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This past week, I’ve been sick which made it difficult to find the motivation and energy to work on my projects.

I just finished my Featured Article assignment in my Layout II class that included images I took of my subject, Morgan Magdanz of Fox Print, and written content from my interview with her. Currently, I need to finish working on my Second Article assignment which has been giving me problems because I was falling far behind on my work in Media Writing. I originally was trying to use Boba 9999 as my local business subject but getting into contact with them has been difficult. Originally, I planned on having The Nail Lounge as my second option, but decided to do Wagoo instead as my boyfriend currently works there, which makes it easier to get into direct contact with the management. I also need to finish my Chef Jacqueline website for New Media Development, and my writing for a business partner. I also have my product label that’s due this Wednesday and have to revise my whole magazine as well.

Definitely a lot of pressure on the shoulders. Learned my lesson to not procrastinate to the last second.

In my social media class this week, I have learned what organic reach is and how it effects businesses that use social media marketing as a way to get their products/services out to viewers. I learned that organic reach has been declining due to how much content is being produced to real-time and that social platforms have to work their way around the algorithm in order to still get their businesses to gain a following. It’s become very competitive due to how easily accessible technology is and being able to post content at a simple click of a button.

This week I have been working on designing two full page ads for Design Development. I chose to do Red Bull and Adobe Creative Cloud and have received constructive criticism on how I can do better. I learned that I needed to apply hierarchy, rearrange my composition to be less decorative and more meaningful, have my headline jump out more to the viewer, etc.

Here’s my before and after for the Red Bull ad.

This past week I have been learning how to use my brother’s Fujifilm camera for photography class and it’s been a struggle but slowly learning.

In New Media Development, we started working on an assignment that focused on creating a UX design project, creating a concept for an app that targets a specific theme.

Coming up with an idea, I think about how I tend to be a part of a debate with my friends when we want to go out but can never agree on what or where. Someone always would submit to the other and then both parties aren’t satisfied with the outcome, especially where now I am at a point when we have busy schedules full of responsibilities that make it more difficult to find time to spend with our close ones. I want this app to help make the decision that both parties can be happy about and to also help with other struggles when it comes to mealtime decisions.

It hasn’t been easy to get settled back into the grind of time management, organizing, and routine of going to class but it’ll be something that I’ll get used to again. This year, my goal is to not procrastinate on assignments, to work more on creative projects outside of what I’m assigned, and to stay organized.

We started the new semester this week and it was definitely a challenge for me to get back into the mindset of going to classes again. I began to gather all the textbooks I needed this year and started to work on the first set of assignments.

I wanted to write this post about what my summer goals are as we are finishing up our classes this semester.

I want to be able to start working on my online shop of selling stickers again but this time, I’m going to start making my own stickers directly instead of using a third-party website. My goals are to finalize my branding style, gather supplies and to continue to use what I learned in my classes.

Wish me luck!

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Jess Chau and welcome to Icarus Projects.

The origin of the name is from my favorite myth, the story of Icarus. It also comes from one of my favorite albums by Zayn, “Icarus Falls”. Icarus will be my online alias and Icarus Projects will be showcasing any of my projects, whether it is graphic designs, media productions, artwork, etc.

On this site I will be posting about my projects, what I learn from my classes, my goals and other types of stuff. Stay tuned for more!