Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours. 

• I will be responsible for overseeing, participating in, and directing the completion of the first 32 pages of the yearbook, in order to meet our first deadline date. I will be working alongside the design team and will also be designing a few spreads myself. I will also be assigning work, schedules, lesson plans, and grades to the staff and editors. This will be done through each elective day, after school and lunch meetings, and time outside of school. 

2. Discuss how or what you will do will meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• I will be taking files, photos, and descriptions of what I do every time progress is done on this component. The evidence will be shown in the final design of the 32 pages, which I will post on this blog as each one is completed. 

3. And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

• This will demonstrate my skills as an editor-in-chief, putting me in charge of a student-run publication. It will emphasize the importance of an editorial position, where I will be managing, directing, and influencing the work behind creating a product, alongside fellow staff members and editors within a publication. This component will also allow me to learn the functions of a publication, and allow for a greater deal of involvement in each department of a publication.

4. Link on sidebar.

Cover Madness: We Can Afford Color?!

Hey guys! So my mentor, Mimi, came in to visit during elective today, and I was able to talk to her about the yearbook's progress. She was there to critique our cover design and suggested we keep up the improvements in our production, which we definitely needed advice on. The cover has totally evolved from what we originally had in mind, but for the better. Unfortunately, it's not completely finished, but it will be done hopefully by next week, just in time for our first deadline. Oh man. As an editor, the cover is a big deal. A. Big. Deal. So we often spend a lot of time on it, mocking it up and scrapping it, revising and then deleting. This year is going to be a challenge since it's so different than what we usually do, and it's going to be in full color. COLOR. WE CAN AFFORD IT. Anyways, it was a relief that Mimi was able to come in and give great advice on how to organize the book, as well as the staff's duties. What would we do without Mimi. So after her quick visit, the groups continued working on their stories and spreads. I was particularly focused on helping the designers, checking over some copy with the copy editor, and conversing with the photo team about getting a lot of good pictures to go on the cover.

Elijah and his amazing cover mock up. Be excited.

Hung up some more inspiration from magazines onto the walls for reference.

The Design Corner, E. Garcia and B. Trang. Half of the Fantastic Four.

Some other staff members working on their weekly spread. Cesar is our newest edition to the Design team, and we're starting him off with his very own spread.

Old work from yearbook camp (also my mentorship). The entire feel of the book has definitely changed since summer. A lot of work to do with these revisions... But we're on it. And no, this is not what will be in the actual book. I can't spoil it yet, sorry.

Working with the Copy and Design Editors, B. Posada and N.Q. Phyakul. The progress we've made today is outstanding.

So that was pretty much what happened today. Subliminal advertising time: we need photos for our cover, guys! If you can take some pictures with Instagram or your own camera, send them in to the iPoly Yearbook Gmail. It would be awesome if your photo made it onto the cover. That is all. :)

Blog 6: Second Interview

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

• My mentor is Mimi Orth, and she works for Herff Jones, a publishing company specializing in the printing of yearbooks.

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

• How did you learn about Herff Jones, and what made you want to work for them?
• Can you describe what working for Herff Jones is like?
• What do you like most about working for Herff Jones?
• What challenges did you face in your work experience with Herff Jones, and what did you do to solve these challenges?
• Can you give a brief history about Herff Jones?

*Additional question that I might ask

• How did you choose your major, and how has it helped you in your work?

Blog 5: Project Reflection and Working EQ

The Pentagon: 

(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?

• So far, a positive thing that has happened is starting off the yearbook on a good note, by using what I've learned during mentorship as a guide. For instance, I have been constantly planning and changing what the elective will be doing for the next two months, and how it will be executed onto visual spreads. I've begun to add elements of how an actual newspaper publication is run, so that yearbook can be modeled after it and allow for a better way to cover stories. 

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

• A piece of research that has definitely improved my understanding of editorial publishing would be an article called "So You Want to Be an Editor: Information about a Career in Editing." This article solidified the meaning of being an editor and running an editorial-oriented publication. It also had a lot of information about what qualities and work habits an editor should keep in mind while working in a publication. I like to refer to it often when I find myself looking for ways to turn the yearbook staff into a much more organized and balanced team.

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

• What has worked so far, would be the ease of getting research and information on my topic. I was able to find a lot of information about what editorial publishing is. I was also able to connect it to the Yearbook elective, making it easier on me, time-wise. I can use my experience in Yearbook and running it as a publication during the year to refer back to. 

(4) What hasn't worked so far?  

• What hasn't really worked so far is contacting my mentor. Because she is required to visit every school, every two weeks, in almost every city in Southern California in a slotted amount of time, I have yet to really sit down and talk with her about my topic or get an interview. I do plan to interview her next week or possibly this weekend.

(5) Finding Value:  

•  What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)
• How can an editor best direct a publication to ensure a quality product?

•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it.  
• I plan to work with my mentor at school during elective to teach, direct, and advise the staff while the content of the yearbook (product) is being produced.