Month: October 2022

In this week’s Blog Assignment, we are being tasked to write about our own life experiences, and decisions in which we said yes to an opportunity even though we were not quite prepared to step up to the challenge. In my career thus far I have done a decent job at not overloading my plate, except once. That one time was actually pretty recently, I was offered a job as a Graphic Designer for Highline Heritage Museum. I was so extremely excited when I got the offer, I did say to them that I would need some time to think about it, that was just me playing hard to get. I said yes probably within the next 48 hours and finished all the paperwork necessary to begin. Got my first few jobs for the museum and away I went… crashing into the ground. I have very little knowledge of this museum, I am getting some direction but they trusted my creative vision so I was sitting staring at my screen for what felt like hours. Thought it might just be a small creative block and it would be fine after a day or two. Well a day or two turned into weeks, turned into months and I had not delivered anything they would have used. I felt so ashamed and disappointed in myself. I was working 6 days a week, every week, as a barista for two high volume coffee shops. I tried to use that one day off to design but then realized I needed to use that day to do actual human adult tasks. Clean my apartment, buy groceries, drink water, socialize, the list goes on and on. I soon found myself extremely burnt out and no longer enjoying myself. The only thing I could do was turn in my resignation, I was so scared to do so, I felt like if I did this I do not know when my next opportunity will come. Thankfully I got a lovely email from Seattle Central Creative Academy congratulating me on getting accepted into the Graphic Design Program. Told them I would no longer have time to work for them, which was true, but in reality I could not work for them with my current work schedule. In hindsight I wish I would have considered taking down some hours at my two jobs to spend more time on that opportunity but my hope now is that this program will be the thing that opens all the doors into the design world.

In this week’s Blog Assignment, we are being tasked to write about where on the spectrum that Joe Hallock presented and spoke about, we currently aspire to do work. The spectrum includes High Information Density to Low Information Density and Broad Audience to Specific Audience. This is something I have been questioning since the beginning of my graphic design career. Actually this is a big part as to why I have decided to apply for this program in the first place. The truth is I do not know, I know the type of work I would probably like to avoid but as for having a preference of work I currently am working toward, I do not have one. I understand where the money lies in these fields, but I am not someone with the desire to chase money. I want my work to be fulfilling while also paying my bills and allowing me to live comfortably. I have had these feelings before this program but now being introduced to so many different things, I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. Yes, even coding is something I can see myself doing. That may be something I do very little of due to my lack of knowledge but the possibilities of that excite me. I am terrible at drawing and was terrified of learning Illustrator for that reason. I came to find out Jason is teaching us ways to never have to actually draw in Illustrator, just create. And even if I did have to sketch something out beforehand I feel one hundred times more confident because of Jill teaching us the process of doing so and how to create feeling with simple design choices. I know I should pick some kind of answer, so if I was offered all of these things on the spectrum and told I can only choose one it would be around the same area as video games. I enjoy designing things for the purpose of design, but I also love solving problems and visually communicating with the world. I believe that level of High Info Density and a broader audience is something that appeals to me.