Before applying for this course I had thought about enrolling on another level 3 course but one specifically in web design so that I could learn and understand the basics of web design. I now feel that this would not have been of benefit to me as I wouldn’t have been properly prepared for the speed and work load of a professional design agency.
Upon starting the course my first impressions was that it was going to be a lot hard work and a big step up from any previous level of education I had studied at. I found this reassuring in the sense that I would be working at a pace and level that was as close to a professional environment as possible.
A2 – That’s The Plan
The first assignment was to create a basic web plan. This helped me to form a solid foundation for the future assignments as it gave me an idea of the level of detail that was required and how useful my sketchbook could be for future assignments.
Creating the web plan introduced me to the DTP (Desktop Publishing Application) software Adobe PageMaker. Designing in such detail was something very new to me as I had previously used Adobe Photoshop to create almost everything and I had never used things like rulers and column guides and I would just line things up by eye.
Working at such a level of detail is something that has gradually become natural to me and now it is not something I have to think about, I just do it. For this assignment building the website was required and at the time this did feel a little strange. After completing my second web plan, for the A3 assignment, and then using it to build a website, in the A5 assignment, I could clearly see that my web plan, for the A2 assignment, did contain anywhere near the level of detail required.
A3 – Back To Basics and A4 – Image Rights
With A3 and A4 assignments the biggest challenge was the task of managing my time over the two assignments at once. My time planning and time management skills from the previous assignment needed a large amount of improvement if I was going to be able cope.
One major thing I did to improve the way I used my self study time was to try and replicate the structure of my self study time over the two full days and focus on a separate assignment on each of the two days. This works quite well for me and I also used the same method for the A5 and A6 assignments.
The most time consuming, and at times frustrating, part of the assignment was the image restoration task. This task never seemed to end, ever time I looked at the image I saw a new part that needed retouching and the difference between my monitor at home and the college monitors, e.g. gamma, brightness, contrast etc…, only made the situation worse.
Putting the frustrations aside this task has greatly improved my ability to use Adobe Photoshop and this has already been, and will continue to be, a huge benefit for me.
A5 – Builder and A6 – Revert To Type
A5 brought with it the chance to finally create a website on the course. Designing and building websites was one of the biggest attractions of course for me and so I really enjoyed the A5 assignment.
Ensuring the website complied with the XTHML (Extensible Hypertext Mark-Up Language) 1.0 Strict standards did cause problems at times but learning to correct the errors has helped me to develop my XHTML and basic CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) knowledge.
Many of the problems I encountered were caused by the fact XHTML Strict is designed to be used with CSS and not tables. This meant that I had to use a certain amount of CSS to satisfy the XHTML standards whilst still maintaining the look of the website. My knowledge of CSS is something I keen to improve upon and one of the units I am really looking forward to next year.
I feel that the A6 assignment was one of the most beneficial of the whole year. The timed tasks introduced me to the speed of working at a professional level, the huge impact that changing a typeface can have on a document and how create and stick to a grid layout.
These are skills I have taken forward into my design work and one of the skills I hope to continually improve on from this assignment is the importance of choosing the right typeface to suit the design. A well executed and effective piece of work could be ruined by simply choosing the wrong type so I think that this skill is essential to develop.
A7 – Wailing Whales
The final project of the 1st year is designed to bring together all the skills of the previous assignments and demonstrate the ability of creating work so that it can be sent to a commercial printer.
Learning the intricacies of the printing process was something really eye-opening. The level of knowledge required to truly understand the print process is something I feel will take years to achieve and many of these lessons will only be learnt through making mistakes.
Part of the assignment was to design a logo and I found this quite challenging. Generating original ideas that will accurately convey the companies work and is instantly recognisable was something I found difficult to achieve. Many of the more famous logos that I looked at were very simple and sometimes they were just a customised version of a typeface. Although looking at other logo ideas did help me to gain inspiration it also frustrated even more due there simplicity.
Once the logo was completed I was able to complete the rest of the tasks. One of these tasks was designing the CD artwork which helped me to have a real life scenario to apply the things I had learnt about the print process to. The other large task of the assignment was to create a style guide and I found this helped me to think of my work in a more professional manner.
Overall A7 has provided the largest learning curve of all the assignments and also helped to refresh all the things I learnt from the previous assignments.
A1 – SketchBlog
The A1 assignment has been ongoing for the entire first year and at time this has meant that sometimes, especially nearing deadlines, I have paid less attention to it than I should have done. During the development stage of the assignments it is very easy to concentrate on the sketchbook as it constantly being used or referred.
Overall I would say that my major downfall with the A1 assignment was the lack of variety in the methods that I used to generate ideas and this is something I am going to work on in the 2nd year.
Thoughts about entire progress of the year
With the 1st year complete I am happy with my progress and performance on the course. I feel that I have learnt a vast amount of both skills and knowledge which I will be improving upon in the 2nd year.
Having obtained a mixture of passes and merits for the 1st year assignments I feel that my target is to ultimately gain a distinction/s in the 2nd year. To achieve this I need to generate more original ideas and develop them to a professional standard. This is something I believe I am capable of and the more work I can do at a professional standard the better prepared I will be for employment when I finish the course.
I don’t have any regrets about the first year of the course but looking back now the one thing I would have done is carry out a lot more research, in self study time, to follow on from the information given during lectures. This would have helped me gain a greater and further understanding of the technical areas of both web and print design.
Thoughts on the 2nd year and the future
I am excited about the units that will be covered in the 2nd year and I am looking forward to working at a more professional level. The 2nd year will inevitably mean much more work and the level of work will be much harder but I see this as a good thing as it will provide a good stepping stone for future employment.
In my first journal entry I said that I would want to work freelance after finishing college to help build up my portfolio before seeking employment. Now I am believe that seeking employment first would provide me a better platform to build on and then after gaining more experience I would have be able to make a more informed decision about where my career path lies.
My targets for next year are:
- Pass all the units first time
- Obtain at least one distinction
- Compile a portfolio of work that contains a wide range of skills and demonstrates my abilities
- To be ready seek employment at the end of the course
7 comments:
Hi James
I cant agree with you more. When I first joined I also thought it would be a big step, and it was a large step. However it was a large step that made me think about life in a certain sense. My dreams and skills have changed so much in the past year and for the better, now I know a lot more about design and it has helped me improve all my work.
I also think A7 was a good rounding off assignment, as we used all the software and design skills we have learned over the year. I think almost all the work is like that in the second year meaning it will be a lot harder, but will ultimately give us more of a realistic vision of the working industry.
Thanks, Martyn
In my first blog entry I put the same wanted to work freelance and have my own bussiness. But untill you have gone in to employment and actually learnt more about the industry, as after college there will be still loads more to learn. Then its probaly after employement the best way to start doing freelance work.
My opinions prior to the course were different to yours. I didn't expect it to be that much of a step up, but it turned out to be a massive change of pace. I think it has been a lot harder than most HE (Higher Education) courses, based on conversations with friends and a bit of insight into the work they do. I think this benefits us though, as it challenges us to push ourselves harder to attain the higher grades.
One of the things I wish I’d done more of is like you, researching into more depth after the lecture. It would help you understand the information more and also you’re more likely to remember the information from the lecture.
At times I have also neglected the sketchbook and sometimes forgot it was an assessable part of A1. I feel that at the start of the course I didn’t respect the sketchbook and because of that it took me quite awhile to realise how important the sketchbook is.
Working freelance is definitely the dream situation.However, I think you're spot on about working in industry first, possibly for quite a few years. I know eventually I would like to set up on my own but I want to make this decision when I know I'm ready.
Working for a company does have it's plus points, like taking full advantage of all the training you can possibly get. Also building relationships with clients and ultimately getting your name known. Equally working to your strengths by specialising in just one area does have it's attractions.
So I guess it's never say never, but who knows what the future holds?
I definitely agree with you on changing your time plans to individually suit yourself, I see that's something you've picked up from Craig's presentation. Glad to see he's at a level where you can aspire to reach; it's a credit to not only his own hardwork but the skills of the course tutors to provide exactly what we need for the steps into the industry.
I found it a big step moving from 6form to here, an even bigger one than the jump from gcse's to alevels, you have seemed to cope with it very well and really matched the amount of work and quality of worked that's necessary to pass.
Good for people to know.
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