GOV312L – Elections

Start: Aug 28, 2024

Staff Guidance: De’sha

Client: GOV312L EL (Albertson, Theriault)

Description: Updating GOV312 course graphics with a new image of the professors

• Canvas Dashboard
• Canvas Homepage Banner
• Course Pre-roll

I received feedback and decided to add a gray gradient overlay/map so the focus was on the course name. I also edited the Professor’s shirt to be less blue so there is no confusion about the class leaning more toward one political party over another.

Basic Training: Web Accessibility Standards

Activity 1: Find 2-3 infographics. Examine how well they abide by web accessibility. Note if there’s anything you would have changed/remediated (low contrast colors, confusing layout, tiny text?). If they seem pretty accessible, explain why.

Activity 2: Visit some sites in your recent browser history to run one of these automated accessibility checkers to scan for especially salient issues. Jot some of these down and take screenshots, sharing any thoughts you have. Pick a site to help remediate.

Before:

After:

Full Homepage with edits:

9/2/24 – 9/5/24

This week I just worked on various iterations of the icons that will be used in the Voting PSA animation I’m working on.

Here are three mockups I created with some of the icon iterations:

We decided to go with the second mockup! I then got the ok to begin the actual animation.

STA Program… Till We Meet Again

This semester, I will be taking a break from my role as an STA. I have had such a wonderful time being a part of the STA Program in my freshman year. In the fall semester, I worked in the Surplus department where I managed and wiped information computer assets before they were handed over to UT Surplus.

In the Spring semester, I joined the Design Lab and worked on so many interesting projects. I first worked on migrating all digital assets in the Kiowa Calendar Project (https://kiowacalendars.org/) to Github Large File Storage from a 3rd party file storage solution. My second project, The Texas Politics Project (https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/), involved simplifying the code and transferring the project from a previous web framework (grav) to a new framework (custom).

I look forward to returning as an STA. I loved working for this team. Working with both my managers – Stacy & De’sha has been amazing. I will miss their guidance and support as mentors from Day One. Shoutout to the both of them for serving as excellent resources and running the STA program so smoothly. I will also miss working with my fellow STAs 🙁

With that said, I am only taking a break from the STA program and I’m looking forward to focusing on school & being a TA! STA Program, till me meet again.

8/26/24 – 8/29-24

This week, I went right back to working on the Voting PSA animation.

I ended my summer session by submitting two animatics and received feedback on them when I came back for the school year. Here are the two animatics:

Reminder with text:
https://utexas.box.com/s/mpqtar3ozbfy0p95ardilnp6x9ibzwkm

Reminder with clock:
https://utexas.box.com/s/xb9hs0d9d1pns13ufrauaidpw64nv51m

The first animatic was chosen and I was tasked with adjusting it further by changing the color palette. That can be seen in this animatic:

https://utexas.box.com/s/w9d79n9i2dsv19p9b2lq189d457vw1ob

This was approved and I began on the icons that will be used for the animation. Here is the first iteration of the icons I created.

Back From an Insane Summer

I can’t say I had much of a summer break as I spent my summer doing the UT Semester in Los Angeles Program where I essentially worked around the clock. But it was one of the most beneficial experiences I’ve had at UT (besides being an STA of course).

I spent my summer in LA completing internships and taking Hollywood based classes provided by the program. I interned at MorningStar Entertainment and HappyNest Entertainment, 2 very different types of production experiences as MorningStar was mainly a history and true crime documentary production company and HappyNest is a kids animation distribution company. The experiences I gained from both companies was absolutely crucial to my growth as an animation student. While I have many technical skills in animation, I learned so much about pitching, negotiating, budgeting, and the inner workings of producing a well-made story.

While the internship is the main seller of the UTLA program, I’d say some of my most valuable experiences was all the animators I met who were super kind and made it obvious that all they wanted to do was to help animators break into a very scary industry. They were kind enough to get coffee with me and even show me around their workplaces!

I think what I took away most from the UTLA program is how to prioritize my work schedule and realizing that I’m very capable of hard work despite my inner monologue. I was always working and always networking and when I wasn’t working, I was seeing friends and going to different events. I never really had a day off. I not only want to take that work ethic into my career, but also as an STA to make sure the projects I get are up to my best ability.

without making this post too long, that about wraps up my summer! I’m so glad to be back as an STA and continue working with people and making art and graphics to be viewed by thousands of students!