PROFESSIONAL PROJECTAMANDA KERN

FALL 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION..............................................................................3

HOW O’REILLY INSPIRED ME .....................................................4-7

PREVIOUS MINDMAPS ...............................................................5-6

HOW 365 INSPIRED THIS PROJECT ..............................................7

FINDING INSPIRATION ...................................................................8

GETTING STARTED ...................................................................9-12

SHARING THE MINDMAP ......................................................13-16

INVOLVING MY CHILDREN .....................................................17-18

SHARING MY WORK ...................................................................19

The Map to My MindThis professional project was created in the fall of 2009 as I was beginning my masters degree at SCAD. As a faculty member at Valencia Community College I was invited to contribute work to our faculty art exhibition. After doing a photography project for most of the year called 365 where I took a photo of myself and my family every day last year I learned the day by day journey of self portraits became such an inspiration that the theme of the show was “self portraits squared” so I was challenged with how to do this in a creative way that was more than just a photograph.

Being a graphic designer it was important that I submit at least one piece that was more graphical and after a lot of thought I decided to do a self portrait that was also a creative mind map, sort of a map of the thoughts that continually go through my head. All typography was hand rendered off the computer and composited later on the computer. Through this process book I’ll share with you the journey I took to creating this project last year.

How O’Reilly inspired meIn 2006 I auditioned to write a book for the Head First series with O’Reilly. I proposed a book on the Adobe Flash program. My audition was approved and I began a journey towards writing a book that would forever change me as a educator but also in how I would think about so many things in life. After spending nearly 9 months on and off working with editors, going through several days of training with a group of new authors, and just beginning to plan and write this book I learned so much about thinking in general. Unfortunately the book never was finished in part due to the fact that the series was no prepared to begin approaching software due to how fast it went through version changes, but also because I had gotten pregnant with my son and I admit that looking back as disappointing as it was it became something that mutually worked out for the best because I soon would be very busy with a new baby and beginning my bachelors degree online at SCAD.

The biggest thing that has really transformed how I think is the use of mindmaps. Though I’ve brainstormed in various ways I have to admit the use of mindmaps in the writing process became a new way of thinking for me and it has since helped me through so many creative and writing experiences.

Mindmaps provided balanceLong after my experiences with O’Reilly I found that mindmaps were a way for me to find balance as I continued to be a very busy individual. I created this mindmap while on a trip to help me organize my thoughts of all the things I had to do, my goals, dreams, and things I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t forget. It became a way for me to clear my mind in almost a therapeutic way doodling my thoughts in a visual form helped me find the balance I needed in my busy life.

Mindmaps in my academicsLike I mentioned, mindmaps became a way to help me think. As I completed my SCAD coursework I found them very beneficial as I wrote research papers. Much like an outline I was able to make a note of important topics and major points I wanted to include in my paper. I would create mindmaps on huge pieces of drawing paper and often was found buried in with my nose in a pile of books as I scribbled notes all over the place.

I also have two children so often times they would doodle beside me on separate paper or as you can see on the bottom example, my son, who was only a year and a half at the time felt the need to help me. I found his scribbles a fun, yet unexpected addition to my notes. Keeping my children beside me as I worked on these projects was a constant reminder to keep me motivated and helps document just how much I have juggled while pursuing my education. Looking back his scribbles on this mindmap was a great reminder of how excited we all were for me to finish this research paper because it marked the completion of my bachelors degree at SCAD.

How 355 inspired this projectAs I began to learn more about photography I challenged myself at the beginning of 2009 with a project called 365. I used the project as a way of helping me learn more about photography by taking a photo a day. I set out to take a photo of myself and each person in my family every single day of the year. In addition to learning my about photography I hoped to use this as an excuse to capture more moments with my family. I look back and photos over the years and as the one who usually takes the photos I’m rarely in photos and I didn’t want my life to pass with out making sure I helped captured moments that my children and family could reflect on many years from now.

The very first day of 2009 my daughter and I elected to do a “to do list” themed photo that was sort of a “mindmap” of things we hoped to do that year, almost like a new year’s resolution. Little did I know how much this silly project and first photo of the year would inspire myself and so many others. As the months passed I learned that the theme of the faculty show was decided in part due to how inspiring my journey with 365 was to others. So when making the decision of what photo to include in my mindmap project I found this first photo of the year to be most fitting photo of me for the project.

Finding inspirationAs I began the mindmap project I did seek out inspiration that would help get my mind thinking more creatively. I’ve included the images I had saved in a folder titled “mindmap inspiration”.

Getting started...I have to say the hardest part of the entire project was getting started. It was tough to really focus on what thoughts I wanted to capture. I began by jotting down a list of thoughts in my notebook. Once I had the list of points I wanted to include I created much of the type first by setting the typography on the computer. Once I had a “rough” position and style I would print up sheets of paper and transfer the thoughts by hand. I rubbed pencil to the back of the print outs and outlined many of the words as best as I could to help emulate the style of some of the typefaces I wanted to use in this project. I wanted to use a variety of fonts to help connect the audience to the variety of my thoughts. Using a diverse, yet selective group of typefaces, allowed me to control how some thoughts would stand out in comparison to others. I also included some logos of companies that were influential in my life such as google, twitter and facebook. I did my best to emulate a hand rendered version of each logo as well.

Getting started...I learned quickly that I had far to many thoughts that I wanted to capture and it was tough to completely layout the entire mindmap on the computer at first. So I gradually added thoughts, then hand rendered some and went between writing and laying out type on the computer constantly. I used a combination of illustrator, photoshop and InDesign during the process.

As I created my mindmap I took a series of screenshots to help share my creative process. I use twitter regularly and found myself sharing my process periodically through twitter. It quickly created a lot of hype for people to get excited to attend our faculty show to see the detail behind my project. On the next few pages I will show images of the mindmap being created to help give you a glimpse of just how much work went into this project. The final project ended up being a 36”x36” gallery wrapped canvas so it was impossible to create and print all the typeset on the computer at once. At times I found my own handwriting to be a worthwhile addition to the project that made it that much more personal.

Sharing the mindmapThe response as I was creating this project was amazing. During the process and even months and nearly a year later I still get people asking me about how I created the mindmap. I have shared some of the process on my blog. I found the close up views to help those that could not see the final project in person.

Involving my childrenTo those that know me they know my children are my world. They are the reason I work so hard and do so much in order to help provide for them and hopefully someday they’ll look back and find all the time I spent juggling so much was with them in mind. Perhaps they’ll find all these crazy endeavors I take on inspiring someday. But right now they are beside me almost every step of the way. When I created this mindmap my son was nearly two years old and he clung to my side for many hours as I worked on all the hand written type. My daughter is at an age where she enjoys being a part of any project I allow her to be involved in. As I worked on this project for countless hours, likely 80-100 hours, I recall her begging me if she could write something to go on my project. It wasn’t until the mindmap was printed that I allowed her to contribute to the project. I wanted to be sure the print I had was one of a kind, and original, and the one that would help me capture and hold onto those little thoughts she added to my mindmap project.

Involving my childrenMy daughter wrote “We love you Mommy!” and drew a stick figure for our family. It makes the final printed project that much more special and unique.

Sharing my workThe final project I had printed on a gallery wrapped canvas. It was 36” x 36” – a massive size that I know would gain attention on display at our faculty show. I knew such a large size would enable viewers of my work to glance at my thoughts more easily and hoped it would draw them in to become more curious of these thoughts that run through my mind often. I was one of a select few faculty that displayed work in the faculty show. I had on display 3 of the total 13 pieces in our faculty show. I received quite a bit of positive feedback at the exhibition and still, nearly a year later, I have people make remarks or express their admiration of this project. Needless to say, this is definitely not the last mindmap you will see from me.