Excited for Junior Year!

Welcome Back!
It is back to school time again and I am beginning my Junior year!  I can't believe I am already a Junior in college; time has flown by.  I have already been back at school for 2 weeks and I am glad to be back!  I came back early this year for Goon Squad and Peer Advising.  I also live in a house off campus this year, so I can move in early for that too! Goon Squad is a group of volunteers that help the new freshman move in.  I enjoy meeting all the new students, and it is a nice workout carrying all their things up stairs!  And you meet lots of fellow students too who are also volunteering, so it's a great way to make some new friends!  And then Peer Advising is another great experience.  As a Peer Advisor you are an upperclassman (Sophomore, Junior, Senior) and you get assigned a group of about 6-9 incoming freshmen students.  The students are all Art and Design in the VPA College.  This year I had a group of 9 students with 4 interior design majors, 3 industrial design majors, and 2 art undeclared majors.  On opening weekend, all freshmen Art and Design students meet with their Peer Advisors.  So I met with my 9 students on the Saturday before classes just to talk and get to know each other and just be there as someone they can ask questions about classes and anything about college life.  It is a great experience and I enjoy meeting the new students and giving them insight on little things I wish I had known when I was a freshman!  I had an awesome group this year, they were all talkative and we all got to know each other and have some fun :)
And now it is Friday; I have finished my first week of classes (NO Friday classes, again!) and I am tired.  The heat is killer here, I love the summer but not when my classes or house have no air conditioning! Haha. But I am enjoying it while it lasts because the cold will be here before we know it!
My classes this year are:
ISD 351: Architectural Systems for Designers
ISD 353: Interior Design Office Planning
EDI 348: Intro to Lighting Design
EDI 305: Computer Applications (Revit)
MAR 445: Brand Management
FIN 301: Essentials of Finance
I am really excited for my design studios, we are going to be building models, designing commercial spaces, working on our resumes and portfolios, and having some pretty cool projects.  I am also excited to learn Revit which is a computer design program for 3-D drafting.  And my Brand Management class seems like it will be interesting, and Finance will be, well Finance.. haha
I also mentioned I live in a house off campus this year.  It is only 2 blocks from campus, so it is not far at all.  And I am enjoying having my own room and space. And cooking my own meals is a whole new experience!
I am looking forward to a fun junior year filled with new experiences, new projects, and lots of work doing what I love best: DESIGN :)

Halfway Done with College?!

I am officially finished with my Sophomore Year!  I am so relieved to have finished all my projects and exams.  It is a weight off my shoulders, for sure.  But I am sad that the year has come to an end.  I met so many new people and had so many fun new experiences that I have so many memories from!  Starting out this year, I only knew about 5 girls in my major, now I know all 30 and I love them all!  You truly grow so close to your classmates as you share in the good times and the bad times :)  I am proud of the work I accomplished and I really learned a lot in my studios and in my academic classes as well.  Sophomore Year was a tough but such an incredible ride!  Here is some of my work from the final projects in my 2 studios:  The first is a rendering of my counter space for my Roji Tea Lounge project for my Representation studio.  The space was created in SketchUp and rendered in Photoshop.  The next 4 images are renderings of my 2 Bedroom Apartment for my Residential studio.  The space was created in SketchUp and hand-rendered.

Have a great summer everyone!! :)

The beginning of the end..

Sophomore year is almost done!  Our last day of classes are next Tuesday!  I can see the end, but I still have a few projects to finish up!  This weekend will be my last weekend here, because I am leaving next Friday to go home for the summer.  And this Friday, today, is our Mayfest and Block Party.  Mayfest is a celebration of the springtime and the ending of classes.  There is a big party in Walnut Park on campus  with live music and food and just fun with your friends.  And then Block Party is at night with a live concert in the dome.  We always get really great artists that come and perform in the Carrier Dome each year.  This year the rap artist Drake is coming to perform with special guest N.E.R.D.  I am pretty excited, it is not my favorite bands but I still enjoy them so me and a bunch of my friends are all going together.
So I am not planning on getting any of my work done today.  It is a nice day to take a break and hang out with friends before the semester is over. :)
I am starting to put together my residential project and graphics project.  I am really improving in my renderings and am happy with my progress.  I presented my EEE projects yesterday, I had to present twice!  But I am glad it is over with!  I will be sure to post pictures of my finished projects once I am done.  I have been super busy for the last few weeks and am working hard to finish everything up!  It has been such a great semester and I have learned so much.
I hope the weather stays nice so I can enjoy the weekend!

Crunch Time...

Only 3 weeks left of classes!  I cannot believe that school is almost done for the year.  In a short amount of time, I will be half way through my college experience here at Syracuse!  That is so crazy.  And looking ahead to how much time I have left, I have so much left to get done!  I have various final projects and exams coming up.  I know I will get it all done, but I always freak out about it then just do it.

I have two final projects in my Interior Design studios.  I am working on a sustainable two bedroom apartment design in my residential class.  I have my floor plan just about set and now I am working on the decor of the space and drawing up perspectives.  I also am working on a tea house for my representation class which will be located across the street from the Warehouse downtown.  A client requirement is to be Japanese inspired, so I am taking my design influence from the history of geishas.  I love their hair pieces that they traditionally wear and am pulling that design and putting it into the design of the tea house/cafe.  So it has been a back and forth working on both of those spaces.  I also have projects in my Materials class on a new sustainable material.  In my Art History class I have a final exam and a final book project on design influenced by the different periods we have studied in class.  And also in my Entrepreneurship class, I have 2 group projects and a final exam.  I also have to interview an entrepreneur which I am excited about.  The women I plan on interviewing owns a very prominent online modeling agency that she started and is also starting her own interior design company as well.  See, I have so much to do! haha.  But I will get it done :)

I haven't written in a while, but last week I performed in my dance show!  It was so fun and all my friends came to see me dance, which I loved!  I can't wait to do it again next year.  I will miss weekly ballet classes, it was a great workout and so much fun and I loved all the girls I befriended in my class!  Extracurriculars are such a great choice to get involved in here, it is a nice balance to take a break from classes and work.

I am excited for the summer, but I don't want the semester to end!  I have loved Sophomore Year and it really flew by!  :)

Spring is in the Air!

Hey guys!
    So it has been another busy week!  Over the weekend I had to work on finishing my ISD (Interior Design) Representation project and make a video presentation.  I finished all my drawings and then the video was so time consuming!  It was due Tuesday morning, so on Monday night three of my friends in my class and I all hung out in our lounge and worked late to get it done!  It was definitely easier to stay up and get it done when I had my friends there to bounce ideas off of and ask for help.  On Tuesday morning we presented all our videos and my professors really loved mine!  So, my hard work and staying up late paid off!  In my Residential class, we were given floor plans to start out projects.  So now I have to figure out the design of my 2 bedroom apartment! In my Representation class, our new project is to design a Roji Tea House lounge in the Red House building.  The building is right across the street from the Warehouse.  It is under construction and will have the cafe/lounge on the first floor along with a recording studio, yoga studio, visiting artists' living, a gallery, and some offices.  I am excited to design the space and get working on it!

The weather has been getting warmer this week! Yesterday it was 72 degrees and today is supposed to get up to 80!  I love the warm weather, it makes me happy!  And it is so nice to walk around outside and enjoy it and see everyone outside enjoying the weather too!

In other news, my dance performance is in less than a week!! Ahh I am so excited but nervous at the same time.  I can't wait to perform our dance we have been working on all year!  If any of you are around next week, come see the show, its a lot of fun!  Orange Pulse Dance Troupe Annual Showcase on Thursday, April 8th at 8:00 in Goldstein Auditorium in Schine. :)

Back In Action

It is the first week back and I am already busy with work again!  This week has been filled with all kinds of work and activities.  On Monday, I had my second Materials quiz and got a 39/40 on it!  Our Art History professor announced on Monday that she was pushing back our test to next week so I now have an extra week to study! On Tuesday, I had Graphics class and we continued to work on our reception/waiting room project.  Our professors finally gave us a due date, next Tuesday!  They always wait until the last minute to tell us these things!  Then for my Residential class, we had a field trip.  The class split up into cars to all drive up to Ithaca.  We were heading to EcoVillage @ Ithaca.  EcoVillage is a sustainable community living environment right near downtown Ithaca.  The village mimics a type of suburb with the exception of more open land and smaller square footage in the houses than the average American home.  We were given a tour of the villages and got to go into two of the houses.  The community is made up of 3 villages named Frog, Song, and Tree (which is in the process of being built).  Each village has its own look to it.  And they all have sustainable devices for greener living such as solar panels, passive solar heating, growing their own food on site, etc.  It was a nice adventure and a great learning experience.  The only downfall was having to walk around in the gross rain and muddy walkways.  On Wednesday, I had Materials and Art History again.  And the weather was so gorgeous!  It was sunny and warm and it put me in a good mood :)  On Thursday, I worked on my reception/waiting room project during our studio class and out professors taught us about video presentation.  Next Tuesday, we have to present our process and final project in a video presentation with us talking over it and narrating.  I have a lot of work to get done for next week!  In my Residential class, we were given our next project.  Each person had to pick out of two bags, one containing a number and one containing a letter.  I received 5 and C.  Then our professors told us what the number and letter corresponded to.  The number represented the family type we had to design for and the letter represented the type of living arrangement we given.  I had a family of 5, with 3 children ages 7.9. and 12; and a 2-bedroom apartment!  This is definitely going to be a challenge.  But I am excited to tackle it and come up with creative solutions to achieve my design.  So for the weekend I have to research all about sustainable housing (which is the basis for the project) and about my family and housing type.  I have lots of things to do for the weekend, I will be very busy!
In other news, on Wednesday night, I went to a show in the student center called "An Evening With Andy Samberg".  Andy Samberg, from Saturday Night Live, came to speak at Syracuse!  If you have no idea who I am talking about, look him up, he is hilarious!!  The show was an interview type set-up with a student moderator asking Andy questions and we watched some clips of Andy's sketches as well.  At the end, it was opened up for the audience to ask questions.  The whole show had me laughing the whole time.  It was a last minute thing, my friend had an extra ticket and I decided to tag along.  The show was sold out so I was excited I got to go!  This is another reason I love Syracuse, they have so many different shows, speakers, and performers come to campus and its great to get a chance to see them.
It has been a long week, and its now the weekend which will be filled with homework, extra dance practices, and hopefully some sleep and relaxing time as well. :)
Have a great weekend everyone!!

I AM DONE!

The longest week of my life is finally over.  And all my hard work has paid off!  My group and I have been working on bringing our concept cube idea into reality since last Friday.  Once we got the news that the project was no longer full scale, we were relieved but still had a lot of work to do. 

Starting Friday, we went out to buy the basics of materials we needed for the project.  We built the floor and walls and the raised platform out of foam core.  We began to build the floor and walls and measured and cut everything out.  For the rest of the room, we needed to figure out exactly what materials and colors we wanted.  With seven girls in the group, it was a bit of a struggle to work around everyone's schedule and compromise each of our ideas into the space.  We worked everyday during the weekend to build the room, create the booklet of our process, and draw out all the views of our design.  It was hard work to translate our ideas into the room and make it all work.  Little things here and there had to be altered once we tried to construct it in the space. 
After lots of long days and late nights and many runs to the art store and fabric store for materials, we got our design together.  It was a complete group effort with everyone pitching in and lending their insights into the design.  The final project was a long time coming and came out even better than we could have imagined!  We used foam core for the horizontal beams coming out with plastic rods for support in between them.  We used fabric to cover the bed in the room as well as the platform.  We printed out paper in the plotting room to cover the foam core in the color we wanted for the walls and beams.  Paper was used instead of paint because paint causes the foam core to warp and bend.  Our section of the space we were designing included the door to the gallery, so we also had to construct a glass door out of plexi-glass.  Our bed in the room is lowered into the platform and had mechanics on the bottom that allow it to rock back and forth.  We used wood and foam core to build the rocking platform and covered carved out foam with fabric to create an ergonomic bed surface.  We used translucent paper to wrap around the beams of the back walls and strung lights around the back to light up the walls through holes in the walls.  When the lights shine through, it makes the room glow and really gives it a great feeling.  It all worked out and we learned what materials worked the best and what did not work.
On Thursday, we had a big critique to display all four spaces that our studio class created.  Our professors critiqued our work and expressed what they liked and what the thought should change.  It was fun to see everyone's space and how their hard work paid off and how they translated their ideas into the spaces.  We brought all four spaces down into the gallery, which was a struggle for four people to carry it and fit it into the elevator!  It has been a hard week of work but I am so proud of everything my group and I accomplished and really made our space look like what we had envisioned.  And seeing everyone's spaces in the class was great to see how far we all came.  This was our first project where we had to take a design off of the paper and make it real.  It was a stressful but fun experience and I am happy with the way it turned out.

Here's some pictures of the final product!!:

  

Change of Plans

Hey guys!
    So, remember I told you last post about my concept cube project? Well, in Thursday's studio, our professors announced they were changing the project.  Instead of us building it full scale, we would be building it at 3-inch scale (which means every foot of the room would be shown in 3 inches).  This is a little less daunting now, since we do not have to make it human scale!  However, it is not really a lightened load.  This weekend my group is trying to get the model knocked out so we can then do drawings and put together the book too!  It is going to be a lot of work but we will have a good scale model in the end of our finished work.  The smaller room will still show everything and all the right materials, even lighting.  I am excited to built this thing, but I will be spending my days this weekend in the warehouse!  I have not had a large load of work yet this semester, so all this work is even harder :(  But it will be fun at the same time as my group members and I work together to make all our ideas reality.  And learn what materials work and all that stuff.  So I hope everyone has a fun weekend, I hear the weather is supposed to be nice, so enjoy it while it lasts!

Also this weekend I am going to the DanceWorks show on campus.  It is one of the dance troupes here and their shows are really good, so I am super excited to see it!  And on Sunday, I have my ballet class again..  My teacher said we will be finishing up the dance finally and then working to get everything clean and memorized.  Our skirts for the performance came in the mail and they look so cute, I am so excited to wear them!  If any of you live in the area, you should come out to see our show in April! April 8th at 8:00pm-it will be lots of fun :)

Design Projects

Only 2 weeks until Spring Break! I feel like it is so close yet these upcoming 2 weeks are going to be filled with work! I am in the midst of 2 projects for my design classes. For my Residential class, we are still working on our concept cube project. My group and I have come up with a final design and we drew out a floor plan and sections to show our design at each angle.  We also made a model of the room in SketchUp, a 3-D design program.  Like I mentioned before, we are designing a small space that must include a place to sleep and also communicate the feelings of energy and tranquility.  Our space is really coming along and now I am excited and nervous all at the same time to actually build this in real life!  And we only have two weeks to start and finish it!  I can't wait to do it though, it is going to be so cool to have a finished product I can walk on and sit on.  I will post a picture for you all to see when my group and I have it all constructed!
In my Graphics class, we received a project to redesign a veteran's hospital for returning Iraqi soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder.  We are working on the reception area and waiting room for the office.  We have been drawing out reception desk ideas to see what we want it to look like.  It needs to be a half-circle shape, but can be made with whatever materials we choose.  The desk also has to be in compliance with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Standards with lowered counter heights for any handicapped patients in wheelchairs.  I am learning so much about spacial design and all the different rules and regulations that need to be followed when designing something like a medical area.  I am using the marker rendering skills I have been learning in class to show the materials on my desk design.  It is hard work! But it's what I love so its fun at the same time.
I am also working on starting my Historical Backgrounds final project which is to design a book that is a "Design Scavenger Hunt".  We have to find at least 20 examples of modern day design inspired by the different periods we have learned in class this semester.  Then we have to compile them all in a book showing what we found compared to what we learned.  And also writing how the modern design was influenced by the particular period.
Today in my Materials class, we are having a speaker come in from Armstrong Flooring and talk to us about, well, flooring.  So that should be interesting to hear from a professional in the field!
Have a great week everyone, I know mine will be a busy one! :)

'Cuse vs 'Nova

On Saturday, Syracuse played against Villanova in men's basketball. It was a big rivalry and they beat us in the game last season. We are ranked #4 and Villanova is ranked #8. Everyone was so excited for the game and tickets were sold out about a month before the game! I, unfortunately, did not purchase a ticket and then they sold out before I could! :( So me and a few of my friends all decided to watch it together on TV. The day of the game, the Dome was filled with 34,616 fans in the crowd!
Starting out, Villanova had the lead but Syracuse came back and we won the game 97-75!! It was such an exciting game. Even though I was not at the game, I felt like I was because I was screaming and yelling with my friends at the TV like I was in the Dome! I hope all of you were watching at home too! I love all the school spirit we have here when there is big games like this :)

Snow Day?!

Guess what?! Syracuse cancelled classes after 2:00 on Thursday!! This is the first snow day the university has called since I have been here! I was so excited! I had one class in the morning and then my other 2 were cancelled! My roommate, our friend, and I went outside to play in the snow and built a snowman. Everyone was outside playing in the snow. There were snowball fights, guys playing football in the park, and more snowman builders. I loved how everyone was enjoying the snow like we were little kids :) Our snowman came out so cute and it is sitting in the front of Walnut Hall (our dorm). Walnut's mascot!
After we went back inside and warmed up, another friend told us about a snowball fight in the quad. We decided to join and headed over! There were not too many people there, but a good amount. We all just threw snowballs at each other and had a fun time! A couple times we would throw snowballs at other students crossing the quad and got a lot to join in and fight back! It was so fun. Then we would throw snow at each other too and I got about 5 snowballs to the face and had a pile of snow dropped on my head when I wasn't paying attention. My hair was literally frozen! These are the times I love the snow :) I hope everyone is enjoying the snow too!!
An hour and a half later, we decided to head back and defrost. It was such a fun snow day! I love snow ball fights and made some new friends too :)

Snowy Syracuse

Brrrrr
It's a snowy and cold Friday morning here in Syracuse with the beautiful scenery of a snow covered campus. I am a total summer girl, but being here for almost 2 years now, the snow has grown on me. Except when it gets really icy and you wipe out while walking around... but I am a clumsy person so that just me :)
This week went by pretty fast! I was very busy with work, I told you my free weekend with no work would not last. On Tuesday, in my Graphics class, we received a new assignment. We were given a hospital located in Virginia and will have to re-design it. Our first step was research. We all went on the internet and looked up information about the hospital and what it offers and where it is located, etc. Then we had to come up with words that described our findings about the feel of the space. And we each had to make 3 mood boards to go along with a set of 3 words to each board. This required a long image search to find all the right images to portray my words to other people looking at my boards. Then on Thursday, we all hung up our boards and reviewed one another's to see if we had clearly shown our words through our images. Then for next week we have to make a materials board off of our strongest mood board. Fun stuff! In my Residential class, we went down to the Warehouse Gallery where our "concept cube" spaces are going to be displayed. We picked out of a hat and were each given a corner of the room we would be building our space in. My group was dealt the space right when you walk in, so it is the very first space people will see through the clear glass entry doors. We have a disadvantage in that we lose space where the doors need to swing open. But we also have the option of using the door as an advantage and working it into our design! This project will teach us that when we have real life projects we cannot pick the architecture of the pre-existing space; we have to work with it. I am really excited to solidify our design and actually build something life size!! Also this week, I had an Art History exam, which I think I did pretty well on since I studied all the periods over and over!
I am excited for the weekend, I don't have too much work to do so I will have some free time. And my parents may be coming up to visit me on Saturday! I am very excited to see them :) Have a great weekend everybody!!

Markers, Cubes, Zumba, and Shoulder Pads?

Hey guys!
Last week went by pretty fast! I have not spoken too much about my classes yet, so I will start now! Here are all the classes I am taking this semester:
Interior Design Representation
Interior Design: Residential
Materials for Interior Design
Historic Backgrounds 1600-Present
Intro to Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises (for my Marketing Minor)
I am enjoying my classes this semester. I am so excited to draw more floor plans and do big projects and learn about all the materials to use in spaces. In my representation class, we are learning how to use markers. It sounds like kindergarten but it really is a skill! We have these design markers and are learning how to shade and draw shadows and make everything look believable. Our professors even timed us to make us get faster at doing it and not think too much! In my residential class, we are working on a project called Concept Cubes. We were split into 4 groups and each given a word with two adjectives. My group received Sleep with Tranquil + Energizing. So we have to create a space with a place to sleep but still communicate tranquility and energy. We are still in collaboration stages and just figuring out what to do with the space. In the end, each group will have a human scale space on display in the gallery. It is like a design show where we have to build the space with limited time and supplies! It is so cool!! In my Materials class, we just had an exam and it was open notes so it benefited me since I took good notes in class! I think I did pretty well.. Then in my Historic Backgrounds class, we are learning about the Baroque and Rococo periods. It is so fun to learn about all the history and the unique designs in each period. I like having a marketing minor because I have a diverse workload. I have design projects and at the same time I am learning about business concepts. It is a great mix and one of the reasons why Syracuse is such great school.

Outside of classes, last week had some fun times spent with my friends. On Tuesday, I had a break in between classes at the Warehouse and me and my friend Rian went exploring in Armory Square. We went into a store called Bounce and Rian found a cute flower headband! We went to a few little shops then headed back. It was a nice little break from classes. On Wednesday night, my roommate found out about a free Zumba Aerobics class at the gym. It was from 10-12, part of “Late Night at the Gym”. I went with my roommate, Alyssa, and two of our friends. It was so much fun! The teacher went so fast and blasted the music so loud we could barely hear her! But we were dying laughing as we danced all around the room and looked so hilarious doing it! We are definitely going back next week!! It is a great workout and fun at the same time. :) On Friday, Alyssa, our friends Katie and Ethan, and I went downtown to a little vintage shop in Armory Square. We heard about a sale earlier in the week that advertised fitting anything in a shopping bag for only $20! We got to the shop and the owner showed us into a room filled with clothes all over the floor. We dug right in. We went through all the items one at a time and tried things on. We found so many items and even some crazy things from a few decades ago, shoulder pads and all! I found a cute skirt, Alyssa found a few blazers, Ethan grabbed some items with cool patterns he could use in his textiles class, and Katie found the most items of us all! Our best find was a Girl Scout uniform from 1976 with badges and all! Such a fun afternoon!

It was a great week.. now on to the weekend!! Have a great Valentine’s Day everyone!! :)

Prima Ballerina

Hey again!
It's Monday and the weekend went by too fast! I somehow managed to have no homework over the weekend except for a little work on a group project. This is a rarity for me, for sure. So I took advantage of it and just relaxed and de-stressed a little bit.

Sunday morning, I had ballet dance class at 11:30. So I had to wake up early and trek over to Archbold Gym. It was pretty bitter cold yesterday, but the gym was nice and warm inside. I love going to dance class. It is a nice way to take my mind off everything else and just... dance! We are in the middle of learning our final dance which we will perform in April in Goldstein Auditorium in Schine Student Center. I am really excited for the big performance and my whole family is coming up to watch me!! We started off going over what we had already learned and Lisa, my dance teacher had us do it over and over again until we had it just right! Then Lisa taught us some new steps in the dance. She had us all go in a circle rotation and we had to do leaps and turns while staying in the circle. We had a little trouble staying in a circle and not bumping into one another. But, we will get it right! We ended class by going through the dance one last time the whole way through. Overall, it was a good class! I am getting all the steps down and I am really excited to perform it on stage! Who knew with no dance experience at all I would turn into a ballerina? haha.

On to the week ahead filled with work, and I hope some play too, and my first exam in my Materials class! Wish me luck :)

First Post! :)

Hey there!
My name is Breanne and I am a sophomore in Interior Design here at Syracuse University. I'm from Freehold, New Jersey, and no I am not like the people from the MTV show! :) Being a year and a half into my time here, I am amazed at how fast time is flying! I love the university and it has so much to offer. Being a design major, my favorite part is the small class sizes. Now that I am into my major classes, I have class with the same group of about 30 girls. And being together all the time, we get to be very close friends! Syracuse University was my first choice, way back when I was applying to colleges. I never had a dream school until I started visiting them. And I fell in love with Syracuse the first time I stepped on campus. Outside of classes, I am involved in a few organizations and clubs. I am in Orange Pulse Dance Troupe, which is a non-audition dance team on campus. I have not danced since I was four years old, but I have started ballet and I am loving it! I am also a tour guide, peer advisor, and a member of Goon Squad which helps incoming students move in the first week. Well that is a little introduction into who I am. More later...