Month: February 2023

My experience in the Metaverse world was overall mixed. On the one hand, the graphics and visuals were fun. The world was fairly easy to navigate. I was impressed by the interactivity, as I was able to do things like pick up and move objects, and chat with other people. On the other hand, there wasn’t much in the way of content or meaningful activities to do, so I found myself getting bored quickly. The world got pretty buggy at times and I did not have a very steady frame rate. This made it seem like the Metaverse is not that accessible to everyone yet, compared to something like Twitter or Facebook. Despite my initial reactions, I’m still hopeful for the future of the Metaverse world. With more content and activities, it could become a great platform for people to get together on. I think the Metaverse world also has great potential as an advertising tool. With its immersive environment and interactivity, it can be a great way to engage potential customers in a more tangible way than traditional online ads, similar to what Michael was talking about in the “Seoul” world. It could also be used as an entertainment tool, as the world has enough potential for players to explore and engage with each other. Part of me still does not quite understand it though. I feel as if video games are already filling this area. Who knows, maybe it could blossom into something magical, I guess we will just have to wait and see.

I remember one particular project I worked on where I failed to deliver quality work. I had taken on the task of designing Twitch Panels for a client, and while I had very clear instructions on what was expected, I failed to adequately follow through on them. I ended up delivering the twitch panels which did not really align with the client’s original idea. (Twitch Panels are images that are displayed below a user’s profile on the live-streaming platform Twitch, usually used for links.)

This experience taught me an invaluable lesson about the importance of asking the right questions, and that you should always check in with the client before proceeding with an idea that they might not like. Since then, I have made it a mission of mine to ensure that the work I produce is up to my own standards as well as the client’s standards. I also make sure to ask questions and clarify any ambiguities in the instructions before getting started, so that I am able to deliver the best possible result for my clients.

My Skills

Hard Skills:

• Photoshop: I have been familiar with the program for around a decade now, so I would say I am fairly acquainted with most of what goes on in the program.

• Illustrator: I would love to specialize in Branding or Packaging Design, so I have spent a good amount of time in Illustrator as well.

• After Effects: Motion design helps bring to life my otherwise still graphics, I think this is an often neglected area of design, that brings some uniqueness to some of the work that I do.

Soft Skills:

• Creative Problem Solving: As a designer, I think it is imperative to be able to come up with unique solutions that solve any design challenge that is presented. I am confident in my ability to step up to any task at hand.

• Adaptability: In this profession, it evolves at a very rapid pace and I feel as if I am really good at keeping up with what is going on and staying in the loop.

• Attention to Detail: I understand that the smaller details are crucial to get right. This in turn saves everyone time, money, and energy. I have learned from prior examples how this goes a very long way in the design field.

Two hard skills I would like to develop during the next year and a half at SCCA would be InDesign and UX/UI. These are two hard skills I had little to no knowledge of prior to joining SCCA. If I can just build a solid foundation for these two, I think I could have a solid amount of skills where I could take on more jobs and feel confident in my abilities. Probably not something I want to master, but just enough to where I can be proficient in them.

As for two soft skills I would like to develop, I would have to say my communication skills and time management. I always will turn things in on time, but I would like to better utilize my time. This I think will get better over time if I am on a consistent schedule and understand the goals I am working towards. As for my communication skills, I would say I tend to be more of an introvert for my whole life, but I have definitely been making strides at expanding my communication skills. I think the pandemic also did not help me in this aspect, but I can find a silver lining in it and it made me realize how much we really need each other. As much as it can feel draining to me sometimes, I see how important it is to articulate your thoughts, especially in the design space when presenting your work.

https://launch.eyejackapp.com/Artwork-45e02af2-ca03-4e6a-8938-708f707534db

I have been dabbling in a program called Aseprite from time to time. Aseprite if you don’t know, is a program used to create pixel art. I thought this would be a fun way to learn a little more about the program as I have never tried making a gif on there. As for my idea of how I came up with this design, I just wanted to create some simple movement for a character. There were some struggles I ran into initially. For example, Aseprite wanted all my layers to be merged and have no “tags” in the layer panel, so that took a little bit of troubleshooting to figure out. It taught me more about the ins and outs of this type of process so that was good!

Here is a link to my elevator pitch: https://youtube.com/shorts/7AAbhGfxFIU?feature=share