Reflect & Present: Rhea’s Design Journey

The Reflect & Present project made me take a closer look at my journey as a designer and the steps that lead to my acceptance to Boston University’s MFA Graphic Design program. This project brought light to the aspects of my design process which I would like to put more importance on and those that I need to change in order to grow and expand my experiences as a designer.

When starting this project, my first step was reading the project brief in order to fully grasp the goal of the project; next, I set out to organize the information I wanted to include in my presentation, keeping in mind that I wanted to tell my audience a cohesive story. Once I was organized, I looked back at my previous work, reflected on my journey and process, thought about all the aspects of my design process in a critical sense, and collected various elements (images, videos, and text) to use in telling my story. Finally, I set out to create a well-designed, cohesive and comprehensive presentation that communicated all of the main points I discovered in my reflection step.

Through this project, I found clarity in my aspirations as a designer and my creative process. I have always had a passion for art and design, but have wanted to combine that passion with my love for communications when it comes to my career; I found that I want to pursue a career in visual communications, including corporate, brand, social media, and web design.

Some companies I aspire to work for include: PepsiCo, Spotify, Instagram, Apple, and Glossier.

I also realized that there were aspects of my creative process that I wanted to improve and some that I wanted to emphasize more:

Creative process map: Graduate Typography 1

1. I should not always focus on the end product.
2. I should experiment and ideate before determining the direction I want to take with my work.
3. I should think outside the commercial realm of design to expand my design skills and styles.
4. I should put more importance on the collaboration and iteration aspects of my design process.

I enjoyed reflecting back on my journey up to the second semester of my MFA Graphic Design experience and learned more about myself and my design practice through the Reflect & Present project.