Michelle Bonfield / HND Interactive Media / Wakefield College

Abracadabra!

2008-05-13T18:12:00.002+01:00

And, as if my magic, all the work was done……. if that were only the case! As I now find myself finally in the position to reflect over the first year of the HND Interactive Media course I realise what a massive undertaking it has been. The year has presented more challenges then I could ever have anticipated and the shear volume of work has been immense. Not only that but the, expected, professional standard of presentation has meant revising and refining all of my working practices. So, it is not with relaxation and ease that I reflect over the past seven projects but more with a definite critical eye, ever keen to develop and refine these skills further. Particularly now as I look back and realise how far I have come but also how much further there is to go. In order to make sense of what has now passed and it’s implications for future development I will now reflect on each individual project, finally summarising with targets for next year.

A1 Sketchblog
The ongoing sketchblog has held a unique position of both generating a great deal of pleasure but also a quantifiable amount of pain over the year. Initially it was somewhat of a novelty to be working in a sketch book again and my enthusiasm to push the opportunity to its full potential was high. Equally the initial journal entries were an unusual but enjoyable addition to my weekly tasks. This enjoyment of A1 extended for many weeks as I explored the potential for creativity in both areas. However, as the saying goes ‘all good things come to an end’ and my desire to strive for perfection, particularly in journal entries, put considerable pressure on my time management.

After a discussion with Steve I decided to try to be more ruthless in my journal entries, purely recording the factual information of the week. Initially this was a struggle as I found it difficult to adapt my working methods. However, as I persevered I gradually became re-conditioned and my entries were more instantaneous, if not a little uninspired. This proved to be a valuable lesson in determining a hierarchical structure of importance for the tasks in hand.

In fact, upon reflection, a very similar scenario can be applied to my relationship with my sketch books. However, I am yet to achieve a suitable balance in this aspect of my studies. Predominately my sketchbooks begin strongly but deteriorate as the pressure of the assignment build and ideas and information begins to be filed rather than analysed. This causes obvious problems nearing the end of the assignment when I find myself re-visiting several pages trying to fill in the gaps. Once again this brings about a realisation that I must become more disciplined even in creative tasks ensuring assessable details such as notation, references and dates are included at the time of creation. Although this will initially disrupt my natural work flow it is a discipline that I must adopt in order to achieve maximum efficiency in the second year, bearing in mind that ultimately the work load will increase.

Developments in terms of using the Sketchblog next year are firstly to be more systematic in my documentation of tasks and secondly to fully utilise it’s potential in terms of receiving and providing feedback on designs. Although overall I feel both my collection, response and generation of feedback has been strong throughout the year at times it has been inconsistent.

A2 That’s the Plan
My recollection of A2 is somewhat hazed due to the seemingly vast expanse of time which has passed since its completion. My resounding memories are that it created a land mark for both the quality and quantity of work that would be expected on the course. In particular the competitive analysis and delivery requirement sections of the project posed the greatest challenges, mainly in the fact that I was more intent on creating the actual design of the website and did not anticipate this more academic approach. In hindsight both the delivery requirements and competitive analysis played a vital role in producing coherent and justified screen designs. However my approach to those tasks was somewhat less structured and could have severely encroached upon the quality of my screen designs. Thankfully my previous design experience counter balanced these difficulties and enabled me to complete all elements successfully within the time scale.

A3 Back to Basics
Completing the previous web-plan in A2 greatly assisted my progress in A3, as I was able to replicate the prescribed structure with more efficiency and attention to detail. Therefore this already signified a definite development in my working methods and time management. This proved to be essential as writing the content for the site proved to be very time consuming as I was unfamiliar wit most of the computing terms we had to define. Equally this more disciplined approach allowed me more time to explore the creative section of the project and familiarise myself further with using Adobe InDesign. The through target audience research I undertook in this project once again significantly informed my design ideas and I was extremely satisfied with the design concept I created for the website.

A4 Image Rights image compression
Completing A4 along side A3 created a well needed balance between academic and creative focus. A4 presented the opportunity to explore what I would consider my strengths of image manipulation and idea generation. I feel the assignment definitely developed my appreciation for the creation and application of imagery in design, both in a technical and aesthetic sense. Overall I feel I produced a strong body of work which demonstrated my flexibility in idea generation something which was later pushed to its limits in A6.

A5 Builder
Out of all of the assignments I approached A5 with the most trepidation. I knew the project would take me out of my comfort zone and it would be the first test to see if I could adapt to being a digital designer. My apprehensions did not go unfounded and although my high levels of motivation ensured a steady start frustrations often ensued whist using Adobe Dreamweaver for the first time. On reflection I feel the website, the first one I had ever built, demonstrated a competent level of skill and was accurate to my proposed screen designs. However, I feel the interactivity between the interface and the user could have been greatly improved with the use of Javascript, to create better transitions between elements. Once again completing the assignment alongside A6, which was more creative based, also raised time management issues.

A6 Revert to Type
The fast paced, high pressure timed task element to A6 probably provided the most realistic scenario in terms of working in industry. Thankfully this was an element I greatly enjoyed and I felt it enabled me to push my creative idea generation work to its limits. It also stressed the importance of attention to detail when working for a client. The presentational aspect of the assignment was something I was confident in my ability to deliver. However, the sheer volume of work at the time meant I significantly neglected the preparation for this task and I was greatly disappointed with my performance. Equally, in hindsight, the design of the presentational slides themselves were somewhat overcomplicated, something which had overlooked. Gaining global feedback across all areas of this assignment could have eliminated this problem instantly.

A7 Wailing Whales
Probably the most design based project of the year A7 proved to be more demanding then I had initially anticipated. In particular the seemingly simple task of designing a logo created numerous problems and several revisions of designs had to be made based on feedback. In fact across the board the ‘straight’ forward design tasks proved to be more complicated and time consuming than I had anticipated. This was mainly due to trying to keep consistency between interrelated elements. In terms of using the appropriate software applications effectively and creatively I feel I successfully fulfilled the criteria.

Conclusion
In conclusion I feel I have made significant developments in several areas over the year. Primarily, I feel my design ability both in my creative idea generation and understanding of the design principles has increased considerably. These are definitely areas I did not expect to develop so extensively, as I felt these were already my strengths as a designer. Less surprisingly my ‘creative’, or at times ‘chaotic’, working methods have also undergone distinct refinement. However, these still require considerable adaptation to ensure a smooth transition into the second year. In terms of my knowledge of web design this has obviously improved vastly but also needs considerable development to cope with the demands of year two. Finally it is important not to loose sight of the ultimate goal, making myself as employable as possible for this time next year.

Goals for next Year

Gain more extensive feedback on all design work
Designate structured, rigid time slots in self-study
Create a comprehensive and professional On-line portfolio
Devote time to self initiated learning of coding languages and scripts.

Word count

1,533

Thoughts of a Juggling Monkey

2008-05-06T18:40:00.002+01:00

Today I’m feeling a great bond with my computer as we are united in our inability to cope the masses of data pouring into our comparatively feeble brains. So as my well loved, yet undesirable, p.c struggles to complete it’s disk clean up I will, in harmony, struggle to write this weeks journal. Yes today, bizarrely, instead of feeling on top of things and skipping around in the summer sun I’m struggling to crack a smile. With the humble cup of tea as my only salvation. This pitiful mood is not so much a product of the up and coming deadline but more the inevitable frustration of being a juggling, tightrope, monkey surviving on peanuts. When really all I want to do is swing through the trees with the other monkeys, enjoying their creative leaps from branch to branch. Of course I am a product of my own creation but this doesn’t stop me feeling sorry for myself every now and then! Have I lost the plot? Perhaps, but at least this entry is serving the purpose of some form of therapy all be it short lived and perhaps highly in appropriate!

So, to re-focus, yes the end is in sight. Overall I’m on track, I’m currently working on the advert for the album’s release, which I hope to be posting shortly, if my computer allows it’s completion. I have also evaluated all the sections of my work which are complete to date. Therefore, much of what is required this week is transferring all of the sections into a comprehensive InDesign document, then referencing and working back into sketch books. I hope to do this successful without slipping off my rope.

There are, however, so many other things I want to be creating such as both a print based and web based portfolio. Yet there has to be many more peanuts made over the summer. So strangely I'm not welcoming the up and coming break.

On a single note of positivity it is fulfilling to see all of the work fitting together and I’m sure I will be in much higher spirits next week.

Targets

Complete Display ad for the wire magazine
Transfer all sections of A7 into one document
Index sketch books
Provide referencing [merit & distinction evidence]
Work into sketchbooks

Fine Tuning

2008-04-29T17:12:00.005+01:00

Strangely, I’m in a very different position and mood from what I anticipated to be in on this Tuesday afternoon. As despite falling behind last week I feel I’m almost back on track! This is due to sacrificing a beautiful day of sunshine on Saturday to get on with my CD artwork, now if that’s not dedication I don’t know what is. Having the creative freedom in this part of the project has really lifted my motivation and drive, which had started to lag with all the corporate identity elements. So finally everything is coming together and the focus is now on making sure everything is finished to a professional standard. A demand which I now realise was somewhat lacking from my previous courses, especially in terms of technical considerations for commercial printing.

As you can see I’ve already found myself starting to reflect on the year and the progression I’ve made. A class discussion about the second year of the course, and my personal development session with Steve all helped to solidify this thinking. I certainly feel I’ve learnt a great deal over the course of this year, particularly surrounding design principles. This is something which has been most refreshing to me, as things which I have been doing intuitively for years have now been explained and fine tuned. This fine tuning will hopefully allow me to reach my full potential in the design units next year. In terms of the structure of the second year I have to say I really can’t wait to begin. I feel it presents a superbly balanced programme, both in terms of creative and technical challenge. However, before I become too involved in thoughts of next year I better focus on finishing this one though!

So, for the remainder of this week I need to concentrate on finishing my Digipak to a professional level. I’ve decided to develop design #1 [see previous entry] although please still feel free to continue to add to the feedback. Ive been looking at the design of the cd inner and cd body today[see above]. Also I need to check all of my work against my corporate style guide, to ensure all the corresponding elements are consistent. I’m hoping to have all the work completed next week, which will be the first time ever I’m in this position! I’m sure something will go horrible wrong in the meantime but I’m hopeful!

Targets

Refine cd outer
Develop cd inner and cd body
Check all work for consistency against style guide
Complete Pre-flight document
Design poster for 'The Wire' magazine

CD Artwork

2008-04-26T10:58:00.009+01:00

#1 - I've been working on the concept of mans impact on our environment for my this cd artwork. The music had an uncomfortable mix of natural and synthesized sounds, woven together in a multitude of layers. So, this is what I've tried to reflect on the cover.

#2 -This image is based on the concept of internal unrest. The music evoked feelings of anxiety, confusion, vulnerability and deep distress. The repetition of the image reflects the magnitude of the emotion as it becomes overwhelming.
#3 - This image is designed to reflect sudden movement, a shift in focus, confusion and a delusional state of mind. I felt the image is intricate and strong enough to speak for itself. However, I believe this artwork may not fulfill the specified criteria because the manipulation was created at the point of capture.
#4 - This is a multi-layered image of photographs I've taken, it is based on the same concept as the above image.

As always some feedback would be great, thank-you!

Business card feedback please

2008-04-23T22:14:00.002+01:00

I just created a few business card designs and some feedback would really help, thanks!

Newgo

2008-04-22T18:23:00.005+01:00

This will be a rather short entry as illness has rather impeded and is still impeding progress. However, I've got the revised logo design nearly complete just need some feedback on its final layout and colour scheme.

So variations with the border;

Equally colour scheme 'a' or 'b'? [see below]

These are obviously high-tech versions the standard design is shown below;

I'd greatly appreciate any feedback so I can get the logo finalised and applied to the promotional material. I will also, hopefully, be posting some artwork ideas nearer the end of the week.
Targets

Complete Style Guide
Push development of Artwork for feedback

Nogo

2008-04-15T16:56:00.002+01:00

As the title suggests the productive flow of creativity and development I had almost became accustomed to came to an abrupt holt this week. As my logo became a nogo the inevitable frustration crept in and what seemed to be a strong concept fell apart at the seems. Okay, possibly this is a slight exaggeration but to act on the constructive criticism I was receiving about my logo meant to alter the fundamental concept of the design. Equally the originality of the logo was severely lacking as the idea of emitting waves had been utilised in most of the groups designs. However, I did attempt to incorporate the suggestions into a refined version but the original spirit of the design was lost, as was I.

So, as the new week commenced I already felt behind schedule as I was lacking a rather important element. However, I knew it was important not to waste time so I decided to crack on with the CD cover artwork. After spending the morning creating some ink sketches, to overlay with my photography, I regained my focus and felt more positive about the task in hand. Once again it was important to step back and regain perspective. Even though the design of the logo was an important element of the current project, it was not the crux of my universe, so I had to look at its creation objectively and simply fulfil the project criteria. After looking back over my initial ideas and a discussion with Steve I decided to move forward with one of my former ideas.

The new logo idea had evolved from looking at emissions at their basic level, around the concept of molecular reactions. The logo is designed to replicate a molecular structure, it is suggestive that the brand will create a reaction, that is experimental and it consists of only fundamental elements. The placement of it’s elements is based on the formation of dots for the Braille representation of the letter ‘E’. It also has the addition of a lowercase ‘e’ within one of the circles to emulate the copyright symbol. I have chosen to develop this design as I feel it has an original concept, good presence and will be easily recognisable.

To be continued..

Feedback Again Please!!!

2008-04-10T13:50:00.004+01:00

Here is a development of my final logo idea. I've spent a lot of time creating each letter from scratch and this is around version #10, so I'd be really grateful for some feedback before I go completely insane!

I'm pretty happy with the outcome and it works well at a variety of different scales and equally as purely black text with no background fill.

Learning Spiral

2008-04-08T20:23:00.006+01:00

Dare I say it but I’m still really enjoying myself! Pushing forward my logo ideas in A7 is proving to be really interesting and luckily I’m not stuck for ideas…yet. Hopefully I’m now coming close to being able to select my most successful designs for refinement and then selection of the strongest.

It’s certainly true what Steve said about our method of learning. It definitely isn’t linear and I have to keep making a conscious effort to analyse my designs against everything I’ve learnt since beginning the course. This is particularly tricky to remember when you're introduced to a fancy bit of software that allows you make a myriad of marvellous creations at the touch of a button! These effects may not impress Steve but they did rather impress me, it’s just shame they don’t equate to any level of skill that’s all. Of course I am referring to our introduction to the drawing applications of Freehand /Illustrator. Overall I’m finding the transformation of my sketchy designs into crisp vectors rather satisfying, yet often tinged with the occasional outburst of frustration. But as with everything else I’m sure practice will make perfect. Once again though I feel I’m improving my chances of employment as my skill base widens and refines.

On the subject of employment another former student, Mark Feather, paid us a visit on Monday. It was really good to see how someone with a similar, creative, background to myself had successfully evolved their talents for a commercial output. Once again a real boost for motivation and focus, with a particular emphasis on self initiated learning to prepare myself fully for the requirements of industry. Equally, it made me appreciate the creative freedom I currently have in exploring my ideas while I’m at college, something that simply won’t be possible in industry.

Therefore, over the next week I intend to fully exploit this freedom and have some fun experimenting with some new techniques which may have possibilities for application in my CD artwork. Mark’s work and experiences have really inspired me to create some new ‘artistic’ work for my own portfolio. This is mainly in the interests of self indulgence but it might also help me get a job? Who knows!

Targets

Select final logo design and refine
Generate a concept for the Corporate Identity using the logo
Continue to develop Illustrator design skills
Experiment with some new drawing techniques

Emit Feedback

2008-04-08T13:31:00.003+01:00

These are my strongest ideas created in Illustrator, I'd really appreciate some feedback so I can go on to develop a couple with variations in element positioning and the addition of colour.

Thanks for your time!

Logos so far...

2008-04-02T12:48:00.002+01:00

7th Heaven

2008-04-01T17:02:00.007+01:00

Sad as it may seem I am in A7 heaven and the last two days have been an absolute pleasure. Thinking…..sketching….thinking some more is just bliss for me, so to indulge in this for the next few weeks is a truly wonderful thing. Even better than this I get to wander around taking crazy photographs and then have some fun playing around with them. Now if I truly could get paid for doing something like this the course will have really been worth every penny! So, all in all I’m an ecstatic bunny, bouncing off the walls.....well up until now when I must calm myself to write this blog.

Developments over this week have included a visit by Jonny Haynes from www.technophobia.com. He gave us a very honest and insightful look into the design industry. Similarly to ‘The Design Mechanics’ visit he presented us with the reality awaiting us when we finish the course and once again boosted my motivation to succeed.

Also rudely disrupting my thinketch sessions have been a series of ‘logo’ lectures. Despite my obvious frustrations they have actually been rather interesting and informative (luckily for Steve!). So when you think logo, think SPWC [shape, presence, weight, contrast] not a very catchy slogan but useful none the same. Our understanding of these lectures was nicely tested by our old friend the timed task which, initially, was greeted with a distinct lack of enthusiasm by myself but actually turned out to be rather enjoyable. The task was to re-design the logo for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in an hour. It was a really nice introduction to ‘part’ of my new ‘Alpha’ seminar group and I was pleased with our final solution. Our solution (see start of entry) centered around the original ‘semaphore’ inspiration used for the logo. It quite simply repositioned the two symbols of 'N' and 'D' and gave them a more fluid appearance. The new positioning also reflected the shape of a bird (a dove, symbolic of peace) and was presented across a circle which was representative of unity and the earth.

Apart from that A7 progress has been good I have currently designed around 40 initial logo ideas and I will be posting the strongest ones for feedback shortly. I have also started to create some images for the artwork and this will also be displayed in a separate post for feedback.

Targets for A7

Effective time management and documentation
A disciplined approach to all tasks
Constant reflection in light of feedback every week

'Natural Language' Mood Board #1

2008-03-12T21:06:00.002Z

Here is my first interpretation of 'Natural Language' in purely pictorial form, a typographic impression will follow shortly.

Raw Creation

2008-03-11T22:52:00.001Z

I feel that this week I’ve been plunged into an uncomfortable journey of self discovery rather then beginning a new unit on a HND! The crux of this has of course been the bizarre CD which Steve imparted to me last week. A CD which I have to say is not for the faint hearted or us sensitive folk of Norfolk. Now I may speak the truth, and have no intention of marketing the CD to you, I will disclose that it is really rather disturbing. In fact, so much so, I found myself wincing as it echoed out of the speakers, almost tainting the haven which once was my bedroom! Upon reflection I concluded that for mere sound to provoke such a reaction it must be pretty powerful stuff and therefore would fuel immense creation. This creation, if anything, would provide an attempt to de-construct the complex relationship between sound and vision and emotion.

I can already sense the challenge of this unit will be to combine raw creativity into functional design without losing the soul of the idea, or inspiration. This has become apparent to me as in a parallel universe I flooded my visions with corporate, cold, clinical logos so highly worked and finished they appeared to be mechanically produced, void of all human input.

In keeping with this idea I have been careful not to impose any preconceived ideas for a finished product in relation to the CD I have been given. I intend to be as loose and open to outside and inside sources as much as possible to avoid suffocating originality. I’m also going to attempt to keep a distant perspective of other people’s ideas in order to avoid fixation with their own creations or early perceptions of mine. This of course may present difficulties in terms of feedback but initially I feel it is important to remain objective to ensure maximum creative output and experimentation is undertaken.

In conclusion I am delighted with the concepts we are exploring in this new unit and I feel extremely excited at the prospect of what it will produce. During the week visuals will be posted to reflect my progression of thought.

CD Review- Natural Language

2008-03-10T21:04:00.001Z

Natural Language leads you on a unique, complex journey into the depths of your very conscious. It’s powerful , intense rhythms overwhelm your mind probing and challenging your inner most being. The abrasive rawness of each track resonates through your soul unearthing a myriad of suppressed emotions. It’s deep movements are so thick and encompassing yet paradoxically ethereal in their provoked reflections.

Untouchable and often uncomfortable Natural Language presents a rare and unprecedented plunge into the unknown, the only question is will you like what you find?

A6 Evaluation

2008-03-04T23:06:00.004Z

I have to say A6 Revert to Type has turned out very differently to what I anticipated. Naively, at the start of the project, I imaged to breeze through the unit and was astounded at, seemingly, how little we had to do. How wrong could I be! A6 has been an extremely enjoyable but challenging unit, pushing my design skills and stamina to their limits. I will now reflect on my performance across each task and evaluate how successfully I met each brief.

Hokai
Leading up to ‘Hokai’ we had fortunately had a test run at timed task [The Font Book]. This helped immensely with two important factors; attention to detail and time management. This was particularly crucial as I was completing the task remotely. My initially impressions of the task were that it was significantly more complicated than before, so the margin for error would be higher. To overcome this issue I thoroughly read and re-read the brief before starting. Once a time plan was in place I wasted no time sketching a multitude of designs, my focus was to create an easily recognisable label that had a relevant identity to the brand. Unfortunately, due to the small size of the design and the amount of information we needed to include this was a challenge. The final design which I decided to develop incorporated a circular filled area in the center of the label, this both acted as an indicator for the colour of the paint and provided a link to it’s oriental identity [mimicking the design of the Japanese flag]. When transferring the design into InDesign my first priority was to ensure the information was inputted correctly. The second priority was to select a suitable typeface for the brand name of the paint. Time restrictions made this difficult to accomplish to the standard I sort to achieve, therefore I am not completely happy with the featured typeface. However, I believe the design decisions I made within the tight time limit was satisfactory. Overall I am pleased with the outcome of the final design, it fulfils the criteria of the brief and incorporates an oriental theme, which I set out to achieve.

Vodafone
The Vodafone task was focused more around being creative with the layout of the design. This was due the design decisions which had to be made in relation to the basic size within which the design would fit, with every size equating to a different cost. Thankfully the detailed explanation of the task by Steve enabled me to approach the task with confidence. As always it was important to throughly understand the constraints of the task, otherwise all design work would be flawed. My personal focus for this task was to create design features that would give the ad immediate impact. I also wanted the ad to have direct appeal to the individual by putting emphasis on the 'You' and 'Your' in the body text, unfortunately this idea disrupted the rhythm of the design so it was abandoned. However, I feel I did successfully achieved impact in the design but using the Vodafone trademark symbol repeated as speech marks to enclose the body text.

Morris Fuller Benton Presentation - Slide Designs
The slide designs I created for my typographer presentation are overall my most successful work within A6. I feel that I have managed to achieve a consistent, flowing and original presentation, which is both informative and visually interesting. This was achieved through extensive research which fueled experimentation and great enthusiasm for the subject matter.
Morris Fuller Benton Presentation - Delivery
The section of A6 I am most displeased with was the delivery of my presentation. Restrictions on the amount of time I could dedicate to work had the greatest impact on this section. This meant that I had not adequately practiced my delivery and I also did not also myself sufficient time, before the presentation, to collect my thoughts and composition. this was reflected in my lack of focus during the delivery of each slide and a observable lack of commitment to what I was saying. The presentation was not strong or convincing and overall I was extremely frustrated and disappointed with my performance.

Timed Exam - Grid & Story
The last section of work for A6 was the one I held least enthusiasm for. This was mainly due to the circumstances under which I task had to be performed and the fatigue I felt at the time. I was mentally and physically unable to give anything, so I held out little hope for the quality of my work I would produce. However, the designs seemed to flow effortlessly as the task commenced and I was pleasingly surprised at what I had achieved at the end of section one, the completing of the grid system. Thankfully this continued into section two. My aim for the design was to create a contemporary piece which still reflected the 'Jazz' genre. I settled on a bold reverse, masthead, justified right and with a high contrast between the two featured typefaces. I chose the Eras type family for all of the text within the design, this allowed flexibility but also kept consistency. My focus for the main body of text was to keep simplicity and also allow good readability. I chose to repeat the boldness of the headline further down in the text with a pull quote, not only to add interest to the information but also to add harmony to the design. The intention of the piece was to creating a snaking flow down the page between emboldened elements. I also chose to deliberately break the rule of facing the image across the page, this was intended to compliment the originality of the piece and also repeat the weighting of the masthead.

Summary
Overall I am extremely pleased with the body of work i have produced for A6. I feel it reflects a consistent application of skills and knowledge and a growing awareness of aesthetic nuances. Greater organisation and more refined time management may have further assisted achievement in this unit. However, distinct determination and enthusiasm for the subject played an important role in progression of work in this unit.

How to Suck a Lemon

2008-02-26T20:57:00.003Z

The end is insight yet with it comes the bittersweet experience of relief tainted with overtones of anxiety and stress! Although I feel my website is pretty much complete the more I test the more I want to tweek and the longer my to-do list becomes! Looking back I have to say I feel I’ve come a long way since my first decidedly dodgy page designs. It has been a rather queer experience into the unknown, rather bitter at times but now fairly refreshing. I’m sure I will look back with a wry grin at what will seem a very amateurish website but right now I’m quite proud of how it’s turned out. The rest of this week will be dedicated to collating my useabilty testing to form an evaluation based on the project goals. Equally I’m sure the feedback form will require much tweeking as I have been still unable to upload the now version due to Internet connection problems.

Today has been dedicated to perfecting my presentation and tidying up sketchbooks as I was unable to complete the times task from home because of a medieval Internet connection. This has been rather frustrating as I feel I had performed well in the tasks up until now. Equally I feel it will put at somewhat of an disadvantage next week, still, some things can’t be helped.

Targets

Ensure consistency between pages
Do final validation checks
Collate useabilty testing to form an evaluation based on my project goals
Rehearse presentation
Live and breathe sketch books

Flow

2008-02-19T13:50:00.008Z

Fortunately for me this week has turned out to be somewhat of a revelation as to what I was expecting. Monday morning, as usual, did not bring about the joy of a new day but more a dread of what was to come. The half term was not as productive as I had liked and I felt the control I had initially gained over A5 and A6 was now slipping away. A5 in particular was weighing on my mind as although I’d managed to get most of the site together, I didn’t understand a word of the errors coming up in validation checks and I hadn’t even tried setting up the feedback form. What made things worse was everyone else seemed to be flying along with the greatest of ease!So after reluctantly uploading as much of the website I had completed on Sunday I prepared for the worst…

After horrific driving conditions I finally arrived at college but the testing was already underway. This didn’t help in improving my mood and now gloomy vision of what was to come. However, during a quick talk with Steve most of the group took the trouble to review my site and provide some valuable feedback, thanks to those involved! I started to feel better about the situation and knew the only way to overcome the mountain of work before me was to just get on with it and that’s exactly what I did.

I have to say I think most of the problem was psychological because I felt I simply didn’t have the knowledge to overcome the problems I was facing. The challenge seemed far too high and working from home over the past two weeks had made me feel very isolated.

Csikszentmihalyi [a famous psychologist] shows exactly what was happening to me in the diagram below. At the beginning of the week I was definitely in the blue area, the challenges I was facing seemed far too high for the level of skill I had and this resulted in extreme anxiety. Yet as the day progressed and I gained knowledge and more skill from the support of those around me and I entered the flow channel! So, by the end of the day after a lot of hard work I felt fulfilled, re-focussed but completely exhausted!

Today usually would have been the day I was looking forward to but once again the dread crept in as I knew it was mock presentation day and more timed tasks were to come. Fortunately though I felt more confident in my abilities and knew with a bit of hard work I’d be back in the Flow! The timed task of the day presented sufficient challenge and after a focussed session of designing and acting on feedback the solution was finished [see below]. I was fairly happy with the design and I had been a lot more proactive in responding to feedback which was a definite improvement. In terms of the presentations a run-through over lunch proved to be very valuable and everything went significantly better than I’d anticipated. The rest of the afternoon has been spent collecting inspirational material as a personal treat for working so hard [sad I know]!

So all in all things are pretty damn good and all the hard work had paid off, Sam Ewing says it all;

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."

All I can say is I’m glad I turned up this week.

Sick Note

2008-02-05T11:22:00.001Z

This week due to illness I had to work from home. This certainly was a hard decision to make as I knew how important it would be to get feedback before the testing session after half term. However ,some things are just unavoidable and so I decided I would try to be as productive as I could. The annoying thing is I knew I was finally making good progress with A5 and things were looking more how they should. I was even, dare I admit it, starting to enjoy it! There is just one niggling thing that I can’t work out, my page is composed of two separate tables and for some reason Firefox adds space between these tables, even though all padding etc is set to zero. Does anyone know why this is? Does it mean I have to re-design the whole page into just one table? Hopefully not!

Along with the worry of not being able to pick anyones brain about my Dreamweaver issues my other concern was falling behind with the timed tasks in A6. Fortunately Steve agreed to allow me to try completing this weeks timed task via email. I have to admit I was quite anxious about this, particularly because of the higher risk of not meeting the deadline due to technical issues. However, I thought it would really put my time management to the test which in the long run could only be of benefit to me. So, when the brief arrived I was determined to succeed and knew the key to this would be to submit my work well before the deadline of 11am. A quick scan of the brief soon revealed the task was a lot more complicated then we had previously encountered, mainly due to the large amount of constraints to comply to. In a sense this made designing the layout easier but it also meant attention to detail was vital to avoid making silly mistakes! After a rough time plan was written I hurriedly sketched out as many ideas as I could, in the 15 minutes I’d allocated. Simplicity really was the key due to the label’s small size and high text content! I settled on a coloured circle as the dominant feature of the label to reflect the oriental theme (Japanese Flag). Then I made sure each element was positioned with proximity and hierarchy of importance in mind. Finding a Oriental style font proved to be tricky as everything I liked had a small capital lowercase family, which I thought would be altering the information given on the brief. Finally, I begrudgingly settled on Tempus Sans ITC as I knew I didn’t have time to search for and download any new fonts. I decided to use Times New Roman along with this feature font as I felt this would increase legibility for important information. Next I made sure I aligned everything with each other as much as possible and tried to repeat layout elements as much as I could. I reviewed the design printed it and then made a few final tweeks (see above). Even though it was a long way from the deadline I knew I had to stop as I still had to photograph my roughs and get everything ready to email. Thankfully everything went smoothly and everything was sent off with still 15 minutes to spare, a minor miracle! Overall I’m pretty pleased with the design and my performance and it started the day off really well.

For the remainder of my day I’ve been working on finalizing elements of my presentation. My handout is completed (see above) and any feedback would be really appreciated. My slides are pretty much there now its just a case of practicing and perfecting. Hopefully this will give me a more time to devote to A5 to ensure it is up to testing when we get back. So as half term approaches I sense a beautiful relationship forming between me and my 995 page Dreamweaver Bible, can life get any better?!

Targets

Refine and practice presentation to audience
Focus on joining all webpages together and rectifying any validation issues
Develop my feedback form and get it working!

Step Back

2008-01-29T23:00:00.000Z

Already it feels as if it’s Friday except I don’t have that Friday feeling. Yesterday was a long day even though we finished slightly earlier than usual and today was exhausting even though physically I’ve achieved little. So it’s with little fulfillment that I write this weeks journal entry. This gloomy slide possibly began early, very early, Monday morning as I contemplated the joys of wrestling with Dreamweaver for the day. I regret to admit I did not approach Monday with PMA [positive mental attitude] that my website would all fall into place, but more PMF [pigs might fly]. However, by the end of the day I felt I had made good progress which filled me with optimism about what I could now achieve in self-study .

Today has been mainly focussed on the ‘real world’ with our visit to the Design Mechanics. It was something I had been looking forward to for a while but has left a certain numbness in my mind. This is by no means a reflection of the Design Mechanics itself. Nor is it a disappointment about the quality or professionalism of the work they produce. It is more a personal reaction to the hard-nosed, highly competitive design industry then we are all striving to have a, seemingly insignificant, place in. I am a realist and I do not expect to fall into my dream job immediately but it really bought to light the harsh reality facing us at the end of the course. In particular the realisation that however much we strive to learn over the next few months there will always be a substantial short-fall in our knowledge and level of skill. This has particular resonance as increasingly I’m equating time to money and the interest is already building on the time I’ve borrowed. On a more positive note the visit did install in me a confidence that I am by no means wasting my time, but I should think carefully about exactly how I invest it over the next 18 months.

With regard to A6 I feel I am progressing well and I’m still greatly enthused with the creative potential of the unit. I see the hand out to accompany the presentation as another opportunity to explore and create. But referring to my earlier comments on time wasting I must ensure I don’t over indulge and neglect the development of my technical knowledge.

On a more random note I met the mayor of Wakefield today and was given an opportunity to present a piece of work. This was quite a bizarre moment with little apparent academic relevance. However, it was fundamental in adjusting my, self-absorbed, perspective and acknowledging the wider world again. It was refreshing to once again be reminded of the unpredictable, transient and beautiful world in which we live. Sometimes it is all to easy to loose sight of that, sometimes stepping back is the best thing you can do.

Contrast

2008-01-23T09:13:00.000Z

This week has been one of completely opposing values and the foundation of this has been formed from our two current units. Already I am feeling despondent due to differences in the amount of creativity needed to be employed in A5 and A6. Unfortunately, Builder [A5] is the less favoured unit because of this and although my motivation to succeed is high, my enjoyment level somewhat differs. However, my progression in A5 is according to plan and I found the form building input straight forward and more simplistic than anticipated. Although I’m sure I will be eating my words when it comes to testing the form. In terms of the basic layout of the template it just needs a few tweeks and all my images need to be optimised. I am feeling more comfortable and confident using Dreamweaver and hopefully as I get more involved I start to enjoy it more. Oh just one thing; can you put a border around a single cell and if so how?

Revert to Type [A6] has been the redeeming feature of the week. I find the lectures interesting and collecting inspirational examples of type is really expanding my thinking for the presentation. I’m fortunate that my given typographer Morris Fuller Benton created a diverse range of typefaces, so it’s given me plenty of scope for experimentation. Today I created a mood board of some of his most interesting typefaces to help inspire the design of my slides [see image above].

Tuesday also encompassed the first of our timed assignments and created yet another diverse experience. Overall I really enjoyed the task I feel I created a good range of ideas and the quality of my final outcome was satisfactory considering the time limitations [see image above]. However, there was just one problem, I missed the deadline. The annoying thing was it wasn’t because of my time management but because InDesign kept shifting my design off of the page every-time I tried to print with crop marks. So, the deadline passed and even though I had all of my work complete I failed. In hindsight I should of just handed in the normal printout with my other sheets instead of persevering with the print setting menu, but what’s done is done. Strangely I wasn’t angry or frustrated about this because I felt satisfied I’d responded well to the task regardless of the mark or lack of mark I would receive.

The seminar group this week was also an eye-opener and bought to light the level of detail and commitment required to pass Sketch Blog [A1]. I’m looking forward to the new seminar groups as I feel the group dynamic will greatly assist my personal development. So I plan to use and abuse the talents of all in my new group, so be warned!

Targets for this week

Polish template design for feedback next week
Prepare rough draft of presentation
Undertake self-generated inspirational work
Prepare questions for feedback of presentation in seminar group
Consider a piece of work to present at Design Mechanics

Finally apologies for the late entry.

Evolution

2008-01-15T23:04:00.000Z

Once again the familiar clicking of keys fills the room as I sit here wishing the words were flowing so easily to my fingers. Already I have fallen into old habits and deleted this second sentence three times, hopefully now I’ve admitted my sins it will remain! So, the start of a new semester and I have to say it hasn’t been as painful as I’d anticipated. I think the three weeks off over Christmas were essential in allowing me to regain my drive after the arduous and challenging last semester.

I have to admit i felt completely drained leading up to the holiday and when it arrived it didn’t feel like Christmas at all. I was no longer a human being but had evolved into a highly tuned machine, spouting out page after page of assessment material. It took a good few days to switch this machine off and return back to planet Earth. Similarly when yesterday arrived I still felt a week behind, but rather than being a finally tuned design machine, I was a letter posting one! Now, a day on, I feel my head’s finally in the right place and I’m feeling really enthusiastic about the new semester for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the new projects seem to offer the right level of challenge combined with the opportunity to be creative. Obviously I favour A6, the Typography unit, as I feel it has more freedom and I enjoy the challenge of producing work under pressure. I’m apprehensive about A5 as I’m sure the building of the website will present equal, if not more, challenges. The problem is that they may be challenges I’m inexperienced to cope with and inevitably this will lead to considerable frustrations. However, I’m trying to approach the task with an open mind and I did enjoy experimenting with Dreamweaver yesterday, so fingers crossed!

Along with the prospect of interesting new projects I’m also in high spirits after receiving the feedback on A3 and A4. I’m ashamed to admit that, briefly, in the holiday I seriously considered my motives for continuing with the course. This was mainly due to the severe financial concerns bought on by the festive season. Self doubt is never a good thing and just for a moment I questioned if I would ever become the designer I hoped to be. Receiving the positive feedback from Steve and John yesterday really meant a lot to me and eliminated any doubts still residing in my mind.

So, to conclude, the going is good. I'm committed to achieving my full potential and now feel certain the investment I've made to achieve this will pay off. The first two days of the new semester have been very productive and I feel I've made a solid, considered, approach to both units. This week I hope to spend more time familiarising myself with Dreamweaver. This will hopefully allow me to analyse how to build my proposed screen designs. In terms of A6 I need to process the research I've gathered and gather some paper based sources. I also intend to complete some InDesign tutorials to enable me to work more effectively on the imminent timed tasks!

A Time for Reflection

2007-12-21T23:42:00.000Z

As I commenced the Interactive media course in September I was excited to be presented with a fresh new challenge . I will admit that I was apprehensive of what was to come but more than anything I was hopeful that the course would be a channel for my creativity, which had been seriously neglected during my teaching career. Now, reflecting back, I know all of my hopes have been more than adequately met and I feel greatly fulfilled and proud of my achievements so far.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the projects we have completed so far. With each one presenting a fresh challenge and requiring a varied approach in order to achieve success. Overall I feel the course has enabled me to communicate on a whole new level to which I had previously experienced. It has taught me to be more considered and refined during the design process because of the requirement to meet the needs of the target audience. This has installed a realistic element to the web plans we have authored and increased my awareness of the attention to detail which will be required in industry. Equally the time scales we have been working to has added intensity to the projects and hugely increased my time management skills. In summary the first semester has been intense, the work load was far greater than I could of ever anticipated but I am certain the development I have made is immeasurable.

Next semester my main objective is to become proficient in Adobe Dream weaver. This will present an entirely new challenge to me as I have absolutely no experience of using the software. Therefore, it will be essential that I use a sufficient amount of self study time to undertake tutorials. Hopefully this will enable me to build my original website designs without having to compromise on details because of my limited technical knowledge. Of course I am aware that this is an idealised view, and frustrations are inevitable in the transfer of concept to creation. However, I am determined to achieve my full potential as a ‘creator’ and I believe my focus and passion will be the key to success.

In terms of my premonitions for the second year of the course my main focus will be to compile a strong body of work for my portfolio. I intend my portfolio to reflect my combined talents as photographer, artist and designer. I feel this will enable me to offer a more versatile skill-set to future employers. To do so I must continue to explore and expand my creative skills. I aim to combine a range of media and techniques in the developmental stages of future projects, this will add an element of originality into my work. I feel that this will be essential when seeking employment in the highly competitive market of Interactive media.

In terms of my future career I feel it is too early to define the exact path I wish to pursue. Particularly as I have no experience of the technicalities of building a web site. However, I am certain that I wish to utilise a range of creative skills in any position I apply for. Of course, I am aware that this may not be possible in the primary appointments I undertake. Nevertheless in the distant future I perceive that my photography and conceptual skills will play an important role.

¼ Full or ¼ Empty?

2007-12-11T16:54:00.001Z

So what’s yours? My response is currently under construction after pondering the question throughout the day. The question arose after Steve informed us that this time next week a quarter of the course would be complete. It didn’t shock me to be confronted with this realisation; in fact it was quite a relief to be that step further to being employable. However, it did make me conscious, of the importance, to push through the pain barrier this week with A3 and A4.

I’m apprehensive about the work ahead of me, I feel confident I am clear of the requirements. Yet, there is always that nagging feeling that those simple tasks will turn into arduous epics, the stuff of nightmares that we’re all aware of. I guess my biggest concern is getting everything correctly formatted in the template. This is mainly due to my dislike for formality and standardisation. I fully understand the necessity for these requirements but it doesn’t improve my motivation for conforming to them. I guess it stems from the importance of freedom in my life and to a lesser degree conflicts with this value quite harshly. But, as I don’t live up a tree on a desert island I should be used to such things by now!

My progress so far this week has been fairly consistent. I managed to complete most tasks I had planned for over the two days. However, it has been hampered some what my inability to full concentrate on some written tasks in class. This is something I have greatly improved on since the beginning of term but still causes the occasional problem.

Feedback over this week, in our designated groups and in people in general, has been particularly beneficial. So I’d like to thank everyone who has made an input so far in my work.

Once again, I’m finding it difficult to focus on reflecting so rather then faff I’ll close on my targets this week;

Finish gathering assets
Complete all screen designs
Place A3 and A4 in template
Check suitable references have been used
Proof read
Upload banners
Burn CDs

Oh and here's a link if you need to check the contrast on your screen designs;

http://juicystudio.com/

Developed Screen Design

2007-12-06T11:57:00.000Z

I'd really appreciate some feedback on my developed screen design. This is the template for the home page. I'm aware some alignments need re-adjusting and spacing etc.

Thanks!

Blinding Design

2007-12-04T17:02:00.001Z

I’m not really sure what has happened this week and my now throbbing head is completely disengaged so this entry could be interesting to say the least.

Yesterday is gone, of that I’m certain. Content is done, of that I’m not so certain, but hopeful none the less. Screen designs are floating somewhere in time, along with my head, most probably. Other Doojimme flips and what’sitsnames are in progress and A3 is coming along well, as far as I know, this may change in the bright light of a new day.

Today has been painful, I feel as if I’ve had a near death experience. Not that I’ve come anywhere close to death but I’m certain I have known what its like to relive your life in a matter of seconds. Churning out 40 ideas in 30 minutes definitely equates to this, both in the horror and the glory of the moment. Personally I’ll take my chances with fate if I have the option again. However, all in all it has been productive and if I regain my eyesight sufficiently no damage will have been done.

So, at the end of what seems like a week, but in fact is only a matter of days productivity may have reached an all time high. My developed banner ads are flowing relatively well and by tomorrow I’m sure I will be able to regain focus and finish the whole of A3 by Monday night (standards mustn’t slip).

I’d be grateful for any feedback on my current designs, posted with this blog and please check back in the next couple of days for my new screen designs.

Targets for this week (joking aside)

Gain sufficient feed back to finish screen designs
Create asset imagery
Finish Banner ads
Place A3 in template
Repeat my FAFF mantra every morning and night

Logo Feedback Please!

2007-12-02T09:36:00.000Z

I'd appreciate some feedback on these logo designs for the 'Back to Basics' project. The intention of the website is to create a fresh and simplistic approach to accessing the information. The name derives from the phrase 'Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezey' (I'm aware the spelling is slightly altered). Equally the logo's are intended to be viewed on a yellow or green background, possibly with a gradient fade.

F.A.F.F

2007-11-27T21:31:00.000Z

This week is reflected by the simple acronym F.A.F.F. I could really end this entry here as this encompasses my entirety at this current moment. However, this may be severally detrimental to my progression on the course and also being let through the door on Monday morning. So I shall explain;

F stands for;

Factotum, this is how I would describe myself this week, or actually every week. This was most appparent as I approached the week in my usual unbalanced fashioned, unbalanced in every sense of the word !

A stands for;

Arduous, this is how I would currently define A3. This is mainly due to creating the content for the site. Equally reaching the required level of work for next week’s feedback session will be reflected in this word. Another significant word which could easily substitute Ardous would be Arrrrggghhh ! ! (not in a pirate sense, but more a horrific realisation of the work-load sense).

F, number two, stands for;

Fast, this describes my realisation at how I can work when I put my mind to it. Equally fluid could replace this word. This discovery resulted from the two morning lecture sessions which revolved around creating a finished business card in 30 minutes (including a range of initial designs and a final printed version). I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the week and it gave me a real buzz to work under such pressure.

F, number three, stands for…..wait for it……

Floccinaucinihilipilification! This is how I would describe this blog entry. However, it has enabled me to fulfil my new resolution DO NOT FAFF !

So on that note I shall close, this weeks targets are;

Complete content
Create lots of screen designs in colour
Work on obtaining assets
Work back into A4 essays

False Contractions ?

2007-11-21T20:27:00.001Z

This week I’ve realised I’m expecting and instead of the usually 9 months I only have 7 weeks, and already I’m nearly half way through! Now as you can imagine this has come as a massive shock to myself, but it does explain a lot of peculiar experiences I’ve been going through. So I’m trying not to panic and I’m working on my breathing….isn’t that what they tell you to do?

This realisation occurred when I experienced a sudden burst of pain mid week bought on by the delivery requirements. It was a familiar ache, yet still caused the same discomfort second time around. With every painful contraction I questioned if it was coming, or was it just a false alarm? I’m sure any expectant mother has the same worries, and equally those of more experience can glide through the process, glowing all the way. Alas not I, still every Monday the morning sickness overcomes me; have I prepared well enough for what is to come? Should I be taking it easier through the birth? I guess these concerns are perfectly natural, or so my midwives reassure me! But I know I can’t worry too much because soon it will be upon me and there’s still so much to do.

Of course there are many pleasurable parts of the experience; strange cravings for ‘fresh tastes’ and indulging in creative passions in preparation for the new arrival. Equally, there’s a certain amount of enjoyment gazing at the beautiful creations of others, or, snidely casting your eye over some of the less desirable efforts. Always, with the knowing assurance that, of course, I will never make the same mistakes they have.

So, I think things seem to be going to be okay and as long as I listen to what the professionals say I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m still having trouble trying to comprehend having twins, especially giving birth to them simultaneously, but I’m hopeful!

Targets for this week

Settle on a name
Get to grips with the technicalities of the birth
Continue to enjoy some ‘fresh tastes’
Indulge in some creative preparations

Sculpture Anyone?

2007-11-15T19:00:00.000Z

After reading the second year blogs on the sculpture park I felt inspired to go. I mentioned it to Steve and he said it might be possible dependant on interest. So, is anyone else interested?

Living the Non Lossy?

2007-11-14T12:22:00.000Z

This weeks learning has been some what of a revelation and has enabled me to make fundemental discoveries about my life as I know it. Now at this point I would urge Steve not to get too excited as, despite his commendable delivery of the course content, this discovery is more a result of 'self-study’. In fact it is possibly more a result of the ‘dangerous’ excesses of thinking time employed between my travels between civilised Norfolk and some place they call Wakefield!

These life changing events began on the morning of 13th of November as the topic of compression was introduced to the group. Of course the talk was essential to our progression as Interactive Media Designers, or Graphic Artists, to be politically correct! Equally, when coupled with the input we’d been given on colour it was obvious we were building a strong 'technical amoury' to enable many future victories on the design battlefield. Yet, sadly, it was not this 'geek' driven vision which fuelled my moment of revelation. In fact it was the implications that compression and colour had in the context of my day to day life.

As we all know one of my, and many others, major downfalls is time management, or at least the lack of it. Every week is an on going battle to squeeze everything in. So I began thinking of this ‘time’ as a file or a number of files which all could be found in one ‘folder’, the ‘folder’ entitled; ‘Michelle’s life’. The folder, having been created in 1980, was getting pretty full and compression of the major files had been performed. The only problem being the wrong type had been applied, causing a lot of ‘Artifacts’ and in some cases loss of information and colour. The folders were as follows;

Rebecca.gif - In theory a loss-less compression, yet there is a significant reduction in colour range and vibrancy.

Work.jpg - No real noticeable differences to the human eye and overall quality still good yet information has been lost. Recent overly progressive compression is starting to cause defects.

HND.png - Is of a higher quality than ‘Rebecca.gif’ but is no comparison to Work.jpg where it shows noticeable anomalies.

So, to conclude, I feel firstly that some things simply shouldn’t be compressed. And if done continually there will be severe loss of quality until the file becomes obsolete, unable to compare to the original in any way. Secondly, you need to make sure you’re apply the correct compression format to files or qualitive comparisons will shock you and in some cases causes distress and discomfort. Lastly, never delete or save over the original files, that way there is always the chance to start over.

With this revelation now firmly embedded in my thinking I will endeavour to meet the following targets this week;

Complete compression essay
Amend TDR essay
Amend Production Schedule
Delivery Requirements
Choose websites for competitive analysis
Re-organise my original ‘Life’ files

Extreme Design

2007-11-07T23:16:00.001Z

This week it seems I decided, unknowingly, not to continue to with the usual study but embark upon a stomach churning adventure. Which, in hindsight, I have no hesitation in recommending for classification as an extreme sport. The journey began as reading week came crashing to an end. All that I hope to comfortably achieve was now traumatising my mind as I desperately tried to float off to firework land but with no avail. The pressure I felt over the weekend was tremendous and I began to resent the commitments I had made which were, ever increasingly, eating away at any remnant of freedom I once enjoyed. So the familiar blackness of Sunday evening enveloped my mind and exhaustion prevailed once more.

I awoke Monday, unsurprisingly, in a state of despondency. Still questioning my decisions and contemplating a move to the HNC. The only positive was the fact I had got out of bed and I still was determined to go to college, even though I felt grossly unprepared for the presentations, which I had once been looking forward to. So I arrived at college after practising my talk to a number of unappreciative and unresponsive roads, vehicles and trees. My mind felt a little more settled more in the fact I had accepted my fate and a gentle slide into insanity.

The atmosphere at college was sombre, there was to be no gentle re-introduction, we’d hit the ground but were we running? My only comfort was in the fact I believed in myself and my ability to ‘fly by the seat of my pants’, as I’d done fair too regularly in my teaching career. So with wings desperately flapping I bumbled through my presentation to Steve. Steve who I knew I’d let down by not keeping up the correct level of communications in emails and blogs. I didn’t feel good, I didn’t feel in control and overall a huge wave of disappointment washed over me. Only I could take responsibility for the emotions I was experiencing and the slight burst of relief at completion of the talk was not enough.

My anxiety stayed with me for the rest of the day. I was impatient to know my grades for the first 2 units, as I was certain this would seal my fate. However, my spirits were greatly lifted by talking with the other members of the group. It helped me to re-focus and appreciate what life is really about; enjoyment. So I decided to just go with the flow and make the most of what was left of the day. I guess this was wishful thinking and as we re-grouped after lunch the atmosphere once again became suffocating.

My emotions were still in a state of turmoil, I questioned my every decision; about travelling, my financial commitments, how neglectful I’ve been of people closet to me, all in order to succeed on the course. What had it all been for? I had re-signed myself to a referral, a referral which would create a work load I felt I simply couldn’t cope with………then suddenly, I heard the word ‘pass’.

Confusion…….relief……..guilt……..compassion……..emptiness.

Now a few days on things are settling down and introduction of the new units helped to wash away the emotional perspiration which had clung so defiantly to my skin. Once again the realisation of why I’m putting myself through it all is with me again; the passion I have for Design or Art! So I’m back inspired, stimulated and enjoying being amongst others who share my passion.

I just want to congratulate everyone on their achievements so far regardless of their results, we have all worked so hard. Equally I was in admiration of how professionally everyone dealt with the difficult situation we were faced with. Each and every one of you have my respect.

Love the Things You Hate

2007-10-30T20:18:00.000Z

Although we supposedly gained an hour over the weekend I’m certain this was merely a ploy by the government, to create a distraction, enabling them to steal an entire week. Either this or I have foolishly misplaced 168 hours somewhere. In which case I’m sure it will turn up in a ‘safe place’ somewhere, along with a couple of odd socks and a few marbles.

As you can probably tell any amount of freedom can be severely detrimental to the state of my mind. So despite regaining my thoughts over this ‘supposed’ week, on several occasions, to peruse Design magazines and inspirational art work Monday came as a relief! So the ‘surprise’ brief of giving a presentation on next week gave structure, momentarily, to my thoughts.

I have to say, surprisingly, I’m actually looking forward to the prospect of delivering the presentation next week. In the past, like many others, I have greatly disliked and tried to avoid presentations whenever possible. But, as time has gone on and I’ve gained more experience in presenting I’ve grown to like them. This may also coincide with my ‘love the things you hate’ policy I developed a while ago, which I will now explain.; A long time ago I figured if I trained or evolved myself to like the things I hated life would be a lot easier and more enjoyable. Really ‘dislike’ was really only a matter of my own personal preference (within reason) and served little function other than to make things worse than they seemed. As we all know everything has its pro’s and cons and so by focussing only on the pro’s the world seems quite nice, sometimes.

Therefore, by looking at the presentation in the same way you can see in fact it is a joyous and up-lifting experience (or at least its not as bad as it seems)!! So here’s a list of the pro’s of presenting;

You’re in control (you have the power)!
You can make a difference to someone’s hour/day/life by what you say (whether it’s the knowledge you give them or just a smile)
You in turn have gained knowledge in researching the presentation (which you’re likely to retain because you have to know it so thoroughly)
You gain self confidence
You increase you’re employment prospects in the design industry
You have the opportunity to show off your personality
You feel a real sense of achievement at the end

So by ignoring, or at least excepting the negative side to a presentation you can look forward to it, I hope!

In terms of progress leading up to this momentous day things are going quite well. I’ve found lots of research on the internet and I’ve found it pretty interesting. My main task at the moment is cross referencing what I’ve found with paper based sources. This is proving to be a bit of a problem as the local library isn’t that fantastic, but hopefully I’ll overcome this somehow.

Other than that my sketchbook is slowly developing and I’ve purchased some lovely colouring pencils which I’m very excited about. I’ve also got some design books on order which I’m sure will make for good bedtime reading. So tasks for this week are;

Annotate up to date in sketchbook
Finish presentation before the weekend and practice
Ensure I have sufficient paper based references

Vacant Minds

2007-10-23T21:48:00.001+01:00

This weeks journal entry my be slightly shorter and less thoughtful than usual, this is due to my body and mind currently being on vacation! I have to say I definitely feel I’ve earned the rest and I’m thoroughly enjoying regaining my thoughts and composure in sunny Norwich (Norwich is always sunny!).

However, I’ve learnt by now I can never fully switch off , so I’ve spent plenty of time reflecting on last term. My biggest conclusion is that I have to tighten up my creative and chaotic approach to tasks! However painful and difficult this may be I must persevere, and once again I call on anyone with any incredible strategies in combating this. Hopefully I’m not quite classed as an ‘old dog’ and there’s a few new tricks in me!

So as I’m now greatly digressing or regressing I better finish up. Targets for this week are as follows;

Start my new love affair with the new sketch book?!
Progress to reading the design mags I’ve bought instead of just looking at the pictures
Have a play around with some new programmes
Don’t get addicted to Jeremy Kyle

Enjoy the rest of your holidays folks

Dead Calm...

2007-10-16T14:21:00.000+01:00

The title really says it all, not particularly for me but more a statement about the group ethos this week. In a sense it has been a surprisingly pleasant hand in with a feeling of togetherness amongst the group. Well that’s everyone apart from Gary who imposed his obvious superiority with his callas rejection of my plastic sleeve! However, contrary to this my feelings over the week have been somewhat more chaotic, nothing new there then.

Really, this week should have been a breeze, I had an entire week solely dedicated to completing the assignment, but yet again circumstances over took. So instead my leisurely week was completely over shadowed and my time was distilled once more. Thankfully my major task for the week was one that I enjoyed, involving completing my screen designs in InDesign. This all went without a hitch and it was pleasing to see the designs professional presented. It gave me a real sense of reality as to the direction this course was taking me in. In-fact, even though it is earlier on in the course, I often muse about the future career I am heading towards with a real sense of delight. I finally feel that after several ‘detours’ I’m on the right track, about time really!

The rest of my time this week was dedicated to the dreaded ‘humdrum’ evaluation. As usual my time estimation for this task may as well have been pulled from a hat, hopefully next project I may get a little nearer the mark. Anyway, progress was initially slow which was mainly due to my inability to simplify things. After taking great pains to detail every breath I’d taken over the past six weeks I scrapped the whole thing, made a nice scribble diagram in my sketchbook and began to move forward. The unfortunate interim fire bell created a completely loss of focus which really didn’t help a great deal, such is life. The remaining tasks seemed to fade into insignificance, but of course were all of equal importance none the less.

My main concerns about the project, which always have a tendency to linger on, mainly surround the technical aspects of the unit. I hope I have grasped these well enough to pass the unit and I’m determined not to feel this way next unit! Equally as I reflect, I know I made un-necessary work for myself revising references and indexing my sketchbooks. Most of all I must sort out my time management and this means revising outside work commitments. Back to being a dirty student again, lucky I like beans.

So the deadline has passed and we all made it through. Well done to everyone, enjoy your break and thanks for the birthday card it was a really nice thought!

Humdrum and Merriment

2007-10-12T10:14:00.000+01:00

After putting in a momentous effort over last week and having time off only to eat and sleep I managed to get back on track with the assignment. So on Sunday night apart from being exhausted and bleary eyed I felt relieved and confident about meeting the deadline.

Progression over the week had been varied on different tasks and it really bought to light my strengths and weaknesses which I will elaborate on now;

Humdrum

At the age I’m at I’m quite aware of ‘what makes me tick’ and equally ‘what makes me zzzzzz’, unfortunately an awareness is not a cure! Written tasks which involve repetition of a writing structure have never been a pleasure for me. Even though I know I’m capable of completing them the left and right side of my brain have an on-going battle about discipline and having fun! The competitive analysis fell into this category and a task which should of only taken a couple of hours filled the expanse (on and off) over a week purely due to my Id dominating my Ego. After 27 years I still haven’t managed to win this battle and with nearly any task I undertake I have great pains in sticking at it till the end, so instead I live in the world of ‘half-finishedness’ which is very exciting and interesting but not very constructive! Any strategies for over coming this I’m all ears!

Merriment

At the opposite end of the scale I rediscovered one of my strengths which I had missed greatly over the last two years in my teaching career, Creativity! Transforming my screen design from a sketch to a screen was a joy, from taking the photographs, manipulating them and then placing them in my design. Sadly as with all good things it was quickly over and I was surprised at what little time it actually took, lucky it did really as things took a turn for the worst..

Unforeseen Circumstances

As always the monster of ‘unforeseen circumstances’ reared its ugly head as I opened up Page Maker and tried to import parts of my screen design. My beautiful photographs transformed into pixelated monstrosities and my heart sank. After spending considerable time trying to place the down sized jpeg files in a variety of ways into the programme I retreated and decided to re-think. I then spent at least 3 hours down-loading a trial version of ‘InDesign’, learning how to use the programme, re-drawing the site structure diagram and tables. Finally I got around to attempting to transfer the screen design. The results were a considerable improvement but more than 4 hours on it had been a costly realisation.

Sketchbooktastic!

Finally the invented word ‘sketchbooktastic’ must be mentioned. Although my sketch book and now books are becoming journals discovery of enlightenment they are also falling awkwardly between the categories of ‘Humdrum’ and ‘Merriment’. I have discovered I just love printing (especially screen shots!), cutting, sticking, drawing, doodling and drawing the odd arrow but that’s about as far as the fun goes! So I must make a concerted effort not to move onto the next pages until I’ve added all the annotation, otherwise ‘sketchbooktastic’ could transform into ‘sketchbooktragic’ which doesn’t bear thinking about.

So in conclusion the state of play is good, I’ve now formatted all of my written work into the InDesign template have left pages for the screen designs (which still need a lot of work to transfer) and added all of the other components to the document. Over this week I need to do the following to meet the deadline;

Write a detailed Evaluation
Complete the screen designs using InDesign
Make minor edits to the ‘Delivery Requirements’ section
Add all references and align
Document Merit and Distinction evidence
Index my sketchbooks
Print and proof read
Buy CD labels and create the CD

Feedback Please!

2007-10-09T17:38:00.000+01:00

With the deadline looming I'd greatly appreciate some constructive 'urgent' feedback on my screen design, more so for evaluation purposes at the end of the assignment than major design changes!

The website is aimed at teenagers revising GSCE English (Shakespeare), I'm aware I need to format the layout and include browser chrome etc.

Thanks

Stiff Upper Lip

2007-10-02T17:21:00.000+01:00

This week has passed with considerable speed as now seems to be the norm. It’s difficult to assess my current progress as my mind presently seems unable to focus on any one task. Every element of the whole project is careering around my poor bewildered head and the control and focus I had on Monday morning is ‘temporarily unavailable’.

However, I feel it is important, in the traditional British way, to keep a stiff upper lip! I’m not entirely sure what this will do, or even how to achieve it, but I’m sure if I do manage it it’ll do absolutely no good. So back on track, what have I learnt this week? I have learnt that simple tasks are not simple, time planning is not my forte and the quality of my Blog entries is deteriorating. The actions I have taken to resolve this are;

Make sure I have all the back up research complete before starting any final task
Be more disciplined in my time keeping and move on to the next task after the allocated time period
Don’t rely on my frazzled brain to write a Blog on Tuesday afternoon, start a rough draft Monday evening

On reflection my current state of being in a state is not due to my complete incompetence but more the pressures of life. One thing I have learnt is that these pressures cannot be ignored but must be dealt with. Those of you who work, travel, live busy lives I empathise with you and thank-you for the support Chris, and equally the comments everyone has made so far. Those of you who are lucky enough just to be able to focus on the course make the most of it, you are in a really privileged situation make sure you push yourself to your full potential!

So this week I have an awful lot to do, unfortunately Royal Mail may suffer a devastating blow but it will be for a greater good. I feel positive about the impeding deadline and all I can do is work as hard as I can to meet it, worrying never helps. So Good luck to everyone else and remember we’re all in this together!

Targets for next week

Complete competitive analysis of 2^nd website
Refine screen designs
Complete screen designs
Review past project sections
Comment on Blogs of others…I promise!!
Learn how to survive without sleep

Week 3

2007-09-18T17:23:00.000+01:00

Instead of waiting for divine intervention and an interesting and witty start to my journal this week I will just begin. Perhaps, by the end of the cog churning, a suitably clever title may emerge at the end, if not then it’s just not meant to be! This week has passed at a considerable speed and rather then leaving me dazed and confused I finally feel more at one with the World Wide Web.

My work is progressing steadily, I’ve done mountains of research and my head is bleeding a little less profusely. So what have I learnt? Well I have started to tackle my limited, in fact non-existent, knowledge of coding language. HTML, XHTML, CSS, CGI, ETC! I produced my first HTML file on note pad and opened it on the Internet browser, this sounds quite impressive until you actually see the page! However, I did manage to then edit the text and change the background of the page to a rather shocking eye-watering yellow, pure genius. So with this small triumph my confidence grew and somehow my mind decided to deactivate its Firewall (sad I.T pun) to all things technical and things started to make sense.

On a more social and non-isolated IT geek level I feel the group is starting to bond and the banter is beginning. I feel particularly comfortable in my seminar group as I hope do the others, despite the lack of humour. I’m finding the seminars useful and it’s good to benefit from the experience and knowledge of others.

So in general all is going swimmingly, the parts of the project I have completed so far need a little fine tuning, but not a great deal. I’m looking forward to tackling the screen designs but I am aware of the importance of completing the project methodically, so I may be able to hold back for a few more days, just. For the rest of this week I need to focus on annotating my sketch book and also finding some truly inspirational design, unfortunately a 'Lucozade' wrapper and a booklet on ‘Love and Sex’ is hardly the stuff of dreams.

Finally inspiration has faltered, sorry, I'm tired!

Week 2

2007-09-11T16:01:00.000+01:00

From now on this journal will be used to record my progress, thoughts and feelings as I continue on my journey in the world of interactive media!

As I approached this week I was filled with the same nervous anticipation which I had experienced on the first day. I felt sure I had chosen the correct path by embarking upon the course and returning back to the classroom, but the induction had passed and playtime was over.

After being given the first brief and thoroughly going over it with Steve the apprehension lingered. I understood the requirements of the brief but I felt a little disillusioned as I realised the enormity of the technical input into each project. On reflection this feeling emanated from my naturally creative side trying to dominate, but mainly because of my lack of knowledge in this area. However, I decided that if I was truly creative this quality would not only emanate in my aesthetic output but also in my approach to tasks…who was I trying to kid!

Nevertheless the first task was to select a ‘Great Briton’ from the brief so this allowed me to gently flow into the work and begin researching. My biggest concern at this point was to be disciplined in my time management and not becoming too involved in a simple task. This thought slowly dissolved as the wonders of the internet infiltrated my mind and after a long day of note taking and over thinking time won and it was the end of day one. Thankfully as day two progressed I became more in control of my destiny or at least I was able to manage my time on each task a great deal more effectively!

Personal Statement

2007-09-09T16:41:00.000+01:00

Throughout my life I have always had a passion for Design, initially; it took the form of a continual subconscious analysis of the imagery around me. As I gained inspiration and understanding it culminated in the production of my own imagery. I enjoy the challenge that Design presents in being able to communicate a concept entirely through a visual source. I feel it stretches my ability in a variety of areas, particularly my understanding Psychology within the Design process. I have been fortunate to be able to indulge this passion throughout my academic and professional career through the diverse range of techniques and medias I have been exposed to.

My degree at Norwich school of Art and Design allowed me to fully realise the incredible potential and influential presence that Design encompasses in our society. This realisation enabled me to refine my own visual awareness and cultural literacy. I feel this contributed to a new found sensitivity within my work as both a Photographer and a Designer as I graduated the course.

Alongside my new found personal understanding of Design I was also fortunate to develop my commercial experience during the degree. I was selected to undertake a series of ‘live projects’ for outside clients, these include; BBC Radio Norfolk and Pricewaterhouse Coopers . These experiences have allowed me to greatly develop my interpersonal skills and adopt a high level of professionalism in all aspects of my work.

After completing my degree I felt a strong desire to install in others the passion I held for Design. I completed my PGCE at Homerton College Cambridge and have now been a Secondary school teacher of Art and Design for over a year, teaching pupils aged 11-18 years. This experience has been invaluable to me in terms of the huge personal development I have undergone. It has installed in me an ability to communicate effectively on a range of levels, a strict sense of personal discipline in order to respond well to pressure and a renewed drive in all tasks I undertake. However, I strongly feel my own creative development has been neglected and my real potential is not currently being explored through my teaching. I have therefore taken the decision to return to education and expand on my knowledge and skills in a new area of Design.

I feel the Interactive Media course will present me with a fresh and exciting new challenge. I look forward to combining my natural creativity with the technical skills of Interactive Designing. I feel the course will enable me to communicate through Design on a whole new level to what I have previously experienced. I am now focused completely on refining all of my Design skills in this new vocation and excelling in Interactive Media.