design4kids

Mother and Child - Photo by Werner Monterosso

We missed posting yesterday, and thought it best to make the last post from workshop 3 feature some of the best work from the students in this workshop. The photo above was taken during our excursion day on Wednesday when two students paired up with 1 mentor for a cross cultural experience and photo scavenger hunt. One of the photos on the list was mother and child. Werner managed to capture this poignant moment during the event.

Last night the kids chose to stay up late working on their poster designs in preparation for this afternoons’ presentation to their client, Hospitalito Atitlan. We reviewed the work in the morning and had a few hours to relax and sight see before the presentation at 3:00. When the client arrived the kids were rehearsed and ready. They made a professional presentation using PowerPoint and a digital projector. It came off smooth and polished. So much so that the client was quite taken aback. They told us that the work far exceeded their expectations. Below is a three part series designed by Ana Yax. Several other designs were presented by this one was chosen by the students as the best solution for the client.

To cap things off, here are a couple of reflective comments from students in answer to the question “what would you do differently if this was your job in real life.”

Camilo,
If I was a project manager in real life I’d try to be a little more understanding of the designers, that they all have different levels, styles, and ways of designing. And I would see if the were not doing the job well, I would help them. I really liked going out with the professional photographers because I learned a lot more. I also liked doing the food photography because I’ve never done that before.

Josefa
I realize I don’t really like the job of writer because it’s not really my type of work. I’d rather do more of the project management work, and help others where I can without it being dependent on me. In the screen-printing workshop I worked with a partner and discovered that you can get a lot done that way. You can make your design simple and effective by drawing upon the inspiration of others.

Sam and Camilo Screen Printing

Deysi
Today I learned a lot of different things. To experiment with the camera, which is new to me and I will be able to experiment more later on my own. I learned a lot about Adobe Lightroom including how to make a slideshow. I really like Lightroom because it is easy to use and very useful. Also working within my group this afternoon I learned a lot about my fellow students, and came to really admire them. I’ve learned a lot about my own work from them.

Sandy
I feel like I am learning so much and improving everyday. I’m losing my fear to jump right in and experiment with Adobe Illustrator. I’m also learning a lot about using the camera, like how to focus better. I love being here and learning.

Screen Print by Werner

Nancy McGirr with several of the Santiago Fotokids.

Photographer, journalist, educator, and for much of the 1980s, war correspondent, Nancy McGirr is no stranger to anguish. Covering the conflicts in Central America for the Reuters news agency, she saw her fair share of suffering. Going from barrio to barrio to tell the unfolding drama of conflict, she often noticed deplorable conditions and “thought someone needs to do something about that.”

Then in the early 1990s she was in Guatemala covering a different kind of war. Aware that the Guatemala City dump was home to an entire community of people who subsisted entirely off what they could gather there and decided to do a story and bring the situation into the light. Working on her story she met many of the deeply impoverished residents. And naturally she met their children. It was heartbreaking to see the conditions these kids faced. Born into generations of extreme poverty, their opportunities looked bleak.

With the encouragement of local nuns Nancy decided to teach these kids something that she herself knew very well, photography. By putting cameras in their hands and teaching them how to use them, she gave them a different way of seeing, and a way of expressing what they saw. And they saw a lot, relatives sniffing glue, rooms torn up after a drunken rampage. Without exposure to television or other media they shot without preconceived notions, or self censorship. Their raw and powerful work soon won the group recognition. Their photography began to be shown in international exhibits, and a book was published entitled “Out of the Dump.”

Nancy working during D4K2

Learn much more about Fotokids by visiting their website or by watching this terrific 17 minute documentary video..

Ed. Note: Beginning Monday December 7th, we will be blogging student content once-a-day, every day during Design4Kids Workshop 3 which runs through Saturday the 13th.