Practicum is coming to an end soon, about 1 and a half weeks left!! This week, I made final revisions to the tea website that I was working on last week. We presented it to the client on Wednesday and she really loved it! I also got placed onto two new projects. One of the projects (which I’m being put on solo!) is branding for a new mochi donut shop and the other is helping my creative director with concept directions for branding a neighbourhood in the Greater Vancouver region. There was a really tight time crunch that the neighbourhood branding one had to be done by, so I had to work after hours to try to finish it. It was pretty stressful, but I’m grateful that I had my coworker stay with me to work on it together and we eventually got it done! The mochi donut shop branding has been a super fun project to work on. Currently, I’m working on mood boards for two different concept directions, competitive analysis, and naming. For naming, I researched and asked some of my Japanese friends about cute sounding Japanese words that translated well into English.
Mochi donuts!! I haven’t tried them yet, but there’s a new shop that opened in Vancouver and it’s actually quite close to my home. I really want to go!
Competitive research for the mochi donut shop. Seeing what other brands are doing and how their content on social media!
Also, super exciting news – at the beginning of the week, Pivot & Pilot offered me a job as Junior Designer! I was so surprised and happy! Unfortunately, after giving it a lot of thought, I ended up not taking it just because I ultimately want to pursue UX/UI and although I love branding, I feel like I want experience in an Interactive or UX/UI focused company. I was (and still am) a bit nervous about my decision because I feel a bit underqualified for many of the UX/UI roles that are posted, but we shall see how the job hunt goes!!! I’m also glad to take the rest of April off and have a proper break.
My mom bought us some drinks from a new Robson store that has been super popular – Machi Machi. The drinks were pretty good!!
machi machi drinks 🙂
I’ll end this post with another cat update. This is Oliver, who loves to sit by my window when I open the curtains though. He’s literally classified as “obese” though, so he can’t even fit the whole window sill and has to prop half of himself on my bed LOL
I had a very busy week this week at Pivot & Pilot! My week was filled with more copywriting and site design, which I am still really enjoying. I’ve been learning a lot about web design, especially from one of my coworkers, who’s currently taking a UX/UI course at BrainStation.
I had an especially chaotic day on Wednesday because I was tasked to do a project that had to be finished EOD , and the main designer of that project was off that whole day. I was nervous having to make a lot of design decisions (especially because these were all going straight to the developer… to be built on a real live site..). Working in another designer’s file is also nerve-racking because everyone has their own system of sorting their layers in their files, and I didn’t want to mess up all her previous designs. To top it all off, I had to work on all of it in Adobe XD, a program I never learned to use. Luckily, I managed to pull through and learned a lot through the process. Adobe XD is actually a great program and I’m glad I now know how to use it!! I’m still Team Figma though 🙂
Sat in my bed to do work for a bit. I don’t have many available workspaces in my house, but I still try to change up my working environment once in a while.
After that exhausting day, I took my two baby nephews to the playground outside my house to take a much-needed break and some fresh air!
It was getting late and the sun had nearly set already, but the sky was still such a beautiful blue.Me and my nephews!!
Towards the end of the week, I spent a majority of the day remaking the mobile site for P&P’s updated site with Joelle. Even though we weren’t in the same room, it was still really nice working on something with someone else simultaneously. I love Figma and Slack so much!!
Working on mobile site design. Surprisingly took a long while to do (and we’re still not finished!) but I had a lot of fun nonetheless 🙂
For lunch on Thursday, I made some wontons and watched some Netflix. I’ve been really enjoying watching k-dramas for the past few months and have been binging one after the other.
Currently watching “Hospital Playlist”, an interesting k-drama about a group of friends who are all doctors at the same hospital. They also love music and started their own band. I don’t know how I feel about this show so far, but if you’re looking for an amazing k-drama, I highly recommend “Reply 1988” on Netflix!
Lastly, I’ll finish this blog post with a weekly cat update. I planted “cat grass” from a pack of seeds I picked up at a home hardware store. They grew quickly in the span of a week, but my cats are totally uninterested in it. I’m sad about that, because I bought these seeds specifically so my cats would stop chewing on all my other plants.
I just finished my second week of practicum with Pivot & Pilot and, yes, still loving it here! It’s also gotten warm and sunny in Vancouver this week which definitely lightens the mood. I’m grateful to have my cats around the house who love to sit on my desk sometimes while I’m working and keep me company.
Oliver basking in the morning sun, truly living the life.
This week started with helping Lindsey with writing and perfecting all the copy for a restaurant website we are working on. Because the team at Pivot & Pilot is quite small, the designers here have the opportunity to wear a lot of different hats and experience various roles. On that day, Lindsey and I were both copywriters. It was a fun process trying to craft the perfect voice for parts of the site – from hero headings to FAQ answers! Rebecca, the creative director, gave us a lot of good tips and advice on “sales” copy and how to subtly sell a brand/product while still feeling authentic. For the rest of the week, I’ve been working with Joelle on the design of a rehaul for Pivot & Pilot’s site. There was a lot of big design edits to be made so that kept me busy! I’ve come to realize that I really, really enjoy site design for some odd reason.
Current Pivot & Pilot site that we are working to redesign. (This is not the new version)
I treated myself to some delicious lunch at Burgoo on Thursday (which is my ‘Friday’, since I only work 4 days a week)
“After-School Special” at Burgoo! So yummy 🙂
The week has gone by so quickly and I can’t believe I’ve done 2 weeks of practicum already. I definitely want to schedule a couple more coffee chats next week to meet and get to know more of my coworkers!
I started my practicum at Pivot & Pilot this week! Pivot & Pilot (P&P) is a design agency in Vancouver that helps brands in the food, beauty and wellness industries stand out and capitalize on their first impression. The team at Pivot & Pilot is a small and cozy family of six. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has been going on for more than a year now, most practicums are remote-only. I’m sad that I am unable to go into an office and meet everyone in person! We have been primarily communicating through Slack and Google Meet.
Projects are discussed and managed through Slack. It’s also how I message people individually if I ever need help or just want to chat (instead of email, which is less personable). This image is blurred for NDA/privacy reasons, but you get the idea!
Every morning, we have a team check-in at 9 AM. Serena, Pivot & Pilot’s project manager, gives project updates and feedback from clients to everyone and checks in to see what everyone is working on for the day. I like that they do these morning check-ins because it keeps everyone on track, you get an idea of what other people are working on, and it’s just nice to see everyone’s face at least once during the day! At the beginning of the week, I was working on designing social media content for an upcoming podcast that will be released soon. A cool thing I learned was how to make moving soundwave forms in After Effects that syncs with the audio. Later on in the week, I was put on some web design projects which I am super stoked for! The projects are for a wellness brand and a restaurant brand. I sat in on two client calls that were mainly technical onboarding questions to get a sense of what the client already had on their site.
It’s Thursday today and I ordered Indian food for lunch from a local restaurant called Bombay Flame that recently opened in my Marpole neighbourhood. It’s really affordable and so delicious! I ordered the Butter Chicken lunch combo.
Thursday lunch: Butter chicken with naan from Bombay Flame.
Because I didn’t have a ton of work to do for the rest of the day today, I scheduled two coffee chats with two of the other designers in Pivot & Pilot; Jiaan and Lindsey. We talked about their design careers and any tips they had about the industry. It was so great getting to talk to them one-on-one! I learned a lot of valuable advice 🙂
In the Spring of 2019, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Vietnam and Cambodia through a new field school led by Capilano University’s School of Tourism Management. Though this was not a study abroad experience offered through IDEA School of Design, I knew that this was an experience that I did not want to give up. Though the two-week trip was from late April to early May, there was a lot to prepare before studying abroad. I had to attend eight pre-departure classes starting in January. In these classes, I learned some background behind Vietnam and Cambodia, tourism development in these countries, and different tourism topics such as heritage tourism, volunteer tourism, and adventure tourism. Having previously known nothing about tourism as a design-focused student, there was a lot of content to learn, but it was all very interesting.
Riding in a tuk-tuk – my new favourite mode of transportation!
After fifteen hours of riding in a plane, we hit the ground running in Siem Reap, Cambodia. When we first arrived, we were greeted with intense heat. It turned out that we had arrived just when Cambodia was experiencing a heat wave. Every day, it was around 38 degrees. In the first two nights, we stayed at Baby Elephant Boutique, an ethical and sustainable social enterprise hotel. Our main mode of transportation was by “tuk-tuk”, a motorized rickshaw.
Yes, that’s a rat!
During the first day, we went to see visit APOPO, where they train giant rats to detect landmines.
Traditional Rural Khmer house.
We also visited several other NGOs to including ChildSafe Protection, where we learned about the serious issues behind orphanage tourism, as well as Volunteer Building Cambodia, an organization that helps build houses for those in need. On the third and fourth night, we stayed in homestays in Banteay Srey. The homestays were in traditional Rural Khmer houses – essentially wooden houses on stilts.
Before we even made it to the front door of our homestay, there was a group of children laughing and smiling in the front yard and they ran up to greet us. Despite the language barrier, the children were eager to teach me games and try to communicate to me with hand signals and the little English that they knew. We counted together from 1-30 first in Khmer, and then in English. We also sang the ABCs and Baby Shark (How did they learn about that song?!) They showed me their makeshift “monkey bars” made from a fallen sugar cane plant nested between two trees and their “swing”, which was a lowered banana tree leaf that they would grab onto and swing around. Surrounding the house were mango trees, banana trees, papaya trees, and pineapple bushes. Chickens were running around everywhere and buffalos laid low in the tall grass while stray dogs bathed in the sun.
Drinking an excessive amount of water.
Staying in this environment was completely out of my comfort zone but was also a huge learning experience for me. On our last night in Banteay Srei, we had dinner in the middle of a large open field surrounded by trees. The view was gorgeous.
The field where we had our dinner.
We had the unforgettable opportunity to hear from a group of local women who had survived the horrific Cambodian genocide under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. After dinner, the local people played and sang songs as we all danced and laughed together.
The local women teaching us how to fold birds out of leaves.
On our last day in Cambodia, we visited one of the seven wonders of the world – the breathtaking Angkor Wat.
Not sure why I decided to wear a full black outfit in 40 degree blazing heat.
The next day, we flew to Hanoi, Vietnam. Waking up at 3 am, we went on a “Good Morning Hanoi” tour where we watched the Quang An Flower Market unfold. We also visited Hoan Kiem Lake, where crowds of people participated in tai chi and also group dances. Seeing all this made me honestly want to move to Hanoi! I loved how everyone was so passionate in being active and the large presence of community.
The gorgeous Hoan Kiem Lake.
The next day, we visited the Canadian embassy where we met Mr. Robert Bissett, the Counselor for Political, Cultural and Information Affairs. We also had a cultural exchange with a class of students at Hanoi Open University. Aside from attending one of their lectures, there was singing involved too! Their whole class sang I’m Yours for us, while we sang Don’t Stop Believing.
That evening, we hopped onto the Overnight Sleeper Train to Sapa. We were rocked to sleep on the six hour ride until we arrived Sapa in the morning. Once we arrived in Sapa, we commenced on our five-hour trek to the Lao Chai village, home to the Black Hmong people. We hiked through luscious green hills with countless rice patties stacked on top of each other, the water glistening in the hot sun. We came across many stray dogs, ducks, and water buffalo.
Taken during the trek from Sapa Town to Lao Chai.
A family of waddling ducks.
Puppies!
Water buffalo having a relaxing bath in the mud.
When we finally arrived Lao Chai, Eamon, Hedieh, and I were led up to Mr. Chu’s house, our homestay. His house sat atop a steep hill, which revealed a gorgeous view. Peeking through the fog were countless hills and mountains of rice patties. You could see the small village below.
View from the top of our homestay.
The kitchen was nothing like you would see in Canada. The floors were only the barren rock below. There was a fire pit in one corner, and in the other, a large bucket of water. We helped prepare dinner that night with the family. You can see us slicing vegetables and peeling bamboo shoots. We also learned to make Vietnamese spring rolls, which turned out so delicious! At dinner, I tried to make as much conversation as possible, though the family did not speak much English. We still had good laughs and we got to know each other more.
The homestay kitchen. Hedieh and I are preparing the vegetables.
Dinner at our homestay.
Eamon and I racing to make spring rolls.
After dinner, I shared some photos of Vancouver to them and also taught the family how to play Slap Jack.
During my stay in Sapa, we had to work on a CBT (community-based tourism) project. Mandy, Chantelle, Eamon, Hedieh, Victoria, Teresa, and I were in one group, and we were helped Mimi and Ms. Di’s homestay and batik workshop business. Chantelle and I painted two new large signs for the house and our group collaboratively created a flyer and an infographic for the community’s Batik workshops, both translated into seven different languages. Due to the tight time constraint of two days, it made for a crazy and stressful process.
Mandy and I working on a batik.A group of locals came to watch us paint.
The signboards were a big challenge. The only supplies we were given were large house paint brushes and chicken feathers for smaller details. Because the paint we were given was also house paint, it took a long time to dry. I tried to use a blow dryer to speed up the process, which didn’t work. They also didn’t have any rulers, so to somewhat center all the words, I used a stick and made markings on it as a makeshift ruler. Making the most out of what little I had to work on this project was an amazing learning experience. It made me realize you don’t need any expensive supplies to create art. I can now proudly add “painting with chicken feathers” to my list of skills in my resume.
Painting with a chicken feather. Using a water bottle as a paint holder.Ms. Di watching over me as I create my batik, fully aware of how crooked my lines are.
I ended up jumping between painting the signboard, designing the posters, and working out the translations back and forth. We worked each day from 8:30 am to 7 pm, before Eamon, Hedieh, and I had to sprint back to our homestay. While we worked on the project, Mimi and Ms. Di would often stop by and look over our shoulders to see what we were working on. We often asked them if they were okay with how it was looking, and they always gave a big smile and a nod.
Mimi (left) and Ms. Di (right)
Chantelle and I with the finished signboards!
Watching both of them work hard all day whether it was going out to the fields, painting batiks, or creating new handicrafts, it made everything we were doing so much more meaningful. I wanted to offer any skills I had and help them in whatever way possible.
My homestay family!Learning how to work in the rice patty fields. Back-breaking work!
Before long, it was time to leave Sapa and return to Hanoi. It was a tearful goodbye and then we were off to our bumpy bus ride back to the city. When we arrived back in Hanoi, a few of us met up with students from Hanoi Open University. They brought us to try some local street food and a small, hidden cafe where we sang songs together.
Meeting up with the Hanoi Open University students.Hanoi street food!
Later in the evening, they invited us to come on their motorbikes and they drove us around Hanoi and West Lake. This was one of my favourite memories from the trip! The feeling of the cold air hitting my face as we whizzed through a sea of cyclists was like no other.
This photo was taken one second before Thuung (right) took off on the motorbike as I screamed and held on for dear life. West Lake in the background!
I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to visit Cambodia and Vietnam, especially with such a large group of amazing people. Not only did I learn a whole lot about tourism, but I also got to immerse myself in Cambodian and Vietnamese culture and interact with people from the city and rural areas in both countries. I made so many special memories in the span of two weeks, making it difficult to choose which ones to highlight in this blog. It was truly a life-changing experience like no other and I would highly recommend anyone who has the opportunity to apply for this field school.
For our final project of the term, we had the opportunity to work together with Nicole from GDC. She gave us a project brief, some background of the GDC, and some pain points that she was already aware GDC had. In our research portion, I helped create a survey that went out to all of IDEA as well as IDEA alum, identifying the relationship GDC had with design students. The survey generated the results we expected – nobody was really aware of what the GDC offered and subsequently did not see any worth in paying for a membership. For this project, I teamed up with Sara and Sharleen to create an annual mentors conference that would connect students with industry professionals. I hadn’t previously done a team project in this program yet, and I am so glad that it was such a wonderful experience! Between the three of us, the work was split evenly and each member delivered wonderful results. My main role was to create the entire website and logo, as well as make some small collateral including stickers and a pin. We met up on the weekends the work together and had very good communication aomg ourselves. We started off by each bringing in two mood boards of what we wanted our project to feel like. In class, we laid out all our moodboards and discussed what we liked, what we didn’t, and what we thought would connect with our target market the most – while making us stand out from conferences that already exist. When we first met up to show each other what we worked on (during the halfway point), it was very interesting to see that everyone’s work looked like they belonged to together but, at the same time, they didn’t. This was because you could notice everyone’s personal style in their work, whether it was as subtle as their line work or the form of the objects. However, we each have critiques and advice for what we could improve on and how we could stay more consistent.
Working on this project really gave me the experience of working with a real client, creating solutions to answer the brief, and working collaboratively in a group. I would give my group a 9/10 because I believe we created a really engaging, well-thought out event that students would want to come to. The “virtual” component of it is very unique and allows GDC to connect to its members all across the country. We also established a strong visual identity for the event, and created a broad range of collateral.
