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jarv-nm3217 · 2 years

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Assignment 2 - Storytime!

For this assignment, we were tasked to create a short story, storyboard, and communicate those ideas in via visual storytelling. I began my brainstorming process by first deciding what kind of story I wanted to tell. Given the constraints of 6 to 9 photos and without being allowed to alter the photos post-production, I wanted to keep the story simple and I wanted to prsent a twist by the last few frames. I decided to use an idea that everyone has experienced such as waking up really tired in the morning. This allowed me to tell a story of waking up early and to lead the viewer to believe it is a regular morning like any other. The final twist shows that the main character experience something shocking and the final reveal shows why. Thus, I used the idea of mixing salt and sugar up and creating a shocking cup of coffee.

With deciding this will be the story I want to tell, I then began storyboarding. I started with the climax of the story in the last frame as I felt that that had to be the most important part of the story, as it reveals to the viewer the big revelation. I wanted to capture the run to the sink as it added action to the frame while keeping the salt and sugar reveal in the forefront.

I then began working backwords, drafting the shocked face while tasting the coffee, and the actions of pouring water. I knew it was also important to show the salt being poured into the cup as it allowed the foreshadowing of the final reveal and as such one frame was designated to show this happening.

The prior frame shows the sleepy face of the main character which communicates to the viewer the feelings of the character, and allow the viewer to relate to the main character the feelings of morning tiredness.

The rest of the prior frames help set up the action until the climax. I knew it was important to create a mise-en-scene to orient the viewer to the surroundings of the character, and it was important to connect the viewer to the character by focusing on the slow and tired morning. As such, from the first frame, I first start on a backshot of the character so to introduce the viewer to the scene. The next shot progresses the story by having the character turn on the lights right after waking up and the next frame orients the viewer once again to the living room by showing the character at the fridge, rumidging through it tiredly, and showing the dinning table the character would be sitting at. The fourth frame thus follows the path of the character by showing his movement to the table.

Overall the slow start was used to convey that slow and tired feeling, and to help the viewer understand the full context of the story.

From the Critique session, I was able to gather some good feedback about improving the overall dramatic feeling in this story. Originally in frame 8, where the character tastes something shocking in the coffee, he was framed quite far away. So one feedback was that I could focus closer to his face, so that the viewer can see the dramatic expression on his face a little more clearly. Thus, I played around with zooming in on his face and utilising a few other shots of his face, but as I felt that his expression in the current photo was the clearest and that we could really tell what he is feeling, I decided to use the same photo and cropped the image to increase the dramatic effect. Overall from this feedback, I learnt to play with the feelings and dramatic framing a little more, and I felt it really allowed the story to come out better and for the final reveal to be a little more impactful.

These curated photos shows a few of the different framing angles I tried while taking the photos. As I already had a clear storybaord, it was easy to frame the story and replicate it to how I visioned, but I also decided how to experiment with different angles so as to see if there are different ways to communicate the story. For example, in the scene where he pours the salt into the cup, I tried utilising a top-down shot as I was wondering if it helped focus on the salt pouring into the cup, and I tried other angles to see if the focus was any clearer. However I felt that while I have 2 shots over the shoulder, the closer shot helped create a greater focus on the action. The framing of the shot was good too as it followed the 1/3 grid and the focal points following the main action of the frame. The arm created a leading line to the action of the salt being poured into the cup, further emphasing on the salt. Another frame I tried different angles was his action of sitting down. The first try was a side angle which allowed the viewer to see his face, but I felt it was not convincing enough that he was tired. The back shot also was better at positioning the viewer to the character. As such, I chose the back shot of the character and i chose to leave the face reveal to the close up.

I utilised Illustrator to help organise and create the pdf file for submission. Illustrator helped me play around with the layout of the image strip. Initially, following a 3x3 grid to show the story did not feel effective enough to show the story. As such, I decided to use the final layout where the first row is aligned right, the middle 4 frames span the entire page, and the final 2 frames are aligned left. This creates more convincing reading of the story as it follows closer to a "z" flow, which helps in conveying the story. The final title is also places after the final frame as it helped convey to the viewer the twist once again.

Overall, this assignment helped me experiment creatively with communicating a story and practicing with framing different shots. This has allowed me to try creating a story that I hope is fun and engaging, and close enough to a feeling we have all felt every morning.

So, How do you like your morning coffee?

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hollywayblog · 6 years

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2017 or How To Be A Depressed Piece of Shit and Still Get Stuff Done

I’ve been putting this off. Partly because I’ve accomplished so much this year I just know I’m going to forget to include many of those accomplishments in this post. But mostly because this year has been fucking hard. It’s impossible to look back on all my achievements without also feeling how lost, angry, lonely, confused, betrayed, anxious, depressed, bereaved etc. I was while conquering these goals.

I could go into the nitty gritties of it all, but this isn’t a self-pitying post. This post exists because no one – including me – gave enough of a shit when I actually did these things, which I did while grieving, while battling mental illness, while trying to be a good person, while living in a situation that does everything it possibly can to deter productivity. And fuck, man, I am choosing now to fucking appreciate myself and all the amazing things I did this year. Things I only ever dreamed of doing in some distant someday.

I am also making this to provide a little bit of motivation for anyone who is in the same position I was in a year ago – thinking “I would love to actually make a living as an artist but I’m too scared to share my work.” Well, here are a few tips for you, including:

1. Don’t be a fucking idiot. If you’re too afraid to share your work you will never get recognised. You will never get feedback. You will never get better. There is no magical time where you’re going to feel 100% ready. Sit down, work on something you care about until it’s done to your standards – or as close as it’s ever gonna get – and choose someone to share it with. Bonus points if it’s someone you know will be honest with you.

2. Whatever your craft is, practice every day. If you’re a writer you must write every day, even if it’s just keeping a journal. Practice does not make perfect and it would be boring if it did. Practice simply ensures that every day you’re alive you are getting better. Besides, the consistency with which you work makes the difference between a professional and a hobbyist. Decide which one you really wanna be.

3. Support other artists. Subscribe to Patreons. Watch people’s YouTube ads. Like and reblog/retweet. Share the things you love – and make sure you include the source. I’m going to write a whole article about this, but what goes around comes around. DO NOT expect people to support you if you’re living in your own little bubble not making an effort to support anyone else. (But also don’t expect the people you support to give your energy back to you. You can’t control other people. Support because you genuinely want to and not on an unspoken quid pro quo basis.)

4. Make sure you take time to study your craft. This is different from practicing. For example, as a writer and future director I watch many film analyses, and when I watch TV and film or read a book my brain is always combing through the details. If you’re a painter, for example, take trips to the museum and study – actually study – paintings. You should also switch off sometimes and just exist. Just feel life, textures, colours. Breathe. You cannot be outputting content all the time. But with that said…

5. Work motherfucking hard. There’s a terrible saying, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” It’s utter bullshit. Most people who are passionate about their career work harder, longer and with more mental awareness than almost anyone. Caring about the thing you’re working on is fucking exhausting, and if you’re not prepared to work hard then see above; you may be a hobbyist and not a professional. That is perfectly fine. In fact I wish I had the luck to be able to continue writing in that capacity, where it is just a fun personal project and not a succubus consuming my life. But alas.

6. Deadlines can help with projects, but don’t put time constraints on your success – whatever that is to you. Even working harder than anyone has ever worked will not grant you instant gratification. I have been a serious, working writer for almost a year and I am not earning a living AT ALL. That is not unusual. I have laid the foundation for my career, and that ain’t nothing, but that’s something I have to remind myself every day. These things take time. And with this in mind...

7. The work must be the reward. I’ll say it louder for the people in the back: THE WORK MUST BE THE REWARD. Probably a lot of this is to do with my mental illness, but when I first held Crying on My Birthday – my book of poems – I felt… nothing. Same when I finished National Novel Writing Month. Same when I finished the first draft of my first novel. Same when I finished the first draft of my second novel. Same 90% of times people tell me they couldn’t stop reading my stories. I acknowledge those things on a logical level, but they don’t warm me. But you know what did feel like something? Cultivating those works. Writing those poems, getting to know those characters, those moments when the story just opens up to you and tells you where it’s going. I also feel a certain satisfaction when I reread my own work after a long time; a kind of, “Oh. I wrote that?” The point is that just like New Year’s and Christmas, the big moments rarely feel like they should. If you hate the process of writing, don’t be a writer. As challenging as it is, I love writing. It’s one of the only times when my mind is focused on only one thing and not an exhausting swirl of every problem ever posed to mankind. And hey, maybe one day I’ll reach a milestone that feels significant, but to be honest I doubt it. In general I suck at feeling what I’m supposed to. The. Work. Must. Be. The. Reward.

So where did these principles actually get me in 2017? In just under twelve months, here’s what I made happen:

- Conceptualised, wrote, edited, formatted and published an anthology of poems all within three weeks.

- Completed National Novel Writing Month (50,000 words of a novel in the month of November) then proceeded to complete the almost 80,000 word first draft by mid-December.

- Finished the in-depth episode outline of the television series I’m writing with my sister.

- Edited and formatted my sister’s novel.

- Got published in HighGloss Magazine, became a regular contributor of articles and poetry.

- Joined a writing group, met other writers, published an anthology together which featured my short story.

- Began to edit the charity anthology I’m publishing. (Still accepting submissions.)

- Got offered a job as a copywriter. (Stay tuned.)

- Wrote my first ever short story which I entered in a competition (didn’t win, whatever).

- Wrote two more short stories.

- Wrote a thriller novella which I published on Wattpad on a chapter-per-week basis.

- Wrote, edited and published several poems online. I won’t go into how much each one of them means to me and how much courage it took to share them.

- Wrote a poem for my friend Sarah, still one of my favourite things I’ve ever written.

- Wrote a piece of fiction for my friend Hayley.

- Hosted the “1KADAY” challenge, which went on to become the online writing group I run.

- Created my first short film.

- Took up film photography, something I am so ridiculously in love with.

- Returned to/fell back in love with the gym after so many years of letting my anxiety get in the way.

- Read twenty novels, probably a quarter of which became some of my all-time favourites.

- Vastly improved my French.

- Curated some bomb playlists that people loved.

- Drove again for the first time in years, got closer to getting my license.

- Read my poems out loud to people I care about.

- Learned several songs on my shitty keyboard, learned to play badly and sing without shame.

- Wrote a tonne of lyrics.

- Somewhat maintained this blog. Somewhat.

- Got up the guts to make a Patreon.

- Helped others with their writing whenever I got the chance.

- Made art that helped people. Made art that helped me.

- Never gave up.

- Proved to myself what an unstoppable badass I am. Like seriously what the fuck I’m amazing.

- Survived this fucking year.

P.S. I won’t be making a 2018 goals blog. I realised that what I achieved in 2017 differed so greatly from (and far excelled) what I intended to do that there was no real point projecting into the next twelve months what might happen. I find it much more productive to sit down at the start of each month and week and get my priorities straight.

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robynpackham · 5 years

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EVALUATIVE STATEMENT

The Professional practice element of this module has been a useful addition to my university work and artistic practice. My independent learning and artistic work have been influenced by such things as the experiences and advice from visiting freelance artists, to my own external work experience in the creative sector. Attending visiting speaker lectures became a crucial element of my second year as they put forward ideas that potentially challenged or indeed supported my own. This allowed me to exercise artistic debate and to make progress with my ideas as I gained new perspectives. I also gained advice for when it comes to leaving university and choosing my next path. It was very refreshing to listen to these relatable individuals and to learn about the steps they have made in their career and how they went about doing them. In particular speakers Rebecca Harper and Mark Cazalet were the most pivotal to me and my outlook. Rebecca’s practice was very interesting to hear about, and her experiences after having left UWE to do a masters. In one to ones with her she also gave reliable advice on painted grounds and layering, as that is a feature our artwork have in common. Mark Cazalet is a massive inspiration to me and my practice, so I loved attending his talks. Last year his workshops unleashed a joy for colour expression in my work, and I have gone on to refine this in semesters one and two this year. My work with layered acetate this term directed my latest body of work and i have since reflected and realised I must have been inspired by Cazalet’s glass work. It is clear from these examples therefore that the visiting speaker element of professional practice is potentially my most valuable and influential in terms of my personal development.

Mark Cazalet talk^

The provocation talks i attended were similar in that they ensured I was exposed to artistic debate and discussion, which in turn reveals an understanding of other individuals’ perspectives. In a professional context these are skills that ensure I am patient and understanding of viewpoints that are potentially very opposing to my own. I have much experience of this prior to these talks, so I treated them as organised talkative lectures where I could reflect and think about my work in relation to the topics of conversation. The sessions with Mrs Webb were handier in terms of professional practice as they were more tailored to designing a future career and learning what steps to take to get there. I have been interested in studying an MA and potentially studying abroad and these lectures and seminars gave the time to explore this. I am more certain because of these sessions that I want to further my education even after I graduate. I always strive to be ambitious with my artwork and I endeavour for this to be reflected in my actions towards a career. Now coming to the end of second year this is even more so the case. So, with this in mind, and having gained the advice from visiting speakers to go for what I want, I applied to be a part of the Venice Biennale. I saw this as a fantastic opportunity and believed I would be a perfect candidate. And so, despite only being told a few days before the deadline about this opportunity through UWE, I worked hard on my application and I had very positive feedback only I had less experience than the successful applicant. Although unsuccessful this process was practice in a professional application process, considering a brief and how I would tackle it, and putting myself in the position to better my artistic CV.

Here are just some of my notes in preparation of my application^

Throughout the year I have visited plenty of art galleries from the Tate modern to ‘Contains Art’ in Watchett, North Devon; a very interesting collection of shipping containers, each housing a small art exhibition. This is an invaluable addition to my art practice and indeed my professional practice. Not only does it inspire me to see artworks in person and feel the life and touch of the artist in their work, but I got to see the space, evaluate the exhibitions and their merits. This was a very useful experience for when it came to set up a group exhibition in the Elephant space of the Arnolfini (more details at start of blog). As well as visiting gallery exhibitions I have also been exhibited myself. Firstly, at the Bower Ashton Campus exhibition space in F block ‘Emerging Mythologies’, and also in an independent collaboration with Fine Art students at the Crypt entitled ‘Deep Fat Fried’. This was a great opportunity to visualise a space in collaboration with other practitioners and their work, and indeed help in curating an impactful show. My work fit in very well with the installation pieces as I selected two of my most ambitious, sensory paintings. It was very satisfying to see my work hold its own alongside the more conceptual pieces, and indeed to see people gathering around my work to discuss and enjoy it.

My work exhibited at the Crypt^

Further work experience I have gotten involved with is being the student representative for CASS Art. I liaise between the company and students, passing on feedback and information and recommending students for employment. It is a very positive experience and a role that proves me to be a reliable and mature individual. I also got involved with the Leonardo Davinci exhibition of his beautiful drawings from the royal collection, currently held at the Bristol Museum. With a handful of other students, we met up several times to plan and organise a drawing workshop designed around the exhibition. It was a brilliant process in being a part of a team bouncing off ideas until we had one solid plan. It was fun and very rewarding getting the general public to interact and take part in drawing.

Bristol Museum workshop hosting^ These skills of developing ideas and working with other people came in handy when designing an album cover for the band ‘Crystalline’ who asked me to make a cover for their single ‘drowning’. Furthermore, with the technical skills on photoshop and indesign that I had developed when making the exhibition poster for my group exhibition in the elephant space, I felt confident I could create a very impactful image for their single.

This is the first draft I created. I overlapped a physical drawing I had done previously and altered the colouring and transparency. I placed their logo in the centre and the song title at the bottom. This was then the prototype that we discussed and developed, and the band expressed their wish for some kind of figure to be present.

This is the final design that is now on Spotify. I digitally drew a figure in chains on a graphics tablet and finished the image on indesign. This was a very valuable process as I was able to develop my digital art skills and I had a taster of more illustrative work with a given brief.

On reflection I have achieved a lot and have successfully endeavoured to develop my professional practice which has been replicated in my practical art work. From artists inspiring my practice and helping me to reach a standard that I am constantly aiming for, to more digital processes relating to my paintings that revolve around the development of layers and textures, I am satisfied with this module of work in that I have adopted new skills and a system of recycling ideas. Finding a balance between professional and practical, and learning they are becoming more and more the same thing. I have gained a lot of experience, as well as learning I always need more as it allows interesting things to happen for both my future career, and indeed my artwork.

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laurelkrugerr · 4 years

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Theodore Roosevelt Was Wrong. Critics Do Count.

July 2, 2020 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Last week, the Museum of Natural History decided to remove the statue of former President Theodore Roosevelt from the Central Park West entrance where it has stood since 1940. Since it’s already been a bad month for Roosevelt, let me take this opportunity to further knock him off his high horse.

In his famous “The Man In the Arena” speech, Roosevelt said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming…”

I carried a copy of this speech in my wallet for years and often referred to it for inspiration, especially when I was starting my business in the mid 1990s. But over time, I have come to believe that while there is much to admire about “The Man in the Arena,” Roosevelt was wrong when he said, “It is not the critic who counts.” There is a certain blind arrogance and danger in not just ignoring one’s critics, but in creating a world where you have none. Critics are invaluable. I learned this lesson while writing my book, aptly named Don’t Take Yes for an Answer.

Related: Why Founders Shouldn’t Fear Harsh Criticism

A true “yes” is earned

After handing in what I thought was a masterpiece manuscript, my editor proceeded to rip it to shreds. Like anyone with pride in his work, it was a bitter pill to receive such an emphatic “no” after all that effort. I reluctantly went back to the drawing board and started over, but once I realized that my editor had offered me the gift of wisdom, I embraced it. While I didn’t agree with every suggestion, they were mostly right and made the book vastly better. That critique and input led to a brand-new manuscript, and my heart leapt when my editor said there was basically nothing she would do (except a few minor edits) because it was ready for print!

I don’t expect my book to eclipse sales records and sit among the pantheon of the best business books of all time. That is unlikely. But it did make it to print and has thus far been well-received — it was even nominated for The Next Big Idea Club (curated by Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain and Daniel Pink). And that would not have happened had my publisher given me a “yes” after that first manuscript. Now that the finished product is out in the world, I’m almost embarrassed that I even turned in that first draft.

All this is to say that contrary to Roosevelt’s words, the right critic does count. Someone who is qualified and cares about you and your goal can point out how and where you stumbled and how you can do better. It’s true that criticism that is not constructive is usually unhelpful, and tough love without love can be petty and mean. But if you are truly married to excellence and not your ego, you will learn to welcome and love criticism.

In my book, I state that if you want to find out what you’re truly made of and reach your utmost potential in your work and life, you must stop taking YES for an answer. We get a lot of positive feedback that we don’t actually deserve, which means you can’t trust all the yeses you hear. In fact, if you’ve checked off all the obvious boxes necessary for a stellar career in your field — education, credentials, years of experience — but still aren’t where you want to be, that lack of honest feedback is probably part of what’s holding you back. Because face it, if you’re doing just fine but you’re not truly killing it the way you always dreamed you would, I don’t care what anyone tells you — you’re doing something wrong.

Don’t you want to know what it is?

Related: 5 Ways Criticism and Rejection Builds Your Capacity to Succeed

Beware the echo chamber

If you’re frustrated because you’re falling short of your potential and you want to know why, you have to be willing not only to accept criticism, but also to seek it out. You have to find someone who cares enough to tell you when you aren’t all that, and accept that a “no” is often more helpful than a “yes.” An honest “no” will help explain why you haven’t been able to move your business or career further. A default “yes” will keep you stuck in a vortex of mediocrity. You will stay unaware of your true strengths, unconscious of your weaknesses, and probably unmotivated to make any significant change that will elevate you further than your current plateau.

I failed to follow my own advice when I wrote the first draft of my book. For the first year of research and writing, I surrounded myself with well-meaning friends and family. I was immersed in an echo chamber of “yes.” People kept telling me that they loved what I had written, or they said nothing, which I incorrectly took for praise. Those yeses made me feel great, but it wasn’t until I received an honest — and necessary — “no” from my editor that I realized my book was mediocre at best. The guy who coined the term “the vortex of mediocrity” got trapped in that vortex without even realizing it!

It’s temptingly easy to fall in love with your own work, ideas and self. My advice: get narcissistic nausea. If you cannot find at least one person to criticize some aspect of your being, it’s a warning sign that you’re operating in a distorted reflection of reality. Welcome criticism. Demand it and then embrace what resonates with you after careful introspection.

Don’t believe Roosevelt’s words that critics don’t count. Instead, take the metaphorical advice of another President: Abraham Lincoln. Rather than ignore his critics, Lincoln appointed them to his cabinet, creating a “team of rivals” that worked together to preserve the Union and win the Civil War. Once you get off your own proverbial high horse, you’ll be amazed at how much further you can climb.

Related: 5 Ways Criticism Can Make You Stronger

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source http://www.scpie.org/theodore-roosevelt-was-wrong-critics-do-count/ source https://scpie1.blogspot.com/2020/07/theodore-roosevelt-was-wrong-critics-do.html

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riichardwilson · 4 years

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Theodore Roosevelt Was Wrong. Critics Do Count.

July 2, 2020 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Related: Why Founders Shouldn’t Fear Harsh Criticism

A true “yes” is earned

Don’t you want to know what it is?

Related: 5 Ways Criticism and Rejection Builds Your Capacity to Succeed

Beware the echo chamber

Related: 5 Ways Criticism Can Make You Stronger

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/theodore-roosevelt-was-wrong-critics-do-count/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/622588057167790080

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scpie · 4 years

Text

Theodore Roosevelt Was Wrong. Critics Do Count.

July 2, 2020 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Related: Why Founders Shouldn’t Fear Harsh Criticism

A true “yes” is earned

Don’t you want to know what it is?

Related: 5 Ways Criticism and Rejection Builds Your Capacity to Succeed

Beware the echo chamber

Related: 5 Ways Criticism Can Make You Stronger

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/theodore-roosevelt-was-wrong-critics-do-count/

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ginnyzero · 4 years

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10 Things I Learned Writing FanFic

(Bonus Blog Post: Also on Twitter as Thread!)

I'm going to try and do a TEN THINGS #WritingCommunity . My experience in writing is probably the "new wave" as I started in fanfic. When things get tough, I try to apply things I learned in my over a decade there to now. YMMV So, TEN THINGS I learned writing/reading fanfic!

1. Sturgeon's Law Exists y'all. Sturgeon's law states that 90% of everything is crap. I don't care where you publish this is true. Especially in fanfic circles were newbie writers are posting their precious first draft writing babies. You have to dig to find good stuff.

2. REVIEWS =/= quality. AKA being POPULAR doesn't mean that the story is good or well written! Sure, 90% of writing is crap. AND PEOPLE LIKE THAT CRAP. Because crap is subjective, especially as you're learning, growing & forming opinions. Someone out there found merit in it! YAY!

3. THERE IS ROOM FOR EVERYONE. The thing about fanfic & about indie publishing is that there is no gatekeeping. There is no arbitrary "this is what is selling" rules to adhere to. And that means everyone is allowed even if YOU don't like it personally.

3.1 that means everyone is out there trying to find their readers, their tribe, their MARKET. That's great b/c that means a lot of voices (female, LGBTA+, POC) can be heard! Indie and Fanfic let's writers take RISK and have an AUDIENCE. (Even if they are hard to find sometimes.)

4. About Reviews. Only 1 in 3 people are going to leave reviews (if you're famous) and only 1 in 10 are going to make it past the first chapter. It doesn't mean your work is bad. All it means is your work wasn't for them! That's okay! see, there is room for EVERYONE.

4.1 MOST of my reviews were very short to the lines of "write more" with maybe a PLEASE tacked on. When I was active, I tried to thank every reviewer regardless of length of review. The long reviews of "you made my day" quality were few, far between and cherished. This is normal!

5. SOMEONE IS ALWAYS GOING TO DISLIKE YOUR STORY. And sometimes, they're going to be vocal about it and leave you that bashing review. That just means your story wasn't for them. Onto the next reader that appreciates you and what you do!

5.1 as a writer, you are the star of your own narrative. Bad reviews are people trying to clip your wings. Unsolicited constructive criticism and outright bashing helps no one and only causes people to stop writing. I don't care how good your intentions are if you do this, STOP.

5.2 The thing about bad reviews that are "constructive" is that the book I've written is already published. I can't/won't change it. And the "constructive" review will not apply to the next book. And no amount of positive openings makes unsolicited advice sting less.

5.3 Your intentions are to mean well and "this will help." Well, buddy, I've had a beta reader/editor for the last ten years and I can tell you right now that I trust her a lot more than I trust you oh random stranger on the internet.

5.4, a PUBLISHED Story or book is a PRODUCT. A review for a PRODUCT in this case is for the reader and not the AUTHOR. As an author, I may not do more than scan your review for your star rating. So please, pitch your reviews to other readers.

Okay, MOVING ON.

6. BACKLOG/EXPOSURE is EVERYTHING. People can't read your stories if they don't know you exist. The people who become Big Name Fans in fanfic circles are those that are constantly putting themselves out there in the public eye by writing.

6.1 True story! The reason why 50 Shades of Grey was first so popular as "Masters of the Universe" twilight fanfic is because James posted 100 or so words each DAY as a CHAPTER so her fanfic was constantly at the top of the "updated" pile. James is in marketing.

6.2 True story 2! When I ran a pairing community on LJ (FFX-2), a "new to us" writer came in, posted a story and then complained she got no feedback elsewhere b/c she was a big name fan in DIGIMON. We didn't know who she was, we needed more exposure to her to interact more. It felt like to ME (and several others in my circle) that she wanted to be an overnight sensation in our group b/c she was so huge in the Digimon fandom. We took exception to this! Those of us who were big had put in a lot of hard work to be that way!

This leads to...

7. BEING FAMOUS IS WORK NOT FUN. By the time I left fandom, I had run up to 3 communities, worked on a review website, wrote over 50 works, all of this in my spare time while doing an INTENSIVE college schedule (Fashion) and I was BURNT OUT.

7.1, this led to a lot of things being lobbed my way. Accusations of favoritism. I got cussed out. I had people throwing hissy fits at me. I did some things I probably shouldn't have being a young 20 something.

7.2, Trying to build a network of authors to create these communities was tons and tons of emailing and invitations and soliciting and keeping my name up there on the "recently updated" on ffnet and putting in my communities in my Author's Notes. It is exhausting!

7.3, so if your goals are to be the NEXT GRR Martin, think about all the interviews and conventions and emails he's fielding on TOP of trying to write his books. There are reasons most authors don't do more than the convention circuit/have 1 social media. THEY HAVE WORK TO DO.

8. CALL OUT CULTURE IS BAD. The morality police, the grammar police, the "think of the children" police, it's all bad. It's why we can't have nice things. And guess what, in five to ten years, it's going to change ANYWAYS. It's simply a waste of time and energy that does nothing.

Calling back to 3...

9. TROPES AREN'T BAD. Tropes exist for a reason to help ease storytelling. Tropes are plot hooks and the coat hangers we build our stories upon. No matter what, you use tropes even if you're LAMP-SHADING them. People like tropes.

9.1 Tropes are nice fuzzy warm blankets that make readers feel comfortable. Maybe "Only one bed" is overdone, but for readers who LOVE "only one bed" they're going to devour every fic NO MATTER the quality. All they see is MORE STORIES FOR ME TO READ WHEE!

9.2, I'm saying here to an extent ORIGINALITY is overrated. Because given HOW MANY stories have been told and how much WRITING is being published, having that "original" idea or telling something in an "original" way is next to impossible. So, write what you WANT.

10. MY EXPERIENCE DOESN'T INVALIDATE YOUR EXPERIENCE. My experience in my writing career is simply my experience. It's not wrong. Just as yours is yours and yours isn't wrong either. It's simply what's happened to us on our writing journey.

10.1, If people are getting emotional and telling you that your experience as a writer is WRONG, then they are the ones with the problem. Not you. You can ONLY relate what you've experienced. If they haven't experienced it, then good for them.

10.2, if they keep INSISTING that your experience is wrong all b/c THEY haven't experienced it, then they lack EMPATHY and are NOT WORTH YOUR TIME. They don't DESERVE YOUR ENERGY. They are a tiny player in your life and easily shut OFF.

10.3 As LONG as you're willing to stand behind what you write on the internet, social media/books, and it doesn't HURT other people, then there is NO REASON why you can't curate your experience to mute/block the naysayers from your life. It can be abusive harassment.

10.4, NO ONE deserves to be abusively harassed and personally attacked over their experience and their writing. NO ONE. Being kind, being empathetic, listening and learning only costs you the pain of BEING WRONG. I say pain, because it actually HURTS the brain to admit that you are wrong. The ego/pride PHYSICALLY can't take the idea of being WRONG. This is why people lash out. This is why people act hurt when confronted about it. They don't like PAIN. Pain is our body's FEAR reaction. "Something hurts. Don't do that." Being wrong means giving into our pain/fear & having to change! We also don't like change. Don't let THEIR FEAR control you/your EXPERIENCE. As long as you aren't hurting anyone, that is on them. Not you.

10.5 Those who don't get you, don't deserve you! Find those that do and KEEP ON WRITING.

I also write books. So, check out my Awesome Amazon Profile for Sons of Anarchy for Urban Fantasy and Kick Ass Warrior Princess stories featuring #werewolves.

#writing advice #writing tumblr #writing tips #writer tumblr #ten things

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dorothydelgadillo · 5 years

Text

"My Content Obsessions for 2019" (Content Lab, Ep. 19)

Before we get started, I have an important piece of housekeeping to address -- Content Lab will now be coming to you on Fridays, instead of Wednesdays, at 11:30 a.m., Eastern.

Ladies, gentlemen, cats, dogs, otters, and squirrels -- it is 2019, and I am back, as is the Content Lab podcast! And man, I am excited.

For the vast majority of the past month, I've lived in a holiday-induced haze of drifting between eating pie and feeling shame about eating said pie while lifting at the gym. So, I am ready to shake off the cobwebs.

The best part about a new year is that it's a new beginning, clichéd as that may sound. I'm a big fan of fresh starts, so I want to spend this episode sharing with you what's on my mind for the coming year.

Both with content creation, and for the Content Lab.

Enjoy!

Listen to the Episode

What Will Be My Content Obsessions in 2019?

First, I want to think with a more video-first mindset. Or at least with a mindset that embraces video as equally as I do writing.

The obvious reason being that, while there will always be space for the written word, video is one of the most effective (and quickest) ways to establish trust with an audience or an individual, and foster a more human-to-human connection.

(Also, I after spending more than a week editing Myriah Anderson's utterly inspiring Video for Sales getting started guide -- which just launched this week at impactbnd.com/video-for-sales -- I kind of have video on the brain.)

So, one of my objectives for this year that I'm that I'm particularly excited about is ensuring IMPACT is a best-in-class example of how to use video in your content and marketing.

As part of that goal -- I'm pushing myself to create more video personally, even though I'm not terribly comfortable in front of a camera -- for email messages, articles for IMPACT, and more. Thankfully, I've got Vidyard GoVideo to help me out with that, which I'm more than a little obsessed with.

(Learn why I love Vidyard GoVideo.)

Next, I want to be more... open-minded about robots, and how AI will shape the future of what I do as a content creator.

I've always feared the moment when they would design an AI that could flawlessly mimic my writing style and endless devotion to the original Law & Order series. But after learning about what Forbes is doing with AI to empower their writers with a more bionic approach to robots, I'm intrigued.

For those who haven't heard about what Forbes is doing:

Forbes now uses a CMS called Bertie. Bertie uses artificial intelligence to suggest headlines and propose topics for contributors based on their publication history.

"That's nice."

OK, here's the "big deal" news. The team at Forbes is currently testing an AI-driven tool within Bertie that gives Forbes writers a very rough draft to build upon, instead of having them start a new article from scratch.

In addition to starting copy, this "rough draft" might include links to other resources -- both internally from Forbes, as well as other sites -- and images.

This is a big, big deal.

I mean, just imagine never having to be bossed around or mocked by a blank screen again. Never having to create something from nothing, because your new best robot friend had already curated some raw materials for the express purpose of empowering you to write something powerful and valuable.

It's this idea of content creation bionics -- of leveraging AI with a "How can we help humans?" approach, rather than a "How can replace humans?" one -- that I had never considered.

My only gripe when I first initially learned of this innovation, however, is that it seemed pretty much a luxury of those publishers and media giants with big budgets.

But yesterday, I was introduced to nDash.co's Content Brief, which is based off a similar model of providing an AI-researched brief on a search term input by a human, that they wish to write about:

I took it for a test drive with the term, "why website accessibility is important for businesses," and within minutes, I received an extensive set of resources in this content brief:

Unlike Bertie, which creates a rough draft, nDash's Content Brief is clearly a robot-aggregated set of statistics, summaries, and links.

That said, there's enough here for me to keep using it, because it brought together so many resources that I would have had to go out and independently mine for myself. Although, I'll still probably do a bit more research on my own, as well.

We're living in exciting times, content friends.

Third, I want to bring more order and focus to the idea of pillar content and topic cluster strategies.

I don't want to dive too deeply into what I mean by this at the moment, but for now, here is the problem I've identified. Search engines -- particularly Google -- favor websites with a limited number of focus areas. Preferably one.

While the topic cluster model brings some semblance of order to content strategies that were once completely arbitrary, we're still not too far away from organizations having... well, tons of random topic clusters floating around in cyberspace, disconnected from each other.

My goal this year is to solve for that in a way that brings even more order to the way we develop content strategies and helps us better network our content for search engine visibility.

So, stay tuned on that front.

Additionally, a goal I'm carrying over from last year is to continue to push the boundaries of what it means to create content that's as absurdly helpful as possible.

Our mission here at IMPACT is to be obsessed with leading those within our community -- readers, clients, whomever -- to success. To make your jobs easier every single day.

So, if I'm not pushing myself to give more, and do more, and show more, then I'm not doing my job.

That may sound overly simplistic, but we believe that is the core of what it means to be inbound. An innate sense of altruism, where you don't stress about hiding your secret sauce. Instead, you give it away for free.

I did that with my pillar on how to create a content style guide, and I was nervous. I literally gave away my whole process -- workshop guidelines, worksheets, templates, and all.

Then, I saw this message in IMPACT Elite, and I was blown away:

My goal is to create more moments like this for myself, and empower others inside and outside of IMPACT to do the same. That's what it's all about, folks.

Finally, I want to continue to innovate with Content Lab, so it is the most valuable podcast it can possibly be.

I've already spoken with a few of you and gotten invaluable feedback on what you love about the podcast already, and what is on your wishlist for Content Lab in the future.

Don't worry, you'll continue to hear interviews with some of the best content brains in the industry, and I'll still be sharing some of my favorite tips, tools, and tricks for being a rockstar content creator. My goal is to make sure I'm doing it in the most helpful way possible.

With that, happy 2019, everyone! I'm so excited to embark on this new year of content creation together.

Subscribe to the Content Lab Monthly Newsletter

Once a month, I'm going to send you an absurdly useful newsletter will tons of insights, tips, and tools for you to make your content amazing. It's that simple.

Here's what it looks like, so you know what shenanigans you're getting into with me:

So, what are you waiting for? Go to this page and sign-up.

Connect with Content Lab

Okay, first, you've gotta subscribe to Content Lab on Apple Podcasts. That way you'll never miss an episode!

Content Lab: Twitter, Instagram

Liz: Twitter, Instagram

Or you can comment on this episode below! I'd love to hear from you.

from Web Developers World https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/content-lab-goals-for-2019

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benjamin-crocker · 5 years

Photo

Assessment 2: Flat Mag Journal

I’ll start this process summary/journal post by saying that this was my first uni group project so things might get messy.

Our group was organised mainly because we all went to PASS for another class together a lot so it just seemed to make sense that we all be in a group. After receiving the assessment we all took a bit of time to ponder and think about some potential concepts for our flat mag to discuss when we had our first group meeting.

Above are the notes made during our first group meeting. Our initial ideas included:

- A magazine on past crimes and mysteries of Newcastle - A magazine on the Queens Wharf Tower and its demolition - A fictional summary of local urban legends and cryptids - A historical piece on Newcastle as a whole As we discussed each idea we found that the one we were able to keeping making jokes about and keep coming up with ideas for was The Queens Wharf Tower or as we called it the whole time; the Dick Tower.

One of the things that really inspired us and helped confirm our idea was the Dick Tower hashtag on Instagram. there was a lot of love for the structure and many pieces of art done by locals commemorating it’s deconstruction. This gave us the confidence to go with our idea.

Next we began brainstorming ideas for content. You can find the full list in my notes above but it basically came down too:

- Brief History - Opinion pieces on the tower - Poll - Curated reviews - Dick shaped maze

We divided the work between ourselves for the break and agreed to start considering some early imagery if we had the time.

We were also fairly confident at this point that we would do the whole thing in blue. It just made sense that something against the sky be that colour.

Over the break we developed heaps of content; I cherry picked google reviews, Facebook comments, summarised interviews, wrote an opinion piece, crafted 3 haiku's and wrote a brief history. Kaitlyn wrote a great essay on international dick towers and Dalton covered the deconstruction process of the tower and wrote a great poem. We didn’t get a chance to meet up during the break so it’s good we had so much to content to work with when we got back.

Laura put together a mood board of graphics and similar magazine work for us to refer back to when we needed a bit of direction.

Eloise has started work on the background image, which would be the biggest part of the final design.

In the next group meeting we reviewed the content we had down and start thinking about layouts and graphic pairings for some of our content. I put a SUPER rough layout sketch below but it didn’t scan very well.

In class we worked on the brief outline sheet that we were given which helped define things for us as a whole group for when we were working independently.

We started putting together some graphics at this point. Kaitlyn visualised the international towers and a Dr Seuss style rendition of the Tower (it didn’t make into the final version however).

Dalton did caricatures for the interview articles and they turned out dope as hell.

Laura was our dedicated layout and typographer so she spent her time researching magazine types and setting in preparation for when we finally got everything together. Besides that we never really had super defined roles as a group which had advantages and disadvantages. It was cool that we were all able to try our hand at any component of the project as we felt inspired but it also meant that for Laura she was kind of stuck twiddling her thumbs until we had something to work with.

We also decided that we would use both colours and chose to contrast the blue with an orange for our illustrations and graphics.

At this point I threw together a really rough draft idea of the layout to make sure that we were all on the same page and give Laura some time to collect things for our in class presentation.

It’s also really important to note Eloise’s final background graphic. I can say without a doubt it is the best part of our assessment and I think it gave us such a strong a clear direction for the rest of the visuals early on.

Laura then worked on putting together our presentation which ended up looking great!

We structured in with a title slide that we could use to talk about our concept and process, a slide of some of our illustrations and graphics and a final current layout slide.

In our feedback we were told to make sure that we fill the empty space near the bottom of the page and to consider our title placement. We were also advised to add our subheading. I think our presentation went really well, I’ve even started to like presenting my work for the class believe it or not.

Here I collected some of the final illustrations that I did for the magazine including a few that didn't make it in the end.

After this point in the process the final adjustment honestly flew by and we were done before I knew it.

We decided that to make things a bit more consistent between the graphics and the hand drawn look of Dalton’s drawings that we would add a more hand lettered title. Dalton did this and made a really good design for the title.

After that Laura did some rearranging and colouring as well as fixing loose ends and then we were ready for print!

We had to trim our final print the morning of pin-up which turned out to be a little more difficult than I imagined, getting those long sides into the guillotine was hard work and the first few slides of the blade we didn’t press hard enough, tattering the edge. After the bulk of it was trimmed I used a ruler and craft knife to neaten up one of the edges for pinup.

Up on the wall alongside our little rationale plate I felt really proud of our final design.

This group project taught me so, so much. I’m sure next time I have to work in a group I’ll be able to pull off something even better just because I’ve had this experience. I loved working with my group members. They’re all so talented, patient and funny. I wish I could have them in my group all the time.

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yseferebel-blog · 6 years

Text

Capstone Proposal Final Draft

1.0 Project Scope

1.1 Project Title: Little Bits

1.2 Project Goals

Organizational – Simplify and filter information for busy parents

Instructional Design – Create a curated guide on parenting 101 for busy parents relevant for expecting parents to parents with toddlers under 5.

1.3 Learning Goals

My learning goal is to test the wireframe made in EDU 113 by creating a basic app that users can test/interact with. I plan to create the prototype app using Xcode for Mac IOS. After user testing I will readjust my scope using the methods learned in EDU 113 (Instructional Design Studio).

1.4 Target Audience

Expecting and current parents

1.5 Elevator Pitch

Parents are busy, and sometimes it’s not coffee in that coffee cup. My design challenge is to create a product that encompasses a growth mindset for the parent, that centers a design around time and ease, and personalizes content around the age of the child that is pushed out three times a week via notification/text style. Curated content will include experts like Dr. John Medina (brain rules for baby author and developmental molecular biologist), podcasts, and many well regarded experts and parenting sites that tackle parenting challenges and outside the box thinking.

1.6 Metrics (Measurement of project success)

Basic functionality such as sending notification works.

The app is easy to use, convenient in regards to time, and relevant to the parent.

Overall: The concept of the app addresses the basic information for parenting that is curated specifically for their child. The idea is to filter opinions from fact, and have an interactive “conversation” with parents. These conversations are pushed out with a headliner, and the parents can choose whether or not they will look into the headline. There will be three notifications sent each week with Mondays – being myth busters, Wednesdays –media, and Fridays – information from an expert or a well-regarded parenting blog related to their child and the milestone ahead. This will be successful after user testing confirms whether or not parents would use the app with two key areas in mind, simple and fast.

1.7 Life beyond capstone

With much of the work to start this project done in EDU 113, this capstone will create a working version of EDU 113’s project. Once feedback and testing are received, the project may go beta. I think this would be something parents would use, it’s different and simple. After the basic app, I would like to create one to launch on the app store (for free). I would also like to collaborate, using DGMD skills to work with parents and professionals to create more unique content for the app.

2. Competitor Review

EveryParent app - localized to a certain area that offers trusted tips, expert advice, personalized parenting info, milestones, and notifications pushed to the phone.

- website: www.everyparentpbc.org

- It has 36 reviews in apple app store and is a localized app to Palm Beach FL so the market share is small.

- The tone is personable, insightful, and informative. This can appeal to all generation types, and parents with children of all ages.

- They are targeting local Palm Beach parents. Possibly current parents regardless of the child’s age. My target audience are expecting and parents with children ages up to 5.

- After reading the reviews, many parents enjoy the app. They believe the app is educational and informative regarding children of all ages. They have a Facebook page which the reviews for the actual physical place is good. They have an estimated 2000 followers.

-This competitor relates to my organizational goal in a sense that in centralizes a place for parents to get personalized information for their child. As far as user goals go, I am more concerned with user testing, making it the most simplistic, least time consuming app to use for the parent. While looking through the app, it seems that the app has much to offer with a lot of reading and so forth. I am concentrating on quick headlines and summaries that parents can quickly grasp and look into later if they want to while keeping it engaging and fun. The product goal does seem like it is similar, and that is to assist parents with providing a central place to gather information pertaining to their child from a trusted source.

Parenting Hero app - A really neat app, and a different take on parenting. It’s an interactive story app that helps parents understand scenarios to better communicate with their children ages 2-7. It costs $2.99.

-website: www.mythicowl.com

-Created with authors of “How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen: A survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7″

-20 reviews on the apple app store, small market share

-The tone is fun, different, and engaging. It differs from other apps because it is engaging. It gives you scenarios on what the child does in a comic book style layout and allows you to choose your answer.

-The difference is that it gives a scenario and you pick a reply to that scenario in a fun, learning based environment to deal with a road block with your child. My offerings fit with the given scenario and reply. My product will push a text style notification out to the parent asking a question they can either answer “yes” or “no”, or depending on the content to let them “know more” or “next”. This will engage the parents if they want to be engaged, or they can pass if they don’t have the time, or if they already know what the content is.

-I think they are targeting parents who are struggling with toddlers and young children that need help with learning how to correct or talk to them. This is more closer to my target audience, but I am aiming for expecting parents and children ages infant to 5 years old.

-They have about 300 likes on Facebook, 200 twitter followers. People like the apps they develop. This app in particular can use help, people are not fond of the price for the content.

-This competitor relates to my goals because they have an engaging, fun and unique tone to the app. The unique engagement of scenario and response is similar to my product and user goal.

Dr. John Medina’s Brain Rules: for Baby (book) - This was my motivation on building a product that was a centralized place where parents can get personalized information about their child. This book goes through the myths, growth/fixed mindsets, how to nurture a growing mind and so much more. This really is a great way to understand how the child’s brain is wired, and how we can do our best to nurture and grow it.

-website: http://www.brainrules.net/brain-rules-for-baby

-I believe he has a large share of the market; he is a New York Times best seller and is an expert in this field.

-The tone is very informative. He can tell scientific stories that actually make sense, and he uses very good examples to back each theory. His tone is science; if it is theory, it has been tested and must pass his “grump” factor.

-The difference is he is a developmental molecular biologist and father who can tell a great story about the child’s brain and how it works. He is also an expert on the brain while the other app developers are not. My offerings will use his methodologies when appropriate and referenced to engage the parents. This will also give the parents great summaries of important points of brain development and myths.

-He is targeting expecting, new and parents up to 5 years old. It is the same as my target audience.

-He has 4100 Twitter followers, many likes, and many tweets. He has a Facebook page just for the Brain Rules for Baby as well, not as popular as his twitter page but it has many likes.

-His content was the spark, that lead me to create my product. I realized that many parents follow misconceptions, get frustrated filtering through all the blogs not knowing what was really true or false, and just spending too much time looking for solutions and ending up with more problems. I think after reading this book, I have aligned my organizational, user, and product goal to reflect a product that encompasses a growth mindset for the parent, that centers a design around time and ease, and personalizes content around the age of the child through experts like Dr. Medina, out-of-the box thinking, and how-to for parents.

3. Technology Requirements

The wireframe was created with Balsamiq. The app for user testing will be an interactive wireframe using Invision. The basic app will be created with Xcode for Mac IOS. I might create a short video and simple website to create a face behind the app time permitting.

4. Design workflow

The app design and flow is very similar to a messaging app, just like Quartz. Quartz is a news app that sends headlines in their app, the user then picks from the pre listed answers. Apple’s Xcode uses a Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern in an IOS app. The flow goes from user input, view, controller, and model. Each has a specific component to run the app. Xcode will allow me to design and build the app in one location and comes with a built in framework to guide the process of designing the app as well as the workflow of the app. The intended flow is the app sends a headline and a one sentence summary of the subject to the user in a text within the app. The user will then have two predetermined messages to reply back to the app using Chatbox. Based on user input, the app will either send more information on the subject, or stop for the day. The user will also be able to touch the message to open the entire article, site, video if they want to read the entire page.

5. Work plan and milestones

August 2018 – Capstone Proposal Due

August 15, 2018 – User testing complete

August 20, 2018 – Design app logo, intractable wireframe using invision

August 15 to November 15 – Framework complete (Using Interface Builder in Xcode- build model layer, view layer, and controller layer)

-One Example of Myth Buster Monday – NLT 30 AUG

-Model layer – create data using swift.

-View layer – Ensure the view aligns are compatible with each iphone size, buttons/text are visible

-Controller layer – Ensure that the buttons grab data from model layer and give data to user.

-One Example of Media Wednesday – NLT 07 NOV

-One Example of Expert Friday – NLT 15 NOV

November 15 – Run simulator, test, refine, user test

December 01, 2018 – Refine app

December 08, 2018 – Capstone presentation

December 17, 2018 – Capstone Deliverables Due

6. References

Content Deliverables:

John J. Medina (2014). Brain Rules for Baby (2nded).Tracy Cutchlow (Ed.).Seattle, WA: Pear Press

Cutchlow, Tracy. (2018) Zero to Five. Retrieved from http://www.zerotofive.net

Slate Magazine & Panoply. (2017). Mom and Dad are Fighting[Audio podcast] Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mom-and-dad-are-fighting-slates-parenting-show/id774383607?mt=2

Making the app:

Christian Keur & Aaron Hillegass (2016). IOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide. Atlanta, GA: Big Nerd Ranch, LLC

Matt Mathias & John Gallagher(2016). Swift Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide. Atlanta, GA: Big Nerd Ranch, LLC

(“https://swift.org,” 2018)

Functionality Design:

(“https://qz.com,” 2018)

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saffronbookerreflectivejournal · 6 years

Text

19/04/2018

Fashion Promotion and Styling

Window Display

We are now getting closer and closer to the window display deadline and so on Monday (16th April) we had organised as a group to meet up after class to discuss how we are going to work towards finishing the window and resolve any issues that we have. It was important that we met on that day because Fiona would be leaving for the Copenhagen trip that evening and we had to hand in the final Learning Agreement at 4pm and this needed to be fully up to date with what we would be doing. However, on the day it was only me and Fiona who decided to turn up and since we had to make these decisions we had to work without the other two members of the group. We tried to consult them via the Facebook group chat but they where very slow in replying so unfortunately they had minimal input on the development of the project.

We had two major issues to resolves; the lack of group work within the window display and the level of communication between us and the viewer of the display. To make sure that the general public are going to be able to understand the display we decided that the best thing to do would be gain feedback from them ourselves. To do this we will be printing a detailed example of our current window display plan and showing it to people who walk past the Guntons space gallery. We will be asking this about if they they can understand the layout concept and exhibits. This will be a great way to get feedback from out actual market.

Secondly we have decided that instead of having one person work on each of the 4 exhibit areas we will be changing the concept so that we add an extra area, Design, to communicate the story of a garment better, and have 2 people collaborate on each section to have a better quality of work. This will allow more collaboration and a better example to the public of how different designers will use methods differently. This means that now Fiona and Sophie are curating Design, Myself and Sophie are curating pattern cutting, Myself and Shayla are curating Construction and Fiona and Shayla are Curating Textiles. Promotion will now be split between all 4 members of the group by dialysing an example of each of our work.

On Wednesday I was finally able to meet up with the other two members of our group and explain the decisions that me and Fiona had had to make. They where both very happy snd on board with the changes that we had made and we then planned to continue working together throughout the week to finalise what we can without Fiona. I will be focusing on creating the pattern cutting display with Sophie will will involve examples of drafting patterns on the stand. I will also be creating some pocket samples inspired by my tailoring project to go with Shayla’s pocket samples for Construction.

However, even though we agreed to meet up in uni for the rest of the week and work together when I came in on Thursday neither of the the other two turned up. Thus I worked on creating patterns for my pocket samples but could not continue with anything else without them. Holding up the project yet again.

On Friday when Sophie was in the studio we decided to go out and obtain some first hand market research. We spoke to people who where sitting and walking past the Guntons space walkway. W showed them the current set up for out window display and asked for their opinions on the display and how they felt that we could improve it. In general we largely received very good feedback about the display, the only issue was that the felt we should have the layout going clockwise rather than anti clockwise to make it easier to understand.We had considered that this may be an issue but where unsure how much it mattered. Having this feedback from our market was vital to our decision making on the matter. Because there was no way to suspend the 1/2 mannequin with such a shot amount of time left we decided to change the order of the step to allow the mannequin to still be placed on a plinths. So the order would now be 1) Design, 2) textiles, 3) pattern cutting and 4) construction rather than 1) design, 2) pattern cutting, 3) textiles, 4) construction which in my opinion makes a lot more sense anyway.

Getting opinions outside of the Guntons Space:

Portfolio

Although I had been working hard on my portfolio over the easter break I felt that I was struggling to finish it and needed feedback. Thus the session with Ike on Tuesday was extremely helpful for this. I got some very good feedback and came to some very useful conclusions about how I was working. I realised that I didn’t want to work by creating a mood board, colour board, development board etc. Instead I want the mood, colour, concept, development etc to be apparent throughout the project whilst still telling the story of development. This is something which I am going to be working on very hard in my free time up to hand in as it is very important for me to A) have a portfolio which I can send out for the use of potential internships and B) I want to have made a professional portfolio which I am proud of before producing my third year portfolio which will be very important for my post my BA.

Dissertation

During the Easter break I had worked very hard on researching my chosen topic for the Dissertation. I wanted to write about sustainable fashion and Vivienne Westwood’s “Buy less, choose well and make it last” campaign. However when we came back to class after the break I had not written a draft because I felt unsure about the topic. During the session on Monday Laura mentioned that we should ask ourselves what we will achieve out of doing the dissertation. I instantly realised that I would not really be interested in the results or what I would learn out of this topic as much as I would other things. The only logical thing was to think about what I would like to learn and what would be useful to me as a designer.

My mind instantly took me to my Creative Cut project from first year where a took a lot of inspiration from traditional Japanese pattern cutting. Japanese culture has always been a large part of my life as a designer and I am always looking to the country for inspiration. Regardless of how strong this may come out in my work it is something which I feel I will defiantly benefit from exploring as a part of my third year. Thus I decided to do some research and think about how I could phrase the question.

I am currently settled on ‘Analyse critical elements of Japanese fashion and evaluate it’s influence upon western designers.’ I chose this question because I think that it is important to acknowledge my personal point of view on the topic. I will be analysing it from a western designers point of view and so it will be useful for me to see how other people have taken inspiration as well as research into other things which I can use. However, I would really like the opportunity to discuss this question with a tutor before I hand in the proposal as second opinions are always worth getting. Hopefully this is feedback which I will gain after handing in the draft next week. Before then I will continue to complete a well written draft and find as many possible critical sources of research available to me.

The main focus over the next week will be to complete the window display work and begin the tartan project whilst simultaneously working on the portfolio. I will need to make sure I manage my time well and work to a high standard in order to meet the deadline. It will also be a case of making sure that the rest of my group members work to do this as well which may be the harder struggle.

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zipgrowth · 6 years

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We Created Subscription Boxes for Learning—and Teachers Love Them!

As I sat at a giant table with 15 colleagues pondering how to make professional learning more personal for our teachers, my eyes drifted to my screen. That’s when it dawned on me.

I saw people excited to receive their StitchFix, FabFitFun or Blue Apron boxes. What if we could apply the subscription box model to professional learning?

My supervisor glanced up at me, wondering what I was looking at on my computer. I spun around my laptop, which was currently displaying Mancrates, a website that sends Valentine’s boxes to avid lovers of artisanal meats.

I quickly clicked through some other tabs that were populated with images of boxes filled with ingredients for cooking, cosmetics, clothing and more. There was something for everyone. “What if we could apply the subscription box model to professional learning?” I asked the team.

As the digital learning, innovation, and design resource teacher for Howard County Public Schools in Maryland, I serve several functions, one of which is to provide professional learning directly to school-based staff.

Our weekly after school workshops had seen low attendance for months and our district had recently experienced significant budget cuts, which meant fewer opportunities to meet with teachers in person and a decrease in resources from the previous school year. We knew we needed a change.

I had recently been asked to seek an innovative, cost-conscious way to make professional learning more personal for educators. Around the office, in schools and online, I saw people excited to receive their StitchFix, FabFitFun or Blue Apron boxes and posting what they learned from these subscriptions and why they loved them.

In an effort to keep our professional learning low-budget, and to bring some happiness to teachers’ lives, I started drafting an idea of how to apply these same ideas to our work and recruited another resource teacher, Carrie Trudden, from the instructional technology office, to help me make the idea a reality. We decided to call it “Happy Apples: Out of the Box Professional Learning.”

Unboxing PD

After researching companies with different types of subscription boxes, we decided we wanted to include an element of surprise, make it gift-like, offer individualized products and make sure it’s useful. Most importantly though, we wanted each box to improve teaching and learning and to develop empowered learners.

We used the design thinking process to build a prototype, imagining an individual teacher as our audience. Once we had our first box, we brought it to a larger team of colleagues for feedback. Once our idea seemed realistic enough to produce within our budget and human capital constraints, we choose to pilot the project at one elementary and one middle school where we already had strong support for professional learning from school leadership and teacher leaders.

In early August before staff returned from summer break, we asked the school leaders at a select number of schools to recommend five to ten staff members who might be interested in trying out this new model. For our first round, sixteen staff members including teachers, reading specialists, media specialists and para-professional educators signed up by completing a short interest survey.

Carrie Trudden

After completing the survey, each participant provided some basic information such as what grade level and content area they taught, and selected topics of interest from a short list of 10 that included instructional technology, building student relationships, family involvement and leadership development. Once we had each individual’s information, we began curating and collecting articles, Twitter accounts, podcasts and books that would fit each member’s profile.

We also developed some original personalized materials including compliment cards for teachers to give to students, thank you cards to give to colleagues, and a fall checklist of activities to encourage subscribers to try out the resources inside their box. Finally, we created student activities that matched each subscriber’s content and grade level and complimented the other professional learning materials in the box.

We delivered our first Happy Apples Boxes in September 2017 to 16 teachers at the two schools. We hand-delivered the boxes in the middle of the day without notifying the teachers, leaving them in each teacher’s school mailbox.

Each box was packed with red tissue paper so it would feel like opening a gift. Inside, we included a welcome letter, an activity checklist and a one page document we called “Learning Bytes” with digital resources, articles and social media accounts to follow. Teachers also received an instructional activity and digital tool to try, along with something specific they could introduce to their students. We rounded the boxes out with other goodies: a set of thank you cards for colleagues, a self-reflection journal and a second-hand book we thought they might enjoy.

One thing we know is that feedback matters, so after we delivered two boxes to our small pilot group, we met with the teachers to discuss the boxes and gauge their reactions. The teachers loved the surprise of finding the boxes in their mailboxes, having professional learning materials tailored just for them and having instructional resources that were quick and easy to use. They suggested more in-person opportunities to share with others who received boxes and a easier way to provide feedback.

The pilot has been a big success, and we will deliver a total of five boxes to our pilot group of teachers throughout this school year. Our next step is to figure out how we can scale the model to reach more teachers.

There are two challenges to scaling: human capital and budget for materials. My colleague and I created many of the resources from scratch, creating them them for each teacher. Developing the profiles, creating the resources and tailoring them takes time, but we’ve found that reallotting our time from planning after school professional learning workshops to working on Happy Apples is doable.

The monetary cost of producing the boxes has been minimal so far. We purchased the cardboard boxes with office funds, use our Canva account to design the printable resources, and use our district’s print shop for printing our materials. The books we share are all second-hand and the journals, pens and extras are all donated by community organizations. This model has its limits if those resources dry up and we’re currently exploring ways to sustain these. We think community partnerships will be key.

Our office is planning to grow our subscribers base to 60 staff members from fall 2018. As our list of subscribers grow, we will need to recruit additional team members to build teacher profiles, design and curate digital resources to meet each subscribers needs and deliver the physical boxes.

We expect that we’ll need to adjust certain elements of the model as our list grows over the next year. Whatever changes we make and however we grow, we’re so excited to see the happiness and renewed energy for learning that this new approach has brought our teachers.

Crystal is a digital learning innovation and design resource teacher for Howard County Public Schools in Howard County, Maryland.

We Created Subscription Boxes for Learning—and Teachers Love Them! published first on http://ift.tt/2x05DG9

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yseferebel-blog · 6 years

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#4 Capstone Draft

Capstone Proposal Draft

1.0 Project Scope

1.1 Project Title: Little Bits

1.2 Project Goals

Organizational – Simplify and filter information for busy parents

Instructional Design – Create a curated guide on parenting 101 for busy parents relevant for expecting parents to parents with toddlers under 5.

1.3 Learning Goals

1.4 Target Audience

Expecting and current parents

1.5 Elevator Pitch

1.6 Metrics (Measurement of project success)

After user testing, a survey of how many parents would use this.

After user testing of comparable product if any, how many parents would prefer this app.

Capstone: The app is easy to use, convenient in regards to time, and relevant to the parent.

Overall: The concept of the app addresses the basic information for parenting that is curated specifically for their child. The idea is to filter opinions from fact, and have an interactive “conversation” with parents. These conversations are pushed out with a headliner, and the parents can choose whether or not they will look into the headline. There will be three notifications sent each week with Mondays – being myth busters, Wednesdays – some type of media (podcast, youtube video), and Fridays – information from an expert related to their child and the milestone ahead. This will be successful after user testing confirms whether or not parents would use the app with two key areas in mind, simple and fast.

1.7 Life beyond capstone

With much of the work to start this project done in EDU 113, this capstone will create a working version of EDU 113’s project. Once feedback and testing are received, the project may go beta. I think this would be something parents would use, it’s different and simple. After the basic app, I would like to create one to launch on the app store (for Free). I would also like to collaborate, using DGMD skills to work with parents and professionals to create more unique content for the app.

2. Competitor Review

EveryParent app - localized to a certain area that offers trusted tips, expert advice, personalized parenting info, milestones, and notifications pushed to the phone.

- website: www.everyparentpbc.org

- It has 36 reviews in apple app store and is a localized app to Palm Beach FL, the market share is small.

- The tone is personable, insightful, and informative. This can appeal to all generation types, and parents with children of all ages.

- They are targeting local Palm Beach parents. Possibly current parents regardless of the child’s age. My target audience are expecting and parents with children ages up to 5.

- After reading the reviews, many parents enjoy the app. They believe the app is educational and informative regarding children of all ages. They have a facebook page which the reviews for the actual physical place is good. They have an estimated 2000 followers.

-website: www.mythicowl.com

-Created with authors of “How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen: A survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7″

-20 reviews on the apple app store, small market share

-They have about 300 likes on facebook, 200 twitter followers. People like the apps they develop. This app in particular can use help, people are not fond of the price for the content.

-This competitor relates to my goals because they have an engaging, fun and unique tone to the app. The unique engagement of scenario and response is similar to my product and user goal.

-website: http://www.brainrules.net/brain-rules-for-baby

-I believe he has a large share of the market, he is a New York Times best seller and is an expert in this field.

-The tone is very informative, he can tell scientific stories that actually make sense, and he uses very good examples to back each theory. His tone is science, if it is theory, it has been tested and must pass his “grump” factor.

-The difference is he is a developmental molecular biologist and father who can tell a great story about the child’s brain and how it works. He is not only a scientist, he is also an expert on the brain which the other apps’ developers are not. My offerings will use his methodologies when appropriate and referenced to engage the parents. This will also give the parents great summaries of important points of brain development and myths.

-I think he is targeting expecting, new and parents up to 5 years old. It is the same as my target audience.

-He has 4100 twitter followers, and many likes, many tweets. He has a facebook page just for the brain rules for baby as well, not as popular as his twitter page but it has many likes.

-His content was the spark, the idea that lead me to create my product. I realized that many parents follow misconceptions, get frustrated filtering through all the blogs not knowing what was really true or false, and just spending too much time looking for solutions and ending up with more problems. I think after reading this book, I have aligned my organizational, user, and product goal to reflect a product that encompasses a growth mindset for the parent, that centers a design around time and ease, and personalizes content around the age of the child through experts like Dr. Medina, out of the box thinking, and how to for parents.

3. Technology Requirements

The wireframe was created with Balsamiq, the app for user testing will be an interactive wireframe using invision, the basic app will be created with Xcode for Mac IOS. I might create a short video and simple website to create a face behind the app.

4. Design workflow

The app design and flow is very similar to a messaging app, just like Quartz. Quartz is a news app that sends headlines in their app, the user then picks from the pre listed answers. Apple’s Xcode uses a Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern in an IOS app. The flow goes from user input, view, controller, and model. Each has a specific component to run the app. Xcode will allow me to design and build the app in one location and comes with a built in framework to guide the process of designing the app as well as the workflow of the app. The intended flow is the app sends a headline and a one sentence summary of the subject to the user in a text within the app. The user will then have two predetermined messages to reply back to the app (chatbox will be used). Based on user input, the app will either send more information on the subject, or stop for the day. The user will also be able to touch the message to open the entire article, site, video if they want to read the entire page.

5. Work plan and milestones

August 2018 – Capstone Proposal Due

August 15, 2018 – User testing complete

August 15 to November 15 – Framework complete (Using Interface Builder- build model layer, view layer, and controller layer)

November 15 – Run simulator, test, refine, user test

November 20 – Design the app

December 01, 2018 – Refine app

December 08, 2018 – Capstone presentation

December 17, 2018 – Capstone Deliverables Due

6. References

**Place Holder for content deliverables**

**Place Holder for making the app**

**Place Holder for app planning**

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zipgrowth · 6 years

Text

We Created Subscription Boxes for Learning—and Teachers Love Them!

As I sat at a giant table with 15 colleagues pondering how to make professional learning more personal for our teachers, my eyes drifted to my screen. That’s when it dawned on me.

I saw people excited to receive their StitchFix, FabFitFun or Blue Apron boxes. What if we could apply the subscription box model to professional learning?

Unboxing PD

After researching companies with different types of subscription boxes, we decided we wanted

to include an element of surprise, make it gift-like, offer individualized products and make sure it’s useful. Most importantly though, we wanted each box to improve teaching and learning and to develop empowered learners.

Carrie Trudden

Crystal is a digital learning innovation and design resource teacher for Howard County Public Schools in Howard County, Maryland.

We Created Subscription Boxes for Learning—and Teachers Love Them! published first on http://ift.tt/2x05DG9

0 notes