During the course of this semester I would say I’ve noticed some things about myself. One of the more noteworthy things is how much my drafting abilities have improved. In class the professor showed an article on shitty first drafts and made an emphasis on just writing what comes to mind not worrying about the requirements. My drafts before this class started with me just staring at my screen trying to get anything down without much success. The reason was probably due to me always having the requirements in my mind and putting a block of sorts on my work. But after the shitty first draft lesson I started typing anything and realized that the majority of what I wrote in that first draft was usable if placed correctly. When viewing my writing not as a near finished final but as just a foundation it helped immensely. I went to a charter for elementary and middle school, so writing “perfection” on the first try was pretty much expected. That definitely held back my writing.
Continuing with that first draft lesson, I can see that idea being used in many parts of my life. Most especially in a professional setting due to my major in communication design. In design or just art in general you throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks and go from there in the form of sketches. Getting every idea that can come to mind down is very beneficial, due to the potential each idea may hold. For example a design may have two hands clasped together in a prayer pose while another may have a skull with a halo. You take the strongest parts of both to create the praying hands with the halo to bring that theme of holiness or religion to light. Another way that my experience in ENG 1121 can be used elsewhere is analysis. What I mean is learning what to take in and what is irrelevant. This can be shown in the discourse communities lesson which shows how people are unconsciously aligned with various groups for a variety of reasons which is what I attempted to do in Project 1. I wrote “Everyone is part of a community. Some people don’t even realize it. That group you talk to at the gym, the small friend group at work, and even just neighbors that happen to not despise each other makes them part of the community” to explain a discourse group. This can be used to help understand how a person may see certain ideas and how they may act in certain situations. This is especially helpful for my professional setting as I will be talking to clients and trying to bring their ideas to life. That is much easier if I can figure out what they’re thinking as words aren’t the only way or always the best way to communicate.
Out of all the work I did during the semester I would say that Project 3 would be my strongest and would be the one I highlight in yet again, the professional setting. As I write this I’m noticing that even in writing, that creativity can be used in many places. Back to project 3 I say it is the strongest due to it taking all I’ve learned and put into a single work. The way it is formatted to the colors and where it would be placed, it feels the most complete for a lack of better words. Clients and interviewers will see it shows a great deal of understanding and I can explain every part and give a reason to why I did it. I even did so in the proposal which was part 2 of project 3. Being able to explain why something was done in a design makes the designer look much better after all. It is something that I’m comfortable with putting in my portfolio to represent me.
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