Last week, I realized that with all the time I've been devoting to my classwork and projects, perhaps I've been missing out on some of the other important aspects of life out here. I remembered my forgotten list of goals that I made before departing Chicago, and promised to review them for this week's reflection.
For the most part, I've made some progress in each area, although there's definitely room for improvement, especially on the bigger-picture goals and the others that can't be achieved solely inside the classroom. Something to keep in mind at least, as I navigate the next couple years at the JPD.
1) Become a better prototyper (both rapid and refined) - definitely improving with all my design projects in class
2) Learn to weld - had my first experience welding last week, with surprisingly encouraging results!
3) Improve soldering skills and circuit design
4) Become a better sketcher - getting there, between the sketching sessions and art classes
5) Learn to design/spec a bathroom or kitchen (sketching, colors, textures, etc) - learning a lot about colors and textures in Art so far, although not kitchen/bath specific
6) Go from identifying/appreciating good design to being able to create my own good designs - just a slow, gradual process that'll take practice
7) Figure out where I fit in the whole design world and design cycle - hoping to figure this one out in the next 2 years, we'll see...
8) Figure out my true long-term life and career aspirations - ditto...
9) Be less risk and change-averse - definitely feeling more comfortable getting outside my comfort zone, between the supportive Loft community and all the improv exercises
10) Develop my professional network - haven't done nearly enough with this yet, with professors' office hours, seminars, local design events, etc.
11) Develop a new media profile (website, resume, letterhead, etc)
12) Improve web programming skills
13) Become a better photographer/videographer - find myself "seeing" good photos and wishing I had a camera with me more often
14) Improve computer modelling skills
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