Now I have finished my Interactive Media course please view my other blog which explains more about design and how to build websites.
http://design-for-the-web.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Competitive Analysis
Student Portfolio
http://www.thecraigdomain.co.uk/index.php
This is the portfolio of craig burges a former student at wakefield collage. His student portfolio is clean and precise.
I think Craig has shown a lot of the work that shows off what skills he is best at. CSS & Design.
As well as the site looking clean and professional it is carefully laid out in a nice orderly fashion. I think this is needed for a student portfolio, especially when you are planning to use it to present.
From looking at the site I can see certain characteristics which I would like use on my site.
Clean and easy to follow
I think this would help especially when doing a presentation as I would be able to look at the site with ease and select the certain pieces of information I needed for the presentation without forgetting where it all is.
Plenty of Images
The images are all perfect size to catch the Human eye, think this would also help in a presentation style as you can easily see and find the information you need just by glimpsing at the site. Also it would act as a sort of memory aid allowing you to easily remember what you was talking about / what you plan on moving to afterwards.
Professional portfolio / work portfolio
http://www.design2work.net/
This is the professional portfolio of Ken liang. I suppose very much like craigs all the information is related by pictures on the main page to allow users to see current and past works. Although I am a little dubious about this particular site.
One reason is that the full image background makes the site rather large and could be a problem for people with slow internet.
Another thing which I think this site could use Is maybe written text under each picture hyperlink, similar to Craigs. Because at the moment you are having to hover over the images to see what site they actually go to which can be a little frustrating.
Overall I like the idea and realize that in many ways it is very similar to craigs. This proves to me that the 2 sites need not be completely different but made so that they can easily be edited and updated.
Summery
Clean
Both sites are very clean leading me to believe that for a portfolio site it should be clean and straight to the point allowing users / potential employers to quickly and easily access previous works.
Easy navigation
Both Sites are easy to navigate round allowing you to access all current and previous works quickly and efficiently. Once again this would allow potential employers to look at the work you have done in a more efficient way.
Pictures
There seems to be a lot of picture links on both sites. Mainly a short thumbnail of previous work that actually leads onto the work in question. I think this is also a good idea to allow potential employers to find your work a lot more easily.
Skills
Both sites use a variety of skills they have picked up for web design. I think this again is important as a potential employer can see what you can do without actually looking through your work.
http://www.thecraigdomain.co.uk/index.php
This is the portfolio of craig burges a former student at wakefield collage. His student portfolio is clean and precise.
I think Craig has shown a lot of the work that shows off what skills he is best at. CSS & Design.
As well as the site looking clean and professional it is carefully laid out in a nice orderly fashion. I think this is needed for a student portfolio, especially when you are planning to use it to present.
From looking at the site I can see certain characteristics which I would like use on my site.
Clean and easy to follow
I think this would help especially when doing a presentation as I would be able to look at the site with ease and select the certain pieces of information I needed for the presentation without forgetting where it all is.
Plenty of Images
The images are all perfect size to catch the Human eye, think this would also help in a presentation style as you can easily see and find the information you need just by glimpsing at the site. Also it would act as a sort of memory aid allowing you to easily remember what you was talking about / what you plan on moving to afterwards.
Professional portfolio / work portfolio
http://www.design2work.net/
This is the professional portfolio of Ken liang. I suppose very much like craigs all the information is related by pictures on the main page to allow users to see current and past works. Although I am a little dubious about this particular site.
One reason is that the full image background makes the site rather large and could be a problem for people with slow internet.
Another thing which I think this site could use Is maybe written text under each picture hyperlink, similar to Craigs. Because at the moment you are having to hover over the images to see what site they actually go to which can be a little frustrating.
Overall I like the idea and realize that in many ways it is very similar to craigs. This proves to me that the 2 sites need not be completely different but made so that they can easily be edited and updated.
Summery
Clean
Both sites are very clean leading me to believe that for a portfolio site it should be clean and straight to the point allowing users / potential employers to quickly and easily access previous works.
Easy navigation
Both Sites are easy to navigate round allowing you to access all current and previous works quickly and efficiently. Once again this would allow potential employers to look at the work you have done in a more efficient way.
Pictures
There seems to be a lot of picture links on both sites. Mainly a short thumbnail of previous work that actually leads onto the work in question. I think this is also a good idea to allow potential employers to find your work a lot more easily.
Skills
Both sites use a variety of skills they have picked up for web design. I think this again is important as a potential employer can see what you can do without actually looking through your work.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Target Audiences.
Dave is a potential employer who is looking for an employee, although Dave is looking for people with enough experience to carry out the work that is necessary. He asks that all applicants have a portfolio ready to show him at interview.
Michaela is a student studying for a HND in Photography who is just about to leave college. She wants to see what freelance work is going on at the moment. To do this she browses the web on a 4mb connection from BT looking for a freelance web designer to make her a portfolio.
Paul is a Plumber who is looking for a web designer to build him a website; he only has a 2mb connection from Talk Talk and the web is rather slow. To find freelance web designers he is searching on Google. He has found several but most of them are using too much of his monthly bandwidth.
Michaela is a student studying for a HND in Photography who is just about to leave college. She wants to see what freelance work is going on at the moment. To do this she browses the web on a 4mb connection from BT looking for a freelance web designer to make her a portfolio.
Paul is a Plumber who is looking for a web designer to build him a website; he only has a 2mb connection from Talk Talk and the web is rather slow. To find freelance web designers he is searching on Google. He has found several but most of them are using too much of his monthly bandwidth.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
The final Semester
This year has come and gone almost immediately. Although in this short space I have learned a lot over the past year. One of which (CSS) I was worrying about I can now use this skill significantly well.
As I will be doing a 3rd year at collage to up my HNC to a HND I don’t have to worry as much about the industry, as the other people in the group do. I will feel ready for the Web side of the industry once I finally finish halfway through 2010.
At the moment I am currently learning PHP, this will allow me to further advance my skills in web design and enable me to create much more complex sites.
In the final days of this semester I will be doing a presentation on all of the work I have done so far. I am a little nervous about doing this in front of an audience but at the same time I am also looking forward to it.
Presenting is one skill which I think I need to improve on, as it will help me in a lot of real life situations where I have to stand up and talk about my work in front of complete strangers.
By the end of the year I hope to have accomplished many web design techniques such as using PHP and MYSQHL sufficiently enough to create everyday modern sites.
One thing, which I would mind learning at a later date is the ability to use E-Commerce software, I think this once again will improve my chances of joining the industry when I have finished at college.
The most beneficial Job Skills
The skill I am most proud of learning and the one I think will help me the most in the industry is CSS. I was very worried about learning CSS last year but this year I have researched a lot and found various techniques, which could all be used in the web industry.
Almost all the skills I have learned so far in the last semester have been really beneficial for me to get a job in the industry. However presentational skills are a must have as I feel they will help me a lot in interview situations and situations where I am meeting clients.
At the end
By the end of the course in 2010 I hope to have a job in the industry. The job I am aiming for is the coding web sites job. Although I am a little dubious about my skills at the moment I think I will apply for a junior position to allow me to get the experience required to get a better job later on.
As I will be doing a 3rd year at collage to up my HNC to a HND I don’t have to worry as much about the industry, as the other people in the group do. I will feel ready for the Web side of the industry once I finally finish halfway through 2010.
At the moment I am currently learning PHP, this will allow me to further advance my skills in web design and enable me to create much more complex sites.
In the final days of this semester I will be doing a presentation on all of the work I have done so far. I am a little nervous about doing this in front of an audience but at the same time I am also looking forward to it.
Presenting is one skill which I think I need to improve on, as it will help me in a lot of real life situations where I have to stand up and talk about my work in front of complete strangers.
By the end of the year I hope to have accomplished many web design techniques such as using PHP and MYSQHL sufficiently enough to create everyday modern sites.
One thing, which I would mind learning at a later date is the ability to use E-Commerce software, I think this once again will improve my chances of joining the industry when I have finished at college.
The most beneficial Job Skills
The skill I am most proud of learning and the one I think will help me the most in the industry is CSS. I was very worried about learning CSS last year but this year I have researched a lot and found various techniques, which could all be used in the web industry.
Almost all the skills I have learned so far in the last semester have been really beneficial for me to get a job in the industry. However presentational skills are a must have as I feel they will help me a lot in interview situations and situations where I am meeting clients.
At the end
By the end of the course in 2010 I hope to have a job in the industry. The job I am aiming for is the coding web sites job. Although I am a little dubious about my skills at the moment I think I will apply for a junior position to allow me to get the experience required to get a better job later on.
Thursday, 8 January 2009
PHP The Way To Go
1. http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/DEfaULT.asP
This will be the first site I will look at well researching PHP, it has very basic and easy to understand tutorials.
2. http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/PHP/1
This site tends to have more advanced PHP tutorials; once I have grasped thee basics of PHP I will surely be visiting this site as it will allow me to create and do more interesting things with PHP. For instance this particular site has various PHP tutorials on how to create forms and a mailing list. This can be very valuable when making a website with a form.
3. http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Tips_and_Tutorials/index.html
On this site there are both advanced and basic tutorials, ranging from how to start in PHP and the more advanced E-Commerce.
4. http://www.goodphptutorials.com/
This site has very good tutorials, most of them are videos. This is a very good site especially if you can’t understand some of the writing which is in most the tutorials.
5. http://www.killerphp.com/
This is an ok PHP video tutorial site. It has videos for both basic and advanced PHP, meaning you can progress slowly through the videos allowing you to develop PHP at your own pace.
6. http://www.thesitewizard.com/php/index.shtml
A basic tutorial site, this site is perfect for beginners as it shows the first type of scripts you should be creating with PHP and how to do them.
7. http://devzone.zend.com/node/view/id/627
Zend is a great site for beginners learning PHP. It has been strictly made for people who are just starting out in PHP and offers some simple advice to help you write scripts.
8. http://www.programmersbank.com/tutorials/PHP/2/
This site offers a wide range of tutorials. There are limited beginning tutorials but after the other sites this may be one to check for more advanced PHP help.
9. http://www.hudzilla.org/phpbook/index.php
This is a free online E-Book, it is an older version of the book but still offers valuable knowledge to help set up PHP and other basic information that is needed before starting to write PHP.
10. http://www.sitepoint.com/books/phpant1/
The Book “The PHP Anthology” is a great book, the first 207 pages are available free and offer some very useful PHP information which is easy to understand and follow.
This will be the first site I will look at well researching PHP, it has very basic and easy to understand tutorials.
2. http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/PHP/1
This site tends to have more advanced PHP tutorials; once I have grasped thee basics of PHP I will surely be visiting this site as it will allow me to create and do more interesting things with PHP. For instance this particular site has various PHP tutorials on how to create forms and a mailing list. This can be very valuable when making a website with a form.
3. http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Tips_and_Tutorials/index.html
On this site there are both advanced and basic tutorials, ranging from how to start in PHP and the more advanced E-Commerce.
4. http://www.goodphptutorials.com/
This site has very good tutorials, most of them are videos. This is a very good site especially if you can’t understand some of the writing which is in most the tutorials.
5. http://www.killerphp.com/
This is an ok PHP video tutorial site. It has videos for both basic and advanced PHP, meaning you can progress slowly through the videos allowing you to develop PHP at your own pace.
6. http://www.thesitewizard.com/php/index.shtml
A basic tutorial site, this site is perfect for beginners as it shows the first type of scripts you should be creating with PHP and how to do them.
7. http://devzone.zend.com/node/view/id/627
Zend is a great site for beginners learning PHP. It has been strictly made for people who are just starting out in PHP and offers some simple advice to help you write scripts.
8. http://www.programmersbank.com/tutorials/PHP/2/
This site offers a wide range of tutorials. There are limited beginning tutorials but after the other sites this may be one to check for more advanced PHP help.
9. http://www.hudzilla.org/phpbook/index.php
This is a free online E-Book, it is an older version of the book but still offers valuable knowledge to help set up PHP and other basic information that is needed before starting to write PHP.
10. http://www.sitepoint.com/books/phpant1/
The Book “The PHP Anthology” is a great book, the first 207 pages are available free and offer some very useful PHP information which is easy to understand and follow.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Skills Of The Trade
Skills
There are plenty of skills in the industry that I am certain that I need but do not have the skill in it at the moment.
The skills that I’m interesting in learning are Flash or PHP. Although looking at the industry jobs going at the moment PHP seems to be more valuable than Flash. A lot of this is to do with the fact that PHP is more accessible on the web than flash.
Reason
Flash: This is a skill, which I would like to know more about, because I know that it is used on a lot of websites these days and can also be used a lot to produce nice interactions on a site between the display and the user. However with this come some accessibility issues, with users having some problems clicking on slash links etc.
PHP: This skill is used on almost every modern day website. Usually to store information such as member (usernames and passwords) and also can be used to log IPS and other information. This skill seems to be needed in the industry, and usually is classes as standard.
Example Jobs
http://www.creativepool.co.uk/employee/jobdetail.php?ref=PUR/EN1097/JN8545
In the job above skills required are mainly Adobe products and also Flash. So this could be something to aim for, however this seems like more a designer role.
http://www.reed.co.uk/job-details/Nottingham/Lead-PHP-Developer-up-to-k-Nottingham/?JobID=17380389&k=web+design&ns=True&lit=2
This job however is based on Networking. But you need a lot of knowledge in PHP and also a fair amount of PHP experience to even get a look in.
http://www.reed.co.uk/job-details/Windsor/Web-Developer-Photoshop-XHTML-CSS-ASP-PHP/?JobID=17410376&k=web+design&ns=True&lit=2
Another web design job, however this requires both Flash and PHP.
In my opinion both skills are important in the industry but I feel PHP seems to be more the industry standard, this is why I would like to do PHP for my self timed learning plan rather than Flash.
There are plenty of skills in the industry that I am certain that I need but do not have the skill in it at the moment.
The skills that I’m interesting in learning are Flash or PHP. Although looking at the industry jobs going at the moment PHP seems to be more valuable than Flash. A lot of this is to do with the fact that PHP is more accessible on the web than flash.
Reason
Flash: This is a skill, which I would like to know more about, because I know that it is used on a lot of websites these days and can also be used a lot to produce nice interactions on a site between the display and the user. However with this come some accessibility issues, with users having some problems clicking on slash links etc.
PHP: This skill is used on almost every modern day website. Usually to store information such as member (usernames and passwords) and also can be used to log IPS and other information. This skill seems to be needed in the industry, and usually is classes as standard.
Example Jobs
http://www.creativepool.co.uk/employee/jobdetail.php?ref=PUR/EN1097/JN8545
In the job above skills required are mainly Adobe products and also Flash. So this could be something to aim for, however this seems like more a designer role.
http://www.reed.co.uk/job-details/Nottingham/Lead-PHP-Developer-up-to-k-Nottingham/?JobID=17380389&k=web+design&ns=True&lit=2
This job however is based on Networking. But you need a lot of knowledge in PHP and also a fair amount of PHP experience to even get a look in.
http://www.reed.co.uk/job-details/Windsor/Web-Developer-Photoshop-XHTML-CSS-ASP-PHP/?JobID=17410376&k=web+design&ns=True&lit=2
Another web design job, however this requires both Flash and PHP.
In my opinion both skills are important in the industry but I feel PHP seems to be more the industry standard, this is why I would like to do PHP for my self timed learning plan rather than Flash.
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
The Return
Summer assignments
The summer assignments really prepped me for the second year, as well as make me curious about the actual working industry. What was fun about the summer assignment was that it allowed me o research and look at the current market for web design.
Although this was rather worrying at times seeing the locations was several miles away and often in a different city all together.
None the less I looked forward to the second year and the things that I could improve on to get a job in the industry.
CSS
CSS was the first step in the second year although I was dubious and in self-doubt I found this assignment very fun.
I struggled at first the coding. But after I learnt the easy access code through Dreamweaver I was finally making progress.
This part of the second year as taught me so much already and I am looking forward the 2nd half.
Presentation
Also this year I have already done another presentation. I seem to be struggling on these, as I can’t seem to remember all the information. However after a word with Steve one method is to place images of the desired information on the background of the presentation.
I have done this and I’m currently looking forward to testing it out and seeing how much it helps.
Creative!
At the moment I am currently designing for a product, which I know nothing about. I have been struggling a little with actually getting some ideas down, although the ones I have drawn I think are pretty good.
Summery
What I feel confident in
After the beginning of the second year I defiantly feel a lot more confident in my CSS abilities. Although I do feel as if some improvement is needed in general I am very pleased with the work I did over the assignment and in the test.
What I don’t feel comfortable about
I am still a little worried about presentations. I think this will improve with time. Although I think the new technique will help a lot it still needs to be tested.
Skills improved in
Know that I am doing my time sheets in my sketchbook every day, I feel a lot more confident in my time keeping. I always have my sketchbook, which makes it handy for jotting the time started, and the time finished on my work.
CSS as stated above I feel a lot more confident in CSS now especially after the test. The test put me under some pressure but it also showed me what I’m actually capable of.
Presentations are one skill that I’m planning on improving with the new technique. Hopefully it will be a success, through practising it seems to work.
The summer assignments really prepped me for the second year, as well as make me curious about the actual working industry. What was fun about the summer assignment was that it allowed me o research and look at the current market for web design.
Although this was rather worrying at times seeing the locations was several miles away and often in a different city all together.
None the less I looked forward to the second year and the things that I could improve on to get a job in the industry.
CSS
CSS was the first step in the second year although I was dubious and in self-doubt I found this assignment very fun.
I struggled at first the coding. But after I learnt the easy access code through Dreamweaver I was finally making progress.
This part of the second year as taught me so much already and I am looking forward the 2nd half.
Presentation
Also this year I have already done another presentation. I seem to be struggling on these, as I can’t seem to remember all the information. However after a word with Steve one method is to place images of the desired information on the background of the presentation.
I have done this and I’m currently looking forward to testing it out and seeing how much it helps.
Creative!
At the moment I am currently designing for a product, which I know nothing about. I have been struggling a little with actually getting some ideas down, although the ones I have drawn I think are pretty good.
Summery
What I feel confident in
After the beginning of the second year I defiantly feel a lot more confident in my CSS abilities. Although I do feel as if some improvement is needed in general I am very pleased with the work I did over the assignment and in the test.
What I don’t feel comfortable about
I am still a little worried about presentations. I think this will improve with time. Although I think the new technique will help a lot it still needs to be tested.
Skills improved in
Know that I am doing my time sheets in my sketchbook every day, I feel a lot more confident in my time keeping. I always have my sketchbook, which makes it handy for jotting the time started, and the time finished on my work.
CSS as stated above I feel a lot more confident in CSS now especially after the test. The test put me under some pressure but it also showed me what I’m actually capable of.
Presentations are one skill that I’m planning on improving with the new technique. Hopefully it will be a success, through practising it seems to work.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Transferable
Time keeping
Advantages
Always used in a working environment to makes sure you get paid for the correct amount of time you have worked.
I have been getting better at this skill over the years however I feel as if I could use some improvements. In the way I do my time sheets, and remembering to always do them.
Phone manner / Social
Advantages
Clients: Having a good phone skill / Social skills allows to persuade clients much more easily to choose you as there designer etc.
Future: Having a good phone manner / Social skills are more likely to get you an interview with a future employer.
I have a fairly good phone manner / Social skills at the moment as my current job involves answering phones and talking to clients.
Presentational Skills
Advantages
Client: Being able to give a presentation in front of a client can make or break a deal for the company you work for.
Employer: Having a good presentational skill will allow you to perform better in interviews not getting stressed as much and also allowing you to answer the questions asked smoothly and calmly.
I really need some more practise, in this skill. Although I am confident enough to give a presentation, when I do attempt it, my voice sounds wooden.
Team management skills
Advantages
Clients: Having a good team skill will allow you to share information throughout the interactive media team more easily; this leaves you with more job positions.
Work: Almost 90% of jobs worldwide require you to have some kind of team skills that will allow you to work with or lead a team of people.
I can work with a team but I am not yet confident enough to actually lead a team. In the future this is one thing I would like to do.
Advantages
Always used in a working environment to makes sure you get paid for the correct amount of time you have worked.
I have been getting better at this skill over the years however I feel as if I could use some improvements. In the way I do my time sheets, and remembering to always do them.
Phone manner / Social
Advantages
Clients: Having a good phone skill / Social skills allows to persuade clients much more easily to choose you as there designer etc.
Future: Having a good phone manner / Social skills are more likely to get you an interview with a future employer.
I have a fairly good phone manner / Social skills at the moment as my current job involves answering phones and talking to clients.
Presentational Skills
Advantages
Client: Being able to give a presentation in front of a client can make or break a deal for the company you work for.
Employer: Having a good presentational skill will allow you to perform better in interviews not getting stressed as much and also allowing you to answer the questions asked smoothly and calmly.
I really need some more practise, in this skill. Although I am confident enough to give a presentation, when I do attempt it, my voice sounds wooden.
Team management skills
Advantages
Clients: Having a good team skill will allow you to share information throughout the interactive media team more easily; this leaves you with more job positions.
Work: Almost 90% of jobs worldwide require you to have some kind of team skills that will allow you to work with or lead a team of people.
I can work with a team but I am not yet confident enough to actually lead a team. In the future this is one thing I would like to do.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
End Result
At the moment I am in the second year of a HNC Interactive media course. So far on the course I am currently learning CSS and XHTML, through research I have recently found out that it is required for a lot of jobs that these skills are known.
Although I am finding CSS and XHTML very useful I find that I need to improve several more skills before I attempt to enter the industry.
Skills such as:
Team Skills: As I am doing a top up course to HND after this year I feel like it will be some time before I learn the true value of a Interactive Media Team. I have worked in teams before but in a completely different industry.
CSS: I am currently in the process of learning CSS this year however it is somewhat daunting that I am not fully confident enough yet. I am sure that after this year I will have enough confidence to apply for a Jr position Job.
XHTML: Same as above really I feel I need to learn a lot more about XHTML before I feel confident enough to apply for a job in the interactive media industry.
Time keeping skills: I have been using time planning a lot over the past years both for work and for collage. But I still feel I need to improve attention to detail when filling them out and try not to miss anything.
Presentation: This is a skill that I have been learning slowly from the beginning of the course and continue to improve, although I am still a little nervous about presenting my work in front of people.
By the end of the course I should have more skills that will allow me to be confident enough to get a job.
Although I am finding CSS and XHTML very useful I find that I need to improve several more skills before I attempt to enter the industry.
Skills such as:
Team Skills: As I am doing a top up course to HND after this year I feel like it will be some time before I learn the true value of a Interactive Media Team. I have worked in teams before but in a completely different industry.
CSS: I am currently in the process of learning CSS this year however it is somewhat daunting that I am not fully confident enough yet. I am sure that after this year I will have enough confidence to apply for a Jr position Job.
XHTML: Same as above really I feel I need to learn a lot more about XHTML before I feel confident enough to apply for a job in the interactive media industry.
Time keeping skills: I have been using time planning a lot over the past years both for work and for collage. But I still feel I need to improve attention to detail when filling them out and try not to miss anything.
Presentation: This is a skill that I have been learning slowly from the beginning of the course and continue to improve, although I am still a little nervous about presenting my work in front of people.
By the end of the course I should have more skills that will allow me to be confident enough to get a job.
Monday, 6 October 2008
Aspirations
For the second year I hope to have a better understanding of CSS and XHTML, the main reason for this is that they are both required to get a job in the web design industry and my confidence will be boosted if I gain a better understanding of the two languages.
Also I hope to become much better at problem solving so that I am able to spot my own errors in my work. The main goal I have for the second year is to improve my presentational skills as it will help me be more confident in group situations.
In the third year I aspire to improve a lot of my skills such as attention to detail, spelling and grammar. They are all important and will help me succeed later in life.
Also in the third year I would like to find out more about the industry and how it all works ready for when I leave collage. This will mean that I will have to get a part time job in the web industry. But before that I hope to become more confident in client situations, so that when I am actually in a work place, I will feel more comfortable and relaxed about situations involving meetings.
At the end of the course I am hoping to have a job in the web design industry at first a junior position, this will allow me to gain more experience in the web design industry and then I can move on.
After this I hope to one day own my own business in web design / print, even though it will take a lot of effort as I found out through certain assignments at collage I believe it is still possible.
Also I hope to become much better at problem solving so that I am able to spot my own errors in my work. The main goal I have for the second year is to improve my presentational skills as it will help me be more confident in group situations.
In the third year I aspire to improve a lot of my skills such as attention to detail, spelling and grammar. They are all important and will help me succeed later in life.
Also in the third year I would like to find out more about the industry and how it all works ready for when I leave collage. This will mean that I will have to get a part time job in the web industry. But before that I hope to become more confident in client situations, so that when I am actually in a work place, I will feel more comfortable and relaxed about situations involving meetings.
At the end of the course I am hoping to have a job in the web design industry at first a junior position, this will allow me to gain more experience in the web design industry and then I can move on.
After this I hope to one day own my own business in web design / print, even though it will take a lot of effort as I found out through certain assignments at collage I believe it is still possible.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
End of year Evaluation (May 13)
Past
On my first Blog entry almost a year ago I did not realise how fast things would go. I have felt mixed emotions so far about my work, from being unhappy to being happy.
The first assignment we did based on a fictional website was a whole new learning curve for me, I did not actually realise how hard it would be as I wasn’t really thought the correct way before I found it quiet difficult to adjust.
Back when we first did the assignment I thought my initial designs were very pleasing however looking back now I can see how wrong I was. I struggled to grasp the concept of colour in the beginning, which I think made my work slightly poorer than what it could have been.
As you can see from the picture I used the wrong colour scheme, which made the design look bad. Also I did make a lot of design errors which looking back now makes me laugh at the easy mistakes I made.
I also had trouble with how things was marked here compared to the last college I was at however I am now starting to realise how and why things are marked in a certain way. This has helped me correct a lot of errors, which I was frequently getting at the beginning of the course.
The second stage of the course was building a real plan for a website which I would actually be building. For this I did take a lot more care however I was still making naive mistakes these mistakes did come to bite me later on when actually creating the website.
Although I did make lots of mistakes in the plan this did not discourage me from fixing them when actually coming around to building the web site. I was a little unhappy with my first choice of design so I changed it slightly to make it easier on the eye this also made it more user friendly.
As you can see the ne thing I started to learn was complimentary colours and how they affect websites. I got all the information from a colour lecture presented by Steve; this made me very happy, as that’s what I had been struggling with from the beginning.
The first thing I did was change the website image and the general overlay to make it look more pleasing. After I had done I was very pleased with my work and exited that I was learning more about my self and the things I could do.
As you can see from the image there was a big change in the style of the website. Also what impressed me was the dramatic difference between the look. One of the major factors, which made me change the style, were rereading the “Park” lecture which was in my sketchbook, this very clearly said that the best designers always use repetition. So I decided to give it a go on the website and it worked! The website was looking great and had to be my best achievement at that time.
The most fun I’ve had on the course to-date is when I started “A7 Wailing Whales” This gave me more of a chance to explore my design talents when I had to listen to music and think of a perfect design that would fit as a Digipak cover and also a CD cover.
The reason why I found this assignment to be a little more fun is that I got to explore with more creativity than the previous assignment. It was all trial and error and I soon learned which would be the best possible design for the job.
Although it was very fun and probably the most hands on assignment to date I was worried through pretty much the entire thing. The main problem was not being able to pick a final design I struggled on this for both the Digipak and logo designs. I had a lot of problems mainly because I made too much work for my self and I could not choose one of my own designs, as I liked all of them equally.
A have learned a lot in this past year so much more than I ever thought possible when I joined the coarse. The most valuable information I have learned is all the design issues such as PARC and colour coordination. Because they haven’t just improved my design skill the combines two have improved my entire work enabling me to work at a better more comfortable rate.
The most inspiration moment was when Dave Panel came in to see people in the HND course I got to learn a lot about the industry and how things work once you get a job working for Dave or any other company. I suppose I was a little surprised at how some clients always want something out of this world.
Where I’m going
At the end of the coarse I hope to be going into the industry, however at this moment in time I do not feel confident enough to go out into the industry and get a job. I think the major factor behind this is because I still make some bad decisions when designing. But my overall thought is that I am not yet confident enough to work for a client.
Although I am happy with my progress I am a little sad that the time has flown by so rapidly. I can see a major difference in the way I work since when I first started. One of the main things, which have helped me on the coarse so far, is the sketchbook. The reason being that it allowed me to jot all my ideas and all my mistakes down in the same book this is what has helped me reflect back on the beginning. This has helped me learn from many of mistakes, the best way I have found learning my mistakes was via making a checklist. This however can get confusing if you make simultaneous checklists I got lost several times when checking off my work. I have recently got a lot better at doing work as I seam to be concentrating a bit more I think that may be to do with me finally getting how the course is laid out and how I should be doing things.
At the moment we are getting ready for the second year to be honest I suppose I was a little worried / scared of CSS and how I would cope with a new language. On my previous course I did VB, which I thought, was ok and fairly easy but CSS seams to be a completely new language. Although once I spoke to Steve I was soon at ease after learning that it is actually easier than VB.
I am slightly worried about the second year mainly because of the huge amount of work involved. However I am also really exited, I have done a lot of work recently and I feel ready for the second year.
How I’m going to get there
I think what would be best for me personally would be to get a couple of books to keep me in front over the holidays so when I come back ill be in the frame of mind to work. Also as Steve and John have told me reading will help me with my spelling, so it will work two times as good for that reason.
I also feel as if more tutorials are in order. Some of the work I did at the beginning of the year and even through A7 was only achievable through learning the work from tutorials, which I had found online. Although they can be quiet stressful at times I think I did get a lot of help from online tutorials as they helped me with certain advanced features with the programs we were using.
I did struggle a bit last year though when it came to understanding the criteria, which came with every assignment. I think it may be best if I talk about my understandings of the criteria opening with Steve or on the blog so that if I have got it wrong I can be corrected before I hand in an assignment.
I couldn’t have actually come this far without my sketchbook and thus I would not be able to carry on without it. I think that it is still very important for me to record my work in the sketchbook as it helped me understand a great deal more. The sketchbook was also a recorder for me as when I forget things all I have to do is read certain parts of it back to remember.
To get there fully I also need to know when to ask for help. All this year I have been too shy enough to ask for help on my work. However this has also caused some of my work to slack in details stopping me from getting higher marks. I suppose more than anything it was just stubbornness I believed that I was right, however for the second year I will always ask for help if I need it to make sure that my work is done fully and correctly, I think this will help me reach my full potential.
Goals for next year
Sketchbook, even though a sketchbook is not art of the syllabus next year, I would like to continue using one. However I would also like to get a lot better at using the sketchbook and maybe record my time in the sketchbook also as I think it would help me more than it being a separate sheet.
Time, I know for a fact that I need to improve my time keeping next year. One thing I have been thinking abut is keeping a record of time in a sketchbook as I think I would remember to do everything if I was seeing it everyday like the sketchbook.
Tutorials, I would like to learn one new skill from a tutorial every 2 month starting from the second year. I think learning advanced options in applications can only help me in the future.
More reading, this one is a definite; as I struggle with spelling reading more books would help me greatly. However it is not just about my spelling. I think getting books such as CSS and Illustrator for beginners will help me a lot when trying to complete my work.
Help, I need to learn when to ask for help, instead of waiting until the last minute. This should help me get the first few passes with no problems.
Grades: In the second year I am aiming for 2 passes and 3 merits. This should be very doable but I will have to work my hardest to ensure I stick to this as I want to get the best grades possible.
Word Count 1844
On my first Blog entry almost a year ago I did not realise how fast things would go. I have felt mixed emotions so far about my work, from being unhappy to being happy.
The first assignment we did based on a fictional website was a whole new learning curve for me, I did not actually realise how hard it would be as I wasn’t really thought the correct way before I found it quiet difficult to adjust.
Back when we first did the assignment I thought my initial designs were very pleasing however looking back now I can see how wrong I was. I struggled to grasp the concept of colour in the beginning, which I think made my work slightly poorer than what it could have been.
As you can see from the picture I used the wrong colour scheme, which made the design look bad. Also I did make a lot of design errors which looking back now makes me laugh at the easy mistakes I made.
I also had trouble with how things was marked here compared to the last college I was at however I am now starting to realise how and why things are marked in a certain way. This has helped me correct a lot of errors, which I was frequently getting at the beginning of the course.
The second stage of the course was building a real plan for a website which I would actually be building. For this I did take a lot more care however I was still making naive mistakes these mistakes did come to bite me later on when actually creating the website.
Although I did make lots of mistakes in the plan this did not discourage me from fixing them when actually coming around to building the web site. I was a little unhappy with my first choice of design so I changed it slightly to make it easier on the eye this also made it more user friendly.
As you can see the ne thing I started to learn was complimentary colours and how they affect websites. I got all the information from a colour lecture presented by Steve; this made me very happy, as that’s what I had been struggling with from the beginning.
The first thing I did was change the website image and the general overlay to make it look more pleasing. After I had done I was very pleased with my work and exited that I was learning more about my self and the things I could do.
As you can see from the image there was a big change in the style of the website. Also what impressed me was the dramatic difference between the look. One of the major factors, which made me change the style, were rereading the “Park” lecture which was in my sketchbook, this very clearly said that the best designers always use repetition. So I decided to give it a go on the website and it worked! The website was looking great and had to be my best achievement at that time.
The most fun I’ve had on the course to-date is when I started “A7 Wailing Whales” This gave me more of a chance to explore my design talents when I had to listen to music and think of a perfect design that would fit as a Digipak cover and also a CD cover.
The reason why I found this assignment to be a little more fun is that I got to explore with more creativity than the previous assignment. It was all trial and error and I soon learned which would be the best possible design for the job.
Although it was very fun and probably the most hands on assignment to date I was worried through pretty much the entire thing. The main problem was not being able to pick a final design I struggled on this for both the Digipak and logo designs. I had a lot of problems mainly because I made too much work for my self and I could not choose one of my own designs, as I liked all of them equally.
A have learned a lot in this past year so much more than I ever thought possible when I joined the coarse. The most valuable information I have learned is all the design issues such as PARC and colour coordination. Because they haven’t just improved my design skill the combines two have improved my entire work enabling me to work at a better more comfortable rate.
The most inspiration moment was when Dave Panel came in to see people in the HND course I got to learn a lot about the industry and how things work once you get a job working for Dave or any other company. I suppose I was a little surprised at how some clients always want something out of this world.
Where I’m going
At the end of the coarse I hope to be going into the industry, however at this moment in time I do not feel confident enough to go out into the industry and get a job. I think the major factor behind this is because I still make some bad decisions when designing. But my overall thought is that I am not yet confident enough to work for a client.
Although I am happy with my progress I am a little sad that the time has flown by so rapidly. I can see a major difference in the way I work since when I first started. One of the main things, which have helped me on the coarse so far, is the sketchbook. The reason being that it allowed me to jot all my ideas and all my mistakes down in the same book this is what has helped me reflect back on the beginning. This has helped me learn from many of mistakes, the best way I have found learning my mistakes was via making a checklist. This however can get confusing if you make simultaneous checklists I got lost several times when checking off my work. I have recently got a lot better at doing work as I seam to be concentrating a bit more I think that may be to do with me finally getting how the course is laid out and how I should be doing things.
At the moment we are getting ready for the second year to be honest I suppose I was a little worried / scared of CSS and how I would cope with a new language. On my previous course I did VB, which I thought, was ok and fairly easy but CSS seams to be a completely new language. Although once I spoke to Steve I was soon at ease after learning that it is actually easier than VB.
I am slightly worried about the second year mainly because of the huge amount of work involved. However I am also really exited, I have done a lot of work recently and I feel ready for the second year.
How I’m going to get there
I think what would be best for me personally would be to get a couple of books to keep me in front over the holidays so when I come back ill be in the frame of mind to work. Also as Steve and John have told me reading will help me with my spelling, so it will work two times as good for that reason.
I also feel as if more tutorials are in order. Some of the work I did at the beginning of the year and even through A7 was only achievable through learning the work from tutorials, which I had found online. Although they can be quiet stressful at times I think I did get a lot of help from online tutorials as they helped me with certain advanced features with the programs we were using.
I did struggle a bit last year though when it came to understanding the criteria, which came with every assignment. I think it may be best if I talk about my understandings of the criteria opening with Steve or on the blog so that if I have got it wrong I can be corrected before I hand in an assignment.
I couldn’t have actually come this far without my sketchbook and thus I would not be able to carry on without it. I think that it is still very important for me to record my work in the sketchbook as it helped me understand a great deal more. The sketchbook was also a recorder for me as when I forget things all I have to do is read certain parts of it back to remember.
To get there fully I also need to know when to ask for help. All this year I have been too shy enough to ask for help on my work. However this has also caused some of my work to slack in details stopping me from getting higher marks. I suppose more than anything it was just stubbornness I believed that I was right, however for the second year I will always ask for help if I need it to make sure that my work is done fully and correctly, I think this will help me reach my full potential.
Goals for next year
Sketchbook, even though a sketchbook is not art of the syllabus next year, I would like to continue using one. However I would also like to get a lot better at using the sketchbook and maybe record my time in the sketchbook also as I think it would help me more than it being a separate sheet.
Time, I know for a fact that I need to improve my time keeping next year. One thing I have been thinking abut is keeping a record of time in a sketchbook as I think I would remember to do everything if I was seeing it everyday like the sketchbook.
Tutorials, I would like to learn one new skill from a tutorial every 2 month starting from the second year. I think learning advanced options in applications can only help me in the future.
More reading, this one is a definite; as I struggle with spelling reading more books would help me greatly. However it is not just about my spelling. I think getting books such as CSS and Illustrator for beginners will help me a lot when trying to complete my work.
Help, I need to learn when to ask for help, instead of waiting until the last minute. This should help me get the first few passes with no problems.
Grades: In the second year I am aiming for 2 passes and 3 merits. This should be very doable but I will have to work my hardest to ensure I stick to this as I want to get the best grades possible.
Word Count 1844
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Check Check Check
This week is mainly one for checking and making sure that all my work is up to scratch. I have been so proud of my self over the last week as I have finished everything a week in advance just like it should be.
However this does not mean I can slack off, I am very aware that even though on the outside it looks as if I have done all the work however simple mistakes can be easily made, so to make sure everything is done this week will be mainly testing and checking to make sure that all my work is complete.
To carry on being happy with my self I will make sure I keep up this high standard of work, I am getting more confident in the way the course is marked which means I should be improving, however there are still some parts of my work which I'm not totally happy with.
One of these is not checking my work properly, this can lead to me missing out on marks in the most easiest way. However this time round I have developed a check-list which will hopefully allow me to fulfil my job correctly and get all the work complete.
The first error I found this week through the check list we did last week and my own is that I did not make my images CMYK, this made me realise that I have not finished my work but rather done a rough sketch of my work.
The hardest thing of last week was which logo to use. However what made me happy is that when I posted this problem on the forum I was quickly given feedback and helped into choosing which logo I should use for the job. This took a lot of pressure off my self and allowed me to carry on work.
The happiest moment of this week was finally getting everything uploaded into Indesign, I had very few problems doing this however I did struggle to make the writing go around the inside of the CD, this of cause meant I had to go on a research mission to find the answer.
Now that most of the work is complete I feel a lot happier with my self however I am constantly checking to make sure that I have done everything correctly.
The next thing on my mind is the evaluation, I am actually finding it very pleasing this time round, mainly because I have placed all my feelings on the blog so I can just look back and find out what I was struggling with and what I was happy with.
However this does not mean I can slack off, I am very aware that even though on the outside it looks as if I have done all the work however simple mistakes can be easily made, so to make sure everything is done this week will be mainly testing and checking to make sure that all my work is complete.
To carry on being happy with my self I will make sure I keep up this high standard of work, I am getting more confident in the way the course is marked which means I should be improving, however there are still some parts of my work which I'm not totally happy with.
One of these is not checking my work properly, this can lead to me missing out on marks in the most easiest way. However this time round I have developed a check-list which will hopefully allow me to fulfil my job correctly and get all the work complete.
The first error I found this week through the check list we did last week and my own is that I did not make my images CMYK, this made me realise that I have not finished my work but rather done a rough sketch of my work.
The hardest thing of last week was which logo to use. However what made me happy is that when I posted this problem on the forum I was quickly given feedback and helped into choosing which logo I should use for the job. This took a lot of pressure off my self and allowed me to carry on work.
The happiest moment of this week was finally getting everything uploaded into Indesign, I had very few problems doing this however I did struggle to make the writing go around the inside of the CD, this of cause meant I had to go on a research mission to find the answer.
Now that most of the work is complete I feel a lot happier with my self however I am constantly checking to make sure that I have done everything correctly.
The next thing on my mind is the evaluation, I am actually finding it very pleasing this time round, mainly because I have placed all my feelings on the blog so I can just look back and find out what I was struggling with and what I was happy with.
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Still a load left.
CD work
This week has been a tiring one, the most stress I found defiantly came from creating the CD work. The reason being that it took me ages before finding the right effect / amount of editing that I would be happy with.
In the end after much debate I decided to go for my first and last designs. The first was using a picture then creating an effect called cubism, this involved cutting out squares in a picture rotating them and putting little shades and edits on each piece. This was of cause very frustrating and took a lot of time but I think the end result looks good thus meaning it was worth it
My last design was something of a test of patience, it was to browse the internet for various tutorials on water and make my own image from manipulating the original factor. This in some ways took just as much time as the cubism method mainly, because of the research involved. The amount of research made me very tired most nights but it paid off in the final design making the overall affect look quite good, however there was still a little dissatisfaction for me as I did not like the end result as much as the cubism one.
New Font
To go with the Cd work I needed to find a new font that stood out and really made me think “Wow that’s good” however as the weeks went by I struggled to find the correct font which would make me smile.
However after intense research into fonts I found one which had some grate potential for my logo, however I did not see it working so well on the Cd design. The font is called LotusFlower and it is a free download at dafont.com.
So with much eager ambition I went to Steve with my designs, this turned out to be the best mover ever, mainly as then I found out about the font called avant guard, I really like this font it stands out and also is clear and easy to read making it the perfect font for my Cd work.
Flight Plan
This week was also a success story as I managed to complete my flight plan, I have been holding off doing the flight plan for ages thinking it would be hard, as much of my research showed people using software to complete there flight plans. But after the list we did on Monday I felt I knew what to do, this was helped along by a re lecture on print which included a lot of information that we would all need to no. I my self am glad the lecture was retold as it allowed me to think about the flight plan with a clear mind.
I did struggle at first but I kept typing and ended up with a list of things the printer might want to no which was the flight plan. Although I had some errors I still managed to get it done.
Work to be done
Although I feel I have accomplished a lot this week I know I still have a long way to go. This week I am aiming to get most the work complete as to stick to the original time plan which was to have all work complete 1 week before the hand in date.
I think overall my biggest struggle is going to be placing everything into Indesign without no trouble, I have heard / found out that when saving in EPS (ie the logo) there can be some difficulty when transferring the logo especially if you have it with a solid colour.
The Font still needs changing to avant guard.
This is my last design however i still think it needs a lot of work doing on it to make it industry standard.
This week has been a tiring one, the most stress I found defiantly came from creating the CD work. The reason being that it took me ages before finding the right effect / amount of editing that I would be happy with.
In the end after much debate I decided to go for my first and last designs. The first was using a picture then creating an effect called cubism, this involved cutting out squares in a picture rotating them and putting little shades and edits on each piece. This was of cause very frustrating and took a lot of time but I think the end result looks good thus meaning it was worth it
My last design was something of a test of patience, it was to browse the internet for various tutorials on water and make my own image from manipulating the original factor. This in some ways took just as much time as the cubism method mainly, because of the research involved. The amount of research made me very tired most nights but it paid off in the final design making the overall affect look quite good, however there was still a little dissatisfaction for me as I did not like the end result as much as the cubism one.
New Font
To go with the Cd work I needed to find a new font that stood out and really made me think “Wow that’s good” however as the weeks went by I struggled to find the correct font which would make me smile.
However after intense research into fonts I found one which had some grate potential for my logo, however I did not see it working so well on the Cd design. The font is called LotusFlower and it is a free download at dafont.com.
So with much eager ambition I went to Steve with my designs, this turned out to be the best mover ever, mainly as then I found out about the font called avant guard, I really like this font it stands out and also is clear and easy to read making it the perfect font for my Cd work.
Flight Plan
This week was also a success story as I managed to complete my flight plan, I have been holding off doing the flight plan for ages thinking it would be hard, as much of my research showed people using software to complete there flight plans. But after the list we did on Monday I felt I knew what to do, this was helped along by a re lecture on print which included a lot of information that we would all need to no. I my self am glad the lecture was retold as it allowed me to think about the flight plan with a clear mind.
I did struggle at first but I kept typing and ended up with a list of things the printer might want to no which was the flight plan. Although I had some errors I still managed to get it done.
Work to be done
Although I feel I have accomplished a lot this week I know I still have a long way to go. This week I am aiming to get most the work complete as to stick to the original time plan which was to have all work complete 1 week before the hand in date.
I think overall my biggest struggle is going to be placing everything into Indesign without no trouble, I have heard / found out that when saving in EPS (ie the logo) there can be some difficulty when transferring the logo especially if you have it with a solid colour.
The Font still needs changing to avant guard.
This is my last design however i still think it needs a lot of work doing on it to make it industry standard.
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Moving Fast!
My three logos although slightly finished still need work. One I need to place a good looking font on there to brighten things up and make the Emit logo look more eye pleasing. Also I think it will make me happier knowing that my logo looks its best although I have to remember not to get too attached.
A good way to improve my logo is to use thicker lines on the 1st design and a more rounded moon on the 2nd design. This makes me happy as well as now I know how to fix the logos to make them industry standard, although making the lines ticker will result in me using less paths so that the logo will still work at a small size.
Inspiration
My inspiration has defiantly been used this week; I have been using my sketchbook to help me design/redesign my work, although using my sketchbook for ideas can sometimes be a bad influences from bad business cards and such. Although I try to stay away from bad ideas they can subluminally influence me.
A happy moment of the week is the inspiration forum talk, this is a place to post and get inspiration, so please take a look if you get time. (DesignForum)
CD Work
This week has been an interesting but frustrating one as I try to pick a design for my CD cover, I have been looking very closely into plants, trees and nature. But as well as this I have been toying with the idea of Cubism as it is a play on words on the artists name which is Qubism.
Although using Cubism would be good for effect it would take a lot of time and would be very hard to pull off, I think so that I don’t have as much stress I will create the basic version of the CD first and then try and do a cubism formatted one.
Fonts
Fonts are another challenging aspect this week as I try to find the perfect font. Even though I have researched fonts and looked at plenty of them I still struggle to find the perfect font for me and my designs. The hardest part is matching them to my designs in a way that I feel they suit although it is not really about me and they way I feel but about the client and his opinions.
A good way to improve my logo is to use thicker lines on the 1st design and a more rounded moon on the 2nd design. This makes me happy as well as now I know how to fix the logos to make them industry standard, although making the lines ticker will result in me using less paths so that the logo will still work at a small size.
Inspiration
My inspiration has defiantly been used this week; I have been using my sketchbook to help me design/redesign my work, although using my sketchbook for ideas can sometimes be a bad influences from bad business cards and such. Although I try to stay away from bad ideas they can subluminally influence me.
A happy moment of the week is the inspiration forum talk, this is a place to post and get inspiration, so please take a look if you get time. (DesignForum)
CD Work
This week has been an interesting but frustrating one as I try to pick a design for my CD cover, I have been looking very closely into plants, trees and nature. But as well as this I have been toying with the idea of Cubism as it is a play on words on the artists name which is Qubism.
Although using Cubism would be good for effect it would take a lot of time and would be very hard to pull off, I think so that I don’t have as much stress I will create the basic version of the CD first and then try and do a cubism formatted one.
Fonts
Fonts are another challenging aspect this week as I try to find the perfect font. Even though I have researched fonts and looked at plenty of them I still struggle to find the perfect font for me and my designs. The hardest part is matching them to my designs in a way that I feel they suit although it is not really about me and they way I feel but about the client and his opinions.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Logos!
These are my final 3 logos. Sory for the long wait but my internet has been very slow and crashing upon uploading this week. Also i know about some of the colours not contrasting it was mainly just to see what it looked like. BAD! But it was worth trying.
Also i know about some of the thin lines consistant in some of the designs, was done to ensure they worked at small sizes.
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Design, Design, Design
Logos
More logo creating this week brought a design style to my logos which was eye catching. The main type of logo I stuck to was an eclipse of the sun (half) this meant that you could still see half the sun and half the moon.
At the moment I am trying different styles of type to go with this logo but finding the right one is proving to be difficult. One thing I am going to do is print off a big list of fonts saying the word EMIT so that I can pick the best one. Although trying to match one to the logo I have done is hard as some text styles spoil the logo.
If anyone has some good free typefaces please post a link.
CD Design
This week I also started on my CD design and sketched some examples of what might match the music I have been listening to. Once again I tried to get this light and dark feel across, as the music was both dark and light.
One of the designs I thought of was sun rise inside, sun setting back and night for the front, this to me seemed to get a lot of moods across which I felt from listening to the music. This design however may have some consequences as the writing on the back may be hard to read with the sun shining through the words.
Through research of the artist Qubism John informed me of a culture art called Cubism. This used different cut outs of a picture from different angles to give the onlooker more of a feel of the picture. Through more research I found a tutorial on how to do this on Photoshop. I did a couple of examples however I think that once the Qubism effect took place it was sometimes very hard to actually see the original picture, this produced some problems but with careful editing I am sure I can make cubism work. It will also provide a good play on words as the artist I am doing is called Qubism.
Weekly Events
Finalise 3 logos
Finalise 3 CD designs
Research information a flight document
Get more A1 work
Buy a new sketchbook
More logo creating this week brought a design style to my logos which was eye catching. The main type of logo I stuck to was an eclipse of the sun (half) this meant that you could still see half the sun and half the moon.
At the moment I am trying different styles of type to go with this logo but finding the right one is proving to be difficult. One thing I am going to do is print off a big list of fonts saying the word EMIT so that I can pick the best one. Although trying to match one to the logo I have done is hard as some text styles spoil the logo.
If anyone has some good free typefaces please post a link.
CD Design
This week I also started on my CD design and sketched some examples of what might match the music I have been listening to. Once again I tried to get this light and dark feel across, as the music was both dark and light.
One of the designs I thought of was sun rise inside, sun setting back and night for the front, this to me seemed to get a lot of moods across which I felt from listening to the music. This design however may have some consequences as the writing on the back may be hard to read with the sun shining through the words.
Through research of the artist Qubism John informed me of a culture art called Cubism. This used different cut outs of a picture from different angles to give the onlooker more of a feel of the picture. Through more research I found a tutorial on how to do this on Photoshop. I did a couple of examples however I think that once the Qubism effect took place it was sometimes very hard to actually see the original picture, this produced some problems but with careful editing I am sure I can make cubism work. It will also provide a good play on words as the artist I am doing is called Qubism.
Weekly Events
Finalise 3 logos
Finalise 3 CD designs
Research information a flight document
Get more A1 work
Buy a new sketchbook
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
Logo creation
This week mainly consisted of creating more logos and trying different variations of the top chosen logos. However once done I had to learn not to get too attached to the logos I was creating as they would soon be commented on.
The main motive I had going with all the logos I had created was one that represented the world and how different things emit around the world. To make sure that I was doing the correct type of logos I asked for feedback of cause all feedback is good feedback so it all helped.
At the beginning of a week I was carrying on with my earth logo with a satellite floating around the earth while emitting signals to the things below. I thought this would show how it picked up different parts / different scenes from around the world.
Learning the client
However quickly learning that this was not the correct logo was good to stop me falling for the one idea, I soon found out via though client (Steve) That a more sun/eclipse logo would be more ideal in this situation. This not only showed how objects such as light could be emitted down to earth but how easily the light could be taken away. This makes it, appeal more strongly in my opinion.
Another reason why I ended up preferring this choice is that I know that it would look good on the front of a CD cover rather than spoiling the look, as my first intended logo would have done.
Finding paths
This title simple means the new software I have learned to use this week (Freehand), although I have learned about this software I still think it is a bit more mysterious than meats the eye. Although to be honest a lot of the options look very similar to Photoshop but this only helps me settle in to the software more easily.
To get my full potential out of this software I will be searching for tutorials to help me get used to the new formats and things that you can do while using free hand. If you have any links that could help please list them below.
Over the week
Learning the edge, by this I mean learn more about the software Freehand and what it can do. Plus find out information on how it can improve logo creation.
Testing and creating, testing my new logo in different environments such as colour and background affects.
Proof of testing, screenshot any tests done on the PC and stick any paper work into the sketchbook.
New sketchbook, this week I will need a new sketchbook for this assignment I feel as if I have already done enough work to fill a new one beyond half.
The main motive I had going with all the logos I had created was one that represented the world and how different things emit around the world. To make sure that I was doing the correct type of logos I asked for feedback of cause all feedback is good feedback so it all helped.
At the beginning of a week I was carrying on with my earth logo with a satellite floating around the earth while emitting signals to the things below. I thought this would show how it picked up different parts / different scenes from around the world.
Learning the client
However quickly learning that this was not the correct logo was good to stop me falling for the one idea, I soon found out via though client (Steve) That a more sun/eclipse logo would be more ideal in this situation. This not only showed how objects such as light could be emitted down to earth but how easily the light could be taken away. This makes it, appeal more strongly in my opinion.
Another reason why I ended up preferring this choice is that I know that it would look good on the front of a CD cover rather than spoiling the look, as my first intended logo would have done.
Finding paths
This title simple means the new software I have learned to use this week (Freehand), although I have learned about this software I still think it is a bit more mysterious than meats the eye. Although to be honest a lot of the options look very similar to Photoshop but this only helps me settle in to the software more easily.
To get my full potential out of this software I will be searching for tutorials to help me get used to the new formats and things that you can do while using free hand. If you have any links that could help please list them below.
Over the week
Learning the edge, by this I mean learn more about the software Freehand and what it can do. Plus find out information on how it can improve logo creation.
Testing and creating, testing my new logo in different environments such as colour and background affects.
Proof of testing, screenshot any tests done on the PC and stick any paper work into the sketchbook.
New sketchbook, this week I will need a new sketchbook for this assignment I feel as if I have already done enough work to fill a new one beyond half.
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
Logo Crash
This week I have set my self the task of researching logo designs as well as making / doodling my own. Although normally you may think that doodling is easy it does get hard when you are concentrating on the item its self.
The hardest thing for me at least was producing a brand new idea each time, after a while I started doing the same type of logo which was annoying. To stop this I thought back to the lecture on logos and the different types so every time I hit a mental block like this I switched my logo type from Text only design to picture and modern age design.
Thinking of logos
Thinking up the logos required me to look at my inspiration. Looking at other logos gave me my own ideas for mine, however I had to be careful not to subliminally copy the logo.
To try and keep the logo symbol and make sure it was the original specifications that I wanted I used basic shapes to make the logo look correct. However I often found my self overlaying shapes so that they stood out more when looking at them.
Mind Maps
Mind maps have helped me a lot so far when doing the logos, mainly because I just look back on my mind maps to see what’s good / bad about a logo and then look at my mood map to see different pictures and thought on EMIT, this allowed me to be able to create a wide range of logos.
Inspiration
I have a lot more inspiration now after the holidays as I looked up a lot of logo and business card work so that I could view work and detail behind items, I also did a mood and mind map on these items. So now every time I get stuck on a piece of work I just look back at my inspiration, I also have a lot of photo work which I look at for inspiration, these also help me when I seem to be having a mental block when doing work.
Finalise
To finalise my work I have decided that I am going to post them on the forum and on the blog, this will give me a better chance to get more feedback from others. I think as we need to get more real feedback to help us maybe asking around the web for feedback will be a good idea.
The hardest thing for me at least was producing a brand new idea each time, after a while I started doing the same type of logo which was annoying. To stop this I thought back to the lecture on logos and the different types so every time I hit a mental block like this I switched my logo type from Text only design to picture and modern age design.
Thinking of logos
Thinking up the logos required me to look at my inspiration. Looking at other logos gave me my own ideas for mine, however I had to be careful not to subliminally copy the logo.
To try and keep the logo symbol and make sure it was the original specifications that I wanted I used basic shapes to make the logo look correct. However I often found my self overlaying shapes so that they stood out more when looking at them.
Mind Maps
Mind maps have helped me a lot so far when doing the logos, mainly because I just look back on my mind maps to see what’s good / bad about a logo and then look at my mood map to see different pictures and thought on EMIT, this allowed me to be able to create a wide range of logos.
Inspiration
I have a lot more inspiration now after the holidays as I looked up a lot of logo and business card work so that I could view work and detail behind items, I also did a mood and mind map on these items. So now every time I get stuck on a piece of work I just look back at my inspiration, I also have a lot of photo work which I look at for inspiration, these also help me when I seem to be having a mental block when doing work.
Finalise
To finalise my work I have decided that I am going to post them on the forum and on the blog, this will give me a better chance to get more feedback from others. I think as we need to get more real feedback to help us maybe asking around the web for feedback will be a good idea.
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
New Findings
Logos
This week I have been looking into logos and what makes a good logo via research. I have found out there are three major types of logo Text / typography design, this is where a logo is just made from a certain typeface, Design / image, this is where there is a design image which represents a company and finally the mixture of both design and typography, all designs of logos includes one of the above.
On the Typography logo most people use an unusual font to draw the attention of viewers. A great example of this is the TKMAX logo.
The image logo is a logo that is well known, the image / icon its self is usually something that represents the company name, however sometimes this is now the case. Apple is a great example of using an image to represent the company name. Nike however is different as they use a tick but the company is that well known that just from seeing a tick most people automatically assume Nike.
The combination of the two can come together to create an overall affect, the most common version of this is the Adidas logo this uses text along with stripes, This is a popular pattern which draws the eye of viewers.
Colour is very important to logos, I have researched this week and found out that most companies will use a bright colour on image or text as it will draw the eye of potential buyers and such.
Qubism
Qubism is the artist of the music I have been listening to this week, he is part of Em:t record company, who’s logo looks like the following.
As you can see it is regular text with a Chinese symbol for a image, the Chinese symbol actually stats for shine as in “Emit shine”.
I found that the music I listened to was based on different places around the world and the affects that happen. This could range from things such as Dance and then go to city life and the crime that’s there.
Qubism really made me think about there music and the affects they had used, listening to the sounds you could almost imagine you was there and see what was going on. This gave more inspiration to listen to the music and found my self listening to it almost all day to get a better feel for the work I would be doing very soon.
This week I have been looking into logos and what makes a good logo via research. I have found out there are three major types of logo Text / typography design, this is where a logo is just made from a certain typeface, Design / image, this is where there is a design image which represents a company and finally the mixture of both design and typography, all designs of logos includes one of the above.
On the Typography logo most people use an unusual font to draw the attention of viewers. A great example of this is the TKMAX logo.
The image logo is a logo that is well known, the image / icon its self is usually something that represents the company name, however sometimes this is now the case. Apple is a great example of using an image to represent the company name. Nike however is different as they use a tick but the company is that well known that just from seeing a tick most people automatically assume Nike.
The combination of the two can come together to create an overall affect, the most common version of this is the Adidas logo this uses text along with stripes, This is a popular pattern which draws the eye of viewers.
Colour is very important to logos, I have researched this week and found out that most companies will use a bright colour on image or text as it will draw the eye of potential buyers and such.
Qubism
Qubism is the artist of the music I have been listening to this week, he is part of Em:t record company, who’s logo looks like the following.
As you can see it is regular text with a Chinese symbol for a image, the Chinese symbol actually stats for shine as in “Emit shine”.
I found that the music I listened to was based on different places around the world and the affects that happen. This could range from things such as Dance and then go to city life and the crime that’s there.
Qubism really made me think about there music and the affects they had used, listening to the sounds you could almost imagine you was there and see what was going on. This gave more inspiration to listen to the music and found my self listening to it almost all day to get a better feel for the work I would be doing very soon.
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