CLIENT ONE:
Celebration Village
A local retirement and assisted living facility
What the Client Needed
The client wanted to find better ways to communicate with their senior residents and was frustrated with printing upcoming events and last-minute menu changes. Printing costs grew dramatically due to gaining new residents and creating two 5-story living facilities. The client was also unsatisfied with their existing use of digital screen signs due to outdated equipment and poor digital maintenance of files online.
What I Proposed
After many in-house visits and interviewing various residents & staff members, I understood the client's issues and proposed they purchase an entirely new set of digital online signage while keeping their existing flat screen TVs.
Challenges & Things I Learned
Some challenges I had were 1) their limited budget, 2) our lack of knowledge of online digital platforms, and 3) training. To get started, I had to learn the client's history with their existing digital signage - what worked and didn't work. I proactively searched for available online digital platforms and found one through Arreya.com. I called their media manager to learn all about their products & services and created my own set of digital signage for practice. I also learned through physical observations behind the client’s TVs to see what is required to make Arreya work. The client accepted my proposal, but with just 2 TVs to begin with. Through Arreya.com, I created sample slides of upcoming meals, events, and photo collages for the staff to get started with, and I took the time to train the staff how to use the site so they could create last-minute changes without my help.
CLIENT TWO:
Boston Consulting Group
An international strategy consulting firm
What the Client Needed
The client was holding a large virtual meeting and wanted something nice for its Partners – a 3-minute doodling-like video of Partners’ expressions of how they feel about their company.
What I Proposed
I proposed we make the video using my iPhone XS’s camera while I draw all the words & images. I also suggested we add a song to make the video experience more pleasant.
Challenges & Things I Learned
Some challenges I had were 1) picking the right video angle, 2) finding the right whiteboard large enough for me to illustrate everything, 3) discovering iPhone and RAM limitations, and 4) my lack of video editing skills. The client was kind enough to provide honest feedback, forcing me to re-learn and re-adjust my camera angle as well as video speed. Knowing I had to draw 35+ expressions, I chose to draw on a 4’ x 8’ white drywall I’ve set up in my garage. I purchased a tripod to hold my camera still, and I had extra light fixtures added to keep light balanced from all angles. Through multiple rounds of illustrations, I learned that my iPhone XS and laptop both have time AND size limitations while recording. So I bought a new laptop and upgraded my iPhone’s storage space because I knew I had only one chance to make this right. I quickly learned to edit using Adobe Premiere Pro. I was able to patch up (“nesting”) my videos and adjust the speed of the video to match the song I purchased in 123RF.com. Here’s my finished work:
CLIENT THREE:
An Executive Assistant
Serving as P.O.C. for an Executive
What the Client Needed
The client's Executive wanted to send a personalized holiday to one of his clients, utilizing a personal joke between him and his client. The Executive tasked my client to create this holiday card. The client struggled finding the right holiday card online and was getting stressed out. The client reached out to me for help.
What I Proposed
After getting more feedback from my client, I realized the significance of this Executive's personal joke with his client - mainly over this caricature artwork he uses during their Zoom calls. I proposed creating a folded letter-sized card while illustrating both caricatures of the Executive and his client. The client's only responsibility was to take my PDF file to FedEx/Kinko's and have them print this card.
Challenges & Things I Learned
Some challenges I had were 1) figuring out how to use the Executive's existing caricature in JPEG format, 2) not having a drawing tablet to do the caricatures, and 3) creating a unique but simple holiday card that cannot be found in a store or online. The best & quickest way to create the caricatures was to purchase an iPad Pro 2 and an Apple Pen. Both worked like a charm! It helps that I have extensive experience creating digital illustrations on Microsoft Surface Studio 2. To re-create the Executive's existing caricature, I simply took a picture of it and traced it in Adobe Fresco. Within that same program, I also added color to his new caricature. The same process was done for his client. Then I created the outside and inside spreads in Adobe Illustrator; however, I felt the backgrounds appeared weak. I learned that using stock images (from 123RF.com, for example) can be extremely helpful in adding more life to the backgrounds. From Adobe Illustrator, I created the PDFs and sent them to my client.
