Interior Design File: Hand Rendering vs. Computer Rendering

As an interior design student nearing the end of my degree I try to be versatile in my skills. Many would say that everything digital is all that everyone is using now a days and that you need to master Photoshop, CAD, Revit, Kerkythea, Sketchup,...and the list goes on and on. This is true however, only half true. Designers that I have spoken to still want their potential employees/interns to hand render and draft.
The art of hand rendering and drafting is a skill that I see slowly not being used in classes anymore. However, I believe hand rendering is a beautiful art that I wish I could master. There are some amazing hand renders in the design community that I only wish I could duplicate. Hand rendering to me is more personal, it is your hand expressing emotion in the color, in the texture, in the light.
Computer rendering though, is really fast and helps when projects in school need to be finished quickly. Also, they look really cool and impressive. Some work my other classmates have done are just fabulous! Plus, patterns are easier to apply because you can copy an image and place it into the upholstery of a sofa for instance.
Both these skills are essential to our work and help us explain our ideas to our clients and others. Which do you think is better? Hand or computer or both?

Poconos Dorm: Computer rendering for Residential 2 class using Photoshop (By: myself)

Poconos Dorm: Computer perspective for Residential 2 class using Sketchup (By: myself)

Poconos Dorm: Hand rendering of common room for dorm (By: myself)

Weekend Shine

Happy Friday everyone! Today is finally the night of my Student ASID event. Im super nervous for how it will turn out. I think it will go well, all my classmates seemed excited about it. The name of my event is called...(drum roll) Show/Comp Fall 2013. So basically what that is, is a show/competition for the students at my university to show their work to family, friends, and professionals while also being judged by outside sources on their work for first, second, and third place prizes. I wanted to provide an event that could benefit the students at my university for their future careers. Something like this looks really good in resumes and portfolios, plus it gives them a confidence boost, and an idea of what others think of their work other than our professors. I will definitely be putting up photos next week! Any of you have any special events going on?

P.S. follow my schools Student ASID Chapter on FB for more photos!

Interior Design: Living Room Re-Design

Happy Veterans Day everyone! This weekend I changed and added some minor pieces to my living room. I always want to change things around every few months to go with my mood and where I am at that time in place. I have been reading a lot of blogs and wanted to incorporate some more cozy, fall pieces into my living room as well as move some things around to give it a more spacious look without looking to bare. I am still looking for some art pieces to place on the wall but so far it is looking great and I can really tell and feel the difference. I will be moving to my small dining area next!

Please excuse the mess!

Used the layering rug trend for fall and added a throw and a hug pillow (Target) for a cozier effect.

This is also my first hand woven Turkish Rug!

All pillows from target.

By moving the shelf to the wall I created a more open space for the living room. Plus,

I have a wall for art and maybe a future reading chair where Molly's mat is. (shelf from Ikea)

Possibly my favorite piece from the living room. I waited for this to come out in our

Target stores for about three weeks and then waited even more for it to get on sale! 

The rug has been Molly approved!

Snapshots 11.8.13

This week was a busy,busy week! Finals are around the corner and we all know what that means...projects are almost due. It is so nerve wrecking right! Well, this weekend to get my mind off of school I am actually going to re-arranging my living room and adding some minor pieces to the mix. I tend to change my scenery every few months, I think all interior designers are this way. I definitely will be sharing that with you some time next week but for now here are some snaps from my weeks so far. Have a great weekend everyone! P.S. anyone going to go see Thor? What a beautiful man...

Started Yoga again-trying to keep myself centered.

Attempted a donut pumpkin for Halloween this year.

You can never have too many baskets.

My friend and I did an Islamic inspired interior model for class. We added some 

cool lighting effects. Look below!

Beauty Review: Indie Lee

So, I really want to tell you all about this awesome facial product that I have been using for about 4 months now. It is Indie Lee! Indie Lee is an organic, all natural facial line that I discovered by reading one of my favorite blogs The Sparkle. Immediately something that stood out to me was all natural. I have started to really think about my body and the things I put in it and on it, so this really got me interested. I can honestly say it is one of the best decisions I have made for my face! My skin has never felt softer, brighter, and cleaner in months. Plus, the smell is awesome!! and definitely affordable for what you are getting in return.

Products in Picture:

Brightening Cleanser-smells like strawberry and washes all the day dirt away!

Squalane Facial Oil- this oil helps diminish age spots, and boosts cell regeneration and oxygenation. Leaves my skin soft and nourished.

CoQ-10 Toner- definitely one of the best toners I have used and its alcohol free! Plus has aloe vera for extra hydration.

Interior Design:Computer Rendering

First Floor 

Second Floor

I am so excited to share my first computer rendering! I know its not the best but I am sure proud of myself. I used Photoshop for this rendering application. It took a lot of layering, painting in shadows, and blurring. It took me about two hours to complete but it was so worth it. I really hope to expand my rendering abilities to other softwares. I heard kerkethia is a good rendering (im probably butchering the name). Next comes google sketch up which if you follow my Tumblr or Instagram I have already attempted.

Student Symposium 2013

This weekend I attended Texas's ASID Student Symposium  for the second time. I have to say it was amazing and my team even won 2nd place in our design charette. I had so much fun with all my friends and I met some pretty amazing people. Going to these events is what makes me excited to graduate so I can work with these wonderful designers.

Let me back track a little... You may be wondering what student symposium is? Well, student symposium is an event that ASID Texas has for the interior design students in the state. This event has many activities such as touring showroom, meeting professionals, portfolio review, socials, and panels. I attended for my first time last year when I was a junior and I honestly wish I could have attended when I was a freshman. It was a game changer in my career mindset. 

If you are an interior design student you should totally attend this next year and also get more involved in your design communities. You'll never regret it! 

Here are some photos from my trip...

Snapshots: 10.11.13

Happy Friday everyone! This week I had two major projects due for my studio classes and all I could think about was my weekend trip to Austin where a couple of us went to Lady Bird Lake and tried stand up paddle boarding for the first time. It was a ton of fun! Here are some snapshots from my week so far. 

Happy October!

Portfolio

Portfolios are a big thing in the design industry. How else are employers going to see you skill work? Yes you have your resume, however, designers are visually driven. We like to SEE what your all about. So, since I will be graduating in May I have started a portfolio that I am sure will change once I get more projects done this semester.
Creating a portfolio can be done on any application. I think the best is probably Photoshop but I'm sure others would disagree and agree with me. You should always just use what you perform best with. It took me about a week to complete it since I don't have much work yet to show. It was definitely hard to choose a style and format that I wanted to use, but I think it looks pretty good so far.
Let me know what you think!

Weekend Shine

The weekend is over once again. Boo! This weekend my boyfriend and I made a spontaneous trip home to the Valley to watch the Canelo vs. Mayweather fight. Unfortunately Canelo lost, ugh  I don;t want to talk about it. However, before that we made a quick trip to the farmers market in the AM. I had missed going to the farmers market, I wanted to make it a routine back when I first started going but my boyfriend doesn't really like going with me. This week I am actually going to be focusing on projects and gathering my portfolio together for Student Symposium in October. Look forward to some portfolio posts everyone.

Since I didn't do a Weekend Shine last weekend I am compiling this week and last weeks together. Have a great week everyone!

My finds from this the J.Crew sale last week. I believe I got too many sweaters and its not even cold here yet. My excuse was that it is cold in my classes.

I finally got around to upgrading my bar cart. Goes to show what spray paint and storage can do!

Speaking of storage, I stocked up on some baskets last week so I can store my shoes and linens around the apt. It was getting a little messy and out of control. All of these baskets were from Ross and they were a great price!

Found this awesome ring on Etsy for my bestie and myself. Her's has her initial like this one. 

The Phillip Lim X Target collaboration finally came out this past Sunday. I made it a mission for myself to go out on "opening day" to get this bag! There was only one left when I got there. 

Fashion Week: J.Crew

Happy Thursday everyone! It is almost the weekend and I can honestly say I am extremely excited to get some rest from this week. I have only been in school for 4 weeks and I am feeling the pressure. I have been relieving some of my stress, or shall I say procrastinating, by going through my favorite bloggers/instagramers fashion week photos. I have to say my favorite show so far was J. Crew's Spring/Summer 2014 collection. Love all the brights and patterns! I thought it was so versatile in that you can wear these pieces for professional practice or a casual day at the park. Lets just say my wallet won't be too happy once spring comes around. The men's clothing wasn't too bad either.
 I only wish I could be there. I bet you all are saying the same thing. What was your favorite show?

Weekend Shine

                              Photo from Jcrew Insta account

Hola amigos! Come estan esta mañana? This Labor Day weekend was a very restful weekend for me, thank goodness. I had a rough first two weeks of school and I can already tell I will be having a stressful, heavy workload this semester. Eighteen hours of design classes is no joke people. So, this weekend I slept in everyday and enjoyed a relaxing weekend with my family and friends back home in the Valley. We went Paloma hunting (dove hunting) which is a tradition in my family since I was a young toddler. However, I am sad to say we did not do very well this year. It is mainly because of the drought in South Texas that the birds just went elsewhere to feed. Oh well there is always deer season to look forward to. I'm just glad this is going to be a short weekend. How was your Labor day mini vaca? 

I also was being productive this weekend by starting my senior portfolio for interior design! Very exciting:) I posted a preview on my Instagram ( jocelyn_u09 ) but will be making a posting it here next week. Have a productive week! 

DIY: Dream Catcher

Hey everyone! For my first DIY post I decided to make my favorite symbol/decoration/item...a dream catcher. I have had my eye on dream catchers from a young age. Their creation, their design, their mystical, symbolic meaning of catching bad dreams and being good luck. All of it just catches my eye. I have been wanting to make a dream catcher for quite a while so, last week I decided to have a craft day and craft all the Pinterest DIYs I have been wanting to try. I got the design for the center weave from Pinterest and some inspiration ideas as well. All of my supplies were from Micheals but you can get them from wherever you prefer. 

Items needed:

• Circle for the wreath (I used brown covered wire for bouquets)
• String for the center, preferably cotton string
• Scissors
• Glue Gun
• Assortments of ribbons + charms
• feathers

So I started by making a circle with the wire to look like the wreath below. Once you have done that, tie your string and weave it into the pattern shown in the image below.

Image from Pinterest

After you have finished weaving, you can add ribbons, feathers, and charms by gluing and tying them onto the base or however you feel our dream catcher should look.

Once your done hang it above your bead and say bye to the bad dreams!

Heres my DIY result:

Back to School

TGIF! Yes it is finally Friday and the end of the first week of school. It was a hard first week let me tell you. I was so tired everyday I couldn't even workout cause I would nap so much. Its just something about school that drains you out. Do any of you feel this way?

Going back to school means back-to-school shopping which I am sure we all love! I am absolutely obsessed with stationary and pens. I always go and buy more when I already have a pencil pouch full of pens and pencils. Notebooks, don't even get me started on notebooks. Lets just say I have more than I need. They are just so cute, especially the ones from Target! Speaking of Target have you all gotten the Cartwheel App? I got to say it saved me a pretty penny on my last trip. I highly suggest it if you are a big coupon person, saves you from all the cutting.

Anyway, back to school... good luck to everyone starting their first week!

1. Ikea backback- Honestly, this is the best $20 I have spent so far. This backpack feels like a Swiss Army backpack for less than half the price!

2. Moleskine (lime green) + Green Room notebooks- Moleskin notebooks are iconic notebooks for journalist, architects, and artist. They are wonderful notebooks that will keep your thoughts forever. However, if your going for a lower price with more design then look for these Green Room notebooks. The gold foil is so fabulous!

3.May Designs agenda notebook- I have two May Designs and I got to say it is definitely worth buying. They are hand made and have the cutest custom designs you will find. They also have other notebooks for fitness, baby tracking, wedding planning,  + more. 

4.Kate Spade Ipad + laptop case- What better way to show up to school in style than with these Kate spade cases. Durable and fashionable.

5. Pilot Precise Pen- These are my absolute go to pens. Their precision is on point and I love the way they write. Out of all my pens I grab these first and I have a lot of pens. 

A look back at Summer

Happy Saturday! I absolutely love Saturdays in San Antonio. It seems like there is always something to do. Whether it be the going to the farmers market or relaxing at the local coffee shop (which is where I am currently blogging from) there is always someway to have a good time.
This is my last weekend before school begins again for the fall semester and it seems like I want to pack a bunch of activities into one last weekend before I have to go back to study mode. 

I have to say this has definitely been a great summer. Looking back I experienced many firsts and grew as a person in my personal and career life. I say career life because I have actually gone out and  networked and attended more interior design events this summer than I have during the school year. I never realized how important networking, volunteering, and simply getting your face out there is in the design community. It definitely can help you in the long run. More students really should take advantage of what the professionals have to offer them. 

Okay, so other than working I also had fun and went out of Texas for the first time to go to Disney World, took my border collie Molly to the river for the first time, and this weekend I will be taking a wine tour for the first time in Fredericksburg, Texas. 

I have definitely transformed in these last three months for the better and I hope I have many adventures and experiences in this last year in design school. 

In terms of the blog I will definitely be expanding my posts into different territories such as DIYs, how to interior spaces, and some more consistent postings with my Weekend Shine. 

I hope that all you going back to school are prepared and ready for a new school year! Here are some photos from some of my more resent outings. 

Metrocon 2013 in Dallas, TX 

My favorite chair the Barcelona.

CEO of ASID, Randy Fisher, giving a presentation at Design Within Reach.