End of Semester Reflection Spring 2018

Now that your (semester/college career) is over what are some goals that you plan to work toward this summer?

To keep myself busy and always have a project/goal to work towards. Prof. Eli mentioned that I should work more on my time management and that is what I plan to do, starting yesterday 😀 I’d also like to stop being so self critical and post more art on instagram/twitter.

Looking back at (this past semester/your time) at FC:

What is one of the best experiences you had working here?

Probably the longest project I worked was that of Amplify Works alongside Prof. Berger. We had meetings on and off either here in FC or in her office as we hashed out just exactly how she wanted the poster. The original design went through a slew of changes before we FINALLY hit upon the final design. That whole journey up until the end result is one of my best experiences here.

What is one thing that could have been done to improve your experience working here?

Do more outside study based on graphic design. I spend all my free time aiding myself in my illustration career but I also need to remember that I also do love graphic design and would like to improve much more in that department.

 

Spring 2018 Mid Semester Reflections

Have you come across any challenging projects this semester, whether it was a class project or a project with FC? How did you accomplish the project?

Probably the most challenging has been working on revamping the old Amplify poster with Prof. Berger. It was a challenge to make the poster both engaging and hit the target audience at the same time. We met counless times with new ideas on how to get to the ultimate goal until we finally hit it. The end result is really satisfying and I am really happy with what we ultimately achieved.

What project(s) did you enjoy working on thus far during this semester?
 
The Amplify design! And pretty much everything I am doing in Illustration 3 Class. It feels so great to draw for homework! And it doesn’t even feel like work!
How have the projects you have worked on in FC aligned with your professional career goals?
I’ve been very grateful that with nearly every project I have been able to incorporate my drawing capabilities in some way. It also helps me to see how it works within an overall design and not just on its own.

01.16.18 Reflections

Thanks to Prof. Eli, we learned how to design and implement patterns in both Illustrator and Photoshop. Patterns aren’t designs that are to be simply made, but need a thought process behind it so it works. I’ve been wanting to work with designing patterns and today’s workshop will help me finally get started!

I try to follow a lot of design/art pages on Facebook, log onto Pinterest, go through Behance, and scroll through Instagram for inspiration. Also art books! Whenever I’m in a slump, flipping through my art books help to reinvigorate my creativity.

One thing I’d like to do to challenge my capability in design this semester is to be bolder and take risks. Simple designs are effective, but they’re also safe. I want to push farther and see where I can take my designs.

Mid-Semester Reflections

Whelp it’s been a doozy of a semester so far!

Im honestly super happy at being able to make it this far and be able to have all my classwork and fc work in order. This is my first time working in graphic design that isn’t a class and have been so scared since I was accepted because I wanted to prove to myself and others that I can do this and do it well! I also want to express how grateful I am to be working with such a great and helpful team. I was timid at first even if it didnt show but I feel so much more comfortable and a part of the team. SO THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

One hurdle I found difficult was the Amplify poster for Prof. Berger. She has a specific vision in mind and I wanted to work hard to meet it. I did my research and came up with a few concepts. Its done and up, but there are still tweaks that can be made. Overall she was happy with the result and that made me feel amazing. This project was also my favorite! I was not only able to meet a client’s needs but have fun AND utilise an original illustration of mine!

If I had no time constraints, I’d like to invest more time in leveling up my Adobe Illustrator skills so I can provide even more eye catching designs in all my work.

Aside from doing my best work at both FC and my classes, I want to grow as an illustrator. So time management has been a big deal for me this semester. One goal was being able to do commissions with my chibi drawings and I have 2 pieces I’m working on now for 2 friends! I haven’t officially advertised, they actually came to me, but thats 2 steps closer to a goal of doing it steady!

 

Final Training Day

It literally feels like Lu and I just started training! We finalised our projects and then got ready to present our cultural art creative project. I honestly felt super nervous even if I did know my material. Its a natural instinct and super hard to get rid of >_< but it went very well! I got superb feedback on how to make my project better, so I’m very grateful for that. And then along with William and Natalie, we presented the Show Room group project! I’m really proud of how much we accomplished in a short time and I hope its something that can be done sometime.

We also got to meet the rest of the design team too! It’s great to know that I’ll be getting along very well with everyone 😀

2nd to Last Day

It literally feels like just this morning I started training. I’ve learned so much, reinforced what I knew, and overall sped up my workflow as a result of these last few days. Its crazy to think I used to spend over a week on a single project yet this past week I spent no more than 2 days on any single design/project.

Tomorrow we will present our group project! Today I’m just finalizing the brochure and bookmark insert. I wanted to have a floor guideline, besides the map of the cafeteria, so I took some time to go to the last 4 floors and take pictures of the layouts (I used the emergency exit plans :D).

Now to go home and get my creative project presentation ready for tomorrow!

Day 5!

Today I finally found out what a brainstorming session with FC designers was like. Lu, William, Natalie, and I are all working together on a Group Project, the last project us trainees are doing. I got a taste of how much planning and forward thinking is involved for a project with various deliverables, what questions to ask, what to look for, etc. I’m in charge of the brochure for the event we are planning: a pop-up event here at City Tech where prospective students can network with graduating students and alumni. Being more of a visual worker, I made my own mock brochure so I can better plan the content.

Oh! I have officially set up my first client meeting for the end of July! I have all but one Professor able to make it (the missing one hasn’t answered as of yet… hopefully she will this week). I feel a little nervous, but also excited to see how I will be able to help the department with their design needs.

4th Training Day

Continuing on from yesterday’s project, we finished up our Creative Project designs. Lu and I bounced around our design ideas with each other and I can say that was a big help when needing to perfectly place a logo and seeing if the overall color theme matched. She was a huge help today for sure!

Aside from the CP, we went over color and inspiration sources. Its always important to have real world inspiration; the internet is great but we shouldn’t be plugged in all the time when the world and nature itself can fill us with inspiration and creative sources. I also received my first client for the Fall semester. Sending that first email out is a bit nerve-racking, but so is the first time you do anything new.

Day Three!

Another training day, another day I arrive super early. This gave me a little extra time to fix up and wrap up the cover for the New Department Chair design. I was especially happy with the design I created for it. I really do hope the department likes it!

For today, besides finishing up the projects we started yesterday, we learned about client meetings and the importance of knowing how to get all the information needed to best cater to them. We then started on a creative design project which is centered on anything from the cultural arts. After checking multiple topics off my list I finally settled on Hula. We also took a trip down to the depths of the basement to meet Lubosh and the print room. Incredible how much work they have to do…..

Doing so much in such a short amount of time has taught me how to better speed up my workflow and my creative process, all without sacrificing the integrity of the project. This has always been something I’ve felt I needed work on and I’m glad that this is the way I am finally learning how to.

Day Two Down!

Today I felt much better mentally! Knowing what a pleasant office environment I was walking into helped me to calm down, focus, and feel more excited about what I am and will be further doing this fall. This internship is all new to me but I am grateful to have such helpful hands on deck to help see me through. Thank you everyone!

We finished up the City Tech Writer posters first. I was only able to finish one completely and yet I was able to give that one my all. Then we worked on a web banner for the FC website. After the break, we were given a redesign assignment. I’m very ecstatic about what I am working with. I did want to work more on typography design and looks like I’ll be getting a chance with this new task!

Unfortunately its almost time to go home, but I feel excited about coming back and learning more.