Category: Uncategorized

For my final for digital images last semester, we were given an open-ended ask to photograph a subject, tethered, and retouch their features in photoshop. For this final, I loved the idea of doing an Adidas-themed campaign and had reached out to an acquaintance that wanted to get into modeling. The morning of the shoot, I received an “I was feeling sick all day yesterday and won’t be able to make the shoot text. We were shooting on a crunch schedule, and I was worried about tethering. I discovered the week before the shoot that my Lumix cameras don’t tether to any outside source, but I could maneuver it to connect to a light room if I look back at iPhone photos.
Instantly felt high anxiety. I cold-called my friend Max who constantly has people nagging her to shoot for free & come up with fun concepts. She posted on her Instagram story, asking if anyone was available for a shoot with me today with photos from my mood board. Within minutes I had 15 people in my DM’s, one of which was a student of UW and one of the prominent club members of the MESH fashion club. My shoot didn’t work with her schedule. But, she re-posted Max’s story to the MESH’s Instagram, and from there, I not only had several potential people to shoot in my DM’s but also found a model I met at a content creator networking event six months ago prior. We shot. She was chill and easy to work with.

How would it have turned out with another model or using a different camera? I don’t know, but I got the opportunity to connect with someone new who allied better with the version of myself I’m striving to become.In the end, everything felt tied up in a bow.

Vita Coffee

I enjoyed the fun and playful nature of Vita coffee’s aesthetic. They’re the type of brand I would love to market. Their social media showed a lot of colors. Their website is highly interactive, with fun colors popping up everywhere, and their flows are easy to navigate. https://www.caffevita.com/pages/coffee

Technics:
We are starting to use strobes in lighting class, and it was my second time using them successfully. I have yet to do a ton of still-life work, but I like to add Photoshop flair when I do. In photoshop and used the stamp tool to fix some of the discolored edges. I took Vita’s logo from google and used their prime brand colors to draw simple lines using the brush tool. I then -> Filter – liquified – change the opacity and swirl it around, creating this fun wavey outline around the cup. I didn’t particularly appreciate that my wave & the logo touched, so I copied the liquified layer and changed the positioning on the swirl, so it was below the logo & made it the second thing your eye is drawn to. I would have wanted more negative space above the logo, but I like the end product.

( this one is messy😬)

• 
   Please describe the project and what you hope to gain from it.
• Produce a rough timeline of what it would take to do the task.
• What would you need to execute the project (other than time)
• How much would this project cost to produce

In recent months, I’ve been thinking a ton about personal projects, and the idea of a podcast keeps rolling around in my brain. I love uplifting and learning about other people’s life stories and how they got to be who they are now. I like learning about others’ struggles and their perspectives and journey. It would be net to have a podcast about people in the creative field specifically to get a peak at what they do & how they got there. 30-minute episode deep dive with a set of questions consistent through the different interviews. 

I hope to gain more connections with other creatives and learn about jobs and people I’m curious about (via their prosses or career trajectory). I want to help people learn about careers they might not even know existed if they were to listen. Before my mom was a stylist, she had no idea that a job even existed, let alone was able to pay the bills. I was lucky to have been on set at such a young age and have small moments of nagging digital tec’s on set trying to understand their jobs, but that opportunity is not that easy for most.

For example, we would learn about audio engineer Jason Devore, who specializes in post-production. Or photographer Nick Beeba who runs & creates all Bogey Boys content & social media marketing that was initially a DJ. 

Everyone has a specific story that can change from person to person, and we need to hear about them more. I love the podcast second life by Hillary Kerr, which spotlights career changes that come at any age using similar questions. 

• What would you need to execute the project (other than time)

Ok ok. Well, I’m still in the building block process of what type of logistical steps I need to take. 

 Where do I want to film that I could film consistently, do I want ambient sound, Am I going to be in the video, Would I get someone to be my cameraman, or would I set it up & be in it? How often do I want to put out content? What platform should I be editing off of (prem, audition, or easier audio editing software) ( creating space to learn new audio editing platforms) Should I roll the video to post on other social platforms, making time to be consistent// being a month ahead of what’s being published? I would need contacts, which means reaching out a LOT & doing followups every few weeks/ months.

• How much would this project cost to produce

Mics: I’ve heard I’ll outgrow the blue yeti fast, but there are pros and cons on Rode M5. Lavs seem crazy at this stage but better to invest sooner. I’m willing to invest, but I want to make one good investment and not have to buy more crap. But I could always re-sell. Also, something that is easily transportable would be ideal. ($200-500) guess?

If I rented out space? Batch-film episodes to make it more cost-effective. Would I record it in a consistent area/ studio? Would I use the recording studio at SCC? If I did decide to do a video with it, what would the lighting setup & gear look like for that? Is it better to start with no video & work up to it? Lots of logistics rolling around in the noggin ($75/120 – an hour for space rental) (I could get a deal at creative block if I did a whole day thing) 

My first impression is that no matter how different the graphic design and visual media programs might be, all creatives want to do is create. Being fully emerged in it can sometimes be obsessive over it, but in the end, want to make something beautiful with their skills.

One student said the most important thing he’s learned so far was how many different career paths were open to him and thinking more about the direction he is headed in. When you don’t know many people in the industry, there’s no one to tell you how huge the world of design is and where you as a designer fit into that industry. His first realization in the programs was that he had no idea what he was getting himself into, just that he’d enjoyed illustrating and the process of creating.

One interesting takeaway I got from our conversation was the design classes seem to be connecting their ideas and concepts. When his classes started, there wasn’t a clear correlation between his classes. But as the program goes on there is a more obvious connection between every class. Opposite to my experiences in visual media, at first, all the concepts were connected but as we go further into the curriculum, I notice it’s easier to get buried in one subject and have that be your entire career. Not to say that’s not the same with design but it’s become crystal clear recently.

Already, I see the difference in how we look at our work and the world around us. Whenever the design students show me their work after class they ask me what I see. Asking which shapes they created to give the most feeling of safety or which logo is better for an ice cream company. While I show them an image that I put copy over, and ask if there is enough negative space. Seeing if the copy is taking away from selling the product. Here are two different thought prosses that in the end come together to create a finished product. And I admire the collaborative side of working with graphic designers. It’s easy to be focused on the skills you’ve been told to work on in school and be around people who are working on the same projects as you. But learning what other creatives are doing can allow you to think outside the box for your creations.

I think understanding the design perspective is going to be essential to my career. When theirs a team with other creatives, you need to understand a bit about their process. Understanding what you need from them will help communication be effective.

I see myself connecting and creating marking campaigns that are multiple layered projects and one component of that will be working with designers to complete a vision. Without knowing what other creatives need to be successful it will be harder to accomplish success.

Earn Trust
I am someone who always follows threw, and is reliable. I’m extremely communicative, which makes me very trustworthy. An example would be from my video production class in high school. In a class where skipping was commanded, I’d show up to class early, be attentive, and honest, and return the gear on time. The semester was ending but I needed an extra few days after the quarter to finish my final video. Because I had always been consistent with my word the whole semester, my teacher turned a blind eye and allowed me to turn the assignment in late, because he trusted that I would follow threw. I had consistently shown him that when I said I was going to do something I would do it.

Customer Obsession:

When I think of customer obsession my mind automatically goes to tik tok and the algorithm’s current 4-second rule. If your video encapsulates over 50% of views within the first 4 seconds, the algorithm will push your content out to more people. For each video, finding a way to get the viewer hooked from the first few seconds is crucial, similar to creating a product and having a customer want your product. despatched and Directed toward customers looking for that product. Not to say I fully understand the tik tok algorithm or get viewed all the time. I do try and put intention to who/what/where/why when thinking about the viewers consuming my content and what they can gain from it. *entertainment or something educational, etc.

• Learn and Be Curious: I would call myself an extremely curious person who loves to learn. I try to seek out what needs to be known and who knows it. I do this by asking a few too many questions, which can get annoying for other people in the room. But this allows me to dive deeper and truly understand concepts. One good example of this is from yesterday, We got a portrait retouching assignment. I am interested in shooting a diverse range of subjects in one frame. Attomatcly after class, I chatted with my digital image teacher about what type of lighting setup I would want for multiple skin tones. My teacher took me to the studio and showed me the lighting set up which led to me chatting with my lighting teacher who showed me a quick demo of the constant light we haven’t gotten into yet. All to say, I encourage curiously and would say it’s a big part of my mentality.

 Invent and Simplify: I’d say I’m decent at ideation, But when it comes to my execution, I’ve overcomplicated and made things more complex than they need to be. I can get caught up in details and I tend to refocus on the end goal. The best example of this is my projects with friends. Once my friend wanted to make a monthly zine, and we started by creating a concept (which I did a shoot for). But when it came time to add copy and work on the zines fount, I felt presser and didn’t know where to begin. I started to second guess and instead of simplifying, I overcomplicated the whole thing by adding unneeded pressure. 

College is always a daunting and negative subject for me. I’d felt incapable. I had an assortment of learning disabilities growing up and could not read cohesively till the end of 4th grade. I’d grown up in special ED classes, I had this notion that I wouldn’t be smart enough for higher education. I’d gone to a private school and learned how to read and made up the skills I’d lost.

the stressers where:
-how much it wouldcost me
_ would i be able to handel it
-would i be smart enoguht

My anxiety had been bubbling all of my freshman year of high school, and by the time I was picking my classes for junior year, I’d had enough. I felt so scared that my past self wouldn’t be able to handle the future, and I was sick of living in self-made fear.

I didn’t think one bit, that I was ready to go to college. Covid-19 pandemic started when I was in 9th grade and I hadn’t learned anything in my online classes. My mom didn’t think it was the best idea, to throw yourself into something you’ve been having anxiety about for months on end. But I knew that if I didn’t do the early college program I would think about it constantly.

Truthfully I wasn’t ready. I had no idea how closed off I would be from my peers, and how difficult my collage history class would be on my mental health. It ended up being the secluded social aspect of it all that lead me to go back to high school part time after the first quarter of community college. Since I was still taking part time collage classes I then found out about this porgram. In the long game it ended up being the right move.

threw this, I learned instead of overthinking and having anxiety about something, to just take the risk when you had the opportunity. Allowing yourself to be uncomfortable long enough to completely change your day-to-day. Its daunting, but with a big picture mentality it was the right decision.

• What Point of interest (POI) did your team decide on?
  I was in a group with Charley and Stephanie and we decided to make are project about lakes in Seattle.

• How did you create it (photoshop, Figma)?
  This formate was created in photoshop.

• What assets did you use? (jpg/gif/audio/etc)

I used JPG images and videos of the lake.

After chatting for a bit about are project we decided on making are themed about different lakes you could visit in seattle. We started talking about color palettes and what we wanted the overall vibe to be. I wanted to include fun facts that most people wouldn’t know off hand to add some education. Charley made a mood-board for are font & themes which was super helpful. ( it won’t let me upload a photo unfortunately)

Because I have a few friend who live near the Montlake cut on lake union I already had video footage of the lake that I thought added some detail to the view. I included a video of the Windermere Cup Rowing Regatta.

I used an image from the website https://gethappyathome.com/3-wildly-memorable-things-to-do-on-lake-union-in-seattle-this-summer/

I chose to categorize the type of work I’m interested in, into the same format. Disclaimer: the way I organized this might be confusing.

Right now I could see myself doing many different forms of advertising. Still trying to understand my demographic and who consumes my content style, but here are different ideas and some brands that I’ve seen recently. As much as I’d want to do more broad audience work, sometimes appealing to the masses means having to create something easily digestible to the average person. To me, a broad audience can sometimes mean having to oversimplify which for my current self is overwhelming. I like the idea of making work that requires a bit of thinking or creating the type of ads that make you stop because of how they artistically created the AD was.

Specific audience low information density (high production)
Audience: women
Selling lip balm: the price of entry is high but for a low-end item.
Because naturally Ive always been drawn to and intrigued by social media, I could see myself making social media marketing campaigns. The first one that comes to mind, is this Instagram reel by glossier posted early this week. I could see myself either being one of the creative directors at glossier planning the shoot or being the person shooting and editing this project together. I love the idea of hiring people with influence as models to help push out the content and connect the content creator’s audience with the company product.
Glossier collaboration with swiss miss AD: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cj3LUZngjBc/

More mainstream audience: non-skip-able ad on youtube – Highly informational.
I love everything about Prose custom shampoo AD, from the way it catches your eye in the first 4 seconds, to how stylized and simple it is. I can see myself writing out the script and making the vision for a project like this. Not sure if this is a specific or broad audience, but because the product is about hair, I’d say it’s pretty broad.
Prose custom shampoo AD: https://m.facebook.com/thisisprose/videos/prose-hyper-custom-haircare/394543681959736/

The specific audience, high informational – would be relatively low production.
Making a Microsoft sales training Employ videos.
I would be the director, doing pre-production, and production, and post production, creating begging to end.

When given this assignment, I didn’t know which way I wanted to take it. I generally don’t use AR a bunch in my day-to-day life. I don’t watch a ton of animation, or play any video games; so when I went to the app store on my phone for this project I was amazed to see so much variety in how AR was used. I downloaded a few different apps before this one but quickly realized I did not understand the point/ meaning of playing many of the games and decided to pick an app that had a bit more meaning and the goal of having AR. I stumbled upon a beauty brand called Chantecaile Wild Beauty whose name I recognized and was interested in why they had an animal AR photo app. It turns out they’re a cruelty-free brand whos trying to help and spread education threw their marketing/ selling their products. I thought it was savvy and wanted to know how interactive it was. Overall the app was not hard to use or figure out, it had a basic layout and simple (assuming) adobe Aero effects. 

I felt that my PowerPoint might have been a bit nit-picky about the app’s overall layout of trying to sell products. They advertise the app as “helping save endangered species from Africa” but as a user, the app felt like it was asking me to just buy their products. Which is fine, but the marketing felt off.

For this assignment, I chose my mashup using three different mediums: video, photo, and animation.

Link to project: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1DPybaWJLsODnhyf2ONXqjeSe8gDAiVnD

( has both screen recording or eye jack and video without eye jack.

I was able to animate this by using eye-jack which I just learned the week prevues in new media’s Ar (virtual reality class.) I also learned in my digital images class that magazines or ad’s photospheres will purposely leave negative space for there to copy (text). I used this as my first video shot having some text that gave context to what I was filming. As for the stop motion photos, I think my overall understanding of my camera settings and lighting has proven eminently threw the light class.

I did find this project challenging in the sense that I wanted to do more with it, if I was given this project a few months from now I would have incorporated after effects or illustrator two platforms that I think would have been fun to experiment with this mashup mentality. I also felt that I could have added more of original touch to it when thinking about the mashup concept.

Going back to Palo Tossolini’s mashup concept, I wanted to do something timely, and relevant. I liked what Mr.Tosolini said about his, “ guerilla marketing” strategy. Leverage a moment, or an event and surf the wave of interest to showcase your product. I chose the water lantern festival for this mashup because I thought it represented everything Mr.Tossolini depicted. I also thought of how I can use the guerilla marketing strategy as a content creator, by leveraging a Japanese tradition that happens ruffly once a year, to show how my storytelling style and add value to people on social media by giving them interesting experiences they can be in-the-know about by following my platforms.