathryn Padget wore all white. She has now been engaged twice, neither time ending in matrimony, and last year got caught showing her all-whites to Reverend Dodson behind the pulpit after Sunday night choir practice. In the opposite corner from the cherubically chaste was the Thong Squad. They’d bring their gym clothes to school in Victoria’s Secret shopping bags and strut around the locker room nonchalantly, acting baffled as to why the rest of us were so modest and insisting we be more comfortable with our womanhood. These were also typically the girls who started shaving first and wore wire bras in the fifth grade to keep their double-A’s from falling out of place. “Developing early is such a curse,” they’d complain. Someone needed to pluck those strings out of their asses. A few girls always had images of beagles wearing bandanas running from one thigh to the other, or a litter of kittens cuddling their butt cheeks. These images were usually stretched out and flaking off, making the underwear look cheap and dirty. Looking back on it, whatever adults decided to put furry baby animals between 12-year-old pelvic bones were kind of fucked up individuals.
FALL / WINTER 2013
The rest of us, without our own corners, stuck to the benches in the middle of the room or backed ourselves against a wall while trying to undress and redress in one swift motion. We were Days-of-the-Week kinds of girls. Days-of-the-Week underwear came folded in rectangular plastic packs of seven, lined up in sequential order. Up until ninth grade, I would find these boxes in my Christmas stocking or Easter basket or occasionally just lying on my bed after one of Mom’s trips to the mall (she tried to continue this pattern on through high school, but by that time boys were too big a part of the picture and I was not about to have my first real hook-up with the Sabbath spanning my spandex). The weekdays could be written out in different colors and in various fonts, sometimes in rhinestones, often in glitter. If you were really good, you would wear the coordinating day-of-the-week nail polish or perfume. But colors and scents varied from store to store and the accuracy was harder to judge, so this wasn’t mandatory. Every once in a while someone would accidentally wear Wednesday on Monday or confuse the “T” in Tuesday with the “T” in Thursday, which always triggered awkward glances and started rumors of bladder malfunction. It was a mistake you only made once. Twelve or so years later, the Cherubs have sucked more D than all San Fernando fluffers combined. Although they might have a Welcome mat at the back door, they’ve never technically had S-E-X. Their wedding gowns will be as ivory as their middle school training bras. Several members of the Thong Squad write shitty fashion blogs from their rooms at the Betty Ford, and while I haven’t really kept up with the Beagle Brigade, I imagine most of them now wear tails and partake in monthly anthropomorphic dry humping sessions at national “furry” conventions. As for us Days-of-the-Weekers, we all seem to be doing pretty well for ourselves. We’re not nuns. We’re not porn stars. We’re not mocked by pasts of premature arrogance or haunted by painful timidity. Sure, we had our body issues, but what growing girl doesn’t? Those boxes of seven seemed to keep us pretty balanced. Together, we approached adolescence a day at a time and began each morning with chronologic confidence and a morning prayer. Monday through Friday. /
37
38
39
around / town
SAUSAGE & FRIENDS (TOP) A perfect last bite at “Sausage Fest,” (BOTTOM) Laura Rickenbaker, Elizabeth Rickenbaker and Ali Dick (‘09) enjoy cocktails on the lawn.
FOR MORE INFO: www.foodparty.co
40
the supper club that breaks all the rules
Written by Amy Barrus (Q2) / Photographed by Artem Nazarov (‘10)
“I’m a septic tank technician. I clean out septic tanks all day,” says the wild-eyed man with the ribbon belt. I exchange a nervous glance with Anna, my new bestie as of three hours ago, and rack my brain for an appropriate response: “Family business?” He cracks a smile. “I’m a scientist.” Then this unusual gent, who is in fact a physicist for a defense contractor, offers Anna and me bites of his sweet cream and cake popsicle and invites us to come sit with his friends across the lawn at a wooden picnic table to which they’ve laid claim. His friends turn out to be as wonderfully kind and intriguing as he is. This is my first ever supper club experience, and the night has been filled with unexpected social interactions, wondrous surprises to the senses, and twinkling little moments that make me feel as though I’m traipsing through A Midsummer Night’s Dream instead of 6.5 acres of private farmland in North Buckhead.
Which is exactly what the Food Party founders aimed for when they first imagined this venture. Chef Tony Seichrist teamed up with his significant other, Meggan Wood, a graduate of Portfolio Center’s design program, her brother, Ryan Wood, another PC design grad, and PC photography grad Artem Nazarov, to create, promote, and deliver something Atlanta diners had never experienced. Something otherworldly. In the morning, I will wonder if the night’s events were real. Was that cocktail potion made of rum and cucumber or love and pixie dust? Will I ever again taste chicken fit for gods? Was I actually so spellbound that I told an Aveda hair stylist and fellow Food Party reveller that I would consider letting her shave my head? I compare notes with other guests and supper club enthusiasts, and they are equally mesmerized.
41
and I get to cut out a lot of the stuff that I don’t.”
The Rundown
WHO
WHAT
WHEN
WHERE
FOOD PARTY
150 friends & frolickers
eating, drinking, bocce, badminton & good conversation
1 Saturday per month
6.5 secluded acres off of W. Paces Ferry in Atlanta
4-14 invited guests
5-course menu & drink pairings served at your own pace
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays
The stunning home on the food party property.
MIDWEEK FEAST
42
In the van from the parking lot to the property where the festivities unfold, a woman from Dallas, who is in Atlanta only for the weekend, tells me she got wind of the underground event through a blog she follows. She was curious to check out a less traditional take on the stuffy, sit-down supper clubs she attends back home. Her husband chimes in that he was not enthused about tagging along until he saw Caja China Katahdin Lamb on the menu. Another group tells me they were expecting to pull up to a restaurant but were giddy with excitement when they discovered the picturesque barn, the outdoor fire pit and open bar, and the couple thousand acre national forest that surrounds the scene. Finally, a true retreat from Atlanta. And we’re only minutes from West Paces Ferry. All the decisions that went into the creation of the casual, lighthearted yet surreal atmosphere were very deliberate. In my interview with Tony Seichrist (former chef at Holeman & Finch, Five & Ten, and the Farmhouse at Serenbe), he explains his vision for the monthly Food Parties. “It’s everything I like about food, and I get to cut out a lot of the stuff that I don’t.” Tony’s approach works quite well because, by no surprise, there is a good bit of overlap between what chefs and foodies dislike about typical dining conventions. For starters, no one enjoys the weirdness of sitting with strangers at a table, an unavoidable aspect of the old school supper club. Tony and his team brainstormed and came up with two separate ways to eliminate this awkwardness, without losing the mystery and excitement of such parties. Their first solution is the large-format Food Party. Strangers are present at the Food Parties (around 120 of them if you’re counting), but they can spread out over 6.5 acres. Plus there’s badminton and bocce to crank up the action. These shindigs are fun and accessible, somewhat youthful in nature. The theme changes each month.
The August Food Party I attended was dubbed Reap & Sow. In July, there was a Sausage Fest - no explanation needed. And the first Food Party, Royal Red Shrimp, happened in June and featured a species of deepwater shrimp that only come up to a level where they can be netted once a year. Tony & Team invented Midweek Feast as their second supper club adaptation. These gatherings retain the sit-down format but keep the strangers away. Folks can sign up for a private gathering of 4-14 people to be held on the property Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday of each week. Since the operation is still in its early stages, the possibilities are endless. “I’m really trying to outdo myself,” Tony says. He drove down to Florida to get the shrimp for the first event. He headed to the peach orchards of Tifton to shoot wild boar for Sausage Fest (in order to ensure the most delicious meat). Now, he’s raising ducks and geese for an upcoming Duck, Duck, Goose party. Tony likes to have 100% control of the animals’ diets. “We’re trying to do a mix of what’s best for the table and what’s best for the animal,” he explains. Although it’s hard to believe, Tony has even bigger plans up his sleeve. Once the Atlanta gatherings gain momentum, Tony would like to begin hosting Food Party Field Trips, perhaps to Charleston or somewhere in the mountains. Food Parties have taken off fast, and there’s plenty more fun and adventure to be had. They are that diamond in the rough that you must tell all your friends about, or keep secret, depending on how you roll. I was uncertain of what to expect from my first Food Party, but I drove away with a full belly, a tranquil mind, and four new contacts in my phone.
43
44
45
46
47
LESSONS IN LEARNING BY DOING
FROM PC ALUM SPENCER BIGUM
Spencer Bigum is the quintessential Portfolio Center grad: smart, talented, motivated, curious, resourceful, and eager to learn. Yes, to learn. To never stop learning. It’s a quality that drives students to the school in the first place, and the quality that drives them toward both professional and personal success when they leave here. As Spencer says, “You’re either learning, or you’re falling behind.” Before coming to Portfolio Center, though, Spencer had a pretty colorful and extended undergraduate stint. Around the same time he finished his Bachelor’s degree, he discovered that his portfolio was, well, bull manure--at least according to Rick Griffith, founder of the design firm Matter. Rick told Spencer this during a portfolio review but later softened the blow a bit by hiring him to build Rick’s e-commerce site. Having more confidence than actual knowledge, Spencer had to teach himself HTML/CSS and some PHP in a few short days. A couple of years later, having nudged Spencer in this direction, Rick wrote the letter of recommendation that accompanied Spencer’s application to PC. While getting accepted into Portfolio Center’s design program was somewhat easier than Spencer imagined, getting through it was infinitely more difficult. Spencer tells his non-artistic friends that PC is like law school, but for design. Here, he worked harder than he’d ever worked in his life. He watched the most successful
48
students and noticed how engaged and diligent they were. As his further-along friends graduated and got great jobs, he followed their examples, spending most of his time in the building on Bennett Street, collaborating with his peers in all disciplines. An internship at Iconologic during his last quarter turned into a job. Spencer has a soft spot for Pixar, which accounts for his initial fascination with 3d. He is enamored with Pixar’s ability to tell great stories that are visually stimulating. “A good story is always interesting,” he says, “but, like Pixar, you have to make it look really cool for people to notice these days. Movies such as Avatar have spoiled us.” During his time at Portfolio Center, Spencer’s interest in 3d was stoked even more when he realized he couldn’t afford to have his chair design built. He ended up teaching himself to create a 3d model by watching online tutorials. Next, he plans to teach himself animation. Spencer enjoys the challenge of bringing clients’ projects to life. As his experience and skills grow, it seems more opportunities present themselves. People see what he can do with 3d and suddenly come up with things they need. That is precisely how he landed the gig to create our cover image. Portfolio Center founder Gemma Gatti saw the gorgeous 3d logo Spencer created for Iconologic’s Design Camp, and she knew she’d found just the man to bring the concept for our cover image to the page.
/ LEARN OR FALL BEHIND: SPENCER BIGUM
BEHIND THE SCENES FOR 3D To create the cover image, Spencer worked in 5 different programs. He began by creating a model (A). Next, he set up a lighting studio to highlight key areas important to telling the story (B). Then, he “unwrapped� the model, a process that allowed him to paint textures on a flat version that he re-wrapped in 3D space (C). The last step was the final render, which he brough into photoshop and added the details (For example, the milk bubbles were created in photoshop rather than 3D).
49
alumni / seminar
50
Mike Schwalm pursues his childhood dream of becoming a Walt Disney Imagineer. He faces obstacles such as his color blindness, stiff competition in the industry, and PC instructors’ refusal to let him design theme park rides for every single assignment, although they did in some cases. Through hard work and imagination, Mike lands an internship with Walt Disney Imagineering and eventually becomes a full-time Imagineer. Along the way, he rubs shoulders with childhood heroes, travels the world, finds a home at PC, and sports an impressive Avatar costume for a themed party. Everything seems to come full circle in this serendipitous life story.
51
THEMES, MOTIFS & SYMBOLS The protagonist. illustrator, designer, Disney theme park obsessor, cliff diver, and inspirer.
Has always been supportive of Mike’s dream and career path. She encouraged Mike to put on his Indiana Jones t-shirt and Mickey Mouse ears and pose for a picture when he was constructing a theme park out of Legos as a child. Mike resisted at first, but his mom told him that the photo might one day help him at his Imagineering interview. Mike did in fact put the picture on the last page of his process book. Mothers know best.
‘09 PC design graduate. Leilani landed a job with Walt Disney Imagineering while Mike was still a student at PC. Mike was tremendously excited when his peers told him the news, because he knew Leilani could be his foot in the door at Disney. His hunch was correct. Mike gives Leilani a lot of the credit for his landing his dream job.
Mike’s boss. He studied under one of the original Imagineers who was friends with Walt Disney himself. Every Friday morning, Mike and his boss go into the theme park before it opens to paint together.
JASON SURRELL When Mike had a summer job operating Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in Walt Disney World through the Disney College Program, Jason worked at an Imagineering trailer nearby. Mike pestered Jason for advice, and Jason told him, “Work hard. Stay in school. Don’t do drugs.” Mike and Jason now work in the same office and have bonded over shared interests.
ANALYSIS OF MAJOR CHARACTERS: Mike made the most of his two years at Portfolio Center. He collaborated with students in other disciplines and pushed his projects to the limit. He never complained about his work load and was endlessly eager to get involved in exciting opportunities happening around him. In short, Mike ensured that he loved everything he worked on, and the rest fell into place.
In an autobiographical illustration, Mike depicted himself on a rollercoaster next to a friendly green monster. His companion represents that perpetual tugging that makes creatives do work, that tells them they need to achieve something. Mike’s creative monster can be ferocious. As a student, he would stay in on weekend nights instead of hanging out with his friends because his illustration projects felt more important. The decision to sacrifice social activities to work on his drawing skills was never hard. It was just what he did.
Mike’s expectations after college: “OK, I’m awesome. And when I’m done with school I’m totally gonna go just knock on the Imagineers’ door, and they’re going to be like, ‘Welcome, you’re here!’” Mike’s reality after college: “Real Life, in which my dreams are crushed, and I curl up into a ball in the fetal position in the corner and rock back and forth and cry”
A subject matter that appeals to Mike and a recurring theme in his illustration work. He and a friend actually wrote a script, entitled Pirates vs. Dinosaurs, and entered it in the Southwest Writers Film Competition. It won first place.
During nearly a year of travelling, Mike reconnected with a friend in Brazil, taught English to children in Italy, backpacked through the Mediterranean coast, worked in a hostel in Greece, drew portraits in exchange for meals in Egypt, and became a yoga hippie in India. Eventually, he reached a crossroads where he could either continue being a vagabond or come back to reality and enroll in graduate school. Mike applied to Portfolio Center from India and had his parents sell his car so that he could afford a plane ticket to Atlanta.
Mike told everyone at Portfolio Center about his Disney Imagineering aspirations. Every teacher and student knew, but they weren’t the only ones. “I feel like I would be in the checkout at Publix and be like, ‘Thank you. Have a great day. I want to be an Imagineer. So if you know anyone that’s an Imagineer that can help me out, let them know. My name is Mike Schwalm. I go to Portfolio Center. It’s right down the street.’” Networking.
The brown hard hat Mike received when he officially became an Imagineer is his most prized possession. It is symbolic of the realization of his dream. Although he virtually never needs to wear the hard hat because he does not work out in the field, he does occasionally put it on at his desk to feel good about himself.
52
“I got my dream job right out of school, and I have to pinch myself every day just because it’s so fantastic, and I get to do the coolest stuff at work. And it’s all because of the time I put in here at this school.” –Mike Schwalm illustrates that hard work pays off “I remember, as a four-year-old, not only being cognizant of what was happening, but also being cognizant that somebody got to make this, that people made this. I wanted to be one of those people.” –Mike Schwalm recalls his first ride on Peter Pan’s Flight at Disney World “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” –Walt Disney
/ADJ/
Mike and his friend Cameron Searcy coined this term while studying at PC. Rooted in the words “depressing” and “inspiring,” the adjective can be used to describe art that “makes you physically ill but really excited about life at the same time.” Mike recommends attempting to replicate depresspiring work. It’s great practice.
EX: “WOW, THIS CINDERELLA CONCEPT ART BY MARY BLAIR IS REALLY DEPRESSPRIRING.” /N/ Dark rides typically go through a portion of darkness, involve animatronic characters, and are lit by blacklight. Dark rides are Mike’s favorite classification of theme park rides because they tend to tell the most cohesive stories.
EX: “IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM, PETER PAN’S FLIGHT IS THE BEST DARK RIDE.”
“Walt Disney and Ralph Waldo Emerson were dumb. It takes enthusiasm and courage.” –Mike Schwalm
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
Allow yourself to be depresspired* Take classes in other disciplines Learn to be a team player Have fun with your projects Let everyone know what you’re passionate about
(1) (2) 3) (4) (5)
Be confident about your portfolio Explain what part you played in any group projects Show your process. Blow their minds Leave them with a cool takeaway**
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
Become a part of the community Work fast Take on things that terrify you Go above and beyond Let everyone know what you’re passionate about (again)
*See Key Terms Defined **Mike left his interviewers with dinosaur shaped USB drives of his resume and highlights from his portfolio.
53
54
55
YANN BAGUET (Q3), ART DIRECTION & PHOTOGRAPHY
56
Students in all programs have the opportunity to take Portfolio Center’s Intro to Photography class. From day one, students collaborate as they learn the technical aspects of studio photography using available light. They learn to art direct, to prop and style, to design a cover, and to work with type. They quickly master the arts of concepting, resourcing, and storytelling. They take turns being photographers and photographer’s assistants. They gain an invaluable appreciation for what photographers do. But most of all, they come to understand the power of detail, that “every crumb has a place,” one of the most fundamental lessons of the creative communication arts.
57
BY ALISSA WALKER
58
“MY ENTIRE LIFE, I HAD WANTED TO BE IN ADVERTISING. THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS PLAYED HOUSE; I MADE FAKE DOG FOOD COMMERCIALS.”
One morning I woke up in a Vegas hotel room that was spinning like a ceiling fan. I groped my way towards the undulating bathroom door, barely making it to the toilet before the drinks I’d had the evening before sloshed into the bowl. As the tile trembled, I stared down, puzzled. I’d had a fun night but not that much fun, I thought to myself in the shower, where I threw up two more times. It didn’t make sense. When I stepped into the casino, the carpet rocked below me. I wobbled to the nearest slot machine for support, shrieking when it shuddered in an explosion of light and color and dingdingdingdingdingding. It was all so very Fear and Loathing. I was on my knees, on the Strip, crawling in cigarette ashes and spilled whiskey sours, and I could not stand up. I began to consider the possibility that this was not a hangover. At the ER, the doctor’s face slipped in and out of focus. He said, “You have something called Labyrinthitis.” “Like David Bowie?” I squeaked. He raised one eyebrow as he jotted more notes on his chart—likely adding delusional to my symptoms. The truth was, it didn’t matter what I had because I already knew what was wrong with me: Looking for my dream job had made me sick.
In the past three months I had traveled to five metropolitan areas, met with dozens of human resources representatives, and left several hundred voicemails. I had been offered a single, unpaid internship. It was with great relief that I accepted this inner ear virus as my fate. With my sense of balance eradicated I couldn’t even walk, so I went home to my parents’ house and pulled the sheets over my head. I settled in for a new routine that consisted of an anti-viral pill, an anti-nausea pill, an anti-vertigo pill, a couple of Valium, and some kind of steroid. Labyrinthitis, I decided, would buy me some time while I figured out a new plan. My entire life, I had wanted to be in advertising. The neighborhood kids played house; I made fake dog food commercials. Armed with my Sony Camcorder, I wrote, directed, produced, and edited hours of ads, which are preserved in the Walker Family film archive on VHS tape. I loved the idea of thirty-second theater. In fact, my vision of my grown-up self for most of my life was pretty much identical to what we now know as Mad Men. I wanted a gold plaque on my office door that proclaimed WRITER. I wanted a beautifully engraved business card so thick it could cut cheese.
59
My friends graduated college and debated careers while I enrolled at Portfolio Center. I spent two extra years of school, knee-deep in foam core and X-Acto knives, under the supervision of some of the greatest minds in advertising. I wanted to get paid to write clever sentences that made people laugh. As I was finishing up my education, my timing seemed perfect. Agencies were giddy, making commercials that felt like Saturday Night Live sketches, starring sassy sock puppets and airborne gerbils. The market was heating up. One particularly sticky Atlanta day, a friend announced he was leaving school early. Pontificating under a crepe myrtle to a sweating congregation, he told us the iron was hot, the time was right, the internet boom was about to blow the top off the industry. He was heading to San Francisco to work on a $100 million dot-com account. Agencies doubled, tripled in size, doled out Razor scooters and Palm Pilots like Halloween candy. All my classmates were flown out of
BUT NO ONE EVER TOLD US TO BE WILLING TO MAKE DRASTIC AND NECESSARY CHANGES TO THAT DREAM AS THE WORLD CHANGED AROUND US. town for interviews, where they eventually got corner offices and shiny pink iMacs. We heard stories about fast-talking recruiters who lurked outside graduation ceremonies. I couldn’t wait. But by the time I graduated, signs were already pointing downhill. During the 2001 Super Bowl, I watched the E*Trade monkey wander the abandoned alleys of Tech Town. While my non-industry friends laughed around me, I saw the fate of my not-even-begun career. I was doomed. After I got better, I joined the rest of the bubble burst victims wandering the country aimlessly as we settled for ill-paying temporary gigs. Eventually, lured by the promise of a somewhat stable economy, I moved to L.A. I kept looking for my dream job but while I did, I took a day job at a production company. But we
60
all know what happens with a day job—it slowly consumes both your day and your night—and I eventually stopped looking for advertising work. I slowly gave up on my writing career. After three years I saved enough money and vacation time for a trip to Europe—my first time out of the country and my first time traveling anywhere alone. I spent weeks walking through ancient cities, hunting down flea markets, drinking wine at lunch. I had never felt so alive. I wrote long tales about my travels, published them with photos on my .Mac page and emailed them to all my friends back home. “Wow, these are really good,” responded one of them, who had only known me from my production company days. “You should be a writer.” I really should, I thought. The next day, on a quiet square in Italy, I realized that nothing was really stopping me from writing clever sentences that made people laugh. The only thing that was stopping me was that I didn’t have, well, a business card that said as much. This moment was so sudden and so earth-shattering, I named my new freelance writing company after the stracciatella and pistachio cone I was eating. I named my business Gelatobaby to remind me, every day, of how it felt to finally understand what I was meant to do. I built a website, put only the work up there that I really loved, and promoted the hell out of it. I started a blog where I could write stories like the ones I wrote on my trip. People started hiring me for all kinds of writing, not just advertising. Soon I was writing articles for magazines about walking through cities, hunting down flea markets, drinking wine at lunch. I liked it even better than making fake dog food commercials. And that dream job? It no longer exists. The ad industry recovered, but it looks nothing like it did back then. I got left out of it because I was actually the one with the narrow vision. We talk a lot about entire industries needing to change in the face of adversity, but we don’t realize that the only thing that really needs to change is us. We got it drilled into our heads at an early age: “Follow your dream. Follow your dream!” But no one ever told us to be willing to make drastic and necessary changes to that dream as the world changed around us. So follow your dream, but don’t waste another minute looking for your dream job. I call myself a writer now. I don’t need a door plaque to proclaim it for me. Alissa Walker is a writer, a gelato-eater, and a walker in L.A. Read more at awalkerinLA.com /
HAIKUS FOR YOU jenny savage (Q8)
ask, call, beg, demand emails to contributors get your shit in please
elizabeth kelley (Q8)
big table, you’re great in my heart today, always plugs, why don’t you work?
meredith morten (Q8)
such a conundrum it is here that we make chairs but we cannot sit
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
real things in the real world created by real students
A Portfolio Center student team was charged with branding a new product that removes carbon dioxide from bottled wine, thus enhancing the flavor and feel instantly. The team did it all: logo, packaging, copywriting, and website. Since the product’s launch, in July, 2013, Vino Vinti is being sold in more than 40 retail stores nationwide, including Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which Fodor’s named as the World’s Best Museum Gift Shop.
designer / RYAN WOOD (‘13) writer / KATIE ANDERSON (Q4) photographer / JEFFREY MORGAN (Q2)
The same PC team branded Atlanta company Pickled Pink Foods’ line of gourmet sweet pickle products, which also launched in July, 2013, and is already available in 17 states, from Alabama to California. Pickled Pink will be featured in the 2013 holiday issue of Southern Living magazine.
designer / RYAN WOOD (‘13) writer / KATIE ANDERSON (Q4) photographer / JEFFREY MORGAN (Q2)
68
69
70
the HALF QUARTERLY
FALL / WINTER 2013
71
ELIZABETH MCNAIR “...”
MEREDITH MORTEN “I don’t know what mine will be... it has to be great. I’m so witty and full of wisdom.”
ABBY HUNT
KATE CARMACK “Wait...what?”
JOEY APPIE
“These are the best years of our lives. Seniors ‘13!”
JENNY SAVAGE
KRISTEN MURPHY “OH REALLLLEE?”
72
the HALF QUARTERLY
LAUREN CHILDS
LAURA WOODALL
KYLE DELOACH
BAILEY ANDREWS
“Don’t worry, be happy.”
GEORGETTE BLAY
JOANNA MILEWSKI
“gt to knw hnk”
“Live simple to simply live.”
FALL / WINTER 2013
ELIZABETH KELLEY
BLAKE SANDERS
“I once thought vanity plates were the truest sign of adult success”
“Dedication before victory, Sacrifice before success”
ANDY STEWART
JILLE NATALINO
“Steve Holt!”
“Don’t cry over spilt milk or coffee or orange juice or water or tea or coke or rice or beans or spaghetti or ...” (couldn’t come up with any more spilled things.”
BRETT FALCON
AMANDA BRENNAN
73
up to, in their words, A look at what our alumni are er Facebook newsfeed Cent folio Port the from ted cura
I LIKE IT WHEN PEOPL E ATTAC H REDUN DANT WORD S TO THE END OF ACRON YMS, LIKE “AN ATM MACH INE,” OR “A SCUBA APPAR ATUS.” TRAVIS SHARP ‘96
CHICO SHERRILL
MOVED TO NYC!
WITH OWNER WHITNEY (‘13)
LET’ S DO MOR E OF THAT.
FROM THE SOUTH EVERY WE HAVE A SIMPLE PURPOSE: TO GIVE YOU ONE GREAT STORY WEEK. PLEASE SWING BY THE NEW SITE BITTERSOUTHERNER.COM -DAVE WHITLING ‘08 I WENT TO PC’S OPEN HOUSE LAST NIGHT...
i t h in k I just decided I’m going to make all new furniture for my bedroom. graeme nelson class of 2011
74
RAN INTO A LOT OF OLD FRIENDS AND HAD A LOT OF FUN. WENT HOME AND WENT TO SLEEP AND HAD STUDIO WEEK NIGHTMARES ALL NIGHT LONG. ADDIE COURINGTON ‘12
THE
COLOPHON Semper ubi sub ubi.
Here ends this publication and begins the colophon, a place where the unknowns are elucidated and the contributors are given the expressed gratitude that they are deserved. This edition of the half quarterly is set in the Mercury, Avenir, and Trade Gothic type families, except when it is not. The paper used for this publication is Domtar Cougar in the weight of 60 lb and in the color of bright white. The printer that produced this publication is a Canon Fiery. It is massive. The material was published by Ye Olde Portfolio Centre Press, a division of The Portfolio Center. This publisher can be found in Atlanta, Georgia, at 125 Bennett Street, which is a real street. It is not a parking lot or a valet lane. It is a street where cars drive. Those that deserve to be thanked are as follows: Amy Barrus, our staff copywriter who wrote most of the stories in this magazine; Jessica Noel who helped gather content. There is also the upmost of gratitude for those who helped and were not on the staff: Spencer Bigum for spending countless hours and sleepless nights on our cover; Andy Stewart for writing the David Butler article; Jille Natalino for gathering content on the student projects; Laura Woodall for being patient when we asked her 47 times for different pieces for the magazine; Katie Anderson, for her creative writing piece; and M.C. Coppage for gathering the information for the alumni updates and writing her masterpiece on the Portfolio Center Prom. And of course a very big thanks to all the faculty and staff for their guidance and support. Portfolio Center would like to express our enormous gratitude to the student team who created this premier issue of the half quarterly. The learning curve was steep, the hours were brutal, and the work was exhausting. We might just be the most demanding client these fledglings ever encounter. This publication was printed on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in this the year of our Lord two-thousand and thirteen.
t his is edi ti on
o f 1,0 0 0,0 0 0,0 0 0.
75
something from nothing Student Andy Stewart (Q8) reflects on Coca-Cola’s Head of Innovation David Butler and his recent seminar with Portfolio Center students. (p. 10)
catching up: margaret johnson Portfolio Center alum and the first female partner at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Margaret Johnson, fills us in on her life since Portfolio Center. (p. 24)
asked and answered: getting the job you want Lauren Childs, Portfolio Center 2013 graduate, discusses her time at Portfolio Center and how she got the job she wanted right out of school. (p. 32)
food party: not your average supper club Chef Tony Seichrist, friend of Portfolio Center, hosts monthly supper parties in Atlanta. Amy Barrus (Q2) shares her experience. (p. 40)
learn or fall behind Portfolio Center alum Spencer Bigum (‘11) has turned his learned-on-the-fly hobby into a thriving business. (p. 48)
a mike’s tale Mike Schwalm (‘11) kept his eye on the prize and made his childhood fascination with theme parks into a career as a Walt Disney Imagineer. (p. 50)
becoming a writer Although she didn’t find her dream job, Alissa Walker (‘09) moved to Los Angeles and found something even better. (p. 68)
Cover image by Spencer Bigum with illustrations by Dave Werner