Cindy Au

I created a vlog talking about cosmic attractors off script…. I tried!

https://youtu.be/-6oiazt0IZQ

This week, Robin Holloway talked about his creative process and the practices he commits to in order to maintain interest, motivation, and curiosity about his craft. Additionally, he expounded upon the idea of “cosmic attractors”, meaning works of art or creativity that are supremely inspirational on a personal level within one’s area of focus.

He also described one of his current practices which is to post a video blog every day (now counting 880!) in which he discusses a multitude of subjects.Your assignment this week is to create a video blog. 

What tend to be your cosmic attractors? You can discuss one (or more) specifically, or focus on the general type of work you are inspired by. You may decide to talk about the work or experience that prompted you to pursue the craft/program you are currently participating in.

Please take some time to think about what you are going to discuss. However, when you start to roll your camera (or phone camera), you can choose to work off of a script or go off the cuff. Make sure you discuss the subject for a minimum of 3 minutes.

There was a moment when I was lying in bed looking outside my window—the sun was setting so the sky was a beautiful gradient. I honestly never spend much time doing nothing and soaking in the little things that surround us every day. Looking at the clouds and observing how fast and how slow they might move and realizing how this was the first time I’ve ever observed clouds from my bed (was a strange realization at how I’m constantly having to be pre-occupied with something to feel “productive”). Even though this moment in time didn’t necessarily spark something immediately within me to create, it simply made me be more thankful for the life that I live. To slow down. That it’s okay to take a break. Sometimes what we do need for the creative process is time, to let our ideas incubate. It also allowed me to appreciate the little things in life, the beauty that surrounds us. I think for those few moments, being in my own world and not having to stress or worry about anything else was almost meditative. In a blink of an eye the sun had already set, and I could no longer see the clouds—change happens so quickly if you’re distracted. Stop and smell the flowers! Overall, it reminded me that you cannot force the creative process to happen whenever—it will come to you with time. Remember to enjoy life and the little things—and everything else will come to you!

Where Tropical Paradise Meets Pet Pampering!

Our campaign is a vibrant celebration of the bond between pet parents and their furry friends, combining the innovative features of Petcube Bites 2 with the captivating allure of tropical imagery. Just as a beach getaway transports you to a world of relaxation, this campaign immerses you in a beachy oasis, where the colors and textures of sand, water, and lush nature awaken your senses. The bright and vibrant colors evoke feelings of joy and playfulness, mirroring the excitement and happiness of connecting with your pet through this advanced interactive pet camera. With Petcube Bites 2 you can observe your pet’s adventures with the clarity of 1080p HD video, zooming in with the 4x digital zoom for a closer look, and even engaging in real-time conversations through the two-way audio, just as if you were strolling along the shoreline together. Let the tropical vibes of our product sweep you away to a world of fun, love, and unforgettable moments with your cherished pet. Join us on this tropical journey and discover the perfect harmony between modern pet care and the bliss of paradise!
Petcube Bites 2 is the ultimate all-in-one home camera for modern pet parents seeking a tropical oasis of love and care. Join us on this paradise and let the waves of joy wash over you and your pet!

Research the difference of Freelance, Part-time, Fulltime vs Contract/Agency work.

Freelance

-Hired by the project (shorter period vs contractors)

PROS

-Self-employed, able to set your own rates, flexibility (but also need to have discipline with not overworking and knowing how much you are worth)

CONS

-Finding job as a freelancer is difficult if you don’t have the portfolio/experience or connections for it, starting out can be difficult, need financial safety net in case you have a lull/can be unstable/unpredictable (need to diversify client base), have to wear all hats (client briefing, marketing, taxes, accountant, etc)

Part-time

-Considered part-time if working less than 30 hours a week (in-house)?

PROS

-More freedom to do whatever you want

CONS

-Depending on the company may or may not get benefits when working less hours

Fulltime

PROS

-Job security, consistent schedule, working with others and if in the right environment able to grow and learn from coworkers/get feedback, employee benefits/vacation/insurance/sick time/etc, get familiar with brand you’re working for/consistency/design system, having to work with the same people (can be good or bad), Depends on small vs big company

• Big company—can become monotonous work on the same product
• Small company—wear multiple hats and make solo design decisions

-If you work with people you don’t like/office politics can get bad, work can be monotonous working for the same company, typically slower progression of pay raises (vs freelancing you’re in charge of your own rate or contracts you can re-negotiate)

Contract/Agency

-Usually work with one company for extended/specified period/”contract” and paid by the hour, typically the agency sets your rate (can negotiate but again less freedom with freelancing)

PROS

-Get to work with different clients and industry/brands (networking), meet new people, don’t have to necessarily deal with office politics—since it’s a contract you’ll just move to the next (or if you do like the place a contract can lead to a fulltime), renegotiating contracts on project basis—opportunity for more frequent pay jumps (depends), can really specialize (vs being a generalist with in-house work)

CONS

-Employed by vendor/agency and can be inconsistent work too (more stability than freelancing), having to meet new people for every new contract and learn how a new company works/expectations, contracts aren’t necessarily going to be renewed and there can also be a lull in contract work

Which do you think you would prefer and why?

I would prefer working fulltime but at a small studio. I still have a lot to learn and I think I would benefit a lot from being able to work collaboratively with other designers and learning from those who have more experience than me (which I would not be able to get as a freelancer). Additionally, I don’t think I am necessarily ready to be completely self-employed freelancer as I would have to build my own network first and have a lot to learn about being my own accountant, filing taxes, insurance, etc—which is enough stress as it is being a new designer in the field. There is potential to being a contract worker, as I would love to work with different companies without being tied down to working for one brand or design system—the main thing that is deterring me from being a contract worker is that when you work in-house, you’re able to build stronger bonds with your coworkers and there is a different relationship compared to those who are contract workers (which some may disagree with me). I think when you work with a team for an extended amount of time there is a bond that grows which is what I want to find. I honestly would not mind starting out with contract work until I find a place I like to work to become a fulltime worker.

If your last name starts with A-G find three job postings for Part-time work.

For this assignment we were tasked with taking photos of things that inspire us, fitting into the theme of textures, patterns, or shapes.

These are the photos I took:

Overall I think the photos that I took definitely fit under patterns, as nature tends to have many repetitive components show up again and again (especially if you are in a vast field of flowers, you can expect that). But even as organic as nature is, there is patterns and this blog post made me realize how much I love capturing repeating objects (especially in nature). I was looking back at old photos and noticed I had many pictures of flowers, succulents, cacti, etc. and when you look at them, they’re not just patterns but also textures! Though some photos are definitely more textured than others, I think all have an element of texture within.

For this assignment, we created a promotional jersey for the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken minor league team in Palm Springs (promoting the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival).

I initially read the assignment wrong… my first creation:

I didn’t realize there was a completely different team from the Kraken that was already located in Palm Springs. Initially I just created a Jersey that ended up being a mash-up of the Kraken and the Coachella Firebirds (I had no idea this was the actual name of the minor league… I thought it was the name or theme of the festival for this year haha).

So after realizing that I did not understand the assignment… this is what I came up with:

Longest part was recreating the firebird logo in Illustrator… Where I got my color palette was from the Coachella Website. I was inspired by the clear blue skies, contrasted with the bright orange balls. I also wanted to incorporate the promotional poster–the background being a purple-ish galaxy theme which is why I ended up using a similar texture on the jersey. Overall the jersey ended up looking not the way I expected it to, but I guess that’s also another thing to expect when mashing up a hockey team with Coachella. As Coachella tends to have some “feminine” energy–If I could get the same deep purple galaxy as the one in the poster then the jersey might come off as less feminine? But I think it’s an interesting take going off their website theme and promotional poster!

Who are you?

I am an American-born Chinese. I am creative. I am an aspiring designer. I am a scientist. I am a creative critical thinker. I am breaking free of stereotypical expectations that have been placed on me for decades. I am trying to find happiness which has led me here.

What is it that you want to do?

I want to show people who might have a similar experience as me, that it is okay to not know what you want to do. It’s okay if you have familial expectations and to not necessarily pursue what you love, but also know that it is okay to not follow those expectations as well (if you are in the position to). I want to show people that it’s never too late to change your mind, it’s okay to make “mistakes” and it’s okay to take up space.

Why?

At the end of the day, I want to not only share my creative journey and art with the world, but to also embrace still what I have learned in the past to bridge the gap between art and science as they are very much interconnected. I share a very similar upbringing and journey as Christiana Wu—being pushed towards a path that we did not necessarily want to pursue, working in a world where we were taught to say “yes” but learning to break free from generations of being told what to do. After listening to her talk, it has inspired me to be unapologetically me and to share experiences as well even if that helps just one other person.

Where do you want to go?

My ultimate goal is to live life instead of simply existing… (sorry this is getting a bit deep…). I realized that I was just existing when I was working my old full-time job at the hospital. As much as I loved my coworkers—I was not fulfilled because I wanted to do something more and that something more was to stimulate my creative soul. I know I won’t necessarily enjoy what I do every day but making that conscious decision and knowing that I am not stuck. I want to continually learn more till I grow old and be able to reflect on all that I have created and experienced.

What would you want to say?

Don’t be sorry and be you. At the end of the day only you know your own authentic self (you might have to look deep internally). There might be some generational trauma to unpack but keep looking until you find that spark. It’s also okay to not be okay. In our society, it has been engrained in us to have the hustle and bustle life, but it’s okay to take a break (actually it’s very important). It’s okay to not know what future awaits us. And once again, it’s okay to take up space. Don’t be a sheeple, but if you consciously decide to be a sheeple that’s okay too! Just be critical about your decisions and think about how you want to spend your valuable life, as time is limited (and our most precious resource, as Christiana once said).

This week we heard from creative director from CUT, which focuses on many different unscripted and thought-provoking videos from many backgrounds and diversities. Our challenge is to come up with a concept video that we produce as a student body at SCCA.

I think it would be interesting to create a video surrounding the question “Where do you see yourself five years from now?” Though it might be more difficult to organize such a video where we refilm in five years with the same participants (and keeping us accountable to remember to do this) it would definitely be very interesting to see the results afterwards (career and anything else one might want disclose about their life—it can be pretty open ended to whoever is being filmed, the main thing is comparing what they initially answered to how it compares five years later).

As first year students, we are all still learning so much and we might have a vague idea of what we might want to do when we graduate, so it would be interesting to see what preconceived ideas we have about what we want to do in the industry and how that might change after working for a couple years. This video would not just be for our current class, but it would be nice to show future first year students as well to show how predictable (or unpredictable) we are with our careers and life in general.

For the actual filming, I think having around 20 to 30 participants, I mainly want a large pool of students because we cannot predict where people will be 5 years from now and how willing people will be to filming in the future/what circumstances people will be in—so filming more people will allow more room for flexibility and unforeseen circumstances. I definitely want a diverse range of students, from all ages, races/backgrounds, education, and both design and visual media students. It’ll be especially important to include a wide variety of ages because I think those who have been working before compared to younger students who are coming straight out of SCC finding their first actual job will have varying opinions about the future and reality.

I explored “Scout the Clouds” in Decentraland! It was reminiscent of some farming games that I have played in the past like Farmville and Harvest Moon.

Overall, what worked well was how simple it is to create an avatar and jump into the metaverse. It’s very low commitment, not having to signup or download anything to use Decentraland which I appreciate. I also like how clear they were with explaining what controls to use to move around and interact in the metaverse.

Since I’m not too familiar with how the metaverse works, I think I was a bit confused on what activities require money (and if that’s real money or how do we get currency? I’m not too sure) and I did some wandering outside of the event but it seemed pretty barren. Even at the event there were several people (whom I tried to talk to) but no one talked or interacted which I feel like defeats the purpose of having something like this?

I think I could see myself having more interest if I already knew other friends who were involved/interacted in the metaverse. It seems difficult to integrate yourself especially if you don’t know what you are doing and if people don’t seem to want to socialize online?

I can see this being used as advertising (if enough people use it) but also for a niche population—so very specific ads and brands being marketed towards this group of people. There’s a lot of real estate to be used in the metaverse but I’m not sure how much people would actually pay attention to ads (I felt pretty overwhelmed going in for the first time and missed a few directional signs).

I think this could definitely be used as entertainment, as I’ve played online games with other players before. I think having the element of some kind of mini game/activity (like this farming event) gives people a goal to work towards and incentives for completing such event. I think group games is especially good for entertainment because people like to feel like a group/part of a larger collective. But for me personally (for Decentraland) I don’t really see myself having much interest because from what I experienced (and jumping from several events too) it seems a bit lonely and empty!

In Adam’s lecture, he discussed how quality work is the foundation and basis for everything and every project. If there are constraints or limitations that result in impacting the quality of work, people will see through that.

Since the start of the pandemic, I have learned, and I am still learning how to produce quality work without sacrificing excellence. As I work in a lab in the hospital, ever since the pandemic hit, workload has amplified tremendously while staffing has only been decreasing. In the beginning, I was okay with taking on more tasks while delivering quality care to patients, but in doing that, it caused burn out which eventually might have led to decreased quality in work. Though I cannot think of a specific instance, I did not feel great about my work because I like to be methodical and meticulous about the results I give out to providers and there was a constant pressure of having to produce results quickly, lowering turn-around-time while we are short staffed, and workload was doubled (or more). Having worked through this pandemic (and still struggling even now), I realized how important it is to first prioritize myself. My mental health is the most important and if I am not okay, how am I able to take care of others while displaying excellence and integrity? I also realized how previously, I was willing to break my back for an organization that did not necessarily seem to care about my thoughts and well-being. At the end of the day, things were not being implemented to help our situation, turn-over-rate was extremely high because of that as well, which was fueling even more burn out. I questioned why I was willing to sacrifice myself when I was not being compensated for the amount of extra work I was doing, but at the same time not proud of the work I was producing.

After reflecting, the main thing I learned was to do what I can. I am not saying to simply do the bare minimum, but to realize as one human being, there is only so much we can handle. If we want to preserve the longevity of what we are doing (and life in general), we must pace ourselves and learn how to say no. Having a scarcity mindset can be toxic and knowing when to walk away from situations that no longer serve you is imperative. I can say for sure that the quality of my work has definitely improved.