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abpettiford-blog · 5 years

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Professional Practice

COURSE 1: MASTERY: PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT & LEADER

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course gave me direction regarding my individual mastery journey based on my Life’s Purpose and passions. Professionally, this course gave me the tools necessary to begin a strategic and disciplined mastery journey.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The main technique in this course was research and graduate-level writing. Both of these elements allowed me to write a well-researched, sound and thought thesis presentation that successfully answered each of the Degree Learning Outcomes.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was reading more than I have ever read in my entire life in months’ time while enjoying the subject matter.

COURSE 2: DEFINING CLIENT NEEDS

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course helped me build confidence in my research and sketching skills. Professionally, this course introduced me to rapid mind mapping and logo concept development.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The major techniques in this course were pre-production techniques, which included research, mind mapping, and sketching. These techniques helped me complete my thesis project by giving me experience in rapid sketching/wireframing which was useful in completing my thesis project due to the accelerated timeframe.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was sketching for 9 different concepts (3 different cites with 3 different focuses for each city).

COURSE 3: BRAND DEVELOPMENT

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course helped build my confidence concerning decision-making. Professionally, this course helped me on my mastery journey of Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign as I cleaned up scanned sketches, creating vector logos, and created vision boards for each concept.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The major techniques in this course were using the tools Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to complete the project tasks. Using these tools/techniques helped me complete my thesis project by furthering my knowledge and confidence using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to produce all the screenshots and examples shown throughout my Thesis Presentation.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was successful arriving at and producing vision boards for each logo execution, which included color, typography, and imagery research.

COURSE 4: EFFECTIVE COPYWRITING

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course taught me how much I needed to pay attention to grammar and how to write persuasively. Professionally, this course taught me how to construct effective headlines and taglines for any advertising and marketing campaigns. I also learned how to write concise and effective body copy aimed at motivating viewers to action.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The major technique in this course was writing effective copy and it helped me complete my thesis project by giving me the tools needed to write effective and concise copy.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was creating an ad campaign for ACCESS College Foundation which consisted of 4 testimonial ads.

COURSE 5: DESIGN RESEARCH

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course gave me insight into how every decision matters when creating. Professionally, this course taught me about how supporting design elements including theme and narrative play a big part in the direction for a project. Knowing this information can help build a better presentation when trying to get others on board with an idea.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The major techniques in this course were using InDesign to develop a vision board and Illustrator to develop an infographic for the tourism branding project. These techniques helped me complete my thesis project by furthering my competency in the software which allowed me to meet the thesis criteria and deadline comfortably.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was creating all of the supporting creative assets for the tourism branding project in such a short amount of time.

COURSE 6: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course was satisfying because I am a motion graphic designer and animator. Professionally, this course helped me grow in creating storyboards, understanding the full breadth of video production and motion design, and my competency in After Effects.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The major techniques in this course were storyboarding and motion design. These techniques were not helpful in completing my thesis project because the thesis presentation did not contain any video or motion graphic components.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was mastering using After Effect’s camera for dynamic movement in 3D space.

COURSE 7: DESIGN STRATEGIES & MOTIVATIONS

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course made me aware of the user’s and the people I design for. Compassion and empathy are the names of the game. Professionally, this course challenged my current design process and introduced me to the design thinking process which puts the audience’s needs at the forefront of the design process.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The major technique in this course was exploring the design thinking process and more specifically the research phase. This portion of the community branding project helped me complete my thesis project by providing me a project with which to build research, SWOT analysis, empathy map, and problem statement which all supported the Connecting, Synthesizing, Transforming DLO.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was getting out in the community and talking to real people by way of conducting in-person interviews.

COURSE 8: DESIGN INTEGRATIONS

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course helped sharpen my problem-solving skills. Professionally, this course gave me practice in developing potential design solutions/solution statements based on primary and secondary research conducted.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The major techniques in this course were skill-based competencies which were used to develop both a static and dynamic vision board and create a final design brief. These techniques were used extensively in creating the content for my thesis project.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was using InDesign like a pro and being able to quickly produce professional-level work.

COURSE 9: MULTI-PLATFORM DELIVERY

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course helped me reduce procrastination in my life. Professionally, this course challenged me to create a logo, a slew of media assets, and a fleshed-out brand guide.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The major techniques in this course were sketching, skill-based/software-based competency, and problem-solving. Using these techniques allowed me to create the assets and screenshots needed for my thesis presentation.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was getting everything completed prior to the deadline. I learned how to work super efficiently while keeping quality high.

COURSE 10: MEASURING DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course helped boost my confidence as a professional designer. Professionally, this course challenged my design choices by surveying my designs with the target audience. This course also helped me build tough skin regarding the survey responses.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The major techniques in this course were writing and administering a questionnaire and it helped me complete my thesis project by providing the analytics needed to help prove mastery over the Solving Problems DLO.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was designing a static and motion infographic based on the design effectiveness survey results.

COURSE 11: PRESENTATION OF DESIGN SOLUTION

How did this course contribute to my personal and professional development as a media designer?

Personally, this course tested my work ethic and attention to detail. Both of these are very important as a professional media designer. Professionally, this course challenged my time management skills, problem-solving skills, and persuasive writing skills.

How did the techniques in this course help me complete my thesis project? The major techniques in this course were persuasive writing, wireframing, and web design. Mastering each of these techniques allowed me to satisfy the content and design requirements for my thesis project.

How would I describe my most outstanding personal triumph in this course? My most outstanding personal triumph in this course was being able to write a concise and persuasive argument satisfying the four DLO’s, which were Connecting, Synthesizing, Transforming; Solving Problems, Innovative Thinking, and Acquiring Competencies.

MDMFA EXPERIENCE MAP (hi-res version here)

Image Caption: This experience map details my journey through the Media Design Master of Fine Arts program at Full Sail University.

Thanks, Bernard Pettiford

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jamaelucas-blog · 5 years

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Creative Problem Solving Interview: Shawn Waddell (Structural Engineer)

How do you generate ideas?

How, when, and where are you inspired?

There is a duality in my creative process because not only am I in a creative profession – architecture – but I hold a creative hobby in poetry and spoken word. Within architecture, most of my inspiration comes from who I am designing for. I find I am more invested when I am working closely with a client, or the project has a very detailed description of who the design is for. I am people-driven, and have a hard time creating without knowing the user groups. In poetry, I often use the art form to organize my thoughts or to get over troubling feelings. Through pen and paper, or the stage, I can express my thoughts clearly in a digestible fashion. Poetry is a method of speaking ideas that resonate more than the average conversation can. It also challenges others to express themselves clearly; true, great conversations take two open minds.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by the things I see and hear on my daily walk through life. Seeing precedents of other architect’s work, hearing someone drop a quote in a conversation, or even raw sketching helps cultivate my thoughts into a form or concept. You cannot design without a concept. You cannot solve a problem without learning as much information as possible. The best architects are not those who have the best forms, they are the ones who press the boundaries of the space they are given.

I also am drawn to the act of creation as an ideal. To have the ability to create in both the tangible/practical sense (architecture) and the emotional/creative sense (poetry), is an act of inspiration in itself. To know the impact I possess with the stroke of my pen, makes me feel a sense of responsibility and care with what I do. It pushes me to wake up in the morning and perfect my craft. Whether that be free writing for five minutes a day, journaling, reading new architectural works, or just walking around a downtown area to look at buildings, inspiration comes from wanting to do the work to be great.

What obstacles do you face in coming up with a new idea and how do you overcome these obstacles?

I am perfectionist, and I do not mean this as a compliment. I often get so obsessed with doing things right, that I get caught in my head, and don’t produce at all. This leads to procrastination or running behind when deadlines come. When this bad habit rears it head, I often find myself working late hours before the deadline because I stop thinking and just produce the work. This is not a healthy habit, and my best work has not come from doing this. I overcome this “perfectionist” by having passion! Being passionate about what I am doing, the emotions I am feeling, the people I am designing for, the lives I can save through crafted stanzas, is what pulls me from my self-created obstacles.

I also find, mostly when I am struggling in my architecture work, I use poetry as a life line. Instead of trying to draw a form or a parti diagram, I will instead work on a poem about the project. The poem could be abstract, about the people using the building, the concept I want to convey, or even not about the building at all. Poetry drives my brain forward, regardless of what I write on the page. For example, when I was stuck on a concept about an intergenerational care center, I used the frustration to write a poem about the friendship between my nephew and my father (my nephew’s grandfather). This poem helped me understand the purpose behind the intergenerational care center and why they were important. Poetry has become so important to my architecture, that I use it with every project I do – it also makes for a great opener into my presentations. The best way to counter known obstacles is to run to what works and make a procedure out of it. If done this way, there will be a method to navigate out of the chaos.

2) What process(es) do you use to solve problems? (Describe the steps of your problem-solving process. Explain your journey from inspiration to implementation.)

*Note: Because my poetry has no set means or method of creation, I will mostly be speaking about how I produce architecture. Poetry plays a part in that process, but it is more structured than the poems I create for performances or books.

To answer this question, the most effective way I can think to do this is with some kind of outline/list that will help itemize how I approach architectural problem solving.

Problem/Project Statement

Usually with architecture, we are servants of the people. We design based on fulfilling the needs of the clients, while also infusing our thoughts and training into the buildings we create. A client will give us their criteria, and we will then work with them to draw out as much information as we can to begin the design.

Design Process

“Metaphor”

All good buildings are birthed from strong concepts. It is like a thesis in a research paper, it gives you something to continually refer back to. If you feel you are straying from the original idea, a concept is your homing button. My best concepts usually start with taking what I gathered from the client’s information and trying to write a poem. Sometimes I get a concept right out the gate, but my best works have come from tackling the building design from another artistic lens. After the poem is completed, I then read it and try to draw out the emotion or concept I will use to design the building.

Guidelines

After creating a strong concept, you have to give yourself guidelines to follow in order to be successful. You cannot just take the concept and run with it – that will lead to unrealistic or impractical designs. Making rules also keeps your design focused and intentional. These rules could be having similar hallway widths, curves that follow a similar proportional value, or even a color scheme. Either way, you must have somewhere to start from somewhere.

Concept Drawing

This is where you begin to start drawing…anything. Any sketch of a perspective, elevation, diagram, or plan view brings you closer to producing. Numbers and dimensions do not matter much here, as long as there is a building you can birth from here. I like to make bubble diagrams of the required spaces to help figure out how the people will move in the space. I have always been a “form follows function” type of person, meaning that I allow the arrangement of spaces influence the end form of the building. In my opinion, designing this way allows no building to be the same, because no client will have the same problems. Every building should be its own individual act of creation. The diagrams that come from this, propel the design forward

Implantation

Schematic Design

All the concepts and diagrams that you have worked on to this point, are then modified with dimensions, materials, shapes, and people. In this stage, you are showing the client what is possible and charging their imagination to see the vision. If they like what you have made here, then you progress forward.

Design Development and Construction Documentation

This is where you get to all the details of your building. You have to really think about how this will actually get built. This is more of the technical side – which I like – because here is where you get to think about reality. Once every detail is thought out, and plans read clearly – clear enough so that someone else can build it – then the building has reached the end of its design phase and is ready to be bid and built.

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