Title: Blog 11: Lesson 1 Reflection

Label: Presentation
Due Date: 24 hours after presentation

This is the book I referenced the most during my presentation, It influenced me the most.

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?

Im most proud of the amount of information and time I put into creating my presentation. I also enjoyed my set up as I presented, my props flowed easily with my topic. I also liked how I addressed everything important in my lesson plan. 

2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you learned that grade using evidence from the component contract.

I would give myself a an P plus, or and AE. I completed all that I needed too, and included all from my lesson. I had practiced and prepared for this presentation weeks before. I even stressed myself out when I really shouldn't have? I spoke loudly and clearly, and addressed my props because they helped me explain snip bits from my presentation 

3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?

I would change the amount of information I had, so it would flow much easier when I have more time. I will also prepare to gather better transitions between each bullet point that I created in my lesson plan. I also wish to have a better hook, something that makes the audience more motivated than this one I had just done. I have a few things planned for my second lesson, so hopefully my hook will do the trick. 

Title: Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

Label:  Interview

Due Date:  Friday, October 30th by 8AM

Interview 2

Interview transcript.

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)

I have been spending time with my mentor at local coffee shops so far. This may sound like a bad idea, but believe it or not once we start discussing, everything around us becomes non existent! I feel as if we can meet at an amusement park and not be distracted? Graphic designer(s) can work anywhere! So in a sense, i'm not necessarily shadowing, but picking my mentor's brain about things I want to know more about. For example, "What text is good for what emotion"? Or "What is often the hardest part of a design for you?" This is a lot more helpful to me because I do enjoy comparing different opinions and morals from different designers. She has been helpful to me because she is helping me think and process ideas for my IC #1 (see blog for details) and so far, I feel like I will blow the classroom away with her help on my side.

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?  

I found this mentor from a friend who knew her, and she was already willing to help me out without a doubt! She said she would also benefit from this mentoring experience because she wished that she had someone to help her out when she was my age. Hopefully after this project she will continue mentoring different students!

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person

At this point, I think I can say that we are comfortable. When we first met, we talked for 3 whole hours! It was a surprise to me, but knowing that she is open to answering to any of my questions I have for her helps me get to know a designers life. 

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

This interview helped me get to know her little more, and It allowed me to ask questions that popped up in my head right after. It also let me know how serious she was about her designer career, which then helped me understand that she does mean business! I do, however, need to improve on my transitions with questions. In my head I would imagine a different answer but when she answers, it was totally different from what I had excepted! So when I would ask a different question, it almost felt awkward to me. I will come up with an abundance of questions that can lead to one or more directions, so the transitions wont feel awkward and clumsy. 

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

Label:  Blogs

Due Date:  Thursday, October 22nd by 8AM

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

I have a mentor, her name is LuLu, and she has been a way better addition than my last mentor. She is both experienced and smart. We almost talked for three whole hours about graphic design! I have completed the 2nd interview, and now I'm getting ready for my 3rd.

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.   

I still want to focus my project around the psychology and brainstorming of graphic design. Specifically about how...

 -The design itself stimulates the brain to understand the message.
 -The audience reacts to the design.
 -The graphic designer thinks when he or she is creating the design.

3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

I think sources such as recent and informative articles will be the best,. However to go more into depth, I think more interviews would suit me the best. Because not only would I get 100% true information from a graphic designer, but I'd be getting multiple pieces of information to what helps them complete the job! It almost acts like a large puzzle piece I have to put together to get the main picture. 
Except, of course, without the picture on the box. 

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

"What are the mind processes of both the graphic designer and the audience of the design?" 
"What is the psychological reaction to both the graphic designer and the audiences mind set?" 

Blog 8: Independent Component 1 Proposal

Independent Component

Due Date:  Thursday, 10/8 by 8AM 

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

I plan to create a series of political, or problem addressing posters using "Adobe Illustrator" and talk about how I planned each and everyone. I will create some sort of timeline / portfolio to show my audience how I brainstormed, sketched and created each piece. Then I want to share them to my audience, to see if they get the message of each poster. I will them ask them why and how did they get this message. 

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I have created a poster that took at least up to 6 hours, but I have never felt so rushed in my life! This did not include the comps, sketches, brainstorming trees, and critic time. So I can estimate that each poster will take up to 6-8 hours each depending on difficulty. (This was all taken from a class I took during the summer)

3.  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

This will help me develop my essential question, because this project will put more emphases on the whole process, and how the audience is effected by my art work. I will stay in contact with a fellow graphic designer, and using the knowledge from a class I took to help me with this project. I will also be taking notes of my progress and compare them to what other graphic designers have felt and done as well 

4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

Theres a problem with this actually. My mentor hasn't responded for me these past two months, but no need to fear! I have found another mentor, and I have yet to meet her this week. I am going to ask her about my idea for my first IC and also interview her a bit to get to know her. I think I will find her more resourcesful because my other mentor had more of a digital art job, and not a graphic design job. So until this Saturday, I will have updated my senior project hour log!

Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

Label: Interviews

Due Date: Thursday, 10/1 by 8AM

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert? 

My current mentor now works at home as a freelance artist, yet completes jobs for Disney. This makes him an expert at what he does because not only does he have the freedom to plan, create, and execute his project from the comfort of his home,but he has the companies trust that has grown over the many years he has worked with them. Graphic designers who now work for a big company who makes a lot of money daily, and has the joy to work at home is the basic answer that he does know what he's doing, and he is doing it right. Think of it as the last quest to beat in a game. Once you overcome that, you have won! 

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background

I did way more than five, but the more the merrier right?

1. Where do you come from and was life difficult for you?
2. How did you contribute to the community?
3. What school did you attend (for college)?
4. Did your family have any relations to the arts?
5. How has art in general influenced you while growing up?
6. What was your first media growing up? (Paint, pencil, etc)
7. Why graphic design, and why not painting or any other kind of media?
8. Who has supported you the most with these decisions?
9. When did your turning point of wanting to become a graphic designer occur?

Blog 6: Advisory House Prep

Label:  Blogs

Due Date:  Thursday, September 24th by 8AM

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year?  What has made it a positive experience for you?  

Well, a few things have worked tremendously well for me. For example, there is an abundance of information found on the Internet. This includes art magazines who often write articles upon articles about graphic design, the history of it, the psychology of it, you name it! Another thing that worked well for me was the amount of graphic designers that are willing to help me out with my project. Ive contacted at least 5 people through email, and knowing how much they are on the computer they had answered within the 1-3 day range! They are actually one of the best and well communicated people Ive ever known.

2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project?  How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you?  How might the senior team help? 

The only thing that is becoming a difficult problem is that my mentor isn't becoming such a reliable source anymore. He has become less responsive and less helpful at this point. I have no idea why, but considering there are many other people who are willing to talk to me, I think I should be fine. 

Blog 5: Interview 1 Reflection

Label: Interview
Due Date:  Friday, September 18th by 8AM

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

I learned that graphic designers can be very approachable and not to themselves. I figured out that when you become a graphic designer, you need to know how to communicate well and know how to process what a client wants. It can be a very difficult process from what my first interviewee had told me. If there was anything I would do different? I'm not to sure about that, so maybe giving them certain scenarios about what might happen and ask them how would then fix or achieve that goal. 

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

My interviewee gave me an abundance of advice and resources to help me out on this project. He told me to always update your resources when you want inspiration for a piece you are working one; because art is always changing and growing. He recommended me to some other graphic designers that would love to get interviewed and would be another perfect fit for me to hang around with. "They are young and trendy" he said to me as I was interviewing him. 

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

This interviewee is qualified to help me because he is actually a mentor for my hometown high school. He teaches computer arts and graphic design to kids that enjoy that area of work. So during the interview he was happy and very clear with his answers; like a teacher! He is also a full time graphic designer that has worked for big companies like Abercrombie, B&W, GUCCI, LACMA, and more! 

Interview one: Robert Chavez

Here is a picture of my interviewee! His name is Robert Chavez, and he is a professional photographer and graphic designer.

Here is the link to the interview: Click here

I also recommend you listen as you read over my questions and answers I have created Here

Enjoy!

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep 1

Label:  House Advisory

Due Date:  Thursday, September 10th by 8AM

"Write a short explanation of what you are hoping to accomplish through your senior project topic.  You will be sharing out on what you've written here with your house advisory and classmates on Friday, 9/11.  Don't forget to start off with an interesting visual!"

I hope to accomplish a lot in this senior project of mine, and one of those many things would to gain as much experience as I can. Ive always liked art, and anything to do with art. Whether it would be story writing or painting; i've always loved it. Ever since I found out about digital art, its been the new hype for me. I feel like using my art ability can actually get me somewhere now, because there is so much marketing for it, such as creating animations, designing logos, and more. By the end of this year, I want to build up my portfolio so I can show my future professors and clients. I want to show them how much I have grown, and hopefully they would chose me to design something for them. I really think that I can get somewhere with this newfound media, and hopefully somewhere big! 

Title: Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

Label:  Interview

Due Date:  Thursday, September 3rd by 8AM

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

I plan to interview an old professor or my mentor for my interview. The reason why I have two choices in mind is because I fear that my mentor might not be able to get interviewed so soon. I also want to consider the traveling distance between him and I, so I would like ask someone else who is closer at the moment. I had taken a college class on graphic design this summer, and I felt like my professor really taught his class well. So I had asked him if he was willing to get interviewed by me for my senior project, and he gladly said yes! His back round and knowledge would be very helpful for me, because not only is he a professor, but he also worked in the field himself for many years.  

2.  Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?  Ask open-ended questions.  

My additional questions would be ...

1. How did your knowledge about your work grow as you continued to complete different projects?

2. Did you go through any obstacles while completing any project?

3. Why do you continue to work in this field? What is your set motivation?

Title : Blog 2 - Summer Mentorship

Label: Mentorship Due Date: Tuesday, August 24th by 8AM

Here is a couple of pictures of the program I used for my project! (Check mentorship hours for more details )

1. List the contact name, phone number, and organization of the person with whom you volunteered.

Name : Enrique Pita 
Phone number : 626 437 2558
Email : creative28studio@aim.com
Disney art department

2. What qualified this person as an expert in your topic choice?

This person qualified as an expert in my topic choice because he worked for Disney for a very long time, more than 10 years! He has also been putting up more art galleries on his own, and now works at home sending Disney his work. He seems and is very skillful and creative in what he does. So I took that as the greatest quality he had.

3. List three questions for further exploration now that you’ve completed your summer hours.

- What does it take to become to become an artist ?
- How long does it take to create your solid / best idea?
- Can art be used for something other than visual and marketing use?

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
The most important thing I had gained from my mentor ship experience was that it takes a lot of work and thinking to come up with a solid idea. In my eyes, I think artist have to plan and plan to make sure their art is…
One : visually appealing 
Two : represents the main idea 
Three : attract people of your focused audience. 
Those are only a few things that artists probably have to take account of, which is harsh planning!

5. What is your senior project topic going to be? 
How did mentorship help you make your decision? Please explain.

My senior project will be on art/advertisement or how art in general works in media. I want to talk about how art can be influential or have a deeper meaning. This would include talking about animations to posters and more.

My mentorship helped me with my idea because I found out a lot of good and helpful qualities I know I could use for my senior project idea. Pita is a perfect mentor because he works for Disney, an amusement park and community that is known all over the world. His art has to be both visually appealing and have some sort of meaning to it. He then has to present this idea so his arts fits within the category that Disney wants. As you know, Disney focuses on the younger audience, but to this day adults love to go and enjoy themselves as well. This can be incredibly difficult for Pita sometimes, or incredibly hard! So in the end of it all, I really think he’s a perfect fit for my mentorship, and I know he has helped me find a set idea.

Here is my mentorship hours!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qcCWdRGRh7KHxJGshTtXrDLmf7peOOiZSNGgh98e7VU/edit?usp=sharing

Title: Blog 1 – Senior Final Lesson/Interview Reflection

Label:  Research
Due Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2015 at 8AM

1.  What three lessons were most helpful for you to see, and why?

The three lessons that were most helpful for me to see was Imelda Gomez’s presentation on Art/Fashion, Daisy Torres’s presentation on Teaching Elementary, and finally Nick Herrera’s presentation on Wildlife Management. I thoroughly enjoyed all of their presentations because I felt they each held their own strengths, making them unique! I loved how Imelda had a really fun and hands on activity. When I looked around, everyone was enjoying it and showing their own creative side. I liked Daisy’s presentation because she spoke with confidence, so I could really tell she knew her topic. It looks like she had practiced many times! Lastly I enjoyed Nicks presentation because of how he incorporated many personal stories about his mentorship and researching. This kept the audience engaged and attentive.

2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start?

One piece of advice that I got from the one on one interviews with the seniors was that it is recommended to NOT procrastinate on anything at all! I know this may seem like an overused piece of advise, but the seniors had emphasized it so many times that I felt like it was important. They told me to get a good mentor in time to make preparation for my independent components, to never be late with my note books? (Im not sure what that means yet) 

3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?

Im considering on doing my senior project on Graphic design or general Visual Arts! Im leaning towards Graphic design because although I love to draw with s simple pen and paper, I thought it would be pretty neat to use a tablet and make digital art. I know many freelance artists that create beautiful digital art, and I wish to become as good as them one day. However my motivation sprouted from when my brother and I simply took a liking to the digital arts. 

4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this? (Please don't worry about any sort of formula...we want this question to come from your genuine interest).

“How can digital art change the ways of media and history?” 

“How can digital art be utilized to make an impact in media and history?”

5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship?
I recently just found a mentor a week ago at an art show In Simi valley. My mentor was a former digital designer of Disney and Pixar. He helped designed the posters and even toys that would be advertised in the Disney parks!