WR171NG (SP?)

Ahhh, finally a week where I don’t feel like throwing myself off a bridge for fear of doubt and general inadequacy. Today’s topic concerns the contents of Chapter ten in Designing a Digital Portfolio, which focused upon the written element of a portfolio. Writing happens to be a subject that I have experience much success in, even though I have no formal recognition to prove it. I find creative writing to be fun, and indulging a design piece with a little history of the creation process is a dream come true. Far too often design comments get boiled down to whether it looks good or not, you never hear anyone say: “Wow that heart you designed in Maya looks great, you’d never know that you spent 8 hours fixing polygonal tears in the aortal chamber”. While I don’t plan on submitting a list of all the problems I encountered while creating a piece, it’s a rare to be granted the opportunity to subtly allude to the hardships involved. Being able to speak intelligently about the creation process shows determination and skill in one’s ability to communicate and design talent.

Now of course the book spoke about the needs for correct spelling and attention to grammatical detail, standard issue stuff. What truly took my interest though, was the author’s equating of minimalist design standards as the gold standard for describing your work. Truly this is where one’s skill as a writer will come into play, saying a lot with very little is monumental task, and I tip my hat to those that can do it with proficiency.

It’s funny in that the way I write is very similar to the way I design. I tend to throw all of my thoughts onto the page and then begin a screening process of reducing the content into a cohesive form. I believe the author referred to this as verbal diarrhea. Granted that that is an accurate, though graphic, description of my writing style, I stand firm to my writing style will let the finished pieces speak for themselves. I’ve found that it is easier to reduce rather than produce, and by putting everything I want on the page I can more effectively shape my thoughts.

My having chosen a book format as my alternative portfolio was certainly influence by my confidence in my writing abilities. With a book portfolio I can indulge my descriptions and give those who take the time to view my works a better understanding of myself. My works are a reflection of my interests, not necessarily of myself. The written content of my portfolio will do significantly better job of representing Simon Steadman. And hopefully it won’t show that he sucks at spelling!

I want to include a list of my favorite books with this blog to show my literary background. I feel that the writing styles in these books are defiantly reflecting in my work, though I do not claim to posses the same level of skill as the authors showcased.
The Things They Carried: Tim Obrien
Lord of the Rings (the whole series): J. R. R. Tolkien
MASH: Richard Hooker
Republic Commando (the whole series to date): Karen Traviss
Guests of the Ayatollah: Mark Bowden