The Education Continues

My first six months out of college have been spent discovering who I am, what I’m interested in, and what kind of career I want to build for myself. I’ve explored filmmaking, event coordinating, media making, coding, UX/UI design, writing, virtual reality, digital marketing, design, and more. What I’ve found is that I like all of these things! In fact, I think all of them connect in some way that I’m trying to figure out. Part of this journey has been continuing my education with online learning tools like Linkdin Learning, Udemy, Freecodecamp, and International Design Foundation. I recently finished two courses at the International Design Foundation and want to share my experience with you! 

The International Design Foundation (IDF) is an online school based in Denmark that teaches courses on User Interface and Experience Design. They offer 25 courses and counting, each one being seven weeks long. Their courses include diverse learning materials such as video lectures, articles, multiple choice and short answer questions, projects, and group discussions. The first two courses I took were called “Become a UX Designer from Scratch” and “Designing for Augmented and Virtual Reality.” I found that the courses cover a lot of information in a way that flows well for the learner. The mix of videos, reading, and activities is also helpful. Below are some notes I took during the course.

I was inspired to learn more about UX/UI design after a workshop I took at Denison through the Red Fram Lab. The workshop was hosted by a local designer from Columbus who taught the group the basics of the process. It was perfect timing because I had just had an idea for an app that strengthens artist communities called GallerWe. Learning more about the design process with IDF has inspired me to continue with the idea and develop the design further. If you’re interested in signing up for e-learning with IDF, you can click here for a personal invite. E-learning is a great opportunity for people to take control of their education, to dabble or dive deep into their interests at their own pace.

Sharing VR

Since my first class in virtual reality (VR) last fall, I’ve had the pleasure to lead multiple VR workshops in both Columbus and Kentucky. My interest in VR and mixed reality (XR) has grown a lot over the last year and I am realizing that I want to make it my career. I love the infinite possibilities of XR and know that it’s going to change the world. The industry is growing at a rapid pace and is virtually unrecognizable from its early launch in the 90’s. The development of hardware is especially impressive. Compare 2014’s Google Cardboard to the Oculus Quest, which came out this year. In just five years, we went from putting cell phones into recyclables to full blown wireless headsets (with hand tracking in 2020). Amazing! If you’re interested in learning about the origins of VR, check out this video on history of Virtual Reality, which surprisingly has its origins back in 1838.

On October 8th, I had the pleasure of presenting alongside some other artists working in VR at VR Columbus. I started attending the Meetup around last year and have met some really awesome people interested in the technology! I shared my mixed media work as well as some of my newer immersive illustrations from the series Other Realms. One of the artists I presented with is Jeanne Dunlap. She creates beautiful animations and shared a project she’s been working on that combines storytelling and meditation in a VR experience.

On the 22nd, I hosted a VR workshop at the Boone Youth Drop-In and Safe Space. We explored Cartoon Network Journeys VR and Late Night Cafe on HTC Vive as well as played Virtual Virtual Reality on the Oculus Go. I also demo-ed how to create 2D illustrations for VR.

Momento360 | View and share your 360 photos and 360 videos, on the web and in VR

On November 3rd, I taught a workshop at the Wexner Center for the Arts teaching students how to create immersive artworks by creating 2D images and converting them into a sphere using a headset. The results were really awesome! Check them out in the YouTube video below.

Trust the Process

Life after college has been interesting. Sometimes it feels like I’m free falling through life (thx Tom Petty). Like land, school is familiar and predictable. There’s a sense of security knowing what’s ahead. Once it’s done, though, everything feels up in the air. As time rushes past me like wind, I remind myself that it’s all a part of the process.

I have met some awesome people and made some new friends in this Kentucky town. I’m keeping busy with filming and projects, but I find myself having mixed feelings about the future. I’m excited about the things I’ll see and do, but I’m also really worried about the fate of this planet. Leadership around the globe, but especially in the U.S. and Brazil, are taking this crucial time for granted as we watch the world burn, literally. Props to Greta Thunberg for all of her hard work.

My friend Oakley and I recently finished the first two “Life is Strange” games, which inspired me to get back into game design. Last fall, I took a VR class at Denison and got to work with Unity. It’s fun stuff, but I have a lot to learn. 

I’m really excited about the future of XR technology in general. XR stands for “extended reality” which includes both virtual and augmented reality technologies. Eventually, the difference between the two will be a matter of opacity, but not quite yet.