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theparaminds · 5 years

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If you asked Claud a year ago where their life would lead, their uncertainty would be as strong as the talent they were just beginning to tap into. Yet now, they stand in a position of newfound confidence and self-certainty. It wasn’t an easy task, requiring the output of a thoughtful EP, constant personal reflection and the difficulty of acclimating to newfound environments and individuals. But as hard as it all was, the results have been, simply, magical.

Claud revealed to themseelf, bit by bit, the unique individuality that was waiting for its moment to shine. They no longer felt compelled to travel in any artistic direction, instead, traveling in one completely their own. By bringing together both bright musicianship and hopeful lyricism, as they’ve always envisioned, they have truly articulated themself musically.

Ultimately, Claud has solved much of their past confusions. Little can take them off course, little can extinguish the creative fire burning brighter than ever. Certain doors are open for the first time, ideas seem endlessly inspiring and passion seems undying with every sunset. The puzzle to their life and art has finally come together, now all that’s left to do is share it with the anxiously excited world.

Our first question as always is just how’s your day going and how have you been?

My day is good, I had a late start because of a show last night, but honestly, other than that it's good.

A great place to start is the last whirlwind of a year you’ve had which set up and built the foundation for a lot of what’s going on for you now. You’ve talked about a big part of that being moving to New York and going to college for the first time, how did you find the change to influence your artistry and you as an individual?

I went to college as a freshman at Syracuse, and in moving there I was coming from an art school, and before was in Chicago. It felt like a big change and it really did end up being a massive city for me. I got lucky with meeting great friends right away on the first day, ones who I stayed close with me all year. As a place, It was good for the time being.

But also you were recently in LA for a bit, taking in the area and all it encompasses. Within that trip, what was that time like for you and what was the impression it left upon you?

After Syracuse I lived in NY for a bit, then once my friends left for the summer I moved to LA. It was meant to be only temporary and I just wanted to check it out as I have family there, a lot of great friends too. Ultimately, I found a great community here in NY so I decided to move back, I like moving around a lot and didn’t want to settle in one place, yet.

Another large moment that year was dropping your EP, which was the biggest thing in getting the ball rolling. How do you reflect on the project and the experience as a whole? Do you remember the reception you expected and the feeling when it kept growing in audience and acclaim?

That EP is just so special to me. I made it made with my best friend as a friendship project. We started with the song Onetwothree, just about a year ago, it was just a first single and watching people enjoy it was an amazing feeling because we loved it even more so. I put out music before, but nothing I loved as much as the EP’s songs. I guess I believe that if you put a lot of love into something, you’ll get love out of it.

Going from putting those songs you didn't like on SoundCloud at first, then turning to this project which you found peace within, what changed for you and what did you have to find within yourself?

It took a lot of personal changes. Just coming to terms with myself and going by Claud again. My sound as an artist was coming together at the same time, it was a very natural growth. I feel like I’m still growing a lot, but the EP marks a really specific moment in my life.

Looking forward, what are in your mind, the largest and most important milestones you hope to hit and achieve?

I really want to tour a lot and meet a lot of people. And, my biggest goal is to make sure I have people want to hear me play as much as I want to play for them.

If money were no object, where would be your dream location to play a live show?

I really want to go to Asia and Japan specifically. They fell so far away and going for a reason, not just for fun, would be amazing.

As well, what developments do you hope to make artistically and what skills are you looking to hone in your craft?

I want to focus more on my songwriting. I've been with a lot of producers and I want to experiment and play with new concepts. If I want a pop song, I need a pop song with my own voice. It's fun to try more and more ideas and subgenres.

Through this time of personal growth and creation, what artists have you found yourself most inspired by and pulling from?

A lot of the Terrible Records artists I work with. I also love Blood orange and every song on his new album. Super into Super Organisms, gosh so much. I actually just made a Spotify playlist that was only supposed to have 30 songs, but I couldn’t stop adding more and more.

Taking it back to your first time getting into music, how do you compare your current influences to early ones and do you believe it shows part of the growth you’ve been through and are experiencing?

I definitely think the music I listen to has been a big part of my own development, I was weirdly into singer-songwriter music more than anything. Part of it probably came from when I went to an arts boarding school in Northern Michigan in the middle of nowhere. When you’re in a space like that you end up following that style. Because I listened to a lot of singer-songwriter music, I was shaped as a person, but not as an artist. But in college I started listening with a different ear, really expanding what I heard.

Through that beginning time, what were the biggest challenges you had to overcome to get those first songs out and to keep going?

I grew up in a very mainstream area that was difficult to be an individual within. Hive mind type environment in terms of entertainment and creativity. It made sense as to why I didn’t branch out with my early music. I'm just grateful for the friends I met who showed me what I could be.

Beyond music, which is obviously a place of inspiration for artists such as yourself, do you find yourself enjoying or drawing from other artistic mediums?

Honestly, I’m very into movements. It's an art form I love beyond others. It keeps me motivated. I don't love going to the gym, but I’m learning to skateboard and I did gymnastics when younger. I love seeing the body become an art form. I always loved dancing even though I’m shit at it.

Are there motions you find your music to be tailored to or ones you are trying to speak towards?

I really like the way people say that they enjoy my music on long walks and drives. Those everyday movements that I can choreograph with my sound is really beautiful. The production style I like is very rhythmic in a subtle everyday kind of way. It won't catch you off guard but will just fit your movement.

Would you say that’s part of your overall larger goal? To create a soundtrack to people’s ups and downs? Or is there something beyond that?

It changes a lot. Right now, just being present is the most important thing to me, standing my ground. There’s a lot of musicians, but I truly see the value and necessity in myself. And I guess there's not one specific message other than that I'm ‘here’.

Going forward in time to the present day, another thing you did through this last year was touring, as you said. And even currently you’re doing so. In your eyes, how do you compare the live experience to recording and a file, what do you feel towards it?

I love playing live shows. If I can't see my songs translate live then there’s not always worth in putting it out. I don't really get excited about a song until I can see myself perform it live.

Why is that though? Why do you see an importance in creating music that exists in both spaces?

It’s the best way to communicate with people… [Pause]... Oh my God… There’s such a big spider on my wall…

Oh my, are you okay?

Yeah yeah, I’ll be fine. But it’s just about connecting with people and sharing the new form of expression that does not exist in the record.

Through your life and time touring and just as a music fan, what’s been the best shows you’ve been able to see and be a part of?

At my first tour, with Triathalon and The Marias, I only saw 6 shows but every single time they both performed very different, yet inspiring. They just have ‘it’, they know exactly who they are and what they want to express. The confidence motivated me to be the same and to up my game.

You talked early of being inspired by songwriters, which makes sense considering your strong ability with complex lyrics and themes. Where from your life and art, in general, do you draw for your lyrics and ideas?

I just keep a running note in my phone of phrases I hear or think of, so when I sit to write I will begin or find inspiration within them. I recently started looking at my notes from when I was 15, finding out what was 15 year old Claud thinking on February 3rd, or seeing times I was in a relationship and reliving my feelings and thoughts from back then. All those past experiences shape what I say today.

You’re very brave for looking at stuff you did at 15, I could never do that, It’s honestly so terrifying.

[Laughs] I found one recently that said: “Write a song about feeling bubbly and pitch it to the Soda Company”. Like, what soda company was I even thinking about? It just said The Soda Company. Was I planning to call Mr. Coca Cola himself?

Did you find you've changed a lot and always shifted since you were young back then, or do you feel you kept your essence as an individual?

I feel like it depends on who you ask. If you ask my family they'll say I'm the same as always, the same eccentric human who somehow ended up in our family. They often say they bought me in a grocery store [laughs. I think my essence is still there, but I feel but it will keep developing.

What's, ultimately, the biggest mark and legacy with the music you're making that you desire to build and be satisfied in creating?

I don't know, I'm only just at the beginning. But to me, I would say I want to teach people to value their individuality, It was something I felt I wasn't always doing, but now that I am, I want to share the feeling with others, as it’s really amazing. I'm still learning, it's a process, but it's great just to be finally working towards it.

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merkabacreations-blog · 5 years

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Mastery Journal 12.4.2

Mastery: Personal Development & Leadership (Month 1) – During Month 1 of the program, we read Mastery by Robert Greene. This was very inspirational reading and left me feeling enthusiastic about the program. The main lesson I took from the reading was that the road to mastery is not one that is formulaic. Even the great masters that came before us hit bumps in the road and faced obstacles and set-backs. Masters are made, not born. Even those born with genius level talents had to work hard to achieve their mastery. Also, the road to mastery is all about finding yourself; discovering your true desires and motivations. I learned to put my goals into perspective this month with tasks like the Mastery Timeline and Brainstorm/Research worksheet.

Defining Client Needs (Month 2) – During Month 2 we began brainstorming/researching designs for our city logos. We also began to do peer critiques starting this month. The feedback from instructors and classmates was very beneficial and helped me to look at my artwork objectively. This month I learned new techniques to overcome artist’s block and learned new ways to approach designing.

Brand Development (Month 3) – This month we digitized our best logo sketches from the previous month, we produced mood boards, we continued peer critiques and completed SWOT (Strenghts, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) exercises. This month taught me what a brand truly is. Branding is much more than just a logo. The brand carries the value of the company. The brand is everything that embodies the company. The brand is the public image that acts as a representative for the company.

Effective Copy Writing (Month 4) – This month we produced ad comps for a non-profit organization. We developed personas which allowed us to get in the minds of our audience/consumer. This is a great tool for companies to use, so that they can determine what the best imagery and language is to persuade their audience to act. We also worked on developing new/improved taglines for the non-profits. This month taught me the importance of copy writing as a designer, because many designers get tasked with writing the copy in their designs, as not all agencies/clients will employ a separate person to write. It is critical for designers to be versatile, diverse and adaptable in this field.

Design Research (Month 5) – This month we produced web design comps for a made-up non-profit organization. The objective of the website was to not only promote a charity concert, but educate people about the goals of the organization (saving sea turtles). We came up with three mood boards and chose the strongest of our designs to be the base for our final web comp. Working on mood boards and comps in previous months definitely helped prepare me for this project. This month taught me the importance of having a strong rationale, or reason behind design choices, and having the research to back up your claims. This makes it easier, as a designer, to express your ideas to your clients. You’ll seem more credible and reliable with well-well-researched rationales. This month I also became reacquainted with design elements such as informational hierarchy, contrast, shape, line, etc. All of these elements of design help designers convey our messages more clearly to our audience, in ways that are usually universally understood.

Organizational Structures (Month 6) – This month we learned about different animation techniques. We got to animate subjects of our choice. I chose to use Kinetic Typography to animate the words of a poem I wrote many (many) years ago. We used Story journals, boards and maps to help us stay organized and truly tell compelling stories that the audience could connect with. This month definitely proved to be a learning curve for me as I was not very familiar with applications like After Effects. Where I felt like I had shortcomings, I was detrained to overcome them in the following months.

Design Strategies (Month 7) – This month we came up with an 8-week timeline for our thesis project. I learned to prioritize projects by level of important and relevance, which helped keep me from being overwhelmed. We also had periodic postings that showed our progress. Instructor and peer critiques along with the frequent check-ins helped me stay on task. Some techniques I learned from the previous month came in handy while I animated my logo sting. Sketching, animatics and story boarding were useful tools during this month.

Design Integration (Month 8) – This month we continued the project started in the previous months. I kept making strides in my animation and acquired new competencies in applications like After Effects and Keynote. My confidence was improving compared to month 6 when we were first introduced to animation techniques. In addition to my logo sting, I animated my web comps and made a promotional video which featured parallax imagery. This month I wrote one of my favorite research papers about Innovation where I challenged traditional means of education.

Multi-Platform Delivery (Month 9) – This was our last month of development for our thesis project. By the end of this month, it was nice to see all the progress I made on the Travel Campaign since the start of Month 7. It was interesting to see how it developed and grew from just the small idea to animate my logo. This month I also wrote my Inspiration Essay where I argued that there are no original ideas and wrote about methods designers should take to try to avoid plagiarism, even unintentionally.

Measuring Design Effectiveness (Month 10) – This month taught me the importance of testing a project while also teaching me how to word and develop questions which test the effectiveness of design choices. I had mixed feelings about the results at the end of the month, however. I was able to see my shortcomings and where I made mistakes when developing my questions. For example, vetting my test subjects before hand would have saved me time and I would not have had to devote so much time to demographic questions that had little or nothing to do with testing the effectiveness of the design. I learned that more planning should go into developing questionnaires for measuring design effectiveness.

Presentation of Design Solution (Month 11) – This month we were tasked with making a Wix website where we would showcase our strongest projects and demonstrate our claim to mastery. At first I was worried I wouldn’t have enough content or substantiated research to argue my claim to mastery. However, as I continued to populate my website with more of my work, I began to appreciate my journey in the program. In addition to the thesis presentation, we also improved our portfolios and posted reflections. The improvements to the portfolios is important because it showcases my work in a more professional light for potential employers.

Professional Practice (Month 12) – This month we did a lot as we prepared to exit the program. For one, we researched many different things that could land designers in legal trouble. From there we found solutions and alternatives that we could employ in order to avoid questionable situations. We also updated our resumes and cover letters, and learned techniques that attract hiring managers’ attention. Lastly, we designed experience maps which mapped out our journeys in the program, and explored what we did, felt, and thought throughout the whole experience. This last month left me feeling enthusiastic again, much like the first month did, because I am excited to see what the future holds in store for me. Researching jobs in my field and seeing the credentials they look for, left me feeling confident in my abilities and grateful for my previous experiences. With a couple of more years in the field I can start applying and qualifying for higher level positions. I feel very prideful when I look back over the course of this program. I’m extremely proud of my body of work and I’m glad I did not get too down, even in the moments when I felt overwhelmed and was doubting myself. I’m glad I kept pushing through and I’ve finally reached this moment.

In regards to my Thesis Presentation:

Month 1 taught me the importance of setting goals. One goal I set that month was improving my animation skills. Over the course of the program I did just that, and it proved to be crucial for my thesis project and presentation. A personal triumph I achieved this month was the Video Presentation. I wrote a script, memorized it and did several takes. Public speaking and speaking on camera makes me nervous, but I was glad I was able to overcome my shyness. Brushing up on my video editing skills was also helpful for later months in the program.

Month 2 taught me the importance of research in the earlier stages of designing. This helped me with every design project in subsequent months. Drawing sketches and doing word maps are techniques I’ll take with me beyond the program

Month 3 taught me that all details are important, even the small details. Small mistakes tend to add up and bring down the overall quality of the design. Developing a brand came in handy while developing the Travel Campaign for Marrakesh (which ended up being the bigger part of my thesis project.

Month 4 - The personas and ad comps were important accomplishments to me because comps weren’t things I was used to producing in the development stages of design but helped me out when producing web comps later in Month 5 and during the thesis project. The personas also came in handy when I wanted to determine who my audience was for the Travel campaign.

Month 5 - Web comps and web design research taught me what users want and don’t want to experience when visiting a website. I made sure to make my web comps for the Marrakesh campaign convenient and self-evident for my intended audience. My greatest accomplishment this month was my scrolling web comp which simulated a one-page website design.

Month 6 taught me that there is always new things to learn. I felt a little discouraged this month but after makings some breakthroughs, it left me determined to do better for the thesis project. Every part of my thesis project incorporated animation because I wanted to get better at it.

Months 7,8 and 9 taught me the importance of listening to your critiques and sticking to a plan and staying organized. My greatest accomplishments this month were my logo animation, promotional video and animated web comp. These projects proved I had acquired competencies in the things that were giving me trouble earlier in the program.

Month 10 taught me that what can be perceived as a successful design does not always translate on paper, especially if it is not tested correctly with the right group. One triumph I had during this month was my presentation of my results on Behance. I was able to design a really nice presentation despite my questionnaire having some noticeable shortcomings.

My experience map is modeled after my “workspace” as I call it. It is the state I most often find myself when I’m working or studying. I put the map on graphing paper to convey the high and low points of my mastery journey.

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