James Bell | HND Interactive Media | Online Learning Journal Year 2

Updated portfolio deisgns

2009-03-25T13:54:00.005Z

After receiving some feedback on my initial designs I have made the following changes:

Overall increase of font size
Reduction of text on home page
I have decided not to include a photo of myself
I have added some shortcut links at the bottom of the page to some of my other work.

Home Page

Interior page

This is an example of how the interior pages will look.

Initial portfolio screen designs

2009-03-11T09:06:00.007Z

Screen design 1

Screen design 2

I will be posting my portfolio screen design on Das Forum, so if you are a member please comment on there instead.

Thanks

Competitive analysis

2009-03-03T21:34:00.006Z

Student Portfolio - Ashley Morris [http://www.ashleymorris.co.uk]

Ashley Morris is a student at the University Of The West Of England. His website is uses to show his latest work. The website has a very dark theme which allows the splashes of colour within the header and navigation to stand out and grab the user’s attention.

The dark theme to website does allow his work to stand out but severely affects the contrast between the background and the text. This reduces the usability and in a can make the text difficult to read.

Another issue I had with the website was the use of scrollbars to allow access to most of the website content as they are unnecessary and detract from the overall design.

The website is well built using standards compliant CSS (Cascading Stylesheets) and XHTML (Exstensible Hypertext Markup) and validates to both the XHTML Strict and CSS version guidelines.

Professional Portfolio - TechnoPhobia [http://www.technophobia.com]

On first impression the TechnoPhobia website is bright and welcoming. Despite this it isn’t immediately obvious what the website is about and what service the company provides.

The layout is clean and mainly utilises a two column layout which uses generous spacing and large font sizes. This combined with the large amount of contrast between the page text and the background ensures a high level of usability and accessibility.

The website has a number of navigational options but the main navigation is the top to the page. This navigational style will be familiar to many users and allow them to find the majority of the websites content with relative ease.

Within the interior pages there is a large amount of information about both the company and the clients they have worked with. This is mainly evident within the case studies pages as many include an in-depth insight in the relationship they have with the client and the work they have done for them.

After spending some time using the site I found it easy to use and informative. One of the areas that I feel could be improved is the news area. Although this will probably expand in time I feel extra interaction with the user, such as: comments, would help them to build a strong user base and gain a stronger relationship with the websites visitors.

Delivery Requirements

2009-02-24T22:14:00.003Z

Adobe Photoshop CS2
I will use Adobe Photoshop CS2 to create the necessary graphics and ensure that they are optimised correctly for the web.

E-TextEditor (1.0.30)
E-texteditor will be use to create the XHTML (Extensible Hypertext) and CSS (Cascading Stylesheet) code.

CMS
To keep the website updated I will be using a CMS (Content System Management). As I will be using Textpattern for the A13 assignment I have decided to use this CMS for my portfolio.

XHTML 1.0 Strict
All of the XHTML code I will use for the website will conform to the XHTML 1.0 Strict. XHTML will only be used for the website content and to define its structure.

CSS version 2.1
With the XHTML code creating the structure the CSS will be to control the websites appearance. Using the XHTML and CSS combination will help to reduce the overall page weight and reduce loading time.

Email
To receive email from my email account I will be using Mozilla Thunderbird 2 and the IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) protocol. To send emails I will use the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) protocol.

Target audience

2009-02-11T00:44:00.000Z

Primary audience - Employer

Neil owns a local design company based in Leeds which specialises in web design and development. Where possible they try to use new technologies to create innovative solutions which meet their client’s brief.

Neil I looking for a developer to a new developer to add to this team and has received a number of portfolio’s to asses. He is looking for both the basic XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Stylesheets) knowledge.

He is also looking to find someone who has additional knowledge such as: PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), MySQL and a passion to learn and use new technologies.

Both at work and at home Neil has access to a high speed internet connection and spends at least 9+ hours online a day. To browse the web he uses his Apple Mac laptop with the latest version of Mozilla Firefox installed.

Secondary audience - Client

Michael runs a small local business providing a range of services such as: building, carpentry, plumbing etc… Due to the credit crunch Michael is finding it increasingly more difficult to find and feels a small website would allow him to gain more work.

With relatively limited computer skills Michael can perform basic online tasks, such as: searching, buying products etc.., but finds more complicated tasks difficult.

After receiving a free laptop with his new broadband deal he is trying to improve his computing skills. Currently he spends around 2 hours a day on the internet using his laptop which runs Windows Vista. His broadband deal gives him access to a basic 1mbps connection which he used Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 to browse the internet.

Tertiary audience - Student

Lisa is a 20 year old student currently web design at her local university. During her time on the course she is always looking at various portfolios to gain inspiration and monitor the latest web technologies.

During college hours she has access to high speed wireless connection which she connects to with her laptop, which runs Microsoft XP. To use the internet she uses the latest version of Mozilla Firefox.

At home she uses her desktop computer, running Microsoft XP, and is connected to a 2 mbps internet connection. Most of her time online is spent visiting social networking sites and performing research for her university work.

Portfolio goals

2009-02-02T23:44:00.003Z

Validate to XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS Version 2.1 standards.
Meeting the standards put in place by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) for both XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) will help to:

Make my site more accessible
Help towards SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
Reduce the overall loading time
Increase compatibility across both standard web browsers and also on mobile internet devices.

This will be fairly simple to measure as the W3c provides validation tools for both XHTML and CSS.

Create a portfolio that is easily updatable and flexible.
Having a portfolio that is adaptable to any situation and easy to update is essential as I will need to tailor my portfolio for specific instances such as: job interviews, presentations etc…

To measure this I could create two CSS style sheets which when individually applied to the same XHTML structure produce different layouts for my portfolio. With regards to how easy it is to update the website that will be firmly measured by my knowledge of the CMS (Content Management System) I choose to implement for the site.

Satisfy Priority 1 of the WAI guidelines 1.0
To ensure that my portfolio is accessible to as many people as possible I will ensure that it satisfies all of priority one of the WAI (Web Content Accessibility
) guidelines.

To measure this I will use the Checklist of Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. By ensuring I meet each relevant point of the priority one guidelines on this list I will have met this target.

Improve the search engine performance of my portfolio
Although all the above goals are important they are will be largely irrelevant if no-one visits my portfolio. One way of increasing my web presence is through SEO (Search engine optimisation). This will increase my ranking with the major search engines such as: Google, Yahoo, Ask etc…

To measure this I will perform regular keyword searches, using various search engines, and record the results. I will also use the Google Analytics service to track the most popular keywords which have lead to users viewing my portfolio.

The Final Semester

2009-01-22T17:37:00.003Z

The final semester is here and my time on HND Interactive Media course will be over in the blink of an eye. With only the final few assignments to complete my focus will now turn to future employment and gaining the skills which I will require for a career with the web industry.

SMLP
The SMLP (Self Managed Learning Plan) is a very important part of the final semester. For this assignment I have chosen to learn PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) as I feel that this is a key employability skill.

Learning PHP will allow me to expand my search further as I seek employment and add another ‘string to my bow’. My previous experience with PHP is very limited but it has given me a thirst to learn more. Creating dynamic websites that are easy to maintain and are able to interact with the user are becoming commonplace, especially with the increasing popularity of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML).

The main aspect of the self managed learning plan is that it is ‘self managed’. Planning and executing an entire assignment with no outside help is a daunting prospect but something I am looking forward to.

Over the course my time management has increased dramatically but I feel that this assignment will have the most effect on it. During the assignment I will have to plan every detail to ensure that I don’t spend too much time on a single area as there will be no-one to ensure I don’t fall behind.

Portfolio
Designing my portfolio is going to be a very key task. My portfolio will need to be flexible and easy to adapt to any situation such as applying for a new job. I am looking forward to this project as it will allow me to create a professional portfolio and give me a place to showcase my work.

Final presentation
With the final presentation just around the corner I am both nervous and excited. The final presentation will be the last thing I do on this course and as presentations are not really my strong point it brings with a certain amount of stress.

With content of the presentation being the work I have created over the last two years on the course I plan to use my portfolio as my visual aids. Depending on the layout of my final portfolio I may decide to create a separate section of the website specifically designed for the presentation.

This will help me organise the presentation and help me with my timing as this has been one of my problems with previous presentations.

Employment
After this course I hope to gain employment as a web developer. Although I am aware that due to the current economic state it may be very difficult to find a full time job I feel that spending another two or more years in education will be of no real benefit to me as the thing I really need is real world experience.

Word count: 498

A list of PHP resources

2009-01-13T17:32:00.029Z

Php.net
All the latest PHP news and a complete functions list. It also contain numerous links to other PHP resource sites.
http://www.php.net/
Sitepoint.com
Contains numbers PHP tutorials covering various subjects. It also contains a PHP blog which features articles from professional web developers regarding the latest PHP news and developments.
http://www.sitepoint.com
w3schools.com
W3Schools has an extensive list tutorials segregated into basic, advanced, database and XML.
http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/DEfaULT.asp
Planet PHP
Contains an extremely large list of PHP related blogs. Contains links to each blog and also the latest posts from each one on the main page.

http://www.planet-php.net/
Tizag
Extensive list of PHP tutorials over various topics. There is also an active forum that could be used to get help or information.

http://www.tizag.com/phpT/
PHP Solutions, Dynamic Web Design Made Easy - By David Powers
This book goes through step by step instructions for adding dynamic content such as: feedback forms, online galleries etc...
Sample available at Google books

PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites
This book provides detailed instructions for various PHP tasks and how to use it in conjunction with MYSQL databases
PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites - Larry Ullman
Developertutorials
Another tutorial website that offers a wide range of information for varying degrees of difficulty.
http://www.developertutorials.com/tutorials/php/
PHP Builder
A 9000+ community of PHP beginners to enthusiasts. This website offers articles and a code library.
http://www.phpbuilder.com/
Good PHP tutorials
A relatively new PHP tutorial site that is continually expanding with new tutorials and members.
http://www.goodphptutorials.com/

PHP - Why I need to learn it

2008-12-10T16:45:00.005Z

PHP Hypertext Preprocessor is one of the most widely supported server side scripting language. It is powerful language that is most commonly used to create dynamic websites and it can also be used to create CMS (Content Management Systems).

I have been using this language to manipulate and configure the ZenPhoto CMS, we are using for the National Diploma project within the A11 assignment.

Due to studying programming on my last course I am familiar with some aspects of the language. I can create IF statements, Loops etc… but I feel my current knowledge of the language is very limited. I want to learn how create more dynamic websites and have the ability to understand

From looking at numerous job sites and reading many job adverts I have found that using PHP alongside MySQL databases is a necessary skill to have, within the interactive media industry.

During my time on the SMLP (Self Managed Learning Project) assignment I hope to gain a large amount of knowledge of both these subjects and the relationship between them as many employees are looking for skills in this area.

With the popularity of Wordpress increasingly PHP is also a useful language to know as it can be used to create plugins. It is also used by many other CMS’s and blogging software so I would be able to use and edit these with very little training.

In conclusion I think that learning PHP is essential for any web developer as it is a skill required by a large number of employees. Learning PHP will also provide me with a solid foundation for learning future programming languages such as: Ruby on Rails etc… and how they are related to databases.

2nd Leg, First Half

2008-12-03T17:42:00.003Z

Sumer assignment
During the summer I found it quite difficult to maintain the same amount of discipline I normally have with the assignments.

This meant that I was doing work as and when I could. With this method I found a lack of consistency crept in my work.

Due to this I referred the assignment. This wasn’t the best start to the year but I helped me to see what things I needed to improve.

A9 – Outside the box
The CSS(Cascading StyleSheets) assignment with John was a lot different than I expected. This was mainly due to the introduction of the test instead of creating a page for CSS Beauty.

Already having a good knowledge of CSS I felt confident about the assignment but there is something about tests that always make me nervous. Having the practice test really helped me to understand exactly what was required, for the real thing, and what improvements I needed to make.

Overall I enjoyed this assignment and although I attained a Merit I feel that I let myself. I could have gained a Distinction had I annotated more of my sketchbook work and provided more evidence of me practicing with different CSS techniques.

A11 On the Job
The A11 assignment I have enjoyed the most out of all the assignment over the length of the course. I feel the team, blu-box creative, is working really well together.

Having most of the work finished for both of our current projects the pressure is off slightly and it is just a matter of making sure we don’t get complacent and not get the work finished.

With my roles as a developer I have learnt a great deal about CMS’s (Content Management Systems) and how to choose the correct one for the job. With this knowledge I am looking forward to the A13 assignment, Content Is King, after Christmas.

I also found the usability testing really interesting. This gave me a chance to see how other people will be using the websites we have created and possible problems they may encounter.

A12 – Culture Vulture
This is a really interesting assignment. Having to create idea after idea for an unknown product is really mentally draining. Having a selection of pens, crayons, pencils etc... has really helped me.

The presentation for this assignment was something I was hoping to use to give me more confidence for future presentations. With the presentation only lasting 5 minutes I felt disappointed.

I had planned to present for around 7 minutes and I had achieved this in nearly all of my practices. When the actual presentation came around I let nerves get the better of me and I rushed.

This is something I going to work on in future presentations as I won’t be long until it’s time for the final presentation.

Conclusion
Overall the start of the second year has been really good and I have enjoyed all the assignments and I have especially enjoyed working for professional clients.

Soft skills

2008-11-05T16:04:00.002Z

Soft skills are essential within the world of work. Being able to communicate effectivly, manage your time, working within a team etc… are skills every employer expects.

The role of creative professional is to be a problem solver. Finding solutions to the problem, outlined in the brief, is an essential. Once and idea can been developed it needs to be communicated in a clear and concise manner.

Part of this process is correctly interpreting the brief which the client has given you. Often there is only one opportunity to gain all the required information for the project. Gathering the correct information during this session will make for a better understanding of the problem and inevitably a more suitable solution.

This normally happens in the form of a pitch or presentation. Presenting in a well formed and structured manner, whilst sticking to a set time limit, will ensure that the client gains all the relevant information about your design.

This goes hand-in-hand with time management. Making the most of your time will help ensure that deadlines are met and, where possible, with time to spare for any last minute changes / amendments.

Currently I feel I have all of these skills but not at a level required for full time employment. Over the remaining duration of the course I need to work on these skills in order to be properly prepared for the workplace.

In particular my communication and presentation skills need to be improved. Conveying my ideas in a way that can be understood by someone with little or no technical knowledge is essential.

Although my time management skills have improved a great deal during the course I need to continue to improve them. Doing this will allow me to get more work done in a shorter amount of time which will give me more time to carry out research.

XHMTL genius

2008-10-08T17:05:00.035+01:00

Job post link: http://jobboard.geekup.org/jobs/2008/aug/28/xhtml_genius/

The requirements of the job are: "... a reasonably experienced XHTML/CSS developer to either join the team permanently or work freelance..."

Although the advert is slightly vague in specifying the level of experience they would be looking for from a potential employer I feel that my knowledge of XHTML and CSS will be of a high enough level by the end of the course.

The job mentions "...experience using JavaScript and the JQuery library would be and advantage...". Although this is not necessarily required for the job I feel that improving my basic skills using JavaScript would benefit me in the future and add another string to my bow.

When looking at the website of the LOVE Creative I was a little shocked be greeted by the message "Created in PowerPoint". After my initial reservation I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the work which the company has done and the calibre of the clients which they have worked with.

After researching similar jobs to this I found that PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) was a very popular requirement. During this year of the course I plan to learn as much as I can about PHP as this will help me when I am looking to gain employment.

Another aspect I think will help me, when seeking employment, is learning and using a number of CMS management systems. CMS's are gaining much more popularity as many people want to be able to update there website whenever they want.

I feel that this job would help me to gain a large amount of professional experience. This would help to me to build up a portfolio of work that will enable me to progress to a higher level, whether that would be internally or externally.

My aspirations for the second year

2008-10-06T20:11:00.007+01:00

During the second of my studies, on the HND Interactive Media course, I hope to improve both my designing and coding skills to a very high standard.

I feel my current knowledge of XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is of a reasonable standard and will provide a good platform for me to build on over the year.

As well XHTML and CSS I want to learn as much as I can about PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) and I plan to do this during the SMLP (Self Managed Learning Plan) assignment.

The SMLP will require me to manage my own time and dictate the pace of my learning. Managing my time and using it as effectively as possible is a skill which will benefit a great deal in the future.

Another assignment I am really looking forward to this year is A13 Content Is King as this involves learning about CMS’s (Content Management Systems).

After using a few CMS’s, such as: Textpattern, Drupal, Joomla etc…, over the holiday break I have become really interested in CMS’s and how they can be used to make flexible and easy to manage websites.

As well as improving my technical knowledge on these subjects I also hope to gain some real world experience as this is will be invaluable when seeking employment after the course.

After the course I hope to gain employment with a design agency as a web developer. This will allow me to use my current skills as a web developer and also satisfy my needs for learning and using new web technologies and languages.

In summary I plan to use this year on the course to gain as much experience as possible and also to gain as many skills as possible that will make me more employable.

Evaluation of 1st year

2008-05-13T17:31:00.004+01:00

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

The deadline approaches...

2008-05-06T18:02:00.023+01:00

With this week being a 'reading week' and the last proper week before submission I have been trying to get as much done as possible to ensure that I was ready for next week's submission.

After making the required changes to my style I then needed to complete the outer and inner covers of my CD artwork. The outer cover was almost complete and only a few amendments were required.

With the outer design completed I moved on the inner part of the CD body. With the large amount of text that is required on the inner cover I knew that the key to the design would be the control of this text and it's placement. With this in mind I have created the design with varies typefaces at different point sizes and this will also be usual as evidence for my sketchbook.

I will be posting all three pieces of the CD artwork once the CD body is complete sometime this week. I have also started to create some initial sketches for the wire advert this week and I will be posting some final versions along with the CD artwork.

My goals for next week are:

Complete CD artwork inner
Complete the wire advert
Create Merit/Distinction sheet
Prepare everything for seminar group on Monday and final checks

Looking ahead

2008-04-29T16:19:00.030+01:00

After a reminder of the print lecture from last week I started to create the outer cover for my CD artwork. After spending a number of weeks creating the style guide I was glad to be doing something more creative. I had done some initial sketches based around the idea of a train with light trails coming off it but I felt that this a little bit cliché and suggested that the music was of a much faster pace than it actually is.

Finding the right image did prove something of a challenge as the number of 300dpi images available of free stock image sites such as; sxc, was very limited. I am happy with the progression of my CD artwork and the alternative style of the seminar group this week, consisting of us sticking our work on the work and giving feedback, really helped.

With this being the last few weeks of the last year one assignment at lot of focus is being put on the 2nd year and this was the topic of discussion on Tuesday morning. I am looking forward to the second year and the prospect of working for a real client as I believe this will provide invaluable experience for the future.

The volume of work in the second year will be much bigger than any course I have previously been and this will help me to understand the pressures of a career in the creative industry. This will be beneficial to be and make me more employable when I come to finish the course.

A major part of the second year that I am looking forward to is learning CSS. Although I have already built some websites using CSS I know that I have barely scratched the surface of what is possible.

With next week being a self study week I plan to get the assignment completed to ensure I have time to make any changes necessary on Monday.

My goals for next week are:

To have my CD artwork finished
To have my style guide amendments completed

Initial ideas completed for 'The Wire' advert

Completed pre-flight document

Slow Progress

2008-04-22T16:16:00.048+01:00

Progress this week has been slower than I would have liked. My target was to have this finish by the end of last week but it has taken longer than I anticipated. However the style guide is just about completed now and that means that I can finally start working on my CD artwork during self study.

Creating the style guide has been something I have really enjoyed. Designing the business cards, letterheads, envelope etc... has helped to allow me to get into a more professional mind set and approach the work from a more commercial viewpoint.

After the presentation on how to set work up properly for the commercial print process I feel ready to begin designing the CD artwork but I don't won't to have to listen to the CD again!

I have already got some ideas of what the artwork should look like but I plan to try a number of different designs before settling on the final one. Designing the artwork is the task I have been most looking forward to since I first read the assignment so I can't wait to start.

As well as working A7 this week I needed to do A6 presentation again as my previous attempt was only around 3 minutes. My second attempt didn't much better either and I was disappointed as I knew that there was sufficient content in the presentation to last to 5 minutes due to my practice runs.

I also received feedback on the A5 assignment and I was pleased with the merit grade I achieved. Looking back on the website now the only major change I would make would be t o change the shade of blue to something that is more suitable to the target audience and not quite as bright.

My targets for next week:

Complete style guide
Create initial sketches for CD artwork
Develop CD artwork using Adobe Photoshop

All change

2008-04-15T16:24:00.066+01:00

After choosing a different logo to my original design I now feel happy with it and this week I have started to create my corporate style guide

Due to the last three weeks of developing my logo I now feel I have a much larger appreciation of the difficulty of the designing logos. Previously I had a very naive view of logo design and I had never considered the intricacies involved.

The major problem I have had with my logo is reducing it down to 1cm whilst still maintaining its presence and suitable weight. For the majority of Monday morning this was my main focus was adding extra weight to the symbol.

Once I had finished my logo I moved onto creating the corporate style guide. This involves stipulating things such as: how to use the logo effectively, what the corporate fonts and colours are etc... I have enjoyed this and I am looking forward to the challenge of creating my business cards, letterheads etc... to meet the standards I have set in the corporate guide.

Initially I have been focusing on the content of the style guide and during the week I am going to focus on the design. Once this is complete I will move on to designing the letterhead, business cards etc...

I am happy with my progress so far on this assignment but I would like to have my style guide completed by the end of the week so that I can create my letterheads and business cards etc... This means that I can spend the next few weeks designing my CD artwork and preparing my work properly for print.

My targets for next week are:

Make final adjustments to logo
Complete corporate style
Begin designing business cards, letterheads etc...
Start generate ideas for CD artwork
Practice presentation from A6 assignment in preparation for presenting on

Logo development feedback (black and white)

2008-04-11T22:47:00.004+01:00

Here is a developed version of my chosen logo so any feedback would appreciated.

I will also be posting it in a range of colours tomorrow so let me know what you think.

Thanks

Logo Feedback Wanted

2008-04-08T20:50:00.010+01:00

These are four of my final design and I would really appreciate any feedback before I develop them and begin to add colour.

Thanks

Logo Development

2008-04-08T20:50:00.009+01:00

Another week focused on logo designs and there development and this means that I have had the chance to use my sketchbook for large amounts of the week. Developing the logo this week has caused me some frustration as I have a design I like and I have found it difficult to deviate from this idea as I have wanted to develop it further.

To help develop the logos we had two tutorials on Macromedia Freehand this week. I have never used Macromedia Freehand and it lacks the familiarity of the more modern Adobe products and this has been frustrating at time. Although I prefer Adobe Illustrator I do feel that it will be beneficial for me in the future as I will be able to use a larger range of software applications and this will be an advantage when it come to gaining employment.

Like last week we had an ex-student of the course, Mark Feather, visit us and talk about the work he does for Empire Direct. The work that Mark does consists of web banners, html emails, image manipulation etc... This variety of work appealed to me as I think it would allow a larger learning curve in a much shorter time span compared and it would allow a broader range of skills to be obtained.

My targets for next week are:

Have a completed version of logo
To have chosen the Emit colour scheme and corporate typeface/s
Develop initial ideas for style guide
Plan content for style guide
Build on current knowledge of Freehand

Logos, logos, logos

2008-04-01T15:53:00.049+01:00

With the emphasis this week being on logos I have spent a large amount of the week focusing on my sketchbook and developing initial ideas for my 'Emit' logo. I have enjoyed this and I have already generated a number of ideas which I am going to develop during the week. I will be posting some scans of my initial designs from sketchbook, so feel free to leave and feedback you have.

Initial ideas:

I have found the case studies from the lectures very interesting especially seeing how the logos have developed over the years as the logos have been redesigned to meet with current attitudes and trends.

During the first lecture, this featured an overview of the four basic types of logos (wordmarks, lettermarks, graphic and new generation). I was a big fan of the graphic only logos as I felt that they provided the best impact, where the easiest to recognise and often the most simplistic.

Examples of graphic only logos:

Most of my initial ideas have focused on the words Emit and playing around with the letters to see what logos I could come up with. I plan to start thinking about graphic only logos that will represent the company Emit but I am not sure whether a graphic only logo would be the best option as I am not sure if the company is strong enough to be easily recognised.

This week we also had a visit from Jonny Haynes a previous student on the course who now works at Technophobia. The meeting was really interesting and provided a great insight into the work he does and the work of Technophobia.

My targets for next week are:

Develop my initial logo ideas and hopefully have a number of possible logos
Start thinking about the typefaces that the company will use and the colour scheme
Continue to research logos and annotate them
Research style guides and what they contain in preparation for the Emit style

Listening Week

2008-03-11T18:08:00.012Z

Monday morning's tasks finally gave me a chance to the listen to the CD, Lucid Dreams. After listening to the CD I soon found out it was defiantly not the type of music I would normally listen to.

The album focuses around the act of Lucid dreaming and features voice overs and exerts from case studies from the institute of psychophysical research in Oxford.

Although I wasn't really a fan of the music it did provide me a lot thoughts and feelings which I was able to use when creating my minds and mood boards.

I have never used the idea of creating mood boards before but I have found it really interesting and I feel that they will be very useful for the remainder of the project. I will be able look back at them and remember my first impression of the music and the thoughts and feelings which it provoked.

Logos
Looking at logos this week as shown me that it is often the very simple logos that we most recognise and are the easiest to remember; a few examples of this are below.

All of these logos use the company name as the main focus of the logo and only use simple shapes and colours to make them stand out from the crowd. Some are even made purely using type, such as; coca-cola, ebay, google.

This follows through to the logos used for record label and more specifically ambient and electronic music record labels.

During the Easter break I am going to:

collect more examples of logos and annotate them
read the A7 assignment and build up a list of questions about it
continue to develop my mind maps and mood boards

Lucid Dreams - Review

2008-03-10T17:20:00.006Z

Lucid Dreams takes you on a journey through dreams and allows you travel into a world brought to life by your imagination.

Recorded and mixed at Square Centre Studios in 1995, Lucid Dreams offers a blend of deep thoughts and relaxing sounds to provide a soothing yet thought provoking album.

Narrated by Celia Green, each track delves into a different aspect of lucid dreaming and, with the aid of case studies recorded at the institute of psychophysical research in Oxford, immerses the listener into world of possibilities and intrigue.

The case studies provide and insight into the power of lucid dreams and the experience of other lucid dreamers. Each case study provides a different viewpoint and due to the underlying background sounds and tones you are able picture each intricate detail.

Providing a backdrop to the narration is the range of unusual sounds and tones that help transport the mind to numerous locations such as; a London tube station or the side of a river or lake. These are constant throughout the album and this means with each track you a re taken to a different place both mentally and emotionally.

This album contains deep and powerful lyrics that will have you listening over and over again. So sit back and let Lucid Dreams take your mind on journey only limited by your imagination.

A6 - Evaluation

2008-03-03T11:01:00.004Z

When I first read the assignment sheet and I found that I had to do a presentation I was immediately apprehensive about this. I wasn’t very confident that I would be able to perform the presentation effectively knowing that I would be getting grading on my performance. The presentation I did on the colour red I feel went well but I knew it wasn’t going to affect my grades so it did not carry with it the same level of pressure as the typography presentation.

After learning that the typographer I was presenting about was Erik Spiekermann I was keen to learn more about him and the typefaces he had created as I had never heard of him before. After carrying out some research I found a wealth of information about his work and his passion for typography. Seeing is his passion for typography really inspired to continue my research and in the end I think I spent too much time researching and not enough time documenting the evidence of my research.

The finer details, of typefaces, are something I find really interesting. I am now constantly looking at type in newspapers, magazines, adverts and I am trying to identify the typefaces that has been used and often using service such as ‘What the font’ to identify ones I don’t know. Through this I have learnt a larger number of typefaces as, I previously only knew the names of a small number of typefaces and many of these were the web safe fonts.

The design of the presentation was something that I wanted to keep quite simple and clean so that it would have the professional feel that many of Erik Spiekermann’s typefaces have. After seeing the FontFont website and the FontBook I was really impressed by the use of two single colours, black and yellow, to create a clean and professional look that really catches the eye. I used this as inspiration for my design of my presentation and I am happy with end result.

My presentation didn’t go as well as it had during my practice attempts and this was due to nerves. I rushed through some of the slides and this caused me to be under the five minute time limit. My confidence was boosted after the presentation as I answered all the questions correctly.

The questions after were something I was apprehensive about and before the presentation I keep thinking that I would freeze and forget all of the terms and their meaning when I was questioned about them. This, however, was not the case as I was able to answer the questions quickly and confidently.

I was interested by the prospect of the timed tasks as I have never normally placed myself under a strict time constraint when designing. They also presented the challenging of forcing me work under or near to industry timescales. To complete the tasks effectively I knew that my micro planning had to improve and that I needed to think in more detail about the design process that used.

The first timed task, to create and a paint tube for a range of Winsor and Newton called ‘Hokai Oriental Gouache‘. This presented the challenge of designing for a very small document size and ensuring that all the information was correctly and easy to read. I enjoyed this task but looking back now I would change the typeface I used, for the name ‘Hokai Oriental Gouache‘, to something that portrayed the oriental feel. In the end I choice Myriad Pro but this was down to the fact that I didn’t leave enough time to choice a typeface and in the end I had to go with something I knew which had a professional feel to it.

This was the one main reason that I rejected this piece when it came to the final hand-in. The Hokai task was one I enjoyed but because it was the first real timed task I did my time planning wasn’t as effective as I would have like. This didn’t allow me any time towards the end of the task for alterations and experimentation with different typefaces.

To create an advert for a job at Vodafone was second timed task and I felt that this went really well. My time planning was effective and I had around 25 minutes at the end of the task to make alterations to my final design. I am happy with the final result and the only thing I would change about would be to reduce the thickness of the lines from 1pt to 0.5pt.

The Jonathan Gee timed task was the first time I properly thought about designing the layout using a grid. This meant that the planning stage took a lot longer than I expected as I had to think about the measurements more precisely. I decided to create a layout using 8 columns and then splitting the text over tow columns of three leaving a column of space either side of the article. I felt that this allowed the design room to breathe and it also draws the user’s eye.

I like the design as it is something I haven’t seen before in magazines or articles. One thing I would change is that I would add a drop cap to the first letter of the content to lead the reading into the content of the article.

The final timed tasks I really enjoyed. Planning the grid without seeing the content meant that I had to create think about all the different aspects, of the grid, in much more detail. I decided to go with a three column layout as I felt that this provided the enough flexibility to manipulate the look of the document whilst it still maintained a high level of structure.

As well as creating the grid a masthead was also needed. I decided to use a serif font and after experimenting with a few I settled on Bernhard Modern Std as I felt that this typeface represented the jazz theme. When I received the content I was able to create a number of possible layouts and I felt that the column widths suited the amount of text provided very well.

I have really enjoyed this assignment and learning about typography. My knowledge of typefaces has greatly improved on a technical level but also with regards to the face that I can know recognise a lot more fonts than I previously could. This will help when I planning in the future as I will be able visual what the piece will look like using different typefaces.

My presentation skills still need a lot more work and I am eager to receive the feedback from this task so that I can learn from and improve. Overall, I am happy with the standard of work I have produced for this assignment and I feel that I created five pieces of work that are of a good standard within near industry time scales.

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