Blogger 101: Students Learn Blog Fundamentals & How They Make Money

The Graphic Design Club will be hosting a Blog Workshop which is open to the public on Wednesday, November 4th from 5:00 to 5:50pm in Room 231. Attendees will learn everything they need to set up their own personal blog and how to set up revenue generating ads through the Blogger system.

According to animation and web instructor, Aaron Belchamber, "As a designer, you become more valuable to a client, a marketing department, or your future employer if you understand how to set up, maintain, and properly leverage blogs. All graphic designers need to not only understand how to set up blogs for their clients, but they should really be setting up a blog for themselves."

"A blog is a great marketing tool for the web. Not only is blogging a free way for graphic designers to present their work and vision in an organized way, it increases their web relevance by providing them a legitimate presence on the web. This web presence can be built with regular, relevant, and impactful blog entries about specific subject matter."

Belchamber continues, "By the very fact I am writing a discussion about blogs and mentioning topics of discussion such as Blogger.com as a hyperlink, I am increasing Southwest Florida College's, along with my own, web relevance, along with the subject and causes I am promoting in this very blog. Making regular entries into your own blog will make it easier for people to find information in search engines who enter key words that are discussed in your blog."

According to Belchamber, publishing your own blog exposes your material, designs, and ideas to the world audience, improving the chances that people in search of similar subject matter will stumble across your blog. Once someone visits your blog, hopefully the content will compel your blog visitors to learn more about you, review your design work and consider contacting you to participate in future projects or employment openings.

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.

SWFC STUDENTS INTERN FOR NAPLES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Ten graphic design students have landed internships with Naples International Film Festival (NIFF), where they are assisting the organization in launching its inaugural event November 5-9. The interns, all top-design students at Southwest Florida College, are beneficiaries of the college’s proactive Career Services department, where professional career counselors facilitate real-life training and hands-on opportunities as an integral part of all SWFC diploma and degree programs.

“I love the atmosphere,” said Lindsey Phillips, of her experience interning at NIFF. Phillips recently graduated from Southwest Florida College with an associate's degree in graphic design. She is currently working on designing posters and advertisements for NIFF, one of which has been used in Gulf Shore Life Magazine. “I appreciate the opportunity of them giving me the offer to do this in their first year,” she said.

Phillips said that the internship gives her and all the interns first-hand access to the nuts-and-bolts of how a professional team carries out all the design elements for a specific market.

“Our interns/students are a great group of young cultured and inspired artist. We have been very fortunate to have these talented individuals among our NIFF family,” said Daniel Herrera, Director of Outreach for Naples International Film Festival and Director/Producer for La Razza Films.

“It takes institutions like SW Florida College to offer the curriculum's to refine the incubated talents of its students,” Herrera said. “I am glad to see, that distinct artistic personalities do exist in such a conservative community. I personally feel that there is no need to have to recruit from other cities like New York, Miami and or LA, when there is great talent pool here.”
The festival opens with “The Cove,” which will screen at the opening night gala on November 5 at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts.

“Career Services is extremely proud of our student’s hard work and of their representation of Southwest Florida College in this important inaugural event,” said Jan Rhonehouse, Career Services Coordinator for the Southwest Florida College, Fort Myers campus. Rhonehouse worked diligently to foster the connection at NIFF to create this opportunity for the students at Southwest Florida College.

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.

SWFC Graphic Design Department Launches Student Resources Page

At the top of the program page is a new button labeled "STUDENT RESOURCES" in red. This button will take Graphic Design students to the Student Resources Page, a new sortable and searchable list of hyperlinks to tutorial videos, websites, and attachments that are relevant to all the subjects and classes in the Graphic Design Program.

Enter a keyword, select a program from a pull down menu, or select the type of resource you are looking for (tutorial video, example, reference, or student work) and the list will provide you with relevant listings of hyperlinks and descriptions.

Written in PHP by Aaron Belchamber, the resident web designer and 3D animation instructor, you can use the student resource and see it in action by visiting our main program page at www.swfc.edu/gd and click on the STUDENT RESOURCES button in red!

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.

SWFC Web Design Student Launches Portfolio Website

Designed entirely in Flash, this Web Design student has designed a portfolio website that can be viewed at http://www.creativesouthwestflorida.com/lindseyp/.

"These digital portfolios are essential in finding a job as a graphic designer. The visual communications industry is quickly moving to more web-based platforms for pre-employment qualifications by employers." Says Aaron Belchamber, web design and 3D animation instructor at Southwest Florida College. "You increase your chances of getting a call to a job interview or to discuss freelance work if you have a solid online portfolio that is easily accessible."

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact

Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.

Graphic Design Club Meeting October 7th: "SELL STUFF ONLINE WITH PAY PAL"

Join the Graphic Design Club, Wednesday October 7th at 5pm in Classroom 231 as we demonstrate how fast and easy it is to set up a Pay Pal account and install shopping carts and "Buy Now" buttons on ANY website.

"In less than an hour, students will understand how Pay Pal works and how easy it is to sell products or services online using the Pay Pal eCommerce system," says Aaron Belchamber, web design and 3D animation instructor at Southwest Florida College. He continues, "Knowing how to set up an online store is a valuable skill that will help advance their knowledge and become more valuable web designers."

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.

3d Logo Animation in Autodesk 3Ds Max

Students learn to animate logos in 3-dimensional form using the modeling software 3DS Max. Here is one of the solutions created by an animation student.

This class, called "3Ds Max Modeling", is available throughout the school year and is taught by 16-year industry veteran Aaron Belchamber, who has produce countless 3D animations, virtual tours, TV commercials, and videos.

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.