CM-390: Creative Media Internship

CM-390: CREATIVE MEDIA INTERNSHIP - UPDATE #8 FINAL THOUGHTS ON EXPERIENCE

This entire internship process with Tuned Originals was rather difficult, not because of all the graphics work, the traveling, or all the extra responsibilities that took me out of my comfort zone. I will gladly endure all of that stuff for Wayne, he is like a brother to me. This was difficult because I had to watch a good friend of mine go through so many medical issues. It was heartbreaking to see Wayne go through a foot infection that turned into sepsis, that caused a blood infection that made his kidneys fail, and later to have total vision loss from double retinal detachment. This experience took an emotional toll on me.

But I saw a lot of positives with this experience as well. I witnessed a car community come together to rally in support of Wayne. Hearing that he couldn’t make the Tuned Originals event in Seattle, so many people came out to support Dylan and I, knowing that we desperately needed the help. During the Seattle show, when I made my rounds to check up on all of our sponsors and vendors, so many people stopped me to ask me about how Wayne was doing. I felt obligated to tell everyone who asked because they came out to support Wayne’s event.

CM-390: CREATIVE MEDIA INTERNSHIP - UPDATE #7

On Friday, July 26th, I was notified that Wayne Raqueno had lost complete vision in both of his eyes. I later learned that his vision loss was due to retinal detachment in both eyes, which was possibly weakened due to the blood infection caused by his sepsis. Wayne would have to undergo multiple eye surgeries in order to regain his sight.

SOLDIERCON X TUNED ORIGINALS ARIZONA PRINTED HALF PAGE FLYER

I was contacted by Carlos Molina of SoldierCon on creating one side of a half page flyer for their upcoming event in Mesa, Arizona on Saturday, October 26th, which he wanted Tuned Originals to take part. The featured car is Jhae Pfenning’s Macross-themed 1997 Acura NSX, which would fit perfectly with SoldierCon’s cosplaying-themed event. After creating the flyer, I was notified by Carlos that they would be postponing the event until February 2020.

Total hours to complete: 3.5

ROAD TRIP TO VISIT WAYNE RAQUENO IN DALLAS

I made a trip out to Houston, Texas to be there for the birth of my brother’s third child, and help out with babysitting duties with the other two. I would be in Houston from July 25th until August 2nd. Before I left Houston, I wanted to make a trip out to Dallas to visit Wayne. On August 1st, the day before I would fly back to San Francisco, I rented a car and drove 4 hours from Houston to Dallas and met him in his home in Irving. By this time, he has undergone surgery in one of his eyes, but is still completely blind in the other. Additionally, he is still recovering from the infection in his foot that they had to remove that caused his kidney infection. Considering everything he has gone through, he is optimistic and in good spirits. After about an hour of catching up, I drove another 4 hours back to Houston. 8-hour road trip to see my dear friend Wayne for an hour... TOTALLY WORTH IT!

AREA 51 X TUNED ORIGINALS T-SHIRT DESIGN

I was asked to design a T-shirt that would be sold at a charity event in Dallas, TX on Sunday, August 25th that would go towards Wayne Raqueno’s medical bills. Of course, I was 100 percent in! This design was inspired by the recent “Storm Area 51″ rumors and the color of Wayne’s 1995 Nissan 240SX S14 that was featured on Tuner Magazine and pictured on the charity event flyer.

Total hours to complete: 5.0

TUNED ORIGINALS PISTON LOGO T-SHIRT DESIGN

Wayne Raqueno asked me to design another T-shirt that would be sold at another car event in Dallas, in which Tuned Originals would have a booth. The idea I came up with was a double piston logo enclosed in a circle. I created several mockups with different colored shirts, and Wayne decided to go with the green camouflage T-shirt with the orange piston logo on the back and the Tuned Originals logo on the front.

Total hours to complete: 7.0

CM-390: CREATIVE MEDIA INTERNSHIP - UPDATE #6

It is Saturday, July 6th, and Tuned Originals Seattle at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA is TODAY from 4-10pm! Dylan and I are praying for a good weather and good turnout at the event. At this point, we are both beyond stressed, but we can’t let Wayne Raqueno down!

FEDEX KINKO’S

Before we head out to Evergreen Speedway for the event, we need to get a bunch of things printed out for the show, including the judging sheets and the car and spectator registration lists. Dylan and I actually tried to do this last night after departing the Tuned Originals Seattle Official Pre-Party at Sam’s Tavern, but were unsuccessful. We went to a FedEx Kinko’s last night in Bellevue, and waited for 30 minutes for the worker to come back from their break, but never returned. On the way up to Evergreen Speedway this morning, we were able to locate another FedEx Kinko’s in Woodinville that was open. $80 later, we were ready to head to the venue.

Total hours to complete: 0.5

ROLL-IN AND SETUP

Vehicle roll-in is between 11am and 3pm, but we notified Bruce Ching that we would be there an hour early to start prepping. I was in charge of car registration and check-in. Before any of the vehicles were allowed to enter the venue and placed in their positions, I would have to verify that they have previously registered. Anyone wishing to enter their cars the day of the show would have to pay $50, versus early registrants who received a discounted price. Up to that point, roll-in is relatively smooth with a few minor hiccups that we were able to workout with Bruce.

3pm is quickly approaching and there is no sign of Team F7LTHY, a car club from Vancouver, Canada, who we reserved VIP parking at the very beginning of the main entrance. It’s a prime area to be in because as soon as spectators walk into the venue, those cars would be the first ones they see. Dylan and I decided to reserve that area for Team F7LTHY because many of their cars have been highly modified, and the “Best of Show” winner will likely come from their team. I contact J.J. Dubec, who is the head guy at Team F7LTHY, and he says that they are running a little bit late, but they are on their way to the venue. I contact Bruce Ching and notify him that we will be extending the roll-in time to 4pm to accommodate Team F7LTHY. It is 3:20pm and Dylan is worried that Team F7LTHY will flake on our event, which means we would have to scramble to fill that front area with cars at the very last minute. I told Dylan to wait until 4pm because they will be here. It’s 3:30pm, and Team F7LTHY finally arrives, and we were able to get them all situated before the start of the show at 4pm.

Line of registered cars waiting to get inside the Evergreen Speedway.

Lawrence Ojas of Intec Racing and I checking to see how many more cars we can fit inside the venue.

Total hours to complete: 6.0

TUNED ORIGINALS SEATTLE

The show officially started at 4pm. While Dylan is in charge of car judging, which will pretty much take the entire show until about 9pm, my job was pretty basic... Check up on everyone to make sure everything runs smoothly. Sounds simple enough, but this involves making sure no one starts or moves their vehicles during the show, checking up on our sponsors and vendors, dealing with any show-related issues that come up, and checking up on Bruce Ching once in awhile to make sure we are not running into any problems with the track. Luckily, only a few minor issues arise during the show that was quickly dealt with.

At the end of the night, Wayne normally presents the awards to all the winners. With Wayne not there, that job goes to either Dylan or I. Because he was the head judge, I suggested Dylan should be the one handing out the trophies. But for some reason or another, Dylan didn’t want to get up on stage, so that responsibility fell on me... And I’m glad it did! Seeing the happy faces of all the people who put so much hard work and hours into their cars to receive a couple pieces of laser engraved acrylic is rewarding and an honor in itself! I hope I did Wayne proud!

It’s a beautiful day for a car show at Evergreen Speedway.

Mallory Tatman’s 2011 Subaru WRX STi took home the “Best Subaru” and “Best Interior” trophies.

Team Notorious VQS is fully represented at Tuned Originals Seattle.

Gorman Eng of GT Entertainment and I got caught taking a break behind the model lounge.

J.J. Dubec’s 2017 Widebody Acura NSX of Team F7LTHY ended up winning the “Best of Show” award.

Dylan Ketrow and I waiting for the award ceremony to start.

Handing out the awards to all the winners was my favorite part of the day!

Total hours to complete: 6.0

ROLLOUT AND CLEANUP

Now that the award ceremony is complete, the show cars can finally rollout. Dylan and I are posted at the exit gate and waving goodbye to all the car owners as they depart as a way of thanking them for their support of our show. After all the vehicles have exited the track, Dylan and I have the daunting task of cleaning up. Fortunately, we have several volunteers that stuck around to help us out. We couldn’t leave until all the tables and chairs were stacked and put away, any large boxes broken down and properly disposed, and any large trash thrown away. After all of that was done, I call Bruce Ching to let him know that we completed all the tasks and we were ready to leave. Bruce reminds me that he will be having surgery on Monday, so he will not be able to attend our final meeting. Dylan and I finally leave Evergreen Speedway at 12:30am.

Total hours to complete: 2.5

BUSINESS MEETING/LUNCH AT DIN TAI FUNG IN BELLEVUE

It is Sunday, July 7th, the day after the show. It is tradition for Wayne Raqueno to treat some of our sponsors from the show to lunch or dinner as a way of thanking them for their support. I did not want to break tradition, so I invited some of our Seattle sponsors and spokesmodels for lunch at Din Tai Fung in Bellevue. Din Tai Fung has the best Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings). Although we enjoyed amazing food and even better company, this was also an excellent opportunity to get everyone’s input on how the show went and things to improve on next year. Before I could pay for the bill, Gorman Eng decides to front the bill again... That bastard!

Left to right: Tia Li, Gorman Eng, Kristina Chai, Dylan Ketrow, myself, Tamiko Lee, Paige Campbell, and BJ Ta.

Total hours to complete: 2.0

MEETING WITH DOUG HOBBS OF EVERGREEN SPEEDWAY

It is Monday, July 8th, and before departing Seattle, I meet up with Doug Hobbs, President and CEO of Evergreen Speedway to discuss the numbers and how the event did. Normally, this would be a private meeting between Doug Hobbs, Wayne Raqueno, and Bruce Ching, but Wayne is recovering in Dallas and Bruce is in surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Before the meeting concludes, Doug hands me a check for Tuned Originals portion of the ticket sales.

Total hours to complete: 0.5

CM-390: CREATIVE MEDIA INTERNSHIP - UPDATE #5

It’s Thursday, July 4th, and I’m flying from San Francisco to Seattle for our Tuned Originals event at Evergreen Speedway this Saturday. Although Wayne’s medical condition seems to be improving, he is still not well enough to make it out for the show. It will be up to Dylan Ketrow and I to ensure Saturday’s event runs as smoothly as possible in Wayne’s absence. I’ll be arriving in Seattle a bit early because there is still a lot of prep work that needs to be done. Dylan will be driving up from Salem, Oregon tomorrow morning (Friday), so we can run a bunch of errands. Needless to say, my stress level is through the roof!

BUSINESS MEETING/LUNCH WITH BRUCE CHING OF EVERGREEN SPEEDWAY

It’s Friday, July 5th, and Dylan arrives at our hotel in Kirkland, Washington. Although Dylan is probably exhausted from his drive from Salem, Oregon, there is no rest for the weary. We have a bunch of errands to run starting with a meeting at the venue with Bruce Ching, Evergreen Speedway Sales, Marketing & Special Events Coordinator. I’ve known Bruce for several years now from the time Wayne and I worked for the other automotive event company. When we arrive at Evergreen Speedway, which is about a 30-minute drive from the hotel, we meet up with Bruce and discuss all the logistics with Saturday’s event. Along with the Tuned Originals car show, there will be amateur drifting in the morning and pro drifting in the afternoon on the inside track. After hashing everything out, Bruce suggests having lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant. During lunch, I update Bruce on Wayne’s medical condition. Bruce reveals to us that he will be taking an extended leave of absence after this weekend to remove a cancerous tumor.

Total hours to complete: 2.0

BUSINESS MEETING WITH LAWRENCE OJAS OF INTEC RACING

Lawrence Ojas, owner of Intec Racing, is a longtime friend of Wayne Raqueno. I first met Lawrence in 2016 in Las Vegas during SEMA, the largest automobile aftermarket trade show in the world. As soon as he heard about Wayne’s current medical condition, Lawrence willingly volunteered to help us out with anything we needed for the event. Lawrence will be providing some of his shop workers as car show judges, a 20 x 20′ pop-up tent, and several volunteers for set up and breakdown. Additionally, the car show trophies were delivered to Intec Racing earlier that day with a big gash in one of the two boxes, so we will need to conduct an inventory to make sure none of the trophy pieces are missing or damaged.

Intec Racing is approximately 45 minutes south of Evergreen Speedway. When we arrive at his shop, Lawrence is busy preparing for tomorrow’s event. Besides assisting us, Lawrence will be setting up his own booth to sell some of his merchandise at the show. We fill him in on the details of tomorrow’s event, as well as an update on Wayne’s condition. Before Dylan and I leave the shop, we grab the the two boxes of trophies.

Total hours to complete: 0.5

SUPPLY RUN AT FRED MEYER

Before heading back to our hotel, Dylan and I stop by Fred Meyer, a department/grocery store chain in the Pacific Northwest, to pick up some basic supplies we will need for the show tomorrow, including a case of bottled water, energy drinks, clipboards, duct tape, wire ties, batteries for the walkie talkies, colored stickers, and ballpoint pens.

Total hours to complete: 0.5

TROPHY INVENTORY

Upon arriving to our hotel, Dylan and I opened both boxes of trophies hoping none of the pieces were missing or damaged. Fortunately for us, nothing was damaged, but we were missing a few of the trophy pieces. We made note of the missing pieces, took pictures of the damaged box, and contacted Cary Michio Inayoshi, the owner of Mistrshop in San Jose, CA, so he can file a damage claim with USPS. Unfortunately, it would be impossible to get the missing pieces made and shipped to us in time for the show tomorrow. We would have to take down the information of the winners of the missing awards, and have Cary send it directly to them. It sucks, but there’s nothing we can do about it.

Total hours to complete: 1.0

TUNED ORIGINALS SEATTLE OFFICIAL PRE-PARTY/BUSINESS MEETING AT SAM’S TAVERN

Dylan and I are completely exhausted from running errands all day, and we should be retiring for the night because we have to be at the event venue early in the morning for vehicle roll-in and setup. But Gorman Eng of GT Entertainment fronted the entire bill for our Tuned Originals Seattle Official Pre-Party at Sam’s Tavern in Downtown Seattle, so we felt obligated to at least make a brief appearance before calling it a night. This is also an excellent opportunity to network and meet up with some our sponsors and volunteers that will be helping out with the event tomorrow.

Tuned Originals Seattle host and spokesmodel Janis True.

BJ Ta, myself, Dylan Ketrow, and Gorman Eng having a “business meeting.”

Tuned Originals Seattle spokesmodel and longtime friend Paige Campbell. (Dylan was camera shy.)

Total hours to complete: 3.0

CM-390: CREATIVE MEDIA INTERNSHIP - UPDATE #4

With the SoldierCon x Tuned Originals Colorado Springs show out of the way, I can fully concentrate all my efforts on the upcoming Tuned Originals Seattle event. With both shows falling on back-to-back Saturdays, I have to make sure that I’m well organized and I utilize my time wisely because I don’t have a lot of extra time to prepare. Wayne’s health is gradually improving, but he does not anticipate attending this event either, which worries me quite a bit. The Seattle show will be much larger and busier than the one in Colorado Springs, by far. With Wayne not in attendance, the success of the show now falls on Dylan Ketrow and I. Dylan is Wayne’s partner, and he is the Show Manager for Tuned Originals.

TUNED ORIGINALS SEATTLE VEHICLE PROMO FLYERS

I wanted to create individual flyers for each of the vehicle registrants just like I did for the SoldierCon x Tuned Originals Colorado Springs event. By creating individual promo flyers for each of the registered vehicle owners with an image of their own cars, they now become one of our biggest advertising assets. I ended up creating 73 total vehicle promo flyers for 73 car registrants.

Total hours to complete: 6.0

TUNED ORIGINALS SEATTLE SPONSOR/VENDOR PROMO FLYERS

Just like the individual promo flyers for each of the registered vehicle owners, I created separate promo flyers for our sponsors and vendors using their business logos. I created a total of 24 sponsor/vendor promo flyers for Tuned Original Seattle.

Total hours to complete: 2.0

TUNED ORIGINALS SEATTLE MODEL PROMO FLYERS

Finally, I also created individual flyers for each of the promo models that would be attending our event. Modeling is a big part of the car culture because they draw a lot of attention and bring in paying customers that want to see them. By creating promo flyers for our models, we are taking advantage of their social media following that Tuned Originals does not have. Janis True, for example, has over 561K followers of Instagram! Her outreach on Instagram on a single post is far greater than what Tuned Originals can do. I created a total of 40 model promo flyers for Tuned Original Seattle. These particular flyers took a lot longer to create because I had to mask each one out of their original images.

Total hours to complete: 7.5

TUNED ORIGINALS SEATTLE QUARTER PAGE FLYER (FINAL DIGITAL VERSION)

This would end being the final edited version of the Tuned Originals Seattle flyer. Changes include adding the list of awards, revised model lounge section, and adding an additional official sponsor.

Total hours to complete: 3.0

TUNED ORIGINALS OFFICIAL PRE-PARTY DIGITAL FLYER AND FACEBOOK PAGE BANNER

Gorman Eng of GT Entertainment, one of the main night club/entertainment promoters in Seattle, reached out to us about possibly hosting an official Tuned Originals Seattle pre-party at one of the venues that he promoted. With Wayne unable to make it to Seattle, I told Gorman that Tuned Originals really didn’t have a budget for any type of pre-party. Because Gorman and Wayne are longtime good friends, Gorman decided to just pay for everything himself. I happily volunteered to create any graphics that he would need to promote the event, so I created a flyer for Instagram, as well as a Facebook Page Banner.

Total hours to complete: 6.0

CM-390: CREATIVE MEDIA INTERNSHIP - UPDATE #3

On Friday, June 28th, I flew out from San Francisco to Denver for the SoldierCon x Tuned Originals Colorado Springs event on Saturday. Unfortunately, since my flight was delayed, I was no longer able to meet up with Carlos Molina, owner of SoldierCon, to discuss the event prior to the day of the show. After arriving at Denver International Airport and picking up my rental car, I had a 2-hour drive to my hotel in Colorado Springs. I had to be at the event venue at 7:30 the following morning, so it was a very early night for me. But before I retired for the night, I went to a nearby gas station to grab some food and found a stack of flyers I helped create for the event. One side I designed and the other side was created by whoever provides the graphics for SoldierCon. It’s pretty cool to see something I produced in a gas station in the middle of Colorado!

With Wayne Raqueno’s current health condition and unable to attend Saturday’s show in Colorado Springs, I am no longer just a Creative Media intern. Along with Michael Woolley, I will be attending the event in Colorado Springs as a representative of Tuned Originals on behalf of Wayne. Michael and I will be running and managing the car show portion of the event, which means registering car show participants, judging, and presenting awards.

[NOTE: Although travel time is part of the job, I will not be counting my travel time towards my internship hours. Only hours spent actually performing Tuned Originals related work will be counted towards my internship hours.]

SOLDIERCON X TUNED ORIGINALS COLORADO SPRINGS

SoldierCon x Tuned Originals Colorado Springs was held at the Post Exchange (PX) in Fort Carson Army Base on Saturday, June 29th from 11am to 6pm. Along with the car show, there were other events throughout the day including a meet and greet with cosplayers and comic book artists, Red Bull X-Fighters performing freestyle motocross stunts, and various vendors.

The Fort Carson PX used my flyer design to create their own poster for the event.

SoldierCon x Tuned Originals Colorado Springs spokesmodel Brittany Murata and Tony Stark cosplayer Marsell Stark.

SoldierCon x Tuned Originals Colorado Springs “Best of Show” trophy.

Michael Woolley and I manning the car registration booth while staying out of the Colorado heat.

Even Spiderman made an appearance at SoldierCon x Tuned Originals Colorado Springs!

Red Bull X-Fighters performing freestyle motocross stunts in the Fort Carson PX parking lot.

Edwin Suba (and his French Bulldog) with his 2017 Widebody Honda Civic Hatchback.

SoldierCon x Tuned Originals Colorado Springs spokesmodel Brittany Murata posing with Dustin Urdaneta’s 1993 Honda Del Sol.

This old school Camaro took home the 1st Place Classic award.

Michael Woolley and Brittany Murata announcing and presenting awards to all the car show winners.

This wife and husband team ended up winning 2nd Place Import 2-Door and 1st Place Domestic Sport, respectively.

Brittany Murata presenting the “Best of Show” trophy to Edwin Suba and his award winning 2017 Widebody Honda Civic Hatchback.

Congratulations to all the car show award winners, and thank you to all who participated!

Posing with some of the SoldierCon staff after a successful event at the Fort Carson PX in Colorado Springs. A big MAHALO to Carlos Molina (pictured far right) and the SolderCon staff for allowing Tuned Originals to be part of this amazing event!

Total hours to complete: 12.0

CM-390: CREATIVE MEDIA INTERNSHIP - UPDATE #2

Since my retirement from the Coast Guard in August 2013, I have made an annual summer trip back to Sonoma County in Northern California, the place from where I retired. It allows me to see some of my mainland family and friends every year, but this also makes it extremely convenient to travel for my internship. It is so much cheaper for Tuned Originals to fly me to all their car events this summer from San Francisco versus Honolulu. My aunt’s house in Rohnert Park, which is about 50 miles north of San Francisco and 5 miles south of Santa Rosa, will be my home base for the next two months.

TUNED ORIGINALS COLORADO SPRINGS AND SEATTLE CAR REGISTRATION FLYERS

In order to entice car owners to register early for our events and essentially improve vehicle registration numbers, we offered early registrants a chance to win a carbon fiber wallet donated by Top Speed Pro 1 Performance. I created the flyers below for our Colorado Springs and Seattle shows, which was promulgated digitally on social media. I needed images of the wallet to add to the flyer, but I did not have any of them in my possession. So, I directed Wayne Raqueno on the lighting and type of background to use while he took pictures of the wallet.

Total hours to complete: 4.5

TUNED ORIGINALS STREETTEAM FLYER

Social media is a quick and effective way to advertise an event to the masses, but some people find it impersonal and less memorable. A social media campaign can get easily lost in the digital clutter of today’s online world. But being able to supplement your social media advertising with a print marketing campaign can prove to be more successful. Unfortunately for us, it is extremely difficult to launch a print marketing campaign for an event in Colorado Springs when you have no one physically located in Colorado Springs to help promote it. Thus, the idea of having a Tuned Originals StreetTeam came about. We would recruit local volunteers to help distribute event flyers, and in return they would receive a Tuned Originals t-shirt and keychain. I created the StreetTeam advertisement below that was posted on Instagram and Facebook.

Total hours to complete: 2.0

SOLDIERCON X TUNED ORIGINALS COLORADO SPRINGS VEHICLE PROMO FLYERS

I wanted to create individual flyers for each of the vehicle registrants for the upcoming SoldierCon x Tuned Originals Colorado Springs event. The whole idea behind this is to get the car owners to promote the event for you. Car owners are more emotionally invested to advertise your event on social media if their own car is featured on the flyer. You also potentially reach a wider, more targeted audience because the likelihood of the car owner having friends locally that share the same interests are much greater.

Total hours to complete: 3.0

WAYNE RAQUENO’S HEALTH

On Thursday, June 27th, I received a call from Wayne Raqueno, the owner of Tuned Originals, and from the sound of his voice I already knew that there was something wrong. He explained that after feeling fatigued for a month and having to deal with an open infection in his foot that would not heal, his girlfriend was finally able to convince him to seek medical attention. What started out as a semi-routine visit to the doctor, turned out to be the fight for his life. He was initially diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease, and his kidneys were rapidly failing. Wayne was immediately admitted into the ICU. The infection in his foot turned out to be sepsis, which spread into his bloodstream, and was the cause of his rapid kidney failure. He went into emergency surgery to have the infected tissue in his foot removed, and to see if the infection spread to his bones. Luckily, it did not. If he would have waited to go to the hospital another day, the doctors would not have been able to diagnose and treat him in time.

With all that said, the SoldierCon x Tuned Originals Colorado Springs show is this weekend, and I will be flying out of San Francisco tomorrow to attend the show. Needless to say, in his current medical condition, Wayne Raqueno will not be able to make it out to this event. Michael Woolley, a long time friend of Wayne’s, will be coming out to Colorado Springs in his place. Michael and I will be managing and judging the car show portion of this event.

CM-390: CREATIVE MEDIA INTERNSHIP - UPDATE #1

Aloha and welcome to the Tumblr page for my CM-390: Creative Media Internship at the University of Hawai’i - West Oahu! I will be routinely giving updates on my internship progress with Tuned Originals during my 2019 summer break.

Tuned Originals is an automotive and lifestyle event company started by one of my good friends Wayne Raqueno. I first met Wayne through another car event company that we were both associated with, Hot Import Nights. He was one of the co-owners, and I served as Creative Director between April 2014 and August 2016. After leaving the national car show scene for a few years, Wayne started Tuned Originals with its inaugural event at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA in the summer of 2018. After a successful show in the Pacific Northwest, Wayne wanted to expand to more cities across the United States in 2019.

I wanted to do my internship with Tuned Originals because I consider Wayne one of my mentors, and he needed my assistance. He is currently undergoing some complications with one of his eyes and his vision is not 100 percent.

During my internship with Tuned Originals, Wayne had some specific goals that he wanted me to accomplish:

Create all Tuned Originals promotional graphics for print, web, and social media.

Design, create and maintain Tuned Originals website.

Capture video and photography content during Tuned Originals events for posting on social media platforms and website.

Coordinate with sponsorship companies and vendors to create supplemental promotional content for print and social media.

TUNED ORIGINALS SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE

In order to attract more sponsors for the upcoming Tuned Originals events, I was tasked by Wayne Raqueno to create a proposal package that we could submit to potential sponsors, which would include what Tuned Originals is about, reasons for choosing Tuned Originals, the competitive landscape, the 2019 event schedule, event elements, and the different levels of sponsorship opportunities. He wanted it to be professional in appearance and have a cohesive design, yet contain images and elements that would let potential sponsors know what Tuned Originals was all about.

Using the color palette above and the 26-degree slant integrated within the Tuned Originals logo, I created a 5-page “Tuned Originals Sponsorship Package” utilizing Photoshop. In order to make sure all the text aligned with 26-degree slanted spacing within the design, I made the appropriate adjustments to kerning, spacing, tracking and/or leading. For uniformity, I included the same size logo on each of the pages, including the cover page and the back page. If the inside pages are lined up side-by-side, it forms one continuous seamless design. Each image within the sponsorship package can be easily swapped out to target an individual market, making it effortlessly customizable. The sponsorship package below is tailored to specifically target potential sponsors within the Seattle/Pacific Northwest market.

Total hours to complete: 19.5

HUFFINES SUBARU GRAND OPENING QUARTER PAGE PRINTED FLYER

Huffines Subaru was one of the main sponsors for the Tuned Originals Dallas event that was held on Saturday, April 6, 2019. Huffines Subaru contacted Wayne for some assistance with some graphic design work for a printed flyer for the grand opening of their new facility in Corinth, Texas. Wayne felt this was an excellent opportunity for me to further network with a reputable business on the mainland and expand my portfolio with actual work, and I completely agreed. Wayne connected me with Anthony Reich, the General Sales Manager of Huffines Subaru.

With the design of the flyer, I wanted to incorporate some of the blue colors within the Huffines logo. I also wanted to include an image of the new Huffines Subaru facility, as well as some of the featured events and activities during the grand opening. Anthony and the team at Huffines Subaru were very happy with the flyer design, and I was wired $100 for my services.

Total hours to complete: 6.5

SOLDIERCON X TUNED ORIGINALS COLORADO SPRINGS PRINTED HALF PAGE FLYER

SoldierCon is a comic convention and car show organization that holds events in appreciation for our nation’s armed forces. Their events are normally held on military bases across the United States and combine professional comic book artists, pop culture vendors, cosplayers, and highly modified vehicles. Tuned Originals was asked to help out with the car show portion of the event, as well as provide assistance with promotions and marketing. Being a retired military veteran myself, this was a no-brainer for me to get involved.

I was tasked to design one side of the printed half page flyer for the event. SoldierCon had their own graphic designer that would design the other side.

Total hours to complete: 3.5

TUNED ORIGINALS SEATTLE PRINTED QUARTER PAGE FLYER

Tuned Originals Seattle is scheduled for Saturday, July 6, 2019. It will be the second time Tuned Originals will be making their appearance at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington, which is approximately 45 minutes north of Seattle.

On May 22, 2019, I was in a conference call with Tuned Originals Owner/President Wayne Raqueno and B.J. Ta, the Chief Business Development Officer of Mint Media LLC, one of the main sponsors for the Tuned Originals Seattle show. We discussed promotional strategies for the upcoming event on Saturday, July 6, 2019 at Evergreen Speedway. Because B.J. Ta has an established network of people locally, he has the ability to distribute printed flyers to different businesses within the Seattle/Pacific Northwest area.

I was tasked to design a double-sided quarter page flyer for Tuned Originals Seattle that would be sent to print, and mailed out to B.J. Ta for immediate distribution. 

Total hours to complete: 11.0

University of Hawai’i - West Oahu Spring 2018 Commencement Ceremony

Saturday, May 5, 2018: Just when we all thought we would get rained out today, mother nature cooperated this morning to shed some sunshine on the graduating class of Spring 2018. I was blessed with the opportunity to take pictures of the commencement ceremony on behalf of the Academy of Creative Media. (Thank you @shanaoka!) Being able to witness my fellow ACM classmates receive their diplomas today was very inspiring, and it makes the light at the end of the tunnel shine just a little brighter for me. I’m very enthusiastic for my remaining two (or three) semesters at West Oahu knowing that my turn is just around the corner. 

Congratulations to all of our Academy of Creative Media Graduates! (Pictured: Hadji Corpuz @hadjidesigns, Ben Gilbert, Mandy Quitog @mandyquitog, Mengdi Cui, Jaylina Feliza Abuy @jayabuy311, Analyn Delos Santos, Adriene Labrador, and Kevin Bechayda)

Moments before receiving their Bachelor of Applied Science in Creative Media diplomas. (Pictured: Ben Gilbert, Analyn Delos Santos, Jaylina Feliza Abuy @jayabuy311, Mandy Quitog @mandyquitog, Mengdi Cui, and Hadji Corpuz @hadjidesigns)

Class Reflection

As with all of Sharla’s classes, ART-311D/PUBA 31: Design in Public Spaces was a very challenging course. But this class was such a game-changer for me. It opened my eyes, and changed my perception of design altogether. 

MY BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS:

Design is everywhere, and it affects everything. Before this class, I had such a narrow-minded perception of the definition of “design” to encompass the different types of media that I create. But design is so much more than that, and it is integrated into pretty much every aspect of our lives. Everything we use and every process has been carefully and thoughtfully executed by designers. Your favorite songs on your playlists, the thumbtack ACM logo on the wall, how you navigate through a website to apply for tuition assistance, the funky chairs in the Creative Media Lab, the way you compose an image of your food as your taking a photo with your smartphone to post on Instagram; design plays an important role in everything!

Conducting research of your target demographic is essential. In order to come up with a solution to the problem you’re attempting to solve, you must first understand who it is that you are targeting through research. Knowing your audience and their needs will allow you to focus your design and come up with a more refined solution. What’s the point of designing something that is aesthetically beautiful, if the audience you intended it for doesn’t even see or notice it?

We all need to raise the talent level of Creative Media Specialists collectively as a group. Yes, we are essentially all creative media specialists competing for all the same jobs when we eventually graduate, but raising the talent level as a whole will only benefit us. I don’t know about the rest of you, but seeing some of the work that all of you create is very inspiring, and I am motivated to do better. It should always be all our goals to continually learn and strive to perfect our crafts. Besides, technology is always evolving, especially within our Creative Media field, and we must evolve with it. So, never stop learning!

Design as an Instrument of Public Policy

Research Report: “Design as an Instrument of Public Policy in Singapore and South Korea” by Douglas MacLeod, Larissa Muller, David Covo and Richard Levy

Basically, it is a comprehensive study of the role of design as an instrument of public policy in Singapore and South Korea conducted by the Canadian Design Research Network, which is a community of designers and creative individuals from the private, public, and non-governmental sectors working together to improve design outcomes in Canadian society through research in design. The study suggests that good design provides the means to make Canada more sustainable, productive and competitive in the global market, which translates into more energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly and effective goods and services.

Assignment 7: No Smoking Signage

Project 2: Age-Friendly Cities Thoughts & Reflection

Along with Project 1: Benefits of Voting, this project taught me the importance of designing for you target demographic, and that is achieved by first conducting the appropriate research. Your finished product can adhere to the elements and principles of design and be aesthetically and technically pleasing, but if you fail to reach your intended audience, you have failed as a designer. With that said, I wholeheartedly believe that we were successful in reaching our target demographic of senior citizens.

Things we did well:

Teamwork: I have been really lucky this semester with team members for this class, and this project was no different. @gabrielspublicdesigns and I worked cohesively together, communication was seamless, and we complemented each other very well.

The design and layout of the pocketbook: I think we were extremely successful in our primary goals of this project of creating a pocketbook that was more condensed in size and content, utilizing design techniques and fonts that make it more legible for individuals with low vision impairments, and color-coding the content making information easier to locate.

The website: The website was very thorough, and we used it to tie everything together. Additionally, we utilized the website as a guide for our presentation, eliminating the need to create one in PowerPoint, which saved a lot of time and unnecessary work.

Timing of our presentation: Because we rehearsed prior, we were able condense our presentation down to just the essential information. Although we had a few minor technical hiccups with the laptop, we were still well under the 7-minute time limit.

Things we could have improved:

The size of the printed pocketbook: If we had more time or the opportunity to do it over, I would have liked the pocketbook to be printed to its actual size, so everyone could have an exact visual representation. But we were able to compensate by providing a size comparison between the old handbook and the new pocketbook within the website.

Technical glitches during the presentation: There were a few technical hiccups with the laptop, but we still managed to finish our presentation well under the 7-minute max.

Project 2: Age-Friendly Cities Snapshot

Senior Information & Assistance Pocketbook:

Handbook and Pocketbook Size Comparison:

Color Blindness:

Content Layout Design and Font Selection:

Emergency Card:

Display Stand and Advertisement:

Website: https://pbdesignteam.weebly.com

Peters & Baldueza Design Team Business Logo:

Paying It Forward Oath

I wanted to actually create a “Designer’s Oath” for myself, similar to that of an organization’s mission statement, which is a written declaration of their primary purpose and focus. As designers, I think it’s extremely important that we create some type of written mission statement as a constant reminder of our fundamental goals, which will serve as a guide, so we know what decisions and tasks best align with what we are ultimately trying to accomplish.

Assignment 6: Cause Advertisement

My primary objective for this assignment was to draw attention to the critical part that Hawaii teachers play in shaping and preparing our children for the future, while highlighting the lack of pay they receive for all their hard work. Although I believe teachers don’t get enough credit, appreciation, or respect for the role they perform in the development of our children, I specifically wanted to emphasize the disparity between their financial compensation and the wage gap in Hawaii when cost of living is factored into the equation. I believe that the low retention rate of teachers in Hawaii is, for the most part, monetarily driven; they simply can’t afford to live here with the salary they receive.

Assignment 6: Cause Advertisement Sketches