Parts of the Project Reflection

I have learned many things throughout the course of this project. It was a very unique, yet interesting, project to say the least. My group was able to make 5' tall cardboard box letters in two days. Not only did I learn how to cut and build these letters, I learned much about cardboard itself. For example, it really enjoys to absorb spray paint, rather than be coated. Spray painting the letters was difficult, however, once finished, I was so pleased with the way our models turned out. I learned that the cheap $1.00 spray paint is not worth buying, and the more expensive $3.00 cans covered quicker and easier. The advice I would give to those participating in this project in the future is: Do not wait until the last day to start your letters. Our group worked on our letters for two full days, morning until night. Make sure you have enough money for cardboard, spray paint, glue, tape, and whatever else you might need. Money posed to be a big issue for many of the groups for this project. You cannot continue to build if you run out of cardboard or tape, and that will set your group behind. Always get more than you need. If you estimate you need 8 cans of spray paint, get more. Always get more. We ended up using twenty cans of spray paint, granted our letters were large, but many groups also faced this issue. If you think you need 4 things of duct tape, get ten. It is better to have more at the end. Making a simple return with a receipt is much better than making multiple trips to the store when you're reaching the deadline. If you are spray painting your cardboard letters, be sure to first spray it with a primer. This is one thing our group got right the first time. We were sure to spray it well with a white primer before we painted it red. It saved us a lot of time and paint; and when you're buying twenty cans of paint, you cannot afford to make this mistake. Establish within your group multiple ways of communication. This is most likely the first thing one should do when meeting their group. We created a Facebook group and exchanged numbers immediately. This way communication never had to be an issue. And last but not least, Don't forget to eat and get enough sleep. I developed a cold over the course of this project. I was up late, not eating healthy, and not listening to my body. If you follow these simple tips, catching a cold can be easily avoided. Not only is this project hard and challenging, it is a lot of fun. With the right planning, this project can be completed successfully in reasonable time and you can enjoy yourself and your work while you're doing it.

-Rachel