Month: December 2023

For this week’s blog assignment we are talking tech. Honestly, I love tech; ever since my first Gameboy and iPod I’ve been pretty fascinated with all sorts of different devices that has led me through projects and hobbies including building computers, modifying games consoles, repairing electronics, and digital and film photography.

Lately I’ve been trying to distance myself from the idea the the best products come from using the latest tool, and experimenting with older methods. I think this is pretty big trend in general, I’m not the only one feeling this way. However, a modern product that I think is pretty cool is action cameras. From my research action cameras really started to appear in the early 2000s, though cameras have long been used in action packed scenarios. GoPro has long been an industry pioneer, but other manufacturers who’ve produced action cameras include Sony, DJI, and Insta360 to name just a few.

For this review I am going to talk about the GoPro HERO12 Black. I would love to own a GoPro action camera. They look really fun to use on the go. I am someone that greatly enjoys outdoors hobbies such as biking, swimming, surfing, and skiing, and would love to have a small simple camera capable of rugged handling. GoPro’s are designed exactly for this purpose and the latest iteration seems to be packed with features including high resolution video capabilities, slow motion capabilities, bluetooth to connect to audio interfaces directly. It seems like a super smooth way to capture footage while out and about. I’ve tried to capture footage of my adventures in the past, but I often feel limited by the hardware that I have, often getting out a camera and setting up a shot takes more time than I would like and therefore I’m either unhappy with the results or I just don’t end up taking the photos or videos that I had hoped to. A dedicated action camera like the GoPro is designed to solve exactly this issue and I’m super interested in trying out this kind of camera at some point in the future.

I would love to eventually involve my non-design hobbies with the skills I am learning in this design program and I thinki that an action camera could be one avenue to capture memories and create projects using content from my personal interests.

For this week’s blog post we are to discuss how our identities and past experiences shape our work, learning, and future projects. Put another way, we are to talk about our unique perspectives in relation to design.

There are so many experiences that I’ve had and identities that I hold that influence my work and learning, but for the scale of this blog post I will narrow the scope and talk about my experience with bikes. Bikes have been one of the great hobbies of my life, and have facilitated my growth as a person well beyond the act of riding.

Everyday I ride my bike to school. Before I enrolled as a student at Seattle Central College, everyday I would ride my bike to work. The bike is the primary way that I get to and from the places I visit most in my life. This mode of transportation inherently connects you to your surroundings on a much deeper level than driving, taking the bus or train, or even, in my opinion, walking. Moving through the world at the pace of a bike, you are able to actually process all the sensations you are experiencing, and you are subject to all the elements. In my ride from home to class I take in so much information that I don’t think I would ever encounter if I drove. I see interesting designs of posters, stickers, graffiti, murals; I see textures of broken glass, metal or wooden fences, asphalt, steel beams; I wave to other cyclists that I pass at the same place going the opposite direction at the same time everyday. I witness the progress of the development of the new buildings along my route. This is all information that I believe sneaks into my designs. And when I recognize these sources of inspiration appearing in things that I create, I feel even more connected to the place I live.

Before SCCA, I worked at a nonprofit whose mission is to assist people with disabilities in getting access to outdoor recreational experience. My job was as a program coordinator for the adaptive cycling program, and that included helping people get fit for an adaptive cycle that would fit their needs. I also repaired all of our rental cycles. These were free rentals available to anyone who could benefit from their use. This job has made me especially conscious of the need for accessible design and that is one of the biggest skills I hope to grow throughout this program. I ultimately would probably like to work for some sort of government agency as a designer focused on accessibility.

My experiences with bikes and advocacy for accessibility have not only enriched my personal growth but have also prepared me for a journey in graphic design with a distinct perspective.​​