1

RizzaRaeHarder
Period6
CPEnglish12
Mr.White
November16,2015
SeniorProjectResearchPaper

Fashionislifeandjustlikelife,youmustalwaysexpressyourfeelingsfreely,isa
quotebyAdamaAmandaNdiaye,whoisaSenegalesefashiondesignericameuponwhileIwas
browsingthroughtheinternet.Thisquotehasremindedmethatwhatienjoydoing,iswhati
shouldcontinuedoing.ThisseniorprojectwillbeaninstrumentofexpressingsomethingIfeel
andshowwhatiampassionateabout.Iwanttoshowandprovenotonlytomyselfbutalsoto
myfamilythatlifeisnotalwaysaboutearningthebareminimumofgettingadegreetowipe
otherpeoplesbottomsasanurseandfollowthetraditionofbeingaFilipinowoman.Formy
seniorprojectIwillbesketchinganddesigningtendresses,transferringdesignsintoabooklet
andmakingoneofmydesignsintoanactualdress.Iwillbelearninganddiscoveringalot
throughoutthistaskthatIwillcarryonformyfuturecareerchoiceinthefashionindustry.

Iwasexposedinfashiondesignwheniwasinsixthgradewhenmyclassmate
complimentedmeonmydrawingskills.Atthattimeiwasonlydrawingcharactersfroman
animeshowiwatchedanddressingthemupindifferentdresses.Itistrueasproventhatthe
sayingOnewilldiscoveritstalentfromasinglecompliment.SincethatdayIhadalwayskept

anotebookfilledwithsketchesofmydesignsandithasalwaysbeenasecretthaticanonly
enjoy,sincemyparentswereverybigoncontinuingthelineofnursesinthefamily.Though,
drawinghasalwaysbeenanoption,whenienteredhighschoolididnottakeadvantageoftheart
classespossibleformetopursue,insteadijoinedballetandforthreeyearsiwasstucknot
enjoyingandunhappybecauseiwasdoingsomethingthatiwasnotpassionateaboutandiwas
doingsomethingbecausedanceissomethingthatwascoolandiwantedtobelikeeveryoneelse.
Attheendofmythirdyearinhighschool,idecidedthatformylastyearasasenioriwillpursue
drawingandtakeclassesthatienjoyandwillbenefitmeinthefuture.Eversinceidiscovered
mytalent,ireadmagazines,watchedtvshows,andresearchedaboutpossibledesigncolleges.I
wasinspiredtodreamabouthavingmyownclothinglineandbridalshopindowntownSan
Franciscoasacareerchoice.

Theprocessingettingstartedwiththisseniorprojectwasstartingwithfindingand
decidingwiththerightconcept.Constructingideasofputtingeverythingincludingdesignsis
hardwhenyouarenotinspired.Ihavetotakeatimeoutofeverythingandfindmynirvanato
createpiecesandputitonpaper.Ihavetotakeeverythingstepbystepandthefirststepafter
findingtherightconceptwastofindsomeonethatcouldguidemeandkeepmefocusedonmy
seniorproject.IdecidedthatthebestpersonthatcouldkeepmeontrackonthistaskismyAP
DrawingandPaintingteacher,sincesheisexperiencedandknowssomuchaboutthefashion
anddrawingfield.ShesuggestedthatinordertolearnmoreandbeinspiredistovisitFIDM,a
collegeoffashionanddesignbasedinCalifornia.

Designingandsketchingmightsoundeasybutitisoneofthemostcriticalpartof
creatingapiece.Onemustmustbefocusedontheirconceptandmustbefollowingtheconcept.
Themostimportantthingtoknowbeforeyoustartsketchingistoactuallyunderstandwhether
youarereallyinterestedinthissubject.Youhavetofeelexcitementandjoyonceapen/pencilis
inyourhands.Findinginspirationsisalsohardbecauseanartistcannotjustsitintheirroom
andcreatesomething.Anartistneedstofindaplaceorsomethingthatwillinspirethem,like
doingresearchandattendrunwayevents,orsomethingassimpleaswalkingaroundtownand
lookingforideasaboutthecurrenttrendsandwhatpeoplewouldactuallylikeandweartoget
intothezoneofcreatingapiece.Adesignmustbeuniqueanddifferentfromotherartistsin
orderforpeopletonoticeyouandgetyouastheirdesigner.Detailsanduniquenessisahugepart
thatcouldaffectandimpactapiece.Onemusthaveanideaandvisionoftheirpieceintheir
headsbeforeputtingitonpaperandmakingitintoanactualpiecethatpeoplecouldwear.
Constructingabookletandbuildingcontentissomethingthatiamstrugglingwithsinceihave
noexperienceinpublishing.Ihavetoaskquestionsfrompeoplewhoareexperiencedanddomy
ownresearchabouttechniquesinvolvingpublishing.Makingoneofmydesignsintoanactual
dressisalsooneofthecriticalpartsofthisseniorproject,sinceihavetolearnthetechniquesof
creatingadressfromsketchtosomethingapersonisabletowear.Thestudydiscussesthe
dimensionsofformalityinsketches,intention,appearance,descriptionandinterpretation.One
ofthecomplicationaboutcreatingapiecetoanactualdressisthefinancialaspectsofbuying
suppliesandmaterialsandlearninghowtosewandputtingthepiecetogether.Analternative
optiontothisisinsteadofmakingalifesize,wearabledressistojustcreateaminiatureversion
ofthedress.

Inordertoaccomplishthisseniorprojectihavetolearntheadvertisingtechniquesofmy
task.Scalabilityofpeertopeersystemsmakethenaturalcandidatestoimplementlargescale
publish/subscribesystem.First,ihavetotransfermysketchesintothebooklet,andinorderto
dothatineedtolearnthetechniquesofgraphicdesign.Ineedtoconvertmysketchesintoa
digitalformat,usingprogramslikeInDesign,orscanningmysketchesintomycomputeranduse
photoshop.Iamlearningthetechniquesofgraphicdesignthroughyoutubevideos,andresearch,
sinceididnottakeanygraphicclasses.Afterconvertingpencilorinkdrawingtodigitalformat,
ihavetoconstructcontentandthedesignofthebooklet,likedesigningacoverandputingood
content.Thelaststepofpublicationistolookforpublishingcompaniesthatcouldmakethe
digitalformatcontentsofthebookletintoahardcopybooklet.Inordertoaccomplishthis,ihave
toresearchmoreandfindagoodpublishingcompanythatcoulddothejobformeandpublish
mycontent.Catalogcontentisanimportantpartofthebooklet,andiamgoingtoconstructand
putinmydesignsandtalkaboutthematerialstobeusedandwhatthepieceismadeof.
Globalizationandtechnologicalandcommunicationsadvancementhavemadefashioneven
moreaccessible.

Anothercriticalpartofthistaskisthemakingofthedressfromsketchtoanactualdress.
Iconsultedmymentoraboutmakingmydesignintoapromdressthaticouldwearintimefor
prom.Although,mymentorcompletelydisagreedforshesaidthattheprocessofcreatingadress
ishardforahighschoolstudentinsuchashortamountoftimeandtheexpensesofbuyingthe
materialsisexpensiveforalifesizedress.Insteadshesuggestedthatinsteadofmakingalife

sizedressishouldgofortheoptiononaminiaturedresstolayandconstructitonasmall
mannequin.Theexpensesinordertoaccomplishinmakingalifesizedresswouldrangefromat
leasttwohundreddollarstotwohundredandfiftydollars,includingfabricsandmaterialstobe
used.Theexpensesinmakingaminiaturedressrangesfromfiftydollarstoahundreddollars
includingmaterialstobeusedlikefabricsandamannequin.Alltheseexpensesdoesnotinclude
buyingagraphicprogramsuchasInDesignorphotoshopandhavingthedigitalformatprintedto
ahardcopy,whichcanaddatleastfiftyormoredollars.Also,inthisprocessofcreatingapiece
includeslearningthesewingtechniques,whichiamlearningthroughpeople,videos,andasmy
mentorsuggestedtovisitFIDMtogettheexperienceandlearnmoretechniquesthatinvolvesthe
creativeandconstructivetechniquesoftheprocess.Inmakingadress,onemustknowwhat
theirclientwant.Youmustbaseitoffonwhattheclientfeelsbeautifulandcomfortablein.

Throughoutthewholeprocess,Iwillbelearningdifferenttechniquesandmanagingskills
thatwillhelpmeonmyfuturecareerchoiceinthefashionindustry.Startingfromfindingthe
rightconceptandcreatingapieceandputtingitontopaper,convertingordinarypencilandink
intodigitalformatthroughgraphicdesign,publishingthebooklet,learninghowtosewand
creatingthefinalpiece.Thisprocessisgoingtohelpmeinawaythatiwouldknowthe
techniquesandmanagingskillsofthehardworkofbeinganartistandafashiondesignerbefore
goingintothefashionfieldformyfuturecareerchoice.Iwillsurelybediscoveringmystrengths
andweaknessesintheprocessandthatwillonlymakemyselfabetterpersonandabetterartist
thathaslearnedfromhermistakesforfuturereferencestoreadyherselfforwhattheworldholds
forher.

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