Dissertation Support Requested

BEGGING - I AM UNDER DEADLINE
(I know you know what that's like!)

IRB Protocol number 10303

Study: Business Coursework &/or other preparation for an Applied Arts career in Marketing

Hello!

        I am begging for a total of 40 minutes of your time! Openly asking if you or anyone you know would be willing to contact me to do

·         a survey (17 questions in 2 parts),

·         an interview (conversationally about 15 to 20 questions),

·         and to share some images (as you deem significant) …

… as part of my dissertation.

            Criteria is that they graduated from one of 42 AICAD accredited schools (http://www.aicad.org/) as an illustration major. There would be an informed consent form (all individual results are confidential) and your total commitment, all inclusive, is –planned for under 50 minutes. Respondents will receive aggregate level results (confidentiality assured).

            I am a doctoral candidate at Argosy University School of Business, with a BFA from UArts in Illustration, and as an educator of 30+ years, a university professor for much of that, I sense something of a potential  gap in curriculum.  The research seeks to confirm suspicions that may exist, further the conversation about what constitutes success, and otherwise shed light on the relationship between right and left brain paradigms, applied arts and business. This is intended as foundational research.

            Research is later intended as regards this consideration and other applied arts.  Further research may also venture what business can learn from the arts and vice versa.  What inherent default boundaries of thinking and behavior occur based on these right / left-brain considerations.  Cultures generally and specific to business, to the arts, and any role education plays in exacerbating such divisions, pro or con (and more).

   Thank you,

   Frank Davis

professorfrankdavis@gmail.com, 727 527 4623

*It does not matter what year you went or which AICAD school it was, which include:

Alberta College of Art and Design Art Academy of Cincinnati Art Center College of Design Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University California College of the Arts California Institute of the Arts Cleveland Institute of Art College for Creative Studies Columbus College of Art and Design Corcoran College of Art and Design Cornish College of the Arts Cranbrook Academy of Art Emily Carr University of Art and Design Kansas City Art Institute Laguna College of Art and Design Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts Maine College of Art Maryland Institute College of Art Massachusetts College of Art and Design Memphis College of Art Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Montserrat College of Art Moore College of Art and Design New Hampshire Institute of Art NSCAD University (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) OCAD University Oregon College of Art and Craft Otis College of Art and Design Pacific Northwest College of Art Parsons The New School for Design Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Pennsylvania College of Art and Design Pratt Institute Rhode Island School of Design Ringling College of Art and Design San Francisco Art Institute School of the Art Institute of Chicago School of the Museum of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts The Cooper Union The University of the Arts Watkins College of Art Design & Film

Business Nightmares, by the grace of Sara Z

There's a new strip in town, and I'm delighted to share this related business item: comics with more vitality than Dilbert! Sara Zimmerman has an "all in" attitude balanced with a light and airy posture. Great stuff to add to your "business menu".

............Enjoy ! ..............

http://unearthedcomics.com/comics/business-nightmares/

Guy's free marketing books

From Guy Kawasaki: To celebrate the New Year, you can get four of his books for free. Please spread this link as far and wide as you can. http://www.yousendit.com/download/WUJZZUNndWNlaFRMYnRVag The books are: What the Plus!, The Macintosh Way, Database 101, and The Computer Curmudgeon. Happy New Year!

Why doesn't anyone ever blame Bad Management!?

Why does everyone in the media blame the union? Goodbye Twinkie, Ding-Dongs and other Hostess "treats" (that possibly may still be exhumed millenia from now without any wear or harm ... it's not the unhealthy products I'm sorry to see go, it's the working class jobs)...

CEO, Mr. Gregory F. Rayburn only holds a masters degree from U of Alabama. I say only because you might think he was a divinely educated businessman extraordinaire, having been in leadership, if not the very top, of so many companies! But about the "so many" companies ... although often having multiple "jobs" at any one of these companies, his resume shows no less than 2 companies between 2000 & 2002, 3 companies from 02-04 (including giving away WorldCom/MCI to Verizon), 3 companies from 04-07 … and one company each in '09, '11 & '12. Associated with the "sin" industry of gambling through Diamond Resorts Corporation as well as being the former CEO of the New York City Off Track Betting Corporation, he was also with the discredited Arthur Andersen LLC as a partner. The man can NOT hold down a job OR, apparently, make any meaningful positive difference. He appears to be a profiteer, blithely skipping from one disaster to the next. As a sort of “cherry” on his sundae, he is also a Member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=508078&privcapId=598750&previousCapId=333920&previousTitle=AMERISTAR%20CASINOS%20INC

Can "Job Security" make a comeback?

Job security is an interesting conversation. I'd like to see that come back (it certainly is a corporate social responsibility expression), but I wonder how it can given how our culture has lain bear how disposably companies treat employees (and, therefore, why should employees feel any loyalty ... which we continue to not feel). Beyond a case by case basis, it makes for an interesting business meditation: by what ingredients can job security be re-introduced?

Happy (2 year) Birthday to BusGlobalMktg&theAppliedArts !

Wednesday marks the twin anniversary that is this blog. On June 20 2010, I began writing literally daily (after about a third of the year I gave myself weekends off) for a full year.

On June 20 2011, I gave myself permission to add to this blog with extreme leisure ... essentially whenever, though usually when it seemed I had something significant to say.

Tomorrow, June 20, 2012, will mark the close of the second year (though I imagine blogging will not change in its current drift). Interestingly, at least to me (and especially from a marketing perspective), after the fifth month this blog has garnered over 500 hits every month without fail … even after going from five days a week to “every once in a while”.

Delighted to be of service!

Michael Porter; a hero disappoints.

or, the danger of the disingenuous subject matter expert (would YOU have caught this lie?)

6/3/2012 2:05:20 PM

I just took pause from my all-day work in front of the computer to have lunch … and as is my habit set myself up in front of the TV and turned on some news. Fareed Zakaria was on (I really like Fareed’s show), and Michael Porter was about to speak. As a student of business, imagine my joy (Porter’s hardly if ever on TV … first time I’d ever see him on TV)!

For the uninitiated, amongst contemporary business literature Porter’s caliber would rank analogously with, say, the Rolling Stones (were business academics rock and roll). He has essentially helped Harvard Business School maintain its vaulted pantheon position, as faculty, as serial author, etc. And I must confess, I cite him regularly (as I variously am either learning or agreeing him.).

When he and Fareed began speaking, it was on the topic of where American business was headed (certainly fascinating). Unfortunately, it appears that Porter may have taken too much grant money from corporate sources (my conjecture)! More than once he cited Americans as not being productive enough!!! Just go to Google images and put in “American productivity chart” (https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=614&q=american+productivity+chart&gbv=2&oq=American+productivity&aq=5S&aqi=g1g-S9&aql=&gs_l=img.1.5.0j0i24l9.1547.7094.0.11250.21.13.0.8.8.0.78.842.13.13.0...0.0.aEFu6vXy1Yo). While I didn’t check each and every chart you can readily see that most if not all say, as they should, the same thing. What that same thing tends to be, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and others, is SO the contrary as to make one ill! Americans are setting records for productivity!

Now, does Michael mean productivity compared to wages elsewhere? Something like that is all I can think of. But honestly, that was the one silver lining of all the off shoring, I don’t want us to lose our minimum wage (it isn’t high enough as it is!). To make matters worse, he hardly looked Fareed in the eye, looking mostly down and to the right … generally a sign of being disingenuous.

What, it begs the question, would prompt such “marketing” (possibly propaganda)? He spoke of a study ... I'll have to keep an eye out for this study!!! If corporations could suppress wages more, somehow extract even greater ROI, then America becomes that much more attractive. Well, that's the simplistic easy thing, isn't it? Corporations have broken the middle class back - there IS no more low hanging fruit!!! How about corporations fulfilling the promise of America shifting from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy? Come on, Michael, you’re an old academic – don’t you want to champion corporations promoting, underwriting, etc. our knowledge economy? Why would you help "them" try to squeeze blood from a stone? Is it not time to reinvest? "Americans not being productive enough"? Have you gone mad? This so very much erodes your leadership credibility.

For those in academia you may recognize the old saw about how public schools do not “abuse” the financial aid system the way private institutions do. I am a Professor of Business of some years and actively teach for both kinds of Universities. There may or may not be an imbalance here, and both advantage monies every way they can (they, after all, each “have a business to run”). One thing is very certain, however, the public “research” schools (some, not all ... but as much their public blemish as the private schools have theirs) … are increasingly showing their stripes as paid for and bought.
I am happy to report, I can assure you, I do not teach for any schools that are bought : )

Not Making the Change [2 of 2]

Franchise


As the general dialogue of this document unfolds, it is reaching across these subcategories. A chief differentiator between retail and franchise is that in the former every little business expression island is still wholly owned by the larger corporate entity. Imagine creating an even larger built-in disconnect by spinning off independent "plug and play" locations. One imagines the common experience of settling down with your sack lunch only to realize that the drive-through person got it wrong. As these errors occur regularly at the hands of minimum wage earners, this author's self conciliatory mantra to himself has become, “remember, that's why they're working here, and their consequence is both their experience and compensation package” (the consolation is not an elevated feeling so much as a backing off perspective).

Such ineptitude has even spawned the term "McJob” (…now in the Oxford Dictionary, by the way) McDonalds countered as recently as yesterday (April 19, 2011 with a National Hiring Day; and to its credit is among the few who give felons, among the most challenged populations, a second chance). One franchise owner of several stores in Philadelphia reported a need to hire approximately 100, and at one location received over 400 applications in the first four hours alone. Corporations, such as McDonald's, who have come a long way in recent decades to express social responsibility, continue to miss the point in such instances as this recent national, what amounted to a "cattle call" (McDonald’s, 2011).



Elsewhere

There was a passage of time in this author's life when employment was in call centers. Fortunately, there was an ability to rise out of those trenches and become part of management. In many cases, these institutions were multinational brands.

A number of things are notably different here. The interaction with the customer is not face-to-face and we are speaking of a highly scripted, highly controlled environment.

This is not to say that nonsense does not occur here as well, however, having been on both sides of the managerial/employee construct, the highly controlled environment and the scripting certainly helped. What is also true (and I know this as a trainer in those settings), is that when a company chose to honor the humanity of its employees by empowering them through training, coupled with real leadership, transcendent things happened.



Conclusion

People are not disposable. That axiom has to become first and foremost.

There is very little that we manufacture in the United States today, and if we cannot learn to serve each other better, we likely have a very dim future (not everyone will get to participate in the new knowledge economy). The companies that highlight their growing talent efforts at the base of operations, rewarding lower management, embracing and honoring its base employees, they will be rewarded with more loyalty, candor and better customer relations.

As one looks back over this document, only something as blatant as shrinkage falls in the domain of the employee, the rest is management’s responsibility. Now, in an age when business is actively studying and engaging the technology of leadership itself, hardly is there an excuse. Like any mentor/mentee relationship, the mentor cannot keep changing mentees; they need to step up their own game.





References

McDonald’s. (2011). Working Here (Corporate hiring site). Retrieved from McDonald’s: http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/careers/working_here.html

NPR. (Producer). (2011, April 19). Caitlin Kelly: “Malled” [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player?nid=14089

Not Making the Change [1 of 2]

Abstract


This document is a consideration of the absence of customer centricity. It is general in its scope, and seeks to touch upon some of the larger patterns.



Introduction

Classically, even successful marketing operations, when large enough, disconnect from the managerial perspective experience in the trenches. In large measure, the rationale for this occurrence is that these are separate worlds.

The dilemma is that there is this phenomenon of degradation of communication and purpose across a wide spectrum of products and service providers. Much like making a copy from a copy from a copy from a copy, with each remove in the production of a facsimile image when can actually witness the graphic progression of deterioration. Unless there is a conscious effort to intervene and reinsert something close to, if not the original itself, the breakdown is something one can count on.

When one asks which companies are becoming more customer-centric, and which are not, the exercise here of defining terms shifts the perspective to include other constructs. While one company may generally express itself better than another may (and clearly this is managerial operations), a consumer experience "in the trenches" can vary akin to winning a lottery. This may have to do, in part, to the size of the organization, what it pays its base employees (including benefits are not), what it asks of its employees, its structure and a variety of other excuses.

This is where the rubber meets the road. This too is managerial operations, where assessments of marketing reengineering transcend business as usual.



Retail

Have you been in Wal-Mart? This icon of consumer capitalism is fraught with issues. You may find yourself in a department with the question and no one is around to answer it. You may be reviewing a kiosk of product, the top half of which is one price and the bottom half another … or maybe there's no price marked anywhere. The configurations are endless.

This writer, frustrated with customers in front of me in a 20 item or less line, engaged management (at the store level) about this. The response was a reluctance to accept a paying customer. My suggestion was to amend the signage with the disclaimer that every item over the 20 would invite an additional progressive charge based on a price percentage, and that this overage would in no way go to Wal-Mart itself, but to a rotating charity of the month. This would turn a frustrating situation into a win-win-win. Management still would not have to confront customers, customers would self regulate, and local charities would reap the benefits. The feedback given was that management's hands were tied (at the store level management was unable to have an effective voice, unable to bubble the idea up).

Caitlin Kelly, in her new book Malled, explodes the results of these kinds of disconnects as she chronicles her experiences working in a retail outlet in a typical American shopping mall (NPR, 2011). A few of the expressions include more theft occurs by employees than customers, employee disrespect by customers seems almost a given and what is asked of employees regularly inconveniences the individuals to the cost of their health, security, etc.

Customer-centric snapshot of American Airlines [4 of 4]

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Temkin, B. (2011, January 21). I Am The Customer Experience… Not! [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/category/employee-engagement/

TextArt.ru. (na). Database of slogans; Advertising slogans of airlines (reference). Retrieved from www.TextArt.ru: http://www.textart.ru/database/english-advertising-slogans/airline-advertising-slogans.html

TheyRule. (2011). Companies>AMR>Show Directors>Show Boards (reference). Retrieved from TheyRule: http://theyrule.net/

Usunier, J., & Lee, J. A. (2005). Marketing Across Cultures (4th ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited. []. doi: Retrieved from

Vanto Group. (2011). Vanto Group (Corporate website). Retrieved from Vanto Group, a Landmark Education Company: http://www.vantogroup.com/

WebMediaBrands Inc.. (2009, August 7). American Airlines, AADP Launch Advertising Award for Positive Portrayals of People with Disabilities (blog post). Retrieved from Ads of the World: http://adsoftheworld.com/blog/american_airlines_aadp_launch_advertising_award_for_positive_portrayals_of_people_with_disabili

Weitz, B. A., & Wensley, R. (2002). Handbook of Marketing. Thousand Oaks, CA 91320: Sage Publications Ltd.

Yahoo! Inc.. (2011). Yahoo directory Airlines (reference). Retrieved from Yahoo directory Airlines: http://dir.yahoo.com/business_and_economy/shopping_and_services/travel_and_transportation/airlines/
company-statements-slogans.info. (2008). US Airways Group (reference). Retrieved from company-statements-slogans.info: http://www.company-statements-slogans.info/list-of-companies-u/us-airways-group.htm

Customer-centric snapshot of American Airlines [3 of 4]

D When you’re first hired as an agent… [F: and is it just agents?] …well, my group of people that I manage… [F: oh, I see] …are agents, but every department has training, as far as pilots and flight attendants, I’m not sure what the… [F: even baggage handlers, I’m sure] …period of time is, right, and in the computer, every 45 days you have some type of lesson due. [F: Wow!] It’s either learning about triggers in the baggage, or how to, let’s say, something unfortunate happened and the person is looking for compensation, you could look here, look there, deciding what to give the customer because we failed at some type of service… [F: whatever’s high-lit at that time] …right, right…


F Do you folks get acknowledged on your anniversaries or birthdays… [D: yes, absolutely; on the 10/20/30 years…] …on your frequent flier or repeat customer base, does American send them out a post card or anything, an e-mail, happy birthday, or…

D That’s a good question, I’m not sure, for a platinum and executive platinum’s and gold’s… [F: I’m thinking that would be an easy, extremely low cost marketing…] …that’s a good question, I’m not sure, I mean locally, with our agents here we post them, and we have cake and whatever, but, I would sure hope so, but…

F …and if not you can bubble it up. Supervisor on duty, thank you so much for your time. [D: you’re welcome] …I’m grateful… […sorry we’re a little stressed down here today (there was a baggage back up issue she was staying behind to handle), so…] …no, I’m extremely grateful you took a few moments for me, [D: yeah, no problem] I do appreciate it. I think I’ll get three pages out of this easy.

D …okay, alright…we appreciate everybody’s business, and we… (recording ends).



Evaluating the airline’s customer service quality.

Any institution that gifts its employees support training every six weeks is already aces in the mind of this researcher. That the Supervisor on duty kept cycling back to her agents as the base of responsibility for the consumers’ positive experience speaks volumes. Therefore, rather than looking at the customer, the majority of this customer centric conversation rightly settled on maintaining the high spirits and excellent training of those who would serve.



How marketing plans incorporate service quality.

One senses that the transcript speaks for itself. It would be ridiculous to presume that what we just shared as experienced by this dialogue was not a byproduct of marketing woven through the organization. Clearly, this conversation was the result of the marketing plan of high strategic caliber.



Concluding thoughts

This author reiterates again his deep appreciation to the Supervisor on duty. It was an honor to meet her. A privilege to have had the dialogue we did and that there is some confidence as we imagine American Airlines has a right to be proud to be represented by someone who has thoroughly integrated the AA way.

Ordinarily a document such as this carries with it an effort to embrace as much as possible. Taking this different approach yielded fresh insight, speaks to the topic in a way ordinary research would not have allowed and yielded something of a snapshot of exactly what we are talking about.

Customer-centric snapshot of American Airlines [2 of 4]

F But it’s not just AA…


D Oh gosh no… [F: oh, just to be clear] …it’s the whole industry has changed…

F …absolutely … I think (all) the airlines generally should work on re-branding that because is still [D: right] elegant, and I was noticing that, there’s a caché about, I mean, even when the first subways hit New York the first passengers came on board with suits and top hats and that sort of thing and that was the case with train travel when it first showed up, that was the case with plane travel when it first showed up, and yeah, and everybody’s like, and more than half the people getting on board are wearing jeans and they’re very casual, and that’s actually, in many ways, a good thing, but what’s also true is, you’re right, there’s a diminishment of, y’know, we begin to take things for granted. But I think American Airlines is one of those institutions in the industry that still goes out of its way to … [D: right, and that was my…] … we’re not going to buy into that, we’re still going to project the elegance.

D …point about all that. And we still want to promote that the customer is first, and it doesn’t matter what’s happening as far as … there’s a lot more problems at home nowadays, there’s a lot more financial, but when you go out that door you’re still American Airlines and we want this customer service that you provide, whatever, y’know, set aside from everything else the customer, we do try to go out of our way and do what we can for the customer.

F Do you folks do any kind of metric, any kind of customer survey or metrics, I am sure you guys do…

D Yes, Absolutely, yeah.

F And is that at the corporate level, or at the regional level, or…

D It’s the surveys that you get as you’re boarding the plane, they’ll pick certain flights and the flight attendant will give you the survey… [F: where do they end up?] …in headquarters, in Dallas… [F: okay] …and then every month they come out how we’ve ranked against the other airlines, unfortunately I don’t know… [F: no, no, no, I’m not gonna hold you to anything, I’m just lookin’ for conversation, feedback light, open ended…] …and then actually we get a small bonus if our metrics are met… [F: oh nice] …oh yeah, so there are incentives out there, we have a quarterly newsletter that they send to all the employees and any of the customer, some of the letters will come through acknowledging certain agents and managers and that [F: nice] sort of thing, there’s employee week, locally here, we have like an employee appreciation day, every couple of months, the GM at TPA, he’ll be out there grillin’ for everybody and … [F: Grillin’, wow!] …so, food all day and for the crews and for, and just anything boost the morale and keep ya going and any little thing – every little thing counts, so yeah, it’s a tough industry nowadays.

F …and this is an industry that knows every little thing counts.

D Yes, absolutely.

F …every little thing. And I do want to honor your precious time. Aside from any last thoughts, I had one other thought myself – and, of course, if you do want a copy of this I would need your card or an e-mail address or something. [D: yeah, uh huh] With regards to training I imagine that these kinds of listening skills and communication skills… [D: right] …are really hammered home in training, is training an ongoing, periodic, or that sort of thing?

Customer-centric snapshot of American Airlines [1 of 4]

Abstract


This intention of this paper is as a snapshot of sorts as regards the customer centricity as it appears/occurs with American Airlines.



Introduction

After more than a month’s worth of research, with margins so tight, fuel prices moving as they are and so much money on the line a fresh approach to the subject matter was sought to break through the proprietary information wall. This author chose to drive out to Tampa International Airport to engage someone in (American Airline’s) management as to their take on customer centricity. The transcription of the brief conversation will follow shortly. Despite the fact that this seven minute, 35 second conversation took place with the Supervisor on duty, a supervisor in ticketing and baggage, does not seem a huge leap to extend attributes of the customer centricity paradigm into the domains of pilots and steward/esses, baggage handlers, et.al.

It should be noted that the Supervisor on duty is not a corporate talking head. She was and is a very real person whose candor is refreshing. Some may nitpick the transcript, but that would miss the point. The Supervisor on duty should be both cloned and given a raise, as an authentic example of what any airline should be proud to employ.

That the Supervisor on duty would afford me a moment at all speaks to the trained sense of service that came so naturally, and I express my gratitude to her here (and indeed to American for fostering such diligent talent).





Transcript - American Air’s customer-centric orientation (Lipka, 2011).

(this was an impromptu dialog with the Supervisor on duty, represented as “D”, the author, Frank, as “F”)

F …Really? Just whatever your thoughts are as regards (to) American Airline’s sense of customer centricity. Y’know, your organization’s actually done quite a lot…

[phone ringing]

D …uh huh…

F …and, uh [phone ringing] customers come first, I’ll hold if ya…

D …yeah, I’m thinkin’ this probably might not be a good time for this, and maybe an e-mail would be better because I’ve got a lot going on here, but, go ‘head…

F …well, out of respect I wanna send you a copy [D: uh huh, okay] of the paper [D: excellent, okay] but, really, just your thoughts, you know, here’s an example of customer centricity … you had a baggage issue and here you are, a supervisor, you’re down here taking care of it in person [D: umhm], I could come up with all kinds of things based on research, but I’m just wondering what pops up into your mind when it comes to this legacy airline that’s been around since, like, 1934 (1930 literally, but first flight was in 1934) [D: yeah] … one of the best companies this country has … what comes to your mind when you think of the customer coming first and how you folks attend to customers?

D Well, I think the most important thing is to listen to them., as well, and hear what they’re saying and asking for … there’s many times upstairs, with technology, these days, it’s hard to give that … with the self service machines going, and all the cutbacks that we’ve had because of our financial situation … we used to have ten people on our counter, now you might see four [F: it’s a horrible industry for margins] … right… [F: and that’s across the board] …exactly… [F: and with fuel prices, absolutely, I understand] …so, we’re doing a lot more with a lot less, so to speak, that we had years ago. I think it was a very prestigious airlines to begin with, back twenty years ago, I mean, everybody wanted to work for the airlines, it was just, you know, this glamorous job. I think that’s kind of, the morale has gone down a little bit, unfortunately, because of the financial situation …

Context of successful Business is Professionalism; fundamentals and why [part 03d]

Environment Modeler-


This position, important to game arts as well as animation, has an emphasis on proportion. This individual will not only create interiors and exteriors, yet will also populate these spaces with bushes and other buildings, furnishings and appliances and so forth. And ability to create with accuracy lighting, coloring, modeling and texturing is fundamental. A capacity to interact with blueprints can also be useful.

Environment Modeler's have an approximate salary in the low 50s (SalaryList.com, 2009, Simprograms, 2010).



Concept Artist-

(This is a shared position with game arts). These artists first get to approach how a narrative will begin to form. Often the organization will ask for options, and the concept artist would supply various looks … for characters, for key scene shots, for anything important to the larger story. Most often, this involves an enormous amount of sketching on paper (although, periodically, some of these items develop beyond sketch and/or black-and-white). Once a sketch or collection of sketches has approval, the process evolves through scanning to a digital cleanup, usually in Photoshop. At this stage, to varying degree, contours, color and/or texture evolve, although the next person to receive the project may share some of this latter work, the 3-D model builder.

Concept artists salaries hover around 60,000 (Indeed , 2010).

Context of successful Business is Professionalism; fundamentals and why [part 03c]

Animation Layout Artist-


In the living theater, the set designer has a very important role. In animation, that role has a tendency to about as much attention, and yet it is significantly more important, for here the context for the content has an amplified opportunity for interaction. Often pencil sketched on punched animation paper, these background layouts reference the storyboard and all other pertinent research. The purpose is almost structural, for on the one hand matters of lighting and color, perspective and positioning are being worked out (to be developed by background painters later), while on the other hand the narrative is being forwarded as well as possible (CreativeHeads.net, 2010).

Pulling information from Pixar and DreamWorks in appears this position pays in the low six figures (Glassdoor.com, 2010, Jobs-Salary.com, 2010).



Storyboard Artist-

Often this individual starts out in an assisting position, speedily sketching and or cutting and pasting, working expressions of narrative development revisions and cleanup. In the full-blown position, the storyboard artist is the scene-by-scene architect, seeing the finished entirety as much as possible (though this is usually in flux) before committing to a development choice.

It appears, at least the DreamWorks anyway, this position pays in the low six figures (SalaryList.com, 2009).

Context of successful Business is Professionalism; fundamentals and why [part 03b]

3-D Animator-


3-D animators need the same foundation in the creation of the visual as 2-D animators, however, now we add the three-dimensional virtual considerations. Such 3-D invariably means relying on very muscular software (which necessarily involves the separate cost of the software and the significant added learning curve effort). Such software is may include Maya, Softlmage, Alias/Wavefront and the Adobe creative suite, to name a few. 3-D animators tend to specialize in particular detailed aspects mastered: lighting various virtual worlds, the creation and application of textures (under any given condition), modeling, etc.

Using a variety of sources, and updated as recently as November 30, 2010, it appears that 3-D animators make about the same, if not a little more, then they're 2-D counterparts (eHow, Inc., 2010).



3-D Modeler (aka Visualizer, Meshing)-

Modelers are the sculptors of virtual worlds. Such use is as various as by architects and science, though classically in movies and games. Whether creating representations of things, which exist, or bringing to life things that do not, these 3-D animators map / render, or see the project to completion. One significant aspect of mastery is speed. Software’s frequently used include Maya, 3DS Max and Lightwave.

There seems to be a high spread on pay, and a reasonable national average looks to be somewhere in the high 60s or low 70s (Glassdoor.com [], 2010).

Context of successful Business is Professionalism; fundamentals and why [part 03a]

1.1 What are the various positions for each discipline


1.1.1 …and how are the defined

1.1.2 What do they range in pay and …



This section seeks to firm up what the positions are within your field, what you can expect of them and how much they pay. The color-coding will follow throughout the text. Because so many of these fields rely so heavily on technology, and because technology advances as briskly as it does, sections such as this should be seen as foundational only, encouraging the reader to go a little further in their own research to determine what is the actual latest information. As far as pay is concerned, this becomes especially true based on who you may be working for, and particularly, where on the planet you're actually working. Any mention of pay will offer an online source, and here the reader is especially encouraged to seek out the latest information.



2-D Animator-

2-D animation is the fundamental foundation of animation itself. Despite the relatively new movement toward three-dimensional work, much of this begins in 2-D. Moreover, two-dimensional work remains a classic expression in its own right. All of the fundamentals that are associated with fine art visual expression are contained within the craft of the 2-D animator. Skills develop through all the basics, perspective, composition, lighting, life drawing, anatomy, texture and structure and the like. Application may include any or all of the following: character design and/or modeling, slugging, doping, clean-up, storyboarding and animation itself.

As of April 2010, the average pay range for a 2-D animator was clocking in at $58,500 (IGDA’s [International Game Developers Association] , 2010).

Context of successful Business is Professionalism; fundamentals and why [part 02b]

Cover and Thank you Letters


Spend some quality time creating a viable cover letter with the understanding that you will modify it slightly each time you go to send it. Your cover letter needs to look professional, and here we are not as restricted as we were with resumes. There are plenty of templates available for cover letters. A cover letter, and its generic form, should economically highlight what you bring to the table, show respect and welcome a response.

Design in advance your thank you letters. Base these on templates to assure a professional look. Be certain to use these after each interview.

Calling cards

Differing cultures have differing needs when it comes to calling cards. In particular, throughout Asia, someone's calling card is analogous to the person himself or herself and as such needs handling with the utmost respect. Received with both hands, take a moment to review and retire the card to a special receptacle or pocket above the waist. In some instances, such as China, the color used on the calling card is important as well (yellow/gold, red and/or black).

If you are going out of country it is considerate to have a translation of the front of the card appear on the back of the card.

For US purposes a calling card can be about as creative as you wish. The one cautionary here would be to have them professionally printed.

Interviewing skills

This mentioning is an acknowledgment only. Interviewing skills are a developed life skill in their own right, for which there are numerous books on the subject. Current fashion seems to be with the works of Martin Yates.

Context of successful Business is Professionalism; fundamentals and why [part 02a]

Presentation – your Work


Far too many students view academic assignments at the college and university level the way they did in high school; something to confront and move through to get on to the next item. Secondary school, however, is truly senior to that. In nearly every instance one has the opportunity to create a piece with such brilliance that it deserves to be in one's folio. By the time you have graduated you really should have enough work that you can edit what you present so that you are not just expressing an aptitude, but a mastered “look”.

It is true that a web-based folio is a valuable tool, and a tool that by definition has to present your work in such a way that it must speak for itself. However, most will not have the luxury to simply lean back and collect clients based on this alone. When it comes time that you have to accompany your own work, one cannot say enough how the work has to look "professional" in every way. If this is a manual case, everything should be immaculate, with no tape or tabs showing and a consistency of look. If this is to be viewed digitally, (on a monitor or screen, by way of PowerPoint and video, etc.), ensure that the images are consistent in “visual weight”. That is to say similar in lighting, framing and the like. Also, be sure that everything is easy on the eyes, including transitions. Be very economical with type, if used at all.

For anything 3-D, please network with professionals in your area, as these larger bulky items find differing treatment from one area to another. Sometimes they are required, and sometimes they are actively discouraged.

There are other forms and formats through which you may present your work (follow-up and reminder devices such as postcards, posters, etc.). At this writing, your professors may speak more on these advanced formats.



Errata

Please know that whole books have been written on various aspects of what is about to be listed here. All of this section however is subject to fashion, and so you will want to browse the current literature (current websites, etc.) on these various topics to see how the best of your field currently expresses themselves. Do yourself a favor and start as organized as possible. Such organization will pay dividends.

Resumes, video resumes and E-folios

As with everything else, please do your due diligence first. A resume in England would actually be a CV (curriculum vitae) in the US. There was a day when most resumes followed a small handful of formats. Today, resumes seem to echo a particular look or format, depending on the industry. Given that this text seeks to address the applied visual arts, such creative’s have maintained a great deal of latitude. Network professionals in your field and collect a few. Once you have determined some essential benchmarks create your own. Make certain that you get a handful of people whose sense of the English language you respect to proofread it and give you feedback. Your final document then needs to be re-created into an unformatted version (to be copied and pasted into web space fields) and possibly turned into a pdf file as well.

A resume is fundamental, everyone still needs one (or, everyone still needs a few, depending on how many directions you are applying yourself to). Early in the 21st century, however, more people are looking for video resumes as well. Gratefully, these are not yet required. Producing even a mediocre video resume is no small affair. You will need the necessary hardware and software, the understanding that goes along with it, and a script (from which you do not wish to be seen reading or sensed to be reading). It is recommended that you leave the statistical information to your cover letter (or your E-cover letter) and casually celebrate verbally your professional bullet points. Just to be clear, the video resume replaces nothing, and is simply another self-marketing mechanism. It is doubtful that one would want to attach this to an e-mail, and it is perfectly reasonable to upload this to a professional blog, to a professional networking site (such as LinkedIn) or to have this uploaded to our next focus, your e-folio.

Speaking of e-folios, such a website is not the same as a folio of your work online. If you have the capacity to create your own website, then it would make sense to have your work as one link and your e-folio as another. Otherwise, use two separate sites (although, linking these together is okay). Having an e-folio affords you the opportunity to have, living in cyberspace, a wide variety of pertinent information that a potential employer might appreciate having the convenience of downloading and printing out as they wish. This would include information like your resume, CV, unofficial transcripts, written recommendations, honors and awards, licenses and certificates, where employed across the last 10 years, where you have lived for the last 10 years, any security clearances you have had, (a video resume) etc. There are a few cautionaries here having to do with both identity theft and your personal safety and privacy. If you are uploading, something like a diploma, watermark it heavily. If you are uploading a resume, or some other documentation that includes your current phone number or address, consider omitting that information. There is a wide variety of websites available for your e-folio. Carbonmade comes to mind, and several states in the US have their own (PA, MI). I have even seen the judicious use of sites such as Multiply used for such purpose.