Tosh K

Cover letter: personalize it to the position you’re applying for, highlight what skills that are needed for the specific position you have (“you’re great, I’m great, we’re great together” was the format encouraged by my program – in engineering, but i think it applies here; you want to get them excited by the prospect of you wanting to work…[Read more]

i’m told that’s where all the multiflora roses come from… hardy, easy to establish hedgerow planting…

Considering the air quality/respiratory health issues over there, some of the efforts are understandable, so long as it isn’t designed solely as an aesthetic.  The attempt west of Beijing to reforest in an effort to stave off the desertification also is a fascinating one – anyone know how it’s holding up?
In some sense, the projects under FDR may…[Read more]

They’re supposed to hit their sweet crude reserves this year (hence the backing to get the Olympics and the WC); rumor has it that their reserves may be greater than what the Saudi’s had, so that’s a lot of potential cash to be spent.  Some of the big boys have already been maneuvering to get work down there, so we’ll see.  Wouldn’t hurt to s…[Read more]

Designing backyards is awesome, better when the client wants to drop millions on them as some do…

Other than the non-design LA jobs (government, NGO, nonprofit):

Graphic design
App design seems to be a pretty popular alternative (and a lucrative one when done right).
Marketing
Publication
Education
TV/Movie (mostly rendering and set design)

1. Align maps, title blocks, scales.
2. Be concise in the text – Have a paragraph as to why the topic interested you and compelling argument that it is a relevant to current conditions (it’s a thesis, not just a project so make the argument as to why its a thesis). “Inventory and analysis diagrams” would cover this page along with a short text on…[Read more]

A lot of this depends on whether you are mailing this off or bringing it in in-person and the nature of the work you are applying for.

1. For academic/research positions do include text that explains why/what/how and enough images to outline the research process.
2. Some firms may be more interested in what you can produce while others will be…[Read more]

This is awesome – when doing my thesis (looking at collective memory, meaning, and perception) a few of my advisers had me read Faulkner and Twain (I was looking at a city on the Mississippi).  It is very informative and enriching to read literary description (as they often permeate through the public better than any academic texts); maybe we…[Read more]

It’s a close call as to the number of weeders I’ve seen up there as compared to the gardens in Kyoto.  Perhaps part of bringing back “nature” into the city is to show how much maintenance certain aesthetics requires?

Also curious is the forward – at least his design for the HL had succession as an integral part, which I understood to be what was…[Read more]

A graphic scale wouldn’t hurt.

the gps/surveying folks? interesting…

To address the problem encountered by Ben, it’s best to send out a heads up to whomever is receiving verification letters (the first time one of my employers never recognized it); it’s unfortunate that you can’t download a form to have mailed in – maybe something CLARB ought to change.

I opted for (though I started earlier than prudent – while in my first year in grad school), because I didn’t want to manage recommendations and employment records on my own.  As much as people seem to complain about them, they are helpful and easily reachable by phone and I believe they assign your account to a specific person making assistance…[Read more]

So… some folks want ASLA’s national president to announce to the business world that firms are bare-boned, the professionals incapable of finding solutions to the contemporary issues that the readers of these articles are looking for?  Quite frankly work seems to be picking up, and many firms have retooled to compete with A/E, architecture,…[Read more]

ny state has a 3yr (2yr in ny) rule that is more stringent than the neighboring states. CA, MA and FL (and maybe others) have challenging state specific sections (a state can require more sections) in their exam requirements.

I lost a few years worth of hrs in the 6-month rule change in IDP; every year I pay into that system aggravates me – it’s…[Read more]

I’m with Andrew, both.  Email allows larger firms to pass on to multiple people in the office faster, it also allows them to pass on to their contacts.  Hard copies can be kept on a “to be considered later” pile if they keep one (believe it or not some places keep a “ranked” pile around for months).  It does depend on the firm, culture, and th…[Read more]

CLARB is no where near a pain as NCARB, I guess they trust the state boards more (IDP’s intent is good but requiring such an over diligent documentation clearly points to a lack of self discipline in the profession).  In most states you can sit for the exam at any time, you can’t get licensed until you fulfill the state’s requirements (eg in NY…[Read more]

Wasn’t one of the keynote speakers at a recent ASLA conference (I’m thinking DC) a medical researcher who pointed out the growing percentage of topics at medical conferences centering on urban design issues?  Public health researchers seem to know how to do the research on health and the built environment, not sure why there aren’t a lot more…[Read more]

Any creative work, writing, 2d/3d art, photography, digital works; key is to show potential, attention to craft and sensitivity.  I put a lot of sketches/drawings and photography along with a few design projects from an intro studio.  As Chris mentioned, the composition of the portfolio is as important as the content.

Calibrate the monitor and printer so that what you see is what you print.

I liked printing on Espon inkjet’s but at the end of the day a good print shop laser print at $70/30 page portfolio (front and back) and a simple coil binding on heavy stock paper was fine (and cheaper than replacing ink, cleaning print heads and paying for archival matte…[Read more]