New Skills
Learning more about Dreamweaver over the last few days has been a good experience, I have moved on from knowing nothing to knowing something which is always a good experience. Naturally I have been noting my progress in my sketchbook to make sure that I have all the evidence of testing, mainly I am still using the tutorials I put up last week, however when I find some new ones that are interesting I will be posting them on the Blog and/or the forum.
Designs
Today was a test of patience within the room, when we had our quick fire test, the room was silent which was a weird feeling as I am used to the odd noise from the room but it was dead. I myself was quiet and hard in concentration. The task was frustrating but yet gave a kind of adrenalin rush to get things done.
From the last quick fire tests I learned one thing and that was to polish of the designs on paper faster than normal this gave me more time to spend actually developing my work which in total made me feel better about completing it.
The task its self I originally thought might be more daunting but as I said it was a mixture of adrenalin and frustration, this was defiantly applied 5 minutes before the end when everyone was rushing to grab the plastic folders. I am not yet sure what the environment is like in the working industry, but if today is anything to go by its fast pumping adrenalin action.
Sketchbook
The sketchbook yet again needs more work. The main thing I personally want to improve on is the mind mapping so far I have done very little in this and it needs improving. Another aspect that needs changing is my inspiration, although I may have a lot of it at the moment it is not yet all annotated, so my goal for this week and next is to improve my sketchbook skills and mind mapping skills.
Industry
Another uplifting moment this week as I was one of the people that got picked to go visit Dave at the Design Mechanics. This will give me some incite into what the industry is really like as I will get to see it first hand, as well as see all the work that has to be achieved. Another good moment is that I get to ask any questions I missed last time.
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Free Tutorials
Dreamweaver Tutorials
www.entheosweb.com/dreamweaver
All Adobe product Tutorials
www.tutorialized.com/
cbtcafe.com/
www.ndesign-studio.com/
www.entheosweb.com/dreamweaver
All Adobe product Tutorials
www.tutorialized.com/
cbtcafe.com/
www.ndesign-studio.com/
More Skills
Skills of the Week
This week I have learned a lot of new skill’s. One of which was an old skill but it has only just hit me how I should use it all the time and not just in certain parts of my life. This skill is called screenshots! I use this skill every day however I have only just learned the joy of using it to proof my work. This has lead me into doing a screenshot for almost everything I do for proof. So for this week it has been used for Page Maker and Dreamweaver there is a lot more programs that I need to do it for however so that I can proof I can use the programs. However it is also good for practical work for my sketchbook.
Today I have also started putting inspiration into my sketch book I have a lot more of it to print off, the last post I made was about glue and how ineffective it is at the sticking job so I have opted for cello tape and staples. There is one problem with doing all this though and that is that yet again another sketchbook will be used.
The Other new skill I have learned this week is how to use Dreamweaver, this is a skill that I have been looking forward to, however it is easier than I thought it would be. For the last few nights I have been looking into tutorials on how to work Dreamweaver and other Adobe products better, I will of cause be posting the good links I found after this post in case people also want to get better in software.
This week has also been a happy time for me as I am beginning to learn more about my creative skills. By this I mean that I am learning more about my own personal skills, before I couldn’t see anything wrong with certain types of text ect. But these last few weeks I have learned a lot about my self and the kind of things I don’t like. One that I hate know is centre text, to me it makes the writing look horrible and hard to read. Another worse text I have seen is jagged text going diagonally up a page, this was the hardest text I have found to read I will also upload a picture of this to show you what I mean. I think this means that my mind is made up on whether I am a designer or artist.
Key Points
Colour (I will be using a lot more colour in my sketch book to make it look brighter and more cheerful)
Inspiration (All my inspirational work should be in my sketchbook by the end of the week)
Dreamweaver (Following up lectures on this will improve my work later on)
Page Maker (Just improving my application skills)
Sketchbook (Checking lecture notes in my sketchbook to make sure I understand everything fully before doing an assignment)
This week I have learned a lot of new skill’s. One of which was an old skill but it has only just hit me how I should use it all the time and not just in certain parts of my life. This skill is called screenshots! I use this skill every day however I have only just learned the joy of using it to proof my work. This has lead me into doing a screenshot for almost everything I do for proof. So for this week it has been used for Page Maker and Dreamweaver there is a lot more programs that I need to do it for however so that I can proof I can use the programs. However it is also good for practical work for my sketchbook.
Today I have also started putting inspiration into my sketch book I have a lot more of it to print off, the last post I made was about glue and how ineffective it is at the sticking job so I have opted for cello tape and staples. There is one problem with doing all this though and that is that yet again another sketchbook will be used.
The Other new skill I have learned this week is how to use Dreamweaver, this is a skill that I have been looking forward to, however it is easier than I thought it would be. For the last few nights I have been looking into tutorials on how to work Dreamweaver and other Adobe products better, I will of cause be posting the good links I found after this post in case people also want to get better in software.
This week has also been a happy time for me as I am beginning to learn more about my creative skills. By this I mean that I am learning more about my own personal skills, before I couldn’t see anything wrong with certain types of text ect. But these last few weeks I have learned a lot about my self and the kind of things I don’t like. One that I hate know is centre text, to me it makes the writing look horrible and hard to read. Another worse text I have seen is jagged text going diagonally up a page, this was the hardest text I have found to read I will also upload a picture of this to show you what I mean. I think this means that my mind is made up on whether I am a designer or artist.
Key Points
Colour (I will be using a lot more colour in my sketch book to make it look brighter and more cheerful)
Inspiration (All my inspirational work should be in my sketchbook by the end of the week)
Dreamweaver (Following up lectures on this will improve my work later on)
Page Maker (Just improving my application skills)
Sketchbook (Checking lecture notes in my sketchbook to make sure I understand everything fully before doing an assignment)
Tuesday, 25 December 2007
moving forward
This week has meant many things for me. Mainly looking forward to after Christmas, I did a lot better on the last hand in, I put so many references and I put them in the correct order! Tomorrow I will be checking the site to make sure I have got the required details for the next assignments, also just to get a better understanding of it.
After Christmas there is a few things I want to get done badly and that is to actually stick in all my inspiration with salotape, this is because glue just seems to unstuck after a week maybe I just have that problem I don’t know. Also to start filling my new sketchbook I want it to be more colourful this time round and not just blue ink with a bit of colour.
After Christmas there is a few things I want to get done badly and that is to actually stick in all my inspiration with salotape, this is because glue just seems to unstuck after a week maybe I just have that problem I don’t know. Also to start filling my new sketchbook I want it to be more colourful this time round and not just blue ink with a bit of colour.
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Evaluation
At the beginning of the term I was thinking that I would be passing every assignment first time and thinking that maybe I would get a merit. I was at the beginning a little optimistic about what I as going to achieve while in the course and how I was going to achieve things. Also I did not realize that certain aspects of the course where needed. Such as at first I did not think the sketch book would be much use however I soon learned other wise. Another aspect which I thought was not as important was the Blogger, however I soon learned that it was very important for my progress through out the course.
However since then I have soon learned that the course involves a lot more than just work. There is a lot more work that goes into the marking than what I first thought meaning that it is very hard to actually achieve more than a pass. However despite all this I am very happy with the course so far. At the beginning I did not think that the sketch book was so important. But after doing the course this far I would defiantly say that it is the most important thing on the course. Mainly because so much information is recorded in the sketch book this allows me to look back at it. Another thing what I am happy about is how much I have improved in the over all design aspects of the Interactive course. Before I found it slightly hard to think of ideas fast however, after doing exercises where ideas had to be produced in about 1min I soon learned how to do this correctly. However as well as learning this skill I also learned not to add anything else into the actual design. Before at the beginning I thought that what was best was what I thought was best. However I can safely say that, this is not true anymore. It is always what the client wants.
With these new skills I hope to be able to progress on the course even more and maybe even reach my goal of a merit on at least one or more assignments. I think one more think that I hope to achieve is to improve my Blogging. Mainly because I think hat the Blog makes people on the course connect more and let’s people going through the same things as me share the experience. The main thing that I hope to achieve on the course is experience; so far a lot of this has already been given via learning idea generation and such. However I hope to improve my skills, in both the software and design. My final goal for the end of the course is to gain enough experience to be able to get a job in web design, or a design course that requires idea generation.
To summarise my time on the course so far, I would explain it as enjoyable but at the same time very educational. The best parts about the course so far are the lectures and the sketchbook in which to take notes on the lectures. The main reason being is that they help so much when doing work later on. The most enjoyable part of the course so far has been the image restoration and idea generation, mainly because I learned how to use Photoshop correctly and how to make something that looked bad look good. The idea generation made me think about what it would actually be like in the industry and how fast they expect you to gather information and ideas. I think hat not only was this one of the fun tasks so far it was also the most valuable as it will be one of the main things to help me on my way to a good career.
Main Goals
Short term
Throughout the second semester I would like to achieve at least a merit in assignments. I would also like to get better at using the software applications such as “Dreamweaver and Photoshop” allowing me to be able to make better websites. I would also like to improve my overall sketchbook work, making it more aesthetically pleasing by putting more colour and designs into it. Finally I would like to improve my Blogger skills, by posting more helpful comments.
• To Get Merits
• To be able to use software better
• Use the sketch book more efficiently
• Helpful comments
Mid-term
By the end of the course I hope to achieve all of the goals listed above. This will help me be more employable. However for this I will need to get more experience in the industry this might mean trying to get a part time job to help me on the way.
• Get more industry skills
• Continue improving industry skills
• Do more idea generation
Long-term
At the end of it all I would like to get a job in the industry in either web design or a design related job such as “Design Mechanics”. However if I feel that I do not yet have the skills I will most likely consider doing another year to get better experience and knowledge.
• Get a design job
• Get enough experience
• Consider doing another year of education
However since then I have soon learned that the course involves a lot more than just work. There is a lot more work that goes into the marking than what I first thought meaning that it is very hard to actually achieve more than a pass. However despite all this I am very happy with the course so far. At the beginning I did not think that the sketch book was so important. But after doing the course this far I would defiantly say that it is the most important thing on the course. Mainly because so much information is recorded in the sketch book this allows me to look back at it. Another thing what I am happy about is how much I have improved in the over all design aspects of the Interactive course. Before I found it slightly hard to think of ideas fast however, after doing exercises where ideas had to be produced in about 1min I soon learned how to do this correctly. However as well as learning this skill I also learned not to add anything else into the actual design. Before at the beginning I thought that what was best was what I thought was best. However I can safely say that, this is not true anymore. It is always what the client wants.
With these new skills I hope to be able to progress on the course even more and maybe even reach my goal of a merit on at least one or more assignments. I think one more think that I hope to achieve is to improve my Blogging. Mainly because I think hat the Blog makes people on the course connect more and let’s people going through the same things as me share the experience. The main thing that I hope to achieve on the course is experience; so far a lot of this has already been given via learning idea generation and such. However I hope to improve my skills, in both the software and design. My final goal for the end of the course is to gain enough experience to be able to get a job in web design, or a design course that requires idea generation.
To summarise my time on the course so far, I would explain it as enjoyable but at the same time very educational. The best parts about the course so far are the lectures and the sketchbook in which to take notes on the lectures. The main reason being is that they help so much when doing work later on. The most enjoyable part of the course so far has been the image restoration and idea generation, mainly because I learned how to use Photoshop correctly and how to make something that looked bad look good. The idea generation made me think about what it would actually be like in the industry and how fast they expect you to gather information and ideas. I think hat not only was this one of the fun tasks so far it was also the most valuable as it will be one of the main things to help me on my way to a good career.
Main Goals
Short term
Throughout the second semester I would like to achieve at least a merit in assignments. I would also like to get better at using the software applications such as “Dreamweaver and Photoshop” allowing me to be able to make better websites. I would also like to improve my overall sketchbook work, making it more aesthetically pleasing by putting more colour and designs into it. Finally I would like to improve my Blogger skills, by posting more helpful comments.
• To Get Merits
• To be able to use software better
• Use the sketch book more efficiently
• Helpful comments
Mid-term
By the end of the course I hope to achieve all of the goals listed above. This will help me be more employable. However for this I will need to get more experience in the industry this might mean trying to get a part time job to help me on the way.
• Get more industry skills
• Continue improving industry skills
• Do more idea generation
Long-term
At the end of it all I would like to get a job in the industry in either web design or a design related job such as “Design Mechanics”. However if I feel that I do not yet have the skills I will most likely consider doing another year to get better experience and knowledge.
• Get a design job
• Get enough experience
• Consider doing another year of education
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Ahead of Schedule
Web plan
This week is a happy week as all the work is pretty much done a head of schedule, this means that I do not have to worry as much as I did last time. The main thing that I am going to be working on over the week is making sure that the A3 assignment is up to scratch with references, that was the main point of error in the last one as I did not do them correctly.
I will also be correcting all my spelling and grammar mistakes, I believe doing all these things now rather than later will help me in the long run as I will be able to check all my work. Through out the week a lot of times to make sure that it is all done correctly.
The stress factor comes in knowing that this very important as it is a core unit. I am trying my best and putting as much references in as I can as well as making sure that they are all correctly formatted.
Image Standards
I had an interesting experience this week when I changed my images to make more since with in the industry. I made the title a lot bigger to go with Steve’s recommendations, mainly because some people might not know who the Jazz singers are.
Inspiration Board
This was an idea by Andrew who suggested that the class gets an inspiration/feedback board, so that people in 1st and 2nd year could get a pin board and instead of waiting for some feedback from the blogs just pin it up in class and get feedback that way. This idea I think would be very useful as it would help with getting feedback a lot faster.
This week is a happy week as all the work is pretty much done a head of schedule, this means that I do not have to worry as much as I did last time. The main thing that I am going to be working on over the week is making sure that the A3 assignment is up to scratch with references, that was the main point of error in the last one as I did not do them correctly.
I will also be correcting all my spelling and grammar mistakes, I believe doing all these things now rather than later will help me in the long run as I will be able to check all my work. Through out the week a lot of times to make sure that it is all done correctly.
The stress factor comes in knowing that this very important as it is a core unit. I am trying my best and putting as much references in as I can as well as making sure that they are all correctly formatted.
Image Standards
I had an interesting experience this week when I changed my images to make more since with in the industry. I made the title a lot bigger to go with Steve’s recommendations, mainly because some people might not know who the Jazz singers are.Inspiration Board
This was an idea by Andrew who suggested that the class gets an inspiration/feedback board, so that people in 1st and 2nd year could get a pin board and instead of waiting for some feedback from the blogs just pin it up in class and get feedback that way. This idea I think would be very useful as it would help with getting feedback a lot faster.
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
The work strain
Reference
This week I felt embarrassed as I did not realise that I was doing my references wrong. However I feel a lot better now as I no how to do them properly. Before I was getting most of the information in however I was not doing it in the correct order. Now I feel a lot better as I no exactly how to do them for website and books.
Books
Another point of shame this week is that I did not have the books that are on the course requirement. This made me a bit upset in ways because I knew that I needed them I did not have the money to get them though. However Steve told me the name of a person who will sell me the books cheap which made me happy as now I can buy the books with no stress.
A3
Most of A3 if finished now which is another reason to be happy. There are just a few things I need to do on them. Also I will remember to make sure that A3 has all the correct information in and has all the correct references.
Banners
This week another fun assignment creating banners of all things. Although at times this was very stressful as eventually we were creating an idea every 40 seconds. This made the pictures of the people look really funny as there was not enou8gh time to make sure that the pictures was filled out with enough detail and they looked more like shadows.
Work Timescale
While doing the banners I learned how working in a time strained environment is fun and stressful at the same time. Mainly creating them was fun but when it got down to 40 seconds an idea I did not realise the strain it put on to make sure that all the work was done. After doing it though I can see how much I can actually get done in 30 minutes. This is why I have decided to use the strategy on my home study.
This week I felt embarrassed as I did not realise that I was doing my references wrong. However I feel a lot better now as I no how to do them properly. Before I was getting most of the information in however I was not doing it in the correct order. Now I feel a lot better as I no exactly how to do them for website and books.
Books
Another point of shame this week is that I did not have the books that are on the course requirement. This made me a bit upset in ways because I knew that I needed them I did not have the money to get them though. However Steve told me the name of a person who will sell me the books cheap which made me happy as now I can buy the books with no stress.
A3
Most of A3 if finished now which is another reason to be happy. There are just a few things I need to do on them. Also I will remember to make sure that A3 has all the correct information in and has all the correct references.
Banners
This week another fun assignment creating banners of all things. Although at times this was very stressful as eventually we were creating an idea every 40 seconds. This made the pictures of the people look really funny as there was not enou8gh time to make sure that the pictures was filled out with enough detail and they looked more like shadows.Work Timescale
While doing the banners I learned how working in a time strained environment is fun and stressful at the same time. Mainly creating them was fun but when it got down to 40 seconds an idea I did not realise the strain it put on to make sure that all the work was done. After doing it though I can see how much I can actually get done in 30 minutes. This is why I have decided to use the strategy on my home study.
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