Shane's Mastery Journey Timeline (Magazine No.1)

Shane

magazine

Shane M. Carino

April 2023

Published by Shane using issuu

Creative content created by Shane

Editor - Shane

CONTENTS

Introspection

Overarching Career Goal

Goal to accomplish upon graduation

10 Strategies to accomplish my goals

Timeline

Connections

Closing

#1

Graphic Designer

INTROSPECTION

In this issue of Shane, I talk about my goals, I lay out a strategic plan of attack to achieve my goals, and developed a timeline to launch a lifestyle brand which is my dream. With my dream, I would like to tell my story (and others) through art & design, which I believe is my one true purpose. While reading Mastery by Robert Greene I gained a wealth of insight and tools to help me plan a more effective path to achieve mastery. Greene’s Strategies for Attaining Mastery include: connect to your environment, play to your strengths, transform yourself through practice, internalize the details, and widen your vision (Greene,2013). I have incorporated Greene’s Strategies to Achieve Mastery into my own goals. I believe that they will help me be more mindful of my thoughts and actions along the way. M A S T E R Y

“MASTERY IS NOT A FUNCTION OF GENIUS OR TALENT. IT IS A FUNCTION OF TIME AND INTENSE FOCUS APPLIED TO A PARTICULAR FIELD OF KNOWLEDGE.

- ROBERT GREENE

OVERARCHING CAREER GOAL

Goal is May 4, 2024

“I will design a lifestyle brand” -Shane

SHORT TERM GOAL UPON GRADUATION

-Shane

Goal is July 4, 2024

“I will launch my brand within two months of graduation.”

S T R A

1. I research and understand my target audience.

◊ Use Human-Centric design thinking

◊ Learn the details of the person’s process

2. I write my story to incorporate into my brand

◊ Create meaning and be expressive

◊ Create a new experience

3. I develop my brand identity

◊ Be authentic and purposeful

◊ Promote empathy and individuality

4 Sketch out at least one design or one collection each week.

◊ Iterate often, take notes

◊ Carry my sketchbook and camera with me

5. Find two local suppliers and printers

◊ Research and get samples

◊ Think innovation and sustainability

◊ Price point

T E G Y

6. Build imagery and graphics bank

◊ Take pictures of inspiration

◊ Photo shoots with merchandise

◊ Design my brand’s image

7. Build my website and mobile app

◊ Use prototypes

◊ Design a user-friendly experience

8. Build my community

◊ Use social media platforms

◊ Connect with other professionals through Full Sail, other veterans in the industry and have more classes in the area to develop credibility and a positive presence

9. Create a brand campaign

◊ Create emotion, use evocative imagery and wording.

◊ Tell my story and share it using the right media to reach my target audience.

10. Design a collection/s each month

◊ T-Shirts, Accessories, Hoodies, Posters

◊ Looks, Swim Suits, Skater dresses, Decor

SHANE’S TIMELINE

1. Defining Client Needs

Iwill research and understand my target audience. In this course I will gain more knowledge on how to define the needs of my target audience. I will use these tools and strategies to work towards my goals. I want a human centric brand that is honest and expressive.

2. Brand Development

In this course I will learn more advanced skills in developing a brand. The process of building a brand is very specific. I will use my prior experience and new skills to dive into designing my brand from scratch. I want to promote empathy, self-expression and individuality. Every detail of my brand needs to be very specific to communicate the right message.

3. Effective Copywriting

This course will be challenging for me as I am not a strong writer. This knowledge and set of skills will provide me with more confidence and ways to communicate my brand properly and effectively.

4. Design Research

Learning tools to conduct design research is essential to building any brand. I can use this to understand how my designs will speak to my audience and how to change them to make them even more successful.

5. Organizational Structures

6. Design Strategies and Motivation

Workflow

is important for any designer. I have my own productive workflow when designing ads, laying out a magazine, and also when working on independent projects from my home studio. I will adapt my workflow from what I learn to see what works and how it can become better. There is always room for improvement.

Design is changing every day, so to learn new strategies and motivation towards executing innovative and modern designs will only help my future projects. I will practice and apply new design options to my style.

New delivery techniques and enhancing creativity will allow me to refine my projects. Media design is always evolving and is very competitive. This course will give me methods to push my ideas to the next level.

Pushing my brand to reach a larger audience and to communicate with them in a variety of ways is very important in delivering an ad campaign or just building an audience. I want to learn more tools and ways to make my brand noticeable.

9. Measuring Design Effectiveness

Iwill apply more effective research in knowing how well my target audience receives the designs and how they interpret them. This helps adjust marketing campaigns in order to communicate more effectively with the target audience.

10.Thesis:

Presentation of Design Solution

Iwillget to use my organizational and presentation skills for this large step toward mastery. Keeping track of everything during the next year and really honing in on the details will make for a more professional and polished presentation of design solution.

11. Professional Practice

Putting all of the knowledge and skills to use in the industry will be exciting and just another step closer to making my dream become reality. I will gain hands on experience on how to conduct professional business practices in the design industry.

I will simultaneously be working on my goals as I move through each course in the program. As I head toward mastery I think it is wise for me to do it this way. As I am in the mindset, I can actively push my creativity and skill further to build myself as a person and a designer, while building my brand.

12. Finalize My Brand

Iwill complete a final edit my brand and make sure everything is ready to go! Get it ready for launch! I will use my skills and knowledge to make necessary adjustments and enhance my brand along the way.

GRADUATE & LAUNCH!

7. Design Integration 8. Multi-Platform Delivery

MAKE CONNECTIONS

Making connections,building relationships and developing an overall network is a smart move in any industry.

Finding a mentor will be a key move to setting myself up for success. Full Sail has a wealth of professionals from their faculty to their alumni that I can search to find the right mentor for me and my career goals.

Getting involved in the community is another way to make connections. I do short lectures and hands-on exercises with high school students who aim to work in publishing. I also teach acrylic painting once a month at a local art store. I aim to expand this outreach and do something similar with my personal brand. I would like to tell my story as I feel it may be inspirational for young women or anyone who aims to just be themselves!

At my workplace I have an excellent resource. I work with an editor who is also a playwright and improv style comedian. We work closely together on our publications. I think it would be wise for me to extend that relationship as he would be a great mentor for me heading toward mastery. He has already pushed me and supported me as I layout the magazine each month.

Behance and LinkedIn are also effective ways to make connections. I really enjoy using Behance. I have developed professional relationships, worked on collaborations and picked up some freelance work from that platform. If used smartly, social media platforms can be really effective in building a professional network. My goal is to use all of these resources more often. It can help me achieve my goals.

The World is at my fngertips. Whynotreachout

With each course I am going to apply what I learn to myself and to building my brand. I believe this will be effective and a good amount of time to research, plan, prepare, design and then launch my brand around the time I graduate.

The master’s program as a whole will help me advance these skills from the mastery journal all the way through to the presentation of design solution. Journaling is an excellent tool to dump and organize thoughts, measure effectiveness of my actions and reflect on decisions both good and bad.

The plan revealed in this issue will help keep me on track with my personal and professional goals while earning my Master’s of Fine Arts Degree in Media Design, at Full Sail University. I will simultaneously build my brand while working through each course. I will apply the skills and knowledge to perfect it along the way.

My overarching career goal is to design a lifestyle brand built around my story. My short term goal is to launch my brand shortly after graduation. The strategies I listed on pages 5 & 6 will push my designs, advance my skills and add to my experience that I can later use to help others tell their story through design. Through my brand I want to promote self-expression and individuality.

I will make strategic connections with others to enhance both my professional and personal life. Connecting with other designers will give me first hand critique, brainstorming and valuable, long-term relationships. Some of those relationships could even grow into partnerships and/or collaborations.

Robert Greene’s Mastery has inspired me to look inward in order to follow my dreams and get on the right path to my purpose, which is to tell stories through art & design. While his entire book is insightful I will directly correlate Greene’s Strategies For Attaining Mastery with my own path to mastery.

References

Hau, K. (2022, August 19). How to become an inspiring lifestyle brand: 7 brands that nailed it. Sortlist Blog. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://www.sortlist.com/blog/lifestyle-brand/

Team, H. X. U. S. C. C. (2020, September 4). How to start a streetwear brand from your bedroom. Hipland. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://hipland.co/blogs/hipland-blog/ craig-renwick

Greene, Robert (2013). Mastery. Penguin USA.

“The Future Belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” -Robert Greene