Mastery Journal @creative-juicebar - Tumblr Blog

Mastery Journal - Professional Practice Reflection (Media Design M.F.A. Review)

1. Discuss how each course in your degree program contributed to your personal and professional development as a media designer.

1. Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership – Going back to school wasn’t an easy decision. I can honestly say, never in my life did I expect that one day I’d be earning a graduate degree; certainly not at 42 years old, while working full time, and taking care of a family. If you were to tell me before I enrolled that I’d be finishing my degree with a 4.0 GPA, I’d say you were insane, yet here we are. A lot of my perspective changed while taking the Mastery course. Researching about individuals who had attained mastery in their field was intriguing and inspiring. The question gradually changed from “Could I do it?” to “What’s stopping me from doing it?” Most significantly, it solidified why finding my life’s task was so important. Without that, the path towards becoming a media designer might have been a lot tougher.

2. Defining Client Needs – In the Defining Client Needs course, I begrudgingly gained appreciation for the importance of self-teaching and personal research. We explored the benefits of using Mind Maps and how research data can be synthesized to explore and develop new and interesting ideas. Having to sketch a multitude of logo concepts for our first chosen city was ample proof that the best results often come only after an extensive iteration process has been completed.

3. Brand Development – The Brand Development course continued to reinforce the principles of effective logo design and introduced the powerful effect that colors and typography choices can have on a brand. Creating 3 unique Brand Toolboxes for our chosen city was the first step towards understanding how to develop a brand strategy and began the process of learning how to communicate a brand’s visual identity using logos, color palettes, fonts, images, and textures. This was the first time I had ever learned how to do anything with Adobe InDesign. As a media designer there will probably be many more opportunities to use InDesign in the future.

4. Effective Copy Writing – The Effective Copy Writing course served as a reminder that even though I thought I could write well, there is always going to be room for improvement. Creating testimonial ads for a non-profit organization provided valuable opportunities to practice identifying a design problem, conducting necessary research, and developing effective solutions based on that research. Developing target personas proved to be essential, as each of the revised ads was heavily influenced by the personal detailed backstories of the personas. I have always enjoyed writing and I have always been good at problem solving. For me, learning how to combine the two was truly a eureka moment.

5. Design Research – As exciting as it was to combine writing with problem solving in Effective Copy Writing, in Design Research it was equally as exciting to discover that developing a narrative and brand design also went hand-in-hand. The more I found out about the similarities between graphic design and storytelling, the more I became hooked. Establishing voice and tone for a brand is not that different from creating character profiles for a story. In both cases they define personality and are critical for maintaining consistency throughout their development. On the flipside of the coin though, I learned in this course that I would require much more practice and experience with grid layouts, text handling, and visual hierarchy before I would ever feel completely confident designing layouts.

6. Organizational Structures – Organizational Structures was a pivotal course for me. Ten years ago, I received my undergraduate degree in Media Arts & Animation from the Art Institute of Las Vegas. Since then I’ve developed quite a bit of experience working with motion graphics. This was the first course in the Media Design program where it became apparent that the world of graphic design and the world of animation were not mutually exclusive. This course required us to combine visuals, motion, and sound with our established city brand narrative and as a result, profoundly enhanced my professional presentation skills. It opened my eyes to all sorts of possibilities available to me as a media designer.

7. Design Strategies and Motivation - Sometimes in order to grow you need to be pushed outside of your comfort zone. For the last three years or so I’ve been working from home and most weeks have not required me to travel beyond driving to the kids’ schools or down the street to the grocery store. Most of my face-to-face communication has been limited to my wife, the kids, and a few of their friends. It’s not that I was enjoying being anti-social, but the introvert inside of me had gotten quite comfortable with the status quo. When we were told in Design Strategies and Motivation that we’d need to go out and interview five strangers, what could be described as a feeling of panic flooded every one of my senses. Nevertheless, I accepted the task at hand. After struggling to approach people at first, I eventually found a groove. The people that I interviewed ended up providing new insight and perspective about what was needed in the community. This stimulated new ideas that would help to elevate my brand. The experience taught me that there can be unexpected benefits when you push yourself to do things you otherwise wouldn’t do. I have always struggled with networking and striking up random conversations with strangers. However, now I can look back at my month 7 experience as a reminder that unless I push myself to engage, I’ll never know what kinds of opportunities I’m missing out on.

8. Design Integration – The Design Integration course provided the first opportunity to utilize many of the tools, principles, and techniques we had been acquiring thus far in a practical way that seemed applicable to solving a real-world problem. I felt articulating potential solutions played well to my strengths as a problem solver, developing the brand’s voice & tone was something I was relatively proficient at, and creating the dynamic vision board allowed me to tap into my motion graphics experience. Developing media plans and putting together design briefs seemed very complicated at first. However now, if I’m ever asked to develop a media plan or put together a design brief for a client, I’ll be better equipped to take those on.

9. Multi-Platform Delivery – There were actually a couple of important lessons that I learned in the Multi-Platform Delivery course. By the end of week one we needed to define a production timeline which would be used to complete each of the media assets for our city brand. Admittedly, I have never been one for a lot pre-planning, however, with the amount of work to be done in such a relatively short period of time, I learned to appreciate the value of sticking to a fixed production schedule. In this course I also needed to be painfully reminded that just because I may think a concept or design is perfect, doesn’t necessarily mean that others will appreciate it in the same way. In a lot of ways, this was one of the toughest months for me to get through, but the lessons it provided will continue to stick with me as I grow as a media designer.

10. Measuring Design Effectiveness – Measuring Design Effectiveness introduced me to the research advantages of sending out surveys to quickly collect qualitative and quantitative feedback. Having more than 100 strangers review my designs though, felt like I was Cersei from HBO’s Game of Thrones when she was stripped of all her dignity and forced to walk naked through a condemnatory crowd. Of course most of the responses that came back from my survey were positive and even the majority that weren’t, still provided some insight on how the designs could be improved. Overall though, I probably learned much more about what kinds of survey questions to ask next time, which will be especially handy if and when I need to do it again.

11. Presentation of Design Solution – The Presentation of Design Solution course provided an additional much-needed opportunity to work with layout design, text handling, and visual hierarchy. It also challenged me to develop logical and persuasive arguments for mastery across each DLO. Learning about the Wix.com website builder will likely help me in the future if I ever need to put together a quick website. It may prove to be a convenient way to construct a personal portfolio site. Understanding how to create clean and professional presentations will no doubt benefit me as I advance in my career as a media designer.

12. Professional Practice – The Professional Practice course capped off a year of learning with a thought-provoking examination of the ethical and moral challenges media designers must contend with. The course included a review of AIGA’s Design Business and Ethics document which stimulated worthwhile discussions about copyright issues, the social and environmental responsibilities of designers, and many helpful guidelines media designers can use in their personal and professional development (AIGA, 2009). We learned how to create an Experience Map which is one more tool designers can use to help companies identify ways to enhance the experience of their customers. We also researched various professional design organizations that designers can join to gain access to networking, professional development opportunities, industry resources, and in some cases even health insurance. We updated our resumes and practiced writing professional cover letters using the most up-to-date strategies.

Describe how the techniques in each course helped you complete your thesis project (do not include month 12: Professional Practice) and describe your most outstanding personal triumph in each course.

1. Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership – Mastery put me on the right track to succeed. It helped me reignite my ambitions and gave me the confidence to go forward and be creative in all of my future courses, which undoubtedly had a significant impact on my overall thesis project.

2. Defining Client Needs – The most significant technique that came out of this course was learning how to synthesize research. This course also introduced David Airey’s seven elements of iconic design and established that effective design is most often simple, relevant, distinct, memorable, adaptable, focused, and incorporates tradition (Airey, 2014, pg.39). These guidelines became central when creating virtually every project that went into the final thesis presentation. There was also a greater stress on learning how to use proper APA format in this course.

3. Brand Development – The most valuable concept learned in the Brand Development course was the importance of establishing and communicating a brand’s visual identity. Without that concept, most of the projects in my thesis presentation may have appeared far less cohesive.

4. Effective Copy Writing – The greatest takeaway from this course was learning that developing a design strategy is as important, if not more important, than the ability to write well. Understanding that concept had an immense impact on the rationales of my thesis project. Before any copy was written, a design strategy was established first. Also, the multiple approaches that led to the creation of my revised testimonial ads provided a persuasive and compelling demonstration of my ability to solve problems.

5. Design Research - The greatest personal triumph in Design Research happened when the narrative for the Kyoto city-branding project began to take shape. Once that narrative was established, every other design decision fell right into place. Defining the brand’s narrative made it much easier to develop the persuasive arguments necessary on the Connecting, Synthesizing, Transforming page of my thesis project. I could logically rationalize why various imagery was selected and explain how the fonts and color choices tied directly back to the theme and the personality of the brand.

6. Organizational Structures – The most outstanding personal triumph in the Organizational Structures course was the cinemagraph created in week 4. To me it symbolized the culmination of months of research and brand development. I appreciated how the subtle movement of the geisha was completely juxtaposed with the static imagery that surrounded her on the modern-day Kyoto train. It communicated the message of my brand in a way that was both elegant and poignant. Out of all the pieces in my thesis project, the Kyoto cinemagraph may have been the most successful at communicating its intended message.

7. Design Strategies and Motivation – If I hadn’t overcome my social insecurities during the interview assignment, my community rebranding project would have ended up looking much different and it probably would have been far less effective at addressing the needs of the Allen Park community. Conducting a SWOT analysis and creating an empathy map using all the information gathered from my research, helped me to define the real problem that needed to be solved.

8. Design Integration – I can point to the Design Integration course as the underlying reason my Allen Park rebranding project was used to demonstrate Innovative Thinking in my thesis project. I was proud of the final solution I came up with. While I hadn’t yet made a strong case as to how my solution was especially unique, the techniques developed in this course provided the building blocks that would eventually be used to claim innovation. Also, it is important to acknowledge just how much Professor Baldowski may have improved the strength of my writing. Looking back, he was by far the toughest grader of the entire program and because of that, really pushed me to go deeper into my research and get better at developing my ideas into solid rationales.

9. Multi-Platform Delivery - I don’t tend to look back on this course very fondly. I resented that we were unnecessarily covering the same exact logo design and brand development techniques from month 3. I was also greatly offended when the instructor disclosed that her colleagues had openly mocked my designs over her shoulder while she was grading them. I know I give a lot of credit to Design Integration as the course when all the tools, principles, and techniques started to finally come together, but in hindsight, if it wasn’t for that “unnecessary” review of effective logo design and brand development techniques, the Allen Park rebranding designs in my thesis project would have never been as successful as they were. Even though I defiantly pushed back against the instructor’s feedback in week 3, I am so very grateful that she challenged me to design something better. She was gracious enough to remind me that sometimes when we challenge our own ideas, it often results in new heights. That lesson was unquestionably, one of the most important things I’ll be taking with me from this entire program. She may never actually see this post, but if she does,… thank you again Professor Kratz.

10. Measuring Design Effectiveness – The Measuring Design Effectiveness course provided an opportunity to obtain feedback from a target audience as a way of determining how successful our brand designs might be. Watching the responses come in over a three-day period was an exceptionally gratifying and fascinating experience. The majority of responses that came back from the survey provided enough validation that the new Allen Park brand direction could be an effective way of bringing the community together. This reassurance allowed me to move forward with the designs and include them as part of my thesis project. Learning how easy it was to create and publish online surveys added an additional research technique to the growing list of competencies I could talk about in my presentation.

11. Presentation of Design Solution – In the first week of the Presentation of Design Solution course we developed thesis abstracts. These abstracts provided a written foundation that the entire thesis presentation could be built around. The process of sketching out different layout options for the presentation site was useful, but what was even more beneficial was being the only person to attend the live session in which the instructor reviewed everyone else’s layouts. This helped me gain a more in-depth and personalized understanding of why certain layout techniques were more effective than others. After reviewing the first draft of my website, the instructor’s feedback challenged me to establish stronger connections by using more cited references throughout the presentation, especially on my Connecting, Synthesizing, & Transforming page. On my Problem Solving page, I needed to do a more effective job at defining the problem. My Innovative Thinking page required a stronger argument for innovation by showing how my solution was unique compared to the competition. I’m especially proud of the revisions I made to my thesis presentation which addressed all of the above issues and included a complete overhaul of my layout design based on the techniques discussed in the sketch review session we had earlier in the month.

Final Experience Map

The final Experience Map attempted to represent my Full Sail journey in a way that was creative, fun, and reflective of my personality. As a pixelated character, I am shown traversing an old school video game level. The twelve coins spread out across the map represent each course in the program. The mountainous shapes in the background represent all of the emotional highs and lows I experienced throughout the year. Each of the items and bad guys I encounter along the way have very specific and symbolic meanings. The column on the right provides extra fun details about each one. The little backstory that I had a lot of fun inventing takes place in the hero’s homeland; the Nation of Determi. Everything is perfect there until one day, the evil Spiderlord Antithesis and his minions show up from the Nation of Procrasti. Determi-Nation vs. Procrasti-Nation, Get it? Ok, fine. I never promised that the reflection of my personality was ever going to be funny.

References

AIGA. (2009). Design business ethics. Retrieved from https://www.aiga.org/design-business-and-ethics

Airey, D. (2014). “Logo Design Love, Annotated and Expanded Edition, Second Edition” (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/branding/9780133812589

Mastery Journal: Presentation of Design Solution

As with most things that eventually come close their end, the Presentation of Design Solution course really put a lot of things about this program and Mastery in general into perspective This was the month we had to take everything we’ve done for the better part of the year and essentially make the best case for Mastery across each of our four DLO’S via our Thesis Presentation websites. Looking back over all the work we’ve done helped me see just how much we’ve accomplished in a relatively short time period.

The first biggest takeaway this month was really tackling the challenge of layout design. I don’t necessarily feel like I’ve done it enough to master it, but if there is anything I’ve learned from this program, it has been that Mastery is a life learning goal. The more you do something, the better it will get.

The second biggest takeaway this month had to do with our peer reviews. This was the first course where we were seriously challenged to increase the amount of cited research in our critiques. This had two-way benefits in that it helped the peer being reviewed while also increasing my own understanding of various design principles.

The third biggest takeaway had to do with the applicable information from our text resources. Best (2006) writes, “Client presentations are a good opportunity to provide insight not only into a proposed design solution, but also into the nature of the design process itself (pg. 145). This was applicable to our thesis websites in that we needed to show not only our design solutions but also walk the viewer through the process that got us there. Sykes, Malik, & West explain, “A visual story does more than communicate an idea. It combines storytelling techniques with visual design to communicate a message that has been fine-tuned for your specific audience” (pg. 9). Applying various aspects of the CAST model leads to more persuasive presentations because the content being presented will resonate more with the target audience.

Link to the Thesis Presentation Website

Layout Sketch Concepts 1

Layout Sketch Concepts 2

Layout Sketch Concepts 3

Layout Sketch Concepts 4

Final Thesis Presentation Layouts

References

Best, K (2006, October 31) Design management. AVA Publishing

Sykes, M, Nicklas Malik, A, & West, M (2012, December 17) Stories that move mountains: Storytelling and visual design for persuasive presentations. John Wiley & Sons.

Mastery Journal Post: Measuring Design Effectiveness

The Measuring Design Effectiveness course provided a unique learning opportunity that involved taking the work that we’ve done thus far on our city projects, creating our own unique questionnaires, and sending it all out to be publicly evaluated by more than 140 strangers. This process was valuable in that it helped to identify areas of improvement in our city brand designs. It also validated many of the design choices that were made in an effort to appeal to a defined target audience. Most importantly though, it revealed the power that both surveys and questionnaires can have for designers who are looking to substantiate their design solutions with quantitative and qualitative feedback.

The first key takeaway was that the tactic of drafting a questionnaire is an artform all to itself. Understanding what questions to ask, how to ask them, and what response choices to provide participants can be quite challenging for a novice survey designer. This must be why Visocky O’Grady & O’Grady (2009) recommend, “Because of complex structure, writing, and scoring inherent in survey research, working with a specialist will help increase accuracy – missteps along the way can lead to invalid results” (pg. 48). In this first go-round the results of the survey may have actually been more helpful in learning about how to design future surveys than they were in understanding how to improve the brand assets being surveyed. Unquestionably, the more experience a designer has drafting surveys the more likely they’ll maximize the number of fine-tuned responses they need to refine their designs as well as their craft.

The second key takeaway was that using a service like Survey Monkey really made the process quick and painless, that is if you don’t count the steep cost required to purchase the responses. The experience of watching responses come in only minutes from publishing the survey was fascinating, exciting, and a tad bit nerve-racking. Using the different response filters provided on the platform made analysis extremely simple and enlightening.

Summarizing the questionnaire responses also turned out to be an interesting process. There seemed to be so many different ways to interpret the information received. Overall, it seemed that the work presented appealed to a broad audience as was anticipated, however looking closer, there were indications that elements such as the typography were being construed somewhat differently than expected. While some respondents viewed the script typeface as casual, others deemed it was too old-fashioned. Others, meanwhile, appreciated the “modern” style being portrayed. To each his own, I suppose. The final key takeaway, therefore might be that surveys and questionnaire results should never be taken as pure fact. They are simply one way to get a large number of relatively quick opinions and feedback that can be analyzed and used to guide design decisions and to measure design effectiveness.

References

Visocky-O’Grady, J. & O’Grady, K. (2009). A designer’s research manual: Succeed in design by knowing your clients and what they really need. Beverly, MA: Rockport. Retrieved from https://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/graphic-design/9781592535576

Mastery Journal Post: Multi-Platform Delivery

Overview of the material and concepts learned this month

This was the month where it seemed all of the research and design tools acquired throughout the program came together. Logos were created and refined for our community projects, only this time there was more of a focus on really connecting our designs back to the characteristics of our communities. Our understanding of design came into play once more when critiquing some of our other classmates’ work.

New concepts learned this month included structuring a production plan, designing and producing assets suitable for a brand rollout, and developing a brand guide outlining the key elements that define our brands.

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming — What research did you conduct and utilize to arrive at the design decisions you present. How did you connect the research to your design work? What information did you synthesize and pull from the research and how did you transform the information into what you've presented this month?

It was helpful to review Airey’s seven elements of iconic design when creating our logos (Airey, 2014). By the end of the month, his words proved true as the most successful iteration of my logo was much simpler, relevant, distinctive, memorable, and adaptable than anything I started with or had attempted along the way.

When creating our brand guide, Shirley Chan’s guidelines for what should be included in a Brand Style Guide was especially helpful. Chan (n.d.) explains, “A brand style guide takes the heart and soul of your brand – your mission, vision, and values – and translates it into design. It also tells everyone exactly how to communicate your brand” (para. 1). Understanding this helped to take a daunting task and break it down into a manageable process. The end result is a document that I am proud of because it effectively communicates the intended message of the brand.

Problem Solving — What design problem were you solving? What design problem does the medium you designed for solve according to the industry? How did you solve the problem? Restate your design problem to help explain this section. Remember: A design problem is not the same as a technical problem

For my project, the problem has been having to design for a brand voice and message intended to span over wide generational gaps. It would be much easier to target one age group, and say, “OK, I’m designing for young people. What things do young people like?” or “I’m designing for older folks. What message will resonate with them?” Go too far one way or the other and you risk alienating a large part of your target audience and the problem of bringing the community together will never be solved through design. A design approach based on the common denominator of building a community together by focusing on the values and characteristics that most residents share is the best way to solve the problem. If young people feel detached from their community, maybe the community needs to do a better job at integrating them into their brand identity.

Innovative Thinking — How does your work compare to others in the industry? How did you approach the subject of innovation? How is your work innovative?

One area of innovation I noticed this month was during the peer review process. For a few months now, when I’ve been able to, I’ve tried to include some alternative visual examples for the classmates I’ve critiqued. It takes a measure of innovation to be able to look at someone’s work and improve upon it. This kind of innovation would be impossible without a solid understanding of the knowledge and tools required for good design. Otherwise, you might end up doing more harm than good.

The innovation of providing visual examples along with peer reviews proved even more innovative by week 3 after multiple classmates appeared to follow in that same direction, taking their own fresh approaches on other classmates’ design problems.

Acquiring Competencies — What did you learn overall throughout this process? Any new software? Techniques? Skills? Explain.

I’m constantly reminded that just because a given idea seems perfect to me, it may not be the best idea overall and being able to take a step back to refine it further into something that works better is an invaluable skill to possess.

I have never been the type to give much attention to production plans, but with such a tight schedule to produce so many assets this month I have come to appreciate the value of outlining all of your milestones ahead of time to make sure the process stays on track.

The brand guide has by far been the largest thing I’ve attempted to do with Adobe inDesign and has helped me become more comfortable and proficient working in that program.

Reflection

With graduation quickly approaching, I plan to continue the polishing of my design skills and use them to add more pieces to my portfolio. The principals and tools I have acquired thus far will benefit me in the future as I progress through this program and my career as a media designer.

This Months Work

Original Logo Sketches

Logo Refinements

Logo Designs Pushed Further

Logo Designs Pulled Back

Welcome Sign

Pole Banners

Bumper Stickers and Magnets

Link to Social Media Ad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuM0PHdruDg

Link to Brand Guide

https://issuu.com/mkennerson/docs/brandguide

References

Airey, D. (2015), Logo design love: A guide to creating iconic brand identities. San Francisco, CA, Peachpit

Chan, S. (n.d.), How to create a brand style guide. 99 Designs. Retrieved from https://99designs.com/blog/logo-branding/how-to-create-a-brand-style-guide/

Mastery Journal - Design Integration

Overview of the material and concepts learned this month

This month, for our Design Integration course, we learned about the necessity to reflect upon all of the research done up to this point in order to achieve the most effective design solutions possible. Fisher (2014) appreciates UK designer Mark Boulton take on it, quoting, “We work our way though, initially understanding the problem, whatever that may be, thoughtfully considering the client, the business, the market, the goals, the audience and the users, and then find ways of telling the right story” (para. 12). The only solutions worth creating, are solutions that work. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the problem must be first attained before moving on.

The second concept we covered had to do with establishing our brand’s Voice and Tone. Kenny (2017) emphasizes, “Knowing the difference between tone and voice – and employing such expertise – in blogs, advertising, and any other content you produce for your business is the difference between maintaining an unorganized brand or a consistent one” (para. 1). While a brands voice is intended to convey the predominant characteristics of a brand, the tone represents the way the brand voice is used in certain situations.

The concept of identifying voice and tone was further expounded on by requiring us to look at two different examples of existing brands in order to determine the voice and tone of each. The concept of a Brand Voice Chart was introduced which purpose is to help designers and creative teams easily “understand how to put your brand voice into action” (Heald, para. 13, 2018). The brand voice chart can be used to also maintain continuity of the brand’s voice for the entire length of the project and beyond.

We had opportunities of putting voice and tone into action by creating Static and Dynamic Vision Boards that reflect the characteristics of the communities we have been researching.

Finally, the concepts of strategizing a comprehensive media plan and finalizing our Design Briefs were covered. Stone (2013), summarizes the importance of being open to all media saying, “The most forward-thinking designers, especially the ones who plan a lifelong career, adopt and embrace the idea of designing for any and all media” (para. 8). The pros and cons of print, environmental, on-air, and online were reviewed, providing a solid understanding of what strategies would work best for reaching our target audience.

The research of the Allen Park community provided a clear understanding of the core characteristics of the city that needed to be preserved. It wasn’t until time was taken to reflect on the findings that the key characteristics; welcoming, genuine, uplifting, and casual were identified as being essential to communicating the values of the Allen Park brand.

Understanding the pros and cons of different media strategies and how each tactic might be received by a target audience allowed for more informed design decision making when determining which approaches would work best for Allen Park. Considering that the required media strategies for our projects focused mainly on print and environmental approaches, it became clear that online approaches needed to be developed in order to reach a different audience with more informative and interactive content.

The design problem was to determine how a new city branding campaign could best help a city with an aging population by encouraging young people to want to become integral members of the community. The issues facing Allen Park are not totally unique. Communities everywhere are desperate to find better ways of connecting with young people. Come to find out there is an entire design industry dedicated to helping cities and small towns create strong, unique, and memorable personalities. The solution to the Allen Park problem involves building upon the existing perceptions that the community is close-knit and looks out for one another. A unified message would be promoted through a comprehensive media campaign, to build pride and inspire residents young and old alike that they are stronger when they come together. The end goal is to connect with younger residents, promote community engagement, and encourage them to stick around to help build Allen Park in the future.

Remember: A design problem is not the same as a technical problem

Innovative Thinking — How does your work compare to others in the industry? How did you approach the subject of innovation? How is your work innovative?

While many in the industry admit that having an online presence is important to connect with younger people and while almost all cities have some kind of government website available where citizens can go to get information or perhaps even pay their taxes, I don’t believe that the idea to have a specific website dedicated to bringing communities together through the use of interactive and engaging content has been thoroughly explored. The fact of the matter is, young people already communicate with online communities all the time. Cities probably shouldn’t wonder all that much why young people don’t seem engaged when many of the events they organize specifically cater to older adults, families, or young children. Establishing an online platform where young people can feel like they are part of a local community and engage with other members of the community should be explored by any city trying to engage youths.

Acquiring Competencies — What did you learn overall throughout this process? Any new software? Techniques? Skills? Explain.

The last four weeks really provided the first opportunity to take months of community research, bring it all together, and implement everything we’ve learned into creating a framework with a comprehensive strategy that solves our specific design problems. Much was learned from the process, including how to identify and establish voice and tone as well as determining the best media strategies to pursue when considering any given design challenge.

The information provided in this course, and in this program, will go a long way in making better design decisions on this project and on future projects. Upon reflection, it is finally becoming clear what the difference is between an artist and a designer. The goal of the artist is to create an emotional response with their audience while the job of the designer is to solve problems using anything and everything they have at their disposal.

Dynamic Vision Board Link

https://youtu.be/tgWpvJ3Gik0

References

Fisher, S. (March 31, 2014), Why design is about solutions, not visuals. Creative Bloq. Retrieved from https://www.creativebloq.com/design/solutions-not-visuals-6126268

Heald, E. (April 17, 2018), 5 steps to find your brand voice. Content Marketing Institute. Retrieved from https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2018/04/find-brand-voice/

Kenny, J. (November 1, 2017), Know the difference between tone and voice to set your brand apart. Mojo Marketing. Retrieved from https://gimmemojo.com/2017/11/01/tone-voice-set-your-brand-apart/

Stone, T. (January 7, 2013), Define the deliver medium. How Design. Retrieved from https://www.howdesign.com/parse/define-the-delivery-medium/

Mastery Journal Process and Reflection

Overview of the material and concepts learned this month

This month for our Design Strategies and Motivation course we started our thesis projects which required us to choose a local community we thought could benefit from branding or image rebuilding. Once it was clear that we were to focus on three areas of a single community the scope of the project came more into perspective. The course itself was divided into two main sections, the first being Exploration & Research and the second was Defining the Problem. In this course we began the process of creating a Design Brief which included a client description, a problem statement, a demographic outline, a SWOT analysis, and an empathy map. We went out to photograph our community to document areas representing the core appeal of each area. We conducted online research to better understand the demographic makeup of our communities. We conducted interviews with local residents to better understand their perspective and find out what was important to them about their communities. Finally, we created a video pitch which was directed at the community stakeholders who would decide whether or not we would be hired to complete the rebranding project.

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming - What research did you conduct and utilize to arrive at the design decisions you present

Each part of the process contributed something in its own way to the design decisions presented. Each step was like pulling away another layer, slowly revealing the direction this project needed to take. Based on preliminary research and my own knowledge of Allen Park, MI, it was first inclination was that the message needed to either focus on building the resident’s trust of city officials or perhaps shining a brighter light on the environmental and technical progress the city has achieved. After conducting interviews with various residents of different ages and synthesizing the results from those interviews into an empathy map and a SWOT analysis, the issue of a generational gap began to emerge. Delving further into research it was discovered that the residents and city officials are, to some extent, already aware of such an issue and have made it one of the city’s goals to rebrand itself as an attractive place to live while also encouraging younger individuals and families to make Allen Park their home. Doing so will hopefully reverse the city’s aging population trend and help it continue to grow.

Problem Solving - What design problem were you solving? What design problem does the medium you designed for solve according to the industry? How did you solve the problem? (***Remember - a design problem is not the same as a technical problem***)

Ironically, this month, the design problem was having to define a design problem. While it wasn’t necessarily as complicated as the movie Inception, it did require a synthesizing of research, organized documentation, and the drawing of creative conclusions. Defining the final problem statement for the design brief would not have been possible without going through each step of the process. There was a man born one city over from Allen Park who summed up the innovative thinking needed to define a problem. DeVos (n.d.) writes “Inventor of the automobile, Henry Ford, knew about this layer of desire when he famously said, ‘If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses’” (para. 5). The important thing to remember is that framing a problem is done in the industry to make sure that the designer, other team members, stakeholders, developers, and users all align to have a single objective in mind.

Innovative Thinking - How does your work compare to others in the industry? How did you approach the subject of innovation? How is your work innovative?

One interesting observation made this course was that many of my other classmates also had problem statements related to communities needing to focus on issues concerning their younger population. The goal I have with the Allen Park project is to develop an innovative campaign that could potentially make a real impact on the future of the city. The problem I’m attempting to solve isn’t only about delivering a message to young people to feel good about their city. It is to convince them that the community of Allen Park is something worth investing in, somewhere they want to live, and somewhere their children will want to live when they come of age. To me, it would be a waste of time, to try and tackle an issue of smaller stakes. To succeed in solving an issue of this magnitude, means that innovative thinking will be a necessity, not just an option.

Acquiring Competencies - What did you learn overall throughout this process? Any new software? Techniques? Skills? Explain.

Aside from learning a lot more about Allen Park than I ever though I would, I learned that putting together a Design Brief is really just a step by step process. Prior to this course I looked at Design Briefs/Creative Briefs as challenges that were way over my head. I was intimidated by them and for the most part never wanted anything to do with them. Now I better understand the benefits that they bring to the creative process and have more confidence that creating a Design Brief on section at a time is not beyond my abilities.

Being somewhat introverted, having to go out and interview strangers was both a nightmare and a positive experience that I will remember for a long time. I appreciate that the program requires you to sometimes step out of your comfort zone and stretch your abilities a little further than you might otherwise. Another example where this occurred this month was while recording the Video Pitch. We were given the option to not appear on camera during the pitch. Initially, it was quite a relief to hear that the requirement had been amended but when it came time to record, I felt like the gains of stepping out of my comfort zone again would ultimately outweigh the pains I had been expecting.

In addition to demonstrating the above, reflect on your experiences in this course and state where you plan to go from here. Post your reflection in your Mastery Journal in 2-3 paragraphs. Include relevant screenshots from this month’s projects with short written captions for each.

The theme of this month for me should be “growth” and overcoming difficult situations. Not only did I come to discover that the real issue of the community I was researching had to do with growth and they to have a difficult situation ahead of them, but I feel like this month I had to grow as well. I needed to push past my insecurities, get out there, and engage with strangers.

I needed to learn that documents I once perceived as being too complicated for me to produce were not as beyond my reach as I thought. And finally, this was the first course since I’ve started this master’s program that I received a grade on an assignment lower than a 90. It was also the first time I was headed into the final week with a grade lower than a 95. As disappointed as I felt, it proved to be one more thing that I mentally needed to overcome this month.

Photograph Documentation - Allen Park Welcome Sign

Photograph Documentation - Uniroyal Tire Landmark off the freeway

Photograph Documentation - Downtown Allen Park

Index card of Interview Questions for residents of Allen Park

Video Pitch.

References

DeVos, J, (n.d.), Design problem statements – What they are and how to frame them, Retrieved from https://www.toptal.com/designers/product-design/design-problem-statement

Graham, D, (March 2 ,2017), City of Allen Park master plan, Retrieved from https://www.cityofallenpark.org/getattachment/Services-Departments/Building-Engineering/Master-Plan2017/ALLP0001_MasterPlanReport_Final_OnlinePublishing.pdf.aspx

Organizational Structures - Mastery Reflection

Overview of the material and concepts learned this month

The description provided on www.fullsail.edu for the Organizational Structures course was somewhat vague and there was really no way to know what to expect prior to starting the course. As a former animation student, it was an exciting to find out that motion graphics and animated storytelling were such an important part of the media design industry. Up until this course, there was such an overwhelming feeling that while the principals of design never change that much, learning the ins and outs of an entirely new industry was going to be a monster of a challenge. Incorporating motion into the equation, changes the game, allows me to use some of the skills and knowledge I have already accumulated and helps bring some focus to my degree and my future career as a media designer.

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming

For much of the course, the text was a critical source of information and helped tremendously in bridging the gap between animation made for films, games, and tv and animation used by media designers to create motion graphics. Blazer (2016), drives this point home saying, “Three-act structure works for information-oriented motion graphics, too. While you may not be working with ‘characters’ that are aiming to ‘solve problems,’ you will likely have a ‘question’ that ‘needs to be answered’” (pg. 20). Learning this was one of the first steps in understanding that any motion graphic can and should make it the goal to tell a story.

Problem Solving

It was difficult to wrap my head around how exactly to tell a story using motion, solely based on the static vison board created in earlier courses. As in previous courses, at times I felt like had I known what the big picture was four months ago, I would have chosen to design things differently. That being said, the motion board that was created earlier this month does a decent job relaying the important information from the static vision board, and the cinemagraph created this last week finally tells the story I have been trying to tell since month 3, that the beauty of Kyoto lies in the fact that the city has no distinct line separating its traditional side from its modern side. In fact, the two blend together seamlessly, very similar to how scenery blurs into itself when looking outside of a speeding train window. According to the industry, incorporating motion into any graphic will make the message more attention-grabbing and will more likely keep a viewer’s attention, especially in situations where there is a lot of information to process. Motion graphics like cinemagraphs, allow a brand to reach viewer’s eyes even while they’re casually perusing their social media accounts. Cinemagraphs especially are an effective method for a brand to infiltrate social media and deliver their information in quick and unobtrusive way.

Innovative Thinking

How does your work compare to others in the industry? How did you approach the subject of innovation? How is your work innovative?

It feels like I keep saying this but choosing to feature the contrasting duality of Kyoto in its brand messaging is an innovative approach. It wasn’t about tea ceremonies. It wasn’t about bamboo forests. It wasn’t about Zen Gardens. As with creating any new project the goal is always trying to figure out what detail can be added or what message can be communicated that will make it special. How can I say it differently than every other way its already being said? For the Kyoto project, I wanted to focus on the big picture and create something innovative.

Acquiring Competencies

From learning how to tell a story using motion graphics, to creating a cinemagraph, to writing in a weekly story journal, to hosting my own GoToMeeting session, this has been one of the easiest courses to answer this question. Before this course, I had no idea that thinking narratively was such a huge part of media design. I had no idea that brands used fancy gifs called cinemagraphs to communicate their messages to consumers. I never knew how beneficial it was to keep a journal and reflect on it from time to time. And I never knew how easy it was to set up and record a GoToMeeting session until our group met for our Video Discussion.

Reflect on your experiences in this course and state where you plan to go from here.

To use a Superbowl reference, it’s exciting to know that we’re already halfway to the end zone. I’m looking forward to taking the competencies I’ve acquired thus far and utilizing them in the next half of the program when we start working on our thesis. Using motion and incorporating story is something that I definitely want to continue doing as we continue to advance through the program and beyond in my career as a media designer.

References

Blazer, L. (2016). Animated storytelling: Simple steps for creating animation &motion graphics, San Francisco, CA: Peachpit Press. Retrieved from https://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/animation-and-3d/9780134133812

Design Research: Mastery Journal Reflection

In our Design Research course, we were required to revisit our city branding projects and focus more on things like establishing a voice and tone and constructing a theme-based narrative for our vision boards. More attention was given to researching and understanding layout and text handling as well. In addition to refining our vision boards, one of our four desired learning outcomes was discussed during the live sessions each week.

The first of the four learning outcomes is Synthesizing. Deciding on a theme and constructing a narrative were more connected than I originally thought. George Felton (2013) suggests to designers, “Your job, when you work on a brand’s theme, is similar to that of book marketers: boil its meaning down into one core proposition—an argument or idea that’s different, succinct, and compelling” (pg. 77). It wasn’t until I fully understood the power and importance of the theme that I could write a suitable narrative, communicate my vision for the campaign, and subsequently bring every other element of my brand together under the same umbrella. For my vision board, the theme “Best of Both Worlds” helped determine the style and substance of my narrative. Each sentence is connected in some way back to the theme. One real-world example of a theme being connected to a narrative is this 1940 vintage ad from Coca-Cola. The theme “Take off refreshed” is woven through the ad copy at the bottom of the ad. Using phrases like “Thirst takes wings…” and the idea that drinking Coke can refresh you any time and any place ties right back into the theme.

1940 Coca-Cola Ad

Retrieved from http://www.atticpaper.com/proddetail.php?prod=1940-coca-cola-coke-ad-pilot

Here is my project’s theme and connected narrative:

The second learning outcome is Problem Solving. The toughest problem to overcome with the vision board project was definitely layout and organization. Ambrose and Harris (2011) discuss the different aspects of layout, “When we think of layout design we often think in terms of the grid, structure, hierarchy and specific measurements and relationships used in a design” (pg. 10). In the original version, I had way too much information, there was no real hierarchy, and everything was cluttered and hard to process. By moving the logo over to the left of the composition and inserting the color values along the strip above the image of the lanterns, ample space was created for the narrative, fonts and voice and tone examples.

Before

After

The third learning outcome is Innovative Thinking. A common design choice for Kyoto is to strictly focus on the traditional aspects of the city such as the temples, shrines, geishas and tea houses. Through research, I’ve come to appreciate that Kyoto, as a destination, is more than a trip down memory lane and in fact has many modern facets that often are overlooked. There was a point where I considered concentrating on the natural beauty of Kyoto or possibly designing around the people of the city, but neither option seemed quite innovative enough. Marty Neumeier (2005) expresses in his book The Brand Gap, “In the world of branding, creativity doesn’t require reinventing the wheel, but simply thinking in fresh ways” (pg. 76). Choosing to showcase both sides of the city’s personality provided the opportunity to take a fresh approach.

Examples of status quo.

Lonely Planet Book Cover

Retrieved from https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51uQcbrcIAL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Exploring Kyoto Book Cover

Retrieved from https://ms-newsouthbooks-com-au.s3.amazonaws.com/WorkImage/WorkEdition/9781611720419_38835d5e2ffc_400w40q.jpg

Kyoto and Nara Book Cover

Retrieved from https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51idWL5v60L._SX316_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

The last learning outcome is Acquiring Competencies. The most important concept I’ve learned about which has helped me as a designer is understanding the importance of visual hierarchy and layout. Knowing how the eye scans information on a screen or a page is critical to effective design. Nik Mahon (2010) reminds us, “Once you’re aware of the ‘rules’ and conventions associated with visual communication and design layout, you can start challenging them in order to keep your art direction looking fresh and original” (pg. 14). Not only has it improved my projects in school, but I’ve also noticed a difference in the designs that I’ve created for my job. Another concept that has helped me improve has been the use of research in general. Regular research to find out what already exists and what the status quo is will no doubt have a massive effect on the overall quality of my work. Felton (2013) advises, “Sometimes you’ll have to do a quick study of your client’s product and its competitors. Other times you’ll be able to analyze more of the field. You can’t be expected to do all this research all the time, but the more you do the better” (pg. 18). Research also helps to generate ideas of what type of voice and tone will work best for a brand’s theme which ties into the third concept that has helped me improve. Understanding the brand’s theme is one of the most valuable concepts I’ve taken from this class. As a designer, by first establishing a theme, it will help to bring more focus and cohesiveness to each of my projects in the future.

References

Ambrose, G & Harris P. (2011) Basics Design 02: Layout (2nd ed.). Switzerland:

AVA Publishing.

Felton, G. (2013) Advertising: Concept and Copy (3rd ed.). New York: Norton & Company.

Mahon, N. (2010) Basics Advertising 02: Art Direction. Switzerland: AVA Publishing.

Neumeier, M. (2005) The Brand Gap. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

Effective Copywriting Mastery Journal Reflection

The two profiles were created with Robert Settle and Pamela Alreck’s array of needs in mind as discussed by George Felton (2013) in his book, Advertising: Concept and Copy (p. 26–31). While on the surface, two distinctly different people, there are certain needs that both individuals share which also align with the mission and potential audience targets of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. Felton (2013) defines nurturance as, “the need to provide care for others, to have and protect” (p. 27). Both individuals have needed to provide care for loved ones dealing with forms of mental illness. Both individuals have the need of stimulation in common as well. Felton (2013) defines stimulation as, “the need to stimulate the senses, pursue vigorous activity, engage the mind and body, stimulate the palate, be active” (p. 29). Both individuals maintain active lifestyles and are the type of people that might make great volunteers or organizers for one or more of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation’s TeamUp for Research events. Developing the right voice, tone, and messaging will be easier once an understanding of the target audience has been gained. Designers and copywriters would also be more likely to create something that appeals directly to the target audience rather than something that simply appeals to themselves.

Before any of the sketches were done, extensive research was done and a mindmap outline was created to generate new ideas and reject ideas that seemed to lead nowhere. As per the assignment instructions, each sketch was originally created to be distinctly different. Their differences were to the extent where it made it difficult to later tie some of them together as part of an overall campaign solution. Had the end goal of these sketches been made clearer, some ideas would have been rejected for not being compatible enough. Also, had it been clear that it was going to be required later to find photographs from free online sites, many of the concepts would have been more tailored to match the kind of images that are available whereas ideas where specific images wouldn’t be available would have been rejected. All that aside, the sketches created tie in many of Felton’s (2013) suggestions, from using characters from literature (p. 246) to using real people (p. 241). In an online tutorial by Craig Smallish, he states that “The key is reaching the consumer by connecting with their needs or touching their emotions” (Smallish, 2013). All the concepts do their best at touching the emotions of the audience through both imagery and words. Ideas that did not meet this emotional target were rejected.

The three initial concepts picked to further develop were the Wizard of Oz themed concept, the mountain climber concept, and the line of people holding signs concept. Once again, it still was unclear that the end result would require photographs and so for the most part they were simply cleaned up versions of their original sketches but now were imported into InDesign and a basic layout for where the copy might appear was created. The headline “How Far Would You Go to Help Those in Need?” is intended to appeal to both the nurturance and stimulation needs in people. Just as the characters in the ad are seen running a marathon for their absentee friend dealing with his own “brain issue”, any physically active person who knows someone suffering from mental illness might convince themselves to get involved or organize an event. The headline “Some Challenges are Destined to be Conquered” also appeals to the optimistic active type of individual that never backs down from a challenge. The third headline, “Transparency, Accountability, Trust” highlights some of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation’s core values. The idea behind that headline stems from the idea that many people are skeptical when it comes to giving money to a charity. The concept for that comp was to use real people each holding a sign displaying their mental illness as they stand behind the line with the subheading, “Line for Breakthroughs Starts Here.” Showing real people while emphasizing the organization’s core values is meant to establish trust with the target audience. Felton (2013) starts out by saying “Remember rule number one in writing a great headline: stay on strategy” (p. 95) Because of the sensitive nature of mental illness, part of the overall strategy, at least for this brand was to stay away from witty or clever headlines. While they might work for some organizations and brands, a more straight-forward approach seemed more appropriate for this particular subject matter. The body copy was written with the intention of matching the structure and voice expected from the organization and the headlines of the ads (Felton, p.128). Based on feedback it was later shortened during the revision stage.

In the revised comps, unfortunately due to the lack of photographs, the concept of the line of people holding signs needed to be replaced with one of the other original sketched concepts. There were a few photographs of people holding signs and they just might have worked had they not all been grinning like they had just won the lottery instead of expressing something more usable for showing a group of people suffering with various mental illnesses. Overall, the improvements made to all three comps mostly worked. The Wizard of Oz themed comp largely stayed the same, with a few adjustments made based on the instructor’s feedback. Logos were removed from the top of the page so that they did not distract from the rest of the ad, headers and footers were added to unify all three ads as part of the same campaign and the body copy was revised. Felton (2013) asks, “Have you tightened and sharpened the sentences? -Tightened: gotten as many words out of them as you can without drawing blood. Sharpened: replaced fuzzy, boring, general words with precise ones” (p. 128). By tightening and sharpening it made the copy much more readable and there for much more likely someone will want to read it. In the mountain climber concept, some of the same updates were made but it was decided to replace a generic mountain climber’s silhouette with a researcher conquering the mountain instead. Hopefully it has created a more interesting visual and ties better in to the organization and to the research scientists who are conquering challenges every day. The third ad was based on the sketch of the little boy handing over his piggy bank to the researcher. Based on the images available, the little boy has been replaced with a little girl and the researcher is squatting down to her level. In addition to having the same shorter body copy and branding, the Headline and subhead has been reworked to get more attention and to draw more interest. Feedback I received had to mostly do with not boxing in my copy so that it doesn’t feel as disjointed and thinking more about hierarchy for my information.

Takeaways

The first takeaway I’ve learned from Effective Copywriting is the importance of developing a strategy. Even if I consider myself a decent creative writer, it is not enough to be clever or witty and to push through the first thing I have thought of. Effective copywriting has more to do with having an effective strategy than a general talent for writing. Felton (2013) cautions, “When creating ads and ad campaigns, be smart at both strategy and execution” (p. 8). Most people overlook the amount of work that goes into an idea behind an ad, instead just focusing on the finished product.

The second takeaway I’ve learned from this course is an appreciation for time management. This was the first course we’ve had where we could go all week without having one assignment due. Then Sunday would come along and what I thought was going to be a simple 3 to 4-hour assignment turned into something that I should have been thinking about all week.

The third takeaway I’ve learned from this course is the art of writing and refining a research paper. We’ve had research papers in the past few courses, but this is the first time we were required to submit two in four weeks and one of those needed to be refined. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to figure out exactly what I was doing wrong with my APA citations and going forward it will help me a lot.

References

Felton, G. (2013). Advertising: Concept and copy (3rd ed.). New York: Norton & Company.

Smallish, C (2013, August 16). Using storytelling to determine core values {Lynda.com online course].Retrieved from https://www.lynda.com/Design-Business-tutorials/Using-storytelling-determine-core-values/126121/145393-4.html?autoplay=true

#Full Sail #Effective Copywriting #Media Design

Task 1: Here is my SWOT analysis to determine my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as we wrap up month 3.

Task 3: Since there were no suggestions on how to improve my SWOT Analysis post in the feedback received, a more extensive list has been created to objectively identify as many of my threats, opportunities, strengths, and weaknesses as possible. The examples referred to in the graphic based layout are still considered my key threats, opportunities, strengths, and weaknesses as far as this month’s assignments went..

Task 1: First time ever using InDesign. First time ever creating brand vision boards. This month has been both challenging and rewarding for a variety of reasons. It feels good to be back working through the creative process and learning new things along the way. Progress!!

Task 3: Images have been replaced with the most up to date, revised versions.

Task 1

The graphic design process used this month in developing logo sketches seemed to fit the diagram representing the linear progression (O’Grady, p 68 ). The first and arguably, the key step of the process was research. The extensive research and mind-mapping that was done provided a solid foundation which led to the creation of many solutions during the concept development stage. During that stage, all ideas were explored to their fullest potential. Promising ideas were pursued while not-so-good ideas were rejected.

The next stage will involve taking the innovative ideas and developing them further using the constructive critiques that came from outside sources. From that set of refined ideas, the best solutions will be isolated once again and refined to completion. If solid effort was made throughout the process, the result should end up being the best solution possible for the client.

An interesting part of the process was how the analytical stages supported and supplemented the creative stages. It is one thing to be creative, but when backed up by analytical research, suddenly, the creative decisions that were made carry so much more weight. Because clients depend on things like metrics and analytics, designers would be wise to not neglect their research.

Task 3

The key takeaway from this month’s Defining Client Needs course was the importance of having a structured process grounded by solid research and broad concept development. We challenged ourselves to produce the best possible solution for one of three different cities in need of a new logo. Through the process of professional design critique, we contributed and received outside feedback which hopefully aided in the final process of refining our designs. Based on one piece of feedback I received, I will be sure to make clear notations describing my thought process during the initial stages of a project’s development.

In the future, I’ll be able to use the research techniques, mindmapping, and extensive concept development to improve my work. I’ll always consider Airey’s seven elements of iconic design, especially the first one, which was simply, “keep it simple” (Airey, 2014). Understanding what goes into a good critique will go a long way in providing feedback to others during the remainder of our courses and beyond in my career. By incorporating everything we have explored during this course we will be able to not only develop great design solutions for future clients, but also be able to support and thoroughly articulate the informed design choices we have made through the comprehensive research we have done.

References

Airey, D. (2014). "Logo Design Love, Annotated and Expanded Edition, Second Edition" (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/branding/9780133812589

O’Grady, K., & Visocky O’Grady, J. (2009). A designer’s research manual: Succeed in design by knowing your clients and what they really need. Rockport Publishers. Retrieved from: http://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/graphic-design/9781592535576

Mastery Journal Reflection

What are the key takeaways that will have the most impact on your experience as a graduate student?

Deciding to enroll into this degree program wasn’t an easy decision. I was not completely confident of my readiness for what was to come. I needed to break out from my self-doubting slump and pursue greater things. In the last nine years, I’ve made a few minor attempts to learn new things on my own through online tutorials and such. Disappointingly, nothing ever stuck. I finally decided to enroll in this course because I’ve always felt I’ve learned best from being instructed rather than from self-teaching. I looked to many of my undergraduate instructors as mentors. I’ve gone through a nine-year drought without any kind of effective mentoring or instruction and so here I was hoping to find that again.

By the end of the Mastery course I had the sense that what I am actually getting is not what I was hoping for. In the survey I took at the end of the last course, I lamented that while the material covered in our text and from my research was inspiring, I found the Go To Training sessions to be highly ineffective. Perhaps my expectations were higher. I was hoping to gain new insights into our assignments that went beyond a basic PowerPoint filled with the same bullet points of information outlined in the descriptions our weekly assignments. By the third slide of this week’s Live Session my fears were all but confirmed. “Graduate studies are not the same as undergraduate studies!” (Cleveland, 2018) In that very moment, it became clear that my expectations needed to change and all the optimism, inspiration, determination, and ambition that I had built up in the Mastery course had to now be reevaluated.

What are some questions and/or concerns that you may have about the program that may impact your future success?

The disappointment and self-doubt have crept back in. The cynic in me has returned and is thinking that a cushy job as a Graduate course instructor must be pretty great when so much of the responsibility to teach is placed solely on the shoulders of the students. I am concerned that if at the end of twelve months I feel like everything could have been accomplished with a monthly subscription to Lynda.com and a library card, I will be hugely disappointed. Don’t get me wrong. I’m just reflecting on my current concerns about the program. I still want to keep an open mind though and I realize that there is always the possibility that I learn how to think more independently and from that, garner more initiative. I’m just not there yet. On the bright side, having lower expectations generally leads to greater fulfillment once those expectations have been exceeded. I hope so.

Reference

Cleveland, C. (2018, August). 2.1.3 Week 1 Live Sessions [Video file]

Retrieved from https://online.fullsail.edu/class_sections/30657/modules/101562/activities/667101

Action Plan

Vision and Expectations of the Media Design MFA program:

I expect to have become more efficient at independent research and hope to become more of a self-starter.

I expect to have acquired an extensive working knowledge of the past, present, and future of the media design industry.

I expect to have developed new skills and sharpened old skills allowing me to design to today’s industry standards and expectations.

I expect to have finished pieces of work that can be included in a media design portfolio.

I expect to be able to use that portfolio to secure employment as a media designer in a local design agency or perhaps in a design department of a one of the local companies.

Expected Level of Commitment:

I expect to dedicate enough time each week to exceed expectations on every assignment.

I expect to commit to as much research as I can to extract as much information as possible.

I look forward to receiving feedback on my creative endeavors as well as offering feedback for others when requested.

I expect to keep an open mind and will try not to get discouraged if my expectations need to be adjusted.

Long-range Goals as a Professional Media Designer:

I expect to finally take control of my career and the direction it’s headed.

I expect to find satisfaction in my career as a professional media designer.

I expect to develop ideas and create work that I’m proud of.

I expect to become an expert of many things from the amount of research required for this career.

I expect to eventually be able to share the things I’ve learned from years of experience by teaching and inspiring the future designers of tomorrow.

“In your own work you must follow the Leonardo path.” (Greene, 2012, p.293)

For the final inspirational post of my Mastery class, I feel like it’s apropos to quote Robert Greene. For this week’s discussion board, we had to choose and cite an example of a Mastery leader from the book that resonated with us. The person I chose was Leonardo Da Vinci. Not only did I identify with DaVinci’s love for art and detail, but I now know that I can now look to the insatiable hunger that he had for exploration and research as the roadmap to my own goals of Mastery. I’ve never truly appreciated the value of research before, but DaVinci himself has been quoted as saying, “Learning never exhausts the mind” (La Gazzetta Italiana, 2017). It’s my new life goal to mirror Leonardo Da Vinci’s example and never stop learning, researching or exploring. I owe much of that revelation to Robert Greene’s book Mastery as well as Full Sail University’s course, Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership.

Resources:

Greene, R. (2012). Mastery. London, England: Penguin books Ltd.

La Gazzetta Italiana (2017). Learning never exhausts the mind, La Gazzetta Italiana. Retrieved from https://www.lagazzettaitaliana.com/people/8450-learning-never-exhausts-the-mind-leonardo-da-vinci-1452-1519

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Mastery Journal