I love the work that Numiko do, so I sent them an email asking if I could go on a studio visit. They replied saying I could, so I went yesterday.
I went round the studio, and spoke to a few people who worked there to see what they were working on. It was so insightful, and I couldn't believe how advanced and forward-thinking they were on their projects. Really inspirational stuff.
I am glad I have been going to those networking events now, because I knew what a developer meant when he spoke about Sass, and I generally felt a lot more comfortable talking to them and being able to engage in a conversation about the websites/industry.
I showed the Head of Design my work on Behance, and he said that I could have a placement there for a week which I am very excited to start!
He also asked me to send him over some work, so I put together a PDF showcasing what wasn't on my blog. I know he was interested in type, so I piled together the custom type I have done as well as show a range of disciplines and styles I can work in.
I went to this month's hey!stac, and all three talks were really good.
However, there was one that stood out which was from Christopher Murphy. He was talking about mental health in the industry, as having so much work and pressure can lead to depression and anxiety. He actually tried to kill himself due to the stress of it all, and so his talk about coming out the other side was really inspiring.
He basically said how we get status anxiety, and worry about how many followers we have, and what people think about us, and spend too much time on social networks like this.
And how we go from working from 9-5, to 8-6 and 8-9 etc, until we have no life outside of work. I think everyone in the room was agreeing with what he was saying that we put too much pressure on ourselves, and 'do all of the things' - where we say yes to everything. Yes to every project, to working late, to doing talks, to everything. I realise that I do this - I say yes to every single project, and do it for free, and as soon as I wake up I do work until I go to sleep. Except I'm not very productive because I'm on Twitter and Facebook as well. It made me realise that I need to change my habits because it isn't enjoyable to just do work all the time, and I need to have a work life balance.
Here is the article he wrote on 'Managing A Mind', which was his talk for the night.
On 21 May 2013, I woke in a hospital bed feeling exhausted, disorientated and ashamed. The day before, I had tried to kill myself.
It’s very hard to write about this and share it. It feels like I’m opening up the deepest recesses of my soul and laying everything bare, but I think it’s important we share this as a community. Since starting tentatively to write about my experience, I’ve had many conversations about this: sharing with others; others sharing with me. I’ve been surprised to discover how many people are suffering similarly, thinking that they’re alone. They’re not.
Due to an insane schedule of teaching, writing, speaking, designing and just generally trying to keep up, I reached a point where my buffers completely overflowed. I was working so hard on so many things that I was struggling to maintain control. I was living life on fast-forward and my grasp on everything was slowly slipping.
On that day, I reached a low point – the lowest point of my life – and in that moment I could see only one way out. I surrendered. I can’t really describe that moment. I’m still grappling with it. All I know is that I couldn’t take it any more and I gave up.
I very nearly died.
I’m very fortunate to have survived. I was admitted to hospital, taken there unconscious in an ambulance. On waking, I felt overwhelmed with shame and overcome with remorse, but I was resolved to grasp the situation and address it. The experience has forced me to confront a great deal of issues in my life; it has also encouraged me to seek a deeper understanding of my situation and, in particular, the mechanics of the mind.
THE RELENTLESS PACE OF CHANGE
We work in a fast-paced industry: few others, if any, confront the daily challenges we face. The landscape we work within is characterised by constant flux. It’s changing and evolving at a rate we have never experienced before. Few industries reinvent themselves yearly, monthly, weekly… Ours is one of these industries. Technology accelerates at an alarming rate and keeping abreast of this change is challenging, to say the least.
As designers it can be difficult to maintain a knowledge bank that is relevant and fit for purpose. We’re on a constant rollercoaster of endless learning, trying to maintain the pace as, daily, new ideas and innovations emerge — in some cases fundamentally changing our medium.
Under the pressure of client work or product design and development, it can be difficult to find the time to focus on learning the new skills we need to remain relevant and functionally competent. The result, all too often, is that the edges of our days have eroded. We no longer work nine to five; instead we work eight to six, and after the working day is over we regroup to spend our evenings learning. It’s an unsustainable situation.
FROM THE WORKSHOP TO THE WEB
Added to this pressure to keep up, our work is now undertaken under a global gaze, conducted under an ever-present spotlight. Tools like Dribbble, Twitter and others, while incredibly powerful, have an unfortunate side effect, that of unfolding your ideas in public. This shift, from workshop to web, brings with it additional pressure.
In the past, the early stages of creativity took place within the relative safety of the workshop, an environment where one could take risks and gather feedback from a trusted few. We had space to make and space to break. No more. Our industry’s focus (and society’s focus) on sharing, leads us now to play out our decisions in public. This shift has changed us culturally, slowly but surely easing every aspect of our process – and lives – from private to public. This is at once liberating and debilitating.
If you’re not careful, an addiction to followers, likes, retweets, page views and other forms of measurement can overwhelm you. When you release your work into the wild and all it’s greeted with is silence, it can cripple you.
Reflecting on this, in an insightful article titled Derailed, Rogie King asks, “Can social popularity take us off the course of growth and where we were intended to go?” He makes a powerful point, that perhaps we might focus on what really matters, setting aside statistics. He concludes that to grow as practitioners we might be best served by seeking out critique through other avenues, away from the social spotlight.
ON STATUS ANXIETY AND IMPOSTOR SYNDROME
Following my experience I embarked on a period of self-reflection. I wanted to discover what had driven me to take the course of action I had. I wanted to ensure it never happened again. I wanted to understand how the mind works and, in so doing, learn a little more about myself.
I’ve only begun this journey, but two things I discovered resonated with me: the twin pressures of status anxiety and impostor syndrome.
In his excellent book Status Anxiety, the philosopher Alain de Botton explores a growing concern with status anxiety, a worry about how others perceive us and how this shapes our relationship with the world. He states:
We all worry about what others think of us. We all long to succeed and fear failure. We all suffer – to a greater or lesser degree, usually privately and with embarrassment – from status anxiety. […] This is an almost universal anxiety that rarely gets mentioned directly: an anxiety about what others think of us; about whether we’re judged a success or a failure, a winner or a loser.
We see these pressures played out and amplified in the social sphere we all inhabit. We are social animals and we cannot help but react to the landscape we live and work within. Even if your work receives the public praise you so secretly desire, you find yourself questioning this praise.
A psychological phenomenon in which sufferers are unable to internalise their accomplishments, impostor syndrome is far more widespread than you’d imagine. The author Leigh Buchanan describes it as “A fear that one is not as smart or capable as others think.” As she puts it, “People who feel like frauds chalk up their accomplishments to external factors such as luck and timing, or worry they are coasting on charm and personality rather than on talent.”
At the bottom, this was all I could see. I felt overwhelmed by others’ perception of me. Was I a success or a failure? Would I be discovered as the fraud I’d convinced myself that I was? These twin pressures – that I was unconscious of at the time – had lead me to a place of crippling self-doubt, questioning my very existence.
The act of discovery, of investigating how the mind functions, led me to a deeper understanding of myself. Developing an awareness of psychology and learning about conditions like status anxiety and impostor syndrome helped me to understand and recognise how my mind worked, enabling me to manage it more effectively.
MAKE IT COUNT
Reflecting upon my experience, I began to regroup, to focus on what really mattered. I’d taken on too much — as I believe many of us do. I was guilty of wanting to do all the things. I started to introduce pauses. Before blindly saying yes to everything, I forced myself to pause and ask: “Is this important?”
Our community offers us huge benefits, but an always-on culture in which we’re bombarded daily by opportunity places temptation in our paths. It’s easy to get sucked in to a vortex of wanting to be a part of everything. It’s important, however, to focus. As Simon Collison puts it:
I cull and surrender topics. Then I focus on my strengths, mastering my core skills.
We only have so much time and we can only do so much. It’s impossible, indeed futile, to try to do everything. Sometimes we need to step back a little and just enjoy life, enjoy others’ achievements, without feeling the need to be actively involved ourselves.
As Mahatma Ghandi put it:
A ‘no’ uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a ‘yes’ merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.
We need to learn to say no a little more often. We need to focus on the work that matters. This, coupled with an understanding of the mind and how it works, can help us achieve a happier balance between work and life.
Don’t waste your time. You only have one life. Make it count.
I started following netmag as they are a magazine for web developers and designers and thought they would post some interesting things.
Net Awards
That they did, and there is an awards called Net Awards, where you can vote for designers and digital agencies of the year.
I went on the website, and this is a great way for me to look at how people have self branded themselves, as well as look at some of the best agencies and see where they are based, the work they do and maybe get in contact with some of them.
These are all the agencies, and I went through all of them looking at their work and portfolios, and there are some great designs.
My favourite website was by Teehan-Lax, and this was because of how they presented their work. I had an idea that morning, that if I were to present work I would allow to user to drag it and make it bigger/smaller etc to show how it was responsive, and this was a similar idea to that. Basically, you can drag left and right to see the original and new design side by side which I think is really cool. They also had a very conversational tone, and lots of different ways of displaying functions like this which I think is very interactive, and lets you take more information in clearly.
My favourite website that I came across was by Viget for WWF. It is so easy to use, and really clear and everything that needs to stand out does, and I just think it's a beautiful piece of design.
I came across a website called A Book Apart that sells a variety of books on different topics, and theres some (well, all of them) that I want. I think this will help further my understanding on web design, which is what I obviously want to do.
I went to the Design Museum to have a look around, and there was some really good exhibit pieces. I think it can be hard to exhibit design as it isn't meant to be stared at on a wall, but I think they laid everything out very well. They had a lot of physical examples, videos and booklets as well as boards to explain everything which was interesting.
What I found most interesting was the wayfinding for the travel section - they even had a full size road sign which I liked because you don't really understand the scale of something when passing by.
There were boards explaining the logo of travel and the olympics which I really liked - I wish they had some take away ones for people.
When I went to Digitaleeds, I met a former LCA student who works at a place called Twentysix Digital. I had heard of these before because I looked at who was attending and looked at the company, and liked their website and work. When he said that, I told him I had heard of them and knew where their offices were (Singapore, London, Leeds and New York).
He then introduced me to his creative director, and we had a little chat which was very exciting!
The next day he emailed me saying he had looked at my work (I gave out my business card), and had sent it over to his boss. I was really grateful that he took the time to do that because he didn't have to. Me and the creative director exchanged a few emails and arranged for me to go to the office for a chat about a placement.
I went to the office for a chat - which happens to be a REALLY cool space with five different themed meeting rooms. I was asked to go through the work on my Behance and talk through the projects really, so I did, and then he did the same. It was really informal and although I was nervous at first I felt relaxed once in there.
He then said to just email him letting him know when I am available! So I did that, and I start in June now which I'm really looking forward to (it's also paid, which is a bonus!)
I am surprised how quickly this came about as it was my third event I went to, and it has given me more confidence and motivation.
This months Hey!Stac event at Faversham is tomorrow and I'm so excited!
Ian Feather is talking, and he is a developer at Lonely Planet.
The two things I love - web design and travel, combined in one. So I'm really excited to meet him and have a chat.
I'm currently doing a project based around travel, so would be cool to chat to Ian about designing for it. Here is the Lonely Planet website which I have visited when researching for OUGD505 and it is really good - in terms of visual design, usability, content, readability etc.
Last month I went to Hey!Stac to listen to the talks and mingle with people. It was a really good event and had some great speakers. I really like going to these because it is quite a relaxed environment and everyone is easy to talk to.
This was by far the most successful event to date, and I was so happy afterwards! Felt like I was actually getting somewhere, and my hard work is paying of. Me and Sarah went, and at first we were really nervous and felt awkward as everyone was talking to each other and we didn't know anybody. However, we soon found Matt, who we met at Forefront and went to LCA. We got talking to him, and he introduced us to his workfriends. He also encouraged us to mingle. We then spotted someone else who went to LCA called Luke, and started speaking to him. He was giving us some really good advice, and made us feel really positive about graduating and getting a job. He then introduced us to the creative director of his company - twentysix digital!! This is a company I had stalked prior to going to any of these events and really wanted to talk to someone from there as I liked the look of their company. So I got talking to him and a senior designer and that was really interesting. I gave Luke my card and he said he'd look at my work, and also said that they are looking for placement people and to ask the creative director for one. But I felt a bit too nervous for this just yet. He then introduced me to another guy, who recruits digital people for digital agencies. He told me he worked for Orchard - this clicked in my head, as I remember these are who sponsored Hey!Stacs free bar, so I started talking about that, and we got on really well actually. I asked for his card. We got talking to a few more people, and then one of the guys who offered Matt a job last week came in and said he recognised me. I said I was at Forefront and that I remembered him and where he worked and got talking about that. I had done a little stalk of his companies website after last week, so I had a lot to say to him about that and his company. He gave us some really good advice, and said that he is more likely to hire someone who comes to these events cause it shows enthusiasm over someone who doesn't, and that he doesn't care about what degree you have as long as your portfolio is strong. He also said that it is more valuable to be a brilliant designer than a coder as these are harder to come by, and get paid more. I didn't expect this, but that is encouraging too. Overall, I loved this event and I can't wait to go to more now!! This is held once every two months. Then, the next morning I got an email from Luke saying that he thought my work was strong and could give me some feedback if I wanted, and also sent my Behance to the creative director!! This isn't something I wasn't expecting and was so happy. I replied saying I would be grateful for any feedback, it was great to meet him and the creative director and thanks for the advice.
This event was the week after Hey!Stac and I knew that some of the same people was going to be here that was there so I knew I would have a couple of people to talk to. The talks themselves were really interesting, but aimed at front end developers so I didn't have much of a clue what they were talking about. Made me want to learn more about the topics though. I think I was more comfortable at this one even though I didn't know anything about the talks and I think me and Sarah were the only students there. Between talks I met a new person who actually went to LCA, so we had a lot to talk about, and he told me about where he works as a developer which sounded AMAZING. It was really encouraging to hear he got a job after three months of graduating, and only started learning how to code in 3rd year. Especially after he told me the perks of his job, which sounded really cool. He said he was going to be at the next DigitaLeeds so at least if I go there that is another person to talk to. He also got offered a job by two people from another company in Leeds based on his enthusiasm in the debate after one of the talks, which was so surreal. This made me really excited about going to these events and getting myself out there, because my hard work and dedication could get noticed, and is the kind of things employers value which I thought was amazing. I also introduced myself to the men who offered the job. I also saw someone who was at Hey!Stac so got another chance to speak to him about the talks and I thought this was valuable because I know I am starting to build a base of contacts who have really interesting things to say. I then got talking to another guy who is a developer just outside of Leeds, and he started following me on Twitter that night and tweeted me saying it was nice to meet me. I gave him my card too.
I also spoke to Russell again, who was the final speaker at Hey!Stac, and ran Forefront, so this is another contact I have started to make. I feel like if I get more comfortable with people and get to know them better, I will feel more at ease asking about placements. Overall, this was a great event and I met more people this time and gave out 3 cards which is better than the last event! I can't wait for DigitaLeeds now.
This was the first event that I went to, and I was really excited/nervous about the prospect. I took cards that I prepared, and planned to speak to people after the talks. The talks were really interesting, and there was a big turn out of people. After the talk, I went up to the last speaker and spoke to him about his talk (about kicking the Photoshop habit in web design) and actually found it really easy. He had some good advice, and I think that I managed to make some good points. He then followed me on Twitter on his agency account which is good because he knows who I am now. In future events I might ask him about a placement, but I know there is only two people who work at his agency so I don't know if this will be possible.
One of the guys who ran the event then came up and spoke to me, and we got talking which was good and I told him a bit about me and why I was there. I also gave him my business card. I then spoke to the first speaker of the event, and that was really good speaking to him as he worked at Mixd and was part of the Work In The Web event. I told him I was gutted I couldn't go and he gave me some good advice. He said it was good to come to these events early and he got his job through these events. He also told me about DigitaLeeds which is where developers and designers meet up at a pub where there isn't actually a talk, it's just for networking. After the event I followed a couple people on Twitter, and did a couple of tweets about the event.
Overall, I was very pleased about the event. Although I only gave out one card, it was a big step for me talking to people as I get really nervous about that, but it actually turned out to be really easy. I think what made it easier was that the speakers themselves were nervous, and they were all dressed really casually and made me feel more comfortable and remember that they are just human as well.
As I am going to two web design events this week with speakers from the industry, I wanted to have my own business cards ready. Although I wanted the business cards to look good, I have limited time and money so I can't add any nice printing finishes such as letterpress. I was thinking about screenprinting and embossing as these are two things I can do myself, but 1. I can't find any nice thick stock apart from mountboard, and 2. I need the cards to be registered in line and for them to be trimmed completely straight. Two things that might not happen if I do them myself. I ordered some stock from Ebay, which is 350gsm and pre-cut into business card size so I don't have to worry about cutting them myself which was my main concern. For printing, I can screenprint no problem. However, when it came it was coated and didn't have the right texture. It's too smooth and I want a more textured finish. Also, 350gsm isn't as thick as I had hoped.
I then came across moo.com which does superthick (700gsm) business cards on high quality paper, which is exactly what I want. Plus they had a 25% sale on, and when I quoted what I wanted it wasn't expensive at all!
However, the catch was the delivery time. Even the rush pricing was 6 business days, and the shipping price shot up a lot too. I needed them in 3 days so this wasn't an option. However, now I know about it I could use them in the future.
I then came across printed.com. They do business cards, and let you choose a lot of different options for printing digitally. They have the choice of recycled card at 350gsm which I think would be better than the stock I ordered from Ebay because it is uncoated.
These are some of the options you can choose.
And the quote I got - so cheap!!
To make things even better, the turn around you can get is very fast, so this is the perfect option for me.
I ordered my cards of here in the end, and if they look as cheap as they are, I will still have time to screenprint before the event.
Here is the design for the front of my card. I wasn't sure what to title myself as, but I have produced a live website, done a web design placement and designed a lot of websites so I thought it was appropriate to use web design. I was just worried about using this as the people going to the events are obviously professionals. I also put graphic because that's what I study and I'm not limited to web. I also included my Twitter name because everyone uses it and it is a more informal way to get to know me.
I created a custom typeface for my name to act as a logo, and it is fine just for this week. I will do a better job when we self branding later on in the year.
I was on Twitter and saw a tweet to a web designer I follow about something called Work In The Web. I went on their Twitter, and realised it's a 3 day workshop based in Harrogate which teaches you all about web design - right up my street! But I then realised the deadline for submission had already past. I am absolutely gutted, as it would have been a great opportunity, so I tweeted them asking if they are going to have anymore throughout the year.
I then read further on the website, and saw that the day before the workshop, there is a free event in Leeds with talks from local web professionals and a chance for networking! So I am definitely going to go to this, and will hopefully be able to get some contacts. I will make some business cards and get them professionally printed in preparation for this.
Hey!Stac who are running the event favourited one of my tweets to workintheweb, and started following me on Twitter.
ForeFront I then came across another event the next day while on the workintheweb's Twitter! This is based at Brewery Tap in Leeds, and is at the end of January. There is going to be three talks with chance for a talk and coffee. I am definitely going to go to this.
I then registered for my tickets, and I'm going with my classmate Sarah.
It then listed the attendee's and I started to look at the people who were going on Twitter and seeing where they worked - this way I could do a bit of a background check on agencies and see if I would possibly want to do a placement anywhere, and just get a general look at what's here in Leeds.
I looked at Daniel Manton on Twitter, and looked at his website and saw he wrote some links to some blogs:
I then saw he posted some local events. Most of them had already gone, but one caught my eye - code and coffee. This is because it is a regular occurrence and seems quite informal.
I clicked on the link and found a bit of info about it. It is held every wednesday morning at a cafe in Leeds where people code and get a coffee before they go to work. This seems like something I could at some point when I have a website to code to join in.
I went on their website and saw that it is at a place called Mrs Athas, and that there is actually meetings like this all over in the world in America, Sweden and France, not just this one in Leeds.
I then went back to look at the attendee's list, and looked for Alastair Hodgson. He works at a place called twentysix digital, so I had a look at them.
I looked on their websites, and saw that they had a big list of clients which was impressive, and that they have offices not only in Leeds, but New York and Singapore too!!!! It is a big dream of mine to work in Singapore so this has made me very excited to talk to Alastair at the event.
John asked us to answer these questions for our first PPP2 task.
1. Reflecting on your Summer what is your most memorable event and why?! !
For the whole of Summer I did a web design/development placement and had a job. The web placement was really useful, as although it was mainly self taught and I found it very challenging, it is a skill I want to further and become capable in. It has definitely influenced the kind of designer I want to be and what I want to focus on. I think that web is a really good thing to be interested in because there seems to be a lot of jobs and is advancing a lot. I never thought I was interested in it before this, but I now see how fun and intriguing it is. I think being able to code is a valuable skill as well, and I want to start learning about different web languages such as jQuery and PHP, as I only learnt about HTML5 and CSS.
I also worked over summer in the Pub I've worked in since I was 16, and it made me realise how glad I am to have a degree to go back to. I want to make sure I am a competent and skilled designer so I don't ever have to work there again, even in holidays - I would like to get into freelance work during these to earn money instead.
At the end of Summer just before I came back to uni I booked a last minute holiday to Barcelona with my best friend which I think was needed as I had worked so much over Summer. I loved everything about the city and I actually think it would be really great to work there as it has everything - city, beach, parks etc.
2. Have you made any contacts over the Summer that you feel could be helpful over the coming year or so and what outcomes did you feel you achieved?! !
As I did the placement I have contacts there but I don't think I would go there again, due to it being quite small and learning most things myself. But when I mentioned I was doing a web design placement a few people said they did coding and would help me if I ever needed it which is good to know. I also live with four people who do a computing degree and do coding, so that is also useful because a couple of people have asked me to create a website for them and I can collaborate with my housemates to make this happen. I have been asked to do a photography portfolio website for a friend and one of my housemates has said he will help me code it and that was a good feeling because I know I can make doing what I enjoy happen imminently.
3. How did you meet/contact these contacts (methods used or how it happened)! !
My previous college tutor mentioned that I should email the owner of the web design agency as he usually takes on a couple of people for placements. I emailed him with some of my work and he told me to come in for a chat when I was back for Summer. Me and a friend who I went to college with did this and we both got taken on, and so it was good to do it with her.
4. If you didn’t make any contacts, why? too busy working? holiday? commitments?! !
I didn't make many contacts, but I was so busy over Summer with work and the placement that I didn't feel the need to right then.
5. What methods of contacting creatives can you think of and what would you ask?
I would email or comment on their work on Behance etc, but I don't know what I'd ask right now. I don't really like sending emails and I worry about what I say too much so that is something to work on. Although for the Design for Print module I have messaged some creatives on Behance saying I like their work (monoprints) and asked them what techniques they've used and got a good response. Here are some questions I would like to ask:
How would I go about getting a placement abroad?
Have students done this previously in their second year?
Where should I start looking to get a web design placement?
Today we had our first PPP session with John. He was very insightful about getting placements and how to go about getting them. Here are some notes that I made:
Ask for a studio visit rather than a placement when you first talk to a studio. When they ask you if you have any questions, then raise the point that you want a placement.
Make friends, make mentors, get close to them all for networking
Networking is meeting people and staying in touch with them
Ask studios about 3/4 questions and make one of them 'is there anyone else I should be talking to?'
Things studios look for in a graduate: sense of humour, point of view, ability and someone who will fit in
Facebook for professionals is Linkedin
He contacted Mike Salisbury asking him about his 'legendary branding' slogan, and they started talking. Mike has come up with:
Last year we had to write 10 things that we wanted to learn while at LCA, and now we have to review this list a year later to see if we have achieved what we wanted or if our goals have changed. Here is my list: What I want to learn at LCA
How to use all of the traditional printing methods
How to set up as a freelance designer
I want to know all about type
To understand layout and grid systems thoroughly
How to communicate with clients
To be able to create some packaging
Be more confident with my work
Create an online portfolio
Be able to use the Adobe Software
How to be a good designer
How to use all of the traditional printing methods
In my first year I learnt how to screenprint, and I became quite competent with this as I screenprinted a whole book for my final PPP project. That is the method I was most interesting in learning as well. We also had a induction in monoprinting, letterpress and lino cuts. I already knew how to lino print, and monoprint or letterpress isn't something I did in my first year.
However, at the beginning of this year I have already done some monoprinting, and I also organised a print induction with few other students. It was a workshop in photo etching, embossing, foil stamping, and every other process that was available to do at Vernon St. I also learnt about what I couldn't do and the limitations of the processes which was useful.
How to set up as a freelance designer
I haven't learnt how to set up a business yet, but that is something I realised in first year wasn't important. However, I have an online portfolio now and have come to a standard where I can do freelance work for people, and have had some experience in this now. Although I don't have my own brand and payment method etc, I have done paid work for people that I know, and that is enough for me right now.
I want to know all about type
The type anatomy sessions were useful, and I know a lot more about typography in that aspect now, but this point was about how I wanted to learn more about type designs that are seen on posters or logos. However, this isn't something I stayed interested in during my first years and I focused on other areas of design.
To understand layout and grid systems thoroughly
The sessions on grid and layout were incredibly useful and I feel I know a lot more about them now and this has helped me considerably within my practice as from these sessions I realised I was really interested in layout design. It has made it a lot easier for me when using InDesign and designing for editorial and web because I have gained a better understanding of this.
How to communicate with clients
As I have improved a lot within my design work and I am more confident with it, this has helped me interact with clients because I can suggest to them what would work best and support my ideas. I also did a placement over Summer and they had clients coming in every week for meetings and proposals and that was really valuable to see how businesses deal with clients they didn't know.
To be able to create some packaging
I really wanted to do packaging for all my briefs at the beginning of the 1st year, but I soon realised that I was interested in other areas and that I didn't actually enjoy packaging when I did it. I didn't enjoy the maths of it and found it hard to get a professional finish when making the packaging. Although I enjoy actually designing for it, I felt I lacked skill in making it. Maybe this is something I can do in the future as in the industry I would only be designing it and not making the product.
Be more confident with my work
I feel that because I know more about design principles, it helped me become a better designer because I understand the design decisions I'm making now. And because of this, I am more confident with my work and talking about it because I know that I consider everything that I do and can justify my work. Having weekly crits also helped with being confident because I got used to talking about my work to people I don't really know and accepting feedback to produce better work.
Create an online portfolio
I created a Behance, and have uploaded some of my work to it which I am happy about because it is a lot easier to show people. Now I just want to carry on uploading projects, and start to take professional looking photographs of my work as I think that showcase my work a lot better.
Be able to use Adobe Software
This is something I have improved a lot on in the past year, as I am a lot more competent with Illustrator, and can use Photoshop better than before I started the course. I was introduced to InDesign on the course and I love the programme now and have used it extensively in projects. I also began using Fireworks and Dreamweaver when I started at the web design placement which I am now using frequently and understand well.
How to be a good designer
This is an ongoing process, but having learnt the fundamental principles last year this has helped me considerably when making design decisions. Also by using software more and becoming more competent at it has increased by quality of work. I also think by being aware of my surroundings, other people's work and gaining feedback continuously this has helped me become a better designer. Also, as I have tried out a lot of different processes and areas of design, I am becoming more aware of the kind of designer I want to be which is important. I have become very interested in web design, and I think that it is a strong point of mine because I enjoy it, I have produced designs very quickly for websites and I think I have a good idea what makes a good and bad design.
I'm now going to write a new list of 10 things I want to learn this year:
I want to become more competent in web development
I want to learn how to design and develop for responsive websites
I want to become better at drawing, as I think this will help me at the ideas and concepts stage as well as increase the standard of my work
I would like to learn how to take professional images of my work
I want to have another placement this year, particular somewhere that does branding and web design to experience an industry environment
I would like to use other programmes for web development such as Sublime or Aptana rather than Dreamweaver
I would like to gain a better understanding of the Fibbonachi sequence as I found that quite difficult to relate to my own work last year
I want to be able to create intelligent concepts in all of my work
I want my work to have a more professional finish
I want to find a way of being able to create an embossed finish with ink, like the letterpress effect in industry, as that is not possible to do at college
