As my journey to an MFA in Media Design from Full Sail University comes to an end, I’ve spent the month reflecting on various points in the program and the ways in which I’ve benefited from them. Below is a chart documenting what each course specifically has offered me as a hopeful media designer and some personal triumphs I experienced throughout the program. I’ve also included a visual representation of my journey in the form of an experience map that demonstrates some of the high and low points of my year.
| Course | Contribution to my Personal and Professional Development | Contribution to my Thesis Project | Personal Triumph |
| Mastery | Learned what it means to truly become a master of my field and understand my life’s task. | The knowledge from this course was applied to ensure the quality of my presentation met the standards of mastery. | Started my journey with an A for a grade |
| Defining Client Needs | This course helped me understand the relationship between myself and the client and what information I may be expected to uncover through research. | This class introduced me to sketching, which is something I’d never truly done in the realm of design. I carried this through the program into my sketches for my thesis page layouts. | Improved a personal weakness (sketching) |
| Brand Development | The Brand Development course taught me how to define a brand’s core values/attributes and how these things should be carried into their visual communication. | The concepts introduced in this class regarding the importance of how a brand’s core attributes and values should contribute to their visual representation were the focus of multiple portions of rationale throughout my thesis presentation. | Taught myself Illustrator techniques during the Kyoto logo development |
| Effective Copywriting | This course informed me as to the different types of writing that may be needed depending on the project and the techniques used to develop them. On a personal development note, it forced me to perform tasks that I was initially very uncomfortable and unenthused with, which turned out to be very beneficial to me. | There were so many helpful concepts from this course that shed light on how to make our writing as designers as effective as possible. Much of this was applied when crafting the copy, headlines, and captions throughout my thesis to avoid the inclusion of unnecessary information that didn’t serve the presentation. | Taught myself InDesign techniques during the creation of advertisements |
| Design Research | This course allowed me to perform numerous types of research that I will likely end up having to employ during my career as a media designer. It armed me with exceptional research skills that will make me more valuable to employers. | Referencing the research performed was an integral part of justifying my design solutions during my thesis presentation. Solid understanding of the concepts from this course equipped me with the ability to write confidently about why I made the decisions I did for multiple projects. | Learned the history of my hometown through research |
| Organizational Structures | While the previous course familiarized me with the various forms of research, Organizational Structures equipped me with the ability to organize this research in a manner that is in line with industry standards. Further, it was personally valuable in that I was able to produce multiple motion design projects which is at the forefront of my design passions. | The knowledge from this course was applied not only going forward, but to all previous classes as well in that I kept all documents and research tediously organized in anticipation that I may need them down the road. Thankfully this paid off when it came time for the thesis presentation, as I had quick and easy access to all the relevant research I had done and used it to provide rationale for my presentation. | Learned new animation technique during my Kyoto logo animation |
| Design Strategies and Motivation | Both client and product research were key components of this month. Deciphering the differentiation factors between my client and surrounding competitors will serve me well in my career toward developing solutions that set my client apart in a way that stays loyal to their core values and attributes. | As our BoxPark Sushi brand development project was a large part of my thesis presentation, the knowledge gained from this course was invaluable toward it. It allowed me to spend a great deal of time justifying why my design solutions for BoxPark were superior to various competitors and the reasons why they were innovative in comparison. | Applied appropriate critical thinking toward my final solution |
| Design Integration | The short time allotment for the development of an overall visual look and feel for the brand mimicked professional media design situations and forced me to perform and apply research that represent that brand in a manner true to their core values and attributes. | Again, as BoxPark Sushi was a project used throughout my thesis presentation, the concepts and solutions developed in the Design Integration course were integral in providing appropriate rationale. The reasons for visual choices made in this course needed to be strongly justified in the thesis, not simply stated. | Produced a dynamic vision board that I was very proud of under time constraints |
| Multi-Platform Delivery | Industry standard practices and time schedules were mimicked during the quick turnaround of a logo design and its application to numerous types of media assets. | The logo developed for BoxPark Sushi pertained to a large portion of my thesis presentation. Its explanation, justification, and rationale as to why it was superior to sushi competitors informed the problem innovative thinking of the thesis. | Learned new coloring techniques in Illustrator to add polish to my BoxPark Sushi Logo |
| Measuring Design Effectiveness | I was exposed to the importance of discovering the efficacy of design solutions through the use of surveys. This course revealed how the information gained from these surveys can be used to either justify designs or require a change in direction. | Since the results of my survey from this course indicated that the visual communication I developed for BoxPark Sushi was overwhelmingly successful with the audience, it indicated that I would be wise to include this project in various stages of my thesis presentation. | My survey results indicated universal success of my designs |
| Presentation of Design Solution | Applied knowledge gained throughout the entire program to present professional justification and rationale of various design solutions. This was treated the same way as it would have if I were presenting projects to a client, so the upmost of integrity was applied to all aspects of the layouts, designs, and writing. | Much of the information presented in this class pertained to storytelling in design. This information was invaluable toward creating a thesis presentation that was not only informative, but maintained a sense of intrigue so as not to bore the viewer. | Received an A for my thesis presentation |
| Professional Practice | This course taught me the legal, ethical, and moral issues that arise in the field of media design. It opened my eyes personally to my role as a designer being much larger than I had originally anticipated. | N/A | Successfully finishing this fast-paced MFA program was my triumph |
