We are living in a digital world and I am a digital (design) girl.
School is online and we are staying home. It's not just news but its the life we're living. Of all the weird scenarios that run through my imagination, this was what I least expected. Honestly, I didn't think this would happen to us.
So how was design online?
Interesting.
For me, and my fellow upperclassmen, we don't have mandatory weekly class lectures via Zoom or WebEx. We meet one-on-one with our professors to discuss our projects and progress. My portfolio/design class was a very easy virtual transition because we do most of our work via Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator anyway. However, technical difficulties caused many problems in my workflow. My pieces of advice: do not wait until the last minute to turn in your assignments and TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER DAILY.
However, my tailoring class was not so easy to do online. I, along with some of my classmates, spent the first few weeks of Design Online complaining. There are critical skills that cannot be taught online. But none the less, I persisted. (I really had no choice because my grades were depending on it.) Personally, I did not think that we should have kept our class going. I am a visual learner, I need people to show me how things work. Sometimes I get confused. Tailoring online was twice as hard as it would have been in person. Despite all of the negatives of tailoring online, I managed to find a few positive outcomes.
A) I was able to really learn tailoring methodology and concepts.
B) I improved upon my creative problem-solving skills
C) My research skills greatly improved
In the end, I am glad we kept working.
I think I grew a bit more as a person (and a designer) in this situation. Just because the school "closed", didn't mean my learning stopped. Design Online put my amazing adaptation skills to the test. It also made me more grateful for Marist and the Steel Plant studio spaces. All this to say, this semester was one for the books.
Still At The Computer,
Natalie D. (digital design girl)