Independent Study 2 Approval

1) For my second independent study I plan on working on my portfolio. I want to create 3 more ad campaigns for 3 different products. That would be about 9 more ads.

2) This relates to my essential question because it helps me practice and do all 3 of my answers. I need to concept for the ads, I need to figure out what medium would be the best for that given concept, and I need to execute my ideas!

Independent Study 1

My ad class was 10/2, 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20, 12/4, and 12/11 from 1pm-4pm. Exactly 30 hours.

Literal:

a) I, Clelia Johanna Hernandez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

b) What I completed durring these 30 hours was a portfolio, but I learned so much more than that, and really put more than 30 hours into this. Everyday in class my teacher would just teach so many valuable things about psychology about just theory that greatly helped my understanding of advertising. My first "client" was tapatio, I did 2 ads for that. Then I worked on my second "client" sharpie, and I did 3 ads for that - the tagline of which was "Forever Sharpie". My third "client" was converse, I did 3 ads - titled "The Converse Universe".

Interpretive:

Okay so like I stated earlier, I have worked on 3 different clients - Tapatio, Sharpie, and Converse. Thats  8 ads in total. Now my process for "ad-making" takes a good while. First I have to research the product, which takes a good hour or 2. Then when I finish the researching, our teacher had us create briefs, which took another hour. Finally after the brief is done, we start concepting. Now concepting takes a long time, a person can concept for hours and hours. Its really time consuming because out of every 20 ads you concept, only 1 or 2 are any good. So that is what took me most of the time! Took me hours in fact. Once I had my ideas approved (and sometimes I didn't, so I had to start all over!) I had to execute them, and depending on the ad that could take me 2-4 hours per ad. And thats the process. I had to go through this for EVERY client and EVERY ad I produced. And this wasn't done during class, this was homework. So as you can see, this class was a lot more than 30 hours!

Here are my ads:

Tapatio:

 

Sharpie "Forever Sharpie": 

Converse "The Converse Universe":

Applied:

This class really helped answer my EQ in many ways. My teacher was constantly answering it! He would tell us how an ad without a concept is like an actress without brains, yeah she's pretty but thats only enough for so long. Or he would say that concept is the shepherd that'll lead you to the sheep, or always making analogies about how important concept is, which is my best answer! Also he would help us when we needed help on the execution of our ads. We would all gather around the computer screen and watch him move a logo up and down just millimeters to its perfect spot! I caught onto what a difference a millimeter to the left could make! Which is my second best answer - Execution. He just shaped the way of my thinking, and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to take his class. It changed my life, and molded my senior project.

ESLR Check

1. I think that the best example so far of me being an effective learner is the class I've taken at Art Center, just because I learned how to do what I want to do in life. I learned how to make a brief, I learned what to research, I learned my personal process of creating comps, and my process of actually executing those comps! The next best example would be what I have learned with my uncle, which is more execution things. Like what should go where, the bounding boxes of websites, how to concept for online banners! I have better knowledge of how to execute the comps I do, and also how I can turn a print comp, or concept for a product into an online banner, and the possibilities of these ads!
2. A specific example is what I previously stated, my Ad Class that I took for my independent task 1! I came out of that class with an almost finished portfolio. And thats amazing, before that class I had no idea where to start making, or coming up with an ad, and now i have a process for myself. A process that can work for the rest of my life and career!
3. I think i can improve my ESLRs by learning a lot more about all the different departments in an agency, and also just continuing on my portfolio and making more ads. Because out of 20 ads, you'll only have 1 good one. And thats a fact, unfortunately! Thats how hard this is!

(**The top picture is a converse ad i did : The Converse Universe)

Interview 3 Questions

1. Based on your experience, what defines a successful ad campaign?
2. What are the basic elements needed in a ad campaign?
3. How important is execution in an ad?
4. How important is concept in an ad?
5. Is an emotional connection with the consumer and the ad needed for the campaign to be successful?
6. Do you think the budget for traditional media (tv, print, radio) is going to change in the next 5 years?
7. Do you think interactive, mobile, or product placement is taking priority in agencies?
8. Do you think these answers might change given the different departments in an agency?
9. Is there any common ground within the departments when agreeing to whats important to a successful campaign?
10. What is the most important element in a successful ad campaign?

10 Hour Service Learning Check

Conill Advertising.
      www.conill.com

Pretty much, what I've been doing is learning the in's and out's of agency life. How the meetings go, how the work is done. Also I have been helping my Uncle (Saulo) with the projects he is currently working on. For example his personal online portfolio, Toyota, P&G, Crest, and Tide.

I think that the most important thing I've learned so far is really how the process of getting an ad done is - how elongated it really is. I mean, its not just, "here's the idea, do it" and bam its done. You need to include the accounting team, the media team, the creatives, and the production team! Also a traffic person, to regulate all the work being done, and deadlines and such! There's so much to go through before one even start making the actual ad! I would have never guessed! And hopefully soon I will be able to take part in each department instead of just the Production team!

Independent Study Update

1. For my first independent study I am currently enrolled and taking an Advertising class at Art Center. I'm actually only 2 classes away from finishing.
2. This task relates to my EQ because I'm learning how to make an ad. I'm making ads with concepts and executing them. I currently have 8 finished ads.
3. I have accomplished it all almost. Like i said before i only need 2 more classes. My next step would be to look for my next independent study.

What I've Learned So Far

1. Since I started my senior project, I've learned what visual communication is and how important concept is to an ad. I've learned how to make an ad, and how to effectively comp ideas, make a brief, and execute my ideas. Also I have learned about which ideas work, and which don't. I now know that to start off any idea, use a pencil and paper, because a computer will just mess everything up, and have you thinking about execution instead of concept - which is BAD!
2. Client: Sharpie. Strategy: Forever Sharpie. Creative: Clelia Hernandez. :)