The Sophomore Slump?

When bands release their second album, or a director makes their second film, the sophomore slump is usually feared by everyone, myself included, except this time it was for my Second Quarter Critique (crit). Having my projects completed one day early meant 2 things: one more day to prepare my presentation, and one more day to worry about how possibly negative this crit could turn out. Set for Tuesday at 8pm, I got a call that day to possibly come in at 6:30pm, apparently they had to juggle some other crits that people might have asked for extensions on (didn't think that was possible?). Packed up, went to school, waited to get called. Lyndsey came too. My projects this time were more realistic and less abstract which meant 'easy to pack.' Books, brochures, letterhead suites, posters, very manageable.

Panel Crits just like last quarter, 4 people, one of which was in my panel last time and was one of my instructors this quarter. The other three were 2 women, one I was familiar with, and another guy I didn't know. I felt good, the presentation was sound, felt positive about almost everything and before I knew it, I was done. The one guy I didn't know voiced his opinion first with a strong positive statement in a sad, underwhelming tone. "Well, I'm glad to see that you didn't stick with a particular method or style with your projects. It's good to see that you've experimented with different things so all your work doesn't look the same." CHECK, that was a primary goal I hoped to accomplish this time around. Then he counters, "but I don't think these were the best solutions to your design problems." SHUCKS. He continued in a depressed manner that I didn't approve of very much but I nodded and smiled. Then the lady I didn't know. She was reading a book I made with a personal story on Alzheimers I wrote, called "memory" (my favorite piece) She stopped and said, "I wish I had more time to read this, you're a very good writer, and this is my favorite piece of yours here." Would it have been inappropriate to embrace her at this time? And so was the consensus for all. Half was liked, half disliked. One person didn't care for a logo, and someone else said I nailed it. Welcome to the world of design.