iamsam

problem solver. letter writer. maker of faces.

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Holy progress Batman. My non-stop working this weekend payed off, I’m almost done with everything. Like actually done, not just sort-of-done-I’ll-finish- it-later-done. Which is good because the show is in ten days. Gasp.  The entry columns are stained and decorated. The banner is painted. I made some pennant banners for the sides, which are kool-aid stained and sewn together. My hacked together hashtag printer (thanks to some great tutorials, IFTTT, and Picasa) works perfectly. And everything I haven’t mentioned is ready to go or waiting for finishing touches.  I’m beyond happy with the way this is turning out. The anxiety of hoping that people will actually respond well to my show and be happy campers is still lingering in my crazy little brain. But really if I can make just one person smile, I think that’s a win. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Did I mention that the prize for my game is a super cool campccad bracelet?  Thesis is fast approaching (cue the tears), and its making me super excited. Not just about my game and the show, but about life. And just how amazing mine is, and how much potential it has to be even better.  Anyway, bracelets making and column decorating are my weekend plans. Oh, and beta testing the game tomorrow. Let’s hope it works. Fingers crossed. Also, These updates are getting much easier when I have actual things to update.

Cool. Go team.   

[iamsamrussell-blog]

real progress feels good

Look! Real progress! Things are starting to happen, and I’m getting excited.  So let’s breakdown this update.  I’ve planned out and started construction of my “entry way” for the game. My lovely brother helped me build the posts yesterday, so the structure is done. Now I get to decorate them, hooray.  I’ve also started on the branding of the project. I’m making icons to use on various things throughout the project, and I’m working on refining the logo next.  I will be beta testing my game this week to make sure it works the way I want it to, and can fix any problems that may come up. I will also be working on my entry way and painting the banner this week. Only 25 days left till the show! 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Inspiration Mood board 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

the name of the game

Campus.  A place to gather, inspire, learn, and grow together. A place to call home and to build memories around. Level ground. A commonality between us all.  And so with the name, comes countless sketches of the logo to kick off the visuals. I’m gathering inspiration and putting together the look and feel of the project, because the branding part is easy. I’m also gathering materials to start work on the prizes (yay for prizes!) for the game, as well as the printed collateral. The rest of this building-the-whole-thing insanity will come later. I’m procrastinating. Not really. Maybe a little. I’m working out stuff in my head when it needs to be down on paper.  I’ll work on that. More not-just-in-my-head-progress by the end of the week. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Simple phenomenon make good interactions.  

A lot of good stuff has happened in the past week. We went on a class field trip to COSI and got to talk with some lovely folks there about making an interactive exhibit. They were so great, I even took notes. Here's what's important: simple phenomenons make great interactions, and oversize interactions encourage collaboration. Seems simple, but makes a lot of sense. Good things to keep in mind on this long thesis road. 

And quite surprisingly, I think maybe I've figure this whole camp game thesis thing out.

I spent my Monday researching ways to hack an instant polaroid printer and miming camp games to my mother while she was making spaghetti. But now, I have a game plan. So here's what's what:

My thesis consists of three main parts. Introduction. Interaction. Follow up.  Introduction = the high-five to say hello. The orientation to my thesis, my goals, and the strangers you are about to play games with.  Interaction = the game. Which has to have some things like, a physical component, a team, and communication.  Follow up = something to remember this by. A photo of you and your newly found friends playing a ridiculous game. Because good interactions should spark good conversation. Which means you'll want a photo to #hashtag about. 

I have much much much more details on each of these components, but that is one long blog post. I'll save those for next time. 

So, what now?

Sketches, timelines, supply list, and all the logistical stuff to make it happen. And then the best part of all. Make. It. Happen. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

camp is just a bunch of young people having fun in the woods.

I keep remembering how much I love this project. Seriously. SO MUCH. 

This stuff is really powerful, because quality connections are the juicy exciting parts of life. We all want to feel like we are important, involved, fun, approachable people. And if I can make you feel that in ten minutes after playing a silly game with some people you just met? That's pretty amazing. 

So I've got most of the parts of this thesis equation. My next major goal is nailing down execution. How all this comes together and makes the impression that I'm hoping for. Through talks with my teachers, camp friends, and mentors...I think I'm closer to finding the solution. But I'm not there yet. I've got some narrowing down to do, and then by next week I'll have the solution. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

I've only pulled an all-nighter once in my life, and it was at camp. I was up for a total of 40hrs straight building a massive theater set that was built, used, and torn down in a matter of three days. Insanity. 

Anyway the point is, I'm a little sleep deprived and yes I've got a camp story about it. I have a camp story about pretty much everything. 

So this week's main goal was to finish my proposal and get a mentor. Done and done. And the goals for next week are more research research research. I am finding so many interesting things as I dig through stuff on communication and teamwork. 

Which leads me to my next pool of research: the leader. Here are the five essential skills according to Scott, my mentor and camp expert: accessibility, approachability, good communication, staying involved, and delegating responsibilities. 

Delegating responsibilities. Yep, you have to be able to give directions and take them. Just like Adam Grant said, good givers ask for help. Something I could take a bit more into consideration, because admittedly it is hard to delegate sometimes. Because delegation means trust. It means communicating our expectations and then working together to get it accomplished. 

Sound like its all coming back to the same topic? I thought so too. Boiled down, my thesis is simply this: use camp tradition to bring people together and foster stronger relationships though better communication.

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Okay so maybe most of my research turns into singing camp songs....but that's important work too, right?  

This week I've been delving into the ACA's Camping magazine. (American Camp Association) And I found some super interesting stuff and people. 

First I found Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and author of Give and Take. He talks about people being "givers" "takers" and "matchers" i.e. people who like to give, people who are out for themselves, and people who do a little bit of both. The main thing I took away was this: good givers ask for help.

Which brings me to my next pool of research. Communication. 

Without good communication camp would fall apart. Seriously. It's important.

And you wouldn't be able to share your entire life's story while sitting on the bathroom floor with your co-counselor after a late night staff meeting if you weren't on board with good teamwork and communication. 

This guy knows a thing or two about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYln_dRiOmM

More research to come, plus more stories about camp, and hopefully good news that a mentor got back to me. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Get ready for it, people. This is thesis territory, and that means big ideas, long hours, and (fingers crossed) no mental breakdowns. 

So let's talk topic. 

If I'm going to spend the last semester of art school on it, its gotta be good. And its gotta be something that I'll love even after the hours we will spend together. There was a lot of confusion, soul searching, and panicked looks at my teacher...but I think I've settled on something great. Camp. 

It changes you. Because your square dancing partner, who struggled through the hilarious embarrassment that was your attempted dancing, is your friend for life. All the walls are broken down when it comes to camp bonding, and it stays with you. Forever. 

I want to see what happens when we take camp games to another level. What if technology like makey-makey gets involved? What if these games were played in different spaces, like school or work? What happens when adults play them? What makes camp bonding unbreakable, and how can we make that even better?

And straight from Starlight '14 the best unicorns you know. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

A little preview of the finished project, finally getting around to showing off my hard work. To see the whole kit and caboodle, click the link.

https://www.behance.net/gallery/22365187/The-Don-CeSar-

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Working on a thousand things at once. Here's the homepage and app design so far. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Made my final tweaks to the logo, and have started putting together business cards and letterhead. I'm also working on my app (and the various design elements and icons that would go along with it).  I have a ton of work ahead of me. A huge mountain of work. But for next week I want to have a couple of things done. I want to try and have another painting/print ad done. If not finished, I'll have finalized tight sketches ready for paint. I also am working on pattern ideas, so I should have that vectorized soon.  Basically I'm just gonna plan to work. On everything. And I'll have more progress updates soon. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Less computer, more paint.  The results of this hand painted print-ad endeavor coming soon. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Logo development so far. I narrowed it down to using the image of the woman to tell the story of the Don's creator and his love for the opera singer. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

Hours of research, too many pins on Pinterest, and 200+ logo sketches later. 

[iamsamrussell-blog]

For my next trick I am going to rebrand a hotel from one of my favorite places, St. Pete Beach. This is the Don Cesar hotel. It was built in 1928 by a guy who loved an opera (and one of the opera singers) so much that he constructed a massive pink palace in its honor.