I graduated....long

[Hawkney911]

Well I graduated college Saturday with a degree in graphic design. I wanted to thank everyone on the form for providing me hours and hours of knowledge and entertainment when I should have been doing schoolwork or paying attention in class.

My father and brother picked up 78 targa my freshmen year of college in pursuit of a family restoration project with possible track intentions. We have had a great time working on it and sharing our knowledge of the car. Both my father and brother are mechanical engineers and share my interest in automobiles. Only by using my free time between classes and homework breaks was an able to learn enough about these car on this form and with Wayne’s books to provide useful suggestions during troubleshooting and the restoration processes.
As the project became more and more of an investment my father became more and more attached to the car. The original plans my brother and I had for the car faded as my dad put most of his attention on turning the car back to Porsche specs. So the plans of rs carpet kits, seats with large side bolsters and duct tails went out the window. Last year at the begging of the summer my brother purchased an 80 911 with a wide body conversion for him and myself to work on with out the fears of my dads repercussion. I was working for a multimedia company that summer in Chicago but was able to help with the search of the second car with was bought though pelican. It was nice having a fair amount of knowledge looking into the second car that was purchased with out the parents knowing. The first 911 was purchased with out a PPI or any experience of the complex problems that can plague these cars. We have been pretty luck with both cars and where able to take both of them and the family up to Road America this past summer for the ALMS races.

Thanks again everyone for making these cars such a great experience. This forum is a great community of people who are always willing to help. Hopefully I will have an early hotrod of my own someday and you guys can teach me all about weber carbs, once this economy fixes itself up. Thanks for reading I’m off to look for a job.

-Dan

the cars
Im the goofy looking one in the middle

[Hawkney911]

Some of my School Work

[Racerbvd]

Congrats & good work!!!!

[stomachmonkey]

Congratulations.

When you get your first gig listen to your AD/CD and forget everything your professors taught you.

Don't use terms like, "it's gonna POP", "edgy" or "super stylized" unless you wanna get slapped upside the head.

If you are around Account Directors that use those terms in a client meeting feel free to slap them upside the head.

Don't take feedback/critique personally.

Learn to listen, many clients will have a difficult time expressing what they want, a good listener can recognize it and can ask the right questions to resolve ambiguity.

You will never be 100% correct. When the marketers get everything they want it'll be wrong, when creative gets everything they want, it'll be wrong. When everyone leaves something on the table it has a better chance of being right.

Never present "your" idea without also giving the client what they want to see.

Never go to anyone with a problem that you don't have a suggested solution for.

There are ALWAYS at least two ways to do something.

When the **** hits the fan and something goes wrong resist the urge to join in the blame game, put your energy towards fixing it.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes, we all make them. Learn from them, don't repeat them. You won't get a pass the second time.

If you f'up, man up.

Share the glory. Many people think they are "the one that made it happen". Recognize the contributions of others.

If you end up freelancing, don't lowball or work for peanuts. Charge the going rate. People value your work in direct relation to what they pay for it.

Never do a freelance gig without a singed work agreement from the client. All work is deliverable subject to final payment in hand unless you like working for free or like to renegotiate your pay after you are done.

[jonbot]

Wow, really nice work, both the magazines and the drawings, very impressive!

[Embraer]

hey, that's my old SC. very cool.

[Bill Douglas]

Good skills - live long and prosper (sorry, I saw the movie last week).

[Embraer]

was "Crowning" an error on the cover of your Road and Track?

[Hawkney911]

thanks for the kinda words and advice everyone

and yes Embraer it is a typo i fixed it for the final print but I lost that file on one of the school computers.. thanks for the catch though because have missed it when i put it in a portfolio again. I am pretty lousy at grammar

its also a rsx taillight in the top corner not a nsx but i figured the teacher would never know

[tangerine911S]

Also your picture to the left of "Ferrari's New F430" is actually a 599. But like you said your teacher wont know. Good work, I like your drawings. Did you use photos as reference?