Juggling Act

Another week has gone by, a quite satisfactory week in most respects.
My referral work is almost complete and should be ready to hand in on Monday morning. Already, I can see a big improvement in my image restoration and I am pleased with how it looks so far. My juggle between referral work and current assignments hasn't been as bad as I originally thought it would be. I've put in at least 16 hours on each assignment and then done referral work on top of that! This has led me to a nice situation where I feel on top of things, rather than being buried under the mountain of work still to do.

My current assignments are getting underway nicely. My presentation for A6 is complete in regards to the design, placement of my bullet points and titles may need some amending and my content needs a bit more technical depth after our lecture on typography anatomy today. Other than that, I feel I'm ahead on this assignment, which gives me time to do A5.

A5 isn't as far as I hoped it would be due to a problem with 'floating' tables, that has been fixed now though and so I can quickly move forward to the stage where I want to be at the end of the week. For seminar groups next week, I have to consider questions I would like to ask on my user testing questionnaire in regards to functionality, usability and aesthetics. A handout for A6 is also needed.

My targets to complete this week are:

• Draw up an initial draft of a user testing form for my website.
• Have an initial draft of my presentation handout.
• Work on A5 and reach the stage I want to be at.
• Complete referral work and hand in on Monday.

Thanks for reading,
Sue

Collect, Prepare, Think and Show

In a certain sense, this week feels as though it has been more productive than last week. Although there has been plenty of work to be cracking on with, I feel that beginning to build our website has somehow made it feel more productive than previous weeks.

Using tables and cells to build the website has been good so far, although I haven't used this method of building in a while. I find myself remembering ways to apply certain properties to cells. Hand-coding is the way forward, after allowing Dreamweaver to write my CSS in the function window and it then imploding on me and deciding not to work, I decided that I would hand-code afterall. Before the beginning of the build, my confidence in my ability to hand code wasn't too good, but after giving it a shot yesterday, I found that I should have a little faith in myself sometimes. Not much of my code is done yet, but what I have done so far works - so that has to be a good thing. My next problem is getting the code to validate to XHTML 1.0 Strict, on my first validation review I incurred five errors so before I continue any futher I would like to erradicate these.

Today we had the first of our timed tasks, it was pretty tense and I certainly learnt how not to go about my planning. Although I managed to hand my design in on time, I wasn't happy with it. If I had planned my time more efficiently I could have done a lot lot better.

My presentation handout/slides are progressing and hopefully I will have a draft version done for next week ready to receive feedback in Tuesday's seminar group.

Targets for next week:

• Collect more inspirational work.
  This is an aspect of my sketchbook which has been slightly neglected recently. If I can aim at getting 10 pieces a week I'll be able to stay on target.
• Prepare myself properly for seminar groups.
  Take notes from the seminar details on the wall making sure that I have the topics to be discussed, prepare for them beforehand.
• Think deeper about assignments.
  Read the assignments sheets properly so I know what is expected of me then I can make sure that I have everything that is required for submission.
• Ensure that I show my idea's generation through every stage.
  Ensure that I cover every stage with mind maps, word associations, rough sketches, developed ideas, final designs, feedback on each stage etc etc

A new year, new semester.

The feeling of dread that accompanied me throughout the Christmas holidays has now been laid to rest and the realisation of my assignment results has sunk in. Admittedly, I initially thought that I had referred both of my assignments and that I would be spending the first half of this term juggling four assignments instead of the preferred two. Instead, I am juggling three – my A4 assignment needs some work doing to it, which I completed expected. Over the duration of last term, my time planning went down the pan. External factors beyond my control meant that I wasn’t able to keep up with my schedule, which meant in the end I did whatever it would take just to be able to hand my work in on time. Due to those external factors, I’ve been given an insight as to what could happen when I’m in employment while working to a deadline. Staying up all night so that a deadline can be achieved was a tense but worthwhile experience, although, I’d try to avoid it where possible in the future.

Back to college and a new semester has brought us two new assignments in the shape of:

A5 – Builder
This assignment is a continuation of A3 – Back to BASIC. It requires me to build the website that I planned using Adobe Dreamweaver and put it through rigorous testing to ensure that it works fully. Usability testing will be needed for this, so feedback will be needed in the shape of a feedback form.

This assignment is the one I’ve been looking forward to the most. Since the beginning of the course I have been wanting to dive straight into the building of a website. Until now, I didn’t realise the sheer amount of work that goes into a website before an authoring program such as Adobe Dreamweaver is even opened.

A6 – Revert to Type
A portfolio assignment consisting of a number of tasks. This assignment will be another challenging one for me. Typography is another area of creative media that I know nothing about. The final piece of Revert to Type will be a five minute presentation on my notable typographer – Stanley Morison.

I’m starting to get used to the idea of presentations now, last time I managed to nail my timing so that can hopefully be a skill I can carry forward. A few factors could be worked on, the fact that I like playing with my hand out would be a good start and sounding breathless as I speak (breathless through sheer panic!). Already the ideas for the visual aids are flowing, so I can’t wait to get cracking on with these.

From receiving my feedback, I’ve realised a lot of things about myself and my work. So over the next term I want to improve:

• Time Planning – my planning in general isn’t too bad overall, but I want to make it more rigid. I’ve decided that throughout the week, I will do at least 4 hours a night of work (once my daughter is in bed), this will ensure that a minimum 20 hours per week is done and should make sure that I keep on top of things. I will then have my weekends free to have family time or continue to do work if needed.
• Referencing – although I haven’t had a problem writing down the references that I’ve used to include in my work. I find that sometimes I’m almost forgetting to write down the date I’ve accessed the websites. From now on, I should write down all websites that I’ve been on, regardless of whether or not I have used anything from them in my work. This will show that I am capable of deciding what makes good information and will enable me to cross reference.
• Check my work more thoroughly – stupid mistakes were pointed out today that when I looked at them made me think “Well, that was stupid. What a silly mistake to make”. Therefore I need to set more time aside before submission date to proof read through my work and leave myself extra time to amend mistakes, just in case any are made. This will help me to decrease the number of mistakes I’m making.
  

So, with a lot of work to be getting on with, my time planning for the next few weeks will be definitely over 24 hours of self study per week. I feel that this will help me to get out of the ‘referral trap’ that was mentioned in class yesterday.

Thanks for reading.
Sue

Merry Christmas!

After a full day of unwrapping presents, eating, unwrapping more presents and eating some more. I thought I would come online to say...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you all had a great day!

1/4 of the way...

This first semester has gone surprisingly fast, so fast I can hardly believe it’s already December with Christmas just around the corner. Even though I started the course two weeks after the rest of the class, I feel part of the group and I’ve made friends with everyone – something which I initially thought would be hard as I’d been out of college education for a couple of years now.

At the beginning of the course, I had a limited amount of knowledge regarding the design process. Apart from knowing how to use some of the software at a basic level, the rest of the process was new to me. Even though I had already built a few websites, I now realise how badly they were put together with the amount of knowledge I’ve learnt in such a short time on the course.

There are certain aspects of the course that I didn’t expect; I knew that there was a requirement of a sketchbook, but I simply thought that this was just for drawing our ideas and designs. I didn’t quite expect the major impact the sketchbook would have on assignments and my research. At first, I found it quite difficult to use and didn’t quite grasp the need for it but as the course as progressed, I’ve found myself using it more and more. This was also the same with the blog, although I’ve wrote blogs in the past they were on a more personal level. Writing a blog about one particular subject seemed ‘weird’ to me but something I settled into pretty quickly.

The level of work involved is much much more than I originally anticipated. The huge step up from FE to HE is certainly something I felt in the first few weeks on the course, but I’ve enjoyed the challenge and passing the first two units helped to confirm that this was the right course for me.

Overall, I’ve found this course really enjoyable. I enjoy going to college each week learning about something I have a real interest in and doing work that serves a purpose, rather than doing it for the sake of ticking it off a syllabus list. Hopefully this will continue during the remaining 3 semesters and provide me with extensive knowledge of the design industry reading for employment.

Main Goals

- Short Term
By the end of semester two, I hope to have achieved at least 1 distinction in my work. By pushing myself to achieve the highest grades, I will reach my full potential and prepare myself more for what’s ahead on the second year. By continuing to ‘mess about’ with the software associated with design and desktop publishing software, I’ll become familiar with the layouts and menus so that I can find my way around them with ease.

- Medium Term
By the end of the two years of the HND course, I’m hoping to have gain enough knowledge and awareness of design to gain employment AND to continue onto the third year. I’m hoping to be able to find myself a job that will allow me to continue onto the third year of the course. Hopefully an employer will allow me the one day off a week to attend college. Fingers crossed!

- Long Term
After completing the third year and gaining myself a year’s worth of experience in a design job (if all goes to plan!). I’ll be able to take my experience and qualification forward with me to get myself a design job more suited to my needs. For this, I’ll be able to build myself a portfolio of the three years on my Interactive Media course to aid me at interview with prospective employers.

In summary:

• A short term goal of achieving my best potential on assignments will aid me in the second year of the course. Once I reach the higher grades, I can use these as a benchmark for future assignments and gain my full potential.
• By completing the two years, I will be prepared for employment AND to move onto the third degree year. By finding myself an employer willing to let me have the one day off a week for college, I’ll gain design experience while learning, therefore beating the catch 22 situation most design students experience.
• Once I’ve achieved enough experience in my junior role with a design agency, I can use my qualification and my experience to move myself forward in the design industry – maybe achieving myself a more senior position.
  

Thanks for reading.
Sue

7 days and counting...

With a week to go until both A3 and A4 deadlines, my work is steadily coming to a position where I can finally finish it off. After a few late nights/early mornings I can certainly feel the pressure of getting them both in on time and to a standard that I am happy with. The pressure is something that seems to spur me on though, the more pressure there is the more I thrive under the conditions set and produce, in my opinion, my best work.

A3 - Back to BASIC
This assignment has come a long way in the past week, after deciding that my screen designs were reaching the potential that they could reach, I decided on a last minute 'revamp' to make good use of the feedback that I had been given. I've really enjoyed doing this assignment, knowing that I'm going to build this website after Christmas has provided me with a challenge, once again, something that I am thriving off.

Below is my final final design, feel free to comment:

A4 - Image Rights
This assignment has provided me with some experience in a software package that I've not used too much in the past before. Adobe Photoshop is a program that I've used for simple images, but never for anything as complex as image restoration before. The two essays have provided me with an insight back into the days of high school (as this is the last time I wrote an essay), discussing something that I have an interest in made the essays more enjoyable and provided me with the motivation to get them completed.

The whole class have really pulled together these past two weeks, providing one another with formative feedback and support through the designing process of both assignments. Something which we saw happen during the last two weeks of the previous assignment.

To get my assignment completed for next week, I have a few things on each assignment to complete before monday, preferably.

• Evaluate both assignments, provide a bullet pointed action plan stating what I would do next time to improve on my skills.
• Write up merit/distinction criteria for both assignments.
• When handing the assignment in, don't forget to include the production schedule!!!!!

This time next week I'll be posting on my relief that they're handed in (fingers crossed) and that I can look forward to spending the Christmas holidays with my family.

Thanks for reading.
Sue

Final Screen Design

Well, here's my final design developed from the initial screen designs posted last week. As you can see, I've incorporated the colour scheme from design 1 with the layout of design 2 as suggested by the feedback I received.

Please feel free to leave further feedback about this design, there's still things I need to complete before it is totally finished and I'm still undecided on font sizes. If you have any advice, then please, share!

Thanks for reading.
Sue