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| AFH mentors, teen artists, and design studio mascot, Milo. |
Increasingly, more AFH projects and commissions involve creative
design elements. Word is spreading about the quality of AFH design, and
our client-list keeps growing. National Grid, Ubicare, State Street, and the MBTA are just a few. AFH's talented
and experienced mentors guide AFH teens to learn the intricacies of design
- from typography, to web design to developing branding strategies to
creating logos and graphic design to presentation
skills for working with AFH's diverse clientele, AFH teens and their mentors do
it all!
Who are our AFH Design Studio
magicians? AFH Design Director and Mentor Claudia De Piante Vicin,
Graphic Designer and Mentor, Kyleen Hill, Graphics Project Coordinator
and Mentor, Joe Ramirez, and Web Developer/Web Design Mentor, Ryan
Conley. For this special edition of our STUDIO SPOTLIGHT, we asked each of these
talented and inspiring artists what excites them about the challenging work at AFH.
AFH: Hi Claudia!
Please introduce yourself.
CDPV: I am the Design Director and also co-direct the Media Studio, which is
compromised of: Graphic Design, Web Design, Video, and Photography. I
concentrate on Design.
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| Meet Claudia De Piante Vicin! |
AFH: When did you
start working at AFH?
CDPV: It has been a long time. I cannot believe that it has been 11 years!
AFH: How did you hear
about AFH?
CDPV: A family friend, Samer Salty was involved with AFH in its early days
while he was at the MIT's Sloan School of Business Management and
suggested I meet Susan Rodgerson. I had just moved to Boston from London.
AFH : Where did
you go to school and what did you study?
CDPV: I went to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and
studied design.
AFH: What first interested you about art?
CDPV: We all have the nostalgic story of drawing on walls with crayons when we
are wee children, the art teacher that inspired us to take creating seriously,
and the classic adage of how we didn't really expect to be a designer until we
woke up one day and realized that we were one. I have had sketchbooks all of my
life - when a child, they were just scraps of paper that I drew or wrote on and
kept. As I grew up, the collection of notes/sketches were housed in
official sketchbooks. Design is a perfect combination of art and writing and so
it was a natural progression to pursue design. I particularly am interested
in the problem solving aspect of design and the ability to work with people to
help communicate their ideas, projects, and ultimately who they are in a
cohesive and aesthetically pleasing manner. As Paul Rand says, "Design is
everything. Everything!" and he is absolutely right.
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| AFH teen-designer works on some typography. |
AFH: Who are some of
Graphics’ current clients?
CDPV: We have an interesting range of
projects. Some of our current clients are: 1. The Philanthropy Connection:
we are currently developing their brand. This involves designing their logo, all
of the promotional materials that they require: ie stationery etc and the front
end of their website. 2. UBICARE: We had the pleasure of being asked to
design the office space of Ubicare's headquarters in JP. This process involved
bringing their existing brand into a physical space and creating a space that
was reflective of their mission and one that communicated their ethos and
aspirations. 3. BRIX Wine Shop: We have been asked to create a custom
content management system and e-commerce back end mechanism for their new
website. BRIX Wine Shop is a partner of AFH - they donate amazing wine for our
events and so the crossover of them becoming clients is not only natural, but
indicative of the trust that supporters have in our ability. 4. Kensington
Properties: A Boston based developer who came to us to revamp their
existing website. They would like their site to reflect a more updated and current
look, indicative of the times and the work that they do. Giving people a
different visual perspective is what distinguishes us from more traditional
design firms.
AFH: What’s the best
part about working at AFH?
CDPV: Designers all attest to how fast paced,
deadline orientated, and idea driven their work is. AFH has all of these same
attributes but has distinguishing elements that make it unique.
When you add the rawness of a teenage mind to the design process,
the results are incredible. It is hard to pinpoint a best anything, but if I
had to choose, I would say that witnessing a young designer first realize how
important typography is; the look of constant surprise on a client's face
when they first sit in a meeting with teen designers; and the sense of
empowerment that comes from being part of a results driven team gives a young
mind, are top on my list of "bests."
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| AFH teen graphic designers hard at work! |
AFH: What’s the
biggest job Graphic Design teens have done for a client?
CDPV: Jobs vary in sizes. Sometimes the smaller jobs are the ones that demand
the most focus and time and the jobs that one would consider to be bigger, are
smooth sailing. A job that stands out was designing the exhibition space and
experience for The American Plumbing Museum in Watertown, MA. It was our first job that involved
taking design and applying it into a physical space that was so much larger
than our screen and any piece of paper that a traditional printer can output.
Files grew into dinosaur sizes, vectors wrapped walls, and we were given the
task that most designers dream of- which is to manipulate the viewers
experience on a physical level without the lighting and motion tricks a
computer can give a file. To walk through your design is an unforgettable
experience.
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| The amazing Plumbing Museum! Designed, created, and installed by our Media Studio! |
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| Another aspect of the Plumbing Museum designed by our talented teens and mentors! |
AFH: What do you do
for fun?
CDPV: Really? I don't have fun. No.
Seriously. I have habits that make me happy. Collecting books, watching planes
land, exploring new areas, dinner parties with good friends and
interesting strangers, and traveling are a few of the habits that I consider to
be fun.
AFH: What is one
thing people probably don’t realize about Graphic Design?
CDPV: A computer to a designer is like
a paintbrush to an artist. It is a tool, nothing more.. The common perception
is that Graphic Design is easy. It isn't that exciting watching a designer
work, we look like glorified data entry people, sitting in front of our glowing
screen. However, design is a multi-faceted process that is primarily enmeshed with
people. As a designer, you also have to have good people skills, a lot of our
job is taking a client's goal and translating it into a visual. To translate
the desire of a person or company into a series of communicative pieces, takes
a good listener, a firm persuader, and a person who has an eye for
detail.
AFH: Who or what
inspires you?
CDPV: I am inspired by Susan Sontag's white mane of hair, Paula Scher for her repertoire of work and the impact that she has caused in the world of
Graphic Design, a well made coffee, the ability in people to create simple
elegance with such little effort, and lovely typographical work of Jessica
Hische. I am ultimately inspired by things and people who cause in you the
desire to be more, to learn more, and to imagine a better life.
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| Buttons designed in our AFH Media Studio. |
AFH: HI Kyleen!
Tell us, what do you do at AFH?
KH: My days are spent working alongside Claudia in the graphics
studio pushing pixels and mentoring.
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| Meet Kyleen Hill! |
AFH: What brought you
to AFH?
KH: I had been working freelance prior
to joining AFH, so I was always on the lookout for new work opportunities. I
was very excited to find out about AFH and how teens are employed to create professional
designs!
AFH: Where did you go
to school and what did you study?
KH: I went to Syracuse University and
studied communications design & photography.
AFT: What’s the best
part about working here?
KH: There is always something going on
and there is such good energy. I have freelanced at so many places, and it is a
relief to not be stuck behind a 9 foot high cubicle wall or have a
silent-library style workplace. It's also awesome to work alongside people with
a wide range of different talents & skills in art, design, and business.
AFH: What do you do
for fun?
KH: I like to collect new hobbies. I
like designing, doing ceramics, making cyanotypes, photographing, jewelry and
metalsmithing, and drawing. I enjoy spending
as much time outdoors as possible, going on impromptu road trips, retaining useless information, reading,
spontaneous cooking, canning, baking bread, attempting to plant things,
and crocheting.
AFH: What is the most
challenging aspect of Graphic Design? What’s the most fun part about design?
KH: As a profession it is one that
technically and creatively evolves faster than most. There is always a pressure
to stay on top of the latest software and trends in order to keep growing as a
designer. Tight budgets & deadlines are frustrating at times, but the
positives outweigh the negatives. Graphic design is the intersection between
art & problem solving, two things I have always enjoyed. I love to make
people happy. As a designer I love to create experiences for people and help
solve their problems. I love to create something tangible as opposed to
something that is disposable, one that someone will cherish, find inspiration,
and learn from is something I always try to aim for. I feel lucky to say my
avocation is my vocation.
AFH: Who or what
inspires you?
KH: From my past, my high school art teacher. I
would not have taken a creative path without her. The words and advice from old
professors still continue to inspire me. Design wise, I enjoy simple clean
design that communicates effectively, Scandinavian design, and particularly the
work of Herb Lubalin, Charlie Harper, street photographers from the 1960s,
William Eggelston, Martin Parr, and Stephen Shore to name a few.
I find artists, art and
random things I really like. I study them, I find what I like and don’t like.
When it comes time to design something, I picture what it might look like. When
things I have seen pop into my mind, I mash-up my thoughts with pieces from the
different inspirational images and ideas I may have found. Then I start to
build my own unique idea.
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| AFH's Design Studio was commissioned to transform Ubicare's office space to depict their brand. The challenge
was to take their logo and apply it to their open loft like office
space. We abstracted the logo and tied in their colours to create a
space that reflected the innovation of their company. |
AFH: Hi Joe! Tell us a bit about yourself!
JR: Along with Claudia and Kyleen, I’m
also a graphics mentor. In addition, I also handle all the artwork for the
screen printing department, as well as take care of all the IT issues.
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| Meet Joe Ramirez! |
AFH: How did you hear
about AFH?
JR: Back in 1991, I was working at the
Cheers production facility and was approached by Susan and a carload of kids
who wanted to learn how to produce a line of "Salted" t-shirt
designs. This was AFH’s first t-shirt project, and I’m happy to say I've
been involved ever since. I officially joined the team in 2007.
AFH: Where did you go
to school and what did you study?
JR: I graduated with honors from
MassArt, majoring in illustration.
AFH: What's the most challenging part about graphic design?
JR: Getting all of the important
information out of a client who doesn't really know what they need or want yet.
AFH: What has been
the most memorable project you've worked on with the teens here?
JR: The most memorable project was
definitely the designing of the Plumbing Museum. It was a large,
multi-media project, and our first involving large format printing. The
kids did a great job!
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| The American Plumbing Museum! |
AFH: What's the best
part?
JR: Seeing the look on the client’s
face when you show them what they didn't know they were looking for.
AFH: Who inspires you?
JR: My kids, and kids in general.
They are so sharp and their take on things is often much more direct,
to-the-point, on target and unclouded. Adults could solve a lot of
problems in the world if they revisited the approach of their youth.
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| Sketching a design before putting it into the computer. |
AFH: Hi Ryan! What
is do you do in Web Design?
RC: I am Artists for Humanity's webmaster/developer
and web studio manager. I help maintain Artists for Humanity's website by
adding new features such as new videos, artwork, press, social media, and
whatever else. I also lead the web studio, which has one to two apprentices
working while learning about web design. We work closely with the graphics
studio to build websites for clients.
 |
| Meet Ryan Conley! |
AFH: You were a teen
in the AFH Painting Studio many years ago. What was that like? Who was
your mentor?
RC: As a teen at AFH it was
intimidating at first until I was given the freedom to be as creative as I
wanted to be. It gave me an outlet to express myself and apply the ideas I was
interested in.
My mentor in the Painting Studio was Luciana
De Andrade. She is a
painter who painted large color field paintings. She was very supportive and
exposed me to the power of using color to communicate ideas. My paintings at
the time were large scale and painterly with expressive uses of color.
Their subject matter was often surrealistic, taken from personal experiences,
dreams, and books I was reading at the time.
AFH: What first
interested you in web design?
RC: I first became interested in the
web as a resource for learning about interesting artists and subjects. It
was also as a means to communicate with like-minded individuals who shared a
similar appreciation for art but lived in locations I could only dream of
visiting. I thought it was a very powerful tool, so I took a class at
MassArt. After I graduated, I enhanced my knowledge by teaching myself
different web programming languages. I eventually started taking classes and
earned my certificate in web development.
AFH: What's the
hardest part about web design?
RC: The hardest part about web design
is the frustration when things don't work as expected. Web design takes an
extreme amount of patience and determination in order to solve a problem.
AFH: What's the best
part?
RC: The best part about web design is
creating something that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. I also
find learning about new technologies satisfying, especially once some concept
I'm learning about finally clicks and I am able to apply it.
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| After impressive The Philanthropy Connection with a redesign of the company's logo, AFH's Design Studio was then hired to design the front end of their website! Check it out here! |
AFH: You were a
painting mentor at AFH for almost a decade before you moved to Web Design. Do
you still paint?
RC: I do have periods when I paint.
Painting is a medium I will always have an appreciation for.
AFH: What has been
the most memorable project you've worked on with the teens here?
RC: The most memorable project was a
collaboration on a painting I did with one of the teens. We decided to let our
imagination loose and came up with a very cool painting.
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