Alex's Wonders

  Hey y’all, welcome back to another weekly blog. This week I wanted to try something a little different mixing vocabulary with creativity. The idea is simple: grab the word of the day from dictionary.com, really understand its meaning, and then flex your imagination by creating seven unique sentences that use it. It’s half word practice, half storytelling, and it’s a great way to shake up your writing brain. Today’s word is “carrack” a large sailing ship from the 15th to 16th century, often used for trade or exploration. Big, sturdy, and built for long journeys across open seas. And with that knowledge in my mind, I went and gave it a shot. Here's what I came up with: The explorer stood proudly on the deck of his carrack , staring at the horizon as if the ocean itself was daring him forward. Legend said the ghostly carrack would appear under the moonlight, its torn sails still chasing treasures it could never reach. Merchants trusted the carrack more than gold itself, for ...

 Instructions Research using at least 5 resources, questions you might plan to ask during an interview. List 10 that you would find most useful in deciding on whether or not to accept a position. This should be a prep guide for you as you prepare for an interview, so please think about the best way to ask each question. Research 1.    BigInterview.com 2.  Interviewing.io   3.  WorkItDaily.com   4.  Zety.com   5.  Monster.com     Questions   1.  How would you describe your management style? 2.  What opportunities are there for professional development and training? 3.  What are some career paths others have taken from this role? 4.  How would you describe the company’s culture in a few words? 5.  What qualities do the most successful people here share? 6.  What does a typical day or week look like in this position? 7.  What are the biggest challenges...

 Instructions Research using at least 5 resources, questions you might expect to be asked during an interview. List 20 that you found most useful, interesting, or unexpected. This should be a prep guide for you as you prepare for an interview, so please think about the best way to answer each question. Research  1.  The Muse   2.  Career Sidekick   3.  Pramp.com   4.  Glassdoor   5.  Indeed.com   Questions 1.  If you were an animal, which one would you be and why?  2.  What’s something new you’ve learned recently outside of work, and how did you go about learning it? 3.  How would you explain [a core skill of the job] to someone with no background in it? 4.  If you could improve one thing about our company, what would it be? 5.  Tell me about a time you had to persuade someone to see things your way. 6.  What’s a professional risk you took, and what did you learn from ...

 Instructions Read/watch a minimum of 5 resources about writing an effective resume. 1 - Provide links to the resources you used. 2 - List 10 things you learned about writing effective resumes. Research Begin with education if you’re a student. Keep resume visually balanced. Emphasize accomplishments, not just tasks. Lead with the strongest section for your background. Proofread multiple times. Prioritize relevance to the role. Tailor extracurriculars to show transferable skills. Use consistent verb tense (past for past roles, present for current). Use “power words” like managed, designed, created. Avoid overloading with colors or graphics.   Resources Cornell Career   Stanford.edu   MIT.edu   Princeton.edu   Zety    

Instructions Find and read 3-5 resources on writing a quality cover letter. 1 - Add links to the 5 resources you read/watched. 2 - List 10 things you learned about writing effective cover letters.  Research   Cut fluff words like “I think” or “I believe.”  Show passion, not just qualifications. Use specific examples instead of vague claims. Use professional but positive language. Reference the employer’s name and role in the opening. Research the employer and show genuine interest. Show excitement for future growth. End by inviting next steps (interview). End with a confident closing line. Avoid repeating your resume line by line.        Resources: The Muse   CareerOneStop.org   Yale.edu   Glassdoor   Monster    

  Hey y’all, welcome back to another weekly blog. This time I wanted to play with an exercise that takes the ordinary and gives it a whole new spin. The prompt is simple but fun: pick an everyday item, re imagine how it could be used, and then build a whole business idea around it complete with a name. It’s basically turning the stuff sitting on your desk or in your kitchen into the next big startup. But without all the nonsense out of the way let me show you what I got: 1. The Umbrella That Never Rests Re envisioned use: Instead of just keeping you dry, this umbrella doubles as a portable shade tent and pop-up privacy booth. Need to escape the sun at the park? Need a quick personal bubble for a call? Boom, done. Business name: CloudCover Co. A lifestyle brand that sells multi-mood umbrellas to city commuters and park loungers alike.  2. The Coffee Mug with a Mind of Its Own Re envisioned use: This mug doesn’t just hold coffee it keeps your drink at the ...

 Instructions 1 - Based upon the jobs you looked at and the requested skills of each, identify a piece you have previously created that you could improve to show you possess the skills being requested, or create a new project to show that you have the skills the employer is looking for. 2 - Create a blog post about this project: who is the audience, what is the message, and what are you hoping to accomplish with the piece, what design decisions did you make, and why did you make each one? 3 - Add the piece to your online Portfolio Content            Hello again! Welcome back to a new week and a new piece that will be added to my collection of projects that are going to end up in my portfolio. Today's post will revolve around a job position that I found very recently that I wanted to give a try, and see if I can create a piece around. So let's get our Social Media fingers on and create this thing.      Humble Beginnings  To star...

Instructions 1 - Based upon the jobs you looked at and the requested skills of each, identify a piece you have previously created that you could improve to show you possess the skills being requested, or create a new project to show that you have the skills the employer is looking for. 2 - Create a blog post about this project: who is the audience, what is the message, and what are you hoping to accomplish with the piece, what design decisions did you make, and why did you make each one? 3 - Add the piece to your online Portfolio Content       Welcome back, y'all! I have a new project, a new piece, and some new information to share with all of you for this week's portfolio piece. While most of my work has been new creations, I wanted to continue that trend. So, what better way than to add to my Miami Dolphins pride, even though some may hate it?       Background time   To start us off, I wanted to get a foundation for my poster, and you may be ask...

  As an aspiring graphic designer, I’ve been thinking a lot about where my portfolio should live. I want a space that feels clean, professional, and ready for me to gush about every project without feeling cramped. Theatrics? Yes, please but nothing so over-the-top that it drowns out the actual work. My main focal point is my designs and my designs only, while it is fantastic to have the animations, and all the juice behind the portfolio I think what suites me best is the great simplicity of letting me vent about my work, and allow the spotlight be on my work. So I’ve been looking at three popular options: Adobe Portfolio, WordPress, and Wix . So here's what I've researched. Adobe Portfolio Pros: Smooth integration with Adobe Creative Cloud. If you’re already deep in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign (like me), the workflow just feels seamless. Clean, no-fuss templates. Minimalism is the name of the game here, letting your work shine without wrestling with too many d...

         Hey y’all, welcome back to another weekly blog. This week’s exercise was a little weirder than usual, and honestly, that’s exactly why it was so fun. The whole idea is to take the first two random objects you see and mash them together into one new creation. The more mismatched they are, the better. Then you give your new invention a name, a tagline, and a little backstory about who would actually use it. For me, finding the items was a little bit difficult, but here is what I came up with: 1. Backpack Umbrella Tagline: “Stay dry without lifting a finger.” Idea: A backpack that pops up a full-size umbrella the moment it detects rain.  2. Pillow Laptop  Tagline: “Work hard. Nap harder.” Idea: A soft, fluffy pillow with a lightweight laptop screen built in. Send that last email, flip it over, and boom, you've got a pillow ready to go.   3. Sneaker Speakers Tagline: “Walk to the beat of your own feet.” Idea: Sneakers with Bluetooth sp...

    Recently, we had a guest speaker in our class, and she had talked a lot about how to use and maneuver our way through LinkedIn professionally and to make the best use of its tools, site, and features. While it was a long chat, here are the five things that I found very useful for myself: 1. With Linkedin, you can post tons of information about your freelance work. This works perfectly for me because I still do freelance work as of now, and am probably considering increasing the amount of work that I take on. 2. I can post these blogs and other blogs that I may make as informational posts about my life and career moving forward. 3. LinkedIn can work as your very own portfolio site, with features of making a featured tab of work, other posts, and media linking tools. 4. LinkedIn groups are the best way to make connections and grow your connections with you desired field, but also with a lot of desired candidates, and clients. 5. While the job posting on LinkedIn can be very ...

 Instructions 1 - Based upon the jobs you looked at and the requested skills of each, identify a piece you have previously created that you could improve to show you possess the skills being requested, or create a new project to show that you have the skills the employer is looking for. 2 - Create a blog post about this project: who is the audience, what is the message, and what are you hoping to accomplish with the piece, what design decisions did you make, and why you made each one? Content  If you haven't read my first post, please give it a read! But what I wanted to start off with this piece is that it is a new piece for my projects. A lot of my style revolves around modern and emotional pieces. I didn't have a lot that I could revise around. But with this specific role with PageStreet Publishing, I felt that a new piece was well needed for what they were asking for. To start us off, a lot of what they asked for is help in their social media department, and a lot of what ...

 Instructions 1 - Based upon the jobs you looked at and the requested skills of each, identify a piece you have previously created that you could improve to show you possess the skills being requested, or create a new project to show that you have the skills the employer is looking for. 2 - Create a blog post about this project: who is the audience, what is the message, and what are you hoping to accomplish with the piece, what design decisions did you make, and why you made each one? Content   For my Project, I wanted to create a piece oriented around the Miami Dolphins and their "Graphic Designer" position that they had available. At first, I wanted to revise one of my pieces that I had created to match what they would be looking for, but seeing as none of my styles had fit their descriptions, I decided I would start from scratch and see what I could try and make from what I had.        First Step At first I wanted to try and make a simple background...

 Instructions For your top 3 jobs, what is the company, what are the company's stated values, goals, and mission? Do they have a Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or other social media accounts? What did you learn about the company from their website? Did you learn anything about the company from Glassdoor, newspaper articles, industry articles, or other online/news services? Are you friends or connected in any way with anybody currently at the company?   My Choices 1. Video and Motion Graphics Editor – Third Way.org Third Way feels like one of those rare places where creative work and meaningful impact truly meet. They’re not just producing content for the sake of it they’re shaping conversations, reaching people who might otherwise scroll right past. As a Video and Motion Graphics Editor, I’d have the opportunity to turn ideas into visual stories that stick. It’s about more than smooth cuts and cool animations; it’s about making something that hits the viewe...

     The design world is vast, and a lot of the job boards that I have scoured through have been absolutely lunatic with the choices and variety. And honestly, the variety is kind of exciting. Some roles draw me in because they match skills I already possess, while others challenge me to think differently. Here’s my personal list of ten design jobs that I’d jump at and why each one sparks my interest. 1. UX/UI Designer - I love the idea of making websites and apps feel good to use, not just look good. It’s the mix of creative design and problem-solving that really grabs me like solving a puzzle but with color palettes and layouts. 2. Creative Director - This one’s a big step up, but the idea of leading creative projects from start to finish excites me. It’s about shaping the vision and making sure every detail matches that big picture. 3. Packaging Designer - Turning something as ordinary as a box or a bottle into a piece of art is a special kind of magic. I’d love to s...

  Welcome back, y’all to the weekly creativity blog! This week’s exercise is all about stepping back from your own mind and seeing things from a different perspective. Sometimes when we’re stuck on a problem, we just circle around the same ideas over and over. But what if you looked at your challenge through someone else’s eyes? That’s exactly what today’s exercise is about. The exercise is all about how you would think someone else would do in your position? So I thought it would be fun to pick five well-known people, imagine how they’d solve a creative problem I’m facing, and see if it sparked something new. The problem I liked was “how to make a project stand out when I’m running low on ideas.” Here’s what I came up with: Steve Jobs – He’d probably strip everything back, make it simple, and focus on one strong idea. 'Don’t overcomplicate it. One big, bold thought is all you need.' Elon Musk – He’d take the craziest, biggest version of the idea and ask, 'Why not m...

 Instructions Based on your story from the previous section, how are you going to tell your story? What will it look like? Here I'd like you to do storyboard for your story. Is it a video, a website, a blog, an e-book...? Will you be using other elements to support it. I would think that whatever your story is, it will probably be, 15-30 frames as a minimum. You can design these in whatever way you'd like, but I would like you to organize them and present them as a blog post. Part 2  For my story, I wanted to provide you guys with a deeper dive into my first blog with a video. While I don't have the great time to make a documentary-level video for myself. I will try my very best to provide you guys with great visuals and clear speech for this video. While I have edited some of my project videos differently, for this video I will try to tune my editing style into how I would usually edit my own YouTube video's which will hopefully add the needed enhancement and engage yo...