Hello,
I am working on a general Statement of Purpose for my graduate school applications. Each school has slightly different requirements, and one poses a particular question- Describe three key influences in your design thinking. I am trying to write an essay that I can easily edit and adjust to fit each schools requirements, but hits all my points. How am I doing so far? Suggestions, recommendations?
Thank you for your help!
Renee
Statement of Purpose
Throughout my education and career in design I have been greatly influenced by my teachers, colleagues and the culture surrounding me. Perhaps now one of my greatest influences is the city in which I live, Portland, Oregon. Here I have worked with an assortment of non-profit organizations, local publishers and most currently an architecture firm. My work in Portland has often related to the roots and values that the community is built upon such as sustainability, youth enhancement, fashion and the arts. The design principals of Edward Tufte, Josef Albers and Paul Rand have motivated and inspired me as I have grown as a designer and I often look back to their teachings when I am approaching a design problem. In addition, I avidly look to design blogs and publications where new ideas and topics are being discussed. I have always felt most passionate about work that teaches, informs and provokes thought. As a graduate student, I intend to build upon these principals and interests, and explore new ways of practicing and thinking about design.
My experience in the fields of publishing, marketing and architecture have complimented and tested my beliefs as a designer. A strong interest in fashion led me to pursue an internship at Fairchild Publications in New York. Although I worked in the Marketing Department and have since held positions in the field of Marketing, my true passion has always been for information graphics, publication design and book making. Through persistence I have had opportunities within my marketing jobs to take on design projects that have been of this nature. At Community Newspapers I was offered the occasion to design my first publication, Style, a biweekly supplement of the paper. At the Willamette Week I had the chance to art direct a large political campaigning event, a special non-profit fundraising guide, fashion editorials in the paper and developed a mapping system for Finder, a magazine the Willamette Week publishes yearly about Portland.
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, my current place of employment, has allowed me possibilities to explore issues in urban planning, sustainability and community. Here my influences from Edward Tufte have become prominent and I often site his books as I design maps, schedules and urban diagrams. My interest in maps developed into the creation of a walking map that tours the many projects the firm has completed in its 40 years of practice in Portland. Along with a group of architects and urban planners, I was a member of the design team for the Festival of Flowers, an event that transforms Portland's Pioneer Square using flowers and plants. I was involved in the conceptualization of this installment, the execution and the creation of an identity and marketing material for the event. These projects are of the sort that I hope to explore further in the future, those which blend the different disciplines I have developed interest in and knowledge of such as photography, fashion and urban design.
Along with the experience I have gained through my design education and professional encounters, I have maintained a strong interest and participation with in the fine arts. As a student I studied painting, drawing and other fine arts and crafts at Northeastern University and abroad in Florence, Italy. As an undergraduate student I worked as an assistant for Professor of Art Mira Cantor in her studio and as the designer of the catalog and marketing materials for her show of new paintings entitled Skin. Working with Professor Cantor I developed a keen eye for color while mixing specific colors in her studio and an understanding and appreciation for abstraction as I closely observed her process on the body of work she was producing. My knowledge and engagement in these areas is integrated in my design work today, and is something I feel could be explored further as further develop my own self-expression in design.
In a graduate program in design, I look forward to reinvigorating my passions for design and further developing the areas in which I have had experience with. In addition to building on these strengths, I am eager to cross borders and branch out into other facets of design that I have not had the chance in my professional life to explore. If given the hunting ground to focus on projects that I can apply my talents and experience to, I am confident that I will generate original work and emerge with a self-knowledge of the potential that I may reach as a designer.
Good afternoon :)
Your content is excellent. You are organized, the piece is well constructed, flows well, and is easy to read. I think you fully develop your topics in each sentence, so it seems like you have a lot of information covered here.
My suggestions fall into the mechanical/grammatical category. Make sure you are properly using commas. For instance, "As a student I studied, painting, drawing, and other fine arts..." Make sure you are placing a comma after each item in your list; there are several instances in this piece where commas are missing between items in the series.
paintings entitled " Skin." Working with...
Otherwise, this looks like a very adaptable piece. Good work!
Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com
Gloria,
Thank you for your advice. As a student I remember having a problem with over using commas, now I suppose I over compensate in the other direction.
I will comb through this again with my copy of the "Elements of Style". :)
Best,
Renee
