Worst Job: Final

My final piece for the Worst Job project is my geometric design, centered around my current job at a dog day care in Chicago. This piece was created in Adobe Illustrator. It combines the use of  few simple tools the most prominent being the pen tool. This is a black and white print piece and is called, “Who Feels Caged Now?”

When we were first assigned this project, I found it difficult to decide on a job to portray. Although there are positives and negatives to all jobs, it was difficult to pin point one job that I have actually hated. I decided to chose my current job at a dog daycare, but from the angle of having to work under circumstances of not feeling well or feeling hung-over. For my geometric design, I was influenced by the setting of my job itself. Although many physical aspects of the job are organic in appearance, there is one area of the daycare that remains structured and geometric. This area is the hall of crates, where the dogs eat breakfast and dinner as well as sleep during nap time and overnight. I was inspired by the geometric visual element of this area in my design.

            The design features a geometric grid of crates. These crates are geometric themselves, as they feature square shapes and straight, vertical lines. All but the three middle crates have dog heads inside. The middle vertical column of crates features a black female form, which is divided up into 3 different crates. All of the dogs are angled to be looking at the head of the woman and she stands looking straightforward. There is a sense of repetition within the work as the crates and their contents repeat over again. The design is also very symmetrical. I chose the type Bauhaus to convey the tagline of the work: “Who feels caged now?” I selected this font because of its thick and caged feeling. The letters are bold and restricting, which goes along with the message of the piece. I decided to stick with a black and white color pallet for this work, because it is straightforward and simple, yet ads  a certain sense of tension to the overall look of the piece.

            This work is the best way to portray the way I feel when I am at work and not feeling well. The female figure in the center crates stands for me and the way I feel caged physically and mentally at times during work. The dogs are staring at me, asking the question “Who feels caged now?” I am in a way switching places with them, and putting myself in their own shoes-so to speak. I found the geometric design to be most appropriate in relation to the context of my worst job, because it is already constricting and rigid. I think that the context of my piece is relatable and can be experienced by a variety of people at a variety of jobs, therefore giving it a sort of universal message. This is a piece that can be targeted to a wide audience, although I feel that young students working at dog daycares, or similar jobs, would find it most relatable. Overall I enjoyed the process of crafting different pieces and exploring different styles of design. I believe my geometric design is in the end successful.