Professional Practice and Engagement Week 4


Johari Window

For my Johari Window, I selected the words, shy, sentimental, logical, self-conscious, silly and witty. I also wanted to choose, introverted and dependable but I could only choose six.
So I had five people participate and my blind spot was not surprisingly quite large. 

I was surprised that 'witty' was the most selected word, considering my humour mostly consists of pop-culture references and puns.





What attributes described in Johari Window exercise do you see as key to dealing with clients? 

Out of the traits associated with me, logical, friendly, organised, patient and sensible. Out of the traits not associated with me, I would include adaptable. I think these traits are important because together they create a designer who cares about the clients needs but doesn't lose sight of the actual goals and can deliver creative, appropriate solutions in a timely manner.

What attributes are key to dealing with your colleagues? 

I would say a lot of the same traits from the first question, I believe it's important to work hard, be committed and encourage friendly working relationships with clients and co-workers alike. 


What attributes are key to dealing with yourself? 

Accepting is a pretty important trait. It can be so easy to feel down about yourself and think you're not good enough, so its important to learn to accept yourself.

What attributes are key to dealing with your boss? 

Organised, dependable, logical, adaptable and helpful because they encourage good work and I think when you're at work it's important to be focused on getting the work done and doing it well.

How does this exercise make you think about your position in the workplace (ie. do you think you would be a good co-worker or boss or are there things you think you need to work on/develop?)

I definitely think I'm suited to the 'co-worker' role. I'm not particularly comfortable taking charge but I love being given briefs and working through them alone or part of a team. I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to work on my leadership skills.


Professional Practice and Engagement Week 2




What personality type are you? 

Personality Type ISTJ which means that I'm logical, organised and thorough when it comes to my working style I like to make sure things are done properly and on time. This personality type applies to people who learn best when they deem a subject worthwhile and practical. 

ISTJ's can focus on a task for long periods of time and dedicate a lot of energy, if the task is important to them. They struggle, however, with devoting themselves to tasks that feel unimportant or don't make sense to them. People with this personality type tend to be very introspective and prefer to deal with facts rather than potential happenings, making their approaches to problems generally conventional but well thought out.

Who else (famous people) share this personality type with you? Did the results of this test surprise you? 


Some notable figures in the list of ISTJ personality types included George Washington, Queen Elizabeth II and Sigmund Freud. I did find these results surprising at first but after better understanding some of the core aspects of the personality type, I started to understand why that might be. 

It seems reasonable to assume that all of these people would respect logic and order and prefer to address facts in problem solving tasks.

Do you agree with your personality assessment (why/why not)? 

I do agree with it. I'm a very introspective person who tends to over analyse situations and it is highly important to me that tasks are completed in an organised and timely way. Its also very true that, while I am dedicated to completing tasks on time, I find it very hard to focus if the topic doesn't seem relevant to me or present enough practical applications.

How do you think your personality would fit into the workplace?

As an ISTJ I work best on my own but can adapt to working within teams. Due to my Introversion, I'm not suited to managerial roles and prefer to be assigned tasks. Having a preference for Sensing means that I am more interested in current facts as they stand, rather than the bigger picture or potential future developments, which could put certain limits on my work products. My preference for Thinking means that I will analyse situations more objectively and due to my high Judgement score, I prefer to plan things early, ensuring I'm punctual and organised in my work life.

Professional Practice and Engagement Week 1

Design Show and Tell


What is special about this?


My chosen object is my "POP! Vinyl Big Daddy Figure". I selected this object because the Bioshock series has been a huge inspiration for my art. The game world and character design fascinates me. The games, upon purchase, typically come with books that show the visual development of the world and its many characters, all the way from vague sketches to fully developed, coloured, in-world characters with personalities and backstories. (And I love a good back story.) This depth of development allows the audience to fully immerse themselves in that world and invest in the stories that lie within. 



The POP! Vinyl figure is special because it's a physical representation of that character and its world. Typically these figurines are quite minimalist and subtle in their representation of the character. However, the Big Daddy figure is almost as detailed as the game version, including minor details like bolts and laces, with some models having the capacity to light up like the actual in-game character.





How have you incorporated elements of this into your design work/creative practice? 


Above are examples of the character development sketches of the Big Daddy. The intricate detail in the sketches and the thought and care that has gone into designing each mechanical part is inspiring (note the labelled sketch of the drill and all of its parts). Studying these developmental stages inspires me to take this much care with my own work, and to respect the intricacies of design. 

This expands my general interest in Steampunk/character art and design. The work in this style is very technology based. Creating fictional technologies, characters and worlds requires so much imagination and immersion. So I take these processes and development stage sketches and use them to fuel my own creative thinking in character design. I love building up a character using their visual aspects to design personality, habits, alignments and deviations just as I see in Bioshock's character design methods


What does this object say about your personality and personal style?

Well firstly, for anyone who has played Bioshock, it would tell them that I like games! I believe this object also says I have a passion for storytelling and character design. It might imply that I like things that are a little different and quirky. It also shows that I have a keen interest in the intricacies of technology design, especially in fantastical, fictional technologies.