designlands

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Clarify Your Message

For this assignment I will review and analyse my portfolio website and address the following questions to give a better understanding on what my site is about and what I can do.

When you visit my website, it’s obvious     that I want to pursue for viewers to know what I do, see my past work, as     well be able to contact me for freelance or work related jobs.

When you visit my portfolio / sample     work it tells my audience I know how to produce, film, edit, digital     design and the skill level I operate at.

When you visit my website, you know I'm     available to collaborate on making an idea into a vision as well as     display my skills and past experiences.

 http://www.maliahlivingston.com/

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Industry Resume

When going to revise my resume, I found it helps a whole lot more to know the specific job you are applying for, before actually doing the applying. Before this month I had no clue what Job Scan was but now introduced to it, it can see how life changing the platform can actually be.

 Job scan allows me to copy and paste my resume into any job availability and description to match the percentage I am likely to get the job based on keywords, phrases and experience.

 When doing my first scan I can tell I needed a lot of improvements considering I only go a 32% match. Going back to make revisions it was clear to me that I was using the wrong keywords or phrases. Job Scan gave the advice on the job required word choices that I should change to better match up.

 In my specific case I found I was just using editor instead of Video Editors and then same thing for Producing instead of  Producer. I also went back and made my job title more clear, so the employers can know right away what I want to do and what I’m applying for. I also went back and added a more detailed description on my job experience so I can share the full skill ability of my work.

Old Resume Job Scan Link

New Resume Job Scan Link

New Resume

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Target Audience

For this assignment for Portfolio 7, I created a Google Maps for my top 10 potential jobs In the Orlando, FL area that I would be interested in working for.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dVVpbg4D5nDykjXIqOlidG5DUxNHu3E1&usp=sharing

 When doing my search for my top ten, I wanted to make sure the job company and description was something I would be interested in.

 The first thing I looked for, is if the jobs offer some sort of video production, post production, or design. These are the job fields I would like to stay in after graduation, to give me a basis of work production experience before moving to Los Angeles. The jobs on my list are all the top companies in my area based on reviews and star ratings.

 The second quality I looked for was the team aspect of the company. I would like to start out on more of a medium or bigger team. I believe this will be easier for me to start out and I can learn a lot faster. When looking on their sites I made sure to check the team or workers page to read more about the employees and the company environment. The culture and atmosphere of a company is very important to me because I want to like who I’m working with and who I’m working for.

 The last thing I looked for is how creative the company is. To check this, I looked at their past projects and seen what their stories, editing and messages where like. I want to make sure I have fun at my job and able to use my creativity. The last thing I want to do is work for a job that makes me hate what I’m doing.

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Professionalism

For the final assignment for Wed Design, my Professionalism video is about my thoughts going into the class and what i learned.

Link To Video

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RISE Peer Feedback

https://youtu.be/OpMUFp2QLTI

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Project: Event Site

For his assignment I created an event site for the 2018 Bonnaroo Music festival.

Event Site to Bonnaroo Festival

Are you proud of  what you created here? Why?

Overall, I would say for the amount of time and resources available to me that my site came out pretty good. I do think with more time that I could have added a lot more content but as of now I happy with the look and feel of my site.

Do you understand how you'll leverage this site moving forward? Explain.

Going forth I would say I have a good understanding to leverage my event site. Squarespace made it fast and simple to add and redesign for promoting my next event.

What area of the site is strongest? Why?

I would feel the imagery and the design aesthetics to the site would have to be the strongest of the site. The photography and font are pretty loud and hipster/modern to attract my target market. All together I feel it was pretty effective.

What area do you feel needs the most work? Why?

I fell when going back and revising for the next time I need to improve on the content and how easy it is to find. I would like the site to have more meet to in, with more picture and a better idea of what Bonnaroo is all about.

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Design and Commerce

For this assignment, I identified three points of interest from the Lynda tutorial Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell and Jill Butler.

I wanted to learn about the Golden ration because I had heard about it before and wanted to know more in order to improve my designs. The Golden ration is the scientific formula for design. This helps me to plan out my designs and understand what will make a good design. This will be very vital for me to know for my future in designing.

As a media student, I was always very interested in storytelling and understanding all the aspects of what it takes to make a good story. This part of the Lynda tutorial was probably the most important especially for what I am trying to achieve with my brand and marketing strategy. I believe this will help me create better and more affective content for my website.

 For the third point that I felt was one of the most important subject from the video was consistency. Consistency is very vital to me and more work because I believe that you always need to keep performing and creating or you will eventually become irrelevant in me industry. This also taught me that I need to constantly be updating and improving my myself as well as my work.

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Site Launch

For this assignment, I launched the first draft of ML Productions. ML Productions is my off branch music branding site for up coming artist looking for content, to contact me.Check it out!

https://maliah-livingston-4z7p.squarespace.com

Were the clients company aesthetics     observed?

I did follow the style guide when it comes to the aesthetics. I kept is edgy and modern using the colors from the pallet. I did switch up the font, but I ended liking the new one chosen when it came to the design.

Was the user Interface enhanced?

Yes, I do believe the interface is enhanced. There is a button and contact for on every page to help viewers navagate where to go and how to answer any questions they may have.

Was the user experience elevated?

I believe adding the contact form and the about bottom on every page did elevate the user experience. This gives them direction and makes it simple to navigate.

Were you able to meet all the provisions outlined in your proposal?

For the most part I did meet all my provisions from my proposal. I did slightly change the layout by not have endless scroll. I also switched up my font as well. Other than these minor changes the site came out to my expectations.

What was the most challenging part of the process for you?

The most challenging part was adding the content. Since this business is first starting I don’t have much assets to use, but going forth this will change with more clients and work.

What aspects needed more research?

The aspect I needed to do more research on was how to label my navigation pages. I wasn’t sure what would be most clear to consumers, so I looked at other production sites to see what they did and how use full it was.

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Analysis: Google Trends

By using Google Trends, I can compare key word (on what I would think clients will search for when looking for my website and services for my production design company.

 The first two words I compared was Media Design to Digital Design. I found that digital design is highly more searched then media design in all nations worldwide. Digital design has been searched about 40% more than media design and has constantly had more for the last year. Looking at the charts I can also see that media design has never been web searched more than digital design but the gap is starting to close.

I do eventually think that media design will become more popular of the too as the media industry itself expands. As of now when creating content on my site, using the keyword digital design would be my best bet, but this could change in the near future. Knowing the trend and these highly used key words when looking for a Production company is what’s going to help bring in more potential clients, giving them the service they were searching for.

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CSS Design

For this assignment I watched a linda tutorial on coding. After I analysed three websites that are awesome examples of how html/CSS is used.

envoy.com

For the site Envoy.com I found I really like how modern it was. The site is simple and clean. This kept it easy to navigate and was fairly user friendly. The navigation bar was well organized as well as relevant. Coming on the site I knew right away what is was and what they do. They give you plenty of information in way that was still visually appealing.

creativebloq.com

Creativebloq.com is very well designed and organized. When first landing on the home page the imagery is what gets my eye. They have big visuals, with a modern edgy font that catches your attention right away. When scrolling each blog has their own design but is brought together by the same font. Their style is memorable as well as the user experience. 

www.caavadesign.com

 When first coming on the site what stuck out to me the most was the ascetics. They did a awesome job at knowing their demographic and marketing towards them. You know right away they are targeting millennials by the hipster font and the badge logo style.They have a nice colour palette that comes off inviting and the layout is easy to navigate. Everything is right on the front page. Makes it very easy to navigate with little to no questions on what they do and who they are. 

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Portfolio Site

For week three for portfolio I made a few revisions to my portfolio site. I am still building but as of now you get a since of who i am and what I do. Stay tuned for more assists.

https://maliah-livingston-gbk6.squarespace.com

From my last revision from my previous portfolio site I believe that this revision is an improvement. I feel as if this site is more laid back, relaxed instead of bright and flashy, but it still has my stylistic component with it. This revision makes the site cleaner and more simple navigate. I believe it came out more effective. 

Going forth with my site I know I will continue to improve it and make more assists to add as I go on with my media career. I have had this site for a couple of months now on square space, and I do plan on keeping my subscription with them. It’s a pretty simple building platform that gives you a pretty wide variety for all different types of creatives and will allow me to continue to leverage my site. 

In my future I do have big plan with my site. I would eventually like my site to have a mass of different content with many more pages and sections added to it. As I grow and produce more work, so will my site. The main goal of my site is to have people stay on my site for hours because they are lost in my content. I also would be interested in adding a personal blog and being able to constantly update it a couple of times a week. Then once my site first has my media assists, I would like to then start marketing my music and music channel on my site. Eventually I want my site to be my home for all my passions but I don’t want it to be just a mess clutters. All my assists should still feel connected in a way, that when going through it, everything should feel it goes together.

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For my logo I do believe it fits my personal brand. When looking at it you can get a sense of what my style and feel are. I wanted to go for a stylistic, hipster, modern type of mood. I didn’t want just my name. So, starting out with my logo I just used my initials, which are M L, and started sketching as many different combinations I could imagine. After 100s of different sketches later, I finally designed my perfect logo.

 When designing my personal logo, I took most of my inspiration from music artists, such as Michael Jackson, Carl Cox and The Rolling Stones. These are all artists whose logos are more than just their name but also have an edgier, stylistic feel to their design. I wanted to keep my color simple and limit it to only one. I kept it a one color choice so I can make it dynamic and able to work with all designs.

 I do believe this logo fits me well because it carries an organic yet modern feel to it. I want viewers to see the different elements such as earth, fire and water. I try to keep this an elemental theme throughout my logo, business card and Website. I like this because it keeps my brand connected as well as gives me the freedom to change themes.

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Professionalism: Editing for Web

This is my final video for Editing for the Web this month. In this, I will be self revising myself and work I've done that I learned through this course.

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Fictitious Project Revision

For one of our final project for Editing for the Web, I was given feedback on my fictitious Reel Deal Taco site. For the assignment I went back and made improvements to my site based on the feedback. 

Before: 

After:

Changes:

For my revision I made a quite a few changes. For my home landing page I made my branding bigger so you can see and know what site you are on when entering. I also blurred out the background more with a dark shade to add more contract and clarity to the page text. 

As for my locations page I cleaned up the layout a lot with the hours and schedule. I made the chart more aligned to make it easier to read. i also added text telling you where we are located on the GPS tracker.

On my menu page i went back and made the text whiter so it can stand out better and easier to read. I also darkened the background to help the text stand out as well. I did the same to my about page.

For my News/Blog page I redid the whole thing and actually made it into a blog page invested of just a regular informational page. I had to make it an extra page, with links to lead to the full article.

Overall I'm very happy the way my final revision came out. I believe I made and effective site as well as bettered my web designs skill and had fun doing it the whole process along the way. Excited to see how my Portfolio Site will turn out. Stay Tuned!