sprate20's blog

This week has been a little crazier than most it seems like. For one, I have taken action in creating my website to showcase my work, but also really get back into the process of job searching/ internship searching. I came to a revelation going into this week. It was that I am the only one who can pave my future within the design world, and it starts with my actions. For so long, I think I have been very unsure of myself and although proud of what I have created, being too timid. So I decided to change that attitude. Within one week, I have been able to create a website, update my LinkedIn profile, and apply to 50 jobs within the past 5 days. I must say, very proud of myself, and felt very accomplished for the first time in a long time.

www.samantha-prater.com

This brings me to my creative process. I guess procrastination can get to the best of us. But for me, I think the procrastination was part of my design process that I had never really looked too deep into. Yes, life and many things can get in the way and make it hard for you to focus and prioritize. But for me, procrastination became more of a coping mechanism with me not feeling confident in what I was doing. I shouldn’t have to have people tell me words of encouragement to get me to this very content place. But instead it should be the other way around. This is what I realized this week when devoting time to our Exploration B. It made me wonder, “Why is it so hard to believe in the work?”. This made me dig deeper into my thoughts about the creative process. Without have value within yourself, are you able to have value placed into your work? And if, there is value, would it become more negative as a result? In my personal experience with my work, I have found that I can’t just tell myself, “Hey, you kicked a**!” or “You knocked it outta the park!”. Constantly with that type of mindset instilled within me, I have found that I just cannot cut myself a break. This then takes a toll on my work, and in turn ends up being more safe.

This isn’t what I want to define my work! Being the ‘safe’ one. So what I have decided to instill within my process is that I take a moment to just focus on my successes, realizing that I cannot be the ‘people pleaser’ all the time, and be able to commend my work for being great when the recognition is there. This week was truly a revelation internally that I had found. I now want to really want to spend time devoted on celebrating my successes first, before my failures. I feel a sense of empowerment, that I have been able to take back what is mine, and that is my voice, my value.

Disruptive wonder was something that was touched upon in the video of Kelli Anderson. This is a video that made me very inspired and gave me hope for what is to come by designers. As I had spoken about within the discussion board this week:

“I think it brought a whole new light on how ‘ design thinking’ and how to make the old, reborn again. The whole idea of graphic design I think for the most part has been shrunken to web or print. Many outsiders look at it just as advertising. Many have forgotten that design is through the experience that you go through. I think Kelli nailed this when she talked about the disruptive wonder. Everyday experiences are long forgotten and it is on autopilot within our minds. Now, this is something that should be turned upside down and ‘reinvented’.”

I think I am constantly trying to make my experience through design more of a fun one, as opposed to a stressful, painful one. There Is something about wanting to push the boundaries of what give a design life. I think this was recognized when I was working on my senior project within the Interior Design program. I focused on a company that now is recognized by all, TOMS shoes. I wanted to take a company that is based on fun and a great cause, and highlight this in a playful environment of an experiential museum. It made the idea of charity work, not work, but a subconscious act. Many do not see charity work this way unfortunately, and I wanted to change that, by focusing on the ones of the future, the children. This project, not only was a fun experience for me, even through the little amounts of sleep I endured, but also my viewers. By having fun myself, I think it transcended into my viewers being enlightened and having a fun adventure through the building experience I had created.

This notion of disruptive wonder should be taken into play as a designer. It is something that helps us bring a design to a viewer through a different form that they may not have foreseen. By shutting out this notion, you are shutting off a huge part of the creative process.

So, with that said,

Let the disruptive wonder

Hmmm where to start…..

The process that I applied to Exploration A was definitely very empowering as a designer. I think the collaboration sessions made such a large part to what my overall concept was. I think the biggest downfall that I had to deal with was the printers. I think if I had allowed more time with the actual execution of the design I would have been able to deliver a final outcome that would have matched the sophistication of what I had been able to achieve within the process. The execution is what I think was the biggest piece of what I wasn’t happy with. I plan on expanding on this idea and concept but potentially using this within a video format. I think it would convey the idea of masculine and feminine differences a little bit better.

I think this would be a great piece to add to my portfolio as it is something that I haven’t looked into. I think my success is through my ability to embrace the journey and the process. It is something that over the past few quarters I have been able to debelop and grow from. This is something that made me think, this is what I would love to teach within an education environment. I have such a passion and would love to help other grow and develop within this particular piece of the design field.

Overcoming the fear of not knowing th eoutcome is something that also does help me embrace this particualr Exploration. Just taking it day-by-day, collaboration session to personal design sessions was very relaxing without the constant anxiety. This is what usually will overtake a project for me. I plan on having the ability to continue the growth of this particular concept with the hopes of making a more completed look. I am excited to see what is next to come!!