Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert?

-My mentor is Ken Chen, and he is an employee at Ultimate Printing. He is an account manager and graphic designer for the company. Having knowledge of printing is important when doing graphic design, it broadens your skills and abilities when working with others.

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

-1. Why did you decide to be a graphic designer?

2. Can you describe your greatest and worst moments you've experienced during your job?

3. Is there anyone or anything that inspires you to create the designs you make?

4. When you started out, what were some of the most difficult things you had to go through as someone who just started in the business?

5. What is your favorite design program to use? Have you stuck with it since you started or have you tried different programs to stick with what you've had now?

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year?  What has made it a positive experience for you? 

-So far, the research I have made has worked out well for me. I'm pretty good at research, I know what key words to use while searching up something. Thanks to years of researching things, it's made it a lot easier for me to pass the research checks and write up WBs.

2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project?  How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you?  How might the senior team help?

-The most difficult is keeping up with my mentor and explaining things to him. He isn't much of a talker, because English isn't his first language. That's why he asked if he could shorten his answers during the interview. Maybe one day he'll slowly understand what I'm supposed to be doing for my senior project, but for now I'll have to slowly guide him and tell him in full detail what I need for him to do as my mentor. The senior team might help by letting him be interviewed next time in his native language, which is Mandarin, and I could translate what he says. That's when he'd be more comfortable and talk about graphic design more, giving me better information.

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

-The most important thing I learned from the interview is to use the resources around me and use those resources as inspiration to help me create something new and unique. In another interview, I plan to improve by preparing questions earlier and come up with more thorough questions.

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

-I got resources and contacts. The most useful was my mentor's wife, because she is in the same field and was very willing to assist me in my project.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me?

-My interviewee is a skilled graphic designer and is straightforward with his words. He is able to talk about graphic design for a long time, and you can see the passion he has for it.

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep 1

Through my senior topic, I hope to turn what is a hobby to me now to something I will excel and have a decent level of expertise in. I want to explore different types of graphic design in order to know exactly what I want to do. Learning from my senior topic, I hope to slowly be able to help others with my designs and hopefully become a more creative person. Nothing is new under the sun; in fact, stealing is an artist's way of survival these days. It's all about how you mix and match these ideas to create something you can call your own. That is what I want to achieve the most: to be able to create a style I can call my own.