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Professional Practice Mastery Journal

Professional and Personal Development

Mastery – During this class, I read Robert Greene’s Mastery and began to do research papers and peer reviews that would set the pace for the program. It set the tone for me beginning to hone my writing at a Mastery level, and also began to get me adjusted to meeting deadlines and what is to be expected of a designer. Defining Client Needs - I built mind maps that began to conceptualize themes consistent with Kyoto, as well as sketching over 300 logos that would serve as the foundation of the next month’s work. Therefore, this class taught me the fundamental foundational functions of a designer following research – to brainstorm and sketch before you begin to iterate any of your ideas. Brand Development - Color theory was studied heavily during this month. I learned a lot about how brands appearances are not just about pleasant aesthetics but include a holistic approach involving careful usage of typography, complimentary and strategic color patterns, and carefully chosen imagery. Effective Copy Writing - I created several print ads as well as honing my writing craft through research papers and learning how to market to and for non-profits. This was a major switch between tasks I’ve had in my professional life in the past working with non-profits providing administrative support. This allowed me to be able to be able to improve my writing substantially as well as beginning the process of learning how to write advertisements to potential customers. Design Research - This month, wireframes, dynamic vision boards and sketches for both components were done. These elements began to feel more natural and automated during this module. This class gave me the foundation of how a website should be set up, and served as a boot camp of manners for some of the technical aspects of digital design. Organizational Structures - I became more well versed in the After Effects through creating a cinemagraph and creating a dynamic vision board. Through the course of making the dynamic vision board and producing motion graphics, I began to learn to be more meticulous through the class. Design Strategies and Motivation – This was the first class where I finally got the opportunity to apply skills from my entrepreneurial endeavors to the course. I was about to take my background as a photographer and correspondent to be able to gather demographic research and begin to apply what I learned to a real-life example. Design Integration – As I created the design brief through this module, I learned to be thorough and make sure that all components of my design thus far had synergy and contained the proper elements in a complimentary fashion to each other. Multi-Platform Delivery – Learning to create assets to be displayed on multiple platforms greatly increased my ability to be innovative as well as create materials that can are memorable in their actual environment. Measuring Design Effectiveness - Through Google Forms, valuable feedback was gained. I also learned valuable strategies that I carried into my day job to manage potential clients. I also learned to look at the work more from an uninterested consumers’ point of view. Presentation of Design Solution – Though developing my thesis, I was able to summarize my skill set in a pleasant and appealing way. I also got another workshop in my writing skills through this course. Professional Practice – This course taught me how to adhere to industry standards and gave me another reminder to endure and literally – stay the course!

Techniques and Personal Triumphs

Mastery – I learned to truly research and write at a graduate level. My greatest personal triumph was gaining a great review on my first paper and proving to myself and my professor that I was ready to be a mastery scholar.

Defining Client Needs – In this class, I gained the competency of defining an adequate logo and thoroughly enjoyed the triumph of finally producing several logos and having them approved by my professor and peers.

Brand Development – This module truly taught me what it was like to put together all the components that it takes to make the face of a brand including producing a color palette suitable to my brand and beginning to learn to bring typography and imagery together in a presentable way. 

Effective Copy Writing – This class honed my writing skills a great deal, and this was displayed through me creating an appeasing ad and compelling copy. I also learned how to appeal to the non-profit market. 

Design Research – This class taught me how to make wireframes, cinemagraphs and make media components that were up to current industry standards. The triumph for me was completing this class while working full-time and being able to learn to adequately balance both responsibilities.

Organizational Structures – In this class, I became proficient in After Effects – this was a major accomplishment for me as this was one of my major goals to better myself as a videographer. 

Design Strategies and Motivation – This class allowed me to apply my skills as a photographer to my demographic research. For me, it was a major triumph to be able to learn how to gather information from the environment around me and directly translate to the formative version of a great marketing campaign. 

Design Integration – During this course, I was able to form a design brief and it was an amazing feeling to be able to see my work come together in a cohesive and adequately descriptive document.

Multi-Platform Delivery – After attempting this class several times, I was elated to see my designs in a real-world asset in my mockups as I completed this class. During this course, I experienced a major change in my personal life as I moved and so it was the biggest triumph of the entire program to be able to produce these materials during the material phase. 

Measuring Design Effectiveness – During this module, it was great to research and build survey responses that caused me to be more objective in the crafting of my entire brand as well as being more objective when creating survey responses from consumers.

Presentation of Design Solution – During this class, I acquired the competency of designing and formatting a Wordpress site than can be used as a template for future presentations to clients.

Experience Map of Mastery Journey

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Thesis Presentation - Mastery Reflection

One of the biggest takeaways from this course was to never forget the importance of the copy. This month seemed to have an emphasis on reflection and supporting the thesis of your entire professional development. However, for me, the biggest lesson was to provide a stronger written copy to support my claims, especially due to the fact that that I am defending my own design. Every claim must be substantiated thoroughly, and this course realigned my need to focus on well-cited and in-depth analysis on not only my work in relation to my peers, but also my work in relation to itself. The feedback on my first assignment was a very telling critique that cited the areas in which I needed development and they were largely needing to be more thorough and in-depth with my descriptions. While I attempted to focus on properly citing my sources, I was reminded that having great word choice is just as integral of a component in written copy as the research support. Written copy is the most important tool when defending your work, just as it is with marketing to your client.

Another great takeaway from this thesis program was that I was able to reflect on just how many competencies were truly acquired during the course. When I begin my pursuit to obtain my Master of Fine Arts in Media Design, I was a novice by many definitions. While there were many obstacles to overcome, particularly in courses like Multi-Platform Delivery – where I had to coach myself through a lot of the processes in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign to attempt to create viable assets – to Effective Copywriting, where I learned how to make a great print design and write compelling copy to reach my clients. Due to the level at which I critiqued my own design, I did not truly realize how much I grew as a designer until I was put in a position to reflect on and support my growth in thesis format.

 One of the most important takeaways from this course, in my opinion, is that I learned that I honing your writing consistently is just as important as honing your design. Just as there are market trends for design, there also exist trends for writing and how consumers must be reached. For instance, in order to better reach millennial markets, the Pew Research Center recommends use the bold font for the first sentence when using email marketing to reach consumers (Ries, 2015). Instagram marketers recommend using less than five hashtags. These types of things must be researched and considered just as much as the visual part component of the design.

References:

Lawless, K., & Crabill, S. (2015, March 28). How to Give and Receive a Good Design Critique. Retrieved from https://baltimore.aiga.org/how-to-give-and-receive-a-good-design-critique/

Ries, A., & Ries, L. (2001). The 11 immutable laws of Internet branding. London: HarperCollinsBusiness.

Sykes, M. R., Malik, A. N., & West, M. D. (2013). Stories that move mountains: Storytelling and visual design for persuasive presentations. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

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Multi-Platform Delivery - Mastery Reflection

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming - For this project, I conducted a different method of research that I have previously done for scholarly work. However, the activities that I performed for research and execution - photography, interviews, and a video pitch - are all components of my own entrepreneurial undertakings and utilizing these skills was a fun aspect to completing this project. I also used the standard method of researching by pulling from the EBSCOhost online database to browse scholarly articles. The FactFinder site was a very valuable resource that I used during and after the demographic research assignment.

Problem Solving - The design problem that i was solving for Cornelia is very similar to the design problem that I did with Kyoto - how to mesh the tradition of the city while still establishing a fresh perspective to appeal to a new demographic.  Building a campaign involving both the mediums of print advertisements, visual media and the internet, many different people of different socioeconomic backgrounds can be reached while still keeping the cost of the campaign relatively low. I solved this design problem by creating a campaign based off of traditional community events that are new to the area and unique enough to be advertised easily throughout the area by word of mouth during and following the campaign.

Innovative Thinking - I feel that my work provides a very unique perspective because of I live both the rural and urban life simultaneously. As I live in the small town of Cornelia yet spend most of my time working in the city, I pick up design ideas that are sharp contrasts of the best aspects of both worlds. The blue sky/green pasture color combination that is present in Cornelia may influence a color palette from time to time, while the rigid, innovative shape of a skyscraper in Atlanta might inspire a certain type of typography to achieve the same feel. I approached the subject of innovation by applying all these inspirations to the techniques that I have been taught within this course. I have achieved my goal of being innovative by fusing the rural and urban influence into materials that can appeal to consumers from both backgrounds.

Acquiring Competencies - During this course, I was finally able to use the programs that I am familiar with such as Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro. I learned how to more quickly utilize both of these resources, as I seem to delay my production in my own work. I definitely acquired the competency of putting together all of my marketing skill set that I have previously used for myself for a client instead. I thoroughly enjoyed learning the first steps in learning how to advertise for my client properly.

From here, I plan to make my work more polished and concise when it comes to execution of still and video components. I have always struggled with having an “eye for design in my opinion, so i will refer back to material taught in earlier classes in order to maintain and sharpen my skills. I look forward to the next class and learning to further hone my skills while utilizing those I already have.

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Design Strategies and Motivation - Mastery Journal

The Big Red Apple - a gift from the Southern Railway and a staple of the city.

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming - For this project, I conducted a different method of research that I have previously done for scholarly work. However, the activities that I performed for research and execution - photography, interviews, and a video pitch - are all components of my own entrepreneurial undertakings and utilizing these skills was a fun aspect to completing this project. I also used the standard method of researching by pulling from the EBSCOhost online database to browse scholarly articles. The FactFinder site was a very valuable resource that I used during and after the demographic research assignment. 

Problem Solving - The design problem that i was solving for Cornelia is very similar to the design problem that I did with Kyoto - how to mesh the tradition of the city while still establishing a fresh perspective to appeal to a new demographic.  Building a campaign involving both the mediums of print advertisements, visual media and the internet, many different people of different socioeconomic backgrounds can be reached while still keeping the cost of the campaign relatively low. I solved this design problem by creating a campaign based off of traditional community events that are new to the area and unique enough to be advertised easily throughout the area by word of mouth during and following the campaign. 

Utilizing my photography skills was the first step in bringing a fresh perspective - sometimes a photo is worth 1000 words.

Innovative Thinking - I feel that my work provides a very unique perspective because of I live both the rural and urban life simultaneously. As I live in the small town of Cornelia yet spend most of my time working in the city, I pick up design ideas that are sharp contrasts of the best aspects of both worlds. The blue sky/green pasture color combination that is present in Cornelia may influence a color palette from time to time, while the rigid, innovative shape of a skyscraper in Atlanta might inspire a certain type of typography to achieve the same feel. I approached the subject of innovation by applying all these inspirations to the techniques that I have been taught within this course. I have achieved my goal of being innovative by fusing the rural and urban influence into materials that can appeal to consumers from both backgrounds.

Adobe Premiere Pro made completing the Video Pitch assignment a breeze.

Acquiring Competencies - During this course, I was finally able to use the programs that I am familiar with such as Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro. I learned how to more quickly utilize both of these resources, as I seem to delay my production in my own work. I definitely acquired the competency of putting together all of my marketing skill set that I have previously used for myself for a client instead. I thoroughly enjoyed learning the first steps in learning how to advertise for my client properly.

From here, I plan to make my work more polished and concise when it comes to execution of still and video components. I have always struggled with having an “eye for design in my opinion, so i will refer back to material taught in earlier classes in order to maintain and sharpen my skills. I look forward to the next class and learning to further hone my skills while utilizing those I already have.

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Design Research - Mastery Reflection

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Effective Copywriting: Reflection

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Final Revisions to my Brand Toolbox.

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Task 1: Mastery Project Documentation

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Mastery Learning Project-Reflection

Task 1

Throughout this module, I have learned invaluable information concerning myself as well as my field of study. During the process of doing last week’s sketches, I went the analytical route and chose to analyze my work before, during and after the process. Before I began to draw, I reviewed the research done in my mind maps, then proceeded to brainstorm and jot down related ideas as I developed numerous concepts. While I was in the act of sketching, I made sure to evaluate each sketch according to Airey’s criteria however I also examined the nature of what I was drawing and tried to brainstorm using each individual part of the drawing. For instance, when using a machete as base of the letter ‘K’, I developed the idea to use a kitana instead; an idea with closer proximity to Japanese culture. If I had   not been analytical during this part of the process, I would’ve just moved on to the next idea and not been able to create something that has the potential to have much more of an impact.

During the prototype phase of development, I drafted similar ideas and continued to refer to the last sketch as inspiration for the current one. I also tried to bear in mind that simplicity is one of the key components of good design, so I often had thoughts for complex logos that I developed into two separate logos during production. My analysis after the completion of each sketch caused me to go back and make minor changes that I thought might improve each logo; I also found that during this phase while glancing back at completed logos, I would get an idea for another sketch. My analytical nature proved to be an extremely valuable asset to have in this exercise.

Task 3 - Reflection

I was glad to be able to receive lots of valuable feedback from my peers during this exercise, I was told that I should combine typeface with some of my sketches that were only images. Since consumers have such short attention spans, logos must be very attention-grabbing and memorable, yet simple. 

Companies like Starbuck’s, McDonald’s and Pepsi-Co have used this method to keep their logos modern without confusing their costumers. This is something that I definitely incorporated into my revisions in order to maximize the impact of my imagery. I found that utilizing this gave my photos a more polished and developed look. 

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Mastery Journal Reflection

Ariel Cassell Defining Client Needs July 1, 2018 Week 1 Reflection

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

         There was a lot of valuable information to process during this week’s Live meetings, however some of the advice that stood out to me was the ability to be able to take constructive criticism. This is an ability I believe I have to a detriment because on my journey to Mastery, I have had pitfalls due to being overly critical of my work and/or allowing constrictive criticism to change the nature of my work. While it is necessary to be able to take criticism, Masters are resolute in their Path and do not allow the opinions of others to affect their work. I am thankful that more life experience along with reading Mastery by Robert Greene helping me to better understand my niche and look to mentors for guidance instead of taking all criticism as valuable information. Also, the wealth of online resources being highlighted during the session was an eye opener for me. During my undergraduate degree, my alma mater did not have an online database as extensive as Connect, nor did I utilize all the resources that were at my disposal. I am excited to piece together all these resources to make great discoveries this year.

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

          There are several things that I am curious about concerning the processes by which we will learn these skills. I am excited to sketch and curious to see what practices allow my creativity and dimensional mind to flourish. Other than a general excitement and curiosity, I don’t have many questions as I want to go through the program with as a blank slate with no expectations or prejudice of the course.

Write an action plan that includes your vision and expectations of the MDMFA program, your expected level of commitment, and your long-range goals as a professional media designer.

My vision for how I will grow during this program encompasses several different facets of my Path. I desire to be a photographer and eventually filmmaker that conveys poignant emotions in an eloquently simple way. I am well aware that navigating through my MDMFA and accomplishing all of my goals as a mother and entrepreneur will take lots of dedication and planning. In order to give myself the best chance at thriving, I have given short-term goals for each module as well as long-term goals to be reached by the completion of the program. One of my short-term goals is to achieve an intermediate level of expertise in all of the programs in the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite. To do so I will utilize the hundreds of tutorials that are included with the software; this small practice will allow me to already be prepared when programs such as Adobe Illustrator and InDesign are introduced in next month’s module. I know that time management will be the single biggest tool in aiding me to succeed in this program, and remaining cognizant of that fact, committed to setting a schedule for myself which enables me to excel at academia while still having time to work on my website/videography and incorporate the lessons learned in class into my business and daily life. I am gracious to have such an amazing team to lead me along this journey, and I am excited to leap over any obstacles that may be in my way as I forge forward on the road to Mastery in Media.

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This week;s inspirational post is the gift that keeps on giving! These quotes are great; I even wrote down a couple and added them to my daily affirmations! Hope you enjoy!

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Because there's nothing cooler than watching your reality shift into one that is the perfect expression of you.

Nazanin Mandi (model,singer, actress)

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This is a snapshot of my LinkedIn profile. Although it does include a profesional picture, my logo as header and my updated work history as well as samples, there is still a lot of work to be done on it. I am grateful for this exercise as it caused me to re-examine my profile and see all the areas in which I could improved it. 

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This is my logo for my Mastery Journal! I hope that it captures my love and appreciation for art, as well as my ability to capture things from a different viewpoint. 

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Papaly is also a great resource to compile important sites and articles from all over the web in one concise place. The far left column is a list of resources that I use for my homework and my blog. The middle column is sources used for my course of study while pursuing my Media Design MFA.

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Feedly is a great source to stay on top of all of my current events as well as inspiration and work from Masters in my field in one place. I love it!