CURRENT WEB PRESENCE ANALYSIS

By Julian Serventi

For Dr. Shelley Rodrigo TWC301: General Principles of Multimedia Writing April 25, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary . 1 Introduction ... 2 The Future Professional Me ... 2 The Current Me 5 Bridging the Gap .. 7 Appendix A ... 8 Job Advertisements LinkedIn Professional Profiles Appendix B 9 Current Online Identities

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
After graduating, I would like to continue down the road of graphic design. I have found that due to my degree, Design Studies, I will not be able to apply directly to job opportunities involving Industrial Design. Due to this, I have found that I will have to start at the bottom of a design company and work my way up. From my skills in graphic design, I will be able to start within the marketing and possibly advertising of a product. Should I be successful in this aspect of the design process, perhaps I will be able to join a team when it comes to product design. The current me will have to work hard to build his portfolio if he wishes to become the future professional me. By working well with others and allowing my work to do the talking, I hope to excel within the field of design. Through my work and collaboration with others, I hope to gain knowledge from collaborative work. Through criticism and opinion I hope to broaden my horizons and better myself as a designer hoping to become recognized within the design community.

INTRODUCTION
1

Throughout my life I have always enjoyed making music. From this passion, arose another. My passion from design started when I began playing music with friends in high school. By creating the bands image/websites, I quickly became infatuated with design. I began my college career in music production. This involved recording music and learning about the whole process of mixing and mastering audio. After receiving my Associates in Arts from Scottsdale Community College, I decided to continue my college career at Arizona State University and enroll myself in the design school. I will be completing my degree in Design Studies at the end of this semester. I have been focusing on graphic design, as this was my hobby/focus all throughout high school. I have found work within the world of graphic design and will continue to pursue design through other aspects such as web, stationery, industrial, and interactive to grow my portfolio of work.

THE FUTURE PROFESSIONAL ME

When I grow up I would like to have a career within the field of design. More specifically I would like to find myself with a job in the field of industrial design. I have always enjoyed working with models and wanting to know how things work, creating would be the next best thing. A career in this field would include group work and brainstorming. The group working on the project would work together to achieve a common goal between their interests and aesthetics. Within the profession of industrial design one would be expected to be able to use programs involving rendering, and photo editing/manipulation as well as be able to sketch. All of these attributes would help to further the design of an idea/product from start to finish.

JOB ADVERTISEMENT ANALYSIS From the three professional advertisements, I ranged the choices from junior to a more experienced level of designer within the industrial design field. Higher-level designers are required to have a bachelors or masters degree in either design or some form of engineering. As well as acquiring a degree, an applicant would also have at least two years of design experience. At the junior level, one can expect to find requirements that are more lenient. For example, both junior levels require some form of related experience within their school education.

KOHLER INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER The job at Kohler was my choice for a more experienced designer. The minimum requirements include a bachelors degree in Industrial Design with minimum of two years experience within the field. If hired, one would be expected to maintain 2

awareness of existing products and bring innovation to the product line. One would also be expected to work well in teams as they would be collaborating with others. STRAVA JUNIOR DESIGNER/PRODUCTION ARTIST The job with Strava would be an entry level compared to the previous. The applicant would be expected to have a year of design/production work or internship. They would also be expected to have attention for detail and be an expert within the Adobe Creative Suite. Time management would also be required as the applicant would also be expected to multi-task. Education required would be a degree in graphic design/user interface/web development or something similar to the ones listed. If hired, one would collaborate with other designers to market products and help to create and touch up marketing artwork. One may also be responsible for assisting in the creation of design templates as well as design specifications. MOPHIE JUNIOR CREATIVE DESIGNER The job with Mophie would involve one assisting creative designers in brand promotions, packaging development, advertisements, and video projects. One will be required to have excellent time management as they will be multi-tasking frequently. Collaboration with other creative teams will be a major part of the job. Applicant will be responsible for having a good understanding of digital media as well as branding and interactive design. An attention to detail is also a must. Education required includes a bachelor degree in graphic design, visual communications or something similar. The applicant must also be proficient with Adobe Creative Suite. Social media experience as well as an understanding of HTML would also help an applicant to be hired. From these three advertisements I can see that in order for me to excel within the field of industrial design, I will have to start form the bottom. By proving my worth within the junior offerings, I will be able to climb the ladder within a company and begin to branch out into other aspects within the company. I have found that I posses many of the skills needed for junior level applicants. From experience within graphic design and experience with programs such as Adobe Creative Suites, I will only have to provide previous work to convey my sense of design.

PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY ANALYSIS Henrique Corra Soares Junior is an Industrial Designer. His past work includes working as an Industrial Designer at Focus Design Srl, Tipo D Industrial Design, and Industrial Designer at Design Core at the Brazilian National Council for 3

Scientific and Technological Development. He received his education at the University of Brazil. He received his masters degree in Industrial Design in December of 2008. He states that he is creative, innovative, and a team worker. As a designer he would like to create products that relate to the environment and peoples health. Steve Brown is a Partner/Leader with Experience at MING Group. He is involved with design found in the Greater Boston Area. Past work includes, Director of Design & User experience at Avaya and Nortel, as well as Director with Application Experience Lab at Nortel. He graduated from Seattle Pacific University. His profile is filled with awards and honors. A designer such as this does not even include what he went to school for. He merely shows the work he has done and the many awards he has received for his work in design. Michael Run is a Product Design Consultant. Past work includes Industrial Designer at Beyond Design and STRENG (Design and Innovation Consultation Firm). He graduated from the University of Cincinnati with both a BS in Industrial Design and a Business Minor. He has experience with Adobe Creative Suites as well as experience with rendering programs. He states he is motivated, and seeks challenging work within the design field.

EVALUATIVE CRITERIA FOR INDUSTRIAL/CREATIVE/GRAPHIC DESIGNER 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Degree within similar field of design Works well with teams/collaborators, adaptable Experience with Adobe Creative Suite/rendering programs Attention to detail Great communication, organizational and time management skills

THE CURRENT ME
Between the search engines, google, bing, and yahoo, I found both differences and similarities. From the google search engine, I found that the results were directly to social medias I am signed up for. From the other two, I found that they both came with up results of my content, rather than my information. From the 4

search engines, I found myself instantly. A surprise to me was that I was able to see results of anyone who was associated with me as well. Friends and other projects I participated in were showing up. It was a little scary to see that it is so easy to just search my name and find lots of information about myself. It doesnt surprise me though. Everything I sign up for that I associate my name with will be found in a search engine, even if I am not actively using the service.

ONLINE IDENTITIES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Facebook Twitter Myspace Wordpress Diigo

Although the results do not display work I have done, I have yet to create a portfolio site that will display all of my information. From this portfolio website, I hope that search engines will display it as the first result when my name is searched for with a search engine.

CRITERIA #1 DEGREE WITHIN SIMILAR FIELD OF DESIGN Although my degree is broad, I am able to display my competency within design through this degree. By including education alongside work I have done, I feel as though I am on the right track to apply for jobs within junior fields of design. With the creation of a portfolio site, I will be able to show different aspects of design including web, graphic, and interaction between the user and the website. CRITERIA #2 WORKS WELL WITH COLLABORATORS, ADAPTABLE As I have begun work in the field of graphic design, I find myself constantly having to change a design I have created to meet the requirements of the client. By doing this quickly and in the presence of the client, I am able to show that I work well with collaborators as well as show that I can adapt to the required change quickly.

CRITERIA #3 EXPERIENCE WITH ADOBE CREATIVE SUITES/RENDERING As I have been working with programs such as Photoshop, and Illustrator for many years now, I find myself proficient when it comes to using such programs. I have also used rendering programs such as Rhino and 3D Studio. By continuing to use these programs, I hope to become more proficient.

CRITERIA #4 ATTENTION TO DETAIL I have always found myself somewhat of a perfectionist. I will always take too long on a project with minor details. Details that many may overlook. I find that I have a great attention to detail. With more experience in the field of design I will be able to learn what to look for and what to strive for within a design. CRITERIA #5 GREAT COMMUNICATION/ORGANIZATION/MANAGEMENT SKILLS By working as a contract designer during school I have found that my time management may need to be a little stronger. At times I would find myself putting contract design work before schoolwork. This was hard to overcome as the contract work gave more direct satisfaction compared to school. My communication skills can only get better as time goes on. I have found that I am a very personable person, especially when it comes to smaller groups or one-onon situations. I believe my organization skills would be above average. I rarely find myself misplacing things and usually have a general order to the way tasks are done.

BRIDGING THE GAP

From my digital self, I have found that I have a lot to do in order to grow my portfolio as a designer. My degree in Design Studies is quite broad, this would allow for me to branch out into other fields of design. From previous work/art I have done, I hope to be able to find more work within design. Current weaknesses would involve not having a degree in Industrial Design. Due to this, I would have to begin at the bottom of the ladder and work my way up. Through

junior level design opportunities in Industrial Design, I will be able to prove my worth through my work. By doing this, I hope to eventually become part of the design team working on a new product. Another weakness would involve coding within digital realms. As I have not focused on coding for some time, I would have to research and teach myself more recent coding. Fortunately, I have found that I am a quick learner and with enough time I will be able to understand a new form of coding that may be required for a job. Strengths would include knowing many of the programs used within design. Although I may not be considered an expert with some programs, I find that I am proficient, and with enough time, and perhaps some help along the way, I will be able to understand the programs more fully and use them to accomplish various tasks. Another strength would be my attention to detail. As I have always been somewhat of a perfectionist, I find that I take too much time on projects. I will not let something be considered finished unless I am completely happy with every aspect of it. By incorporating work that I have done and will do in the future into my portfolio, I will be able to advance, and take on more challenging responsibilities within design management and creation.

APPENDIX A

JOB ADVERTISEMENTS KOHLER INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER

STRAVA JUNIOR DESIGNER/PRODUCTION ARTIST MOPHIE JUNIOR CREATIVE DESIGNER

LinkedIn PROFESSIONAL PROFILES HENRIQUE CORRA SOARES JUNIOR STEVE BROWN MICHAEL RUN

APPENDIX B

CURRENT DIGITAL IDENTITIES FACEBOOK

TWITTER MYSPACE WORDPRESS DIIGO