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To be completely honest and transparent, I didn’t feel extremely comfortable damaging shoes for this project and a lot of my access to resources felt limited. I was unable to complete this assignment at the time it was assigned and I am not sure that I truly understood it. However, I am going to attempt to explain the type of mythical shoe I would like to have.

Stats:

• emotional defense
• speed (get to class on time)
  • or time warp: stops time for a few moments so that I can always make it where I need to be
• great soles
  • I have bad back issues from the designer lean, so I need something that might help
• Water-proofing
  • This could truly change the game for ay pair of shoes honestly
  • grants user water walking ability

My images: ‘as above so below; common fate and reflection’

MY CONCEPT:

• I sought to display the Golf the Fleur nail polish by using a playfulness with the Lego figures as well as their iconic polish bottles
• the majority of my choices were because they all feel thematically tied together with the nature in each of them
• tried to imbue the flower lids with real natural energy with the flower and tree Lego people <3

Ads watched:

• “The DunKings” – Dunkin Donuts ft Ben Afleck
• “Don’t Forget Uber Eats” – Uber Eats
• Monkey Man – Film by Jordan Peele
• Bud Light Genie – Bud Light
• “There’s No T in Skechers” – Skechers ft Mr. T
• “Mr. P” – Pringles ft Chris Pratt
• “Like a good Neighbaaa” – State Farm ft. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Ads Reviewed:

There’s no T in Skechers

• Message(s) + Overview:
  • “There’s never been a T in skechers”
  • Use of irony and juxtaposition, if Mr. T, a ‘literal T’ can fit skechers into his lifestyle, then clearly there is a T in them
  • Real Message: “there may not be a T in skechers, but you can do just about anything in them, just look at what Mr. T does in them!”
• Audience:
  • There is a heavy presence of the use of nostalgia for 80s and 90s babies by close the mental gap between a common misconception (“t” in “skechers”, usually pronounced like “sketchers”) and an iconic personality from that same time period who is known for being kind of aggressive and going against the grain
• Pros:
  • Fun, funny, nostalgia itch scratched, Mr. T is always a fine addition
  • Really good use of Mandela Effect to drive the point home
• Cons:
  • didn’t really sell me on anything that I didn’t already know about Skechers
  • just using Mr. T isn’t a solution albeit very close

Bud Light Genie

• Message(s) + Overview:
  • “you can do ‘anything’ with bud light, just gotta wish it”
  • Genie pops out of a Bud Light but he’s a real party-type, does anything they wish for and the commercial continues to get more and more of a party, with the closing wish being “let’s go to the super bowl” and it hard cuts back to the game
  • Real Message: anything is possible with bud light
• Audience:
  • mostly 21-45ish, usually men, although they made a very good concerted effort to feature a good ratio of men and women
  • sports watchers
  • beer drinkers
  • classic beer fans
• Pros:
  • SUPER fun, lots of cameos, and it just gets more and more ridiculous
• Cons:
  • Bud Light always uses a similar vibe of ‘let’s party’ and I would like to see something a little different, although this was one of their better attempts
  • I am pretty sure they have done the bud light genie before… or at least the idea doesn’t seem new to me for some reason

Brainstorm list:

1. Erotic tarot card series
2. Skateboard/longboard decks
   • Erotic? Simple? play around!
3. Clothing designs/brand
   • “CLR”
   • ‘The Erotic Flora’
4. Shape Series 2: Color Series
   • Start with color, build piece based on how that color feels
5. Practice optical illusions
6. New mirrors
   • some less sexual..?
   • optical illusions
   • duality of self
7. Create a highlight reel of my work
8. Revise resume and website to have same vibe
9. Weed strain/packages
10. Redesign my fave restaurant branding

Deliverables

1. What is the chosen idea?
   • Chosen idea: optical illusionary design on mirrors/my next mirror series
2. Why do you feel it would be a good experience or addition to your portfolio?
   • I think this will be an excellent piece to add to my portfolio because it would showcase that I have production skills to a degree, as well as prove a concept about introduction of deeper color studies within my work.
   • I think that my work up to this point has been relatively 2-dimensional, and this would help to take my work to the next level and prove that I have the skills needed to build out a 3-dimensional/implied space piece.
3. What skills do you hope to gain?
   • 3-dimensional background design
   • exploration of optical illusion/creative skill in the realm of illusionary design
   • more motivation to do something new and continue to try new things
4. A visual proof of concept of some kind

1. Brainstorm list (above)

Piece title: “Prostrate Yourself”

Background:

This piece was born of my passion for the feminine –in energy, aesthetic, power, and sensuality. I have always felt a sense of connection to the erotic but have always had a hard time finding spaces that accept this type of energy. As I have come closer and closer to my true identity, I have created pieces to express how this feminine energy flows from within.

Prostrate Yourself is a piece about enforcing the power of the feminine, calling for them to be praised, worshiped, and bowed before.

Actions:

This piece was constructed through multiple channels of media. The body shapes and some of the individual body parts themselves were composited and collaged to create the desired forms. I hand-selected the mirror and it’s frame, and painted the frame the matte lavender color myself. The production process involved digitally designing the image via traced collaging, then exporting them out to the Cricut studio application, which finally cut the acrylic vinyl out from the media origin. The final steps involved adhering the acrylic vinyl to the glass using adhesive and small amounts of heat to bond it to the glass more completely.

Results:

This was one of three of the first pieces that I ever produced that got a mass audience. The piece was eloquently constructed and I learned a lot about my own production design process. I found my niche, and was able to touch a new, wider audience with my artistic endeavors. The physical result was one of the first pieces I ever sold, Prostrate Yourself, and it became an inspiration piece within the home of its new owner. I feel like this is one of my most successful pieces of my career thus far, and has opened many doors since.

• Genre: single-player, open-world RPG
• Story: Post-apocalyptic survival tale, trying to find your son
  • From Bethesda: “As the sole survivor of Vault 111, you enter a world destroyed by nuclear war. Every second is a fight for survival, and every choice is yours. Only you can rebuild and determine the fate of the Wasteland. Welcome home.”
• How is it played (hardware): I played on PC so you’d need:
  • Keyboard/Gamepad
  • Mouse
  • Display
• How is it played (conceptually)
  • heavy RPG elements, similar to D&D for speech checks and overall skill leveling
  • There are a decent number of affordances in the UI to guide the user through things
    • Tutorial stages are lovely to a degree

• Things I enjoy:
  • open world RPG is actually my favorite genre
  • very immersive in that you can spend a decent amount time in the game before realizing just how long it’s been
  • honestly I am very much a fan of this game, and anyone who says otherwise probably just loves to hate on Bethesda titles that aren’t the Elder Scrolls
• Things I don’t enjoy:
  • the occasional “Bethsoft Bugs” but nothing ‘day ending’ or that ruined the experience
  • dialogue moments get stuck sometimes and there’s not a good way to skip them

• Target Audience:
  • Suitable for those who love action, storytelling, and freedom in their gameplay.
  • Great for players who enjoy exploring open worlds with rich backstories.
  • Might be overwhelming for those preferring linear, straightforward games.

If I were to be a Swiss Army Knife of ‘creative tools’ I think my breakdown would look a little something like this:

• Carbon fiber shell (vs the typical red plastic with a metal undercarriage)
• Exacto knife
  • cutting print jobs and finding new ways to use cutting to accomplish artistic/creative feats
• USB drive
  • gotta keep those files in order
• Built-in mono-glass with blue-light filtering
  • so I can look closely at my work without loss of detail from display to other media formats
• Mobile die-cutter
  • gotta be able to print and cut
• Cat beacon
  • the world is just a better place when you can call a cat at any time to help keep you calm
• Pantone color swatches
  • gotta keep those colors the same!!
• lighter
  • want to keep the mood lighting and scents right with candles and such

Description of prompt/desired imagery:

• “Playing frisbee with a cat in the park”
• I hope this creates a complete scene of a person and a cat playing frisbee in the park, as you might expect to see a person doing with a dog in a stereotypical scenario

Sketch:

Generation program:

• ChatGPT enhanced with DALL-E image generator

VERSION 1:

• Prompt: “Can you generate an image of a person playing frisbee with a cat in a park?”
• Result:

VERSION 2:

• Prompt: “This is almost exactly what I had in mind, maybe similar to that last one, but with the cat jumping for the frisbee”
• Result:

VERSION 3:

• Prompt: “You didn’t use the same style as the one I said I liked, this is more cartoon-like”
• Result:

RECAP:

• In conclusion, honestly AI is a good brainstorming tool rather than an actually accurate way to create something you desire. I would probably suggest using something like this to generate positional changes or different ‘views’ of standard objects or other things.
• Pros:
  • It ‘can’ do the job
  • really realistic in general
  • great variations
• Cons:
  • despite doing the job, it is not consistent
  • cannot produce the same thing even when asked
  • still very much can tell it is generated when next to real art

The Cricut Venture

I have had my eyes on the ‘next big thing’ when it comes to die cutters for a while now. I have been using a Cricut Explore Air 2 for 3 years now and I have never once looked back for anything cut related –and honestly, I do whatever I can to use that machine to do other things as well (it literally can draw!!) But what could the ‘next big thing’ be if I already have something that does the job!

The answer is quite literally just an even bigger Cricut! Let’s hear from Cricut on their machine:

Meet Cricut Venture, our wide-format professional cutting machine. It precision-cuts 100+ materials up to 75 ft (22.8 m) and works at commercial speeds. Plus, it writes, scores, foils & so much more. Works with Design Space®, our free & easy-to-learn app (desktop only).

Cricut Website – Cricut Venture

The Cricut Venture stands out for its ability to precision-cut over 100 materials, and the scale it can handle is remarkable. It can cut materials up to 75 feet long, which opens up a world of possibilities for large-scale projects like banners and wall decorations, or my favorite selling point: giant paper flowers!

The Cricut Venture could be a fantastic addition to our department, and could bring a new level of versatility and creativity to our projects. Imagine having the capability to not only cut a wide range of materials but also create detailed designs and large-scale pieces with ease. This machine goes beyond cutting; it scores, writes, and adds foil details, enabling us to produce more professional and intricate work, from custom foil invitations to elaborate packaging designs.

At $999.00 for the Everything Bundle, it’s an investment, but it’s worth considering the time-saving and creative opportunities it offers. The Venture’s user-friendly nature, coupled with its compatibility with so much other tech, allows us to effortlessly blend technology with creativity. This tool could significantly expand the scope and quality of our projects, making it a valuable asset to our department.

In a world that often leans towards playing it safe, I’ve always sort of found my niche in being different. I feel like the path and life I have taken up to this point have given me a completely unique view of the world in so many ways.

Growing up with a single mom, independence was key. From her, I learned to tackle challenges head-on and never back down. This attitude has become a fundamental part of how I approach everything, be it life or career. Growing up religious in her household also taught me a lot about structure as well as morality and ethics.

On top of the valuable lessons gained from my own mother, my grandmother instilled in me a kind of ‘positive stubbornness.’ It’s this trait that drives me to think outside the box, to question the usual ways of doing things, and to persistently seek out new solutions. I find that this mindset is crucial in my field, where innovation is a major key to the industry a large.

I’ve always seen things through a logical lens, thanks to my upbringing. This has shaped my approach to design, where I lean towards patterns and grids. But, I’m always up for a challenge; ready to mix up the conventional with the experimental. It’s about finding that sweet spot between logical design and creative exploration. Trying new things and embracing the challenges they bring has always been my bag. It’s led me to diverse experiences, enriching my work and how I see the world. I believe this blend of logical thinking and adventurous spirit sets me apart.

My biggest drive, though, has always been bringing others’ ideas to life. There’s something special about understanding someone’s vision and making it a reality. It’s not just a job for me; it’s a mission. This approach helps me connect deeply with people, be it clients or colleagues, and deliver impactful results.

In short, my journey so far – marked by independence, positive stubbornness, a logical yet adventurous approach to design, and a deep-seated passion for materializing visions – makes me a distinct disruptor in my field. These experiences and traits shape my learning and practice, allowing me to offer a perspective that’s truly my own.