Perhaps it would ease you to know that this post is late and that my apartment is way past the state captured in these photos. Also please excuse the poor quality. #candid? iPhone photos usually aren’t that bad, but these turned out quite grainy. I was probably too exhausted from moving in and building furniture to take proper photos.
Here it is! If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that Kat and I will be living off campus together this upcoming school year. My main reason for wanting to live off campus is because I want a sense of permanence, even if it’s only for the next two years (before I graduate!). Moving in and out of dorms at the beginning and end of every school year is such a hassle; summer storage is the death of me. With my own place, I won’t have to worry about that between junior and senior year. Living off campus is more affordable, especially with a roomie, because not only do we save money on housing, but we also save money on food, as we no longer have to be on the unlimited meal plan, the only meal plan option. Furthermore, we’re both Bryn Mawr College students majoring in computer science at Haverford College, so we don’t spend much time at Bryn Mawr anyway.
It’s been a process but I finally signed the lease and picked up the keys on Monday, so come on in and let’s have a look!
(For privacy, I’ve edited out signs that show the name of my apartment complex and also my apartment number from photos.)
And that concludes my sophomore year! I can’t believe that I’m already halfway through college! A year ago I didn’t know anything about computer science. The only coding I knew was basic HTML and CSS I caught on from fiddling with my Tumblr and blog template. There are some close friends I have who I’ve really only just met (like, a few months ago!) but felt like I’ve known for years (like, for at least two or three!). Right now I’m at a stage where I definitely feel like I have a long way to go, but looking back to where I was, I’m proud of how far I’ve come.
I didn’t fully realize how exceptionally talented and skilled my high school friends were until I came to college. They were the first and second generations of quite a few art/design-related club/projects, most notably UNIT-E Magazine and Draxonic Design Studio. Unit-E Magazine is a student-run magazine distributed to 10~ international schools across Beijing. Everything from finding sponsors to fund printing to creating their own content, they do it themselves. They even have their own service project! Draxonic Design Studio is my high school’s design club, and they design posters, banners, tickets, brochures, logos, apparel, and more for our school’s clubs and events. I was mostly in the periphery of all of that, instead focusing on my niches of Habitat for Humanity, Impromptune (honor choir), and Varsity Swimming, but I’ve always been involved in graphic design to some degree.
I had planned to further explore my interest in graphic design in college, thinking that a liberal arts college must have an abundance of artistic opportunities, but no. There’s a niche for poetry, crafts, creative writing, and more, but not one for graphic design. I thought about starting my own design club like my friends did with Draxonic, but I didn’t believe I was experienced or capable enough. Compared to my friends, I’m an amateur (at least in this respect; we each have our own specialities).
If it’s still in your mind, it is worth taking the risk. -Paul Coelho
But a year later, I’m still thinking about it. Its reach has been permeating into my everyday conversations, and I’ve discovered that yes, there are other people who have also noticed this creative gap and are interested in filling it too. We’ve talked the talk, and now it’s time to walk the walk.
We knocked it out in one day. Today I’m so happy to introduce… *drumroll please* *even though there is no surprise in this because of the title of this post* Neue Design Collective!
Co-founded by me and Miranda, Neue Design Collective is a Bryn Mawr local collective of graphic designers, here to satisfy your #aesthetic needs and design your apparel, banners, logos, and posters! (We don’t do photography, although you could hire me personally for that ;)) We want to keep our design service accessible and affordable, so you can expect the pricing to be at the low range of $5-$10, but as a special startup promotion, we are offering our services for free until the end of May.
Though we are made up of members from the Bryn Mawr College community, we are not a campus club but a local business that serves as a hub for customers (both clubs and individuals) to refer to if they are looking for a designer, and for designers to find and take on projects with customers.
As this is a local business, we would probably better reach our target audience on Facebook, as there are more Bryn Mawr students I’m friends with on Facebook than that read my blog, but I just wanted to share this here to document my creative journey, so thank you for being here for it!
Need a design? We gotchu.
Want to be a designer? Contact us!
tl;dr– Introducing Neue Design Collective, a Bryn Mawr local collective of graphic designers. Free service until end of May.
I’ve been on the hunt for live music ever since my first live concert experience last summer, but as much as I enjoy live music, I’m also a very practical person. I’m not about to follow my favourite band around on their world tour or anything, but I have been keeping an eye out for artists in Philly.
When I heard the line-up for the Bryn Mawr Concert Series (BMCS) Fall 2015 Concert, I was so excited that I recognized 2/3 of the acts. Our resources are limited as a small liberal arts college, but when we do get someone, it is because of our small size that the experience is so intimate.
In fact, the second floor balcony of the Campus Center (the concert venue) was blocked off so that everyone would be standing close to each other and create a dense buzz of energy. Which is all well and good unless you’re short like me and this kind of thing only leads to a dense canopy of tall people.
At times like these, I like to exploit my reputation as a photographer. With my handy dandy fancy schmancy camera in hand, I ask my BMCS connections if I can go up to the balcony, surreptitiously bouncing the camera in my hand all the while, hinting that I’d be taking pictures, giving them the idea that they could possibly use my pictures (more like planting the idea (inception)), but without explicitly committing to it. Everyone loves having pictures, so of course they say yes 😉
I have high expectations for autumn. I won’t be appeased until I’m wrapped in a scarf, crunching through a bed of multicoloured leaves, a rich steaming beverage in hand, the breeze nipping my flushed cheeks, the trees glowing as they catch the soft light dripping from the sun on a clear day.