Blog 11: Lesson 1 Reflection

Presentation Time!!! :/

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?
I am most proud of my materials that I brought to show the class and I am also proud of the research I did. The reason I am proud of those two things is because they related to my presentation and they weren't just there, just to show off or just mention it once and moving on.
2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.
I would give myself an AP because yes I did have all my information and I did have props ,but towards the end of my presentation I just froze and then just ended my presentation abruptly. Not only that but for me my hook activity lasted a bit too long.
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?
Rehearse a lot more and also organize my presentation a little bit better. Also think of a shorter hook activity and have my hook activity be more interactive with the audience. Finally, just mentally prepare myself by not being so nervous when I do go up and present. 

Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

Interview

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...)

The way I'm spending my mentorship time is actually at my house and sometimes in his workplace, but for most of my mentorship, it took place at my house. The reason for that is because since my mentor has been working at his company for a long time now, his boss gave him the privilege to not only work at his office but also where he lives. So, my mentor has all the machines he needs to do his work right where he lives. For my actual mentorship and I my mentor makes me do a hands on type of mentorship meaning he shows me how he does his job and then later on I attempt to do what he did while he is supervising me. I am able to do the task that are meaningful to my topic because my mentor teaches me skills of what a graphic designer does, like creating a design and putting it on a shirt either by a sticker or paint or by using a machine that sews in the design, and he also explains some of the experience he had while working too. As far as I know, I do know of some experts but they don't live in the same area as I do, some live in Pasadena and another one lives on the far side of Fontana. 
2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you? 
It was a coincidence on how I found my mentor because even before senior project began, I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. When I was growing up I liked to draw a lot and I knew when I grew up that I wanted to draw and design my on stuff. It was funny too because at that time I was about 7 or 9, I had the opportunity to go to work with my dad because of the whole "bring your son to work day". At first, I was a little bit skeptical on going because I thought my dad just worked at a normal office job but I ended up going and it was a pretty cool experience I had. So when I got a little older I watched what my dad did and I remember that I always would ask him if I could help him because what he did was so cool to me, but it bothered me because I knew what he did but I just didn't know what his official title was. So fast forward to now, when we got to do the senior project I knew that what I wanted to do was what my dad did, because of how I was so fascinated with the work he did, and so when it came time to pick a topic, I asked him what his official tittle at work was and he told me that he was a graphic designer. And I just asked him if he can be my mentor for the senior project and he said yes, and at first I thought he would say no because he is the kind of person that doesn't like giving people hand outs, he rather see you work for it. 
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?

I would rate my comfort level with my mentor at about an 8 at this point because, for one, my mentor is my dad so it can be awkward for both of us when he is trying to teach me something. Also since he is my dad I feel that he expects so much for me because I am his son and he doesn't want me to fail and just wants me to do the best that I could. It has gotten better since the mentorship over the summer because my dad isn't the type of person that talks a lot plus not only that but when he asked you to do something he already thinks you know what to do. So, as time went on with the mentorship he stop thinking that way and he also was open to questions I had about what he did.

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?

I don't think my interview went too well because my mentor didn't seem so into the interview. Also he answered in short answers which made the interview way too short. I need to improve on asking more in depth questions that don't have a yes or no answer. I also need to have a conversation, and not just asking questions. The reason I say that is because I also just asked questions without having a actual conversation and I just went from one question to another which made the interview go so fast.

Transcript

Audio

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 have a mentor for my topic and I have also scheduled my interview already 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.   
Two areas that are seeming more promising in my topic is, for one, searching about what a graphic designer can avoid being stagnant and keeping up with what's new. My second area is about the psychology part of graphic design like the type of designer I am and how a design affects a person's subconscious.  For me does two areas are the most promising because, for the first area, their is so much articles and books about what's new in Graphic Design because of how much graphic design is always changing. For the second article their is also a lot about what affect a design has on a person whether if its the color or the shape or how it's presented. 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?
The kinds of sources that I think would help me for next month to gain more research depth are books about graphic design and also articles.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.
What is the most important thing a Graphic Designer can do to be above everyone else?

Blog 8: Independent Component 1 Proposal

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

What I plan to do for my 30 hours is first learn how to use every machine a graphic designer needs to know, and the way I can do that is because since my dad works for a company as a graphic designer he has the privilege to have the machines at home to do his job if he doesn't finish them at work. Once I have done that, I plan on helping my mentor doing some of the big orders that different companies have requested him to do. And once my mentor and I finish his work I want to make a graphic using one of the machines.
2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

What I am planning to do to meet the expectation for showing the 30 hours of evidence is to take pictures of how my progress is going along.
3.  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

By doing this as my independent component I will be getting hands-on experience so I can get to know what it takes to be a graphic designer.
4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

To be posted..

Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

This is the company where my mentor works at

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert?
1. My mentor is my dad, Jose Crisanto, he currently works at a company called Victory Foam. He has worked for this company for over 15 years and is currently helping expand his company. What he does is that he meets clients and talks to them about what kind of logo or design they want on either a piece of clothing or on a object.
2.   What five questions will you ask them about their background?
1. How did you find the company you are working for?
2. What was one of the most challenging things you have faced while working at your job?
3. Did you know anyone when going into this field?
4. How old were you when you started working for this company?
5. Did you have any other job before working for your company?

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?  

What has worked well for me is that I have a mentor for my topic and finding sources for my topic is easy because their is so much information when it comes to Graphic Design. And what made this a positive experience for me is that I picked a topic that I am really passionate about, and I want to pursue later on in life. 

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?

What I'm finding difficult as the senior project goes on is that I don't have an idea on what I can do for the independent component. A way I can adapt to make this better for me is to get more mentorship hours for the project. A way that the senior team can help is to let me know if I can incorporate my independent component with someone else and then go from their.

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

My mentor and me

Interview #1 Audio

Transcript

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 during my interview was which programs I can use when I'm barely starting out as a Graphic Designer. And what I would do different is to ask if he can tell me what different types of equipment a Graphic Designer uses and ask him more about the education to become a Graphic Designer. 

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

During my interview I did get some resources and that is the different programs my interviewee uses. For example, he uses a program called CorelDraw and he also uses Photoshop. And not only that but after the interview was over my interviewee told me some different places where they teach Graphic Design. But for me the most useful piece of information my interviewee gave me was to use the two programs, Photoshop and CorelDraw, because he said it would be good for me to practice using the.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 
What made my interviewee qualified to help my is because my interviewee know everything when it comes to graphic design and has had experience in this field for over 15 years. And not only that but he is also starting to get into different types of design like architectural design and a little bit on wb design.

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep 1

This is something I hope to create later on in the year.

What I hope to accomplish with my senior project is to create an original design. The reason why I say this is because when I draw, I always base off my drawings on other people's work or I base them off of something I saw. So that's why during my senior project I hope to create something that I can call my own, and just overall be proud of my work.

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?
I plan to interview my dad because I know that he has been working in this field for well over 15 years and knows the different types of materials, how to operate the machines properly, and knows how to use different software to make different designs.  
2.  Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask.  What additional questions do you plan to ask? 

• What made you pursue Graphic Design?
•  What would you tell someone that wants to be a Graphic Designer?
• In your opinion what is the best kind of software a Graphic Designer could work with? and Why?
• How is it like working for your company?

Blog 2- Summer Mentorship

1. Contact Name: Jose Crisanto

    Phone Number: (909) 272-8085

    Organization: Victory Foam

2. What qualified this person as an expert in your topic choice? 

    The reason why this person is qualified to be an expert in the topic I chose is because he has experience working in this field for over 15 years and he is currently helping his company expand. 

3. List three questions for further exploration now that you've completed your summer hours.   

• What is the best kind of material to work with when it comes to making a design on clothing?
• What's the most effective program to construct models of projects?
• Is constructing miniature scale models better than using a program to plan out a project?

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important thing I have gained from my experience is that you have to have patiences when working with different material. The reason why is because if you don't have patiences then you run the risk of ruining your work. 

5. What is your senior project topic going to be?  How did mentorship help you make your decision?  Please explain.

My senior project topic is going to be graphic design. My mentorship helped me make my decision because at first I was hesitant on whether or not I should pursue this to be my topic but after a few days of actually working I started to like it. The reason why I was hesitant is because I thought the different types of machines I would be working with will just be too overwhelming for me, but after actually working with them it got easier over time. 

This is the first machine I learned to use; it prints out the image from the computer. 

Blog 1 – Senior Final Lesson/Interview Reflection

1. What three lessons were most helpful for you to see, and why?
1. Three lessons that were helpful to see were Film Directing, Clinical Psychology, and Business Administration. Those three were helpful for me because they all presented very well but in different ways which helps me because now I know some different ways to present than just the usual way of presenting. For example, one presentation was more visual while another was more interactive.
2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start?
1. As soon as you pick a topic, find a mentor quick because if you wait then you will be stressed out.
3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?
1. Graphic Design and Architecture. The reason why is because I want a topic that focuses more on visuals and I want a topic that I can physically create something.
4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this? (Please don't worry about any sort of formula...we want this question to come from your genuine interest).
1. What is the best method that a Graphic Designer can use when developing a graphic for their client?
5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship?
1. Some ideas I have is asking my friend if I can mentor with their parent or ask my dad if anyone from his job can be my mentor.