project 1

Robert Wehling

Self Analysis

I hate talking about myself. What is my personality? Am I a professional? What are your communicative strengths and weaknesses? These question and others like it, question who I am. They pose the questions that have not be asked or were put into word to describe who I am. It is tricky thing to explain who I am and what I do.

What are your personality strengths and their weaknesses? I think that I am an easy going person. I am creative and artistic. I like solving problems and find all design interesting on some level. I find myself wanting to finish work, especially when it is with and for others. The other side is what are my flaws. When I start a project I tend to over analysis project and take a longer time to conceptualize what needs to be done. When I don't know something don't say anything, meaning I can't BS my way to the end. I don't have a hard time talking about what a project is, but I have hard just taking about the project when everything is not known. My personality is a easy going, creative, quite person.

What are your intellectual strengths and weaknesses? How smart am I? How much knowledge do I lend? Sometime I wonder how I got to this point. I would say that I am smart, but intellect isn't smarts, it's associating concepts and knowledge and combining the two that sometime baffles me. Intellect is created through the application of knowledge to create new ideas and then applying them to new knowledge. My intellect is seen through my work and the research I do to create with. Knowing exactly what what is the next big thing or where things are going in the world are not my strengths. If I'm ask to do something I can do it and I have the skills to learn how to do it if don't know, the theory behind some work is sometimes lost to me.

Communication is a central part of design. It defines the difference between a good design and a great design. Communication is the key to the function of design. That said, having good communication skills are the keys to the castle. I understand how to communicate in design. I understand how to communicate branding and identity. I even have the skills to create ways to present each my pieces. I don't communicate well. I have trouble stand in front of people and talking with them. If I could get through that I think I would have no trouble making it in the world.

What are my failures and my successes? For while I had no idea where I was going. I was OK at motion projects, but there was no real connection to them. When I started in interactive and web their was whole new door that opened up to me. The biggest epic fail I have had is communication to my peers. In my design studio II class, I probably could have increased my total grade by a letter grade if I had talked to the group more. I have struggled with the right words at the right time my whole life . I would say on the other side is my biggest success, besides continuing to create design that has gotten me through all of this, is find something that keeps me up at night because I what to do better. Interactive is the thing that consumes my life and I really don't mind.

How do I lead a professional attitude that will ultimately create a better working environment? Where do I excel in the professional world? The amount of work towards any project is much more than anyone will admit. On any group project I try to do more than is expected each day. I feel that even when I have good design that isn't picked to be used that it is important to create something that keeps our minds open to the possibility of other ways to see a project than it is to design what is expected. The project always comes back to how I articulate what I am doing. In the professional design world I have to be able to create and articulate that which I have created, and most times I stumble through that part.

At this juncture the perfect job would be one in the interactive or web design field. I like siting down and coming up with project that will impact people. Also I can sit down and code for hours and not get bored. I want it to look good for my peers and the client. I want to work for an organization that wants me to push my design. They need to have a good client base and an good attitude toward the designers. I want to work towards an organization that will want my input.

I need to to be challenged to push myself further than I can go. I want to solve problems. As person I value the hard work within a project to get to the end. The more challenging the problem more I get out of the process. I am one of those people that want to just do and not sack when we need to get something done. In the end it just has to be done and that's what I want to do.

What are my professional interests? Well that is easy: the internet, the mobile intent, how design function for people, how people use design to solve problems, the creative imagination of a person. I like to draw as well. In a professional capacity the drawing opens the possibility for different was to look at he world. My professional interests mirror thing that i am interested in all day every day.

The University of Colorado at Denver offered a wide variety of art degrees, and that's what I was in to at the beginning. On top of the that it was a light rail ride away from my house. Today to get in to this degree you have to be able to pass a portfolio review from the get go. If that was the case when I started, I probably wouldn't have made it in. When I started this degree I knew nothing about design. Now it is all I think about, most days. The degree was a mix of art and problem solving for other people. I could have done a drawing degree without a problem, but digital design is more interesting and made me think more.

All of my work history is non design oriented. Mostly because, until last semester, I really had little idea what I was going to do after this degree. At this point I have good idea of what I want to do and what I don't want. Currently I'm unemployed and guess you could say that I'm a full time student. The problem I had was I wasn't very good at motion design and I didn't know what else there was besides it. I have trouble saying yes to project without have real knowledge of how to get to the end, but as digital kitchen said at their lecture last semester we sell a good idea then worry about how to make it later. So I guess I have all I needs to create for other I just didn't know it.

All design companies have relatively the same needs for the position that interests me. The companies I have chosen were based on the work that is done there, the clients that they handle, and how they present themselves. For the most part the companies create the persona that the are the best of what they do. Sifting through the design firm is like finding apartment, there are qualities that you need and ones you you think are the best and one that you live with. I found six that are nice representation of what I am looking for in a career.

The first is design firm isRoundArch, in Denver. They are firm that deals with mainly interactive design. They call is digital experience design, but it is interactive. They have a wide variety of ideas that they continues to improve upon. Their client are not small, they huge and expect the best. They present themselves well and have creditability in the design world.

The next firm is apativepath in San Fransisco. "Our mission is to deliver great experiences that improve people's lives, while sharing our advances in the field with our clients, partners, and peers." In lay mans term we create experience design that solve problem that help people. The company excels at creating products that keep a keen eye on the users needs. It presents itself in a light of questioning all round them and attempting to answer those questions. They are interesting people.

The1stMovementt is design firm in Denver. "others lead with creativity, we lead with our mastery of technology to better tell your story." It is an interesting statement about their values as company. The people look for new ways in which describe and innovate their design. "Just as music is the synthesis of artistic expression and mathematical structure, truly memorable interactive experiences are a balance of creative form and technical function. The1stMovement represents the structure of technology, creative motion and strategic content all blending to deliver a harmonious result." They look to innovate and reconstructed the surrounding to create better design.

Cooper is strictly interactive design firmly. One of the locations they work from is San Fransisco. The firm creates experience through their design that mirrors their values as a company. "Our specialty has always been bringing clarity to complex situations. We know that "simple" isn't easy and that a breakthrough user experience begins with a deep understanding of people." In a nutshell that's what their book speaks to. They display a high value on how people want to use things and that creates an environment that breed great design. Creating for a propose is why like this design it the first place.

IDEO is one the great names in design of all field. It is their mission to create in fashion that holds up to their standards in the design community. They are located all over the world. Their mission is create design through people's experiences. They start a desing, then push it even further and then begin prototyping. They have expanded they're field toward the user experience side of design, but not limited to strictly digital. "Our values are part mad scientist (curious, experimental), bear-tamer (gutsy, agile), reiki master (hands-on, empathetic), and midnight tax accountant (optimistic, savvy). These qualities are reflected in the smallest details to the biggest endeavors, composing the medium in which great ideas are born and flourish." They were ahead of their time when they started and are one of the lead design firms in the world.

The last firm is Spire Media. Spire Media is smaller firm located in Denver. Their focus is on mobile and web design. The company is privately owner design firm. They believe that their skills and creativity will lead to innovation in design.

Interaction designer are passionate about experience based design. They must be able to push their design further every step of the way. Design is ever changing and creates new ways to see the world. The interactive designer have to move beyond what they know and look at know that is unknown to find the answer to any probelm. They design for people, for the users. Design is how people interact with the world and how designer design for their use.

Robert Wehling

Job Description

The job market is full of opportunity in the interactive field. It was already clear to me that the field of web and interactive design was where I am heading. The purely web designer has become fewer and fewer, people wanting to follow this field must have a good understanding of computer science and low level engineering. The interactive designer is mass of many fields to describe the how the people interact with all things. The combination of the two creates a what interactive designer are now. The interaction designer is a more stable field and has more job opportunities.

The typical interaction has a wide assortment of knowledge and responsibilities. The job I am looking for is an interactive designer. Each firm has its own way of describing this position. All interaction designer must be able to apply their skills to real-world human problems. They must be able to think through and solve problem through design. They must be able to show and articulate what they are doing throughout the working process. A interaction designer don't stop at one answer at look for all of the answers. They need to be able to look beyond what is known and see what is unknown to create innovative design.

The technical skill are know adobe application and the web. Like before the most of the technical skills come in to play in creation of projects. These skill set are not limited to the just software, the interactive designer has to be a researcher as well as a communicator. It is important to note that having the research and communication skills are vital to the success of a project. The technical skills come hand in hand with personality within the work place.

According to my research people in this field can make about 55 k a year. The job requires a lot of different pieces of knowledge and that is why the salary is what it is. The salary directly correlates to the city is which it is located. the salary is found through the work load as well as the economics of the city, and how interaction design is used in the company. Consumer report show that the interactive designer can make between 50 and 75 thousand dollar a year. based on all these factors I should be make the lower end of this figure.

The companies look for an outstanding person with all qualities that will make them a great designer. They want people who are enthusiastic about design. They want people that want create and have a passion for the experience of the user. The design must create a bond with the user. They look at how and why you know and express interactivity through your work. the interactive designer must have all of these qualities to be an integrated part of the company.


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