Jonathan Pendleton

This week I spent about 30 min in the Crazy Golf tournament. I was really curious to see how they might pull off a game of some sort in the Metaverse. The expectations were above the reality.

It didn’t seem like they were actually playing the game, I just saw people standing around! There was a cool little course built and the chat was somewhat active, so I knew people were excited about the game, but I couldn’t get any actual sight of the golf being played, I don’t know if they are sent to a third party game to compete on a real score, but overall this event was a little confusing.

What worked was gathering people, it was fun to know that people all over the world were tuning in to this corner of the internet. I’m still kind of amazed at how the metaverse is super cloud based and can run this “second life” type world just from a URL… Still wild to me as it was when I hopped into the designrockstar link with Michael for last week’s session.

What didn’t work was what the actual event was… Like yes you can build elaborate courses and sporting events but can you actually play things yet? I didn’t see much of it… other than standing metaverse people. So I think that would be the next step, bringing more interactivity to the metaverse. I already think it is interesting to have this sims world, but let’s slowly start making interactive activities that can be broadcasted.

The reason I see this whole idea moving forward is because it is cutting edge, and gives people an opportunity to make money. I think this can be a very powerful advertising tool if enough people are to jump on board (more accessibility) and if it becomes a tiny bit more interesting. I think that of enough people were to tune in then you can easily create some cool scenes for people to explore and enjoy what you are wanting to present.

Adding features like interactivity and such will bring a more whole experience because people will have a scope of activities to partake in rather than just viewing peoples’ setups. At the moment it’s more accessible than say Animal Crossing where you kind of do the same thing (with much less things to do together than AC) but brings it to a place “ANYONE” with internet may go to. I suppose I’d address that part as well… I don’t think just anyone can go to these yet.

I noticed while running through the event that my computer got hot for the first time… It was working hard. I also noticed in last week’s presentation that a lot of people had to quit out because their computer froze or it also got hot. I must first say my computer never breathed as hard and got as warm as when I was in the metaverse these past two visits. So you definitely need a certain computer to run these sessions online. For that reason it is not as accessible.

Overall, this was a fun experience still. Kind of feel like I’m rummaging through the future of tech in it’s somewhat early stages. Just as people are worried about what AI might do, I’m less worried but still concerned about how this will effect the weakest stakeholders, the people who can’t explore the metaverse… I’m worried that a lot of development and money is being poured into something that won’t make the best difference at the moment. Could I see myself using this in the future? It’s got a way’s to go… Is it a fun entertaining tool? Yes, but it’s still got a ways to go. I’m curious to see what people bring to this world that can make a difference for the people who can’t go to these events… Like how can we do community fundraising or networking or more events around making that initial connection online and bringing people to our physical world to do something different. I don’t think the metaverse has it quite figured out yet, as we are still in the development and playing stages of this technology.

I was inspired by my partner who is about to graduate law school at Seattle University to make this small congratulations animation. I appreciate her because she is always progressing and impressing, inspiring me to do the same. I decided to make this particular animation because when I asked her one day if she was proud of herself for making it so close to graduation (because she should be)… She simply replied, “I’ll be more excited when I passed the bar” and that was the most her answer that could have been in that moment. But also it makes complete sense since she has to go straight to studying after graduation and her work won’t feel complete until then. I made the text and stick figure in illustrator and just imported them in as PNGs, then I used the existing assets in Aero to make the rest!

I had to reference the tutorial you showed us in order to remember the correct steps in choosing the animation, but overall this is a pretty intuitive program with cool potential! I’m interested in creating entire scenes, I am a little unimpressed with all the white space I left in the document. But if I learn how to make bigger scenes with a background I think I could be more engaged with Adobe Aero.

Working with 3D objects makes me feel cooler than I actually am… But anyways, the video was too big to embed on this post, so please refer to the slack for that!

Here are some assets.

Jacob has a great few principals (in good order) of how to maintain a great reputation and marketability as someone in the creative field. The one I’d like to focus on for this post is about Creating and Fostering Trust with the clients.

Since 2017 I’ve been accepting freelance photo/video work. You’ve probably already heard me ramble about how cameras were my first love when it comes to the art world. I think it’s a common experience to shift your perspective on how you want to tweak your role as more work comes your way. I realized during my photo video time that I don’t like weddings! I don’t like weddings so much that one time it took me legit almost 6 months to get a video back to a couple back in 2019. Granted I showed up and ended up not liking the couple as people, rendering my excitement to capture their wedding non-existent… but still, that’s unprofessional for sure. Not much communication about it either. Kind of just dragged my feet on it, no pretty way to say it. It was a rough year. That was the gist of it. I took their wedding video during the summer and then never looked at it for months until finally one day i edited the whole thing in one go. Very Virgo of me.

It turned out pretty cute! They ended up loving it and while they were mad it took so long they were just happy to have their video. I felt like a doofus though. One, why am I accepting work that I don’t want to do. Two, why did I only charge them $500?! There’s two pain points with this approach. Since I undervalued myself I wasn’t hungry to do the work, $500 isn’t much for what I did (granted late). I also diminished some rapport with the couple and any future connections that could have branched from them. They may think twice about hiring a cheaper option, even though I always wanted to be the best budget guy…

My approach is still changing honestly, it’s a constant battle to figure out how I will sell my services fairly to both the customer and to myself. That was one of the biggest experiences that helped me reflect on that though, really owning up to what kind of work I should be putting in front of myself… But even if it is for the money at least get some dang money… Yeah that’s all. I appreciate you listening haha I’m growing.

This was my first time doing anything XR related 🙂

I was initially inspired by Bill Wurtz with his song that I included in the video. I do love coming to school im just tired that’s all. The tomato anxiety portion is another sample of his art style and playfulness. I decided to try something similar but a bit more simple for the sake of time. I was really happy with how it came out! I used After Effects to make the animation. I did run into one problem partway though. I imported my layers and was trying to change the colors of the text in keyframes but realized that the text wasn’t expanded to shapes. I never realized that you can make vector shapes out of the illustrator layers while in After Effects. It was a relief to make it so I didn’t have to go back and change it in illustrator and re export! Very handy. The work of recoloring everything and making it all flow around was the most tedious part but as I go along I find a quicker workflow and that is satisfying.

Otherwise coming up with the idea was the longest part I had no idea what I should do for a while. Anyways I hope you enjoy!

My top three hard skills that inform my artistic wheelhouse, I would say are; illustrator, photography and web design. I feel like I am strong in illustrator because I feel confident in trying to create lots of different types of illustrations whether I really know how to draw it at first. The tools in illustrator have turned me into someone who draws without having really drawn much in the past. The amount of growth that I experienced in this area was the greatest change in my skillset so far. There is so much I can do in illustrator that I was never able to draw and make so efficiently than with pen and paper. I chose photography because this is a hard skill that I’ve been practicing for the longest. I feel most comfortable with a camera in my hand while I am building my confidence in the computer/digital space! I also find that my understanding of photography and color has informed a good amount of my taste and intuition for design. Lastly I choose web design (figma, html/css) because this area has been my biggest challenge, but also the most satisfying to conquer. I am still far from where I want to be in web design, but I know that this has the potential to become one of my strongest skills. The satisfaction I experience when I get an app prototype hi fidelity and to my liking, or when I layout my dreamweaver file nice and tidy and the code is really working… I get this certain rush that I hadn’t felt before. I think it’s a mixture of feeling both smart and creative because web design can be a pretty balanced display of both of those attributes. Being a designer who is leaning towards the generalist area, balance in skillset is really important to me.

My top three soft skills are easy-going, open-minded and assertive. I have always had a more laidback personality, I feel like having this calm presence has naturally helped others feel comfortable around me. I think having a serene demeanor makes people see the longevity in holding a friendship or business relationship. At least for me, I think that I get burnt out quickly with people who are very out there simply because I can’t keep up with it all of the time, social exhaustion is very real, and in a creative field you want to avoid that as much as possible. I think sometimes people find me as a breath of fresh air to be around in comparison to that. Lots of the speakers have also mentioned that a big part of landing that job is being someone who can hang! I won’t be the most vibrant character of the room but I think I provide a nice space for everyone to not have to socially perform. I am accepting and open minded, and will talk to you about anything! I can come across as quiet and shy but in reality I’m just a present slowly unwrapping itself, and I take patience. In that unraveling you will find that really nothing is off-limits with me, as reserved as I appear. I think that also piques people’s interests because they would expect me to be fairly one dimensional and quiet, but really I know lots of things and can keep up with any topic of discussion. I am open to others ideas and actively want others to be heard. I think it’s important not to dominate a room, and making space for others is part of being open and respectful. Lastly, I am assertive. Being a decisive person, and someone who isn’t afraid to express how they feel contributes to my realness as a person I suppose. Yes, I am well-mannered and open-minded, but I can’t stand to hide my emotions, I’m really bad at it. When I feel I need to, I will always defend others/myself and make my thoughts known. Just as I am respectful and inquisitive of others ideas, I have to express my ideas and feelings with confidence as well and hope it is received in a way that honors and elevates me and how I move through a space.

Hard skills desired: even stronger web design skills, motion graphics, and logo/branding skills. Soft skills desired: friendliness and effectiveness in expressing ideas.

With stronger web design skills I will only elevate my marketability to employers. I want to become a great coder and a great figma user. Visualizing and aiding in the process of developing design systems and aesthetics of online/mobile presence means a lot for my skillset and my bank account. Motion graphics, logo branding skills to me feel just as important. Being a web designer who is also well versed in a couple of really creative visual designing techniques would make me a powerhouse of a designer. One man army is the goal 🙂

First off, I want my portfolio itself to be a portfolio piece. I was lucky enough to have met with 2018 SCCA Design alum, Justin Av over the winter break on Zoom. He gave me a bunch of amazing insight on navigating the program and finding work afterwards. He showed me what it was like in his position as a senior creative designer at Nordstrom. He was working from home, making lots of moodboards, art directing photoshoots for Nordstroms collaborations, designing physical experiences at events, materials for a new marketing campaigns and a bunch of cool things I want to see myself doing. Then he showed me his portfolio (https://justin-av.info/)… I was floored. Not only did I get a scope of the breadth of his work through perusing his site… but he built the whole thing himself! Seeing that helped me envision my own future. People who go through this program go on to do wonderful things that are so inspiring. I have a ways to go but I really would love to compile my work on a website that I myself built out. I think that would show so much in and of itself to future employers, and I think I would be so proud of myself to finally achieve this. As long as I keep my adobe creative cloud subscription this shouldn’t cost me much. Maybe buying a domain? It’s a low cost for a high return in my journey of selling myself. This is something I never saw for myself before, and seeing alumni succeeding and my classmates making strides in their skills only pushes me further. I am truly so inspired. By the end of my summer internship I want to have built out my own portfolio. By my second year I will be able to boast internship experience and a solid year of work in design school. I will feel much more confident approaching companies for jobs by this point and nothing excites me more than the day I get a call for a job in design.

Secondly, I want to design the branding for a small company (I have no idea who but I would love an opportunity). Having Andrew in class as a guest speaker really inspired me. To see and hear from the face behind all of the designs that were already surrounding me, like Rachel’s Ginger Beer, Westmann’s Bagels and other local businesses widened my eyes. Aside from a product design career I’m also interested in campaigns for brands looking to build their marketing package and rebranding their look. I think branding is so important to the success and integrity of a business. Every company needs a look, and through Jill’s class we have been exploring a lot of these types of tasks. I love being able to execute a logo idea, a poster idea, or even a business card. I would love to be that person that creates that ah-ha moment for a company, for them to feel seen through a design I helped make. A food spot would be really cool, but I’m not picky. Because of this I want to seek out internships that would allow me to explore more branding and marketing. A more tech driven internship would serve me just as well.

Lastly, I would love to start a personal project of designing album covers. I am a huge music guy and appreciate all of the ways that any avenue of art seamlessly flows through music. When it comes down to music videos, merchandise, album/single art, animation, etc… I am in awe with how musicians are able to portray their story and build complete worlds out of their art. There are so many times I hear a song and see the image of how I might make this video, or this album cover, or this t-shirt for it. I would love to make mock album art and merchandise for long enough to start picking up clients to make actual art for them, for money. With my skills in photography and my growing skillset in design I could be a powerhouse in art direction for musicians and their physical presence in the more tangible material associated with their world-building. This is another project I already have all the tools for. I think the process of writing this blog post even had me fired up to just realize I have all of the pieces in front of me, and it’s now my turn to start telling that story and finishing this big puzzle that makes up my life.

This was actually the first project that I got to work on in the New Media class. Arcadia was my group and I’s brain child. We were all building a park finder app prototype that gave users the ability to locate parks to visit wherever they are. This was my first time using Figma, hearing the phrase “user stories” and my first time learning how to design with a team. We built out some cool ideas; our app had a filter system to find parks with certain amenities, and making an experience on Figma responsive was kind of eye opening for me. We emulated user generated results and reviews to help users navigate the right park in terms of safety, proximity to food and even accessibility accommodations.

I really enjoyed the group I was working with. I had 2 other design students and 1 visual media student. We all carried our weight in a different way. I feel like me and the other design student in my specific cohort carried a lot of the Figma work. The other 2 were especially helpful at generating ideas and they even designed a slick logo; when it came to user testing, they were really fast and helpful at rounding up all of the people that we needed. We were entering the hi-fidelity stage and had divi’d up responsibilities for the final presentation. I show up to class and figure out the other design student in our group had dropped out.

He was expressing over the weeks that the work was becoming really stressful for him. I totally wasn’t holding it against him; we are stepping into something totally new and the program was becoming more rigorous. The learning curve is different for us all; I myself struggled so much the first couple months, not having gone to school since 2018. On top of that working a job to keep myself a float financially was posing a unique challenge. I was and still am working harder than I ever have in my life. It took me a while to get used to this work flow, and I still get thrown off at times (like doing this blog post a week after it was due, thank you for your patience with me btw).

The pivot came in having to take over the parts that were not up in the air with one teammate down. I was pretty sad that we couldn’t finish together, and that the pressure had gotten to a new friend and he had to leave for his own sake. We finished their portions of the rest of their Figma flows and tag teamed the presentation altogether.

I wouldn’t say that in the end the result was different than we had originally intended from the start. We were able to preserve our vision that we all had and executed a great product/presentation. It progressively got better and better as we practiced and learned more about the tools and I’m proud of us. I myself feel like I improved a lot in executing ideas and trusting my own vision. My Figma skills drastically improved over Courtney’s module and set me up for success later in the quarter in Erik’s class.

We handled the unforeseen circumstances really well, honestly. I miss our old friend, I hope they are out there doing well.

Who doesn’t like a nice little coffee shot? I feel like when I look at coffee, I see energy, but I also see leisure. For me, coffee is something I drink when I’m relaxing.

I went to Zeitgeist Coffee with a friend and ordered an iced americano (my personal favorite iced caffeine) and a hazelnut latte (my personal favorite hot caffeine). The window lighting was perfect and set a natural tone to the scene, but the table was really dark and made the coffee look like they were sitting in an abyss. In order to make the drinks pop out a little more I placed one of the cafe’s copies of an older Seattle Times newspaper under it. It felt practical because reading is also associated with leisure, and I like that you get to see the word “Seattle” from the logo alongside the coffee.

I wanted to hammer home the “leisure” perspective by adding some friendly and encouraging text. The slogan “make every day easy like sunday morning” is meant to attract the viewer to the finer things in life, and tell them that enjoying this cup of coffee is part of it.

This was a fun little piece to create!

For the redesign I’m mainly requesting couches. The ceilings have a forest scapre hanging down from it. All of the couches are forest green, there are natural wood sculptures as well as a centerpiece of Mother Earth in the middle.

This center space would be used to chillax, as there is a tv you can set up a gaming system to right there in the lobby. Couches make the space extra comfy!

For some decorations and vibes feel I have included a double fish tank. Students love aquariums and it would look really cool amongst the forest material, adding a full circle element to praising our nature through design.

Just wanted to make the space inbetween all the classrooms a bit more of a relaxing space, a shared space where people would be more inclined to hang out.