Reflect: Mid-term Presentation

So I just received my mid-term presentation feedback from Professor Noble.

I got overall high marks! So I'm pretty happy about that. I worked really hard for my presentation (I have to really prepare myself for big presentations, or I goof up). I had made sure to work on a some key things:

• Getting the timing right (including adding duplicates but only when necessary)
• Showing enthusiasm/passion
• Using body language/movement
• Eye contact
• Integrating humor
• Integrating agenda

Although my presentation grade was excellent, I still feel I can improve. I asked my peers how I could improve my presentation and also made my own analysis. For next time, I want to work on:

• Although eye contact was strong, I want to improve it even more
• I want to tell a story
• I want to have a lot of strong research to present, compelling information
• Need a much stronger conclusion to my presentation—didn't prepare enough for this
• Perhaps add more interaction with the audience?

I feel presentations are really important to do well, especially to prepare you for the professional world, where you're constantly trying to get your ideas across, persuade others, and show that you have command of the subject matter. So, I'm going to really try to improve for my final presentation!

Interview: Peter Radsliff

I remember during Portfolio Nite, I was very impressed with Peter Radsliff. Peter was an alumni of SF State many years ago, has been very successful in the industry, and currently is the CEO of his own company. I contacted him hoping that he would be able to provide insight, and he generously offered me a phone interview with him!

He gave very interesting insight and information. He agreed with me that professional practice education and experience is important. He feels that there is information out there that would really give SF State students more readiness when it comes to transitioning to the professional world—to doing interviews, to finding jobs, to functioning effectively in different types of work environments. He stressed that when design and business mix—there is politics involved, and consequently there is a way of doing things to make yourself heard.

We covered a lot of information, and one thing was for sure—there is a lot of information out there that DAI students do not learn in the department, information that would enable us to feel more prepared and to be more successful in the industry after we graduate.

Experts

I have to start solidifying my experts and figuring out who to interview.

Experts

Josh Singer agreed to be one of my experts. He really helped guide me along the way from the beginning, so I feel great that he agreed to become one of my "official" experts and to make sure my research and solution looks solid the entire way. In particular, he's pretty much directly affected by the situation and is also aware of how much we need professional practice education for students, so he's in support of my research study. I definitely have a lot of uncertainty about where I can take this research and what I can do with it, so his feedback is certainly welcome—and crucial.

I was hoping for Professor Melanie Doherty of CCA to be one of my experts, because she would be able to provide such vital information and insight on what the industry needs, what students lack, and how we can teach them. She hasn't responded to me email from a few weeks ago, however. I would really like someone who runs a professional practice class to provide me some wisdom for my research. I also discovered that RISD and a few other schools offer professional practice education courses—I'm going to contact several more people to find not only experts and interviews, but also successful parallel situations.

For my graphics expert, I'm still up in the air about what direction to go. This is because I'm not certain at all what my solution would be, and I feel that having an idea would give me a clearer idea of what kind of visuals I'd aim for and, consequently, which graphic designer might be most fitting as an expert for my project. I have a sense that my research study might leads to a design that tries to convince and persuade. So, I think it might be great to find a design who does very bold designs to become my expert. I will browse some magazines and my design books to find some designs that strike me—perhaps I'll really connect with a designer's work.

Hoping to recruit my experts soon, so I can receive as much guidance as possible for my research! Until next time.

PERT Chart

It's not pretty, but for a reason. My only goal for the PERT chart is functionality.
This is because:

1. my research project, specifically, has a ton of key steps and needs a ton of planning and organization in order for me to successfully move forward,
2. and time management is something I've really, really sucked at in the past.

For those reasons, I'm treating my PERT purely as a functional tool. My timeline can bask in the glory as the aesthetic one!

Here's how my PERT looks so far. Might (by "might," I mean "will probably") update it. If you're wondering, I used http://bubbl.usto create it—free, nifty, and web-based.