MDMFA Recap
"About Me" Video:
http://www.aileenpasion.com/portfolio/about/
The past year in the FullSail MDMFA program was not an easy journey. With help from my classmates and professors, I felt like I experienced significant growth and took away the following as my biggest key factors:
Importance of Research and Analysis
What sets a company apart from other companies is a main key differentiator. Branding and developing flows seamlessly when creatives understand this unique factor. This key differentiator can be used to make solid budget decisions and choosing which campaigns to run. Researching the sociographics of the audience, and understanding how they interact and respond with this differentiator are all crucial pieces of information needed to move forward before a designer even opens up Photoshop. Understanding the campaign goal and writing it in a design brief helps eliminate any confusion between the client and designer, and helps streamline the whole design process. Researching can take a little bit of time in a space where clients are eager to get started, however, it could save a lot of wasted time and efforts upon completion.
Create a Memorable Story
As creatives in a highly competitive industry, being able to storytell gives the designer the ability to make campaign pieces more relevant --which helps consumers relate to the brand. Great storytelling increases engagement and evokes intended emotions. Each asset in a transmedia campaign needs to portray a part of the brand's overall story, and all parties involved need to know what part of the story it's telling.
Presentation is about Making Connections
I was pushed out of my comfort zone this past year. I HATE being on camera, which is why I am normally behind it. I struggled with presentation, especially when it came to editing the videos. I knew the presentation needed to highlight and explain the work I did for the company, but the feedback I received pointed out a lot of disconnections. I'm still working on my communication, but the most important thing I took away from having done all this work is that a presentation can't just be bells and whistles. Clients and business care about their return on investment. They care about how my work will solve their problems. They care about how I can make their business grow, whether that means growing brand recognition, social media following, and/or increasing sales.
I plan to use these highlights to advance in my career, along with many other things I learned in the program. These key points will help me make signicant design decisions, while having the necessary research to defend my work. I find this to be this most challenging thing in the workplace right now, and starting off with solid research can help my team be on the same page and work toward the same goal.
Thank you to the entire MDMFA staff. I was encouraged to perform past my level of experience throughout this entire course and I received the guidance and push I needed to succeed. Although it was one of the toughest years of my life -being a mom to someone in their terrible twos, working full time and deciding to push my hardest in school, I am beyond thrilled with my FullSail online experience.