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Mastery Journal 11

This month was all about the presentation of my mastery via a website created on wix.com There were a few important things that I learned from the readings involved, and the experience of creating this presentation.

1. “The use of stories can make your ideas stick in the minds of your audience.” In cases like that of an expert physician such as Semmelweis who simply relied on facts, not stories I was able to take-away the vital importance of telling stories to get a point across to people. People are not computers being moved by numbers, we are moved by emotion, and sentiment conveyed through what we see. Therefore, it is visual storytelling which is the most powerful of all storytelling methods when one wishes to rouse the human soul to act with haste.

2. Consider that everyone learns differently. So, it is best to know the audience being presented with the visual story and tailor the presentation so that the audience is totally immersed in it. “Put your audience first. If you don't know your audience, ask. If no one else can tell you about them, then you must consider how to address the full range of learning and decision styles, and not just your own preferred styles (Best K, 2006).” She goes on to say “first, identify your audience. Who exactly are they? Each person may require a different level of language, vocabulary, and formality (Best K, 2006).” This point stresses to me that designers and businesses should target audiences to which they relate to. Getting to know the audience in a genuine and natural way will make identifying them that much simpler.

3. Another takeaway from what I learned this month is the importance of characters as Sykes, Malik, & West said “The characters in a story need to be individuals who the audience can identify with, not broad generalizations. They need weaknesses, personal desires, and specific issues to deal with. (Sykes. Malik. & West, 2006)” In other words, it is the characters that transform hard data, and research into an emotional experience which the audience connects with, and thereby motivates them to act.

4. The final takeaway I got was that the lack of either enough time or enough money can kill creativity by forcing unrealistic deadlines upon the design team, or just not paying enough to make the expected quality of work worthwhile. Project management key to success. Based on Kathryn Best’s text Design Management: ‘It is the art of managing the client’s expectations along with the day-to-day duties of the design team so that everyone is on the same page.(Best, 2006)’ As Sykes, Malik & West said in Stories that Move Mountains: “success is a decision”. As a Project Manager and Media Designer, I aim to keep everyone’s decision at yes.

Sykes, M. Malik, A. & West, M. (2012). Stories that Move Mountains: Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive Presentations. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from https://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/communications/presentations/9781118423998

Best, K. (2006.) Design Management. Switzerland: AVA Publishing. Retrieved from https://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/design/9782940439782

Below are screenshots from the development of the aforementioned website development which showcase the competencies I’ve acquired, and my ability to connect, synthesize and transform research data into effective design solutions.

#Mastery Post #class 11

Measuring Design Effectiveness

Mastery Post

This month the entire picture of what my project was becoming really came together. The design work was complete so the pace of the class was quite different. I learned the importance of utilizing consumer feedback data throughout the human centered design process via conducting a real survey of people who viewed my work. This was then added to an updated version of the behance profile which contains the mastery project, and the previous storyboard/animatic project which informed my design process.

Only about 10-12% of the people I invited to do the survey responded.

In addition to the survey I wrote a rather detailed paper which summed up the project, the research, and the survey data quite nicely. The next step from here is to continue polishing my work in new projects in order to land a job, or entry into an advanced program.

#Mastery Post #class 10 #measuring design effectiveness

Mastery Reflection

With this class, my animatic mastery project is completed. The goals changed as often as they were met each week. I used Photoshop, Clip Studio Pro, After Effects, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro to manifest the visuals for the entirety of this project. The end result gives me a logo, brainstorming documentation, personas, a storyboard, script, animatic and animation keyframes of an 8-second segment of the storyboard. Of course, there are many more steps in the process of making this into a finished advertisement for the Metro Yum! non-profit so I could take it further in the future. Interestingly enough during this project I have had to bring donatable food from work out to a local non-profit’s pick-up vehicle multiple times. So, I can attest from personal experience that the procedure happens just like I envisioned it in the storyboards.

#Mastery Post #mastery project #class 9 #completion

In this course I responded to peer feedback while developing the script, character designs, thumbnails, and began the rough storyboards for the “Metro Yum!” advertisement. In the future I would like to complete the rough, and finished phases of these storyboards. My work follows the standard phases of production in the storyboarding industry. I didn’t learn any new software in this process. The design problem was to appeal to young rich business owners, and motivate them to donate goods to Metro Yum!; a non-profit organization that feeds the food-poor in large metropolis environments.

#class 8 #Mastery Post #mastery project #metro yum!#nonprofit #storyboards

In this class, I set a plan for my mastery project which is revising an NGO ad campaign. I started out by conducting research via brainstorming in order to pull together elements which informed logo sketches, tag-lines, and even an animation concept. I later made an iteration of the best four sketches in color in order to really test what is and isn’t working. Thus far it has been a great learning experience in project management which is essential for guiding any design from concept to implementation. I was able to solve the design problem of crafting a visual for a fictitious organization which appeals to the hunger needs of the poor in major metropolitan areas.

#class 7 #Mastery Post

In Design Research I took a project from concept in the moodboard stage to completion in this final web site design stage. My critiques said the hippie flowers didn’t match the sea turtles theme, so I removed that imagery and opted for a sea blue background. The turtle needed to be animatable, and appeal to todays young hippies so I created a modern looking geometric turtle who swims from page to page. I made the mobile design first, and then came up with the desktop version so that the website can be made to be responsive.

Since I already know how to code I will likely move on to creative directing in the future, and delegate the web site creation work to other people.

#responsive design #Class 5 #Mastery Post

Effective Copywriting

In the Effective Copywriting class, I learned how to write successful copy along with all of its components. How to integrate copy with images and take these considerations into an entire advertising campaign. In addition, I learned how to create personas to test the effectiveness advertising designs for a target audience. All of these are things I’ll take forward in my career as a media designer.

I read about the basics of advertising in George Felton’s Advertising Concept and Copy. Which covered Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

“This idea that a product can solve more than one problem at the same time owes much to the psychologist Abraham Maslow, who posited in human beings a “hierarchy of needs” ascending from the physiological to the psychological. He argued that people are driven to fulfill them all, although lower-level needs must be met before one can attempt to satisfy higher-level needs” (Felton 22, 1994).

I studied tutorials on ad campaign creation from Craig Smallish, and Ian Lurie on Lynda.com. I had to learn new terminology, but the actual process is very similar to the one I’m already familiar with for creation of sequential art. I came up with headlines based on the clients target audience, and from there naturally developed sub headlines, and body copy with a call to action. All of this was done with images in mind which I developed from thumbnails into roughs, and eventually finished comps. Coming from an illustrative background I naturally chose the illustration method option as opposed to the graphic design method of photo manipulation. Which is complicated with the issue of legal rights to images found online.

By having personas my campaign message was directed at someone similar to people in the target audience.

I created eight sketches, and of those narrowed down the best six in order to try different approaches to the campaign. By getting feedback from classmates I was able to determine which three of the six worked the best, and which ones would not be a good fit for this ad campaign.

I used the feedback to revise those 3 sketches along with the copy while turning them into comps that my personas could relate to via their needs i.e. the homeless girl’s need of nurturance, and the businessman’s need to be socially accepted by his customers thus garnering more business. My goal in writing the headlines, and body copy was to be concise, witty, and pull at the emotions of the viewer.

I then revised these comps further based on feedback, and used research data to develop a unique ad campaign which meets the needs of the clients target audience, while being cutting edge technologically via mobile GPS location based advertising.

References

Felton, George. (1994) Advertising: Concept and Copy (Third Edition), 3rd Edition. W. W. Norton & Company.

#effective copywriting #class 4 #mastery post

Mastery Post.

The Heater Breaks. He Mistreats You In Public. Quiet Moment Together. Sneak Hug. He Can't Find You In The Store. Rumors. He Comforts You And Things Become Heated. He Gives You A Pick Up Line. He Gets Stuck While At The Park. He Comes Home And You're Asleep. You're Insecure. You Take A Bath Together. Watching Your Favorite Movie. He Thinks You Smell Good. What He Worries About You. The Other Boys Are Picking On You. He Wants A Kiss. He Cheats. He Wakes Up To You Crying. He Lets His Hand Slip. Arts And Crafts You Do Together. Cute Moments While Driving. How He Admits He Likes You. How He Makes You Blush. You Go On Vacation. He Doesn't Let You Out Of The Flat In What You're Wearing. Spending The Night For The First Time. You Take Him To Warped Tour. You Give Him A Love Bite. Article of Clothing You Steal From Him. He Writes You A Love Note. One Of The Members Of The Wanted Likes You. He Finds Out You Listen To Uncharacteristic Music. He Walks In On You Changing. He Sees You Without Make Up For The First Time. Your Time Of The Month. Helping You Move. You Change Your Hair. You Get Stuck In An Elevator. He Distracts You While Cooking. What He Does When He's Upset. You Tell Him You're Pregnant. He Kisses You To Distract You. Your Song. Grocery Shopping With Him. He Tweets About You While On Tour. When You Get Hurt. Matching Clothes. When You're Cranky. Good Morning Text. Favorite Place To Kiss You. What He's Afraid Of. He Asks You To Move In With Him. He Sees You In His Underwear/Clothes. Haunted House. He Interrupts Your Reading. He Buys You Something When You Go Shopping. Romantic Gesture. What You Get Him For His Birthday. His Reaction to Your Biggest Fear. He Sees Your 'Love _____' Shirt. What Avenger He Is. What He Gets You For Your Birthday. He Comforts You. On Their Tour Bus. He Records You Dancing. He Pushes You Into the Pool. He Doesn't Like Your Perfume. He Tweets A Picture of You. He Gets Sick. Road Trip. First Fan Encounters. Outdoor Activities. How You Meet. Good Night Calls. He Catches You Listening to 1D. The Background On His Phone. What You Do That Annoys Him. It's Storming. Ice Cream Parlor. Just Because Gifts. First Kiss. Take Care Of Stray Animals. Exchanging Gifts Before Tour. How You Fall Asleep At Night. Light House. Disney Movie Night. You Burn Dinner. How He Reacts to You Fangirling. How He Asks You Out. He Takes You Camping. He Surprises You At Work. How He Wakes You Up. Take You to a Sporting Event. When You Can't Sleep. You're Sunburnt. When You're Crying. When You Get Sick. First I Love You. At The Carnival. Day At The Park. Knowing You Love Him. Meeting The Guys. Hot Air Balloon. Date Night. Lazy Sunday. Meeting Your Parents. First Snow. One Direction Concert. Day At The Beach. Fishing.

#mastery post