Personal Professional Development & Enterprise

Monday, 28 November 2011

Business...

Some targets I made at the start of the year:

1. Celebrate my favourite work - create a website for others to see
2. To get my work 'out there' - promote myself
3. To sell some work - start with creating an Etsy store, sell a few pieces
4. Discover other websites and forms of social media that could be useful to promote work

To do these things I need to actually feel confident in myself as a designer and begin to like my own work, I don't know when this will happen but hopefully soon!

I'd like to set up a store to sell prints/my work. I'm still considering which website to use, choices include: bigcartel.com/signup or www.etsy.com

I also think that I need to build a website, as I would prefer to show companies that I want to gain work experience with, and just anyone that I wish to see my work, a website of final pieces that I am happy with rather than my blog, which is very personal and contains far too much information to make it easy to look through. Possible websites:

www.indexhibit.org
cargocollective.com
www.wix.com

Social networking/ other sites to join:

memyart
tumblr
behance
flickr
Create a facebook page for my design work
Create a twitter account

In enterprise I've been looking at ways of promoting myself, so by the end of the year I intend to have created a bit of an identity for myself!

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Re-branding

It's nearly time to start sending out CV's and trying to get placements, so I need to have a creative CV, business card & website that I am actually happy with first!

It seems like an exciting challenge to brand myself and there are many directions I can go with. I want to make it as true to myself as I can, and seen my main interest is in illustration I think this is where I should start.

Idea 1 - Griffin Bird

I've researched the mythical 'Griffin' bird, as I'd like to draw one for my logo.

Experimentation

Idea 2 - Create Own Font

Similar to a project we did right at the beginning of the first year, I'd like to create my own font, this time representing my own personality, hopefully giving clues about who I am as a designer.

So now is the point where I think - do I make it as true to me as possible, or do I do something that I think will appeal to many? I don't really know what the answer is so many it will be best to do both then decide.

Here's something I wrote about myself when deciding on a topic for my 'what is good' in the summer:

Me

Graphic design, illustration, photography, sewing, baking, food, cooking, cakes, clothes, jewellery, fashion, wardrobe, shoes, bags, shopping, make-up, drawing, love, romance, disney, lie-ins, bed, sleeping, girlie girl, organised, creative, ambitious, neat, planning, optimistic, angelic, magazines, books, pattern, prints, homely, illustration, comfy, stressed, busy, purposeful, helping, hardworking, friends & family, wine, beer, cheesy music, stumble upon, doctor who, sci fi, chick flicks, hiking, camping, rock-climbing, scouts, guides, jamborees, geeky, religion, holidays, clever ideas, drinking tea, memories, crafts

Idea 3 - Illustration of Me

To make it as personal as possible I've thought about including an illustration of myself.

Saturday, 26 November 2011

PPD... PGCE Research

After the various PPD tasks and tutorials I have been thinking about what I really want to do after finishing this course. I've been thinking about doing a PGCE, so I've done some research on this to ensure I know what it is about.

Training and Development Agency

Graduate Teach Training Registry

Questions to ask myself:
Art + Design or Design + Technology? = Art and design
Primary, Middle or Secondary? = Secondary (14-19) College age
Where? = LJM

Things to look at:

Speak to a teacher first, gain experience in a school
School Experience Programme; teach first

Why I would want to be a teacher:

The age I would want to teach (14-19 years) is an important stage in a young persons life deciding what they should choose to study at college/university, so it would be rewarding to help them with their decision. I also think young people at this age are more eager to learn, and it would be satisfying to help them with this.

I felt at this age I was unsure about what I wanted to study, as I really enjoyed graphic design, but I hadn't been taught that well about it, so I had to teach myself, which set me back a bit, especially started at university where everybody else seemed like experts. I would like to be a good teacher to ensure others don't have this problem, and are equipped with the skills they need.

I've been a Guide leader for a few years and have also enjoyed working with young people at the Scout Jamboree I attended this year. I also previously worked as a children's party entertainer. I know young people can be hard work but it would be rewarding to help them at this important stage of their lives.

Possible Choices. . .

Well ideally I'd like to live at home so either Manchester, Liverpool or Edge Hill would be most convenient.

LJM - Applied Art and Design

Edge Hill - Applied Art and Design

MMU - Art and Design

I think the Liverpool John Moore's or Edge Hill's Applied Art courses sound most like what I would want to do.

Step 1: Talk to a Teacher

- Talk to friends who are studying to be teachers

- Talk to my previous teachers

- Talk to people who I know are teachers

Step 2: Experience in School

Before I start thinking about applying for anything, I need to gain some experience. In everything I've read about PGCE's a factor to ensure you are accepted is having experience. I could ask about going back to my old High School or College and giving a talk about Graphic Design, or maybe even asking for some work experience for Easter or Summer holidays next year.

I am applying for job 'Mentoring/ Classroom Support Assistant' at Leeds College of Art. I need to write a paragraph which contains information about my experience and skills to help me get a placement or mentoring job. Whether or not I get this job, even the process of applying for it will be useful.

Update... I sent off a paragraph containing my information and have an interview for the job! Again, whether or not I get it all this preparation is useful.

The interview went well, however, there weren't placements available that fitted in with my limited hours of free time. Ill keep trying for something later on in the year.

Step 3: Open Days

The open days aren't til next year now, but its important that I attend them when I can, and read up all the provided information on the internet to make sure I know which course would be right for me.

Monday, 21 November 2011

End of Module Evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

Through this module I have learnt so much about designing for print, that I now feel confident as a designer for when I need to work with printers. I have learnt these skills from the seminars with Lorenzo, the software skills workshops, the books that I have read, as well as learning as I go along with my designs. I have applied these through my work, meaning that for the first time on this course, my work could be sent to a printer, and I have also demonstrated all that I know in my design for print manual.

I've also improved my software skills, in particular with Indesign and Illustrator. I previously felt like my lack of software skills were making me work slower than others, but now, through doing tutorials, learning at software workshops and through the creation of my work for this module, I have challenged myself, and applied my new skills to my design.

The important of concept building is something I have developed through this module, and consequently, I think this is the best idea I've had so far on the course. I think I have applied these skills well, as I believe I have perfected my concept; I just would have liked more time to perfect my design work.

Ive learnt about the importance of hand drawn design developments, through the logo task. Producing so many different logo designs was a good way to eventually reach a logo that I was happy with. I have applied this skill to lots of my initial design work in the module, but nearer to the end, I began to panic about time, and rushed my design development, which in turn meant that I wasn’t as happy with the design as I know I could be.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

The research I have done has mainly been through the set tasks, looking at many examples of printed graphic design. It has made me a lot more aware of the print that is out there, and how the choice of finishes and stock and other factors really can enhance a piece of work. This has really made me think about what I would choose if printing the designs for this module at a printers.

Actually going on a print visit and seeing examples of the type of work I am aiming to produce has been a great inspiration and help, making me think about the choices I make.

I've also looked at designs relevant to my theme of guiding. For example, looking for the exact pantone colours used by Girlguiding UK has helped me to create designs which could fit in with what is out there.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalize on these?

As mentioned previously, I think my concept is strong because of all the development I did on this, so I will continue in future modules to make sure my concept is perfect, and that I understand it fully, before starting design work. This is something that has let me down in many previously modules so I’m happy that I’ve overcome this.

Continually asking for feedback on my work from other students, and tutors, as well as the amount of crits we have had has made sure that my work has been continually improving, so this is something that I will continue to do, as it has been a previous target I have set for myself.

Week by week evaluation of my work has been a strength to how I have work, ensuring that I keep thinking and reflecting, so that I don’t get stuck at a dead end, as I have with previous modules, so this is definitely something I will continue to do.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

Although I have learnt a lot, and produced a lot of content, I'm not happy with my final design for this module. This is because I felt rushed for time with all that I had to do, so they weren’t as developed as I would have liked. To address these fully next time, I will spend more time developing my design ideas, rather than rushing to create work for many different formats, as, quality is more important that quantity.

Again, a similar problem to one I have recognized in previous modules, is that I haven't put everything that I have learnt to good use. I risk losing these new found skills, such as letterpress printing, if I don't put them to good use, so in future, I will link the new skills in to my design work.

I think with this module I have done more work than with any of the modules last year, but with everything else going on at the same time like enterprise, PPD, and CTS, I have found time management really hard. This is something I am always working on, but I think I need to prioritize what is done when.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

-1- There is still more about print production that I want to learn. I went to Vernon Street to learn about letterpress printing, but would have also have liked to have learn how to laser cut. I would like to learn more about the possibilities of digital print, such as how to print stickers, and printing on to unusual stock. I think this could really help to enhance my work and make it more exciting. I would like to re-cap on workshops I had last year such as book binding to improve on my final presentation skills.

-2- Next time, I would focus on getting one format perfect before trying to cover lots of formats, to ensure that I had a design I was happy with.

-3- I would like to improve my photography skills, and book out the photo room in future, to take better photographs of my final pieces, to improve the look of my presentation boards.

-4- I would like to make more time to research, maybe be continually looking at design blogs everyday for inspiration, rather than rushing with research. Making better links from my design context blog to my design practice blog is a target that I set for myself earlier that I haven’t manage to achieve yet.

-5- I would like to set more time aside for developing my designs, as this ‘playing’ about is the most fun part, and so crucial, yet for some reason I have lacked with development on this module. I will greatly improve the look of my final pieces from doing this.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas
(5= excellent 4=very good 3=good 2=average 1=poor)
Attendance = 5
Punctuality = 4
Motivation = 2
Commitment = 3
Quantity of work produced = 3
Quality of work produced = 2
Contribution to the group = 4