Blog 14: Third Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

• I plan on interviewing one of my classmates' mentors or relatives. Either that, or I will interview my mentor's wife, Mrs. Sarah Chen, who is also part of the design industry.

2.  Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview?

• I will be interviewing them in 2 weeks, on January 24, 2016 at 1:00 PM.

3.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.

• "What is the best way to communicate your design to others?"

4.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).

• "How can someone design something according to their client's and their ideas?"

5.  Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ.

1. What is a good way to show your client your designs with their preferences in mind?
2. How do you convince your client that your designs are good enough for them to use?

Blog 13: 10 Hour Mentorship Check-In

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
-I am mentoring at Ultimate Printing in Rowland Heights, CA
2.   Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?
-My contact is Ken Chen. He works with the printing and designing business and manages it. He has been involved with the design business ever since he was young because he always had an interest in it, therefore making him an expert.
3.   How many hours have you done during the school year? (Summer Mentorship Hours and Mentorship Hours should be reflected separately in your Senior Project Hours log located on the right hand side of your blog).
-During the school year, I have done 18 total hours.
4.   Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.
-My mentor and I worked on a few projects he had gotten from his clients, and often made me a sort of "assistant" that helped him organize things. At home, he would email me things to do and I would create them on Adobe Photoshop. Right now I am still slowly learning how to master Illustrator with his assistance and guidance. I work very well with Mr. Chen; he always tells me to ask if there are any questions I need to ask and always tries to find time to help me grow as an artist. I plan to complete the remaining hours by continuing to work as his assistant and learn new techniques, therefore broadening my knowledge of graphic designing.

Blog 12: Holiday Project Update

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?
-I worked with my mentor throughout the break, creating more designs and learning graphic design terms.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?
-That communication is the best thing to create a successful business with your customer. I watched my mentor speak with a customer and they were very detailed about what they wanted and were very meticulous when it came to exactly what kind of design they wanted.

3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?
-I plan to talk to either my mentor's coworker, or his wife, who is also in the graphic designing business.

Blog 11: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?
-I was able to know and cover all the major points I wanted to say during my presentation. Usually I don't do well under pressure or public speaking, but I did well for someone who is afraid of speaking in front of crowds.

2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.
-I would probably give myself an AE, because not only did I cover everything on there, I also went into full on detail, and showed extensive research and time with my mentor. I also dressed professionally, which I consider to be a small bonus.

3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?
-If I could go back, I would probably show the work I made during my mentorship, and go into even more detail about my topic, which I couldn't talk about because I ran out of time. I'll also be more well versed, so I don't have to look down on my notes too much. When I do my lesson 2, I will apply what I should improve from my lesson 1 by using more examples and not looking at my notes a lot, and know exactly what I want to talk about, and in order as well.

Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)

-I am mostly working at home, and sending emails back and forth. I meet up with my mentor every Sunday. Mr. Chen assigns me things to do such as make my own designed card, create a logo, etc. and tells me what I'm doing wrong and how to improve it. His wife and his entire company are experts in the field.
2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you? 

-My mom met him at our church, and he agreed to do as long as it didn't cost him anything. 

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person?

-My comfort level on a scale from 1-10 is about a 5. We can laugh at things, but he is also an intimidating person, and it's a bit hard to communicate/keep in touch with him. This helps because I look up to him as a mentor, and I understand that I always have to listen to his advice.

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

-What went well was that he was able to talk about himself. This is because I gave him questions that allowed him to talk about his past and how he got here as a graphic designer/printer. I still need to improve on communication with him, because English isn't his first language and he doesn't want to use his native language. I might just speak Mandarin to him instead.

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

• I currently do have a mentor. I have scheduled the interview with my mentor.

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.

• So far, the top two areas within my topic are industrial design and editorial designing. Industrial design is something my mentor currently is an expert in, and editorial design is what I need to be skilled at for my position as a design editor in yearbook.

3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

• I need more information on the history and background of industrial design, editorial design, and typography. I will use the internet and library at my disposal, as well as assistance from my mentor and my fellow peers who are also using graphic design as their senior project.

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

• "Between industrial design, editorial design, and typography, which is most appealing/aesthetically pleasing to the general public eye?"

Blog 8: Independent Component 1 Proposal

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

-I have two options:

1.For 30 hours, I plan to create a new original logo and design concept for a coffee shop. I will draft, edit, and polish the logo so that it fits the coffee shop's theme.

2. Help decorate and renovate Ms. Ortega's classroom with creativity and design learned from my experience in graphic design so far.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

-I will write in my log. As for the two options, I can:

1. Show pictures of my drafts, edits, and final logo designs and concept and how long it took to make them, along with an approved signature by my mentor.

2. Mrs. Ortega will oversee my work, and I will write down in the log how long it takes for me to decorate each panel.

3.  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

-It will give me a hands-on feeling, and I will be able to expand my creativity as a graphic designer. I will also hear feedback and improve on it based on that feedback given to me.

4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

-Okay.