For the self managed learning plan I would like to study Flash with Action Script. As I feel from researching other job advertisements in a wide range of areas, this is a skill that is most likely required for jobs in the web and graphic design industry. This is one of the job adverts that I found when we were searching for jobs that would best suit are needs when leaving college. Flash is one thing that is essential to achieve a job like this one and would also make me more employable. http://www.reed.co.uk/job-details/Leeds/Junior-Web-Designer/?JobID=17013435&&set=5&jr=17013435&lit=2
As I don’t know any thing about Flash I feel that this would be a good opportunity to learn something new and develop my design skills. Flash is something that I have always wanted to learn about but haven’t yet got the chance too. I feel that to improve my design skills Flash would be the perfect opportunity to do this and also I would learn about design, animation and creating videos using Flash and action script. After researching different websites about Flash and action script, I feel that this is a skill that would benefit me as it would improve my graphic skills, this is a skill that I would like to improve. I feel that this would give me better knowledge of Flash but would also help me to learn more about graphic design.
This assignment will give me the opportunity to manage a learning plan my self and would give me the opportunity to improve at managing my time when studying assignments.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
The second year so far
This year I knew that I would have to put a lot more effort in to college work then I had done last year, even though I did try my best I felt like I could have probably done alot better then I had.
I feel that I have already improved with my work so far, such as doing the presentation last week. My skills have already improved in this area, and I feel proud of what I produced that day, as I have realised that I can actually do it. I have started this year positive and hope that I can carry on doing this as this will be reflected in the work I produce.
Summer assignment
The summer assignment gave us the opportunity to still do college work so we wouldn’t get out of the habit of not doing any work. I thought that the work we had to do for each piece of the assignment was different which made the assignment more interesting. If I felt I wasn’t getting far on one particular essay I was able to move on to another.
Even though I tried to plan the assignment so that I would have enough time to complete this, I also allowed myself to have a rest from all of the college work. I felt that I could have managed it better as I always felt like there was work always left to do, if I was to do the assignment again this is something that I would do better.
CSS assignment
When I started this assignment I only had basic knowledge of XHTML and CSS from a previous assignment that I had done. I knew that this wasn’t going to be one of my strong points, so I knew I would have to learn more about this subject.
I found writing the essay quite interesting because I didn’t know that much about XHTML and CSS so this helped me to get better knowledge of this. Even though I didn’t pass the exam I still feel that I have learnt loads from even attempting it. My main problem with the exam is that I didn’t know much about XHTML but having the chance to do the exam again this will help me to understand it better.
Team assignment
I have really enjoyed the team assignment as it has given us the chance to work as part of the team. I have enjoyed my role as Project Assistant as I have experienced working with clients, the progression of the project and usability testing. The assignment has also given me a better understanding of what it is like to work in the design industry.
A12 assignment
With only just starting this assignment I don’t really know what to expect so far. But the work I have done already I have enjoyed as it has given me a chance to do different designs, instead of having to use the computer to design every thing.
I feel that I have already improved with my work so far, such as doing the presentation last week. My skills have already improved in this area, and I feel proud of what I produced that day, as I have realised that I can actually do it. I have started this year positive and hope that I can carry on doing this as this will be reflected in the work I produce.
Summer assignment
The summer assignment gave us the opportunity to still do college work so we wouldn’t get out of the habit of not doing any work. I thought that the work we had to do for each piece of the assignment was different which made the assignment more interesting. If I felt I wasn’t getting far on one particular essay I was able to move on to another.
Even though I tried to plan the assignment so that I would have enough time to complete this, I also allowed myself to have a rest from all of the college work. I felt that I could have managed it better as I always felt like there was work always left to do, if I was to do the assignment again this is something that I would do better.
CSS assignment
When I started this assignment I only had basic knowledge of XHTML and CSS from a previous assignment that I had done. I knew that this wasn’t going to be one of my strong points, so I knew I would have to learn more about this subject.
I found writing the essay quite interesting because I didn’t know that much about XHTML and CSS so this helped me to get better knowledge of this. Even though I didn’t pass the exam I still feel that I have learnt loads from even attempting it. My main problem with the exam is that I didn’t know much about XHTML but having the chance to do the exam again this will help me to understand it better.
Team assignment
I have really enjoyed the team assignment as it has given us the chance to work as part of the team. I have enjoyed my role as Project Assistant as I have experienced working with clients, the progression of the project and usability testing. The assignment has also given me a better understanding of what it is like to work in the design industry.
A12 assignment
With only just starting this assignment I don’t really know what to expect so far. But the work I have done already I have enjoyed as it has given me a chance to do different designs, instead of having to use the computer to design every thing.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Soft Skills
Throughout out this course I have learnt many skills which I can use and continue to develop.
Presentation skills will help you to be more confident at presenting information. I have never really been that confident when delivering presentations but I feel by already presenting a few presentations I feel that I have gained more confidence. By practicing this skill will only mean that you will become more confident at presenting presentations.
Teamwork is important as it will help you to be able to communicate with other people better and helps you to work well in a team. Having this skill will benefit you when employed as depending what job you go for you will most likely have to work as part of a team. I have developed this skill at college by being involved in different seminar groups and also the team assignment that we are currently doing.
Having written work skills is important and is something that you can develop more, this will help when structuring essays and will improve grammar and spelling skills. This is a skill that can be developed more by making sure that I structure my essays and make sure to check my spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Time management skills will helps you to be more employable making sure that you are on time at your interview will show the employer that you are reliable. I have developed this skill by making sure that assignments are handed in on time. Also I have used weekly time sheets so that I know what work needs to be done.
Communication skills are something that is needed every day this skill can also be improved by presenting presentations and also working in a team. Having this skill will help when been employed as I will be working with clients.
Presentation skills will help you to be more confident at presenting information. I have never really been that confident when delivering presentations but I feel by already presenting a few presentations I feel that I have gained more confidence. By practicing this skill will only mean that you will become more confident at presenting presentations.
Teamwork is important as it will help you to be able to communicate with other people better and helps you to work well in a team. Having this skill will benefit you when employed as depending what job you go for you will most likely have to work as part of a team. I have developed this skill at college by being involved in different seminar groups and also the team assignment that we are currently doing.
Having written work skills is important and is something that you can develop more, this will help when structuring essays and will improve grammar and spelling skills. This is a skill that can be developed more by making sure that I structure my essays and make sure to check my spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Time management skills will helps you to be more employable making sure that you are on time at your interview will show the employer that you are reliable. I have developed this skill by making sure that assignments are handed in on time. Also I have used weekly time sheets so that I know what work needs to be done.
Communication skills are something that is needed every day this skill can also be improved by presenting presentations and also working in a team. Having this skill will help when been employed as I will be working with clients.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Searching for a job
Job advertisement - http://www.reed.co.uk/job-details/Leeds/Junior-Web-Designer/?JobID=17013435&&set=5&jr=17013435&lit=2
The job advertisement that I have found is a Junior Web Designer in the media, digital and creative web design sector. The role of the job will be to work with clients to produce interactive online sites, bring new designs to the company and provide specialist advice and knowledge to the client. The skills required are Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash is essential with some knowledge of HTML and CSS.
The job advertisement is a job that I feel would best suit the skills that I have learnt on the course, as I have not had much experience in the graphic and web design industry. The best option would be for me to gain more experience by working as a junior web designer and then progressing on to a more experienced role. The location of the job is based in Leeds this is somewhere I would like to work as there are more opportunities for work in this area.
Being a junior web designer would mean that I would gain experience in different parts of working for a design company such as designing interactive media products and also working with the client. This is something that I think would help with progressing on to a
higher position within the Company.
The skills that are required for this job I will have learnt at college such as Photoshop and Illustrator skills. I would need to learn how to use Flash as this is an essential skill that is required for the job. I feel that this is something that I would like to learn about as it will make me more employable when applying for a job as most of the job advertisements are wanting to employ people who have learnt Flash. I will also have skills in HTML and CSS.
The job advertisement that I have found is a Junior Web Designer in the media, digital and creative web design sector. The role of the job will be to work with clients to produce interactive online sites, bring new designs to the company and provide specialist advice and knowledge to the client. The skills required are Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash is essential with some knowledge of HTML and CSS.
The job advertisement is a job that I feel would best suit the skills that I have learnt on the course, as I have not had much experience in the graphic and web design industry. The best option would be for me to gain more experience by working as a junior web designer and then progressing on to a more experienced role. The location of the job is based in Leeds this is somewhere I would like to work as there are more opportunities for work in this area.
Being a junior web designer would mean that I would gain experience in different parts of working for a design company such as designing interactive media products and also working with the client. This is something that I think would help with progressing on to a
higher position within the Company.
The skills that are required for this job I will have learnt at college such as Photoshop and Illustrator skills. I would need to learn how to use Flash as this is an essential skill that is required for the job. I feel that this is something that I would like to learn about as it will make me more employable when applying for a job as most of the job advertisements are wanting to employ people who have learnt Flash. I will also have skills in HTML and CSS.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Aspirations for the second year of the course
Over the past year I have learnt and developed a greater knowledge of graphic and web design. I have decided to enrol on the second year of this course, hoping to gain more experience in design and different technologies, expanding on the knowledge I have already gained in the first year.
My hopes and aspirations for the course this year is to continue to develop my knowledge of graphic and web design and gain a greater understanding of the industry. I will also be looking forward to learning more about the technical side of things such as XHTML and CSS where I now only have basic knowledge, this will help me further my skills and apply these to other web sites I design. I very much hope that I will be able to achieve this to further my skills and give me more opportunities for employment.
I am also looking forward to the self managed learning plan, where I will be negotiating and designing a learning plan, where I will learn about new skills such as Flash, PHP and other software skills, to prepare me for the time I apply for employment so I will be able to demonstrate a greater understanding than I currently have and the ability to show this in my work.
After the completion of the second year of the course I will either be looking to go into employment or look to enrol on a top up degree course, this will enable me to have more chance I believe to gain a job in this industry should I decide to do so.
I believe that I am determined and focused to complete the second year more than ever to the best of my ability to achieve a greater understanding and able to show this in my work presented.
My hopes and aspirations for the course this year is to continue to develop my knowledge of graphic and web design and gain a greater understanding of the industry. I will also be looking forward to learning more about the technical side of things such as XHTML and CSS where I now only have basic knowledge, this will help me further my skills and apply these to other web sites I design. I very much hope that I will be able to achieve this to further my skills and give me more opportunities for employment.
I am also looking forward to the self managed learning plan, where I will be negotiating and designing a learning plan, where I will learn about new skills such as Flash, PHP and other software skills, to prepare me for the time I apply for employment so I will be able to demonstrate a greater understanding than I currently have and the ability to show this in my work.
After the completion of the second year of the course I will either be looking to go into employment or look to enrol on a top up degree course, this will enable me to have more chance I believe to gain a job in this industry should I decide to do so.
I believe that I am determined and focused to complete the second year more than ever to the best of my ability to achieve a greater understanding and able to show this in my work presented.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
First year evaluation
This year has been a big learning curve for me, I feel that I’ve learnt such a lot in just a year. I feel from all of the assignments that I have done, I’ve been able to learn new skills and Implement then in to each assignment.
A1 Sketchblog
The good points to the Sketchblog assignment was that it gave me the chance to develop lots of new skills. Where we had to collect inspiration and develop Blog and sketch book skills. My favourite part of the assignment was collecting inspiration has it gave me the chance to look at different pieces of designs and was able to write my views about them. I feel this gave me a better idea of the things I do and don’t like about design pieces. I was able to use the inspiration for ideas on the other assignments and feel that I gained lots from this.
The Blog was there to write about what I had done the days I was at college and was able to write my targets for the week. This will enable me to look back at other Blog entries to see how far I have come on the course. I feel that the sketch book helped me to write notes down from presentations, which helped for looking back at them so that I was able to produce the work for the assignments.
A2 That’s the plan
This assignment was the first assignment on the HND Interactive Media course. I was nervous of what to expect as it was the first assignment. When I first looked at the assignment sheet it was structured a lot different from the previous ICT course that I was on. When we had gone through the assignment sheet I was worried about not being able to achieve a good standard of work as the tasks where a lot different to anything that I had ever done before.
In this assignment we had to design a web plan, where we had to choose a famous person to design a web site about. I didn’t know how much detail you needed to go into to make a well structured web site. This learnt me a lot about how a web site should be designed and that to get a well structured web site you shouldn’t just look at the designing aspect of it, you should also think about what the target audience would want to see on a web site. I also learnt about new software applications which allowed me to create my written and design work in Pagemaker and Indesign I thought I picked the software up quite quickly, but it also restricted me to do the work I wanted to do, as I still was unsure how to work all of the tools. But I thought that my written and design work was a good attempt for my first assignment, but I knew that when I had to do another assignment I would use my production and weekly time sheets better to structure my tasks.
A3 Back to basics
This was my second assignment and I knew that I would be able to improve on the things that I didn’t do too well on in the first assignment. I feel that because I had the chance to make the A2 assignment up to a better standard I would always have that to look back on so that I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again. We had to produce a web plan for silver surfers, I knew that in this web plan I had to get every thing correct as I knew that I would eventually be making the web site. This gave me more determination to make sure that I had a better structured web plan. I feel that because I had done lots of research into the target audience I was able to design a web site for them to easily navigate. When it came to designing ideas for the web site, I knew that I couldn’t design a web site that would be too difficult to make. So my web site wasn’t has well as a design as I would have liked it to be, but I was pleased with the design I came up with.
A4 Image rights
This assignment allowed us to get more creative by looking at image restoration and by doing this we had to learn the software Photoshop. At first I didn’t really like Photoshop as I thought the tools weren’t as easy to use as other software. We also had to write an essay about the difference between art and designers, I was happy with the essay I wrote as I made sure that I had planned out the points I wanted to make before I actually wrote the essay.
I felt like on the image restoration task I could have done a lot better then I had done, though I tried hard to restore the image, I felt I didn’t really know too much about the different tools in Photoshop I wasn’t able to create a good enough restored image. I knew that my goal would be to learn more about Photoshop and feel that I could have benefited more if I had done tutorials in this assignment, then leaving it until more in to the year.
A5 Builder
This assignment gave me the first chance to build a web site from the web plan that I had designed in A3. I feel that this assignment learnt me a lot about how to design a web site. I feel that I gained the most from this assignment as it learnt me new web design skills. I feel that my web site wasn’t the best designed but was pleased that I was able to achieve all of the project goals that I had set in the web plan. Even though I had to change my design idea a bit, I feel that I also gained more from this as I was able to look more into other aspects of it such as CSS as I have never used it before and feel from just the bit of CSS I had done in the assignment learnt me more about creating a web site using code.
A6 Revert to type
This assignment we had to produce a presentation on our chosen typographer which was Erik Spikermann, I feel that I put lots of effort in to researching my typographer and feel that the presentation was well structured. This was one of my less enjoyable tasks as Im not very good at presentations, but felt like I’ve gained a bit more confidence from doing the presentation.
Also in this assignment we did timed tasks, I was unsure at first if I was going to like doing the timed tasks, but I really enjoyed them as it gave me a better understanding of what it is like in a studio environment. I was pleased with the work I produced in the amount of time we had in the tasks. I feel that from doing this assignment my design work as improved which I was able to use these skills in the A7 assignment.
A7 Wailing whales
In this assignment I was able to put all of the design skills that I have learnt throughout the assignment into the end assignment of the year. I feel that I preformed really well in this assignment as I had made sure that I had planned every task so that I knew exactly what I needed to do for that week. I feel that I have gained a lot from structuring our seminar meetings so that we were able to get a clearer understanding of what it is going to be like next year when we have to plan most of our seminar meetings.
I really enjoyed the Cd art work task as it allowed me to improve my Photoshop skills. I feel that from doing tutorials I have gained lots more skills and I am pleased that I was able to improve at using the software. I feel that the design work I have done shows the effort that I have put in with doing the tutorials.
My aims for the course
Over all I feel that I have improved on my designing skills, making sure that my designs don’t change as much as they have done over some of the assignments. Doing more tutorials so that I am able to produce the designs, instead of having to change them because I am unable to produce them.
I would like to learn more about CSS as I haven’t done as much this year, but feel that I would benefit from this as it would give me a better understanding of coding.
I would also like to be able to learn more about building web sites and how I can improve on the skills that I already have, so that I can combine all of my design, web site and coding skills in to one.
A1 Sketchblog
The good points to the Sketchblog assignment was that it gave me the chance to develop lots of new skills. Where we had to collect inspiration and develop Blog and sketch book skills. My favourite part of the assignment was collecting inspiration has it gave me the chance to look at different pieces of designs and was able to write my views about them. I feel this gave me a better idea of the things I do and don’t like about design pieces. I was able to use the inspiration for ideas on the other assignments and feel that I gained lots from this.
The Blog was there to write about what I had done the days I was at college and was able to write my targets for the week. This will enable me to look back at other Blog entries to see how far I have come on the course. I feel that the sketch book helped me to write notes down from presentations, which helped for looking back at them so that I was able to produce the work for the assignments.
A2 That’s the plan
This assignment was the first assignment on the HND Interactive Media course. I was nervous of what to expect as it was the first assignment. When I first looked at the assignment sheet it was structured a lot different from the previous ICT course that I was on. When we had gone through the assignment sheet I was worried about not being able to achieve a good standard of work as the tasks where a lot different to anything that I had ever done before.
In this assignment we had to design a web plan, where we had to choose a famous person to design a web site about. I didn’t know how much detail you needed to go into to make a well structured web site. This learnt me a lot about how a web site should be designed and that to get a well structured web site you shouldn’t just look at the designing aspect of it, you should also think about what the target audience would want to see on a web site. I also learnt about new software applications which allowed me to create my written and design work in Pagemaker and Indesign I thought I picked the software up quite quickly, but it also restricted me to do the work I wanted to do, as I still was unsure how to work all of the tools. But I thought that my written and design work was a good attempt for my first assignment, but I knew that when I had to do another assignment I would use my production and weekly time sheets better to structure my tasks.
A3 Back to basics
This was my second assignment and I knew that I would be able to improve on the things that I didn’t do too well on in the first assignment. I feel that because I had the chance to make the A2 assignment up to a better standard I would always have that to look back on so that I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again. We had to produce a web plan for silver surfers, I knew that in this web plan I had to get every thing correct as I knew that I would eventually be making the web site. This gave me more determination to make sure that I had a better structured web plan. I feel that because I had done lots of research into the target audience I was able to design a web site for them to easily navigate. When it came to designing ideas for the web site, I knew that I couldn’t design a web site that would be too difficult to make. So my web site wasn’t has well as a design as I would have liked it to be, but I was pleased with the design I came up with.
A4 Image rights
This assignment allowed us to get more creative by looking at image restoration and by doing this we had to learn the software Photoshop. At first I didn’t really like Photoshop as I thought the tools weren’t as easy to use as other software. We also had to write an essay about the difference between art and designers, I was happy with the essay I wrote as I made sure that I had planned out the points I wanted to make before I actually wrote the essay.
I felt like on the image restoration task I could have done a lot better then I had done, though I tried hard to restore the image, I felt I didn’t really know too much about the different tools in Photoshop I wasn’t able to create a good enough restored image. I knew that my goal would be to learn more about Photoshop and feel that I could have benefited more if I had done tutorials in this assignment, then leaving it until more in to the year.
A5 Builder
This assignment gave me the first chance to build a web site from the web plan that I had designed in A3. I feel that this assignment learnt me a lot about how to design a web site. I feel that I gained the most from this assignment as it learnt me new web design skills. I feel that my web site wasn’t the best designed but was pleased that I was able to achieve all of the project goals that I had set in the web plan. Even though I had to change my design idea a bit, I feel that I also gained more from this as I was able to look more into other aspects of it such as CSS as I have never used it before and feel from just the bit of CSS I had done in the assignment learnt me more about creating a web site using code.
A6 Revert to type
This assignment we had to produce a presentation on our chosen typographer which was Erik Spikermann, I feel that I put lots of effort in to researching my typographer and feel that the presentation was well structured. This was one of my less enjoyable tasks as Im not very good at presentations, but felt like I’ve gained a bit more confidence from doing the presentation.
Also in this assignment we did timed tasks, I was unsure at first if I was going to like doing the timed tasks, but I really enjoyed them as it gave me a better understanding of what it is like in a studio environment. I was pleased with the work I produced in the amount of time we had in the tasks. I feel that from doing this assignment my design work as improved which I was able to use these skills in the A7 assignment.
A7 Wailing whales
In this assignment I was able to put all of the design skills that I have learnt throughout the assignment into the end assignment of the year. I feel that I preformed really well in this assignment as I had made sure that I had planned every task so that I knew exactly what I needed to do for that week. I feel that I have gained a lot from structuring our seminar meetings so that we were able to get a clearer understanding of what it is going to be like next year when we have to plan most of our seminar meetings.
I really enjoyed the Cd art work task as it allowed me to improve my Photoshop skills. I feel that from doing tutorials I have gained lots more skills and I am pleased that I was able to improve at using the software. I feel that the design work I have done shows the effort that I have put in with doing the tutorials.
My aims for the course
Over all I feel that I have improved on my designing skills, making sure that my designs don’t change as much as they have done over some of the assignments. Doing more tutorials so that I am able to produce the designs, instead of having to change them because I am unable to produce them.
I would like to learn more about CSS as I haven’t done as much this year, but feel that I would benefit from this as it would give me a better understanding of coding.
I would also like to be able to learn more about building web sites and how I can improve on the skills that I already have, so that I can combine all of my design, web site and coding skills in to one.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Study day
Today has been a study day and its been a very productive day. I started off the day by thinking of what I could do for the Cd case even though I had lots of ideas and had picked my final design I still wasn't sure if I liked it or not. So instead of changing the whole design I decided that Id do some tutorials to see what effects I could add to the images. I have only done a few tutorials before so I thought it would be a great idea to help me get use to Photoshop as I'm not very good at using this software. So I looked through some of the tutorials and found some great ones that would fit in to my design for the Cd case. As I started the tutorial I thought that it would be hard to follow the tutorial step by step, but it actually explained it very well so it was easy to create the effect. I did a few practices of the tutorial to make sure that I got the effect exactly how I wanted it before I did the final one.
After this I started to put my Cd case together making sure that the whole Cd case looked as one. I also looked at different types of typography which would fit in with the design. I haven't yet chosen one that I like but there is quit a few that would look good on the design.
I also made a check list of what I need to get finished for this week, making sure that I hadn't missed any thing off the list. I also made a list of what I wanted to put on my evaluation so that when I came to write it Id know exactly how I wanted to evaluate my performance and my products that Id designed.
So this week I'm going to made sure that the Cd cover is completed, also looking at different tutorials to make the Cd case better, then I can fill in the rest of the pre-flight document in, make sure Ive wrote my evaluation and the logo is completed.
After this I started to put my Cd case together making sure that the whole Cd case looked as one. I also looked at different types of typography which would fit in with the design. I haven't yet chosen one that I like but there is quit a few that would look good on the design.
I also made a check list of what I need to get finished for this week, making sure that I hadn't missed any thing off the list. I also made a list of what I wanted to put on my evaluation so that when I came to write it Id know exactly how I wanted to evaluate my performance and my products that Id designed.
So this week I'm going to made sure that the Cd cover is completed, also looking at different tutorials to make the Cd case better, then I can fill in the rest of the pre-flight document in, make sure Ive wrote my evaluation and the logo is completed.
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